As usual, life has been in the way. I'm really sorry for how long each chapter of this takes, but I have vowed to finish it eventually and I do know where it will end so thank you to everyone who has stuck with me. Every person who still reads this has my greatest thanks and appreciation.

Mary Margaret couldn't quite find the words to convey what she wanted to express. Her mouth remained open in a perfect 'O', and it wasn't until David took her hand that she seemed to come back to reality and start breathing again.

'I don't know what to say,' she admitted quietly.

'Neither do I,' agreed Emma. She sat across from her parents in a corner booth at Granny's, having called them on the way back from the mausoleum to fill them in on the frantic events of the morning.

'How much does she know? I mean, if whatever potion she took went wrong and made her forget Robin could it have affected her other memories?'

Emma paused for a moment. It wasn't something she had considered, but Mary Margaret was right; they had no idea what they were dealing with. She looked over to where Regina and Henry were ordering lunch just out of earshot and frowned. There was no telling how complicated this could get.

'I don't know,' she sighed after a while, 'but she knew me and Henry and hasn't seemed to be acting strangely so far. Gold said that her memories of Robin were altered because she was thinking about him when the spell took hold, so maybe it's just that. Time will tell I suppose.'

'So she has no idea what's happened over the past few weeks?' asked David. Emma shook her head slowly.

'We'll have to keep an eye on her to see if there's anything else in her memory that's been tampered with, but that seems to be the reason for all of this. She seemed so much more like her old self, before Marian and any of…of this. We can't be sure without asking her directly but I think it's safe to say she has no idea there was ever a child.'

'I don't know if that's a blessing or a curse,' David mumbled. Mary Margaret looked to him with an eyebrow raised in confusion.

'What do you mean?'

'For now Regina has no idea of anything that she went through, and she's…well she's happy again. How is it going to feel when Gold finds an antidote and she has to relive everything she's tried so hard to forget?'

'We don't even know if it's possible yet,' Emma interjected. 'Gold said it was a long shot at best that he could find a safe way to bring her memories back.'

'You said we couldn't remind her of anything,' remembered Mary Margaret, 'so we can't tell her what happened. It doesn't seem right, keeping her in the dark.'

'It may be the only way to save her life,' Emma said.

'We'll call an unofficial town meeting once Regina leaves,' David suggested, 'just a few of us who can spread the word and make sure no-one mentions anything they shouldn't.'

Emma nodded, her gaze wandering again to where Regina sat. Her eyes shone brightly as she talked to Henry, her smile far more relaxed than Emma had seen it in a long time. In theory it was the perfect solution, to simply forget every trouble that had caused her pain, but it had backfired and Emma couldn't help but feel that however this was destined to end it wouldn't be easy.

Xxx

Regina smiled to herself as Ruby delivered their orders to the table. She could see that Henry was watching her again, making sure that she was truly fine as she claimed, and she had to admit that it touched her heart to know that he cared for her so deeply. She took her fork and started on her bowl of pasta, pretending not to notice.

'I'm sorry that I didn't get to spend much time with you this weekend,' she apologised. 'I wasn't feeling too well and I've let work get on top of me. It's going to be a busy week sorting everything out.'

'Mom, don't worry about it,' Henry said quickly, 'I understand. But…maybe I could stay with you tonight?'

Regina looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. 'Henry,' she said in a warning tone, 'you have school.'

'I'll still go tomorrow I just…I want to…'

She smiled again and covered his hand with hers reassuringly.

'You just want to make sure I'm okay,' she finished quietly. He nodded, the concern shimmering in his deep brown eyes. 'Henry, I know what you must be thinking but honestly I feel fine. There's no reason for you to disrupt your schedule just to watch over me. I can take care of myself.'

Henry sighed frustratedly. 'I know, but I just don't want you to be on your own tonight. Look I can go back to Emma's after school tomorrow, it won't be a big deal. Please, for me?'

Regina rolled her eyes and shook her head, knowing that he had played the trump card she wouldn't be able to refuse.

'Fine, you win,' she conceded, holding up her hands in defeat and returning to her food, 'but only tonight.'

He nodded fervently, seeming to settle a little. They talked of only superficial things as they ate, and the mood remained light as they finished their meal. Regina had noticed Emma and her parents talking separately in the corner, but hadn't brought it up with Henry. They seemed to be talking about something serious, brows were furrowed and tones were low so that she couldn't catch any word of what they were saying. She hated the thoughts that were circling around her mind, the paranoid feeling that they were talking about her, and yet to her it was a certainty. She caught them looking at her more than once.

'I'm still hungry,' she announced once their plates had been taken away, 'how about some ice cream?'

'Sure,' Henry smiled brightly, 'I'll just grab my coat.'

He ran over to Emma to retrieve his things and tell her what was going on as Regina went to the counter to pay. As she took out her purse, her mind wandered and she thought of all of the things that didn't add up. Gold's meagre explanation of why she had collapsed had been lazy, poorly thought out as if he were being asked to lie on the spot.

She remembered waking up in the vault with another man by her side whose name she couldn't quite place, talking to Henry before everything went dark again. But when she tried to remember how she had come to be there everything went fuzzy. She could recall vague memories of eating breakfast in the kitchen, walking towards her office but anything more detailed was lost in the fog of her mind. Her head started to throb and she reached a hand to her temple to try and ease the growing ache.

'Mom are you coming? Are you okay?'

'Fine,' Regina responded instantly, a smile automatically coming into place as her hand dropped to her bag, 'I'm fine, yes, let's go.'

As they walked towards the door and the ache began to recede, Regina decided that some questions would have to wait to be answered. Henry was already worried for her, and he didn't need to be put through anything more. For now she was just going to enjoy the time with her son; right now she knew that was the most important thing.

Xxx

It took a while for Henry to stop watching her. Regina noticed, of course, but chose to play along knowing that no matter how many times she insisted that she was okay he wouldn't be satisfied until he saw it for himself. And eventually, as the day wore on, he seemed to accept it.

After going for ice cream they went home and had a quiet night in watching television and chatting about nothing important. By the second film Henry seemed far more relaxed. He was slouched back in the chair, texting occasionally and not even trying to stifle his yawns. Regina smiled. She felt pride well in her chest, an almost unexplainable relief at just being able to see him sitting there doing nothing in particular. Although she was fighting exhaustion, she held off going to bed until the end credits rolled just enjoying the peace and quiet that had settled between them.

'I think that's me done,' she said, getting up slowly and stretching her arms.

'Me too. Want me to do the dishes?' offered Henry. Regina sighed heavily, looking down at the bowls from dinner.

'We can cheat this once.'

She raised her hand and flicked her index finger lazily, causing the mess to disappear in the blink of an eye. When she turned back to Henry he seemed to be watching her again, as though he was waiting for something to happen, but it was only for a moment before his gaze softened and he picked up his jacket.

'Night Mom,' he said, hugging her tightly.

'Goodnight Henry.'

He trudged slowly and sleepily up the stairs, and Regina wasn't far behind him after she had turned off the lights. She walked to her room and her hand went for the doorknob, but once her fingers wrapped around the cold metal she froze for a moment. She felt cold. It was as though the dark was suffocating her, closing in from every corner of the hallway and reaching its icy fingers along her arms until her hand felt numb. Tired, she told herself, she was just tired.

It was harder than it should have been to open that door, but once she stepped through into her bedroom it was as though the darkness had lifted. It was her room, just her room. What more she had expected there to be there she didn't quite know, but nonetheless it was a relief. Changing quickly for bed, it didn't take her long to fall into a very deep sleep.

Xxx

Regina woke with a gasp, sitting bolt upright in her bed as the sheets slipped from her body. She looked around for what had woken her, breathing heavily, but found nothing out of place. She reached a hand to her forehead, feeling the perspiration that was dripping down the side of her face, and tried to remember the dream she had been having. It wouldn't come.

She knew that she had been dreaming, somehow she was certain, but the memory was irretrievable. As Regina tried to force herself to try and recall it her head began to ache, a low dull throbbing in her temple. It was like trying to catch the smoke from a dying fire, her fingers curling around the wisps only for them to dissipate at once. Her breathing slowed, her heart settling down and she eventually gave up. Whatever had haunted her during the night was gone, and she hoped that it wasn't about to return. Pushing the crumpled sheets aside, she headed for the shower and tried to push it to the back of her mind.

Xxx

'Hey Mom,' Henry said as he bounded down the stairs, bag already slung across his shoulder, 'you okay?'

'Fine, thank you,' Regina answered as convincingly as she could, pushing a bowl of cereal across the kitchen counter as he sat down.

'Are you sure? Because I don't have to go to school…'

'Nice try,' she grinned, taking a drink from her mug of coffee. 'I have a lot of work to be getting on with anyway; the office is in a mess. I don't know how I managed to get so behind. But when you come back on Friday I'll have caught up and I'll cook something for dinner.'

'Lasagne?'

'Of course,' she said, her smile widening. She finished her coffee, needing the caffeine boost, and looked up at the clock.

'You're going to be late,' she pointed out.

'Will you walk with me?'

Regina raised an eyebrow. 'Are you not too cool to be walked to the bus stop by your mother?'

'Never,' he grinned, wolfing down the rest of his cereal. 'Ready!'

Grabbing her coat, Regina followed Henry as he rushed out of the door and they walked to the bus stop outside of Granny's. They arrived just as the bus pulled in and she gave her son a quick but close hug.

'Call me later, okay?' he asked, the protectiveness he felt towards her coming through in his tone.

'Tonight, I will,' she promised, releasing him from her arms, 'have a good day.'

'See you!'

Regina waited until the bus was out of sight, before turning on her heel and walking, but not towards her office.

Xxx

Gold was in the back office when he heard the bell on the shop door ring. It was early, before nine, and he had only just started the arduous task of reviewing the old spell books in hope of some reference to Regina's ailment; he hadn't expected anyone to come in. As he walked through to the shop he wondered whether Emma, Mary Margaret or Robin would be the first to hound him for answers. His money was on Robin. When he saw Regina standing waiting for him, arms crossed and a familiar look of annoyance on her face he was surprised.

She looked almost her old self again, wearing a formal grey dress beneath her black trench coat and a pair of regal black heels. Her make-up was flawless, and only her eyes betrayed her. They shined with a darkness that lay buried deep within, with secrets that would go unspoken. Though whether these were new secrets or old, Gold couldn't yet tell.

'Regina,' he said carefully, knowing that he would need to think through everything he said before the words escaped him, 'how are you feeling.'

'Well enough.'

The phrasing of her answer was not lost to Gold, and he felt an uncomfortable stab of sympathy that few managed to draw from him.

'What can I do for you today?'

'You can cut the crap,' she snapped.

'I don't know what you mean.'

Regina laughed without a trace of humour.

'We both know that magic doesn't fluctuate for no reason,' she challenged, 'and that doesn't cause someone to faint. You made that up, you lied to me. I don't know why and I don't care, I just want to know the truth.'

Gold paused for a moment, trying to think. They were playing a dangerous game, though she couldn't understand the stakes, and he held all of the cards.

'Well?'

'You're right,' he admitted slowly, 'that isn't what happened.'

'Then what did?' she pressed impatiently, unfolding her arms.

'You don't want to know.'

She stared at him, confused. His expression was unreadable as she searched for an explanation for his vague answer, and she felt a familiar anger beginning to rise within her as well as something else; fear of what it was that she supposedly didn't want to know.

'Who are you to decide that?' asked Regina, uncrossing her arms and placing them on her hips. 'I don't need coddling, not from you and not from anyone. I need to know what happened.'

'And if I refuse to tell you?'

Regina's face darkened, her eyes flashing dangerously and narrowing as she took a step towards the counter that separated them.

'Then I will make you tell me,' she breathed.

Gold laughed, practically begging her to challenge him, and she squared her shoulders in response. Regina lifted her hand ready to cast, but she stopped. Gold saw something change within her, and she seemed to lose her way for a moment. She winced, her hand reflexively moving towards her temple before she caught herself almost self-consciously.

'Headache?' he asked

'It's nothing,' she muttered, lowering her hand to her side.

'Have you had many?'

'Just since yesterday,' sighed Regina, 'it'll go in a second, they don't last long.'

She looked up at him, her anger fading in favour of a more tired resignation. 'I take it you know why?'

'I have a theory,' he admitted. After a moment, he decided it would be best to elaborate. 'It's a side effect.'

'Side effect?' she questioned.

'Of a curse.'

Regina's brow creased in confusion. 'A curse?'

'A failed one,' Gold continued. 'The headaches are…an aftershock of sorts. They'll recede eventually, in the mean time I can only advise aspirin.'

'I don't even know where to begin,' she said, shaking her head. She turned and walked away from him, slowly beginning to pace. When her eyes found his again they were full of questions.

'What curse…who cursed me? Is Henry in danger?'

'As to what, I'm not certain but it doesn't matter it didn't work. Henry is in no danger, I can assure you of that.'

Regina eyed him suspiciously. 'You didn't answer who.'

'I'm still looking for the perpetrator,' Gold said smoothly.

'Liar,' she hissed, moving back towards him. 'How would you know for certain that Henry was safe if you didn't know who cursed me? Was it you?'

'No,' he said at once.

'Then who?'

Gold sighed. He had been backed into a corner, one he wasn't likely to escape without giving something away. He considered his response for a moment before answering.

'By you.'

It took her a while for the words to sink in, and once they did everything seemed to slow down.

'I… I don't…why? Was it-'

'Purposeful? Yes. I told you that you didn't want to know.'

'Do you know why I did it?' she asked, hating how vulnerable she felt looking to Gold for answers.

'No,' he lied subtly, 'and I gather that you yourself don't remember.'

'I…' she started, but simply shook her head lowering her gaze.

'Then perhaps it is best left that way,' offered Gold gently. 'Everything is seemingly back to normal, as far as I can tell. Leave it buried in the past where it belongs.'

Her head snapped up as another thought crossed her mind. 'Does Henry know?'

'No,' he lied again, hoping to spare them both that burden. Regina seemed willing enough to accept his word, her expression stricken and her mind clearly trying to process what she had just learned.

She straightened up, not sure what else to say and turned to leave the shop. Before she reached the door, she paused.

'It didn't work?'

'It did not,' he confirmed.

'And…no-one else…'

'Your secret is safe,' he assured her, feeling somewhat guilty knowing the falseness of that promise.

'Then maybe the past should stay where it belongs,' mumbled Regina, to herself as much as Gold, before she walked out into the bright morning sunshine.

Gold returned to the office, thumbing through a book of ancient spells and hoping that he could find something to put this right. He knew that what he had told her would be enough for now, a lie hidden behind a veil of half-truths, but if she started to dig deeper then surely she would find the truth. Now more than ever, he felt the weight of his willingness to help on his shoulders. He wished that he didn't care, yet knew that it was never that simple.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter. All reviews are greatly appreciated. I can't promise when the next chapter will be as I have in the past and then failed to deliver, but there will be more I promise that!