Hello everyone! I am so sorry that this has taken so long! I had a little writers block, and then I was emotionally scarred by The Miller's Daughter, which required a fair bit of time to recover from. Seriously, I saw it coming but…the way they did it was just…I don't think I will ever forget Regina's face at that moment. After that, I went to see Oz the Great and Powerful with a couple of friends and I got really caught up in a story suggested by my friend, which I only recently managed to finish writing. Its mainly centred on Evanora, who I absolutely loved (I couldn't help it. I went in there without the assumption that I would like the villain, but it happened). Take a look if you like :) So, this chapter is pretty long, which hopefully makes up for the wait, though I do apologise if its too long ;)

Anyway, before we move onwards, I just want to say thank you. Thank you to all of you that reviewed after I told you about that hater. Thank you so much for the encouragement and assurance that it is actually worth my time continuing this story. Just…thanks. It gave me the strength to ignore that hate message, and the one that came after it. Really, it means a lot :)

One last thing. This chapter has a lot of fluffy bits. There is a fair bit of Henry/Regina and Regina/Hook moments, which was probably brought on by the Miller's Daughter. I just needed to write some good things for the woman. I hope its not too out of character. Oh, and I'm also going to continue calling Hook by his nickname, because it'll get a bit confusing (to me at least) if I start changing it now.

I hope you like this one! Please review!

Chapter 10

It was still dark when he buried her body.

He stood beside the empty grave, watching as the last specks of dirt float up to land on the growing pile of earth at its edge. At his feet was the body of the woman who had once been his apprentice, her corpse covered in a red sheet.

Aside from the rhythmic sound of rain pattering on plastic, it was relatively silent in the graveyard. It was still raining heavily, and the ground was partly obscured by a faint mist that puffed and swirled around his feet. The sun would be rising soon.

He uncurled his index finger from around the hilt of the umbrella and pointed. The body rose slowly into the air and down into the grave, settling gently on the earthen floor. Even in the past, when he took what he wanted and killed when he pleased, he had treated the dead with respect. There were some things that were beyond his power to control, and what happened in the afterlife was one of them. Perhaps he had treated the dead with dignity because he believed that they might accept him when his time came.

There were very few stars left in the sky now. Gold stood still, leaning on his cane, staring down into the darkened grave. The world around him was silent and still, as if waiting with baited breath for his next move.

Red suited the situation, he thought. Red was the colour of anger, the colour of passion, and Cora had certainly had both. Even before their relationship, he had seen her passionate nature. Red was the colour of the blood she had spilt, the colour that had marred her daughter's back before turning to pale scars. Red was the colour of the hearts she enchanted, the colour of power as it glinted in her eyes.

Red was the colour he had first seen her in, at a ball in another time in another land. Red was the colour of the mask that had really shown her true nature, rather than hiding her identity. Red was the colour of the rose behind her ear, the stain of her lips as she mocked the King.

Oh yes, red was definitely Cora's colour.

A puff of smoke, and a flower appeared in his gloved hand. A deep red rose, the colour of blood, with a long stem dotted with thorns. Odd, he thought, that an object of nature could so perfectly resemble the woman he had once loved. Beautiful, but capable of inflicting pain.

He crouched down, and with a nod the sheet flew away from her head, until it covered only her waist down. Her hands were folded on her chest, her eyes closed, and her face already pale from the lack of blood. He reached down and slid the rose beneath her pale hands. He'd always marvelled that such delicate hands were capable of crushing hearts so efficiently. He gazed at her face for a while, his head tilted, as if studying her. He hadn't really had the opportunity since her arrival in Storybrooke. She hadn't aged much since he had last seen her in the Enchanted Forest, overseeing the arrangements for her daughter's wedding. There were a few more lines around her mouth, the crow's feet more prominent in the corners of her eyes, but she still looked exactly the same as the woman he had grown to hate.

It was remarkable to believe that he had once loved her. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so surprised when she rebuffed him and broke his heart once more. After all, she had been his apprentice, and every teacher should be wary for the day that their student surpassed them.

He stood, waving his hand so that the sheet covered her once more. The soil fell back into the grave, and above the sky had begun to pale. Another wave of his hand, and a simple white tomb stone appeared from the turned soil, marking the place her head rested. There was not much he could do apart from that.

He stood still for a moment, gazing at the smooth surface of marble. Then he raised his cane and touched the tip to the centre of the stone. Words began to appear on the stone. When they stopped, the tomb bore the inscription; Cora Mills. A woman of red.

He smiled slightly. There was no one around, no one to see it, but perhaps if there had been they might have wondered when the pawn broker had started to look so old.

He bowed deeply, tucking one foot behind his injured leg and sweeping his arm out to the side as he leaned heavily on his cane, allowing his body to be exposed to the rain for one moment, reminiscent to his time as the deal making imp. Then he stood and looked down at the tomb one last time. 'Good bye, my dear'.

Golden light flooded the scene as the sun rose over the horizon, rays of pastel pink and yellow arching up into the pale sky. Rumplestiltskin turned to watch the sunrise, and behind him the white marble turned gold.

Hook was awoken by a small hand shaking his shoulder. Used to having to wake at a moment's notice on the rough seas, the pirate opened his eyes immediately. Hazy pale light drifted through the windows, spilling over the twisted sheets. He could hear the pattering of rain on the window panes. The morning light left the room shrouded in darkness, and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. In the brief moment of confusion, his arms tightened instinctively around the warm body in his arms.

The hand continued its persistent shaking. A familiar voice hissed, 'Hook, wake up!'

His eyes focused eventually, and he realised that Henry was standing by the bed, his small hand on the man's bare shoulder. Hook frowned at him, opening his mouth. Henry put a finger to his lips, shaking his head slightly as he motioned to the woman still sound asleep.

Regina was lying curled against Hook, her head still resting on his shoulder, her arm wrapped tightly around his waist as her hand lay atop his strong chest. She was breathing deeply and steadily, her lips parted slightly, her face soft and relaxed. It was nice to know that she could escape reality in her dreams. The faint light glistened on her cheeks, evidence of the tears she had shed during the night until exhaustion had finally claimed her and she fell asleep on his shoulder. He reached out and brushed a lock of dark hair away from her face, his heart arching for her. He could barely remember his parents, but he did remember that he had loved them. That he had grieved when they died.

How would it feel, knowing that the only reason that your mother was dead was because someone had tried to kill you? That the only reason you lived was because the heart that you had believed to be yours, had been someone else's?

He turned his attention back to Henry. The little boy was standing in the doorway now. With a finger still pressed against his lips for silence, he beckoned to the pirate with his other hand. Hook hesitated, reluctant to leave the warmth of Regina's embrace, to leave her alone. The last thing he wanted was for her to wake to find herself alone. But the boy's expression was insistent and pleading, so with a soft sigh he gently eased himself from her hold.

Regina murmured incoherently, her hands clutching at the bed sheets as he stood. He pulled the covers up around her, only to pause. He stared down at his restored hand for a moment, marvelling at how much easier the simple action had been. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, his hand lingering against her cheek for a moment.

The cold air hit his bare chest abruptly, and he shivered, goose bumps breaking out on his arms. Bending, he scooped up his dark cotton shirt from the crumpled pile, tugging it over his head. He smoothed out the wrinkles as he left the room. He was used to the cold, but the shirt was more for a sense of decency. Something that he had never really felt the need for before.

Out on the landing, Henry turned to the pirate. 'Emma and the others wanted a word with you'.

Hook only raised his eyebrows, rubbing a hand over his face tiredly. 'Well, I wouldn't want to keep royalty waiting, now would I?'

Henry grinned. He liked this pirate, at least, what he knew of him. He wasn't anything like the Captain Hook from the Disney movie. His eyes moved automatically to the hook that had given him his name, only to gasp in astonishment when he saw that it was gone. 'You got your hand back'.

Hook looked down at his restored hand, smiling as his fingers clenched and unclenched with ease. 'Your mother is a very skilled woman Henry'.

Henry bit his lip, biting back the question he desperately wanted to ask. It could wait. Instead, he gestured down the staircase. 'You'd better go. They're in the dining room'.

Hook nodded. He left the boy standing at the top of the stairs and walked quickly towards the dining room. He wanted to get back to Regina as soon as possible, so it was best to try and get this over with.

Henry waited until he was out of sight before padding down the stairs to follow. He had no idea what the Charmings wished to talk to the pirate about, but anything that concerned Hook most likely concerned his mom, and anything that concerned his mom was his business now.

Hook paused in the doorway, assessing the scene. Emma and Snow were sitting at the table, Charming pacing up and down behind them. Emma was slumped against the back of her chair, her fingers drumming a rhythm on the wooden table top. Snow was watching her husband pace, her eyes bleary and unfocused. Snow and Emma were wearing a pair of borrowed pyjamas. James looked exhausted, as if he had had very little sleep. Judging by the brightness of the day, it had only been a few hours since their arrival at the mansion.

Emma looked up, having sensed his presence. She blinked rapidly at his state of clothing. He had not had time to button up his shirt completely, and a good amount of his muscled chest was exposed through the opening. It occurred to him that she probably thought that he and Regina had done far more than just sleeping last night. He flashed her a charming smile and she flushed. 'Sit down, Hook'.

Grinning, the pirate pulled a chair out and sat down in it, the cool wood sending a shiver up his back as the chill seeped through his shirt. James glowered at him as he too sat down, and Emma kept her eyes fixed on his face. 'What was it you wanted to talk about?'

The Charmings exchanged a glance. Snow was the first to speak, propping her chin on her palm as she rested her elbow on the table. 'It's about Regina actually'.

Hook's posture straightened noticeably. He placed his hands on the table and leaned forwards, his temper shortening. 'If you're about to tell me to keep away from her then you can go to hell'. His voice was low, a warning held at the back of his throat, but in his eyes there was a fierce determination. As if he would fight them all if he had to. Perhaps he was jumping to conclusions, but he was tired and he had been pulled from a warm bed beside his lover, and he really wanted to get back to her.

James shot him a glare. 'I would appreciate it if you didn't talk to my wife like that Hook'. His found Hook's restored hand and his eyebrows went up. 'Though it seems that that isn't really an appropriate name for you anymore'.

Emma and Snow stared at his healed hand, their expressions surprised. 'Regina gave you back your hand'. There was no question there, and Snow sounded like she had just received confirmation of something.

Hook crossed his arms over his strong chest. 'Yes, she did. And my name is Killian, for those of you who do not know'. He sent the prince a pointed look. 'Captain Killian Jones'.

'Well, Killian, we were not going to tell you to keep away from Regina. Quite the opposite in fact'.

Hook turned his full attention to the prince, his posture becoming less defensive as the man continued. 'We know that you love her, and that she loves you, the fact that you broke the sleeping curse proves that. However, some people do stupid things in the name of love. For instance, someone may leave their loved one in the belief that they are keeping them safe'.

'What we are trying to say is that you are not to leave Regina. You are not to abandon her in the belief that you are trying to keep her safe, or anything of that sort. She wouldn't survive loosing you, not now. The return of the Evil Queen was enough to prove that'. Snow's voice was firm, almost threatening, and suddenly Hook understood exactly what they were saying.

And he laughed. 'You're worried that I'm going to leave her, for some reason or other, to keep her safe or to protect her or because I believe that I am no good for her, right?'

They nodded. Emma held his gaze. 'She may not want us, but we are here now, and as long as Henry is in the picture, as long as Regina needs us, we aren't going anywhere. And if you hurt her in anyway, we will make you pay, do you understand?'

It was almost amusing, the idea that they were worried that he was going to leave Regina when all he wanted to do for the rest of his life was to hold her and never let her go. He leaned across the table, and there was no humour in his eyes as he spoke. 'Sweetheart, understand me when I say this; the day I leave Regina will be the day I die'. If he could just get them back to his ship, then the option of dying of old age would at least be eliminated.

There was a silence. Hook leaned back in his chair, his posture returning to a relaxed indifference. 'If that is all, I'd rather not leave her alone for longer than necessary'.

When he received no reply, he stood and bowed exaggeratedly. 'You're Majesties'.

He was almost out of the room when Snow called out, 'Killian, understand us when we say that we know that you love her, and that we are glad. We only wish to ensure that she isn't hurt anymore'.

He cast them a glance over his shoulder. Snow's eyes were earnest, and he had little difficulty believing that she was honestly interested in her step-mother's wellbeing. Emma's jaw was set with determination, and he had the feeling that he would have to spend a little more time gaining her trust, especially after the events in the Enchanted Forest. James however, was smiling. He had walked in on them after all. He had seen the bond between them, and he had been the one to put two and two together when he discovered that Regina had awakened from the sleeping curse. He trusted Hook's word. After all, this was the man that had been bent on revenge against Rumplestiltskin since the moment he got here; the man who had not yet made a move to extract that revenge, and who probably never would now. There were very few reasons that someone would abandon their revenge, he knew that. Love was one of them.

Hook nodded at them, acknowledging Snow's attempt to restore the peace, and then left. He wasn't offended. In fact, it was strangely gratifying to know that these people no longer seemed to hate Regina. It meant that there were less people for him to threaten into not hurting her.

He was about to mount the staircase when he realised that Henry was sitting on the top step, clearly having been waiting for him. After a brief hesitation, the pirate sat down next to the boy, his eyebrows raised in question. Henry looked like he was struggling to keep his thoughts contained. Finally, the boy said, 'I heard what you said. Is it true? That you love my mom and that you won't hurt her?'

Hook nodded simply. He shared a common ground with this boy. They both loved Regina, and they would both do everything in their power to ensure that they never lost her. He could tell that seeing Regina on her knees while Gold crushed what they assumed had been her heart had affected the boy greatly. He was growing up, far too quickly, and Hook could relate to that.

Henry bit his lip. 'So…because you love her, does that mean that you'll marry her?'

Hook blinked rapidly, a little taken aback. He had not married Milah. It hadn't been what the woman wanted, and even he had to admit that he had been a little too immature for a commitment of that kind. Despite no longer being that boy that didn't grow up, he had believed that he was, in some ways, invincible. That had changed when he'd been forced to watch his lover die. 'I…I would, yes…if that was what she wanted'.

The little boy's brow was furrowed in thought. 'So…does that mean that I should start calling you Dad?'

Hook's heart thudded to a halt. Children. He'd always like them; he'd had to. He'd lived for several hundred years with nothing but children for company. And, in a way, he'd been more of a father to them than a companion. He'd been the eldest, the leader, the one that Tinker Bell had intrusted with looking after them. When he'd grown up, the thought of having a child had crossed his mind. But his position had not allowed it. A ship was no place for raising a baby, though he had no qualms against having children on his ship. He smiled at Henry, a little shakily. 'You can call me whatever you like, Henry'.

Henry smiled back. 'I've never had a father'.

Hook laughed. 'Well, I've never had a son, so it's the first time for both of us'.

There was a comfortable silence between them, and if Hook noticed that the little boy had moved closer to him and was now leaning against his side slightly, he didn't mention it. Eventually, the boy's curiosity got the better of him. 'So, obviously the Disney version of you was completely wrong –'

'Disney?' Hook turned his head to look down at the boy, raising an eyebrow in question. 'What on earth is Disney?'

Henry grinned. He stood up and hurried down the staircase, disappearing into the living room before Hook was able to ask what he was doing. Hook glanced over his shoulder at the main bedroom. He really wanted to get back to Regina. He was worried that she might not realise what had happened when she first woke up. He was worried that when she found herself alone she would panic.

A moment later, Henry reappeared, clutching a thin rectangular object in his hand. He sat down beside the pirate again and handed it to him. Hook turned it over in his hands, frowning at the title emblazoned across the strange, shiny material. Peter Pan. His eyebrows went up as he took in the pictures displayed around the title. He frowned at a picture of a man dressed in a red coat and hat, brandishing a hook up at the sky, where the head of a young boy was displayed. 'Is that meant to be me?' The disgust was palpable in his tone.

Henry smiled, glad that the pirate was catching on. 'Disney is a movie company. A movie is a moving picture; I'll have to show it to you one day'. There was a question behind the statement, and Hook inclined his head, his curiosity aroused. There were so many things about this world that he did not understand. 'Walt Disney was the name of the man who originally built the movie company. They adapted lots of classic fairy tales into movies. This one is about Peter Pan and his nemesis, Captain Hook, along with the Lost Boys, Tinker Bell and the Darling siblings'.

Hook felt his breath catch slightly, his eyes fixing on the picture of a flying girl in a blue dress as Henry indicated her. He traced her small drawn face with his pinkie finger. 'Wendy'.

Henry looked surprise, though excitement shone deep in his eyes. 'Yeah. Did you know her?'

A smile softened the man's face, a smile that Henry had only ever seen directed at his mother. 'You could say that'. The man seemed to shake himself. 'Still, that looks nothing like me!'

Henry laughed, shifting closer to the man until he was leaning against his arm, pointing again to the representation of Captain Hook. 'Obviously they got it a bit wrong. Still, is it true that you had a flying ship?'

Still greatly displeased with this world's image of him, Hook nodded. 'Oh yes. Well, it was a little more complicated than that. The fairy dust that allowed the ship to fly was the same type of fairy dust that enabled the Lost Boys to travel to different worlds. As long as there was magic in the world I wished to travel to, I could go wherever I wished'.

Henry frowned again, wanting to get the exact details. 'But how come the Lost Boys could come here?'

Hook shook his head. 'They never came to this world. Well, one of them did, but that happened an entirely different way. They most frequently visited the Enchanted Forest. Though, sometimes people from this world ended up in Neverland. You have to understand, portals between worlds are actually quite common. More than that, there are some places where the barrier separating worlds is thin, so much so that a surge of energy can break it. Once or twice, when those in Neverland were able to work out the exact point in time, they were able to return people to their real world, sometimes with the use of a magic bean. But no, the Lost Boys never came here. There wasn't any magic here until recently, which unfortunately I didn't know about until we got here. If I had, I would have been able to use my ship'. He cast a glance at Henry's excited expression. 'Perhaps if we ever get back to the Enchanted Forest I'll teach you how to sail my ship'.

Henry had that fascinated look he always got when he heard the real stories of the fairy tale characters he had grown up reading about. 'Wow…thanks!' A beat of silence. 'And Peter Pan, was he real?' He couldn't stop thinking about what Hook had said. Perhaps the writer of the original Peter Pan novel had actually been to Neverland once.

Hook's smile fell a little. 'As real as you and me. I knew him very well. Perhaps one day I'll tell you the story of how he grew up and became a pirate, and fell in love with a beautiful queen. But for now Henry, I should get back to your mother'. He stood and ruffled the boy's hair. 'I look forward to watching a…movie with you'. He cast the DVD one last bemused look.

Henry watched him go, his eyes round and wide as the pieces slotted together in his head. A slow, ecstatic smile curved his mouth as excitement shone in his eyes. His muscles stretched stiffly, but he did not stop. It felt good to smile again. 'Huh…my future dad is Peter Pan. Cool'.

Regina started awake. Her mind was still foggy, reluctant to be pulled from the depths of sleep, and she blinked blearily at her surroundings. She was lying alone on her stomach in a familiar bed, the sheets bunched at her waist. For some reason, part of her was sure that it was unexpected to find herself alone, though she couldn't fathom why. She'd woken alone her whole life.

Extending her hands out, she pushed her torso off the bed, arching her back as she stretched, her lips parting wide as she yawned. She sat up and leaned against the wall behind her, pulling the sheets with her to ward against the early chill. It was still raining outside, and in the pale light she was just able to see that the sky was a dull grey.

Hugging her arms, she tried to make sense of what had happened. There was an emotion building inside her that she couldn't quite comprehend, and every time she tried to understand what it was she instinctively flinched away. As if she subconsciously knew that understanding what it was would only bring her pain. Her hand drifted up to rest over her heart, her fingers massaging the skin through her silk shirt. There was an arch of emptiness deep inside her chest, and the more she thought about it the more she felt fear stir in the pit of her stomach.

She yawned again, conscious of how bone weary she felt, and was startled to feel her skin stretch painfully. Reaching up, she realised that it was because there were dried tears on her cheeks.

More alert now, her dark eyes flittered about the room, searching for a clue as to how she had ended up here, with an arch in her chest and tears on her cheeks, and the strangest feeling that she shouldn't have woken alone.

Her eyes came to rest on a pile of clothes dumped just outside her bathroom. The top most item of clothing was a crumpled shirt that had clearly once been white, but was now stained with dirt. And blood. It was dried blood, an unpleasant brown colour, but she recognised it all the same.

Blood. She looked down at her hands, lying in her lap, and lifted them in front of her face. They were shaking badly, but she didn't see that. She saw blood. It dripped from her fingers and slipped down her wrists, pooling in the lines of her palm. It screamed at her. All her past deeds, her crimes, all the people she had had a hand in killing. They screamed pain at her, tears, the pitiful high cries of the children she sent to the Blind Witch, the wails of women and the howls of men. She wanted to block her ears, but there was blood on her hands, and she didn't want to touch anything.

And she remembered. Her eyes closed as a face rose behind her lids. Her mother. Her mother's blood was on her hands. The woman whose love she had always longed for was gone, and it was her fault. Despite the circumstances, she had killed her mother as surely as she had killed her own father. Another face joined her mother's, the face of a man who had loved her, despite everything, and who she had killed to enact a curse that had not brought her the happiness she had wished for.

She had never believed that she was the actually the Evil Queen until she ripped her father's heart from his chest.

A violent sob tore from her chest as she thought about her father and her mother, and the fact that everyone she had loved had died because of her. But she had no more tears left to cry, and her eyes remained dry despite the desire she felt to sob until her tears washed the blood away. She fell sideways on the bed, curling up into a ball tightly, hugging her knees to her chest until her nails dug painfully into her skin. She breathed heavily, staring at a wave in the sheets. There was no blood on her hands now, but she could still hear the screams. She could still see her parent's faces flickering in her peripheral vision.

More than once, she had considered taking her own heart from her chest, simply to stop the pain love had brought her. Of course, now she knew that it hadn't been her heart. She didn't understand how she could still feel so awful, how she could still feel the pain and the guilt and the misery when she had no heart to feel with.

Perhaps it was just that losing your heart meant that you couldn't feel love anymore.

'Regina?'

She didn't move. Was that voice actually real, or was it in her head? A weight descended on bed beside her, and a warm hand cupped her shoulder. A thumb smoothed over the silk pyjamas, massaging the tense muscles, and then rolled her gently onto her back. She stared up at the ceiling, unwilling to look at the person leaning over her, just encase they really were a figment of her imagination. The hand on her shoulder trailed up to her face. Strong fingers gripped her chin lightly, tilting her head so that she was forced to look at the person sitting beside her.

Hook frowned down at her slightly, taking in the ever present grief and guilt in her dark eyes, the way she was gripping her knees so tightly that he could see her nails digging into her skin beneath the silk pants. She stared at him in a way that gave the impression that she was expecting him to disappear at any moment. 'What is it, love?'

She blinked, once, twice, three times. Then she rolled onto her front and pushed herself into a sitting position, the sore muscles in her back screeching in protest. She sat cross legged, her hands lying limply in her lap, and stared at him. Carefully, she stretched out a hand towards him. He was sitting just out of reach, but he shuffled closer to her so that she could touch him. She placed her hand in the gap in his shirt and pushed it sideways, moving her hand until it rested over his heart. She sat there for a moment, feeling the steady beat against her hand. Then she took a deep breath, a weight seeming to lift from her shoulders. Her memories and dreams had merged overnight, and once she had remembered the events of the night before, she had mistaken a particularly vivid nightmare in which he and Henry had both died for reality. 'You're alive'.

He reached up to cover her hand with his own, nodding slowly. He felt a little like he was treading on very thin ice. Regina might have cried the night before, but he knew that grief lingered, as did mourning. Her face bore an absence of expression. It was hard to read what she was going to do next. 'I am. So is Henry'.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Then she pulled her hand away and laid them in her lap, tracing the creases in her palms with her eyes. When she moved from one line to the other, the line she left behind darkened with blood. Perhaps she was going mad.

'Regina…' Hook reached out and took her face in his hands. His hands were rough and warm, familiar, as they smoothed over her soft skin. His fingers rested in her hair. He moved closer, so close that she could see that his brown eyes lightened around his pupils. 'Talk to me. Please. What is wrong?'

She sighed heavily. Of course, he loved her, and she should have remembered that it was very difficult to hide anything from the person you loved. And Hook had always been good at reading people. After all, he'd had a life time to practise. 'I don't have a heart'.

Hook nodded again, still not releasing his hold on her. She took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. 'So…I can't…how can I love you when I don't have a heart? How can I love Henry, when I don't have a heart to feel with?'

He tilted his head, concern and compassion shinning in his entrancing eyes. 'Love, tell me, what do you feel right now?'

Regina closed her eyes, focusing on the numerous feelings and emotions racing around her head. 'I… I feel guilty and miserable and disgusted with myself. I feel like I could spend the rest of my life mourning for those I've lost, for those I've killed, and those emotions wouldn't go away'. Her voice caught as her throat restricted on the last words. She hadn't really ever admitted how much those deaths had haunted her. No one knew about the nightmares that had plagued her, even as the Evil Queen.

His thumbs smoothed over her cheek bones, wiping away a tear that had leaked from her left eye. 'Exactly. You feel. You may not have a heart Regina, but you are still capable of emotion and feeling. Cora didn't have a heart, and she was still capable of anger and fear and…and love. She loved you Regina. No matter all the evidence to the contrary, she did love you. She wasn't able to act on it properly, or to express it, or even to acknowledge it personally, because she wasn't in possession of her heart. But she did love you'. And, as far as he was concerned, it was true. Cora had loved Regina. She just hadn't known how to love someone. He couldn't help but wonder what might have happened if they had been able to give her heart back to her. Things would be drastically different, that much was certain.

Regina bit her lip and swallowed, a small whimper escaping her lips as she tried to keep the emotions buried. 'I killed her, Killian'.

His eyes flashed angrily. 'No you didn't'. His voice was sharp, and his grip on her face tightened just ever so slightly, causing her to open her eyes in surprise. 'Gold killed her, Regina. Gold was the one that reached into your chest and pulled your heart out. He was the one that started to crush it, because he was too cowardly to face her himself'.

Regina gnawed her lip anxiously, realising that Hook was missing a vital piece of information. 'He only did that because I asked him too'.

There was a long, shocked silence. Slowly, Hook let his hands fall from her face, his eyes wide. A small voice broke the tension. 'You wanted him to kill you?'

Regina started, her eyes darting to the doorway. Henry stood there, looking smaller than she remembered in a woollen dressing gown that was too big for him. She felt emotion flood her body as she realised that the dressing gown was hers. His eyes were round and his mouth open, and shock and betrayal and disbelief flashed in his eyes. 'Why?'

'Henry…' Regina looked from one to the other, slightly surprised by the similarities in their expressions. Fear twisted in her stomach. Would the secret she had kept from them be enough to drive them away from her? 'I…when we were at the diner, when everyone was arguing about what to do, I asked him to kill me if everything went wrong, if all was lost and there was no hope for us. I did it because I knew that if I was dead, Cora would have no reason to hurt you'. The name was painful as it slipped from her tongue, and she felt the emotion tightening painfully around her chest and throat. Their identical expressions had not changed. 'I wanted to protect you. I wanted to protect you both'.

Hook folded his arms over his chest, frowning at her. 'Regina… are you saying that you planed it before hand? You went into that confrontation with the knowledge that you might actually be sacrificing yourself?' Anger darkened his eyes, but it was hard to tell whether the anger was directed at her, or himself. How could he have not realised?

Regina flinched at his tone. A small, regretful smile curved her lips. 'You know what they say; heroes are the ones willing to make sacrifices for what they believe in. Heroes are the ones willing to die to save the people they love'. Her eyes travelled from Hook to Henry. 'Perhaps I was tired of being the villain of the story. Maybe, childishly, I wanted to be the hero for once'.

Henry walked into the room and stood beside Hook. 'Mom…did you do that because I told you that I wanted you to be better for me? That I wanted you to try to be a good person?'

Regina leaned forwards and grabbed his small hands, pulling him closer to the bed so that she could wrap her arms around his shoulders. He returned the hug without hesitation, and she could almost imagine that there had never been any problems in their relationship. 'Don't blame yourself Henry. I asked Gold to do what he did because I'd lost too much to risk that his plan wouldn't work. I'd been disappointed and betrayed too many times to leave your lives in the hands of a man who has had a life time of experience in manipulating people. I did it because… I did it because I love you. I love you and I love Killian, and I will always do everything within my power to keep you both safe. I will fight with my last breath to ensure that nothing happens to you. I am your mother after all'. She pulled back, her hands on his shoulders. Her smile was soft and reassuring, and he could almost imagine that everything was fine, that she was comforting him after a nightmare. If only he couldn't feel her hands shaking through the woollen dressing gown.

But he smiled. He could see the fear in her eyes. The fear and the worry that what she had done would drive him away. and he realised now, possibly more than he ever had before, exactly what he had done to her during the time he had believed her to be the Evil Queen. The woman before him thrived on love, drank it in like water and devoured it like the chocolate he had always been so fond of. Deprived of it, she turned desperate and dangerous in her quest to find it again. He had pushed her away when in fact he was the one who had been capable of destroying the last remnants of the Evil Queen in the first place. 'Mom…for what it's worth…you're a hero to me. You put those you love first, and you nearly died in the process. You lost something that no one should have to lose'. He reached up and pressed his hand against her silk pyjama top, just over the place her heart had once been. 'You've suffered more than half the heroes I've read about have…' he trailed off, feeling a little self-conscious. But he had to keep going. He had to at least try and make up for what he had done. 'I never really understood how you could be the Evil Queen. I was angry that you'd lied to me and that you'd cursed all these people for a reason that was never stated in my book. I was…just angry. And I took it out on you. But that woman who was ready to kill her own mother while she was unable to defend herself was not you. That was the Evil Queen. And I know now that she only surfaces when you believe that you've lost everything. She only rises when you believe that all chance of love and happiness is gone. So…love should keep her away. Hook…Killian, loves you. I love you. And we'll always be here to make sure that you never believe anything else'.

Regina couldn't breathe. Her blood was pounding in her ears, and her lungs restricted painfully. If she had had a heart, it would have been beating frantically against her ribs. When had her little boy become so grown up? When had he developed the ability to choose the exact words that she needed to hear, without making them superficial? If she'd had any tears left, she was pretty sure she would be bawling at that moment. She lunged and wrapped her arms around Henry, pulling him onto the bed and into her lap with surprising strength. The boy squealed, the surprised sound dissolving into ecstatic laughter as Regina hugged him tightly. He returned the hug with just as much strength, pressing his face against her collar bone. Regina pressed a kiss against his forehead. 'I love you, Henry'.

Hook could feel his anger at her dissolving as he watched mother and son embrace. Henry's little speech had touched him, and he couldn't help but feel that the boy was a lot more mature than he appeared sometimes. Then again, he had understood Hook's original reluctance to attempt to wake Regina from the sleeping curse. He was a child that had grown up too quickly, a boy who had seen more than half the adults that inhabited this new strange world. He was a boy that had nearly lost his mother on more than one occasion, who had discovered that he had inevitably hurt her and driven her towards the darkness. He was a child who had been burdened with the knowledge that his family had been split for generations, and who had taken it upon himself to attempt to put it back together.

He was, first and foremost in Hook's opinion, Regina's son.

He was the child who had convinced a broken pirate that it was possible to love a fallen queen.

And for that, Hook could love him.

Regina looked up from stroking Henry's hair, as if sensing his train of thought. The tenderness and affection in his deep eyes as he watched them surprised her a little. Her expression was hesitant, wary even, as if she was worried that he was still angry with her. He smiled, a charming lopsided grin that sent butterflies scattering around her stomach. Her eyes sparkled as she returned the smile, a little more restrained than his, and held out her hand towards him. He reached out and took it, sliding his fingers between hers, smoothing his thumb over the back of her hand as he shuffled across the mattress. He sat next to her, snaking his arm around her waist as she leaned into him, closing her eyes as her head dropped against his shoulder. Henry tilted his head slightly, looking up at the pirate with a large smile on his face. His eyes focused on Regina's peaceful expression and his smile widened. It was nice to see her relax so completely. It was nice to see the actual proof that they really did love each other, though he hadn't actually doubted that since Hook had awoken his mother from the curse.

Now however, they faced a new problem. Because the silence that surrounded him only served to remind him of the empty place inside his mother. There had to be some way to get her heart back. There had to be some clue as to where Cora had put her daughter's heart. It wasn't that he believed that Regina couldn't love without it; it was more that the wrongness of it made his temper boil.

It was hard to believe that Regina could have raised him so well when she had had nothing to model on.

Hook sat on the bottom of the staircase, watching Regina zip up her boots hastily. Her hair swung forwards to frame her face as she bent over completely to reach the zip, and even from this distance he could see how her fingers were shaking. 'I wish you'd let me come with you'.

She straightened, wincing as the bruised skin of her back protested. She stared at him for a moment. Then she turned away and picked up her coat, her hands clenching the material a little too tightly. 'I have to do this alone'.

He stood up and walked over to her, taking the long stylish black coat from her hands and helping her to slip into it. He turned her around again and began buttoning it up for her, relishing in the easiness of the task with his returned hand. His hands trailed up to cup her face as he finished the last button. She sighed, eyes closing slightly as his warm hands caressed her skin. 'I love you, sweetheart. I should be able to help you'.

The words were a little too similar to what he had said while she was the Evil Queen for her liking. She craned her neck up and pressed her lips against his tenderly, wondering whether she would ever get used to the thrill the contact sent down her spine. She gripped the edges of his shirt tightly as his hands cupped her neck gently, and sparks jumped where her fingers brushed against his skin. He was taller her, though the heels diminished that somewhat, but the height difference was not as threatening as she had imagined it would be. She was shorter than a lot of people imagined, something that had led to her wearing heels in the Enchanted Forest. But she liked the way his body curled over hers when she was barefooted, the way his presence loomed over her in a protective and caring way. She might not need protecting, but that didn't mean that she couldn't like the gesture.

She sighed softly as she pulled away, smoothing out the creases in his shirt as a way of avoiding looking at his face. 'I know. But…this is one thing that I have to face alone. It won't mean anything otherwise. At least it won't to me. She may have…despite what she did, to me and to Henry and you and to…Daniel', her voice caught a little as she said her lost lover's name.

Hook felt no spark of jealousy, which surprised him a little. He had loved another before her, just as she had belonged to someone else before him. That would never change. Nor would it change the fact that he loved Regina with his heart and soul, with every fibre of his being. When he thought of the man who had died tragically at the hands of the woman who had caused his lover so much pain, he felt something like gratitude. Daniel was one of the only people in Regina's entire life to have shown her the love that she had always deserved. He had been a light for her in a dark prison of her mother's making, and for that, Hook would always be thankful.

Regina swallowed thickly as she attempted to continue speaking. 'Despite everything, I still love her. Even without my heart, I can't hate her'. She turned her eyes up to his face, searching for some sign that he understood. 'I need to pay my respects'.

Hook nodded slowly. Earlier, he had admitted that he believed that Cora had loved her daughter. He might not have any emotional attachment to the woman, and he might not share Regina's conflicted feelings (he couldn't be more glad that the woman was gone for good), but he loved Regina. He understood. He kissed her again, his arms sliding up her back to press against her shoulder blades, holding her close against his strong chest. Her lips parted beneath his as her hands grasped at the collar of his shirt. A soft moan vibrated at the back of her throat as he deepened the kiss, her eyes falling shut, her senses overwhelmed by the close proximity to him. Warmth bloomed in his chest, trickling down his back to settle at the base of his spine, and his groan of longing was lost in the intensity of their kiss. He pulled away with great effort, resting his forehead against hers as he tried to catch his breath. 'Alright. Don't take too long'.

Regina's eyes opened slowly. 'That is so unfair'. She could feel the heat between their bodies like the crackle of electricity, and the desire for more of his touch was nearly overwhelming her need to be somewhere else.

He grinned and winked roguishly. 'Well, I never said that I would make things easy on you, love'.

Her eyes flashed and she smiled slyly. She grasped his face in her hands and captured his lips again forcefully, arching her back so that her body pressed up against his. His teeth scraped against her full bottom lip as her mouth parted for more. Without warning, Regina released him and spun away, walking towards the open door without a backwards glance, snatching up the umbrella as she went. The idea had been to make him regret that last comment, but if she took much longer then she probably wouldn't be able to hold herself back anymore.

Hook watched her go with a rather bemused expression on his face. He blinked rapidly, watching her descend the front steps with a spring in her step as an amused laugh floated back up towards him in the wind. Then he grinned. 'Touché, love'.

He shut the door carefully before turning back to the entrance hall. He sighed, folding his arms over his chest as a frown furrowed his brow. What concerned him most at the present time was the problem of Regina's heart. As yet, they had no idea where to look, or how to begin looking. It was doubtful that they would be able to locate it using magic, as Cora had probably prevented that somehow. Unless the spell expired with her death, they were going to have a long road ahead.

He shook his head tiredly, already missing her presence. He wasn't one for clichés or soppiness. He knew perfectly well how he had lived before her, but he also knew that he had no wish to return to that existence anytime soon.

What he needed right now was a distraction. Without much in mind, the pirate crossed the entrance hall into the dining room, searching for the Charmings. He was a little surprised at what he found. James was standing in front of the table, his hands planted on the wooden surface and his body bent so that he could gaze down at something resting on top of it. It was a simple paper pad, with several words scrawled across it. The Prince was frowning, chewing his lips thoughtfully as his eyes moved from one word to another.

Curious, Hook crossed the dining room and joined the Prince at the table, narrowing his eyes as he took in the small list. James had written down the names of different worlds, he realised. From the Enchanted Forest to Neverland, from Storybroke to Wonderland, and he had marked each with a small number. 'What are you hoping to find?'

James sighed heavily and straightened, placing his hands on the small of his back as he stretched. 'I don't know really. A clue, any clue, to as how to get back to the Enchanted Forest, or the possible location of Regina's heart'.

Hook blinked rapidly. The offhandedness of James's last comment threw him a little. It was as if the Prince really didn't think that helping his former enemy was that big a deal. Maybe there really was such a thing as purely good hearted people. James seemed to sense his confusion, because a small smile curved his lips. 'Look, I know that there is a lot of history, none of it remotely good, between Regina and I. The only mildly decent memories I have of her are from here in Storybroke before the curse broke, and I'm still trying to make up my mind as to whether her offers of friendship were actually genuine or not. But Snow wants her step-mother back. She wants to restore the relationship she once had with Regina. And there is no chance of that happening unless we can find Regina's heart. Besides…' he shrugged. 'No one should have to suffer that much pain in one lifetime, no matter what they've done. No one should have to come that close to losing everything'. An expression of pain passed over his face. 'I know what it is like to lose your mother, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone, no matter whom they are. And Regina's changed a lot. I'd have to be a complete idiot to not notice the differences between her and the Evil Queen'.

Hook nodded slowly. Then he pointed to a name on the list. 'Well, I know for a fact that Cora spent a lot of time in Wonderland. Regina pushed her mother through a glass mirror on the eve of her wedding to King Leopold. I don't know how much later it was, but Cora eventually became the Queen of Hearts. I believe that she had no way out of Wonderland, so that closes off that time frame. Of course, now we know that Cora removed Regina's heart as a child, so she had any time between Regina's birth to her banishment from the Enchanted Forest to hide it somewhere'.

James nodded in agreement. 'But Cora probably would have kept Regina's heart on her'.

Hook leaned on the table. 'That is true. I don't know whether she brought it with her to the Enchanted Forest when we returned on my ship though. If she left it in Wonderland with sufficient protective charms around it, then she probably wouldn't have had to worry for its safety, seeing as the rest of its inhabitants would be brought here when the curse struck'.

James tapped the surface of the table thoughtfully. 'So we have two possibilities. The Enchanted Forest, or at least the safe haven that Snow described, and Wonderland'. He rubbed the back of his neck, sighing heavily. 'The question is how to get back there. We have a severally damaged portal, but no way of fixing it'.

Hook suddenly remembered something. 'Actually, it may not be that difficult. If we can get to my ship, then we can go anywhere'.

James frowned at him. 'Your ship? You mean the flying ship?'

Hook briefly explained the mechanics of the ship's enchantment. Afterwards, James was looking significantly more optimistic. 'So your ship can travel between worlds, as long as there is magic in the world it is trying to get to…handy. The only problem is how to get to your ship, which basically leaves us back where we started'.

Hook smiled, the glint in his eyes foretelling that he knew something that James did not. 'Well, I wouldn't say that. Ever heard of magic beans?'

So, what do you think?

Too fluffy? Too out of character? Was it strange to have James, Snow and Emma telling Hook not to abandon Regina?

What did you think of the Henry/Hook moment? I know that it's a little abrupt to have Henry calling Hook Dad, but the kid did ask Rumple whether he should start calling him grandpa, so maybe it's not. I don't know, I just needed some nice Regina family moments.

And I know it was a bit unkind to have Henry and Hook angry at Regina, but I actually think that they would have been. You'll have to tell me if that's wrong.

So, as you can probably guess, they whole gang is going to go on a trip to find Regina's heart. I also have one or two other little storylines I'm thinking of following, such as the restoration of Phillip's soul. Do you want to see that? Also, I think I should bring Neal into the story, because I'm the kind of person that likes to tie off loose ends. Should I do that? Last time when I said that there was a lot more of the story to tell, I meant it. There is a lot more to tell, because I don't really want to end it hanging. Does that sound good to you? Are you guys happy with that continuing? It'll take a while, but as long as you're happy to keep reading, I'm happy to keep writing. (God help my social life).

Please leave a review!