Alright. It seems like I haven't updated in forever, but I think this chapter is worth the wait. I'm really proud of this one and I hope you all like it. Next chapter is almost done (and it's brimming with cuteness), so expect that within the next few days.

Enjoy!

"I'm home!" Henry called as he walked into the apartment. He threw his backpack to the side and jumped onto the couch where Emma was sitting.

"Hey, kid. How was school?" Emma asked as she set her book down on the coffee table.

"That's not one of Grandma's books," Henry remarked looking at the battered copy of Pride and Prejudice.

"It's one of mine. I got it as a Christmas present from some of my nicer foster parents when I was thirteen."

"Cool," Henry said. He was aware that he was venturing into uncomfortable territory and he wanted to pick his next words carefully. "Where's Mom?"

"Nice subject change," Emma said with a small smile. "She's upstairs napping."

"She is?" Henry's eyes widened a bit.

"Yeah. She said she was tired and she headed upstairs about an hour ago." Henry looked a little worried and Emma jumped in. "This whole thing is really stressing her out. You know, she doesn't want to turn into Gina permanently and she wants her body back and everything."

"Okay."

"Got any homework?" Emma asked.

"Just a little."

"Alright. Why don't you go tell your mom you're home and then get the homework done."

Henry nodded and raced towards the stairs. Less than a minute later, Emma heard him call her name.

"I'm coming!" she called. She threw her book down and dashed upstairs. "What's wrong?"

Henry looked terrified. He pointed toward Regina's bed. "She's gone!"

Emma walked over to the small bed and sure enough, the little girl was no where to be seen. The bathroom door was open so she couldn't be in there. Henry pointed at the foot of the bed. "What's that?"

Emma looked where Henry was pointing and saw a tiny curl of purple smoke dissipating. Her eyes widened as it clicked into place. "Oh, damn it."

"What's wrong?" Henry asked. Emma was gripping the doorframe so hard that he half expected it to break off in her hand. Her face was whiter than the sheets.

"Henry," she said in a measured voice that betrayed her fear. "I want you to go downstairs and start your homework. Don't leave the apartment or open the door or the windows or anything. I'll be back soon."

"Wait, what's going on? Where's Mom? Where are you going?"

Emma was halfway down the stairs and pulling on her jacket. "Cora's in Storybrooke. She must have found out about Regina. I've got to go get her back."

"Well, let me come," Henry said. "I can help."

"No, kid. I want you to stay here."

"But I want to be a hero and save my mom."

Emma walked into her parent's bedroom and pulled her father's sword out from under the bed. "Henry, this isn't the 'final battle' or the 'ultimate showdown,'" she said. "This is 'Cora took Regina and I'm going to get her back before something terrible happens.' Got that?"

"It could turn into the final battle and I want a part in that," Henry suggested.

"I promise you that I won't let it become a final battle without you. I just want to get Regina back before Snow and David get home. If that's before something bad happens, then that's just a plus. I will call you if it veers into final battle territory. Deal?"

"Okay," Henry said.

"Thanks," Emma said. "If my parents get back before me, tell them anything but the truth."

"I'll tell them you took Mom out to the zoo to harvest some monkey brains for dinner."

"That works. Wish me luck."

"Good luck. Just remember; you're facing the Evil Queen's worst nightmare. She may not be able to rip your heart out, but she's still pure evil."

Emma paused for a moment. Then she swung the sword with a flourish and forced a smile. "Nice try, but you still have to do your homework."

Henry sighed and unzipped his backpack as Emma forced one foot in front of the other until she got to her car. She figured the best place to look for Cora would be the docks, so she drove in that direction. She let auto-pilot come out and let her mind mull over Henry's last words. He was right; she was facing a sight that would have made the Evil Queen tremble. Emma was so screwed.

~*oO0Oo*~

It took every ounce of courage Regina had to keep from trembling or bursting into tears. Even now, she could feel the constant tug of toddlerhood at the corners of her mind. But she was not going to give her mother the satisfaction. She could be strong. She would be alright.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Hook asked. He looked the same as Regina remembered him. Except now he was standing next to her mother. Other than that, it seemed like the years had been kind to him.

"Hook, you remember my daughter," Cora said. She moved aside so that the pirate could see the little girl hiding behind her skirts. "Regina, darling, this is Captain Hook."

"I know who he is, Mother," Regina snapped. She was proud of herself for keeping her voice steady.

Cora looked taken aback for a brief moment, but she was quick to regain her composure. "Of course you do."

Hook mumbled something that sounded vaguely like "I need rum," before taking a swig from the flask at his hip and walking away.

"What did you bring me here for?" Regina demanded.

"Well, dear," Cora started. "I wanted to talk to you."

Regina rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"You know, I had almost forgotten there was a time when you were simply an adorable child instead of the gorgeous young lady you became."

"Flattery will not get you anywhere."

"Of course it won't. You were always too smart for that," Cora said. "I brought you here because I've been watching you."

"So I suppose we're just going to pretend there was nothing creepy in that last sentence," Regina said. She was struggling to stay in control of her own mind, but Cora didn't notice. She just continued talking.

"You and I both know that you aren't happy. We know that the Charmings…well, Snow and her prince, really don't accept you and that Henry is still pulling away from you and reaching for Emma."

"What's your point?" Regina asked.

"My point is that I can help you," Cora said with a sickly sweet smile. "I can help fix this…unfortunate mishap of yours and I can help you get Henry back. I can help you find your happiness."

"No," Regina snapped.

"Dear, all I want to do is help you. That's all I've ever wanted to do."

Regina faltered for a moment. She willed herself to say something, anything, but she couldn't fight it. She felt herself losing control and the next thing she knew, she heard herself speak in a much younger, more innocent voice. "Mommy?"

~*oO0Oo*~

Emma kept glancing over at the sword on the seat next to her. She swallowed back the fear that was creeping up inside her and parked the car on the side of the road next to the docks.

She forced herself to get up and grab the sword. It was shiny and lighter than she had expected with a blade sharp enough to cut through bone. She hoped that she wouldn't have to use it for that.

Emma walked along the docks trying to find the Jolly Roger. Seriously, how hard could it be to find a pirate ship in a modern harbor? It turned out to be pretty hard. She stood by a barrel for a moment trying to think of where on earth a man with Hook's intelligence could have hidden the ship.

She stared at a rat that was sniffing around at the edge of the dock. All of a sudden, the rat took a step over the water and disappeared. Of course! Cora must have put a cloaking spell of some sort on the ship. Emma hefted the sword and crept forward. She hesitantly stepped out over the water and grinned when her foot hit a gangplank.

She kept going and emerged on the deck of the Jolly Roger. It was bare of all life save for the rat that was chewing at a piece of rope.

Emma looked around. She whipped around at the sound of a board creaking under a foot. Cora was standing there with a triumphant smile on her face.

"Emma, dear. I haven't seen you in a while."

"What did you do to Regina?" Emma snapped.

"Oh, nothing," Cora said dismissively. "She's fine. Well, maybe not fine, but I didn't do anything to her."

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked. She had a bad feeling about where this was heading.

"Come here, sweetheart," Cora said. She held out a hand and Emma watched as Regina stepped forward. Her eyes were big and scared. They were Gina's eyes.

"Emma?" Gina asked quietly.

Emma nodded and then turned to Cora. "Let her go."

"I don't see why I should. All I'm doing is helping her." Cora's voice was very matter-of-fact. "None of you see her as anything other than the Evil Queen. I'm only going to help her win back her son."

"That's not true," Emma said. "She's changing and even though my parents might not be able to see it, I do and Henry definitely does. She doesn't need you anymore."

Gina's head was bowed, but Emma could see the tears hitting the deck. She was amazed that a toddler could cry silently and for a brief moment, she wondered what Cora had done to her to mess her up so much.

"Let…her…go," Emma commanded. She brandished the sword that would be of little use if Cora decided to attack her.

Gina looked up. Her eyes were sparkling and tear tracks made paths down her cheeks. "Please, Mommy," she whispered.

Cora glared at Emma, but grudgingly let go of her daughter's hand. Gina stood stock still for a moment, but once she was sure her mother wasn't going to grab her, she bolted across the deck and stood behind Emma.

"I swear that if you ever try to take her again, I'll…"

"You'll what?" Cora asked with a smile. "Attempt to stab me with a flimsy piece of metal when I can use magic?"

"You can't rip my heart out," Emma snapped.

"You're right," Cora said. She disappeared in a puff of purple smoke and materialized about a foot away from Emma's face. Before she could react, the older woman plunged her hand into Emma's chest and wrapped a hand around her heart. "But I sure can give it a squeeze."

Cora squeezed the heart and Emma screamed. Gina stumbled back. Cora twisted her hand. Emma fell to her knees, but still the witch refused to let go. Emma tried to break away, but it wasn't working. Then suddenly she felt the hand pull away.

Emma gasped and blinked a little. The world swam in front of her eyes. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. Gina was standing in front of Cora kicking the older woman in the shin. "No!" she cried. "No more hearts!"

Cora looked shocked. She looked down at the little girl and stepped back. "Fine," she said to Emma. "Take her. But she's my daughter and I will get her back one way or another."

Emma grabbed Gina's hand and pointed the sword at Cora's chest. She didn't let her guard down until she and Gina were off of the ship and on the docks.

"That was an incredibly stupid move on your part," Regina snapped.

"How long have you been yourself?" Emma asked.

"I changed after about three kicks," Regina said. "But it was fun."

"Are you alright? What did she do to you?"

"I'm fine. She didn't…I'm fine. Where's Henry?"

"He's back at the apartment doing his homework." Regina gave Emma a disbelieving look. "I'm serious! It took a little convincing and I had to promise to let him in on the final battle, but he's doing his homework."

"Can we just go home?" Regina asked. She swiped at her eyes and ran a hand through her messy black curls.

"Yeah," Emma said. "Let's go home."

~*oO0Oo*~

"Hey, Henry," Emma said as she walked into the apartment with Regina in front of her. "Are they home yet?"

"Nope," Henry said. "But I think I hear a car pulling up outside." He looked over at Regina. "Hey, Mom. Are you alright?"

Regina didn't say anything. She just walked over to the table, climbed up onto the chair next to Henry and wrapped her arms tightly around her son. After a second, he returned the hug. Emma smiled as she watched the exchange. They broke apart just as the door swung open.

"How was everyone's day?" Snow asked.

"Did you guys have a good day?" David asked.

"I'll explain later," Emma said. "Let's have some dinner first, though."

~*oO0Oo*~

"You got beaten by a bloody toddler," Hook said. He sauntered out of the shadows with a smug smirk frozen on his face.

"I just wasn't expecting it," Cora said. "How much of it did you see?"

"I watched the whole thing and there is not enough rum in the world to make it seem like you won."

"You're drunk," Cora remarked.

"Very much so," Hook replied. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I'm not sure," Cora admitted. "But I will have my daughter back."

~*oO0Oo*~

"Wow," David said. Emma had just finished recounting the afternoon's events. "Are you two okay?"

"We're fine," Emma replied. "Call me crazy, but I don't think Cora's going to be trying something like that for a while."

Regina was upstairs. The day's events had left her so stressed and tired that she had gone to bed immediately after dinner.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Snow asked. Her voice oozed concern and she placed a hand over her daughter's.

"I told you everything," Emma said. "And I'm sure. We're both kind of shaken, but we're fine."

"And I get to help in the final battle!" Henry exclaimed.

Snow and David both shot their daughter a pointed look to which Emma simply shrugged. "He wasn't going to let me leave unless he got to help. Besides, I think if it comes down to some big final battle, we're going to need all the help we can get."

"Can we not talk about this right now?" Snow asked. "I don't even want to think about anything like that."

"Okay," Henry said. "What are we doing to tomorrow?"

"Look how smoothly he changes the subject," Emma said. "I've been training him well."

"What's tomorrow?" David asked. "I mean, it's Saturday, but is there anything special going on?"

The expression on Snow's face said she was putting two and two together. "Oh," she whispered.

Henry gave a small smile. "It's Mom's birthday."

So was it worth the wait? I'm proud of it and I hope you all liked it too. Next chapter will obviously be kind of fluffy and it's almost done, so you can look for that coming up soon. Thanks for reading and please leave a review. I love you all! :)