Stella had been driving for hours around the small town, trying to clear her head. Walking in on Travis when he was about to hit her mother shook her up badly, and who knows what she would have walked in on if she were a few minutes, maybe even seconds late. She had gone to his office and threatened him, which did make her feel a bit better; but she had to figure out a way to get her out.

She went to James, and talked to him off the record; he told her that he did notice some of the signs during the dinner party, but since Regina never filed a complaint, there is nothing he can do. He told her that she might be more open to the idea of pressing charges, now that she has a witness; and that it even might get Travis to back off.

She found herself on the outskirts of town, outside the cemetery. She took a close look around, and found only one mausoleum. She walked towards it, and immediately recognized the logo to belong to none other than Cora. She pushed the door open, and stepped in. A lingering smile graced her lips, and her eyes filled up with tears when she read the plaque.

'Henry Mills, beloved husband and father'

She had heard a lot about him from her mother, and was glad to see his tomb here; although it was a bit of a shock that it was. After all, she knew Cora didn't love him, so why would she bring his grave here?

She conjured up a bouquet of white roses, her favorite, and put it on the tomb, "I'll fix it, I promise" she whispered.

The sea spread out in front of her, seemingly endless under the dark sky. It was quiet and serene; a few ripples here and there, with the only sound being that of the small boats as they softly hit the side of the dock. She had no idea how long she stood there, just staring out into the sea, but it's not like someone was going to worry. She had already dropped Pandora off with Ruth, and told her that she will explore the town a little bit, and not to worry about her. Ruth had tried to convince her to take Pandora; but she refused. She wanted her to be close to Regina, just in case. Her heightened sense of hearing proved crucial today, since she started howling the second they pulled up in front of City Hall.

She had always enjoyed the sight of the water at night; the serene rippling effects and how the silver rays reflected onto the pitch black water calmed her down; and God knows she needed to keep a straight head if she was going to be of any use. She had no idea that there was a set of eyes watching her every move, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. She took a few steps, so that now she was standing on the edge. 'The perfect opportunity' he thought, as he moved from his hiding spot, and inched closer to her.

She heard the floor boards creaking behind her, but didn't have time to turn around. Something heavy and metal connected with her head hard, and everything went black. The figure stood tall above her, watching as the blood trickled down the side of her face; before he pushed her off the dock and into the dark, deep water.

James and Mary Margret were taking a stroll down the streets of Storybrooke, when James's phone rang. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and answered, face paling immediately as soon as he heard the words that were spoken on the other end. Mary Margret looked worriedly at him, and his only answer was to grab her arm and pull her towards his truck.

They rushed into the hospital, and were met by a frantic Ruth, "They're refusing to tell me anything because I'm not related; but you're the deputy, I am sure they can tell you" she demanded hysterically.

"Mother, I need you to breathe, and calm down; I'll go see what I can find out" he ordered calmly, as he guided her to one of the chairs. Once she and Mary Margret settled down, he left to go find someone he can talk to.

"I told her to take Pandora, but she refused; said she grew up in the mean streets of Boston and that I was the one who needed the protection" Ruth rambled.

"Shhhhh, Ruth this isn't your fault. No one could've known that this will happen; this is Storybrooke for God's sake" Mary Margret soothed.

Ruth only shook her head, as more tears streamed down her cheeks, "I never should've let her leave at that hour"

"Ruth, she's stubborn, she wouldn't have listened" Mary Margret stated, and looked up at the sounds of footsteps.

She found a very pale looking James walking towards them, and judging by the look on his face; he did not have anything good to tell them.

"Oh God" Ruth exclaimed, immediately assuming the worse.

"Is she…" Mary Margret trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

"She was found in the water by one of the local fishermen, there is no heartbeat and she's not breathing. They say that because her body temperature is so low, because of the water, her organs are in a hibernation state. They're trying to warm her up so they can bring her back." he explained.

"So she's going to be okay?" Ruth asked.

"They don't know; they are not sure if they will be able to bring her back; but she's not dead till she's warm and dead"

FTL-23 Years Ago.

It had been well past midnight, when Regina finally slept; even though Stella and Leopold had long fallen asleep. Stella still murmured pleas in her sleep, but the nightmares were becoming less and less frequent. Mainly if Regina got up in the middle of the night for any reason what so ever. But the events of the previous day kept playing over and over again in her head; the most popular of all was how Stella had magic. She knew that the only person who has the answer is Rumplestiltskin, but she also knew that he will demand a price in return. She kept debating whether she should call for him and ask or not; but her curiosity got the best of her, as well as her fear for her child. He had already summoned her a week after Stella's return and she told him that she will cut all ties with him; she gave him back the book and told him that she has no use for magic anymore. But desperate times, call for desperate measures.

Luckily for her, Stella wasn't clutching on to her as she normally does, so she easily slipped from under the covers. She knew that Claude was standing right outside like he promised Stella, so she couldn't really leave that way. She closed her eyes and tried to remember everything she learned about teleportation, till she felt the familiar smoke engulf her. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in the library like she wanted.

"Rumplestiltskin, I summon thee" she almost hissed.

"I see you went back to your senses dearie" his irritating voice surprised her from behind.

"No I did not, I will not be requiring your services" she guaranteed.

"You just used magic and you were the one who called for me" he pointed out.

"I need to ask you a question, but first I need to know your price"

"About that daughter of yours" he stated, giggling at her paled face, "about how she has magic?" he continued.

"You knew she had magic?" she asked.

"Yes, when I summoned you last time, I sensed her magic all around you. And when I came close to her, I was proven correct"

Regina's eyes darkened, "You stay away from her"

"Not to worry dearie, even if I wanted to hurt her, I can't. I don't make a habit of hurting children, and she is very powerful"

"How? How does she have magic? Why is it so powerful?" she demanded.

"And what do I get out of it?" he inquired.

"What do you want?"

"The man you and the King are looking for, the one who hurt her" he stated and Regina nodded, "I want you to call for me once you capture him"

"Why?" she asked, confused.

"That is my business, dearie. Do we have a deal?"

Regina thought about it for a few moments, and saw no harm in it. On the contrary, if Rumple killed him, he will do them all a favor.

"Deal"

Rumple released his usual high-pitched, child-like giggle as he rung his fingers together, "Well, dearie; she is the product of true love, the most powerful magic of all; that does have its perks"

"She was born with it?"

"Yes she was, it's in her blood"

That was the last sentence that she remembered as she finally fell asleep, and it was the first thing that rang through her mind when she woke up the next morning. However all memories of the previous night evaporated from her mind when her eyes landed on the empty bed, the completely empty bed; not even Stella was in it. She didn't have time to contemplate the thought, before the hushed sounds of laughter reached her ears. Her back was to the balcony, and so she craned her neck around to face it. She could make out the outline of one figure; too big to be either Leopold or Stella.

She got out and walked slowly to the balcony, the sounds getting louder with every step she took; and she could clearly distinguish Stella's laugh and Leopold's voice as he whispered. She pushed the curtain to the side gently, careful not to make a sound to alert them of her presence. Her face lit up, as a beaming smile spread across her lips at the sight; Leopold had Stella balancing on his hip as he pointed to different places in the forest and talked about them.

"You know, someday when you're as good as your mama in riding horses; you'll escape from the guards that I will assign to protect you and run throughout this forest and have them chase you. Of course your mother will be throwing a temper tantrum, vowing to lock you up when you return, and maybe even threaten to kill Claude for letting you out of his sight, even though you and I know that it will not be his fault. But all of this will be forgotten the second you walk through the doors; she will suffocate you in hugs and kisses, and tries to get you to promise not to do it again. You will try to convince her that you can take care of yourself, and eventually agree to try and be safe. And that will happen every time you leave the castle, and poor me will be stuck in the middle" he whispered to her, all the while she is giggling hysterically, one hand over her mouth to try and suppress her laughter.

Regina's heart swelled at the sight, and she finally felt at peace. Stella hadn't even let Leopold touch her in the last six weeks, and now she was in his arms; giggling hysterically without a care in the world, as her father conspired with her. What amazed her the most was Leopold, more than Stella. Stella had no idea that she wasn't Leopold's, but he did. And yet; there he stood balancing the five year old on his hip as he cooked up plans with her, and made her laugh. He too had a happy, serene look on his face as he looked at the laughing girl.

"If she follows through with those words; it won't be Claude's head on the table" she finally decided to let them know of her presence.

Stella's head whipped around, and Regina couldn't help but smile wistfully at the gleam in her eyes.

"Uh-oh" was all Leopold said, as Stella rested her head on top of the hand on his shoulder. She gave her mother the most cute puppy face she could muster, "Hi"

Regina chuckled, as she approached the duo and leaned up to kiss her cheek, "hi baby"

"Good morning, sleeping beauty" Leopold teased, and she only grinned in response.

Later that day, she was sitting with Leopold at one of the tables in the garden, as they both watched Snow and Stella run after each other.

"Leopold" she called, and his response was to turn his head to look at her.

"I called Rumplestiltskin last night" she said, and when he didn't show any signs of recognition, she added, "The Dark One" at which his eyes widened.

"Excuse me?!" he breathed in disbelief.

"He was the one teaching me magic throughout those years" she confessed and he tilted his head to the side in slight disappointment.

"I just wanted to find her, and I thought that I can do it with magic. He was the most powerful wizard, and he was the one who taught my mother magic. I thought if I learned it from him as well, that I will be able to counteract whatever she did to bring her back" she blabbered.

"Regina, stop. I understand why you did it, I am just surprised that you wanted to learn magic from the man who was responsible for what your mother had become" he soothed.

"I know, but I saw no other choice. Anyways, a week after Stella returned, he summoned me and I told him that I no longer want to learn magic, and cut all ties with him"

"Then why did you call upon him last night?" he inquired.

"To ask him about Stella's magic" she answered.

"What did he say?"

"That she was born with it, it's in her blood"

"Did he explain why?"

Regina thought about the answer for a few moments, but decided not to tell him. If Stella had magic because she was the product of true love, then Snow should have it too. But she knew that Snow didn't, because Leopold and Eva weren't in love at the time. Just like her and Leopold, Snow was the one to bring her parents together. But she couldn't exactly tell him that.

"No"

Storybrooke-Present.

After what seemed like centuries, but was only ninety minutes, Dr. Whale emerged from where he had disappeared with Stella, and headed towards them. James immediately sprung to his feet, alerting Mary Margret and Ruth to Whale, and they too followed suit.

"How is she?" Ruth inquired.

"She's alive, and normally I wouldn't say anything more; but seeing as how she will need a tremendous amount of support during recovery, I think I can make an exception." He replied.

"What do you mean? That doesn't sound good" Mary Margret stammered, already dreading the answer.

"Well, we were able to get her heart beating again once we brought her temperature back to normal, but it was too late for the baby"

James's mouth dropped open, Ruth fell silent , her face paling; and Mary Margret looked at him as if he sprung another head.

"W…w..What baby?" she stuttered.

"You didn't know?" he asked incredulously.

"Do those look like the faces of people who know?" Ruth snapped.

"She was at least 8 weeks pregnant"

Regina was fast asleep at her home, when she was suddenly jerked awake as Travis grabbed her arm and rolled onto her back. She barely had enough time to comprehend what is happening through the sleep fog, when she found him towering over her. One hand was pinning her arms above her head, the other pulling her night gown up her legs and thighs.

"You are mine" he hissed, "and no one will stop me from doing as I please with you; and if you open your mouth about any of this to any one, both of you will regret it"

Before she could even think of a reply, he thrust himself into her and she pushed her head backwards into the pillow, tears streaming down her face as she bit her lip to stop the screams from escaping them.

Two chapters in two days. Let me know what you think please.

Thank you to all who reviewed, greatly appreciated.

Metope; especially for you hun ;)