The next day was spent at Epcot. Henry decided pretty quickly that he was bored with the different countries, so they decided to figure out where the best rides for him were.
Neal studied the map he had picked up. "What about Soarin'? It says it's a flight simulator. Sounds pretty cool."
Henry nodded quickly. "That sounds awesome!"
"Yeah, it does." Emma mused. She looked at Killian and Regina. "Are you two going on?"
"I'm more of a land and sea kind of guy." Killian said.
"I've done enough flying in my lifetime." Regina smirked as Emma's mouth dropped open.
"Flying? Like as in-"
"On a broom? Of course, dear. That's how all the sorceresses of our land traveled. What, did you think we used carriages or something?"
"But... I..."
Neal smiled as he shook his head. "C'mon, before Henry takes off." He looked at Regina. "How about we meet in Italy for lunch?"
She nodded. "Sounds good."
Henry pulled his parents away impatiently. As soon as they were out of earshot, Killian turned to Regina. "Flying on a broom?"
She grinned. "It's fun making her squirm. Her limited knowledge of the Enchanted Forest makes it so easy to mess with her."
He shook his head, although he was smiling. "Let's just go to England."
Two hours had passed and Killian and Regina were waiting for the rest of their little group. They had sat on the steps outside of a nice Italian restaurant. Regina checked her watch for what felt like the hundredth time as Killian studied the crowd passing.
"Where would they be?" She asked nervously.
He shook his head. "No idea, love. But I'm sure they are fine."
"I'm going to call Emma." Regina pulled out her phone and dialed the blonde's number. After a few moments, she heard the voicemail message. She ended the call and sighed in frustration. "She didn't answer."
Killian leaned over to wrap his arm around her shoulders and press a kiss to her temple. "I'm sure they didn't hear the ringtone."
She gave him a grateful smile. "They better be here soon or I'm going to find park security."
He chuckled at her motherly instincts. A few minutes later, Regina stood as she recognized Henry. He ran over to her and she wrapped him in a hug. "What happened to you? I was so worried."
Killian stood as well while Emma sighed. "The line was .long. It was insane. And of course there was no cell phone service in there so I couldn't call you to let you know we might be a bit late."
"Yeah, we waited forever. Apparently Soarin' is a very popular ride." Neal added.
"But it was awesome! It made you feel like you were seriously flying! I could smell the pine trees and feel the ocean and it was so cool. Can we do it again?" Henry asked excitedly.
Regina held back a laugh at Emma's horrified look and Neal's tired face. "Maybe later, Henry. But for now, we should have lunch."
He accepted her answer and led the way into the restaurant. Killian patted Neal on the back. "Don't worry, mate. I'm sure he will forget about going back on."
"Yeah, well it's your turn to wait in the next line. And you will be doing this all over again in a few years." He gestured to Regina.
Killian grinned as he moved to wrap his arm around her shoulders. "I look forward to it."
Regina smiled as he kissed her. Emma waved at them to hurry up as the waiter led her and Henry to a table.
The lunch passed without event. They all enjoyed the wonderful Italian food as they talked about the things they had seen. Henry spent a good amount of time explaining what rides he wanted to go on. After lunch, they decided to go to Test Track.
"What is Test Track?" Killian asked.
"I think you are supposed to be test dummies as they test these cars. You go through three rooms; one hot, one cold, and one that smells weird. Then you go pretty fast." Neal explained.
Killian shrugged. "That doesn't seem so bad."
He and Emma volunteered to go on with Henry while Neal stayed outside with Regina. The two of them sat on a wall nearby as they waited. They watched some of the cars as they passed quickly over the heads of the waiting crowd.
"How have things been with you and Miss Swan?"
Neal turned to study his sister, who was purposely avoiding his gaze to look out across the crowd. "I knew the rooms didn't accidentally get messed up."
"Are you insinuating that I had something to do with it?" Regina looked seriously insulted. But at Neal's raised eyebrows, she cracked a smile. "You didn't answer my question."
"It's okay. I think she's still angry with me for sending her to jail." At Regina's incredulous look he held his hands up. "Which she should be, of course. I just wish we could start over again. Forget all of that. I think if I could remind her of the good times, she might want to try things out again."
Regina nodded in understanding. "Henry doesn't seem to be a huge fan of wandering through the countries, so perhaps once he is done with the rides, Killian and I will take him get something to eat and then go swimming."
Realization crossed his face as he figured out what she was doing. "Thank you."
"Pick somewhere romantic. An adult restaurant without the characters."
"Right, of course."
She gave him a look that suggested she didn't believe that he was planning on going to a character-free restaurant.
He shrugged. "I'll ask the guy at the hotel where we should go."
"Good idea."
They were silent for a few minutes until Regina spoke up. "I'm glad you and Killian have been trying to get along."
Neal looked away. "Yeah, well he isn't quite the same person he was in Neverland. He's... a pretty good guy. And now that I'm sure he loves you, it's a bit easier for me to trust him."
She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, sis. Killian realizes that this ride is pretty intense, right?"
"I doubt it." They shared a smile before looking back at the long line.
They talked for around 45 minutes as they waited for Emma, Henry, and Killian to return. Finally, the three of them stumbled out of the building. Emma was the only one that didn't look like she was going to be sick. Regina held back a laugh at Killian's face as Henry came over to them.
"How was it?'
"Horrible. Absolutely horrible. I nearly had a heart attack when we almost crashed into a truck. We barely missed it." Killian responded.
"That was intense." Henry agreed. "We walked through the rooms that had test dummies and machines and stuff before we got on. At the end, you thought you were going to crash into a wall, but at the last second, it opened and we were outside! The wind blew my hair into my eyes, but I could see the screen that said we were going 65 miles an hour! It was so cool."
"Now I know why you didn't want to go on." Killian said to Neal.
Neal grinned as Henry nodded. "Can we go on a more relaxing ride now?"
Emma smiled. "You two are wimps. It wasn't that scary."
Regina laughed as Killian looked offended. "Sure, sweetheart. Why don't we go on the Ellen Degeneres ride? It's supposed to be pretty funny."
Henry nodded and took the map she held out so he could lead them. Regina wrapped her arms around Killian. "Are you alright?"
He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Perhaps from now on I'll ask someone working there how the ride is before I go on."
Regina chuckled as they turned to follow Neal, Emma, and Henry. "Well I overheard someone talking about this ride. Apparently, it teaches you about energy. We don't have to tell Henry that though, since he doesn't want anymore educational lessons. But it's not supposed be anything too traumatic."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, dear."
Killian decided to take her word for it as they neared the building that housed the Ellen Degeneres ride. They waited to be allowed in the theater for the next pre-film and ride. It only took a few minutes, and before long they were watching the film. 45 minutes later, they stood outside the building.
"That was pretty interesting." Regina commented. Emma and Neal nodded in agreement.
"And funny, too. Who is Ellen Degeneres again?" Killian asked.
"She has a talk show. She likes to scare Taylor Swift a lot." Henry explained quickly.
"Who is Taylor Swift?"
Neal shook his head as he grinned. "Henry, is there anything else you want to see while we are here?"
The boy smiled brightly. "Soarin'?"
He groaned as Killian nodded. "Let's go, lad."
Emma checked her watch as they made their way through the crowds of people to the oddly shaped building again. They found themselves standing in front of the Soarin' ride again a few minutes after. Henry looked expectantly at all of them. Emma shook her head.
"Sorry, kid, but I'm not waiting in that line again. I'll stay here with your mom. The guys will go with you though."
Neal gave her a look that sarcastically thanked her for volunteering him. She smirked. Killian shrugged. "As long as it doesn't go fast like Test Track, I'll go with you."
"It doesn't." Henry reassured him as he pulled them to the end of the expansive line.
"Well since we have quite a bit of time to kill what should we do?" Emma asked.
Regina looked around before her eyes settled on a ride that contained boats. "What about Living with the Land?"
Emma gave her a look. "Really? When Henry said you like to find educational lessons in everything I thought he was exaggerating."
Regina rolled her eyes as she rested her hand on her belly. "He was. But that looks interesting. And it's a nice peaceful boat ride. It's perfect for waiting for them to come out."
"Fine." Emma said. They walked over to the ride and got on one of the small boats. The ride was quite interesting and they learned quite a bit about agriculture and fish farming.
"Kind of makes you want to start your own garden, doesn't it?" Regina commented as Emma helped her back onto the platform.
The blonde nodded as they headed back towards the crowded seating area. "Yeah, that was cool." She checked her watch again. "I doubt they will be done for awhile. Want to go find some coffee? Decaf, of course."
Regina nodded and they wandered off. They found a coffee vendor in Canada and each bought an iced coffee. Feeling refreshed, they headed back to Soarin' and sat nearby so they could see the boys when they left the ride. Their timing was nearly perfect; they only had to wait a few minutes for them to come out.
"Of course they had a shorter wait time than earlier when I went." Emma complained as she waved them over.
Killian sat next to his fiancé and put his arm around her shoulder. Neal and Henry sat around Emma.
"Was it better than Test Track?" Emma asked Killian.
"Most certainly. Henry was right, it does make you feel like you were actually flying. It was very 'cool', as he says." He responded.
Henry beamed. He looked at the map again for a moment. "Can we go back to the hotel?"
"Of course, Henry." Regina replied. They gathered their things and headed to the exit of the park. They waited a short time for a water taxi, which quickly brought them back to the hotel. Neal excused himself for a moment when they entered the lobby and Regina smiled knowingly. They went to each of their rooms and as soon as he closed the door, Killian gave her a look. "What did you do this time?"
She laughed. "Neal is going to take Emma out to dinner. He went to ask for recommendations on romantic restaurants."
"Ah, I see. So we should see if Henry wants to head to a different restaurant?"
"Right." She said as there was a knock on the door. She opened it up to see Neal standing on the other side.
"Hey. The guy at the desk suggested we go to San Angel Inn. It's Mexican and apparently it is like a recreated village setting. He said the ambiance is wonderful." He shrugged. "But you'll never guess where it is."
"Epcot?" Regina guessed as she raised her eyebrow.
He nodded. "Yup."
She laughed. "Of course. Well we will take Henry while you suggest that to Emma."
"Where are you guys going to eat?"
"When I checked in, they told me there is this little place downstairs that has burgers and ice cream. I think Henry would like that."
Neal nodded. "Good idea. Well I'm starving, so we should head out."
Killian agreed heartily as they headed into the adjoining room. Regina pulled Emma to the side for a moment. "Would you be alright if Killian and I took Henry to one of the restaurants downstairs?"
Emma looked hurt for just a moment, but Regina wouldn't let herself feel bad about it. If things went well tonight, she might be on her way to forgiving the man she loved-whether she knew it or not. "Uh, yeah sure."
"Thank you." Regina gave her the most charming smile before nodding at Killian, who suggested to Henry that he go get a burger with them. Henry nodded excitedly as he followed them out the door. "Do you think the burgers will be as good as Granny's?"
Regina winked at Neal before she closed the door. She held Killian's hand and pulled Henry to her side. "I think that they just might be better."
"Really?" His eyes lit up as the two adults laughed at the wonder in his voice. They headed to the bottom floor and towards the restaurant called The Fountain. They sat down and glanced at the menu. The service was good, so they got their food rather quickly. Henry gleefully shared which rides he hoped to do and which characters he wanted to meet before they left.
After they were done their meal, he begged to get an ice cream. Regina shook her head as Killian bought them all ice creams despite the fact they just ate. He suggested that they walk around outside to take a look around what the hotel had to offer. Henry asked them questions about the Enchanted Forest and Neverland as they walked and ate their ice cream. Before long, it was dark out and they decided to head to bed. Henry looked into the room he had been staying in and announced that Neal and Emma were still gone.
Regina held her grin, but told him that he could stay with them for the night. They got ready for bed and within minutes, the three of them were fast asleep.
so sorry for the long wait! it's a bit difficult to write these characters outside of storybrooke sometimes...
i'd like to thank MusicalGirl97 so, so much for help with this chapter! she helped me so much with her amazing knowledge and descriptions of disney. and she informed me that space mountain does not actually go upside down, so my bad for the error. :)
