Thank you to my beta Withgirl awesome as always. We finished this pretty quickly and at this rate a few chapters might be finished quicker than normal.
No trigger warnings. Although, some might cringe at the revelation at the beginning here (but it may have been obvious already). So trigger warning for Dawn's other birth parent. And for potential confusion purposes the setting is Wonderland in the past and Storybrooke present day, mostly.
Enjoy.
Tears found their way down Regina's cheeks as the memory came to the surface. At one point, she had known that Dawn was her daughter, but she had been unable to hold onto her, yet she couldn't remember what happened after.
"Memory potions are not the most reliable, it can take weeks for all the things that have been repressed."
The former queen didn't even turn around as the male voice behind her announced the information she was well aware of, "Weeks are not good enough," she ground out.
"You cannot choose what memories come back and when, is it not enough that you will remember eventually?" Sidney asked. Finally, Regina turned to look at the man that she had spent one night with. She had always thought of that night as a mistake, as something that she had done out of desperate loneliness. That was still the undeniable reason that she had given in to his advances, but she could no longer regret the night that had created her daughter, even if the young woman in question currently wanted nothing to do with her.
"Why should I have had to forget her at all?" she asked, sounding more vulnerable than he had ever heard her sound, she was showing cracks that she would usually only reveal to Emma and it made some of Sidney's anger go away.
He now saw that she really didn't know what had happened, she regretted being without Dawn just as much as he had. The only difference was that he had spent much of his life looking for her before being trapped in that mirror. Somehow, the magic that kept him prisoner rendered him unable to thin about his child, at the time he had been completely and utterly devoted to helping Regina in defeating her step-daughter. However, when the curse had broken and he had found himself trapped in the institute underneath the hospital, the only thing he could think about was the child who he had been unable to find. When Regina had released him, he had come to conclusion that she absolutely did not care for their child which was why he had defected to the Snow Queen's side. In this moment, he saw that none of his assumptions were true.
"It's not fair, but that doesn't excuse the fact that you are moping in your study rather than going to make amends with her." Regina nodded, she clearly had no biting reply and it was honestly disconcerting for the man that had spent his fair share of time with the Evil Queen. He took a deep breath and reluctantly placed his hand on her shoulder, "I may not be able to return your memories any quicker, but I can share mine." Before Regina could question what he was about to do, he focused on what he wanted to show her, and a moment later the mayor closed her eyes as images began flashing through her mind:
The Genie hid behind the corner and watched the woman looking admiringly at her child. He closed his eyes as he heard the distinct sound of a baby crying. He knew that one night was a mistake, he had reveled in the chance to touch the woman he loved, but immediately after, the queen had begun to push him away. She had claimed that she had to be loyal to her husband and that they should remain acquaintances. It had taken a long time, but the Genie had finally come to terms with it, though it had taken a lot of soul searching. He had even traveled back to his homeland for months, before finally deciding that it was time to return. Returning to his pregnant ex-lover was certainly not what he had expected.
Regina had insisted that the child was King Leopold's, but he found that very difficult to believe. According to some of the servants, the king had taken his daughter on a trip around the kingdom, he had no idea why he would have left his wife behind, especially if she were carrying his child. If the gossip were to be believed, he wasn't even aware that she was with child, he wasn't actually in the castle when she had given birth three days ago.
All of this evidence just confirmed his theory, he just knew that the baby was his, and he also knew that Regina was unlikely to let him anywhere near her. He couldn't really blame her since he had basically taken advantage of her in a low moment. The man who had placed an invisibility charm upon himself turned when he heard a handmaiden walking quickly towards the queen's room.
"Your majesty, you need your rest," she sighed as she inspected the bags underneath the woman's eyes, "Allow me to take Daniella for a few hours."
Regina looked conflicted, it was painfully obvious that she didn't want to part with her child, but at the same time, she knew that her body needed sleep. At this point, she had gotten her daughter to fall asleep, and this was clearly the best time for her to get in some hours herself. "Very well, Rose, but please wake me as soon as she is awake again," Regina replied. The servant nodded her head, and carefully took the child in her hands, as the queen went over to her bed, she rushed past the hidden man.
He spent a quick glance into the room, and saw Regina's eyes were already drooping. She had clearly been neglecting the basic need in favor of spending more time with her daughter. Safe in the knowledge that she was alright, the Genie made off in pursuit of the servant who was carrying his child. He hadn't yet had the opportunity to see her up close, and he knew that seeing her health with his own eyes would improve his mood exceptionally, even if Regina continued to deny his paternity.He followed the oddly hurried footsteps, and furrowed his brow as it became clear that the woman was making way towards the palace door.
She took one quick look around and the glamour quickly disappeared revealing Cora. She held up the child and said, "I will not allow you to ruin everything I have worked for," with that smoke engulfed her.The Genie launched forward to catch her, but just missed the radius of the spell. Swallowing hard, he looked around, and saw a group of servants.
"Does this water look strange to you?" one of them asked.
The other looked into it and shrugged her shoulders, "Rose said that the queen requested it, it has some amazing healing property."
"There's far too much for just her to drink," she commented.
"What are you suggesting?"
"Well, there isn't much water left in the servants quarters, I'm sure queen Regina won't mind sharing, many of us would never pass on healing water."
Madison tripped over another strange 'rock'. Dawn had only given her one word answers to most of her questions and at this point she was getting tired of being confused and out of the loop. Actually it seemed like her friend didn't really know where they were going.
"Dawn, when are we going to talk about this?"
"Talk about what?"
"Talk about…everything. I know you've been remembering stuff." Dawn faltered in her step but continued to walk, disregarding her friend's questions. All her frustration was stemming from all the memories she was getting back. She wasn't sure what she was expecting but all these things she's done, being mad at Regina for what she had done was beginning to seem meaningless.
"Dawn, let's just go back home. You're making yourself unhappy. Go back to Regina."
"No!" the younger girl shouted. Madison sighed at the anger that showed at the mention of the mayor.
"Why not?"
"Are you kidding me? She killed my mom."
"I thought that was a questionable thing. This Jabberwocky woman gave you that memory, why would you assume it was a real one?"
"I know what I felt. It was real," Dawn said turning back around to continue their trek to nowhere.
"I'm guessing that was what she wanted. Kid, you are supposed to be this all powerful being with these powers. Why can't you just ask your mother what really happened?"
"Nobody can bring back the dead Madison…" Then it sunk in. She had done it for Regina and for Emma. All this time it went overlooked by everyone. Dawn stopped walking down the path they had been on for hours and turned to the lake that wasn't too far away from where they stood. Madison didn't try to stop her but she followed loosely behind her, watching her friend sit absently on a rock and stare out into the lake.
She was about to say something when a figure suddenly passed by her. Madison watched cautiously as the woman walked up to her friend. Interfering didn't cross her mind after what she had just suggested and what she remembered Regina told her.
"You grew up to be something, didn't you?" Dawn heard. She looked up to the smiling woman she recognized as her mother from her memory. She stood up quickly with a smile pulling at her mouth. The woman in front of her was young. Not much older than Madison if she was certain. It had been one thing that the Evil Queen killed her mother, it was another thing that she had been so young when her life was taken. "I had an adorable little thing running at my heels all the time and now here's this beautiful young woman in front of me. I can't believe my eyes."
"Neither can I. I finally get to meet you after all this time," Dawn said softly.
"Yes, our departure was unfortunate but I've always been with you."
"I wish all this time that I had known. I don't know what to believe, I need you to tell me…what the Evil Queen did to you," Dawn said. "I know what I saw but I just need you to confirm it."
"Sit down. Maybe it's best we talk about this now." Dawn obeyed without hesitation. Though she was skeptical of what the conversation was about to entail. "It isn't best to interfere in the dealings of the living world but as a mother, for however short that time was, I cannot let the happiness you've found be tossed away because of the evil in this world."
"What are you saying?"
"My darling, the Evil Queen did nothing to harm me." Dawn's expression turned to a frown. "If anything our village was the closest to the Queen's castle, her cruelty only went so far. She often sent food and supplies to us. I couldn't help but to think that with her kindness towards us, she was just a grieving woman, lonely."
"I don't understand. "
"Even with her cruel actions I can't come to see the woman who has taken care of you for these past months as anything other Regina. From what I have seen, the same woman who was given the title of the Evil Queen is someone who has made you happy for several years and you've done the same for her. The actions of this Jabberwocky have led you to believe things that are not true and I cannot keep quiet about it."
"You've been watching me…"
"Yes. I had been hoping you'd call for me so I could bring you some peace of mind."
"What is it?" Dawn asked, already beginning to know what her mother was saying. Her surprise was interrupted by sudden weakness. The drain summoning spirits caused had slipped her mind as she saw that her mother was beginning to fade.
"The Evil Queen did not kill me. I was sick and I had known for some time that I wouldn't watch you grown into the person you are now but I loved you and I stayed for as long as I could. It was illness, not her misdeeds that caused my passing."
"But…it felt so real. The pain of watching you die…right there in front of me. I felt it," Dawn explained with tears welling up in her eyes. The thought that she had just thrown away the best relationship she had on account of what the Jabberwocky told her instantly filled her with regret. Regina wasn't guilty of this crime. The woman standing above her reached out and wiped her tears away with the pad of her thumb.
"I know who you are. You're not one who will apologize easily but I think a certain Mayor deserves it."
"I know, I'm sorry."
"Whatever for?"
"I'm the Mad Hatter. You've been watching me this whole time. I've done all these terrible things."
"The town forgave Regina didn't they? Anger makes us do terrible things but we can change. She's proof of that, right?" Dawn looked up at her again wiping the tear out of her eye, a small smile flashing. She stood up to her.
"I don't know your name," Dawn breathed out through her grief. The woman grinned and stepped close enough to whisper in her ear.
"My name is Dawn, my little Daniella."
"But my name...my baby blanket-"
"Was my baby blanket. I was peasant, love, I couldn't afford much."
Madison watched the exchange wondering what they were saying. She knew for a fact that Dawn had been told something pretty intense and she really hoped it wasn't that Regina really did kill her mother. Even though this was a very serious situation, she didn't want things to be even more conflicting and complicated with her crush on the older woman. She frowned slightly when the woman faded and then eventually leaving Dawn standing there alone. She walked forwards to her friend with her hand holding the letter in her inside jacket pocket.
"Dawn?" she called.
"She didn't do it." Madison sighed in relief at the words.
"She didn't do it and I didn't believe her. I didn't believe in her," Dawn said turning her head to her friend but keeping her back to her. "I made her believe that she did it. She apologized for it and she didn't do it…the things I've done…How could I call her monster?"
"Hey, don't think like that," Madison said gently grabbing Dawn's forearm. She pulled out the letter and pushed it toward the brunette, "I think there is something you should read before we do anything or go anywhere else...before you start blaming yourself for everything."
Dawn looked up at her friend before taking the letter from her hand. With a deep breath she unfolded it and looked down to the script that was obviously Regina's. She attempted to move it away from her sight but Madison quickly held her arm in place, "Read it. Please. I made her a promise."
"You talked to her?" Dawn asked curiously.
"Yes, she told me what was going on. I took a chance and believed her because I know she made you happy. Now read it."
Dawn nodded at her friend and looked down to the neat script on the paper:
Dawn,
I see no reason for a long, arduous spilling of sentiment and I am aware that you would not appreciate it. I will simply say this: I am sorry for all that my actions have done to you. Just know that I would never have intentionally harmed you, but it appears all the promises I have made to you have been made moot by the Evil Queen's need to cause pain. Even if you feel unable to forgive me, something I will understand completely, I will always love you Dawn, and you will always be welcome to my help should you ever need it.
-Regina Mills
Without so much as another thought, she tucked the letter in her friend's pocket again and started walking in a different direction than where that were originally heading towards. Madison looked a bit shocked at her reaction before catching up to the teen with only two strides.
"That's it? You say nothing?"
"Madison, I'm not the same friend you had 10 years ago. There are some things you won't understand."
"What-" The older girl sighed, she shook her head. "Where are we going?"
"There's a giant lizard I need pay a visit to," Dawn said grabbing Madison's arm as they disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Storybrooke, the previous day
Emma rolled her eyes as she knocked the mansion's door for the fifth time.
She told herself that she had just taken Henry's key as a precaution, and that it would be completely wrong to invade her girlfriend's privacy just because she hadn't spent much time with her in the past couple days. Even so, she found herself fishing the key out of her jacket pocket, at least it was better than picking the lock, or so she tried to tell herself.
Looking around the foyer, everything looked completely normal, but at the same time there was something off. Looking down, she saw a small pile of mail which Regina usually put on the table next to the door, then she noticed the beginnings of dust on said table. She knew that wasn't usually an issue for most people, but most people were not Regina Mills, the woman who had finally stopped cleaning compulsively since Emma had found a cleaning spell that wouldn't turn into a segment of Fantasia. However, the mayor had clearly not been very concerned with casting said spell since her talk with her late mother.
Once the sheriff had noted all the information she needed from this area of the house, she went off in search of the brunette, though it didn't take long to find her. Though Emma had been hoping otherwise, the mayor was still in her study, this time however, she was completely past out on the couch. Her eyes drifted over to the alcohol cabinet to the side of the room, it had clearly been significantly emptied since her visit the day a wave of her hand, a glass of water appeared in it and she went on sat on the table next to the couch.
"Gina," the blonde whispered a few times, eventually the other woman began to stir. Regina cleared her throat a few times and slowly sat up, blinking a few times, her eyes adjusted to the light that the savior must have turned on upon her entrance.
"Emma?" she asked in a hoarse voice, though as soon as she saw the glass of water she felt an odd feeling in her stomach that she did whenever her girlfriend did something nice or considerate. But she knew that she wouldn't be able to sort her bigger issues by just being nice.
The sheriff smiled and offered the glass, which the other woman promptly took after an shot of pain through her brain reminded her just how much she had drank the previous was silence while Regina began sipping her drink, but eventually Emma asked, "What happened?"
Regina placed the glass of water on the table and fell back against the arm of the couch, "I am not in the mood for this, Miss Swan."
"No," Emma replied instantly, "No 'Miss Swan' right now, Regina. I am not the sheriff, the savior, or the woman who just randomly invaded your town, I am your girlfriend and I need to know what is wrong!"
"No you don't, there is nothing that you can do to make it better no matter how charming you try to be."
They stared at each other angrily for a moment and Emma finally looked down, "Please Regina, you have to let me help you."
"Give me one good reason why I have to," Regina growled.
"Because your son needs you," Emma snapped back.
"Trust me, he would be better off without me!"
"Why?" Emma asked, her face falling slightly.
"Because I failed my daughter!" Regina shouted. The blonde opened her mouth to reply until the woman's words finally registered, she inspected the tears that were threatening to fall from her girlfriend's eyes and she instantly softened.
"What are you talking about?" Emma sighed and brought her hand over Regina's and was silently thankful when the obviously defensive woman didn't try and snap it away.
"My mother lied to me…" was her only reply.
"Regina, you know you can tell me anything," the blonde assured.
Regina closed her eyes against the tears that had finally found their way down her cheek, and she admitted, "She tampered with my memories so that I wouldn't remember the three days I spent with Daniella, she believed that a child who didn't belong to Leopold would end my rule as queen."
"Daniella?" Emma replied slowly. Regina opened her eyes and looked into her companions forest green ones, they held no judgement, only sympathy and a clear wish to help in any way that she could.
"That was the name that I gave her, but her adoptive mother renamed her…she renamed her…"
"Dawn," Emma finished.
The brunette nodded and then continued, "And then I ruined her life by crushing her adoptive mother's heart in front of her. She was only three years old, Emma."
The savior took a few moments to consider this. She was sure that if she found out her girlfriend had a teenage daughter at any point before coming to Storybrooke, she would have ran away from that relationship in a flash. But strangely, the thought of Regina being Dawn's biological mother just made sense. It explained a lot, despite all of the questions that it raised. Plus she rather liked the idea of the kid getting to have a real mother, assuming that there was a way for her to forgive the former Evil Queen. Though considering the reality of the situation, she knew that the chances were slim.
"You are not staying here alone," the blonde announced. Regina furrowed her brow and looked at the other woman questioningly, she couldn't help thinking that the sheriff had missed her usual freaking out stage of processing new information. "Drinking in your study is not going to make any of this better and neither is being in a house full of memories of Dawn. I know you have a lot to think about, but this is not the best place to do it."
"And where do you suggest would be a better place?"
"My apartment…after I throw out all of the alcohol," Emma replied as she stood and offered her hand to her girlfriend.
Wonderland
"I need more explanation," Madison called as Dawn continued to stride ahead of her.
The other girl just seemed to completely ignore and whispered, "That bitch should be here somewhere."
Madison was about to make another protest, until she heard someone scream out in pain. If her best friend hadn't been right in front of her, she could have sworn that she was just out of sight being savagely attacked. Dawn didn't even turn to see if she was being followed when she broke into a run towards the sound, mostly because she knew that Madison wouldn't hesitate in running to help. They came to a stop at the top of a ridge where they had a clear view of what was happening to the hooded figure that one of them recognized. A dragon-like creature had slashed the figure mercilessly. Madison narrowed her eyes as she tried to find any distinguishable feature about the 'thing' before her, but it seemed as if the hooded figure had very successfully masked their identity. She couldn't even gauge the gender.
However, the girl next to her knew exactly who it was, she even had a flash of the masking spell that she had used almost every day for years. Shifting of metal also added to the sound and Dawn turned to see at least three guards watching the brutal attack and she vaguely remembered being chased by those very men, she just didn't know what she had done. The Jabberwocky was about to go in for the killing hit, but Dawn jumped down from the ridge and shouted, "Hey!"
The beast was instantly halted and the guards also turned to look at the seemingly pathetic girl, who was soon joined by a slightly older girl jumping down to stand next to her, though she look far less sure of herself, but no less determined. The downed girl looked up through blurry eyes, she couldn't see just who was protecting her, she had been so sure that she had finally reached her end, after all, who would protect the Mad Hatter?
In bellowing smoke, the dragon shifted its form to reveal the target of Dawn's anger. The Jabberwocky inspected the two girls with distaste and said, "It's rude to interrupt, now run along before I slit your throats."
"I would rather not," Dawn replied without a hint of fear, "We have a debt to settle, Jabberwocky."
The blonde tilted her head and stepped over the crippled girl below her, using her signature move of invading personal space, "I don't believe we've met. I remember all of my victims, little girl."
"You haven't met this version of me yet," Dawn growled, not even bothering to look at the questioning look that Madison shot her.
"I'm afraid that you are just raving mad, what could a girl like you hope to do to me?"
Dawn clenched her fists and focused on the guards who were intensely watching the exchange, instantly all three of them went flying backwards, instantly knocking them unconscious. She was well aware that she could have done so much worse, but she didn't want to be even more of a hypocrite. The Jabberwocky looked mildly interested as she looked at the men and she said, "Not bad, but not quite on my level."
"Will someone please explain?" Madison asked in a panicked voice, still trying to register the image of her best friend rag dolling those three men.
The Jabberwocky turned and looked her up and down, she instantly decided that this one was no threat at all and replied, "I'm afraid I know as much as you do."
"Time moves differently in Wonderland, so only the most skilled traveler can chose what time they wish to return to," Dawn explained and then she turned back to the older woman, "I just couldn't remember what time I wanted to go to because of you."
"There is that madness again, we have never met," the Jabberwocky rearticulated.
Dawn took a deep breath, and she knew exactly what had to happen next, she raised her hand and instead of attacking the one who had tried to ruin her life, a cloud of smoke engulfed the injured figure behind them. Instantly, the Mad Hatter's robes were replaced with the clothes she had been wearing during her first day in Storybrooke. Madison's mouth fell open as she took in the sight of her mauled friend. She would have run over to her, if the perfectly healthy future version of her wasn't standing right next to her.
The Jabberwocky looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "It would appear that you are far more interesting than I first thought," she chuckled.
Instead of replying, Dawn closed her eyes and allowed her magic to guide her other self to the place that she knew that she needed to be. A vortex appeared underneath her and she was instantly taken away. Somehow Dawn just knew that she didn't need the compass to be taken to where she truly belonged, to be taken to start her life in Storybrooke. The Jabberwocky widened her eyes and turned back with a look of fury consuming her face, "You just destroyed my chances of becoming the queen's champion," she growled.
Dawn sighed and allowed the tension to fall away from her shoulders, "No, I didn't."
"But I thought you had a score to settle with me," she glowered.
"A major lesson of crossing realms is that it is foolish to change the flow of time, which is why you cannot remember any of this," the younger girl replied, this was not the version of the Jabberwocky who deserved her anger, even if she was a despicable woman. Even if she could have made it so that she would never be able to inflict the traumatizing torture upon her, there was no telling what Jefferson would have done instead, he could have chosen to torture Emma, Henry, Regina, or even Ruby and she now knew that would have been so much worse. So even if the way things turned out looked crappy, she would prefer the chance to make amends than to completely rewrite history.
The Jabberwocky disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke, along with her recollection of what had just happened. As far as she was concerned, the Mad Hatter was dead, something that she would believe until decades later when she would be called upon to torture her once again.
Dawn stared blankly at the space where her mauled-self had been struggling for breath, but she knew that she was currently thirty-two years in the future building a relationship with Regina. It was rather strange to think that she had sent herself there, now was not the time to think about time paradoxes, however, she grinned slightly as she thought about having a long drawn out talk about it with Henry.
"Whoa," Madison breathed.
The younger of the two turned to her and said, "I know that was a lot to take in…"
"The Jabberwocky is a dragon," was her stunned reply.
Dawn rolled her eyes, she was sure that they would need to have an actual conversation once it had all sunken in, but right now she had a higher priority. She reached out and pulled her friend close to her before pulling out the compass as she said, "Home."
It glowed gold until a portal appeared in front of them and Dawn pulled Madison through with her. Just as they appeared the first time in Wonderland, they landed quite abruptly with a thud. Madison landed somewhere off into the grass and Dawn, ironically enough, landed right where Regina first found her. She sat up and looked at the door. It felt like it had been ages since she'd last seen the big white mansion but it still felt like home. The feeling was why she would march right in there and apologize without letting her pride get in the way.
"Dawn, please tell Mills to get softer grass. Felt like I landed on needles," Madison groaned coming over to help her up.
"I'll let her know about that later," Dawn mumbled as she walked up to the door. She raised her hand to knock but instead settled for ringing the doorbell. She waited with anxiousness and when the sound of the mayor's heels didn't click towards the door, she turned around ready to dart away from the property but her friend stood not too far behind her with her arms folded and a brow raised as she shook her head. Madison was determined to have them make up after all she had been through the past 72 hours. She certainly knew how to pick interesting best friends. Never a dull moment.
Dawn turned around and knocked on the door, "Regina! Can we talk?" She tried again, knocking louder. As serious as the whole situation was Madison rolled her eyes at her friend. Some days she wasn't the smartest even though she kind of was.
"Kid, you lived here didn't you?" Madison questioned hoping she would catch on. Dawn looked at her for a moment before digging in her pockets for her keys. Shakily, she shoved the key in the lock and let the door swing open. It was unusually cold and it was dark.
"Regina?" Dawn called walking into the house with Madison right behind her. The silence worried her and she quickly thought to search the house, leaving a cloud of smoke in her wake that forced a cough out of Madison. The older girl rolled her eyes dramatically and searched around the first floor like a normal person would.
As she looked she couldn't help but think Dawn had hit the jackpot with the Evil Queen. It was her first time in the place where her friend had lived for the past few months. She was sure the woman was better than any adult that had and could ever have fostered Dawn. Regina cared for, sheltered, and genuinely loved Dawn. That was something they had both been skeptically about in the past but Dawn found it here with her. Especially, as looked as the pictures on the mantle above the fireplace and lined on the walls. She got lost in the life her friend had found and suddenly found herself heading up the stairs looking for one specific room. In the distance Dawn could be heard poofing around and calling for Regina but Madison drowned out the sound and pushed the door open.
"Now this is whoa," she said looking around. It reminded her of her high school party days when she'd sneak out the window of one of the bedrooms of some rich kid's house. Now Dawn was that rich kid. She picked up a picture sitting on bedside table. It was one of Dawn and Henry each holding six puppies in their arms. Their smiles no doubt lit the room. She glanced to the desk near the window and grinned at the picture of her and Regina together.
"Regina," Dawn said running to the open door before deflating at the sight of her friend. "What are you doing in here, Madison?"
"I just had to see your happy ending. She really loves you, you know?" Madison said.
"Don't make me feel worse about this."
"I'm not trying to. You found home, I just want you to know that."
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" Madison questioned putting down the picture.
"That you didn't."
"Munchkin, all I've wanted was for you to be happy. Even in the years I hadn't seen you, I had hoped you found a good family. I'm happy, really." She wrapped an arm around the brunette and smiled at her. "So how was your frantic searching?"
"She's not here. Why wouldn't she be here?"
"She is the mayor. Work?"
"It's Saturday."
"Well, there could also be a very attractive blonde that could be taking her mind off of the fact that you don't want anything to do with her anymore."
"Emma…" Dawn said to herself.
"Yeah, mommy's got a hot girlfriend," Madison laughed to which Dawn shook her head.
"We really need to discuss your inappropriate comments," Dawn sighed grabbing her arm and transporting them to the sheriff's apartment.
The nausea hit Madison as soon as they arrived in the middle of the living room. She bent over clutching her stomach in attempt to stop the sickness, "You've got to stop doing that," she grumbled too quiet to be heard.
"Hey, move your ass. This is the good part," Dawn heard and turned around to Emma planted on the couch upside down eating popcorn. At the sight of the young brunette the sheriff flipped off the couch and stood face to face with the girl who had been missing for over four days.
"Dawn…"
"Hard at work, blondie," Madison chuckled. Emma lightheartedly glared at her before looking back to Dawn.
"You're back," the blonde stated almost like a question. Dawn didn't answer and instead hugged her tightly. Emma was too surprised to react quick enough.
"I love you," Dawn said into her shoulder.
"I love you too, kid. You know that," the sheriff said hugging her back. She exchanged a look with Madison and the girl only shrugged.
"Emma, could you please be a little quieter?" Regina called out walking into the living room from upstairs. She stopped at the sight of Madison and then looked to her girlfriend tangled in a fierce hug. A wisp of dark hair made her throat tighten as Emma and the person pulled away. Emma stepped aside to reveal Dawn.
"Da-" Regina started but before she could determine what she should call her she was nearly winded by the crushing hug she received. For a moment she could've believe that it was anyone except her. This time she was conflicted and excited and anxious. It wasn't just Dawn anymore; it was her daughter.
"I love you and I'm sorry," Dawn said. "I'm really, really sorry, Gina."
"I-" the older brunette felt slapped at the title. She still didn't know. As much as it hurt, they'd get around to it but at least now she had her back. "I love you too."
"She really did a number on you didn't she?"
Jefferson looked up from his lap to an unfamiliar man standing in his living room. At this point he wasn't even going to question after Regina appearing in his house without his knowledge. Apparently, there weren't nearly enough wards around his house but unfortunately he wasn't the most powerful magic user in town.
"I would ask who you are but then that would signal that I actually care, which I don't," Jefferson said, lacking the bit he had the first time Sydney step foot on his porch.
"We've already been introduced but I'll confess I wasn't truthful about who I am."
"I've never seen you a day in my life," Jefferson murmured over the rim of his glass. He glanced distastefully at the man. He had graying shoulder length hair and a thick beard. The bags under his eyes were a sign of too much time spent burning the midnight oil though his face was permanently creased in determination. His clothes alerted him to the fact that the man may have not actually come from this town. Jefferson had only known the robes he wore to be the attire of someone in the Red Queen's court, though they didn't hide as much as they had on the person he had seen them on last.
"We've been quite acquainted with each other for quite some time but it appears you don't notice much detail." The man snapped his fingers and instantly transformed into someone Jefferson had been seeing very frequently.
"Glass, what dipshit plan do you have up your ass now?" Jefferson asked exasperatedly as he got up for another round at his liquor cabinet. "You know, you're one half assed excuse away from getting punched back. I'd break your nose though."
"I'm not that sniveling rat, you imbecile," he snapped, changing back to his former self. "Sydney Glass has made his appearance just today and he's somewhat aligned with the queen."
"He's the mayor's bitch, it's not a surprise. And if you're not him then who hell are you?"
"The Mad Hatter-"
"Funny, old man. Real funny. That girl is the Hatter. Unbelievable, yes, but I was her apprentice I would know."
"She had to learn from someone didn't she?" Jefferson nearly choked at his words and looked at him in shock. "She was a bright student, I will say. She was young and alone but she had amazing power and I saw the potential. Though beneath the exterior of an innocent young girl was a viper and she betrayed me. Took my power when it wasn't given to her. This Hatter you know so well is a power hungry spawn born from a poisonous pedigree."
"I'm aware of her…lack of morals and restraint."
"Good. That's why I'd like to offer you a real apprenticeship with me."
"You're out of your mind, old man."
"Help me get rid of her and I'll show you just how serious I really am."
"You want to…kill her?" Jefferson questioned, not feeling uncertain about it as he had when he was first been approached by Dawn. The man nodded and Jefferson found himself intrigued. "I'm listening."
Next chapter up sometime this week, earlier than usual. We are steady approaching the ending of this fic. I hope you've enjoyed the journey so far.