They all turned as they heard a car engine. Gold's black car was driving toward them. It pulled to a stop behind David's truck. The back passenger door opened and Henry stepped out.
"Henry!" Emma said moving toward him.
"I wouldn't do that, Savior," a voice sounding like Regina said as an arm holding a knife reached around Henry.
Emma turned to look at Regina, verifying she was still there. Regina had a look of horror on her face.
"No," Regina said softly in disbelief.
The Evil Queen stepped out of the car, standing directly behind Regina.
Robin met Regina's eyes. She'd said the Queen was dead. That Blue crushed her heart.
"What the hell?" Emma said. She turned to Regina. "You didn't think it was important to tell me Blue already used it?"
Regina swallowed. "I thought…" She shut her eyes trying to think of a plan. Henry was in danger. That was all that mattered right now. She opened her eyes and took a step toward herself.
"Stop." The Queen said. "Where's the crystal? Get the crystal and I'll give you back your precious little boy," she rolled her eyes. "You really are pathetic, you know?"
"I can't. I need magic," Regina said.
"Well, then I suppose it's a good thing we brought this," Gold said stepping in front of the car and holding the chalice.
"What are you going to do with that?" Emma asked.
"It's holding our magic, is it not?" Gold asked.
Emma nodded. "That's what Zelena seems to think."
"Well, then, this should fix things," he turned to Robin. "Pull some water up from the well."
"Why?" Robin asked.
"Do it thief," the Queen snapped as she tightened her grip on Henry and Regina let out a whimper of concern.
Robin looked between Gold and the Queen. What was their game plan? This wasn't going to end well. If only he had his bow.
David who was still standing next to Regina at the well, turned and began pulling up a bucket full of water.
Regina frowned. This was a bad idea. If Gold's plan worked, he and the Evil Queen would have magic back as well. And then Regina would have to retrieve the crystal and Regina had finally figured out his plan. Although he didn't need it to wake Belle anymore, Gold still planned to tether all of Storybrooke's magic to him. He wanted the power. She was sure of it.
Her cell phone was still in her hands. She blindly texted a message hoping it was clear enough to get her message across.
David had the bucket of water raised to the top.
"Anyone who wants to keep their magic should move away from the prince," Gold instructed. Regina let go of the well and tried to take a step. Pain shot through her ankle and she let out a cry.
"Mom!" Henry called.
Regina could feel her leg crumbling under the pain. She was going down. She felt strong arms grab her stopping her fall. Then arms were reaching under her legs and back and she was lifted up. She turned to face Robin.
"Thank you."
As she let her head fall back against Robin, she saw magenta and green smoke dissipating in the trees not too far from them. Zelena got the message. She sighed in relief.
Zelena carefully approached, staying well away from the chalice. She eyed it nervously as she waved her hand causing the Queen's knife to disappear. With no knife threatening Henry's life, Hook shoved the Queen knocking her to the ground and Henry out of her grasp. Henry ran to Emma, who held him tightly and Hook and the Queen struggled on the ground.
Zelena and Maleficent exchanged looks and then simultaneously waved their hands. Gold was thrown against a tree and the chalice disappeared from his hands.
Zelena turned to Regina. "One of you isn't enough?"
Regina smiled at her sister. "It is if you pick the right one."
David looked at Regina and then the Queen who was still struggling with Hook.
"Emma? You might want to cuff her before she does anymore damage."
Emma nodded. "Right."
After Gold and The Queen were both cuffed and locked in the backseat of Gold's car, David turned to Henry.
"Where's Mary Margaret and Neal?"
"After she gave them the chalice, they left. Mom…Regina…" Henry struggled to figure out what to call the woman who'd held him hostage.
"The Evil Queen," Regina supplied.
"The Evil Queen said she'd be back to deal with Mary Margaret after she got her magic back."
Regina wanted to pull her son into her arms, but she could see the hesitation in his eyes. He was afraid of her.
"David, you should take your family home and check on Mary Margaret. Robin can take me back before he goes back to camp. I don't think we should continue this right now."
Zelena looked at Regina. She looked awful. And clearly the Blue fairy had been successful in giving her the serum.
Maleficent followed Zelena's eyes to Regina. "You take care of the prisoners. I'll make sure your sister gets home and set some wards around the house."
Zelena nodded. "Thanks."
"Where are we putting all these prisoners? It's not like the jail has that many holding cells," Emma questioned.
"It is getting crowded. Maybe we should think about letting the other guy out. The wards on Regina's house should be enough. And we can't keep him there indefinitely," Hook suggested.
Robin set Regina back down and took a step toward Hook. "No one is letting that man out," he said menacingly.
Hook held up his arms in surrender.
"Just an idea, mate."
"Robin, it's fine," Regina said.
"I'll work it out," Zelena said waving her hand. The Queen and Gold disappeared. She took one last look at Regina and disappeared after them.
David turned to Henry. "Do you want to stay with your mom and Robin?"
Regina saw the hesitation on Henry's face. He didn't want to stay with her, but he felt like he should. She pushed down her emotions. "Henry, you should go with David. Mal and I need to discuss some things and I'm sure Mary Margaret could use your help with Neal."
Henry nodded. "Okay," he said, following David back to his truck. Hook followed them.
Regina watched the truck until it pulled away and then her mask crumbled. Her son was afraid of her. After all the progress they'd made, she was back to before the curse. She choked back a sob.
Robin put her arm on her back. "Hey, it's okay, love. He's had a scare. It will pass."
Maleficent frowned. "What happened to you, dear? You look a wreck."
"Thanks, Mal. That's helpful," Regina responded.
"Blue got the best of you again?"
"Well, I suppose it depends on how you look at it," Regina answered as she leaned into Robin to take the weight off her ankle.
Robin looked at Maleficent. "Can you fix that for her? I'm never going to get her to go to the doctor."
Maleficent glanced down at Regina's swollen ankle. "Well that looks hideous." She waved her hand.
Regina's grip on Robin tightened as the magic took effect and then she let out a breath of relief as she shifted her weight back to her ankle. "Thank you."
Maleficent nodded. "Now dear, why don't you fill me in on what's happened."
"Why don't we do that back at home?" Robin asked.
Regina smiled. He'd said home. He already thought of her place as home. Or maybe he just meant they should get her home. Maybe she was reading into things. Before she could dwell on it any longer, Maleficent transported them back to her living room.
Regina was resting against Robin on the couch. Despite Maleficent healing her ankle, she was still exhausted and emotionally drained. Maleficent was sprawled in an armchair near the couch.
"That evil bitch," Maleficent said.
"But, Regina, I don't understand. You said she crushed the Queen's heart," Robin said.
"She did! I watched her do it." Regina said.
Maleficent rolled her eyes. "Please, dear, whatever this silly serum is can't actually create a duplicate. She's some part of you. She can't be killed. You don't suddenly have two hearts. You have one. The only way to kill her is to kill you."
Regina sat up. That made sense. Why hadn't she thought of that? But that didn't seem like much of a solution.
"Then why would the Blue Fairy think it would work?" Robin asked. "She's supposed to be some authority on magic. Wouldn't she know this?"
Maleficent shrugs. "Blue has never been the smartest. For as old as she is, she doesn't have nearly as much wisdom as you'd expect. But then again what can you expect? She's not that powerful. She needs a wand to make her magic work. What kind of magic is that?"
Regina ignored Maleficent's attack on fairy magic. That wasn't the issue. The issue was how was she going to get rid of her evil counterpart without killing herself. And now that the Queen was out of her control, she couldn't very well continue trying to return her magic. That would put the whole town in danger.
Zelena suddenly appeared.
Regina's jaw set. She didn't like people appearing in her home.
Zelena immediately noticed the tension in Regina.
"Oh, right. Sorry. You don't like it when I do that. Everyone's locked up tight, but this is a big problem, Regina. How did you let this happen?"
Regina narrowed her eyes. She'd had enough. "Don't you have a child you should be looking after?"
Zelena turned to Robin and was surprised to see he didn't have their daughter.
"Where's Marilyn, Robbie?"
"I told you not to call him that," Regina could feel her patience was ready to snap.
Robin looked at Maleficent. "Maybe we should resume this later. After we've made sure the children and Snow are alright?"
Maleficent nodded. "We should gather everyone and discuss what we're going to do with Gold and the Queen. Neither of those two are going to stay in a jail cell long. They are both quite resourceful."
Robin kissed the top of Regina's head as he stood up. "Why don't you take a little nap? I'll go check on the kids and then come back and get you and we'll round everyone up."
Regina nodded in agreement.
Robin and Zelena left. Maleficent stood to leave as well.
Regina reached her hand out, grabbing Maleficent's arm. "Wait. Could you...would you mind putting up those protection spells before you leave?" Regina asked.
Maleficent met Regina's eyes. Regina hated asking for help. She must be really scared. "Of course, little one. Get some rest."
After the initial relief of finding Mary Margaret and Neal waiting safely in the loft, David's attention shifted to Henry who hadn't said a word since they'd left Regina.
Emma was sitting on the couch speaking softly to Hook. David frowned as he watched Henry glance at Emma and Hook and then head upstairs.
"Emma."
Emma turned to her father. "Yeah?"
"I think maybe you should talk to Henry."
"Really? But I was trying to figure out if we can do the magic restoration thing without Regina. We could try what Gold suggested, but I have to find out what Zelena did with the chalice."
"I think Henry needs you more right now, Emma," David said.
Emma shrugged and stood up. "He seemed okay to me." But she headed up the stairs after Henry.
David turned to Mary Margaret. "Are you okay?" She nodded slowly.
"I just feel like I failed Regina. I was supposed to keep the chalice safe, but she said she was going to take Neal," she said.
David put his arms around Mary Margaret. "It's not your fault. Regina won't blame you. She understands that you would do anything to protect your son."
"This is a bloody mess." Hook said and Mary Margaret and David agreed with their silence.
"Hey, kid." Emma said sitting down next to Henry on the bed.
Henry nodded at her.
"Everything okay?" Emma asked.
"Yeah."
"You sure there isn't anything you want to talk about? You're awfully quiet," Emma said.
"I'm fine."
"Okay. Well I might need to go by the jail and talk to Gold, but I'll let you know."
"Okay."
"Okay," Emma stood up and left. Talking was overrated. Henry was her kid. He probably hated talking as much as she did. He just needed a little space to work things out. He'd be fine.
Regina had said she'd sleep, but as much as her body wanted it, she just couldn't relax enough to fall asleep.
She looked at the clock. She needed to do something. She couldn't just lie around waiting for something to happen. What if her evil counterpart came after Henry again? There had to be a way to fix this. It was 2 p.m. She'd had Maleficent put the protection spells up, but she really couldn't just hide in her mansion. She'd spent enough of her life in hiding. In isolation. She got out of bed. Now that her ankle was healed she felt stronger. She'd have to remember to ask Emma for a gun next time she saw her, but for now she could take a knife if she went out.
She headed downstairs. She should eat something. She was actually hungry. She opened the refrigerator, but nothing appealed to her. She rummaged through the cabinets finally settling on a package of cookies she'd bought for Henry. Horrible empty calories, but she needed a little comfort food. As she pulled out the cookies she saw the oatmeal mix. She should probably have a bowl of that as well. And she did have some fresh berries she could put in it. She quickly set to work making the meal while she thought about her next steps.
She wanted to go see The Evil Queen. But the heroes would still be there guarding her and she was locked up with Gold and Nottingham. She had no desire to see either of them right now. Maybe she should try to talk to this Jekyll who made the serum. That wasn't a bad idea. Maybe he'd be able to explain more how it worked and how the Queen was still alive.
She put her empty bowl in the sink as she wondered if he was still locked up. Gold had been out. Had the Charmings let them both out? She'd text Emma on the way. She headed to the den to grab her purse and her eye caught side of Grace's doll sitting on top of the stack of boxes Robin had brought in from her vault.
She stopped. Maybe that should be her next step. Operation Chameleon was still important. Maybe even more important now that she was free of the Evil Queen.
Picking up the doll, she grabbed her purse and keys and left.
Regina knocked on Jefferson's door and braced herself for an attack. She knew he wouldn't be happy to see her. Maybe she'd be lucky and Grace would answer the door.
The door was flung open and anger filled Jefferson's face the second he saw who it was.
"Leave." He said. "I'm not working with you anymore. You said if I got you that item we'd be done. We're done," he started to close the door, but she grabbed it with her hand preventing him from closing it.
"Please. I just want to return something," Regina said holding the doll out as a peace offering. "I believe this was Grace's. I shouldn't have taken it in the first place and I definitely shouldn't have kept it so long. I'm sorry."
Jefferson grabbed the doll from her. "What is this? Did you take items from your victims to serve as trophies? To remind you of all your conquests?"
Regina swallowed. This was so hard. He wasn't wrong. She had kept items from a good number of her victims. To hurt them. To remind herself that she'd won. Snow White may have hurt her, but she wasn't the victim. She was the predator.
"I…I can't really explain it. It was horrible. Everything I did to you was horrible. It doesn't matter that I felt justified in doing it because you took my hope away. That's not an excuse. There is no excuse for what I did to Grace. She was an innocent child and I hurt her as much as I hurt you. And she never did anything to me. I'd really like to apologize to her if you'll allow me."
"Your apology means nothing. I don't believe a word you say and I won't have you spewing your lies to my daughter," Jefferson said.
Regina nodded. "I'd still like to return the doll."
"Daddy? Who's there?" a young voice called.
"Stay upstairs, Grace," Jefferson instructed.
"Is it Mom and Dad? I thought I was staying with you until next week," the voice said getting closer.
Regina felt a pang. She'd hurt the couple she'd given Grace to as well. What a ripple effect her decisions had had on so many people's lives.
"I said stay upstairs!" Jefferson said more forcefully and turned back to Regina.
"Leave. Now. And keep the doll. Grace doesn't need it anymore." He pushed Regina's hand from the door and shut it in her face.
Regina swallowed back the tears. She made it back to her car before she acknowledged the overwhelming feeling of guilt. She looked at the doll and tears began trickling down her face. She wiped them away and turned in the opposite direction of her mansion. Maybe she couldn't apologize to Grace today, but she could apologize to the parents who had taken care of her for 28 years and now were forced to share her. Regina knew how that felt and felt horrible for inflicting it on someone else.
She stopped in front of the couple's home. It wasn't far from Jefferson's. She was well aware that he used to spy on Grace from his home. She put the car in park and stepped out. She walked up the stairs and knocked on the door. She needed to do this before she lost her nerve.
The door opened and Regina's was staring at the woman who'd taken such good care of Grace in Storybrooke. Regina hadn't lied. Grace hadn't wanted for anything. She'd given her good parents and a good life. Everything but her father. Ironic that Jefferson had helped her get her father back so she could take away Grace's.
"Mayor Mills?" the woman said in surprise.
"I'm sorry to just drop by, but I was wondering if you had a few minutes," Regina asked.
The woman looked a little nervous, but nodded.
"Thank you," Regina said as she stepped inside.
"Can I get you something to drink?" the woman asked.
"No, that's alright. I promise I won't be long. Is your husband home?"
The woman nodded. "I can get him if you'd like." Regina nodded and the woman turned and started to walk down the hall. "Tom! The mayor's here to speak with us."
Tom. Regina hadn't been able to remember their names. So many faces and names she'd forgotten. She swallowed and nervously clenched and unclenched her hand.
The man came around the corner. "Madam Mayor," he acknowledged her. "Is there a problem?"
Regina paused trying to calm her nerves. She'd already done this so many times with the hearts, but her failed attempt at Jefferson's had knocked her off her game.
"No problem," Regina said more confidently. "Why don't we sit down for a moment?" She gestured to the couch and the couple followed her even though it was their home.
She sat and crossed her legs. She folded her hands on her lap. "I realized I never really spoke to you about what happened with Grace. Or apologized," Regina began.
The woman looked shocked. Regina plowed on. "I am truly sorry for the pain I have caused you by giving you a child you couldn't keep. I know that must have been heartbreaking and it was cruel of me to inflict such pain on you. I don't expect your forgiveness, but I did want you to know that I am truly sorry and I appreciate what a wonderful home you provided for Grace for the duration of the curse."
The couple just stared at Regina.
"You're sorry?" the man asked.
Regina nodded. "I know. It doesn't fix anything, but-"
"You don't need to be sorry. You gave us the greatest gift we could ask for. We've always wanted children and Grace was like a gift from God. She is the sweetest most loving child anyone could ask for. We had 28 years with her which is much longer than most parents get. Granted, it didn't feel like 28 years, but regardless. I'm not going to lie to you, it's been very hard sharing her with her father, but Grace has enough love to go around and she's even happier now that he's in her life again," the woman said.
"So of course we forgive you. I know you didn't give any thought to us at all, but it was a blessing, not a curse and we can't be angry with you about that," the man said.
Regina could feel tears in her eyes, but she blinked them back. She could not believe these people. She would never have accepted an apology this gracefully.
The woman leaned over and pulled Regina into a hug. "We've heard plenty around town about the troubles you've had with you own son. You know that nothing you can say will make it easier for us to be separated from Grace, but it's worth it for her happiness."
Regina patted the woman on the back and then pulled away from the hug. This woman was going to make her cry with all her kindness.
"Thank you," Regina said. "I should be going now," she said as she stood up.
The woman nodded. "Thank you, Madam Mayor."