CHAPTER 25

"Daniel?"

Regina stood beside the lake where she'd first encountered Blue and Daniel the last time she was in the Nether. It hadn't changed at all. The only differences were this time she knew where she was and what was going on around her. That and there was no baby Blue or Daniel in sight.

She'd been waiting and calling her love for a while and still she'd received no response. After a few more minutes of waiting she began to walk forward hoping she'd eventually come to her house once again.

She'd been dreaming of this throughout her pregnancy. She'd been grateful for Emma's help through the labor but even then she'd been desperately wishing that it was Daniel who held her hands and softly encouraged her. Trying to get back that feeling she'd had when it was she, Blue and Daniel had been what drove her forward.

The fog she'd remembered from her last time in the Nether had somehow managed to become even denser. She had to squint hard to be able to see any distance ahead of her. Thankfully after stumbling around a bit she finally managed to make her way back to her mansion.

She burst into the house calling for her love, "Daniel!" When she received nothing but her own voice echoing throughout the house followed by silence, she stood in the doorway feeling despondent. She'd come all this way and still nothing.

She slowly made her way upstairs stopping to check in all of the rooms along the way. She looked into Blue's room in confusion as she saw what had become of it. It no longer held any of the dolls, toys, or furnishings fit for a princess that it once had. Instead it was littered with boxes and looked to be a storage room.

Not wanting to panic over what this could possibly mean she reminded herself that Blue was safely at home with her Mother and sister. She was safe and surrounded by love. If a problem arose, they would alert her immediately.

She moved on quickly poking her head into each room and calling out for Daniel as she went. After she made the rounds upstairs she went back downstairs continuing her search. When she came up empty after going all through the house, she ended up in her living room next to the fireplace. She took a seat on the plush sofa in front of it and conjured up a fireball. She threw it into the fireplace. Normally fire had a tendency to sooth her. Unfortunately this time it wasn't working.

She had promised her Mother and sister that she'd only be a short while. But here in the Nether she had no idea how much time had passed. She decided to give it a few more minutes before having to call it quits. She curled her legs underneath her as she settled more comfortably onto the sofa and stared miserably into the flickering flames.

"Daniel, where are you?"

-;-

Zelena glanced uneasily at her Mother as she bounce walked Blue up and down the length of the bedroom. The second Regina entered the spirit world, Blue had let out a piercing wail. Tears were streaming down her reddened face and she was inconsolable. Watching her arms and legs flail around and hearing her piercing cries broke her Aunt's heart, "She knows."

Cora merely nodded as she cooed softly to her granddaughter, "we come from a long line of strong, powerful women." She pressed her lips to the wailing baby, "this little one will be no exception."

She moved closer to the bed where her daughter lay, "she's not gone little one. She's still here," she said softly as she laid the baby across her Mother's chest.

Blue began to calm but she was still clearly upset. Her tears had slowed but continued running down her cheeks as she burrowed her face into her Mum. She sniffled as she lay across her Mum's chest sucking on her tiny fist.

Cora sat beside them and rubbed soothing circles across Blue's tiny back as Mother and daughter locked eyes with one another. Their pale faces and rounded wide eyes mirrored the apprehension they saw on the other. Neither one of them were happy about this situation.

Though they were all getting better at the family thing they were still far from being healed. Wounds of the past run the deepest and last the longest for everyone. That coupled with the stubborn nature that all 3 women possessed and there was still a ways to go on the road ahead of them on their way to happy.

They had both tried to talk Regina out of going. But she had insisted that she needed to see Daniel. And she was Cora's babygirl and Zelena's little sister. It made saying no to her very difficult for both women.

They tried not to dwell on how they had initially come together as a family. But still – Regina's suicide attempt wasn't far from either of their minds. Not wanting to upset her, they kept their fears and worries to themselves as Zelena helped her and Cora learn spirit walking. When their skill level was high enough they knew there was no way they could hold her back. So instead Zelena and Cora helped support her in whatever way she could as she prepared to go back to the Nether.

Zelena took a seat on the other side of her sister's body and toyed with Blue's hand. She smiled as her tiny fingers instinctively wrapped around her pinkie, "she's perfect."

Cora grinned and nodded enthusiastically, "she is a Mills dear. It's in the genes."

Both women kept their gazes trained on Blue and not the corpselike body of Regina lying there looking like death itself. She was still sniffling but at least she had stopped crying. Now she lay on top of her Mother blinking slowly as it became clear her falling asleep was imminent.

Cora bit her lip as she looked at her eldest, "just a few more minutes. Then I'll bring her back home."

Zelena nodded her consent. The two went back to keeping counsel beside Regina and baby Blue.

CF

Emma stared up at the ceiling commiserating over her life. A year and a half ago she'd had things all worked out. She'd been reunited with her son. She'd met the mother of her child and had fallen deeply in love. It was supposed to be her happily ever after.

Then the horror began. Out of the blue it seemed, Regina began to push her away and refused to allow her to see her son. Emma had been hurt, angry and confused since things between them had been going so well. All of her defensive walls that she'd been erecting since childhood had lowered after she and Regina became a 'we' had returned even higher than ever before. She felt a change come over her that she hadn't liked. She became moody, impatient and intolerant. But she still carried the hope that once Regina understood that their family was meant to be, things would return back to normal and they could just continue on with their happily ever after.

Then Henry had fallen prey to a sleeping curse that had been meant for her. That's when Emma had to accept that all of Henry's rants and raves weren't just moody preteen fueled rages from an overimaginative child who should probably spend a lot less time with comic books and fairy tale stuff and more time with humans. She had to face a fact she had been slowly coming around to but hoped wasn't true; the curse was real.

That had begun an avalanche of toxic waste she'd become buried under and still couldn't seem to rise out of. Finding out that her parents were alive was one thing. Finding out that her Mother was her roommate and younger than her was another.

Regina had reluctantly teamed up with her in order to save Henry. She'd explained to Emma that she would have to fight to recover a bottle of true love that would cure him. But it wasn't until she had descended the hidden dungeon underneath the library that she'd realized she'd had to slay a dragon for it.

Rumple had then cheated her out of her chance to save her son by tricking the potion from her. And when Henry had flatlined she'd poured every ounce of hope and love that she had left in her into that one last kiss. Henry had been cured by her true love's kiss and the curse was broken. But – truth be told - so was she.

When the curse broke, it wasn't only Henry who woke up. The entire town was now awake. And with it came all of their expectations of her, her life, time, and choices.

Her parents wanted her to take her rightful place as their daughter as they reascended to their throne. Her son and the town wanted her to be their Savior. Emma had done the only thing she knew to do. Run.

She and Regina had spent one last dizzying night wrapped in one another's arms before they had to face the ugly truth. There was no happily ever after for them. She was a Charming and Regina was the Evil Queen. There was no way they could be together.

Emma realized she'd spent the past few months going through the motions of trying to make things appear fine. But they weren't. Losing Blue was merely one more blow to an already damaged soul.

She sat up and threw her legs over the edge of the bed before making her way to the bathroom. She took care of her morning business then over to the sink to was her hands. She scowled as she stared at herself in the vanity mirror. Her eyes were reddened and her whole face was still puffy from crying.

She had no idea how she was going to fix her life. Blue and Regina were gone and she had no idea if or when they'd ever be back. The only thing she knew was that there was still Henry to worry about.

She felt bad as she threw cold water on face. He deserved better than he'd gotten lately. His Father was a loser, he had one Mother who'd abandoned him physically, and the other who'd been abandoning him emotionally lately. She felt shame flood through her but she quickly pushed it away. This was about making things better for her son and selfishly focusing on herself wasn't going to get that done.

She skipped brushing her teeth and instead opted for swishing mouthwash around her mouth. She hurriedly ran a brush through her hair as she heard Henry beginning to stir around the kitchen. After a last look in the mirror to ensure she looked presentable she made her way into the kitchen.

Henry was at the toaster with an opened box of strawberry poptarts in of him. He was already dressed for school in a pair of jeans and a button down shirt with a sweater on top of it. Just looking at his preppy clothes was enough to let Emma know that he sure wasn't only her son.

Emma rounded him just as the toaster dinged. She grabbed the pop tarts before he could and tossed them into the sink.

"Hey! That's my breakfast!" Henry stared at his ruined sweets in horror.

"That stuffs not good for you. Sit down. I'll make us something," Emma opened the refrigerator and perused the interior. Thankfully butter and cheese keep well. She made a mental note to go shopping later as she turned towards the counter and checked the bread box. The bread was stale but not moldy. She began to put together a couple of cheese toasts. She grinned toward her son and waggled her eyebrows at him, "Looks like we're having cheese toasts."

Henry still wasn't too happy about the loss of his breakfast. They were the last poptarts in the house. His Mom never let him have any. She considered giving kids processed food the same as abuse. It was only after moving in with Emma and his grandparents that he was allowed things like precooked meals and frozen or processed foods. He sometimes missed his Mother's homecooking and coming home to a warm house filled with delicious aromas. But some of it wasn't so bad. "They're called grilled cheese sandwiches," he shook his head and rolled his eyes at Emma.

"Not where I come from. In foster care, they don't really tell you much about food other than you're lucky if you get it daily. So we just called them cheese toasts. Go have a seat," she absently pointed to what was considered the dining room tables behind them. "They'll be ready in a minute."

Henry sat at the table sulking while he waited for any type of acknowledgement from Emma. He was completely confused about everything that had been going on lately.

After she'd made her declaration last night of having a town meeting today, she'd then disappeared into her room. His grandparents thankfully disappeared back to their apartment. None of them seemed concerned with where he was or what he was doing. It wasn't like at home where his Mom made sure to check up on him at least every 30 minutes that he was out of her sight. Not wanting to be burdened with keeping up a fake front with them he'd instead opted for staying in his own place.

Even though it was early he'd decided to just get ready for bed. He'd taken his shower and put on his pajamas just for something to do. Afterward he'd sat staring at the tv trying to piece together everything that had happened the past couple of weeks.

His Mom and Emma now had a baby. And he had a baby sister. It still didn't feel real to him.

After finding out that the baby was coming he'd pushed it to the back of his mind. He'd seen the pictures and videos that Regina had sent Emma but it was like looking through someone else's family albums.

He'd had nothing but a sense of total disconnect. Well – maybe slight twinges of what he didn't want to admit was jealousy when he saw his Mom smile in a way he hadn't seen ever. Even when she did smile at him in that way that made her whole face light up there was still always that sadness deep inside her eyes. He remembered that she sometimes had nightmares and knew that something bad had happened to her once. It's just – he'd forgotten all those Mom things about her for a while there. Now – as his memories of her were fading more - he wanted desperately to remember every little thing about her.

Then Emma had disappeared for almost 3 weeks. He'd thought that she would be bringing the baby back with her and had prepared himself for what a crummy situation that was going to be. A baby would've taken everyone's attention from him. Even his grandparents were more excited about the baby than he'd ever seen them about anything other than themselves. Now that she was back he had to admit he felt a little happy that he didn't have to share his home and his last remaining parent with a baby. But even that hadn't lasted long.

Nothing here was as it should be. Before the curse – everything made complete sense to him. Now it felt like everything he'd worked so hard for was slipping through his fingers.

Emma had gone from being his best friend to a roommate who did nothing but cry over her baby. His Dad spent most of his time talking about his life away back at his 'home' in New York with side references to Henry being welcome to join him and his fiancé from time to time. His Grandparents were completely wrapped up in themselves. He had no idea where that left him.

Emma divided the last bit of crangrape juice between two glasses while she waited for the sandwiches to fry up. She placed one in front of Henry and sipped at hers as she flipped both sandwiches. Once they were done, she took the finished sandwiches off the skillet and put them on two plates. She sliced them both crosswise and sat Henry's on the table in front of him before taking hers over to her seat across from him.

For a moment, Henry stared down at his sandwich. Emma had cut it into 2 large triangles. But his Mother would've cut it into 4 or maybe even 8 small ones for him. His stomach growled prompting him to dig into his sandwich. As he took his first bite he stared curiously at Emma as she sat quietly with her head bowed. He chewed thoughtfully as he waited for her to say whatever it was that was bothering her.

Emma spread her hands out on either side of her plate as she carefully planned her next words. She swallowed thickly and blinked repeatedly to hold her tears at bay. She tried to school her face but she didn't have Regina's skills. She tried for an upbeat tone but even she cringed a little as she heard herself speak, "Your Mom has promised that no matter what we'll still be able to see your sister," she pushed out of her tight throat quickly. Her fingers curled into fists as her chest became constricted but she pushed ahead anyway. "She says she'll make sure that we have some kind of visitation. She just can't promise on a schedule or anything right now."

Henry frowned before tossing what was left of his breakfast onto his plate. It was weird hearing Emma call that baby his sister. He'd of course looked at the videos and pictures that Emma had sent while she'd been away and still nothing. Even though he knew technically it was true. He still felt little to no connection with her.

"So I'm going to have visitation with Mom while you visit with your baby?"

Emma's face registered surprise before she managed to school her features again. Regina had made no mention of wanting anything to do with Henry. Quite the opposite in fact. She never asked about him. Not even how he was doing or if he was adjusting in any way. She didn't even seem to care to hear any news about him. Emma had tried repeatedly to bring him up in conversations and each time she'd been shut down. When she'd explained what Zelena had done to him before they'd poofed there, Regina had shown no care or interest in the situation. Emma had been the one who'd had to tell her that if she ever used magic on her son she'd have to answer to her for it. "Is that what you want?"

He shrugged and avoided eye contact. "I guess it's fair," he said softly as he toyed with his sandwich crusts. "Since you'll be with your baby and all."

She cleared her throat nervously and began gathering up their dishes before heading over to the sink. 'We'll see I guess," she muttered. She could tell that he was hoping for more but there was only so much pain she was willing to heap onto his shoulders.

Henry stared at the stiff way that Emma held her shoulders as he watched her scrub at the dishes. Before he could continue the conversation however his grandmother entered the apartment.

Emma scowled as Snow let herself in once again without preamble. She walked over to the kitchen bar that was a semi-division between the kitchen and living room area. She propped her elbows on it and leaned her head on her fists. Without even a 'hello', 'good morning', or 'how are you?' to either of them she launched into her diatribe, "Your Dad and I have been thinking. It's clear that Regina's had some effects on you and your behavior. I don't really think you're in the right frame of mind to lead a town meeting."

Emma scoffed at her as she finished up the dishes. "I wasn't asking for either of your permissions. And I'm still calling for a town meeting tonight," she told her as she dried her hands on a kitchen towel.

Snow frowned and crossed her arms, "and what exactly is the reasoning behind this?"

Ignoring her, Emma turned to Henry, "go and get your stuff for school so you're not late."

Henry didn't want to leave. He started to protest but when Emma fixed him with a piercing glare, he knew she wasn't kidding. He leaped up and headed to his room for his things.

Turning her attention back to Snow, she walked around the kitchen bar and squared off against her. "I can tell you what it's not about. It sure as hell isn't about you. Or about your stupid campaign. I'm doing what I have to do as Sheriff of this town for everyone."

Snow looked her daughter up and down, reading – and not liking – her defensive body language or tone of voice. She puckered her lips, "I don't think you're understanding the gravity of your actions Emma. I mean – first this whole baby thing. Which I understand wasn't your fault since you had no idea you could have a baby. But with the Evil Queen?! And then on top of that – you just abandon here there instead of bringing her back home to her family where she belongs." She threw up her arms in exasperation, "I mean – I just don't even know what to do with you anymore."

Emma had stood quietly fuming as she listened to her Mother's rant. She silently kept trying to remind herself that this was her family now. And this was her life and there was nothing more she could do except figure out a way for it to work. "This baby thing? Blue is my daughter! She's not a 'thing' to be managed! You expect me to just get over what's happened just because you're capable of abandoning an infant?!"

Snow's mouth dropped in disbelief of what she was seeing and hearing. She had never seen nor heard Emma so belligerent before. She knew she had a temper. And that she was having a hard time adjusting to life post curse. But this was becoming too much! "We did what we had to do to save our family!"

Before anymore words could be said, Henry returned with his backpack slung over his shoulder, "I'm ready."

Emma went over to him and bent down to his level. "I really hope you have a good day ok?"

Henry nodded in surprise. It had been a long time since he'd connected with Emma. He was starting to think that maybe she had forgotten him. He gave her a small smile as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Love you kid," she ran her hands through his hair before ruffling it.

Snow huffed and blew out a breath. "Come along Henry before we're late. This conversation isn't over Emma," Snow called over her shoulder as she led him out the door.

Emma rolled her eyes before turning toward her room to get ready for the day. One thing was for damned sure. These people weren't going to change easily. She had to get through to them that they needed to figure out how to exist in this reality as opposed to their happy happy joy joy fairy tales.

RQ

Regina grinned down at her baby before plucking her from her bath. She wrapped the towel around herself and folded it around her daughter as she lightly patted her down. She pressed her lips to her temple as she dried her down, "My little moppet. I love you so much."

She was taking even more extra special care than she normally did with her since her Mother and sister had told her about how upset Blue had gotten when she thought her Mum was gone. Even during her pregnancy she had felt as if she and Blue had an even more special relationship than most pregnant Mothers.

Blue seemed to respond to her moods and communicate with her more. When she was upset, Blue would squirm around and run her hand or foot up and down her belly as if trying to give her a supportive caress. When she wanted nothing to do with Emma and tried her best to ignore any feelings involving her away, Blue would keep up a pattern of almost nonstop kicks and punches. Regina was certain she'd bruised all of her internal organs.

Yes, the little one had definitely inherited the Evil Queen's temperament. She had no one but herself to blame for that one.

But there was more to it than that. She'd noticed that Blue responded to Emma almost as much as she responded to her. She was a baby who loved attention either way she got it. But she seemed calmer when she or Emma held her than when she was held by the rest of the family. She would gurgle up at her sisters or her Mom when they held her. But when she or Emma did it, she would practically burrow herself into them.

After drying her off she climbed onto her bed and got into a comfortable position. She always made sure that the room temperature was comfortable enough so that Blue could spend some time out of her diaper and airing out some after her baths. "I'm really sorry I upset you princess. That wasn't my intention. Mummy just really needed to see our old friend," she leaned back against the pillows she'd stacked behind her back. She pulled out her breast and began to nurse her baby.

Blue sniffled and pursed her lips together. Regina chuckled at how adorable her li'l mini me looked doing an Evil Queen impression. She offered her a nipple and almost begrudgingly Blue accepted.

After the first suckle at her teat, the Emma Swan genes in her kicked in and Blue began to enjoy her meal in earnest. Her eyes closed and she gave a small moan as her belly began to fill.

"Like Mother like daughter huh?" again Regina chuckled.

CF

Emma kept her eyes peeled as she mentally went over everyone's fairy tale identity in her head. Her Mother was supposed to be the Secretary. But she and her Father had been whispering among themselves and alternating between glaring and waiting for Emma to acknowledge their glaring.

Emma heaved a deep sigh and continued to ignore them. For her, it had already been a long day. She just wanted this part over with as soon as possible.

After getting dressed in a pair of jeans, a sweater, and her knee high boots, she'd gone into the office for a few hours. She'd brushed past her dad and went into her office and closed then locked the door. She'd done a bit of paperwork but didn't bother to overdo it. Though her parents had taken over as co-Mayors of the town, they weren't as strict as Regina was with deadlines.

Her stomach grumbling a few hours later reminded her that it was time to eat. She printed up the flyers she had made about the town hall meeting, grabbed some tape, and headed over to Granny's.

"Em!" Ruby greeted her with a hug. Granny just peered at her over the rim of her spectacles. "I didn't know you were back."

"Well - ," she hugged her friend back for a moment before pulling away embarrassed. She really had missed her. Ruby was the closest thing to a best friend she'd had in a long time. "That's the power of poofing."

"Where's Blue?" When she saw Emma's face fall so did hers. "It's okay Emma. Tell me all about it," she said as she steered her best friend over to the last booth where they could both have some privacy. It had previously been Regina's booth. For some reason, the patrons were still leaving it empty as if they were terrified of what she'd do if she mysteriously came back and found them there.

Emma slid into one side of the booth while Ruby slid into the other. "Okay. Well see - ."

After her lunch and an assurance from Ruby and Granny that they'd spread the word about the town hall later, Emma had walked around the town taping her flyers on various posts and outside a few of the downtown businesses. The good thing about a small town was that everyone - at some point in the day – passed through downtown so there was no way they could say they'd had no idea about tonight's meeting.

Now she sat nervously bouncing her leg waiting for everyone to settle in so that she could call the meeting to order. When she saw who walked in the door though she was immediately off her chair and stalking down the aisle of the town hall.

"What are you doing here?" she was glaring at Neal but she cut her eyes toward Tamara making it clear that she was directing this at both of them.

"I told him about it. He is my Dad," Henry answered.

Emma held her hand up to silence him, "this is between the adults Henry. Go and take a seat."

Henry frowned at her but when she frowned back at him, he swallowed whatever it was he was about to say. He stomped down the aisle to the front row and threw himself in a chair. He sat sideways as he kept his eyes trained on them.

"Henry told us there was a town hall meeting," Neal answered a little confused by this new Emma. She was a far cry from the shy, scared teenager that he'd met 10 years ago.

"Exactly," she put her hand on her hip and glared at him. "As in residents of the town. Not visitors."

Neal scrunched up his face confused, "I don't see what that has to do with anything."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Emma asked sarcastically.

Before Neal could argue over it anymore, Tamara put her hand on his forearm and gave him a reassuring smile, "that's fine. Why don't you stay here to support Henry? I have some paperwork to do back in our room anyway."

"Are you sure?" Neal looked like he still wanted to argue though even he was confused over why he was fighting at all.

"Of course," she pecked him on the lips. "Go be with your son," she encouraged.

Neal nodded and smiled at her. Then he walked over to the empty seat beside Henry.

As Tamara made her way out of the building, she heard Emma call out. "Okay everyone. We'll give it a few more minutes for the stragglers then we'll begin."

After leaving the building she looked around her before pulling out her phone. She searched her contacts for the home office then tapped out a text. They're all having a town meeting. I'll be over at the inn in 5 minutes.

She looked around her to make sure no one was watching. Seemed in this bupkis town, they took town hall meetings seriously. The sidewalks were clear. Even the businesses had closed up early so that they didn't miss a minute. She quickly made her way back to the inn. She knocked on the door of the room that was down the hall from the one she shared with Neal.

When the door opened, she grinned up at the man staring down at her, "Hi Owen."

RQ

Regina hadn't meant to. It was completely an accident. Well – maybe subconsciously she'd wanted it.

She'd put Blue to bed before climbing into her own. Though it was early, she'd already learned that it was best to nap whenever Blue did.

Because she was on breastmilk instead of formula, Blue required feedings more often. Which meant Regina would be sleeping a lot less.

After putting her down, she'd laid herself down and tried to get some rest. But her mind wouldn't leave the Nether. Before she knew it she was back there. She never even heard her baby start to cry.

MF

Cora blinked confused as to why she was awake. Then she heard it. Blue's wails.

She jumped out of bed and quickly made her way down to her daughter's room. There was a room that adjoined Regina's that she had eventual plans to turn into a nursery. But her room was so large that she had been able to fit a crib, rocker, and diaper station in the corner of it. She'd said she wasn't yet ready to be apart from her baby even if it was only in the next room.

When she ran into the room she took one look at Regina's corpselike figure on the bed and knew immediately what had happened. She went to the intercom they'd had installed throughout the house and called for Zelena. Then she went to grab a very upset Blue out of her crib.

Green smoke appeared before Zelena did. Once she'd appeared, her face took on a hue not far from her signature green. She wrapped an arm around her middle as she bent over slightly, "remind me not to do that again while pregnant."

Cora was busy trying to calm Blue so she didn't bother to answer her. Instead she tossed her head toward the bed, "Look."

Zelena looked over and saw her sister's body lying still. Too still. As she realize what had happened she huffed, "Oh for the love of - ," she started to say.

But before she could finish there was a pop then a plume of pink and silvery smoke.

Her Mother stared in horror at her empty hands, "Oh my God!"

"Did that just - ," Zelena's eyes were wide as she took in what had just happened. "Oh my God!"

"I've got to wake her," Cora went over to the empty side of the bed and lay down. After a few deep breaths, she entered the Nether.

CF

As soon as Emma unlocked the door to their apartment, Henry raced to his room. He ran inside and slammed the door shut. He just couldn't believe what had just happened.

Emma, for her part, followed at a more relaxed pace. She ignored Henry's tantrum and instead laid her body out across the sofa. She swore she was just going to rest for a minute.

The next thing she knew, she heard a pop and then pink and silver smoke appeared. She blinked sleepily at it as she wondered what next? The next thing she knew, her baby girl was scrunched up on her chest.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed as she sat up carefully. "Holy, holy shit!"