Daniel stood in the doorway of the bathroom taking in his surroundings. Regina had given him a quick tour before he went into the shower, but now he had the time to observe the room uninterrupted and unaccompanied. He was still finding things a bit too surreal to digest; his Regina became the Evil Queen and tormented people beyond imagination. He came back to life; and then he died again. Cora kidnapped Regina and tortured her for two weeks; before Ariel, David and Ruby got her out. Ariel; her daughter, his daughter, their daughter. He was finding evidence of her all over the room; and it was becoming clearer to him that she shared the room with Regina. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a gentle knock and the sound of the nob as it turned. He walked out of the closet in time to see Regina's head peeking around the door.

"Daniel?" Regina called softly.

"Hey." He said back, and couldn't help but mirror her face splitting smile. He closed the distance and put his arms around her.

"Hey yourself, someone's been taking advantage of indoor plumbing?" she teased, putting her arms around his waist and interlocking her fingers behind his back.

He chuckled, "yeah, it's quite amazing. Don't know how any of you actually manage to leave it." He replied.

"It's a struggle." Regina played and laughed along with him.

He bent down and kissed her; and she was only too happy to return the kiss.

After a few moments they both let go; "I missed you." Regina whispered.

"Oh really?! I couldn't tell!" He teased, and she giggled, "I mean you only had Ariel bring me back, in her sleep, might I add." He added, and laughed when she gave him a playful swat on the back.

"Am I gonna be smiling idiotically at the mention of her name every time?" he asked.

"For a while yes, it takes some getting used to." She replied.

"It isn't like you handed me a baby and told me that she's mine; she's a fully grown woman, a beautiful one at that too." He ranted.

"I know." She said softly.

"You know I never believed that there was such a thing as good magic; I thought magic meant dark magic, harmful. I mean; if it really existed, then how come no one tried to save you from Cora? How come the Blue Fairy didn't stand up to her if she really existed? And everything that Snow and David told me about what you did, just confirmed the theory. But then they told me about her; and it sent everything into a whirl. Not only was she mine; but she was also a powerful witch too. They started telling me what she did and how she was finally the one to stand up to Cora for your sake; the amount of good she did with her magic and all I could think of was that I wanted to run to your room, wake her up and suffocate her with hugs and kisses." He ranted.

"I spent nights imagining what your reaction would be like; when I tell you that I'm pregnant, when you hold her for the first time, and so on. And then in the blink of an eye she was gone! And I thought she was with you, but then I got her back. And I started imagining it again; especially when we went to the stables. I kept imaging how proud you would be seeing her like this; but I thought it was impossible. And even though I spent nights imagining what she would be like; the way she looks, talks and so on, I was still mesmerized by everything she did." she reminisced.

"We missed out on a lot, haven't we?" he asked softly.

Regina opened her mouth to answer when a knock on the door stopped her.

"Come in." she called.

"Is there a sucking void in here?" Ariel teased, earning a chuckle from both her parents.

"We were just talking things through." Regina informed her.

"What's there to talk about?!" Ariel asked sarcastically.

"Oh nothing; he only just came back to life to find out that I became the Evil Queen, cursed a bunch of people. And last but not least; that he has a 21 year old daughter." Regina summed up, putting one arm around Ariel and pulling her close to her chest.

"Don't believe a word she said about me" Ariel ordered in fake seriousness, and Regina giggled into Ariel's hair.

Daniel was watching the interaction; both mesmerized and proud. Regina was clinging to both him and Ariel; afraid that if she lets go at any minute, they'll both disappear.

"Emma is hogging all the cheese and won't let anyone but you touch them so that we don't mix the cheese ourselves; so you might wanna save her from Snow." Ariel stated, though she made no move to let go of her mother.

"Since your father is out of the shower; why don't you shower till I finish the omelet?" Regina suggested.

"Henry is already in his bathroom, same for David. So I'll just wait till after breakfast cause I'm in no mood to take a cold one!" Ariel grumbled; earning chuckles from both her parents, as Regina led them both out of the room and down the stairs.


They had just reached the first floor when the doorbell rang, making Daniel jump and Ariel and Regina to burst out laughing. Ariel moved out of her mother's embrace and opened the door.

Daniel's face lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw Granny walking in; "Granny" he exclaimed joyfully and closed the distance between them, almost knocking the old woman off her feet when he crashed into her open arms.

"God, it's so good to see you." She said through her tears, her arms wrapping tightly around him.

"You two know each other?" a confused Ariel asked, and they both chuckled as they let go of each other.

"Yes we do; I knew your father as a young boy and I knew he fell in love with the beautiful young lady whom he taught how to ride horses." She said softly, winking at Regina.

"She knew who you were all along!" Ruby –who was leaning on Ariel- mumbled sleepily.

Ariel's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "you did?"

"She knew from the moment you brought her the hood for Ruby." David said, as he and the others joined them from the kitchen.

"What? How? I didn't even know at the time!" Ariel wondered.

"Your eyes! I would recognize them anywhere! But Triton told me that you still had no idea so I kept my mouth shut. How do you think I knew that warning him about Cora would get him to keep you in the sea?" Granny explained.

"Because she was notorious and any one getting on her radar would have been bad!" Ariel said simply, "but how come you didn't say anything later on?" she added.

"I didn't know that you knew; you certainly didn't act like it so I assumed they still haven't told you." Granny replied.

"That explains why you always made sure I don't see Regina's face." Ruby realized.

"Yeah; didn't want you to put the pieces together." Granny stated.

"That's why you seemed so sure during our talk." Ariel said softly, and Granny nodded affectionately.

"What talk?" Regina wondered.

Ariel and Granny traded looks before Ariel sighed, "Granny heard me and Ruby talking about our birth mothers one night; and since I still thought I was sold at the time, I wasn't exactly kind in what I said." Ariel elaborated and Regina gulped.

"Sold?!" Snow, Daniel, Henry and Emma exclaimed simultaneously; while David and Henry Sr. looked confused.

"Even though Mom and Dad always told me that I was given up for my own good; I thought that it was their kind way of saying that I was the price of a deal with The Dark One because my mother didn't really want me, so needless to say I wasn't very fond of my birth mother at the time." Ariel explained, moving out of Ruby's embrace and walking over to her mother, who had her eyes closed throughout.

Even though Regina had already heard that story from Ariel before; and also heard the assurances, it still felt like a knife to the heart. She pried her eyes open when she felt an arm go around her waist, in time to see Ariel rest her head on her chest, in the crook of her neck.

"Granny sent Ruby to get something from the yard and had a talk with me about how much my mother loved me but that it was the best thing to let me live away from her, so that I wouldn't be hurt." Ariel finished from her place inside Regina's tightly wrapped arms.

"Triton had already told me the full story, but said you were far too young to understand." Granny added.

The entire room was stunned into silence.

"You thought she SOLD you!" Emma almost shrieked, and Ariel nodded.

"I actually spent nights comparing my mysterious mother who sold her child; with mom who lost hers!" Ariel elaborated.

"Is that why you didn't talk to your parents when they told you who your mother was?" Henry asked her, and she nodded.

Snow finally decided to change the subject, seeing as how Regina was clinging onto Ariel for assurance, "Rubes, why do you look like you're sleep walking?" she asked.

"That's because I am, I didn't get any sleep last night!" Ruby grumbled.

"Why not?" Daniel inquired softly; he still couldn't believe that this was little Red who used to bounce on his knees as a child.

"It's the full moon, which means….do they know?" Ruby trailed off.

"Yeah we told them" David stated.

"Oh, well it was wolf night. And by the way sorry for scaring the two of you; but it was a huge shock to me. And Granny was grilling me about how you guys came back to life." Ruby grumbled, as she walked over to him and hugged him.

Daniel giggled as he hugged her back, "Sorry about that." He said after letting go.

"You're the one who found them?" Ariel inquired.

"Yeah, didn't these guys fill you in?" Ruby asked, and Ariel shook her head.

"I found them by the well; and then called Grumpy over there and told her to come over" Ruby quipped and stuck her tongue out in response to Emma's glare, "and then she called Blue, Snow and David." Red continued.

"Why Blue?" Henry asked.

"To see if it was dark magic or not." David answered.

"Do you guys know how it happened? Ruby said all Blue said was that it was pure magic." Granny asked.

"Yeah; it was Zeusy over there!" Emma quipped, signaling with her head in Ariel's direction.

"Zeusy!" Ariel repeated.

"Yeah, you look like him when you play with lightning bolts." Emma replied.

"A little heads up would have been nice sweetie." Ruby grumbled.

"I needed one myself!" Ariel exclaimed, "I did it in my sleep." she elaborated to the confused looks she got from Granny and Ruby, giggling softly as their mouths fell open.

"In your sleep!" Granny sought confirmation.

"Like I said; Zeus!" Emma stated.

"How?!" Ruby wondered.

"Can we move this party to the living room?" Snow asked.

"Actually we need to move it to the kitchen, cause Grams has an omelet to make!" Emma joked, and Regina laughed as Henry let out a groan at what Emma called her.

"Mom" he whined.

"I know kid, but I just couldn't resist." She giggled at Ruby and Granny's amused, shocked faces.

"I smell pancakes, yours or Snow's?" Ruby asked Regina.

"Mine." Regina answered.

"Yes!" she exclaimed triumphantly, "it's so good to have you back." she winked at Regina, as they all headed for the kitchen; filling Ruby and Granny in on the details of the 'how' on the way there.

"Any grudges I should know about Flounder; I really don't want you going all Hades on me in your sleep!" Ruby quipped.

"Well; there's the Wraith thing" Ariel stated nonchalantly.

"I already said I was sorry for that" Ruby played along.

"And the long list of names you called Mom after she put Snow under the sleeping curse." Ariel continued.

"I was kinda hoping you had me tuned out!" Ruby whined playfully.

"I did after the first 10!" Ariel quipped.

Daniel and Henry Sr. were both over the moon at the interaction; each watching his daughter. Daniel still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that not only was this sweet, cheerful, vibrant and loving girl his; that she holds more powers than anyone can dream of possessing; but that she was also the one who killed her own grandmother two weeks ago. That she was the only one who was able to stand up to Cora-who even The Dark One feared- and protected her mother, and even managed to bring them back, because she knew how much it would mean to her. Henry Sr. on the other hand was watching the daughter he thought he lost so long ago. He never thought that he would see the vibrant, loving, carefree daughter again, but there she was; laughing and talking with the people who crowded her kitchen. Said people all had nothing but love and warmth in their eyes as they looked at her, and not one held anger or animosity. He was happy to see her finally surrounded by the amount of love she deserves.

Emma, Ruby and David all whined when Regina flipped the eggs in the pan like a pro; and she gave them her infamous smirk and glare.

Everybody helped set the table as Regina finished the eggs, before she joined them. Since there were more people than chairs; they doubled up on the chairs around the table. Henry sat with Regina, Ruby with Ariel, and Emma with Snow. While Daniel, Henry Sr., Granny and David each occupied a chair with Daniel and Henry Sr. at each end of the table. Laughter coming from the Mayor's house could be heard from the town's harbor and beach.


Okay so I know that I left you stranded for nearly two weeks, but work has been crazy and I sort of suffered from writer's block. Sorry for the long wait, and the faster you guys review the faster the new chapter will be up. Let me know what you all think.

To EvilRegal; well I agree with the list of names with the exception of Neal! I really don't like him! And I really don't want him with Lana either! Don't know why but I can't picture it, sorry hun. And I am thinking about a few ideas for fics at the moment, but most of them are one shots related to this story, whether I actually write them is up to you guys and what you want.

To Aby31; they will remain in Storybrooke and use the Enchanted Forrest as their getaway during holidays and such. Ariel and Henry's situations will be explained.

To carriemarrie78, here's the update.

To Metope, why thank you dear, glad you liked it.

To reginamillz, glad you think so.

To LilahMorgann; good to hear from you again and it's okay. I kinda thought you un-followed the story or something, can't wait for more reviews.

To The Rising Phoenix, it didn't go unnoticed by Emma, that's why she had tears in her eyes. And no I'm afraid she won't deal with it here, and the writer's already said that Peter Pan won't appear this season but that Bae will, so that means he's not Peter.

To Anarra, that's as soon as I could, sorry for the wait hun.

To evil regal forever; I'm afraid I don't know any numbers but thank you for the compliment nonetheless. And I like Evil Regina when it is necessary to protect her family, not the bitter Evil Queen. And I'm afraid there's no place for the fairies in this story, sorry. Glad you enjoyed the story and looking forward to more input from you. And I always loved Disney's Ariel because she had a strong mind and spirit, and I so wanted someone to stand up to Cora's arrogance, so I made Ariel powerful and the part about the hood was my way of explaining how Granny got it.

To impureevil; thanks, glad you enjoyed it.

To Gizela; well I aint telling Regina that we're taking her baby away again, so you do the honors :P.

Only every 3 days, I was thinking more along the lines of every day of the week and twice on Sunday. ;) ;P

Yes with a coffee ;P

"But it can experience a VERY painful squeeze, can't it? *smiles angelically*
I'll keep that in mind ;) "
Always glad to help *VBEG* I'm sure you are ;)

In this case, I dare to say the daughter's outdone the mother ;P Oh I'm sure Regina is proud xD

Powerfully talented works too ;) and I bet Daniel has a few names too ;) ;P

"Now, THAT was a proper motivation!
I seem to remember a certain someone complaining that she called Snow her daughter ;P"
Certain someone seems to remember Henry was also involved;P Snow was NEVER considered 'a motivation' ;P you're not letting me get away with this are you? *raises eyebrow*

You know me too well ;P oh yes I do ;)

We need to work on her subconscious mind and put it at ease ;) sleeping in mommy's arms can help ;) ;P

" like Hook said, 'mom of the year' ;P"
Of the year? More like of the decade! Or the century! LOL! XD they should turn her into a statue ;) someone page Midas! ;P

Poor thing, it must have felt like a lifetime to her ;P torturing her own daughter seemed like appropriate entertainment to her! ;P

I love her in ANY version! XD that makes two of us xD

Oh after reading '50 Shades' you're most definitely innocent.. NOT! XD I'm afraid I can't blame the book for that one ;)

Oh. That would be the Aliens who popped in a few nights back. Did they Skype you as well by any chance? ;) oh that make soooo much sense of many things ;P and yes they are quite entertaining ;) :P
"Neuro-linguistic Programming.
you totally lost me now!"
I guess Big Brother Google will know a word or two about it too ;) oh a word or two won't be enough ;)

And the earth - way less crowded *grins angelically* ah yes *dreamy eyes*

I suppose she's not! ;P Totally forgot about it, sounds strangely familiar though;P *who on earth do you mean? *smiles innocently*

Surprised he didn't want them to leave the previous day! ;P he probably did, but Ariel is THAT scary ;)

Not exactly the description I was thinking about! ;) that's what Daniel had in mind though ;) ;P

"look like you and the savior are in cahoots now ;P."
Keep dreaming sweetheart! ;) I aint the one who's agreeing with her ;P

ARCTIC? Damn. *shivers at the prospect and unpacks suitcase* ;) knew it would work ;P

"Nope. I wanna know how it happened TECHNICALLY. *sweet grin* There were no bodies and magic can't bring the dead back (unless we're talking about Pinocchio;P), soooo...? ;P
technically! for real?! Henry's body is still there and Regina let Daniel go, so no body yes but Ariel can reverse magic, so body is back. and she brought them back to life using pure magic, like the one in Pinocchio, true love in a bottle ;)"
Oh hun, you didn't possibly think I'd let you get away with it that easily, did you? ;) *smiles sweetly* Still no body in Henry's case, unless you count the bones as a body..;P it's called magic DEARIE not science ;P she brought them back, end of story ;P ;)

Looks like Whale will need to prescribe her, along with the other meds, some calm pills as well. Poor girl's gonna end up as a walking pharmacy lol! XD more like someone needs to page Archie! They all need therapy ;)

Would you rather them to lie down? ;) dancing around would be nice ;)

I know, they should run around like morons, informing everyone around that they're back :P ooh osh lady! I would like to see you react to that ;P

Guess who's just become the most popular girl in the town? ;) it's hard being her! ;)

Oh. Erm... Umm.. a miracle? ;P whatever suits you my dear ;)

""Basically; you're Cora's kryptonite."
As if she knows what kryptonite is:P ...Ok, maybe they watched 'Superman' together ;) knowing Henry you must know that he probably made her read every comic book he has ;)

ROFL! But I bloody love YOU Ariel! XD she loves you too ;)

LOL! BTW I've just decided we really need Ariel on the show! As in THIS Ariel! Someone please call Adam and Eddie! XD I would love to, they're on twitter ;)

""Why should I trust you? How do I know you're not lying to me?" Whale hisses."
Oh? Like you did to her mother? :/ : he's paranoid xD

"He took one look at their faces and realized that one wrong move on his part and they will eat him alive; especially Regina, who was standing behind Ariel, daring him to make a move."
Ooooh please don't restrain yourself! XD *smiles angelically* someone's been taking pages out of Ariel's sassy seniorita book ;) ;P

""You're so beautiful." He gushes and she smiles shyly at him"
Like mother, like daughter :3 daddy isn't bad looking either ;)

LMAO is it bad that it makes me so LOL? XD nope! You are more than welcome dear and I LOLed too ;)

""Second of all; I am not going to steal your mother away, I was hoping we can share." He says softly.
Henry's wide grin is contagious and Daniel finds himself mirroring it; "I know you won't, and I don't mind sharing. She missed you very much and she deserves to be happy, and I know you will make her happy. And besides; I've never really had a father before, so it might be nice" "
Hehe me likes ;) thanks dear 3

"Daniel moves one arm behind him, and Ariel takes it, knowing it's meant for her, and he immediately pulls her into the hug. Ariel and Henry both reach out at the same time to pull Regina in as well."
I SO wanna see it on the show! :((((( don't think it'll happen :'(((

""You do know that it's just gonna be the two of us in Boston!" Emma playfully threatens."
How do you know Gold's son is in Boston? ;P they'll start the search there xD

Here's your MORE xD sorry for the delay ;)