Have the next chapter mostly written, so should get up in the next few days.

Thanks for continuing to read and review.

Henry had been driven to school. He was petulant and unimpressed as he sat with Emma in the police cruiser, but they didn't want to expose him to the more adult conversations that were going to happen. Ones about dark magic, bodily harm, even death.

He pouted all the way there, thinking he could contribute and feeling his opinions were being ignored because he was a child. He didn't understand that this was to protect him and try and prolong his childhood. Needless exposing him to grim realities wasn't something Regina, Emma, Snow or Charming wanted.

Henry was still young and believed good had to win, not knowing life could be cruel and that sometimes what was right wasn't what actually happened. They hoped his outlook wouldn't be shattered in the next few days, that his life wouldn't get turned upside down.

Emma reached over as he made to get out of the car. She placed her hand on his shoulder and held him from running into the school building.

"Don't I get a goodbye?"

"Yeah, ok, goodbye." He muttered at her, head down and not wanting to look at her.

"Don't be like that, we are doing this for your own good." She sometimes forgot he was still a child, but she was reminded now as he sulked.

"It feels like you don't trust me." He told her, looking up and searching her face.

"We trust you, it's Cora we don't trust."

He didn't see a lie, but he was frustrated none the less. It showed in his next outburst, "Then why am I here instead of with you guys!? Surely that's the safest place? You can all protect me."

"What we are doing is very dangerous Kid, and if she finds out she could attack. You'll be safer here, away from us. Someone will pick you up after school but until we work out what she knows and exactly what we are doing it's a little difficult."

He stopped and thought for a moment, underneath Emma's words he sensed she was frightened. He knew his brunette mother hadn't faired very well over the past week either. They needed him to behave and not be a cause of added stress, they had enough to deal with. He had seen the negative way David in particular had reacted to them confessing their relationship and knew he had to support them as best he could.

"Just promise me you'll look after everyone, especially Mom." Henry levelled her with his best glare and Emma held his gaze as she promised, "Always."

He nodded at her and walked away. Emma waited until he had entered the building before she pulled away and did a quick sweep of town. She was looking out for Cora, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary so she drove back to her parents to wait for them and Regina to come back from their respective errands.

Regina stood and stared at the heart. It was pulsing on the kitchen counter in the loft apartment. It threw odd reflections and bathed the room in a hideous hue. She hated it. She hated her mother. But was she ready to do what had to be done? There might be other options, she could try and control her mother, if she was given time maybe she could limit her mother's magic so she was just an angry and emotionally stunted woman, rather than a power hungry and dangerous murderer. She could try and put the heart back, maybe with it inside her chest her mother might calm and resemble a normal person, dare she even dream, a loving mother.

Emma stood by her side, offering what little comfort there was. They were waiting for Snow and Charming to return from Gold's shop and every minute Regina became more jittery. She wanted to be allowed to try, to give it every opportunity before they made the decision to go to war with Cora where the outcome would have to be death.

Regina tensed as they heard footsteps and then a key in the lock. As Snow and Charming walked in she saw Snow's gaze flick to the heart and then her face broke into a smile, Regina had succeeded and her faith in the older woman had been rewarded.

It was short lived as David took charge and asked the question she had been dreading. "What are you going do with it now?"

The look between the blonde and the brunette was of love, dedication, encouragement. Emma squeezed her hand, a silent reassurance to speak honestly and that she would be there and support her.

"I'd like to speak to Gold, he knows more than I about this. With a normal heart you can control a person, the magic and enchantment surrounding this heart means you can't do that, but there must be a way to gain control of my Mother. You could keep it here until we are successful in breaking the enchantment."

"That could take too long and assumes Gold will help us." Charming took the lead, not warming to the plan.

"I can return my Mother's heart, and hope by returning it we return her feelings. She would be much less dangerous then."

Charming shook his head and Emma had to bite her tongue. She felt a fierce desire to defend Regina, but her father was making good and rational arguments. She was responding with pure feeling and being led by her heart. Perhaps his distance and objectivity would give them a solution the women couldn't see.

Her father rejected that idea too by saying, "But that is only a theory and she could remove the heart at any time returning to the cold blooded version we have to deal with now."

"It is possible we can enchant the heart so it couldn't be removed after we return it." Regina tried to make Charming see some merit in her idea.

"You crushed hearts in The Enchanted Forest, causing immediate death. Why can't we do that now?" He pinned her down, asking a direct question, but she was evasive.

"There are other options." Regina defended. She didn't like the way this was going, his tone wasn't quite hostile, but he was aggressive and this wasn't really a conversation.

"Crush it." Charming was forceful, to him it was a simple option and she remembered how he would have executed her back in the old world. Maybe it was his upbringing as a Shephard, seeing countless deaths either from injury, illness or slaughter of the animals. He had become desensitised to the act, and he could be so very cold about things that didn't affect him.

Snow watched the older brunette's face fall. It was obvious to Snow she had hoped for a different outcome. Seeing anguish settle before Regina regained a modicum of control Snow felt her pain. She remembered how much it had hurt to lose her mother. And David had lost his mother, he knew that pain, she didn't understand his immediate insistence on this.

She would speak to him about it privately, make him see that crushing the heart was best, but they would be ending Cora's life, Regina's mother would die. And that given time Regina would come to accept that, but to demand that happen right now wasn't helpful. It would just back the older woman into a corner and they knew well enough what happened when you did that to her.

"Do you have an alternative idea?" Snow tried to calm the woman, to talk it out. She had seen Emma react to David's tone. Their daughter had set her jaw and moved closer to her lover and Snow felt they were about to take sides. She didn't want that, she was trying to be the peace keeper. She wouldn't push Emma away if they could find a better solution.

She guessed she accepted this better than Charming because she had known Regina before the darkness. She remembered a kind teenager, full of life and love, who did what was right. And she hoped that maybe that person wasn't gone, just lost. Charming only knew The Evil Queen and couldn't see past that. He didn't know that underneath all the killing and endless chasing there was a time when Regina had just been a young woman with hopes and dreams like the rest of them.

Snow did recognise the irony. Had Regina not killed her father and forced her from the castle, she would likely be married to a distant King, enduring the monotony and boredom of palace life. Expected to produce children and doing her husband's bidding, stuck in the Enchanted Forest without the opportunities they had here. Her father would have wanted a good match and to secure the royal line. It would not have been a marriage for love and she never would have meet Charming without Regina's intervention. They owed the woman for setting events in motion that would lead to circumstances uniting them and finding the True Love they shared.

Charming would argue they would have had every chance of finding each other, after all finding each other was what they did, but Snow had doubts. Without Regina's descent into dark madness she wouldn't have Charming or Emma or this life, the good and the bad bits. She would give Regina some time and space because she did feel a twisted sense of debt to her. And guilt, the guilt over her admission about Daniel that never fully went away.

She needed to speak to her husband, because he was so adamant about what needed to happen, he only saw the solution that suited them. It was as if Regina's desires didn't matter and Snow thought back to how her father had treated his new wife. She could look back with hindsight and an adult head on her shoulders and see her father hadn't helped the situation. He had no love and no time for her, restricting her movements and ignoring her pleas. He had expected too much from a very young woman who was obviously out of her depth as Queen. She had needed a friend and advice. All she received was abuse and loneliness.

And now her husband was ignoring Regina's wishes, her opinion didn't matter to him and Snow desperately wanted to pull him to one side and explain that if he continued with his treatment of the brunette like that he would damage his relationship with Emma. He might not like Regina, he might not trust her, but Emma did. And with every word that fell from his mouth that degraded the fallen Queen he pushed Emma further into her arms, and further away from them.

"If you won't crush it, I will." With the ultimatum a coolness settled between Regina and Charming, their eyes locked, each with a hard edge. Any relationship they had forged in the past week was disintegrating and everyone felt the atmosphere in the room shift.

"You can't crush it, you need magic to do that." Regina told him stiffly, she felt she was being bullied, pushed to do what he wanted and she had never responded well to being dictated to.

"Then get on with it. Every moment we spend talking she could be hurting people. Or getting closer to finding the dagger."

She looked over at Emma, willing her to understand what she was going to say, "I'd like a chance to say goodbye." Regina admitted in a smaller voice than she would have liked. "I can't just crush it, I need to know this is that is the only way left before doing something so drastic."

It was a plea, he recognised it as much. But it was a weakness and a risk he wasn't prepared to take. They had an opportunity here to end it all, to save the town and he thought it was folly to ignore that.

Charming sighed and looked across at his wife for support, but strangely found it lacking. He swung his eyes to Emma who shook her head at him, warning him not to say anything else. He saw his daughter looking at the older woman with compassion and warmth and it angered him more.

"And how long is that likely to take?" He couldn't stop himself, Cora was dangerous, and they needed to resolve this. Every moment they waited his family might be in danger. He was only protecting his loved ones. Why could no-one else see that? He hated magic and this woman had no restraint, the thing that governed that part of humanity was sat on his kitchen counter, absent from her body and meaning she could act as maliciously and recklessly as she wanted. He refused to stand by any longer, they needed to act.

"You've had all week to say goodbye." His remark cut into Regina and Snow saw the delicate flinch before the brunette caught herself and stoned her face. But it was enough to alert Snow who knew what was going to happen moments before it did. She saw the older woman struggle, closing her eyes against tears. Snow was well aware she wouldn't show them that weakness, she wouldn't cry with them there.

As they were left looking at a cloud of purple smoke, Snow was unsurprised that both Regina and the heart had disappeared.

Charming went to open his mouth but Emma beat him to it.

"Don't. You've said enough." She warned him. "I'll find her and speak to her, try to calm her down. Mom," and Emma looked over at her mother, "Please collect Henry from school and take him to Ruby to look after. I'll ring when I've found her and we can try and fix this."

Her tone made it clear she had no intention of backing down or discussing it. She looked disappointedly at him as she walked to the apartment door.

"Emma!" David tried but found Snow restraining his arm.

She whispered to her husband, "I need to tell you some things about Regina and her upbringing. Explain how things were, and you might understand a little better. We need to give Emma some time and leave her to find Regina."

He didn't understand, but the look his wife gave him, the fear of losing Emma clearly written on her face, he would try. He looked at the door swinging shut and wished Emma knew he was only trying to protect her. He was a practical man, a man who worked hard and was physically strong. He could fight or fix a car, but the way the women were reacting was alien to him. It was with confusion he crossed to the kettle and filled it up to make them tea.

As he stirred the liquid in the cups he motioned to the counter and said, "Ok, tell me what it is I'm missing."

Snow sat and proceeded to tell him how Cora had controlled Regina's life and used magic to discipline her, making her conform and behave. That deviation from Cora's plan wasn't tolerated. Daniel was a deviation and he had been murdered so Regina could be manipulated into marrying the King and a similar set of controlling circumstances had then ensued.

"That's why dictating to her never ends well, she vehemently rebels. She hates having her choices limited or letting someone control things. Her reactions are extreme, but you need to understand how much her mother damaged her."

"I do understand that. That's why I thought killing her would be easy for her. She has only ever been abusive and ruined Regina's life."

"But there's the rub. You and I, we had loving relationships with our Mother's. When they passed over we were able to say goodbye and know we were loved. Regina's relationship with her Mother is completely dysfunctional, but she is still looking for the love. She hopes that one day her mother will finally say she was good enough. And if she kills her, that day will never come to pass."

Snow held his hand, he was a good man, but he was only seeing the sensible solution and none of the emotional side. But he could be made to see it, he could be compassionate and understanding, he just needed a little guiding.

"So we wait and do nothing?" He queried.

"She is close to accepting it. You can see the struggle she is going through on her face, she is too tired to hide it and knows she can't keep fighting her mother indefinitely. Emma will support her and that will help her see this is the only choice she has left. Please be patient over this, not for Regina, but for me and for our daughter."

He nodded thoughtfully, he would be prepared to wait if Snow thought that was best, she did know Regina better than he did. But he was still sceptical so asked,

"You want me to welcome her into our family, a woman who would have killed us both? Why?"

"Because I believe Regina is on a good path now, she can be redeemed if she is given time and support. Once, long ago, she was a good friend to me and I'd love to see that person again. The one that sheltered and cared for me, cared about me. The one that loved with all her heart, because that person is dedicated and loyal and would be good to Emma. And Emma deserves that, to be loved."

"We love her." David argued.

"We both know our love isn't the same. And I do believe Regina will defend Emma with everything she has, that look earlier in her eyes, the trust and gratitude, the sparkle? I've seen it before, with her first love. And it was because of that broken love she fought against us so hard in our home land, it was what drove her hatred. Loving again will motivate her like nothing else. She won't stop fighting for it so we need to accept this is happening whether we approve or not."

"I can't just forgive and forget." He put it simply, that would be a step too far.

"I know that, but we need to build a new relationship with Regina that doesn't start from hatred and mistrust. She has reached out to us and tried to change and she did that for Emma. We need to do the same and see where it takes us."

"You want me to apologise, don't you?" David caught on quickly and Snow smiled at him. She hadn't needed to guide him too far, he could be counted on to make the right decision given all the information.

"It might be a nice gesture." She told him and leaned in to kiss him.

Emma arrived at the mansion and let herself in. She knew it was empty the minute she stepped inside. It didn't feel like it did when Regina was home. And when the blonde had become so attuned to the older woman she didn't know, but she had to take a minute to think where else her lover might be.

Henry. That was all she came up with, and it was lunchtime, he would be in the playground. Emma locked the house back up and ran down to her car, ripping open the door and throwing herself in. She didn't want Regina on her own, analysing the comments her father had made. Thinking, wondering, tormenting herself.

Emma wanted her to know she wasn't alone anymore and if she had doubts then she was there to try and help, to discuss and talk things through. She put her foot down and overtook a few slow cars as she made her way across town to the school yard.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Regina by the tree line, watching their son run around in the warmth of the day. She walked over slowly and settled in next to her, waiting for the brunette to speak.

"I'm sorry I left like that." Regina eventually said and when she turned her head Emma saw the tears glistening in her eyes.

"Hey that's ok. I'm sorry my Dad is an insensitive jerk." Emma smiled at her.

"I wish he was, but he is right about my Mother. She is dangerous and the easy thing would be to crush her heart and end this quickly."

"It is your choice, you are the only one who could do it and she is your family. He wouldn't let anyone butt in and tell him how to run his family business. He should have been more understanding." Emma told her, still angry at her father and his disrespectful attitude towards the brunette.

"I just want one more chance with her, one more conversation. Is that foolish of me? I am tired Emma, and scared, and so frightened about everything. I don't think I am making a rational decision but I need this. For my own sanity, to know I tried my very best to save her. Do you understand that?"

"Of course I understand. And if that is what you want, I support it."

"Protect Henry and the heart. If things go badly, if you don't hear from me by later today, take it to Gold. Make him crush it. Remind him you are now family, do whatever you have to but end this." And Regina bent down and moved some of the undergrowth to uncover the heart, which she passed to Emma.

It made things a little difficult for a goodbye kiss, Emma wanting to pull the woman closer, hold her tight and instead there was a heart squashed between them. As their lips touched and Regina threaded her fingers through her hair Emma knew she would never get enough of the older woman. This was bliss, even if there were disasters lurking round every corner, Emma could take pleasure and relax in the simple act of kissing her lover, with breaths mingling and loving touches cementing their feelings.

She swore they would have the rest of their lives to kiss, living under this fear and scrutiny was going to end and they weren't going to lose.

Neal sat in the bar, it was a few minutes past 7. Just a few minutes that his father was late. His father was never late. He stood up and felt a little unsteady. Maybe he needed to eat something, he had skipped lunch but he had eaten a solid breakfast. Hadn't he? He thought back and remembered fragments of the meal, Ruby and her short skirt pouring his coffee, but then there was something off with his recollection, because it became foggy.

He couldn't quite focus on things until he had arrived at the library and spent time with Belle. That was a large gap in his memory. His father's words from earlier about being careful, avoiding a woman named Cora and ensuring he didn't eat anything from strangers came back to him and he felt something cold and heavy, something like dread settle in his stomach.

He had assured his father that his morning had been fine, nothing untoward had happened, but now he wasn't at all sure.

He made the decision quickly, grabbing his jacket and leaving the bar. He had his cell in is hand and tried ringing his father as he walked down the street. It went to voicemail so he rang the house, trying not to panic. Trying to convince himself that everything was fine.

As Belle answered he tried to stay calm and keep his voice level.

"Is my Father there?" He asked.

"Isn't he at The Rabbit Hole yet?" Belle responded and he felt his heart sink.

"No he isn't."

"That isn't like Rumple." Belle was beginning to pick up on Neal's nerves and barely contained panic. "Have you tried his cell phone?" She asked.

"Yeah, no answer." The young man answered dejectedly. He felt sick, with his memory loss he knew he might had inadvertently helped someone hurt his father.

"Neal." Belle took control and tried to focus him. And hearing the commanding tone in her voice he listened to her. "Do you think he is in trouble?"

"I have some memory loss, and a really bad feeling, so yeah I think he might be."

"Come to the house, I will make the phone calls." Belle told him and with that decided he picked up his feet and jogged down the sidewalk. He needed to fix this, he might not know if he could forgive his father for letting him go and choosing magic and power over him, but faced with the possibility his father might be hurt or gone he knew he still had things to ask, and things to say.

Belle rang the Charming's phone and was glad when Snow answered it after a handful of rings.

To anyone casually observing her, Regina looked self assured and was strolling with purpose down the street. Her head was high, her posture straight. But inside she was in turmoil. She was looking for her Mother, but she wasn't really looking hard. She was trying to put off the inevitable. She was usually sure of what she wanted and then ruthlessly went to get it, but with this she was hesitant.

Her outward exterior was perfect, inside she knew she had been aimlessly wandering for quite some time, trying to put off the conversation. As she walked passed the Diner with it's warm light spilling out onto the paving slabs she wished she could be inside sipping a hot cup of coffee. But she couldn't, she was on a deadline and needed to do this.

She reached the crossroads and immediately knew she wasn't alone. She looked over the road and saw her Mother watching her. Her face was impassive, but Regina felt dark magic spilling from her, that coupled with disappointment and bitterness made the air thick and unpleasant.

"We need to talk." She called out knowing her Mother would hate the vulgarity of shouting like that, but not really wanting to get any closer.

She was about to try something she had never done before, tell her Mother the truth, stand up for herself and try and make a deal with her. She felt a little like The Dark One but unlike his confidence and swagger all she felt was completely out of her depth.

"What do you want to tell me?" The older woman asked, walking closer, stalking really.

"We have your heart Mother, call off the attack. You can go back to Wonderland or start somewhere else. Storybrooke isn't right for you." There wasn't even a flicker on her Mother's face, but the words dripped poison when she replied,

"That, My Darling Daughter, sounds like a threat."

"See it as an opportunity. A chance to prosper somewhere else." Regina responded.

"But I can prosper here. Why would I give that up?" The older woman smiled but her cold, dead eyes remained stony. And Regina found herself studying the face, memorising the details because this was exactly what she had expected would happen and she knew this was likely to be the last conversation they ever shared.

"Because you no longer hold all the cards Mother. With your heart we could break the enchantment and control you or just crush it. Please think about that."

"Regina Darling, you know you can't manipulate me. That isn't our relationship and you should know that by now. But it looks like I am going to have to teach you another lesson the hard way."

Regina felt the magic coil round her, but unlike when she had been a child and held in the air and crushed, she had now learned a counter spell and was able to repel the squeezing grip round her chest. She pushed hard and sent out a pulse of magic to free herself, she only realised it might have been too much as the buildings around them shook and she heard beams, plaster and window glass crack and shatter.

Cora looked up with rage painted on her face, she had been pushed back to the other side of the street. With a feral growl she raised her hands to attack.

As Regina raised her own hands she knew her compromise had been rejected, it had never seriously been considered. She knew the only way this ended now was with Cora's death. As a tear rolled down her cheek she got ready to defend herself.

"Goodbye Mother" she whispered as she took a step forward, she face twisted in concentration and grief.

Telling the Princess that Rumple was missing immediately sparked a change in Snow's tone of voice. Gone was the soft Mary Margaret, instead it was the battle ready archer who slipped into place. And Belle was glad, she had thought maybe the couple wouldn't help or wouldn't believe her. She knew Rumple had meddled greatly and upset practically everyone around town at one time or another, it would be understandable if people refused to help him now.

As Snow spoke to Belle and took details about Rumple's last known movements Charming's cell started to ring. He saw it was Ruby and moved away from his wife to answer it.

"Regina's in trouble." Ruby told him. His stomach sunk, his daughter would be devastated if Regina got hurt.

Emma had rung earlier to explain Regina was going to see her Mother and confront her one final time, offer her an ultimatum to back down and leave Storybrooke or else they would be left with no choice but to intervene and crush her heart. He knew Emma hadn't heard from the brunette since and was worried and it appeared this was why. He had assumed The Evil Queen would be ok and able to deal with anything thrown at her, but it appeared maybe not. He felt fear coil round him, but he still reached out to grasp his sword.

"How do you know?" He asked, he knew Emma had the heart, but they couldn't control Cora or crush it without magic and as he knew from the other phone call, Gold had disappeared. Their plans were beginning to unravel and any advantage they had got was eroding by the minute.

"I saw her walk past a few moments ago. Then there was the sound of a massive explosion. You can taste the magic in the air and the dust that is settling is purple. You can hear there is a massive fight taking place and Henry is frantic."

"Stay put and keep Henry away from it." He warned. "We're on our way."