AN: Happy Once day. I am planning a mini binge tonight since I didn't watch the premiere last week-I indulged in Downton Abbey instead. Now that would be an interesting crossover...Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. This story has finally reached the end of part one and the whole annoying set up part is over. Harry will now officially be a Storybrooke resident and be subjected to bad food at Granny's and having the world almost end at Sunday around 8E /7CST hopefully he will survive. As always, thanks for the support.

Chapter 24: The Ride From Hell

Regina was pretty sure that this Harry guy had a sadistic streak. Why else would he force her to sit next to Gold for a seven-hour flight?

On the plus side, he at least had them in business class. Though, she didn't know if that was Harry so much as Gold.

Gold who hadn't given her the time of day this entire time.

This would not do. Regina was, after all, the Evil Queen.

"Please," Rumple said looking at her, "The last thing I want to do is chit chat with you."

Regina grumbled some obscenities under her breath as she motioned for the flight attendant to get her another glass of chardonnay.

"Really, dearie, drinking in public again?"

"I'm stuck sitting next to you for the next seven hours." Regina said. "Might as well be drunk, and you're one to talk. Might I remind you I found you drinking scotch with your boyfriend."

Gold looked at her, "Seriously, you think Harry is my boyfriend?"

No. She knew that Gold was definitely straight, and given the way Harry's tongue was down his girlfriend's throat he most likely was too, but Harry did seem awfully protective of the imp.

Gold sighed and looked at her. "Regina, he's my pupil. I thought we've been through this already. Once upon a time, you and I were close as well."

"That was until you tried to kill everyone I love." Regina said.

"I only tried to kill Hook." Gold said, "And the world really would've been a better place without him."

"To you maybe, but not to everyone else." Regina said.

"Come on," Gold said. "The only thing the pirate has for him is the leather. And even I, the king of leather, has to admit that cloak of his is impressive, but really impractical."

"Henry likes him." Regina said with a shrug. "That's enough to keep him around. And I'm a hero now."

He rolled his eyes at this remark.

She didn't get it. She had changed and she pointed this out to him and he almost spit up the soda he was drinking.

"It's not funny." She said, "I have done a lot to improve myself, Gold. Remember the chat we had before you went on your murderous binge."

"As you pointed out before, I failed at killing Hook. Changing reality really didn't work well either. I knew I should've had that stupid author give me the pen."

"You dictated it to him. I guess you're not as good as a wordsmith as you'd like people to think."

"No, I just didn't think Henry would be an issue."

"Really, you thought he was going to be okay with everyone disappearing?"

"I thought he wouldn't exist to be honest. I mean, if Bae didn't exist in that reality and Emma was locked up, how could Henry exist?"

He had a point. Though, Regina didn't say as much. Instead, she said. "Well, it was just wrong."

He rolled his eyes. "And you were justified in your attempt to write Zelena out of existence."

Regina sighed heavily. "It would've done the world a favor."

"Much like getting rid of Hook would've done the world a favor."

She frowned, "Where's my wine?"

He had hit a nerve. He was right, she was a bit of a hypocrite. How she still sometimes wished she would've taken that pen and wiped Zelena out of existence. Anytime she had to think about her sister or her baby, rage filled her body.

She tried to control it in front of Robin, but even she admitted it was difficult.

"Thought so," Gold said smirking at her, as if he caught her committing some unforgivable sin.

Regina grabbed her wine and took a big drink, thinking this would end the conversation but it didn't.

"You know Belle and I are more than likely over, right?"

Okay, now was time to get in a good barb. "Of course, no big surprise there. I have to give it to the Bookworm for really going through with it. Didn't think she was strong enough to do it."

Gold glared at her. "Really, you're happy my marriage is over?"

Regina really could care less about Gold's relationship with Belle. At best it was only slightly creepy, and when Henry called the woman grandma it made her cringe to infinity and beyond. It was bad enough that he called Mary Margret grandma, but at least with the dowdy looking sweaters the princess had taken up to wearing it sort of made sense.

"Regina," Gold said.

"I said good for Belle for dumping you. She's stronger than I thought, or maybe she just doesn't want to be with an old man now the power and allure is gone."

The way his eyes briefly narrowed, she knew she got to him, if only for a second. However, he quickly recovered. "You do realize the same thing is going to eventually happen to you and Robin, Regina."

That was not true.

However, things hadn't exactly been peachy between her and Robin lately. Especially with Zelena.

There was just this heaviness whenever they were together. Robin seemed so happy about the baby, and Regina wasn't.

Oh, she acted like she was. How could she not? It was a baby, more importantly Robin's baby. But the fact that her sister, NOT her was having his child rubbed Regina the wrong way.

She should've never taken that stupid potion. At the time it had been taken purely out of defiance, but now how did she regret it.

While it was true that she loved Henry as much as she would love any biological child that she might've had, it was different.

However, her woes about her fertility issues were not the same as the destruction of Rumbelle. Outlaw Queen would survive, even if Regina had misgivings about Baby Green.

The thought of it made her inwardly blanched.

"Touched a nerve, didn't I?" Her old tutor asked.

"Hardly," Regina said taking another sip of wine.

"You might want to watch the wine, dearie. Remember what happened the last time you got tipsy with me."

She glared at him. "I am perfectly capable of controlling my liquor. And my relationship with Robin isn't going to end like your little May December relationship with Belle."

"Just keep telling yourself that, your majesty." He said, "It has to sting since Zelena is with child and you'll never be."

"I have Henry, and as far as I'm concerned Zelena is more or less an incubator. As soon as that baby's out, she'll have no part in his or her life."

Rumple gave her a look.

"What?"

"You know that's not true." He said.

Deep down, Regina knew the imp was right. Regardless of what she told herself, Zelena was that child's mother. Even if she did somehow gain parental rights over the child, she knew how that would go (see: closed adoption of Henry). Of course, if Zelena could be sent to prison that might be a different story.

"Zelena will be in jail." She said. "Or locked up in the asylum, and her magic has been neutralized."

Rumple laughed. "You're really going to trust the Storybrooke justice system on this. Come on, Regina. You and I both know that Prince George can barely look something up on LexisNexis let alone prosecute a case."

He had a point there. George was probably the most incompetent DA in the state. It didn't help that his degree was a pure fabrication on Regina's part and that no one else in town was interested in being D.A.

Or exactly qualified either.

"I'll do it myself then." Regina said.

"And that wouldn't be a conflict of interest. And besides, I don't think you can zap up legal knowledge."

"You seem to be getting by just fine," Regina said. "After all, your boyfriend tended to think you were a prized associate."

Gold glared at her. "I had years to hit the books, and finding loop holes is a specialty of mine."

Regina frowned. "I'm sure it's not that hard. This is probably your way of worming to be the district attorney."

Gold laughed. "Regina, the last thing I want is to be trapped in Storybrooke. I'm going to do my best to show you that Ms. Swan is—well, gone, and then I'm going to go back to London and work at my new job."

He seemed sincere, but there was something off about all of this, Regina thought. It was almost too easy.

"Too easy!" Gold said when she told him this, "Trust me, coming back is not easy for me. Do you think I want to see what I've lost?"

"Oh God, it's just Belle. She's a bit player at best." Regina said.

He glared at her.

It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. Because while she could very much ignore Belle, admittedly other people in the town didn't. Henry made sure he had tea with her at least every week when Gold was in New York and even afterwards. He wanted to get to know his "grandma". Though, given the way Gold was acting Belle probably wouldn't be Henry's grandmother for that long.

"That was too much?" Gold said. "Belle is still technically my wife."

"But it's over." Regina said, "Let's face it, you screwed her over. And you decided to screw her over, and came back once after she knew you screw her over. I really don't get why you have issues with going back to Storybrooke."

He glared at her. "I left, and you really should've left me alone. You're taking this hero bit way too far."

Was she?

Regina inwardly grumbled, hating how Gold would always have her question herself. She was doing all of this to help Swan. Okay, and there was a part of her that was dragging back Gold as a distraction from the Robin/Zelena baby drama.

And she really wanted to prove that she had changed.

It seemed silly. Hadn't she done enough already to show that she was no longer the vindictive queen that she had been most of her life? But Regina, couldn't help but want to prove again and again that she was different, maybe because at the core she didn't feel that different.

Regina sighed. "Regardless of what you think, I am trying to help out a friend. Unfortunately, you're the only help I can give them."

"I can't help Emma, Regina," Gold said as he leaned back in his seat. "No one can. You more than anyone should know that."

She sighed heavily. "There has to be something, Gold, that you can do."

He looked at her. "Take the dark curse from her? Because that's her only cure. And I'm sure you don't want her dead. Do you, Regina?"

A couple of years ago, she might've answered the opposite. But instead, she just nodded her head. "Of course not!"

"I thought so," Gold said. "Then I'm afraid, you made Harry give a wizard's oath in vain."

Regina frowned. "Yeah, you still haven't explained your relationship with your boyfriend."

Gold rolled his eyes. "You know I was in New York. I couldn't exactly count on the queens of dim to do my bidding, could I?"

He had a point. Regina had always felt it was an extremely foolish idea to rely on those three, but she never said anything. It wasn't like she and Gold were doing their weekly lunches since he was trying to destroy the town and all.

"So, you met him when you were in New York. But he lives in London?"

"People travel, Regina. Most places don't have a town boundary line that curses them. Harry is a very talented wizard."

"I could see that." Regina said. "I though the Blue Fairy said—"

"You really trust the doxie?"

Regina sighed. She didn't. In fact, she refused to have anything to do with the nunnery. She'd reject their fundraising permits if Mary Margret didn't pitch a fit about how it wasn't really turning over a new leaf.

"No," Regina said. "Not really. You do realize this changes, a lot, Gold."

He shrugged.

He was back to being cryptic, so typical. She continued to press on. "What's the story with this Harry?"

"There's no story." Rumple said. "He was just a wizard who wanted to make a deal with the Dark One. You're wizard's oath is part of the residual effects. He's not a bad guy, Regina."

She raised an eyebrow. "Yet, he made a deal with you."

"Hasn't everyone?"

She sighed heavily. He had a point there. Almost everyone in Storybrooke at one point or another had made a deal with the Dark One. Even the Charmings, though they acted like they didn't. She knew better.

"I suppose you can't give me the details of your little bargain."

"Of course not, that would breach our mutual trust, Regina. You know I can't do that."

Regina glared at him, she'd find out what he had on this Harry soon enough. When they returned home to Storybrooke.

End of Part I

Chapter 1 Part 2: Someone summons the Dark Swan.