"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Emma whispered, her voice still loud in the quiet car. Henry leaned forward between the two front seats, over the center console, to place a small hand on his brunette mother's shoulder.

"Yeah, mom, you don't have to do this yet. You can wait until after our trip." Regina's eyes slipped shut, unable to continue staring at the stables.

"I need to do this in order to truly break the hold my mother had on me. She's the true reason I have such a hard time looking at it," Regina opened her eyes once more, "Daniel would want me to go in. He would want me to ride again."

Emma opened her door and heard Henry do the same. The rounded the vehicle and watched as Regina cautiously rose from her seat and stood stiff, watching the wooden building with a swirl of a emotions. The blonde turned her face, never taking her gaze away from her fiancée, and whispered to Henry, "Kid, go away by the arena, okay? We'll be right there."

Henry caught on immediately, knowing his brunette mother was having a difficult time and that Emma wanted to be there to pick up the pieces without worrying about traumatizing him, so he threw Regina a supportive smile before jogging to the wooden fence and climbing to sit on it's flat top. Emma stepped into Regina's personal space.

"You ready?" The brunette blew out a breath before nodding, taking small steps towards the stables with Emma following closely behind. She wanted Regina to have some semblance of space as they entered the wooden structure, the neighing of horses reverberating off of the walls.

Regina inhaled shakily, her lips quivering as she stared at one of the empty stalls, before whispering, "When you were gone, Whale brought him back to life. He wasn't the man I knew, and loved, though and I was forced… to end his life once more."

Emma did not need clarification. She knew exactly what the brunette was talking about and even though Charming had mentioned the incident, the blonde felt tears gather in the corner of her eyes.

"Before his death, the stables were a beacon for me, a place where I could be myself. I suppose my love for horses and riding contributed to my crush on the stable boy, that sweet boy. It was my haven… until it became my nightmare. After he passed, I rode horses as the Evil Queen but I never entered the stables. I had one of my servants do it for me. Then, when I arrived in Storybrooke, I found that Rumple had included this stable from our home into the curse."

Emma felt dread crawl up her windpipe, "Why this one?"

"This… is where my mother took his life, my childhood stable," Emma saw her shoulders bounce and took a step toward her love as Regina point at the dirt floor to the left, "Right there, that's the exact spot where she did it, where I kissed him over and over, begging every and any fairy or Fate to bring him back to me. Right there, Emma, that's where I became the Evil Queen."

Emma eye's burned painfully but she bit her tongue, hoping the pain would overshadow the sadness, "And here you are, my love, facing those memories willingly and truly releasing the hold that Cora had on you."

"She will not keep me from riding, not anymore. Daniel would want me to ride again. He's smiling down right now. I can feel it." Her voice was so shy, so uncharacteristic of the fiery brunette, that Emma closed the space between them. She was right. It felt like a higher being was watching over them happily, encouraging them forward.

"He may not be breathing but he'll always be here," Emma pressed her palm against Regina's chest before pulling her hand to pat her own chest, "And he'll always live inside of me too because he pushes me to love you the way you deserve."

Regina smiled, her lips stretching genuinely as a few tears streaked her cheek, "Thank you, darling."

"Come on, Gina," She tucked a rogue hair behind Regina's ear, "Let's get you back in that saddle."

The brunette chuckled as she opened one of the stalls, revealing a dark brown Arabian that bobbed its head as Regina approached with her hand cupped, "Hello, there. Emma, check the stall door. Does it have a name?"

The blonde tilted her head and chuckled, "Well, damn, his name is Royal."

"Fitting." Regina cooed as the horse allowed her to scratch his jowls. The brunette spent a while longer allowing the horse to become accustomed to her touch and smell before setting up the gear and leading the imposing horse through the stables and into the arena, where Henry cheered when he saw their entry. She led the horse to the center before peering at her lover.

"Give me a boost, will you?" She asked and Emma quickly strode over to her, bending to offer her cupped hands as a stepping stool. She threw her leg over the saddle, her muscle memory carrying all of her actions. It felt as if she never stopped as she clicked her tongue and the horse moved forward, their motions completely in sync. Emma jogged to where Henry was sitting on the fence and leaned against the wooden post next to him. They watched as the brunette and the horse became one, their movements graceful, elegant, and resembling the manners of a carefree woman. The smile was genuine, Regina's giggles of contentment floating by them as they continued striding across the arena. Henry eyes shut slowly, allowing his ear to listen to the jovial laughter surrounding the area. He didn't need to see her.

He wanted to experience her. He wanted to listen to the sounds of the gallops and chuckles blending harmoniously. He wanted to smell Emma's perfume meld with the scent of cleaned stalls and brushed mammals. He wanted to be there in every way.

Emma, on the other hand, couldn't take her eyes off of the woman. Her hands were resting on her belly, excitement tingling in her extremities, as she forced her eyes to stay unblinking, not wanting to miss a moment. Regina bolted through the arena, occasionally throwing her family a small smile. The blonde savored those moments, trying to tattoo those smiles into her brain so that she could never forget such a light, jovial expression on Regina's usually scrunched face.

"She's always been so magnificent at this." Emma snapped her eyes to gaze behind Henry, seeing her mother standing there, staring at Regina in awe. Snow had always admired her former stepmothers talent in riding. She used to watch, for hours, from her balcony at the palace as Regina rode around the surrounding forest. She always strived to reach her level of excellence.

"She's awesome." Henry whispered, opening his eyes at last. Emma nodded in agreement as Regina guided the horse to hop over an obstacle with precision and finesse.

"Is she excited about tomorrow?" Snow shuffled to rest her arms on the wooden post where Henry was sitting calmly.

"Oh, yeah," Emma chuckled, "She's been packing and gathering intel on the Internet about Six Flags and all of it's attractions."

"Oh, me too!" Snow whispered back excitedly. It seemed that they didn't want to rupture the serene atmosphere or overpower the gentle sounds of Regina and Royal, "It's going to be so much fun!"

Emma snorted, "It's going to be a disaster. An awesome disaster but still…"

"Oh hush! It's the first time we're going to vacation together as a unit, as a family!" Snow smiled so brightly that Emma felt her lips tilt upward automatically.

"Yeah, we're a dysfunctional yet wonderful family, huh?"

"Well, duh." Henry answered, his eyes falling closed once more to take in the joyous moment. Ever since Emma and Snow returned from the Enchanted Forest and Regina was diagnosed with the broken heart, all he had wished for was coming true. He had the family he always dreamed of and a trip to Six Flags was like an epiphany because, not only did they have the next two weeks to enjoy life and leisure, they had a life time to experience each other, love one another unconditionally.

It was just the beginning.

A/N: Next up, we finally go to Six Flags! The trip will take up several chapters so prepare for a wild ride with the Swan-Mills and Charming families. And thank you for your reviews and encouragement!