A/N: Thank you to those who took a moment to leave a comment after the last chapter to prove to me that I was wrong about nearly nobody reading this. I was a little surprised to see so many, to be honest, but please don't stop! It definitely made my shitty week a ton better!

Early Friday morning Regina received a phone call that she least expected. Robert Gold had finally returned her call about the house, and they arranged to meet at the old Levingston farm that afternoon at two o'clock.

Kathryn came along with her, mainly because she asked her to and because she had to listen to Kathryn moan and complain most of the morning about how bored she was. They were early for the viewing appointment, and they walked around the outside of the house and to the barn in the back that looked fairly new while they waited for Gold to arrive.

"It's for sale?" Kathryn asked as she pushed her sunglasses up on her nose. "Or are you just looking to rent?"

"Either," Regina replied. "I'm not entirely positive on what I want to do yet."

"It's a big house," Kathryn said as she looked up at the house from where they stood in the small yard that was fenced off from the rest of the property. "What are you going to do with all this? How much land is included in the property, do you know?"

"Eighty acres," she replied. "And I haven't made a decision yet, Kathryn, but I need to figure something out if I am going to be staying here in Storybrooke. I cannot continue to stay at my mother's house any longer. Staying at the inn isn't exactly a feasible option either. It seems silly to spend that amount of money to stay there."

"It looks like it needs a lot of work," Kathryn said as she scrunched up her face and she removed her sunglasses to look right at Regina. "It looks condemned. What if it is haunted?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Kathryn," Regina laughed. "It isn't condemned."

"Well, nobody lives here, do they?"

"No, Gold told me the house has been empty for a while. The sellers have been having a hard time getting it to move on the market. I don't want to make a decision until after I have been inside and even then," Regina said and sighed as she looked up at the back of the house, "I'm not sure I'll be making a decision right away either."

"Well, have you decided what you're going to do?"

"Not yet."

"I'd suggest opening your own practice here in town, but how many lawyers does Storybrooke actually need outside of the few we already have?"

"I'm not looking to continue practicing law after Henry's hearing on Monday morning. I truly have no idea what I am going to do next."

"Isn't that scary?"

"A little, but I'll be all right for a while until I figure things out. Financially, anyway." Regina headed for the gate and stopped as soon as she reached the gravel driveway. "What are you planning to do next, Kathryn? Are you going back to Tokyo?"

"I have to. I have to pack up the condo before the end of the month. I'll be coming back here, I suppose. I don't have the financial security as you do at the moment. I'll stay with my father if I have to until I find my own place."

Regina leaned up against the hood of her mother's car she'd borrowed for the afternoon and looked down the long gravel driveway as a black car pulled up. "Are you sure that's wise?" she asked Kathryn. "You haven't lived with your father since you and Fred moved in together just after we graduated high school."

"My father has a new girlfriend who monopolizes all of his time. It'll be fine. I'm not planning on spending every waking moment there anyway. Besides, if you decide to get this place, I may just be spending most of my free time here until I find a job and my own place."

"Is that right?" Regina laughed. "Getting a little ahead of yourself, are you, dear?"

"As I said before, what are you going to do with a house this big, Regina? It's going to be awfully lonely being here all by yourself."

"Unlike you, Kathryn, I enjoy spending time alone with myself." She straightened up as Gold pulled his car up behind them and came to a stop. He was out of the car a moment later, looking a little worse for the wear as he used a silk handkerchief to dab at his eyes. "Hello, Robert," Regina said as the older man slowly made his way to them, his cane clacking and crunching against the gravel with every step. "How are you?"

"I've been better, dearie, but let's head inside, hmm?" he replied and managed a smile as he placed his handkerchief into the front pocket of his suit blazer. "Apologies. Coming this far out into the country always aggravates my allergies."

Regina followed Gold around to the steps that led up to the front porch. It was weathered and in need of some minor repairs, but nothing extensive from what she could tell.

"I would suggest having an inspector come in if you decide to purchase or rent," Gold said as he fiddled with the keys he pulled out of his pocket. "The house needs a lot of work. The barn was built two summers ago. The fencing around the property line was also done that same year."

"A bulldozer might be your best bet," Kathryn muttered as they waited for Gold to unlock the door. "Regina, you have no idea how much work this place might need. It could cost you more than it's worth."

"Kathryn, I didn't bring you along for this," she tutted quietly. "Robert, when was the last time anyone lived here? It looks a bit…weathered and unkempt."

"Mrs. Levingston moved into a beautiful retirement home in Boston after her husband died a little over a year ago," he replied and smiled as he pushed opened the front door with a small flourish. "Her son, I believe you know Troy, has been taking care of things here."

"Not well from the looks of it," Kathryn said under her breath as the three of them stepped into the foyer. "Regina, are you sure-"

"I want to see the house, and then I will make a decision. One without your opinions that I wish you would keep to yourself, Kathryn," she said tightly, and she looked up at the wide and long staircase that led to the second floor and smiled. "It still looks much like I remember it."

"Ah, yes, not much has changed in the house for many years aside from the new barn, to be perfectly honest with you. The old one collapsed after a bad storm," Gold replied. "It was unfortunate that Mr. Levingston passed shortly after the barn was rebuilt. They used to have quite an abundance of animals as I am sure you remember."

"Yes, quite fondly. Would you mind if I looked around on my own?"

"Just keep in mind that any furniture that remains here is included," Gold said and waved over to the room just off to the right of the foyer. "I'll wait in here if you need me or if you have any further questions."

"Thank you."

Regina headed down the main hallway, deciding to start at the back where the kitchen was and make her way through the rest of the house, room by room. She was a little relieved when Kathryn wandered off elsewhere, and she stepped into the spaciously open kitchen and smiled at the way the sunlight streamed in through the dusty windows.

It felt homey despite the dust and the cobwebs on the walls and around the cupboards. While the kitchen itself was well over forty years, it was in excellent condition under all the dust. A good coat of paint after a thorough cleaning would make it livable again.

From the kitchen, she entered the dining room and found a large table covered by a drop cloth that had pushed just under the big window that overlooked the driveway. The paint was flaking off the ceiling in some spots, and the faded floral wallpaper was peeling, outlines where pictures once hung well defined all along the wall opposite of the window. She crossed through the foyer and into the room Gold was waiting in. He'd pulled back the drop cloth that covered the sofa and was sitting down, his attention on his phone he had out in his right hand.

That room was much like the dining room. In need of a good paint job, cleaning, and a new light fixture, she discovered as she flipped the switch on the wall a few times. There was a small sitting room just off to the back, and the light didn't work in there either, and the window had been boarded up. Glass crunched under her shoes as she walked back out of the small sitting room and headed for the stairs.

She found Kathryn at the top of the stairs peering into the large bathroom. Regina joined her, smiling as Kathryn turned to her with glee in her eyes, a stark difference from what had been there when they first walked in the house.

"It has a clawfoot tub, Regina," she exclaimed. "Look at it! It's in pristine condition. A little elbow grease and it'll shine like new."

"Now do you understand why I am looking past some of the unsightly parts of this house, dear?" Regina asked. "It may be old, but it's in good shape from what I can tell. Gold is right. I'll need to hire an inspector before I make any solid decisions. Have you seen any of the bedrooms?"

"They're all empty except for what I believe is the master. It's full of junk."

Regina walked into the first bedroom beside the bathroom and found it was indeed full of junk, boxes mostly, and heavy drapes covered the two sets of windows in the room. Regina flipped on the light, and the bulb flickered before she heard a pop and the room fell back into darkness. She pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight, wandering into the room full of boxes and headed for the closet, surprised to find it was a walk-in with a door that led to a small two-piece ensuite.

The other three bedrooms were all roughly the same size, and as Kathryn said, empty save for the ugly green drapes that hung over the windows. They headed downstairs together after deciding not to explore the attic and found Gold no longer waiting in the front room but out on the wrap-around porch.

"Well, what did you think of the house?" Gold asked. "It needs quite a bit of work, so I'll understand if you decide you want to look at other properties. I must say, if you're looking for something to come up quickly, you may be waiting for quite some time."

"It needs work, paint mostly from the looks of things," Regina replied and frowned as her eyes fell upon the broken porch swing. "I'm interested, but," she said and paused, narrowing her eyes at Kathryn who was about to protest. "I will be hiring an inspector to come in and check the house properly. If there is more than what meets the eye to repair or to be worried about, I will have to pass, Robert."

"Understandably. You should give Marco a call," Gold said as he handed her a business card. "He'll be happy to come out here and take a look at the place for you. Unless you have someone else in mind?"

"No, Marco is an old family friend. I would trust him over someone else any day."

"Wonderful."

"Shall we go somewhere and get the paperwork started? I want to make a conditional offer on the property."

"Absolutely, dearie. We can meet at the diner if you'd like?"

"I'll meet you there. I want to take another look around the property and the barn if that's all right?"

"Take as much time as you need. Call me when you are on your way."

Gold left after he locked up the house and Regina headed for the barn. It wasn't big or even normal sized, but it had two stalls for horses and a few pens for smaller animals. At the front, there was a small office with a big maple desk built in along one wall with bookshelves that were still filled with books.

"What are you going to do with a barn, Regina?" Kathryn asked her when she joined her outside and pulled the big barn door shut. "Are you going to become a farmer?"

"No," she laughed. "I don't know yet, Kathryn. I'm sure I'll find a use for it one way or another."

"What about your father's horse?"

"She's quite comfortable over at the stables. It is the only home she's known, so for now, she can stay there. Do you not remember how much work it is to take care of a horse?"

"It's been ages since I've ridden, but I certainly have not forgotten."

Regina looked up at the house when they reached the car. The first thought she had was wondering if she was actually considering doing all of this. She knew she could do it and she wanted to, but it hit her all at once just exactly what she was considering.

A house, a farm, a property. For the price, too, it left her wondering what the catch was.

"Do you remember Troy?"

"Troy?" Kathryn laughed. "He was friends with David. How could I ever forget? Why?"

"You wouldn't happen to have his number?"

"You're asking the wrong person, Regina," Kathryn replied as she opened the passenger door. "Are we staying, or are we going?"

"I need a few minutes."

"Keys?" Kathryn stretched out her hand expectantly. "What, we're in the middle of the grossest heatwave I've ever felt in my life. I'm not waiting in the car without the AC on."

"Is this crazy?" Regina asked. "All of this?"

"Honest opinion?" Kathryn took one look at her and then smiled. "Yes, it's crazy, but I think this is exactly what you need."

"What I need? I don't even know what I need, so how could youpossibly know?"

"Are you listening to yourself right now?" Kathryn laughed. She turned Regina around to look back up at the house. "What does this feel like?"

"I don't know."

"Home, doesn't it? It feels right."

"Yes."

"And what does it feel like being back here in Storybrooke?" Kathryn asked and sighed melodramatically as she turned Regina to look at her. "You're conflicted, but really you're not, are you? You had me pack up your entire place in New York because you want to stay here. You literally dropped everything in your life to come back here."

"I know I did." Regina turned to look up at the house, her head spinning with a thousand different thoughts. "Is this crazy, Kathryn?"

"Yes," she laughed and she wrapped her arms around her tightly. "Crazy in a good way, Regina. Of all the things you've done in your life, this is by far the craziest and why? Because you wouldn't be here if it weren't for her, for love. You're changing everything in your life to come back to a life you had left behind. A life that went on without you. A life and a family you left behind that has welcomed you back with open arms."

"It is crazy," Regina muttered under her breath. "I don't deserve any of this. I don't deserve any of them to want me back in their life. I hurt everyone, some more than others. Why-"

"Because they love you. They never stopped. They missed you, Regina. All of them."

"Do you know what I keep asking myself now?" Regina asked. Kathryn shook her head no and continued to hold on to her tightly. "How could I have been so selfish?"

"That's the million dollar question, isn't it?"

"I was selfish and a coward, Kathryn. I left and went on with my life, pretending that my life here had never existed." Regina pulled back and wiped at her tears. "I've made so many mistakes, Kathryn, mistakes that shouldn't easily be forgiven and yet everyone has forgiven me for all of them. I just can't understand why."

"Because that is what you do when you love someone the way that they all love you, Regina. You forgive the people you love no matter how much they have hurt you. Look," she said and she cupped Regina's face, forcing Regina to look at her. "I spent years listening to everyone talk about you, especially your father, and I spent years wondering why you kept staying away, why you didn't want to know a damn thing about anyone. It wasn't like that for everyone else, Regina. Nobody stopped caring about you and wondering about you and the life you were living."

"I didn't care enough to want to know about anyone else other than my father."

"It's not that you didn't care, Regina, you were, as you said, selfish and a coward."

"That doesn't make any of this any better, Kathryn."

"No, but do you know what does? The fact that you are here right now. The fact that you did come back to bury your father and that you came back again for Henry. Now you're looking to buy a house that is far too big for you and needs far too much work and why?"

"I need a place to live if I'm going to stay here."

"You already have a home here."

"Emma's house is not my home anymore. After I left, I made sure that my name was no longer on the mortgage or the deed. It's hers and only hers now."

"Yet she's asked you to stay."

Regina frowned and backed away from her best friend with a scowl. "She did ask me to stay, but I can't do that, Kathryn. I just can't," she sighed and she wiped at her tear-stained cheeks until her skin felt raw. "I don't deserve her. I don't deserve her forgiveness. I don't deserve her love. I don't deserve any of it."

"She never stopped being in love with you, Regina, not even when you first left. I know you don't want to hear this, but I think you need to hear this," Kathryn said and she reached out for Regina's hand and led her over to the steps that led up to the front porch. They sat down on the steps in the relief of the shade from the hot sun overhead, and Kathryn didn't let go of her hand, she just held on tighter. "I spent a lot of time with Emma after you left. We spent a lot of time just talking about you. We also spent a lot of time talking about why you'd left, and she felt as if it was all her fault. It took her a long time to forgive herself."

"It wasn't her fault."

"It takes two to make a relationship work and two to break it, Regina. You both are a fault in many different ways. But," she said and paused as she squeezed Regina's hand and smiled, "but I know love conquers all in the end. It just took you a hell of a long time to get back here."

"I didn't realize that you and Emma were friends."

"You didn't want to know, and I respected your wishes because you are my best friend, and I could see how deep the darkness you allowed into your heart had pulled you in. You weren't ready to see the truth for a very long time. I know you've got far too many demons you've been fighting most of your life and ones you are still fighting to this very moment, but that is not all who you are, Regina."

"And who am I?"

"You are a woman who loves with her whole heart. You are a woman who is passionate and driven. You are a woman who has been carrying around this emptiness in your heart because as passionate and driven as you are, you are the most stubborn person I have ever known in my whole life, but that is one of the many reasons why I love you."

"Because I am stubborn?" Regina laughed. The hot tears burned as they fell from her eyes. "That is ridiculous, Kathryn."

"Ridiculous or not, it's the truth. Regina, you have been missing a piece of yourself for a long time now, and no, I am not talking about Emma Swan. I'm talking about you. You left a piece of yourself here. A big piece of yourself and all I want is for you to find that part of yourself again, so when you ask me if this is crazy? No, it's really not, not if it has you finding that piece of yourself you lost so many years ago."

"I didn't even realize I'd left a part of me behind."

"I know."

Regina sobbed as she turned to her best friend and all but buried her face into Kathryn's neck as Kathryn pulled her in for a warm hug. "I feel like the world's biggest idiot," she murmured and she laughed when Kathryn did. "I am, aren't I?"

"I thought that Emma was the world's biggest idiot?" Kathryn asked. "You used to call her your idiot all the time."

"She was my idiot."

"She is still your idiot," Kathryn corrected her and lifted her hands to wipe away at Regina's tears gently with her thumbs. "So, this place? It feels like home, doesn't it?"

"Yes. We've already established that it does."

"And despite the amount of work that it needs, you've already made a decision before you came here, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"You're not the only one you see in this house either."

"No, but I'm also not trying to get ahead of myself or-"

"I know, I know," Kathryn groaned. "You two are being ridiculous and taking things slow. You're wasting time if you ask me."

"By wanting to do things right?"

"You are doing everything backward, Regina. You two spent all night on Saturday night fucking, didn't you?" Upon Regina's obvious glare, Kathryn laughed and continued, "I'm failing to understand how that makes sense for you two to go from jumping back into bed with one another to wanting to take things slow."

"That was Emma's idea."

"Oh, so you are right. She is an idiot."

"So am I."

"Two idiots in love," Kathryn chuckled. "Not much has changed, has it?"

"A lot has changed."

Kathryn nodded. "That's a good point, a lot has changed," she said slowly. "But one thing hasn't and that is how you two feel about each other. You are still in love with her and she is very obviously still in love with you. The rules change when it comes to being with an ex. There are no rules, no game plan, no timeline. Slow is a word that should not exist between you two. If slow is what you both want, you'd be better off as friends."

"Emma suggested that, too."

"I know. Ridiculous," Kathryn laughed. "That is absolutely insane! You two can't be friends. You two have far too much history together, not to mention how fucking complicated everything would be if you tried to be just friends."

"Which is exactly why I told her that we couldn't be friends."

Regina got up from the steps and looked up at the front door, marveling at the stained-glass window for a moment. It was beautiful, dusty and the paint was peeling, but it was beautiful. The whole house was a work of art within itself, and she felt as if she was the only one who could see its true potential.

And Kathryn was right. She wasn't the only one she saw living there and calling it home. She saw Emma there with her, Henry too. Walking through the house had brought back some memories of her time spent there when she was younger, but her mind had wandered, and she started to see memories that had yet to exist unfolding one after the other. She saw her and Emma in that kitchen in the mornings with Henry at the table finishing up his homework before he rushed off to school. She saw family dinners, with everyone, in the dining room. She saw her and Emma waking up in that bedroom every morning, sharing a moment where they were lost within their own little world and each other.

She'd seen so much, and she'd tried to block it all out, but it was becoming impossible to now that the floodgates of her emotions had broken wide open.

"What if I am not good enough for her?" Regina asked quietly. "I'm a mess, Kathryn. Emma deserves someone better than someone like me."

"Why?" Kathryn asked. "Because you're an alcoholic and struggling to stay sober?"

"Yes."

"Have you tried to seek out help?"

"I have. I went to one AA meeting the other night. David offered to be my sponsor."

"I heard. Did you take him up on that offer?" Upon Regina's nod, Kathryn sighed. "I know you know that David and I have a lot of bad blood between us, but I also know that he can help you, Regina. He wouldn't have offered if he didn't want to help you or think that he could at all."

"I know."

"What did you do before to help combat those cravings?"

"I kept myself busy with work. I distanced myself from everyone I knew and used to go out drinking with after work. I was so afraid that I would fall again and again. I did. I was back here for barely a day before I was drinking myself stupid."

"It's okay-"

"No, Kathryn, it is not okay. I'm weak. I can't-I don't know how to keep fighting these demons inside of me and I don't want to make it anyone else's problem. Emma doesn't deserve any of this and I don't deserve her. She's too good for me. She'd be better off finding someone else."

"That's a lot of bullshit that just came out of your mouth, Regina. Are you even listening to yourself right now?"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. I need to go and meet up with Gold."

"Too bad, we are talking about this, and you know why? Because you need to talk about this with someone that understands you."

"Someone like you?"

"Regina, we've known each other practically our whole lives, have we not? I like to think if anyone knows you, it's me. I know we haven't been close over the years like we used to be, but you are still my best friend. You will always be my best friend. I know one thing you are not, and that is weak. You've never been weak. You're one of the strongest people that I know, and I love you because of that. One of many reasons."

"I don't feel very strong right now."

"Maybe not, but you can feel that way again."

"How?" Regina asked. "It doesn't feel like it is possible not to feel weak when that is all I have known for a very long time."

"Stop being so afraid."

"You make it sound so easy."

"It is. It can be. Whatever you are holding on inside of you that's making you weak, you need to figure it out, and you need to let it go, Regina."

"I don't know how."

Kathryn sighed and ran her fingers through her blonde hair in frustration. "Have you considered therapy?" she asked. "It might do you good."

"I've tried that in the past, and you know that it never worked for me."

"What is stopping you from trying it again?"

"Me."

"Because you're afraid," Kathryn said with a disapproving frown. "Look, I am not saying it is going to be easy because it won't be, but you have a lot of people who love you unconditionally and who forgive you. You are one lucky bitch, you know that? To have that in your life, to have the family that you do, the friends that you still have, and the fact that the love of your life is still very much in love with you says a lot, doesn't it?"

Her head was spinning, she felt dizzy as she listened to Kathryn, to the words she was saying and the weight that they carried. The truth that they spoke. A truth she had been ignoring and avoiding for far too long.

"What do you think I should do now, Kathryn?"

"I think," she said and paused to look up at the house and then she smiled. "I think you need to go and meet with Gold, buy this place, fix it up, and start a brand new chapter of your life here and leave the past in the past where it belongs. You need to start over and this is the perfect opportunity to do just that. But, you also need to stop being so afraid, Regina. You need to be strong again, and I know you don't believe that you can, but you need to try. Can you do that?"

"Yes. Yes, I can."

She knew she could. She knew she had to. The demons inside of her were definitely not going to win. Not ever again.