It's here! Decidedly shorter than I thought it would be when I sat down an hour ago to write, but this feels appropriate. I didn't want to ruin it, so I'm saving the rest for the next chapter. It'll be a few days, but it will be much, much longer. It's been a long, long, overtime-filled weekend, and I'm looking forward to a few days off later this week - also from the migraine that's been ever-present since yesterday afternoon. The sanity I've managed to hold onto has been in dreaming up what I'm going to write next, so hopefully this lives up to your expectations. I can't wait to write the next chapter for you, and I can promise that it will be more the length you all deserve! Much love to my many reviewers - you make this all the more fun to write. Enjoy!

Chapter 7: It's You

"Oh, no, Henry – I'm not mad. I'm happy to see you. I just—" she stopped short as Neal stepped into the hallway.

There was a moment where they only stared at one another, hearts pounding, not able to believe their eyes. Henry looked back in forth between them, not understanding what was going on.

"Neal?" Regina breathed.

It was funny. After all of these years and all of the thoughts and dreams – thought to have been self-indulgent, pathetic delusions at the time – about the woman standing before him, Neal thought that he'd be able to come up with something to say. Something more than the simple, "hi" that escaped.

But that seemed to be enough for Regina. Letting out a broken sob, she was suddenly in his arms, and he forgot to care about whatever it was he might have wanted to say. He closed his eyes and pulled her fiercely against him, barely able to believe that it really was Regina in his arms – that she was real and right here after all of these years.

In the back of his mind, there was a sort of buzzing that reminded him of the circumstances surrounding how any of this was possible. The fact that Regina was the same age, that she was the Evil Queen, that she'd raised Henry, that it was she who had cursed their entire world to this one; so, so many overwhelming things. But Neal didn't think about any of it. He silenced the nagging thoughts before they'd fully formed, refusing to think about anything right now but the woman he'd loved more than anyone in his entire life; someone he'd thought was gone from his life forever.

Regina, not having the benefit of the brief minute of realization that Neal had been allowed before they'd come face to face, was overwhelmed by confusion. She half-expected that this would turn out to be a mental-break on her part. After all, there was no way that this could be real.

The arms around her held her firmly, however, and they seemed real enough. As did the comforting scent that could only be described as uniquely Neal.

Neal finally managed to find his voice as he felt Regina crying against him, her fingers clinging desperately to the back of his jacket. "I missed you," he told her.

Regina cried out, a strange sob that was made more out of joy than anything, because this really was real.

As the reality of the last few decades came crashing back down around her, Regina found it odd that the universe had finally allowed her something good in the mess that her life had become. In the span of just the last few weeks, she'd lost her son, the curse, the strange and shaky trust she'd managed to garner from Emma, her redemption, and then her mother.

Afraid that it wouldn't last, Regina gripped Neal impossibly tighter. "I had a bad day," she whispered.

Neal would have laughed from his mix of joy and relief at having Regina magically back in his life, and because of the comfortable familiarity of that statement even after all of these years – except he was also thinking about everything behind those words this time. Everything that had happened to the Evil Queen – all of the terrible things he'd heard about the woman he'd thought he was supposed to hate – had actually happened to Regina, the woman he'd never stopped loving.

So instead, he said, "Well then, we'll just have to make sure tomorrow is better," before he placed a kiss to the side of her head.

And then, it was Regina who laughed. It was a broken-hearted sound, but the smile on her face was genuine as she buried her face into his neck.

The moment was brief before there was a loud voice from behind Regina.

"You know each other?"

Both of them turned, surprised, having forgotten Henry's presence.

"Yeah, kid," Neal told him. "You could say that."

It was a lot to take in, and they all needed answers. In probably the first clear thought she'd had in days, Regina looked at both Neal and Henry and decided now would be as good a time as any.

"Why don't we sit down and talk?" she suggested, and both of them nodded, Henry leading the way down the stairs.

Regina didn't fail to notice that Neal hadn't removed his hand from her back, even now allowing it to slide around to her arm and down to tangle his fingers with hers as they followed Henry.

They both knew that whatever was waiting for them downstairs was going to make everything terribly complicated. Life was about to be turned on its side – even more than it already had been – and it was a terrifying thought.

Regina tightened her fingers around Neal's hand and he responded by running his thumb over the back of her hand.

All kinds of questions were waiting, and they both took a deep breath as they stepped onto the first floor.

Neither of them was sure they wanted the answers.