Guys! I feel truly awful for leaving you hanging for this long! I have no excuses except for the fact that OUAT hiatuses are hard because I don't have SQ feels constantly hitting me so I don't have as much inspiration to write! But I'm trying I promise.

Anyway, hope you enjoy! Let me know what you thing below

Phoebe xxx

"So when I felt like I'd been electrocuted?"

"That was what that was...yes."

"So...wait a second...you're telling me that somehow...all of this was supposed to happen? You were always supposed to become the evil queen, make Snow White, actual real life Snow White, my birth mother, your enemy - leading you to place a curse on the enchanted forest that would transcend the whole kingdom through realms into this world? This gross, magicless world? Just so you could meet me? Your true love"

"Fate has a funny way of playing out sometimes."

Emma stood up and walked towards the window, Regina restrained herself from following her. She understood that she probably needed space right now. She imagined it wasn't all that common to hear that fairytales were real for people in this land.

"I don't know about all of this Regina. It's a good story but...do you realise how crazy it sounds? I watched Snow White as a kid – I was terrified of the Evil Queen...and here you are telling me that you're her? And as if that wasn't enough, you're saying that Snow White and Prince Charming are the parents I've been searching so desperately for, for my entire life?"

"I know. I've never had to do this before, I'm so sorry. I'll understand if you want to leave."

Emma turned round, her eyes sympathetic and sad for Regina – she really believed that she was just going to leave her after all that had happened? Her heart ached for her – Emma new abandonment and she knew what it was like to fear it.

She walked towards Regina and knelt down in front of her, she placed a hand on her knee.

"I'm not leaving."

Regina moved her eyes up to lock with Emma's and gave a solemn smile.

"You were terrified of the cartoon Evil Queen?"

"Terrified!"

Regina beamed when Emma giggled. They sat in silence for a moment as they were taken out of their difficult reality with laughter; Regina drifted back to reality first.

"Do you believe me?"

Emma's face went serious as she figured out how to answer Regina's question. On one hand, the idea that fairytales and magic were real seemed absurd to her – she hadn't even believed in that stuff when she was a kid let alone when she was an adult. On the other hand though, she had a talent for knowing when people were lying and she could tell Regina wasn't lying. So that either meant that Regina, and apparently this whole town, were delusional enough to truly believe all this stuff or it meant that it was true. Emma had tried to make herself believe that it couldn't be true but no matter how hard she tried too much had happened. The shots of electricity every time Regina touched her, Regina saving her life without any medical assistance...this was the kind of thing you heard in fairytales; she couldn't ignore that despite all of her instincts telling her that it was all one huge coincidence.

Regina could see the uncertainty on Emma's face. What could she do to help her see that this was real – then it clicked.

"Hey." A level of cockiness rose in Regina's voice, evoking curiosity from Emma. "You want another drink?"

"Um...sure I guess." Emma stood up and got herself together.

"Well then, I'll go grab you one."

Regina hit Emma with a cheeky sideways smile before flicking her wrist. A cloud of purple smoke surrounded Regina and she was gone. Emma stopped dead, it was as though she had forgotten how to breathe.

"What the hell..." She whispered.

"Emma!" Regina's voice appeared suddenly from behind Emma, making her jump to her feet. She whirled around to see Regina, with that same cheeky grin, stood by the drinks cabinet.

"Whisky or apple cider?"

"How...how did...?"

Regina chuckled as she poured the drinks.

"Do you believe me now?"

Emma stood in shock, uncertain of what to do with herself.

Regina took the drinks and walked towards Emma, amused by her wide green eyes and open mouth. Emma didn't even flinch when Regina was but an inch away from her, she just stared at her. Regina twisted her body to the side slightly so she could set the drinks down on the table then stood up straight again, placing her arms around Emma's shoulders. Emma's body relaxed slightly upon Regina's touch.

"You don't have to understand it all right away Emma, give it time. I won't rush you."

Emma relaxed herself into Regina, sliding her hands around her waist.

"Okay."

Regina leaned into Emma's lips, tightening her arms around Emma's neck. Emma slid her hands a little further down and began to guide Regina's body towards the sofa behind them. They allowed themselves to fall onto it, breathing heavier now. Just as they were about to lose themselves in one and other, Emma stopped and sat up.

"Emma?"

"You're not gonna use magic are you?"

Regina laughed before pulling Emma back down by the belt of her jeans,

"No promises."

Emma was woken by the sound of stiletto heels pacing the floorboards – as her eyes adjusted to the light in the room, she spotted Regina frantically moving around the room collecting her things. She saw that Emma was awake through the mirror as she fixed her hair.

"I'm going to be late."

"For?"

"The town meeting!"

"Oh shoot! I forgot about that!"

Emma attempted to pull herself up off the sofa but failed miserably, falling back into a messy heap of clothes and cushions. Regina couldn't help but smile,

"You don't have to be there don't worry about it."

"Yes, yes I do...I'm the one who suggested you do it I can't just let you go in there alone. Plus, I feel like you might need someone who doesn't want to see you burned at the stake there with you?"

"That's a good point...well hurry then! I'm supposed to be there in 10 minutes!"

"Sorry! You really wiped me out last night lady...you said no magic." Emma's eyebrows creased into a childlike frown.

"What I said was no promises, if you recall." A sarcastic smirk covered Regina's face as she moved towards Emma – she gave her a quick peck on the cheek before moving on to the kitchen to get breakfast. Emma sat still for a moment, left dizzy by Regina's charm.

"I can't hear you getting changed in there!"

Emma bolted up and began getting dressed,

"What do you have eyes in the back of your head now?" Emma muttered mockingly, rolling her eyes as she pulled on her jeans.

"I heard that!"

Emma laughed, what the hell have I gotten myself into, she thought to herself.

Regina dragged a reluctant Emma by the hand towards the town hall,

"They're all gonna hate me too."

"Their hate for me will balance it out dear, don't worry." Regina stopped before the entrance to the hall, "as soon as we're finished here, we're going to see Henry okay?"

"I'd love that." A tender smile illuminated both of their faces as they looked at each other. Their moment was interrupted by Snow White,

"Come on they're all waiting!" Regina rolled her eyes and pushed past Snow, who was too busy looking at Emma. "Hi again." Tears filled Snow's eyes; Emma new then, this was real. This was her mother – the one she'd been waiting for. She snapped back to reality when she felt the tug of Regina's hand,

"I have to go...can I...can I speak to you...you and...Charming...later? Is that okay?"

"O..of course you can yes!"

Regina used all of her strength not to let any of the hundreds of sarcastic remarks she had lined up for this exact moment, for Emma's sake. She simply tugged her hand gently again and allowed her to enter the hall in front of her. Before she entered, Regina looked back at Snow,

"Do not overwhelm her, she's been through enough."

Rage coursed through Snow's veins at Regina's words, was she really telling her what not to do in front of her own daughter now? But after a second of suppressing her rage and taking deep breathes, she realised that she was right. She actually usually was right in these situations, she just had an irritatingly arrogant way of delivering her advice, that's all. Snow couldn't bring herself to tell her this though, so she just nodded her head and moved forward, avoiding eye contact with Regina as she went.

Regina's heart sank when she entered the town hall; boos, heckles and petty insults were thrown at her from all angles. Usually she would be able to handle this...with violence and jail cells – but she wanted to be a better person for Henry...for Emma. This was going to be difficult.

She met with Emma's nervous eyes; she was stood at the side of the stage, emotions coursing through her. Regina wished with all of her heart that she didn't have to see this. She persevered and marched to centre stage, gazing at her subjects with a healthy mix of threat and authority.

"If everyone could please be quiet so we can get this meeting over with?"

The townspeople's insults failed to cease.

Regina waited a couple of minutes but lost her patience, a fireball emerged from the palm of her left hand within seconds. Somewhere in the crowd, Mr. Gold smirked to himself.

The whole room gasped, including Emma.

"Oh great, you have magic again?!" The man known as Grumpy back in the Enchanted Forest grimaced.

"I would have thought it obvious to you people, of course I have magic. The curse has been lifted."

In the middle of the room, Gold stood up from his chair, smiled at Regina and then at Emma and proceeded to leave the room.

People weren't unfamiliar with Gold's suspicious behaviour so they mostly shrugged it off and returned to their Evil Queen.

"You should be in jail for what you did, what you've done to us Regina!"

"Yeah!"

The room erupted once again.

"Quiet! Do you all desire to have fireballs knock you off your chairs?"

The room quietened slightly.

"Thank you. Okay..." Regina's throat clenched up – what was she supposed to say, she didn't really have any excuses these people would deem valid. So she turned to the people she knew would give her guidance, the Charming's. Charming sensed her struggle and stepped forward,

"I think, what Regina brought you all here to tell you is that she's sorry..."

Regina side-eyed Charming, it had been a long time since apologising was even something that crossed her mind in regards to these people. She knew though, that it would be necessary if she was ever going to give Emma and Henry the lives they deserved here – so she nodded and lowered her eyes to the ground.

"We all know the awful things Regina did back in the Enchanted Forest, most of us experienced them first-hand – but what did Snow and I always say? Have hope. Hope for change. Regina, as far as I can tell, has changed; and however little that change might be – it's there. We need to acknowledge that, rather than fight it. It's understandable that you might all need time but all we ask is that you don't act upon your frustrations. Like we said, Regina has a son now...she is a mother...and it should be our priority to honour that. Especially considering the origins of the child. Emma?"

Charming grinned as he stretched his arm out towards Emma, beckoning her over. She resisted for a moment, embarrassed that the spotlight was now on her, but eventually made her way over.

"Everybody, this is Emma...our daughter, and the birth mother of Regina's son, our grandson, Henry." Charming looked at Snow tenderly as he said the words, as did she.

Silence and confused expressions filled the room.

"Right before the Ev...Regina, cast the curse, we sent Emma through a vessel into this world."

"Why?" One of the townspeople asked,

"To give her her best chance." Emma and Charming shared a moment as he placed his arm around her shoulders.

"How old are you kid?" Granny asked from across the room,

"Uh..I'm 18, almost 19."

Regina grimaced slightly at the age gap between them, evoking a small chuckle from Emma who had noticed her.

"So that's how long you've kept us hostage here, unaware of time or anything from our past Regina?"

Regina hung her head once more,

"I am sorry, and you all know how hard it is for me to admit that. It's still hard for me to stand here without insulting or hurting any of you...the darkness is in my heart, I fear it always will be. Evil runs in my blood; my mother and the circumstances she threw me into made sure of that. But I will say this, having Henry, meeting Emma...being with her -"

The townspeople exchanged awkward and mocking glances, some thought it was sweet.

"They've shown me that good still exists in the world, the good I thought had left my life forever – and I will do everything it takes to keep them safe and happy. Which, I guess, means I need to keep you people safe and happy too. So, as you can see, it's in my best interest to never hurt any of you again – I just want to be with my family...without violence, without magic, without revenge. I hope you can believe me when I say that."

The townspeople were quiet, it was a good sign. Regina surveyed the room and nodded at Emma.

"Now excuse us, we have to go and see our son."

Regina reached her hand out to Emma, who took it and gripped it tightly.

Next time in 10 Years:

"Sorry about the fireballs."

"It's okay...I thought it was hot."

"That was an awful joke Ms. Swan."