A/N: Happy New Year! I hope you all have a FABULOUS 2014!

Thank you for reading and those of you who've reviewed/messaged me! You're brilliant! :D

x


Standing on the side of the soccer pitch watching the group of children running around after the ball was incredibly dull, as far as Liv was concerned. But the broad grin on Frankie's face as she kicked it into the back of the net more than made up for the fact that her mother's hands and feet felt as though they were being frozen solid.

The wind that had buffeted her on her walk between the sheriff's station and Granny's had, if anything, got stronger and it was now raining as well. Liv grumbled, pulling her jacket tighter around her as she watched Frankie pass the ball to Billy. Her brother stumbled over his own foot before quickly recovering and dribbling it up the pitch confidently.

"Go on, darling!" A familiar voice screamed beside Liv. She turned and grinned at her mother, the sight of her slightly reddened nose and cheeks as her eyes flashed with pride making her elder daughter's heart feel as though it was about to explode. "Go on, Billy!"

"Mom…"

"Hello, sweetheart." Regina smiled, leaning in to press a quick kiss to Liv's cheek, before returning her attention to the match. She blinked in complete surprise as her daughter latched her arms tightly around her and hugged her fiercely. "Liv? Honey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just–"

"Olivia Liberty Young, don't give me that." She snapped, pulling out of her grasp and eyeing her suspiciously. "I'm your mother and I always know when there's something wrong."

Not even dwelling on the fact that she seemed to have acquired a middle name somewhere along the way, Liv bit her lip. She hated it when Regina full-named her; it always made her feel guilty, even if she'd done nothing wrong. Hearing her curse-inflicted surname turned her stomach. Apparently the expression on her face reflected her feelings, because the older woman reached out and cupped her cheek, her own expression softening.

"Liv? What's happened? Is it Jack?"

"I…"

"What's he done?"

"Mom… I just… I'm fine." Liv shook her head and smiled. "Tired, that's all. How are things with you?"

"Busy… between you, your sister and brothers I barely have a moment to myself." Regina sighed, her gaze flicking back to the soccer game.

Liv frowned, narrowing her eyes as her mother determinedly avoided looking at her. "Mom… you do realise that the knowing when something's wrong trick works both ways, right?"

"Nothing's wrong, Liv… It's just… I'm seeing someone."

Feeling as though she'd been punched in the stomach, Liv didn't react as a cheer went up when Storybrooke Middle School scored their fourth goal. She stared at Regina open-mouthed, causing the woman to shift uncomfortably on the spot and tug the belt around her waist tighter.

"What? Mom… you can't!" The younger woman protested in a loud hiss. "What about Ma?"

"Emma and I have been divorced for six months, Liv." Regina told her with a frown, never moving her eyes from the pitch. "We both have to move on at some point."

"You make it sound like you don't want to move on."

"Leave it."

"No, Mom. You and Ma are like… soul mates. You can't just give up on that because–"

"I'm not discussing this with you." The Mayor snapped irritably.

"Can't you just talk to Ma and–"

Regina whirled on her daughter, losing her temper at Liv's badgering. "Firstly, she is not your mother; I am. You were eight when we met Emma and Henry. For the first eight years of your life it was just you and me. Secondly, who was it who supported you when you had Charlie at thirteen, Liv? Who was it who talked Emma out of beating his dad to within an inch of his life?"

"Mom… I am not turning my back on you. I would never do that." Liv made mental notes about when her mom was telling her about her cursed backstory to tell Henry later. "I just don't get why things went so wrong between you and Ma."

"Now is not the time or the place to talk about this."

"It never is."

"Mom! Grandma Gina!" Neither of them had noticed the whistle blowing to signal the end of the match. It was only when Frankie and Billy ran over to them that they looked up. "We won!"

"Well done, sweetheart!" Regina put an arm around each of their shoulders and hugged them tight. "Celebration dinner at Granny's?"

"Can we, Mom?" Frankie asked eagerly. Then her face fell slightly. "Will Dad mind?"

"I don't give a fu–" Liv started, before catching herself and smiling weakly. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

The girl grinned. "Aweome! I'll ring Izzy and Phoebe when I'm changed."

As her daughter and brother ran in the direction of the school to change out of their kits, Liv avoided her mother's eyes. It seemed that neither of them were able to look at the other, for fear that a conversation would be brought up that neither of them wanted to have. The awkward silence that fell between them as they waited was almost painful for both parties.

Liv opened and closed her mouth several times, but couldn't think what to say. The woman standing beside her was her mom, but she wasn't at the same time. It was confusing and painful and upsetting all at once.

Watching the two children approaching them across the grass with their kit bags swung over their shoulders, the younger woman smiled weakly at her mother. "Can you take Frankie to Granny's and I'll meet you there? There's something I need to sort first."

Regina nodded slowly, narrowing her eyes suspiciously, before wrapping her arms around her son and granddaughter again and leading them towards her car. Liv was almost amused to see the same Mercedes she remembered from years ago. As they climbed into the car and Regina drove away, she pulled her jacket tighter around her and headed to her own car.

As soon as she was inside and the door was closed, she pulled out her cell phone and dialled the number saved under Henry's name in her contacts list. He answered on the third ring, sounding confused.

"Liv?"

"Mom's seeing someone and I'm having an affair with my own wife."

There was a pause. "What?"

Liv exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand over her eyes. "What I said, Henry."

"Mom's seeing someone? Who?"

"I don't know. I said she couldn't and pointed out that her and Ma are soul mates and she went off on one. Maybe you should talk to her? Although from the way she was talking she's only your step-mom, like Emma's mine."

"This is fucked up, Liv."

"You're telling me… maybe we have to get them back together to break the curse? Maybe True Love's kiss will work?"

"Maybe you just need to kiss Ruby?" Henry suggested.

Liv smiled, despite the situation. "I already have; nothing happened."

"Wait… what?"

"Like I said, I seem to be having an affair with Rubes. She asked me to leave Jack. I said I would, of course I did, but… we need to concentrate on working out how to get things back to normal without worrying about what he'll do."

"Liv, you do know that even if they don't have their memories Mom and Ma would kill him if he tried to hurt you or the kids." Henry tried to reassure her.

"I'm not scared of him, Henry." She promised with a small smile. "I just want to be able to concentrate on our mission without distractions." When he only made a murmured, noncommittal sound in response, the woman changed the subject. "Have you found anything useful out?"

"Not really… I've been out on patrol with Gramps who's been complaining about Grandma the whole time. Apparently she's now Principal of Storybrooke Elementary."

"Ooh, promotion." Liv said sarcastically. "At least they're still together."

"Mmm… that's one couple we don't have to worry about."

Liv groaned. "You really shouldn't have said that, Henry. You've just jinxed them."

"Don't be overdramatic. Where are you?"

"Headed to Granny's… Mom suggested we all have dinner there. You coming?"

"I'll get Ma to come too. Maybe we can force them back together. It worked last time." He suggested. "If they spend time with all of us like a proper family they might remember that they love each other."

Over the years, Henry hadn't lost the childlike hope and enthusiasm that had driven his every move when he was younger. Liv smiled. "Yeah, kid, maybe." He might be twenty-seven, but he was still her little brother and she didn't want to see him crushed as he inevitably would be as soon as they hit the first stumbling block in their attempts to reunite their mothers. "But don't get your hopes up, yeah? I mean… Mom went a little mental when I mentioned Emma…"

"Are you going to Granny's now?"

"Yeah… Mom's taken Frankie and Billy and I assume everyone else will meet us there."

"OK, I'll finish up here and come over. Get me a burger and fries if I'm held up." He chuckled. "Mom won't like it, but you have no idea how much I've missed junk food."


Dinner was more than awkward. Apparently it had taken a lot of persuasion for Emma to agree to join them and she and Regina barely even acknowledged the other's presence at the group of tables Granny and Ruby had pushed together to accommodate the large family. The brunette sat at one end while her ex-wife sat at the other.

Henry and Liv, who were seated next to each other for moral support, exchanged glances every now and again, silently plotting their next move. So far they had tried engaging both their mothers in conversation, only for one to suddenly become very interested in one of the other conversations taking place around them. Then they had tried to encourage the children to recall happy memories involving both women but Emma's cell phone, with almost unbelievable timing, had started to ring and she'd excused herself to take the call.

When she returned, Regina glanced at her watch quickly, before standing up and gathering her coat. She smiled at her children and grandchildren warmly, resolutely not meeting Emma's eyes.

"Mom?" Liv questioned with a frown.

"I have an… appointment." The older woman informed her quickly. She pressed kisses to the tops of Billy and Nicole's heads as she passed on her way to the door. "Have a good day at school tomorrow; I'll see you when I get home. Be good."

And then she was gone; the tinkling of the bell above the door signalling her departure. Immediately Liv turned to her thirteen-year-old sister with a raised eyebrow.

"OK, kid, spill. Where's Mom going?"

"How should I know?" Nicole protested, not fooling anyone for a second.

Emma snorted. "Kid, if Regina's Queen of Knowing-It-All then you're the Princess. You know more than you're letting on. You want me to take you down the station and shine a light in your eyes until you give in?"

"I don't–"

"Cut the crap, Nic." Liv ordered, resting her elbows on the table. "Where is she?"

"She's got a date, OK?" The teenager snapped, the information exploding out of her. "Lottie heard her talking to Mr Hathaway in the grocery store and they were arranging to go to the Rabbit Hole tonight."

"What?" Emma breathed, blinking in disbelief at her younger daughter. "She's on a date?" Before anyone could speak, the blonde ran a hand through her hair distractedly and then shrugged. "Well, whatever. Liv, can you take Nic and Billy tonight. I had a call from David at the station. I don't know how long I'll be out."

"Ma?"

"Tell Granny we'll settle the bill tomorrow, yeah?" The Sherriff said, grabbing her jacket and striding from the diner without a backward glance.

Henry and Liv exchanged another look and then the woman stood, smiling around. "Right, you heard the woman; let's get out of here."

On the drive back to the suburbs where Liv now lived, everyone was subdued. No one spoke until they parked up and climbed out of the cars. Henry hung back as his sister unlocked the door and shepherded everyone inside.

"You coming in?" She asked, the hopeful tone easy to hear. Unable to refuse, he nodded and walked slowly up the path.

"Don't worry, Dad won't be here." Phoebe said, sensing both adults discomfort. "He said he was going out with his mates."

"Right… well… homework, bed… you know the drill." Her mother said, trying to act normally. Or, she supposed, what she assumed was normally. "Drink?"

"What are we going to do about Mom and Ma?" He asked, following his sister into the kitchen and leaning against the counters as she rummaged around in the cupboards for alcohol and glasses. Finally settling on a bottle of vodka and two shot glasses, she led the way into the living room and flopped down on the couch. "Liv?"

"I don't know, Henry." She admitted, pouring the liquor and knocking back a shot before refilling the glass. "Maybe someone should go and spy on Mom?"

"I'll go…" He offered. "I've always wanted to see inside the Rabbit Hole."

Liv laughed, despite the situation they had fallen into. "Good to see you've got your priorities sorted."

"Hey! We're gonna get this sorted, Liv. True Love always wins in the end."

"If you start going on about good versus evil I swear I will swing for you, kid." She threatened. Then she hugged him tightly, closing her eyes and clinging onto the security and familiarity of her little brother. "Don't let her see you or she'll kill you."

"I'm not stupid, Liv." He told her with a chuckle. "Operation Stealth Stalking is a go."

Raising an eyebrow as they headed out into the foyer, she shook her head. "No, Henry. Just no."

"OK, maybe it needs a little work." Henry agreed with a shrug. "I'll call you later, OK?"

Wrapping her arms around herself Liv stood on the step and watched as her brother climbed into his car and headed down the road. As she stared into the darkness, watching his taillights disappear around the corner, she briefly considered how strange it was that the curse had given them the knowledge of how to drive. But then, she supposed, that wasn't the strangest thing it had done.

Closing the door firmly against the chill of the night air, she turned off the lights and headed upstairs. With the children occupied by their own activities, she wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and loose herself in some rubbish television until Henry called with news.