"Oh my God. What the hell happened to Regina's backyard? Does she know this was done to it?"

Aurora and Mulan were the only ones who paid any attention to Emma's outburst as the Sheriff stepped into Regina's backyard. "Holy…" She trailed off, "Are those… speakers dangling off of Regina's apple tree?"

Aurora nodded, "And would you believe it, Regina put them up there…"

"Wait, she climbed a tree?" Emma made a face, "Damn, I woulda paid to see that." Emma frowned, "How'd she do it in her… ah, usual attire."

Mulan answered that question, "She was not dressed in her usual fashion, but had on denim and what you call a… T-Shirt."

Emma stood there, stunned, "Wait, what? Jeans and a T-Shirt, Regina? She doesn't own jeans and a T-shirt. Short or long sleeved?"

Aurora looked confused by the question, but answered, "Short. It was a maroon type color with a eight sided yellow star, it looked much like a Cardinal Star."

"I…"

Mulan gestured towards the back door of the house, something that Emma hadn't known it had. "There she is."

Emma turned to look and stopped moving. Indeed Regina was wearing a bright maroon red shirt with what looked like an eight sided starburst across the chest. "Whoa."

Regina had a platter of something that smelled very, very good in her arms. She gave a nod as she passed them, "Mulan, Princess Aurora." She paused mid stride and raised an eyebrow, "I would advise closing your mouth Miss Swan, you'll catch flies."

"Or honey…" Emma took an involuntary step back, "Ah…" But Regina had moved on just before Emma had spoken, and had either not heard the Sheriff or had ignored her. Emma put a hand to her head, "This isn't good, and I haven't even had a sip of beer."

Mulan spoke with a straight face, "What is this bee-ah…"

Emma scrutinized Mulan for a long, long moment, but she couldn't tell if the warrior was pulling her leg or not. It was finally Aurora dissolving into giggles that sealed it for her. "Funny there Moo Moo… you think you can go toe to toe with me? I invented the pulling of chains or legs. I'm the reigning champ of it, 25 years runnin'."

Mulan stared at Emma for a moment, then spoke, "Running away?"

Emma swung an arm over Mulan's shoulders, just a bit too hard, "I like you Warrior, you need to work on your jabs, but I like you."

Someone turned on a sound system somewhere in the backyard and Emma blinked as the first started.

I used to rule the world

Seas would rise when I gave the word

Now in the morning I sleep alone

Sweep the streets I used to own

Emma just shook her head. "I think I'm in Bizarro Storybrooke."

oOOOOo

Regina put down the tray. Grumpy seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Ah… this isn't some sort of prelude to a giant dastardly plan?" Regina regarded Grumpy, "What? You know it's not out of the realm of possibility."

Regina leaned over Grumpy, "I have never ever had a… dastardly plan, now," she straightened up, "I've had my share of evil ones. But, no, this is just what it seems to be."

"A party. Oh sh… no… Happy, no, that's a bad, bad idea Happy…" Grumpy sprinted towards his fellow dwarf trying to stop whatever Happy was about to do.

Something hit Regina in the legs and she looked down. "Roland."

"Up… thank you."

Regina smiled just a little and hefted Roland into her arms, "How are you doing Roland?"

"Thank you…"

Regina inclined her head, "I bet you're referring to the food and the party?" Roland nodded, "Well young man, you're very welcome. Now how is your monkey doin…" Regina's face went pale.

Robin appeared, "Regina?"

Regina practically pushed Roland into Robin's arms, "I need the monkey, I need the monkey. I just, we never… I need his monkey."

Regina tried to take it from Roland's hand, but he hung onto it for dear life, "No, mine, mine…"

But, Regina was the adult, and she won the tug of war, causing Roland to burst into tears, and Robin to stare at Regina as if she'd grown another head. The party had gone silent, only Coldplay singing on the stereo in the background, and someone had even turned that down.

"Please, take him… away," Robin didn't right away, but after a moment Robin started walking him to the other side of the yard. Regina glanced around, "and everyone else step back as well."

Emma took a step towards Regina, "What are you doing?"

Regina pinned Emma with a look, "Move back Miss Swan." She placed the stuffed monkey on the ground and took a step back herself, then she waved her hand over it and suddenly, it was no longer a grey and white monkey, but a human. A human young woman.

"Ashley?"

Snow blinked in surprise as she chimed in, "We had been wondering where you got to in the Enchanted Forest."

Sean came running from somewhere, their daughter Alexandra in his arms, "Ashley, Ashley…" The three collided into a big family hug.

Emma put a hand on Regina's shoulder, "You really forgot didn't you?"

Regina let her mask slip firmly in place as she answered, because even as she spoke to Emma all she could really hear was Roland's plaintive cries for his monkey, "It happened in what seems like a different lifetime Miss Swan, so, yes, I did just forget."

Emma slapped the same shoulder good naturedly, "Guess that means you're human, huh…" Regina shot Emma a glare, then turned back to where Roland was inconsolable. Robin was doing his best, but the little boy had just lost his very favorite stuffed animal. "Regina. Why don't you just go over there?"

Regina shook her head, "I'm not Roland's mother." She paused, "I killed her mother."

Emma tried to suppress her gasp, but was only partially successful. "Wh-why?"

Regina glanced over at Emma, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

They both fell silent as they watched Henry approach Roland with something in his hand. It looked vaguely like a stuffed animal, about the same size that the stuffed monkey had been, but Emma couldn't tell what it was. Regina knew what it was though and she sucked in a breath, "That's… that's Raymond… Raymond the Dragon."

Emma looked over at Regina, "You couldn't have given our son a teddy bear as a child, a dragon? Really?" She paused, "It didn't used to be a real dragon right?"

Regina made a noise in the back of her throat, "Miss Swan, I didn't… give… Henry anything. He chose that himself at the toy store. And now…"

Emma smiled, "Now he's growing up. Passing on his childhood stuff to a kid who looked like he needed it more. Despite everything you did a damn good job raising him Regina."

As Emma turned to look at Henry again, Regina looked at Emma. She had a curious look on her face, "I- Thank you."

Emma smirked, "You got the easy part though, the last year has been like, teenage angst central you know." Emma poked Regina in the chest, "You owe me for takin' the hard part." With a laugh she walked towards the grill, getting pulled at by Ruby before she got to it.

"Are you in love with my daughter?"

Regina frowned, and turned her back on Roland, Henry, and Robin, "Snow, what are you talking about?"

Snow swayed back and forth, trying to keep the sleeping Little Neal sleeping. "Please, just answer the question Regina."

"What, no, why would you even…" Regina trailed off, took a beat to compose herself and then went on the offensive, "Why are you doing this?"

Snow bristled, "Because she's my daughter."

Regina shook her head, "That's not the this that I mean. As you said, Emma's your daughter, so why are you helping me try to find out something that could rip her to shreds?"

"The trut…."

Regina cut Snow off, "That's a piss poor excuse. Tell me the real reason Snow."

Snow regarded Regina, "If not now it will come out in the future, the truth always bubbles to the surface, and I would rather have some control over when it appears then have it be at… Henry's wedding, or… the birth of his first child, or, whenever." Snow took a step towards Regina, "But, you make me a promise, on Daniel's soul… promise me that we're both there. David too, when we tell Henry and Emma."

Regina frowned, "You don't believe that he's your grandson?" She blinked in surprise as something occurred to her, "You haven't told David?"

Snow couldn't say anything in response as Louise Ratched appeared at Regina's side. "Ms. Mills…"

Regina took the envelope from Louise and didn't address her. Snow looked between the two women, then addressed Louise, "Thank you Louise… I know you didn't have to do this."

Louise glanced at Regina, then focused back on Snow, "Well, for 28 years I had no idea who my true love was. She took my memories of him, but…" She shook her head, "At least she didn't kill Dirk when she could have, or she could have left him a vegetable like she nearly did with your husband, so, she should consider us even." She inclined her head towards Snow, "Your Majesty."

Snow shook her head. "You sure that you didn't cast the curse to get her back?"

Regina stared down at the envelope, answering without really paying attention, "I didn't love, her, she was a comfort at times and, yes, I liked her. What do they call it in this world, acquaintances with benefits?" She looked up and handed the envelope to Snow.

"You're afraid?"

Regina raised an eyebrow, "Really Snow? No. I want there to be no question about the veracity of these results. As you could see, the woman who performed the tests has no reason to be in my corner, and, you have no magic, so…"

Snow nodded, "If I open it, then I can't accuse you of changing the results after you saw them. Okay, I get it." She paused, "I still think you're afraid."

"Just open the envelope Snow."

Snow opened the flap and pulled out the eight and a half by eleven piece of paper. She read it and even as she tried to keep her face from betraying the answer, Regina could see it written there. "Damnit, I was right."

Snow nodded, and cleared her throat, "Now what?"

Regina nodded, "Now we tell her."

"Indeed you do not Mrs. Nolan… Regina. You will keep this information very much to yourselves or suffer the consequences."

Regina frowned, "Rumple?"

"Who else would it be dearie."

Regina took a step towards Rumpelstiltskin, "You don't scare me anymore Rumple…"

Rumpelstiltskin also took a step forward, they were both in the others personal space. He tilted his head to one side and put his lips right next to Regina's ear, whispering for only a moment. Then with what almost looked like a skip, he strode away, leaving a confused Snow and a intense looking Regina.

"Regina, what did he say?"

Regina was silent for a moment, "That he didn't have to scare me, all he had to do was kill you and every last member of your family to hurt me."

Snow shook her head, "Regina, how can he even, I mean, Belle has his dagger, that means…"

Regina cut her off, "No. It's like if you have someone's heart. You have to have the dagger, the heart literally in your hands, that's how you… direct a person."

"So, you can't just have it in your possession?"

Regina rolled her eyes, "Does everyone in Storybrooke think that I took Graham against his will?" Snow started to answer, but Regina didn't let her, putting a hand up, "Never mind. Of course you all did. He had the same ability to say no that everyone does. And, for the record, if he had I would have stopped."

With that she made a military precision turn on her heel and stalked back towards her house. Snow sighed and spoke to the air in front of her, "But wait, what are we going to do with the information we have now?" With another sigh she looked down at her son, "So Neal, do you think we should tell Emma and Henry now?"

Little Neal gurgled back at his Mom and she smiled, "Well, if you say so…"