Later that night, Regina was worried. And she did what was starting to do when she gets worried, she called Zelena. Because Zelena would know what to do because Zelena was Morrighan's mother.

"Regina," Zelena answered groggily. "What time is it?"

"I didn't think it was too late for you," she said in apology.

"Oh, right yeah, no, I'm in Tokyo. Different time zone," she said. "Why are you calling?"

"Morrighan said something about money for university and-"

"I told her not to tell you," Zelena huffed. "She's blowing this out of proportion. Do not listen to her. In a few days she will have written up a day by day spending plan form now till the end of her degree and she will be fine. She likes plans and this one got messed up and now she is panicking. Trust me, in a few days, she will be fine. She might have to choose a different dorm plan or live off-campus. Possibly, and only if she is over budgeting or overspending. It's not going to kill her." She paused. "Look, I'm just sick of this conversation. I will admit some of it is my fault for being too much of a miser and worrier when she was younger, but trust me, she will be fine. Do you think I would have let this happen if I thought it was going to mess up her chances at university, especially with the way you were using it as leverage?"

"Alright then," Regina said. "Are you sure, if you need something I can-"

"No," Zelena said. "I have more than enough saved up for her. As I said, she's making a mountain out of a mole-" Zelena cut herself off with a coughing fit.

"Lena?" A new voice said, jarring Regina with the use of a nickname. Mattias. Regina had never thought of someone having an affectionate nickname for her half-sister. "Geh jetzt schlafen." Go to sleep now. Morrighan's German lessons were working, it seemed.

Zelena was hacking up a storm on the other line.

"Lena, schlaf bitte." Lena, sleep please. "Komm ins Bett, du brauchst deine Energie." Come to bed, you need your energy. Mattias was pleading with her to take care of herself.

"Zelena, are you okay?" Regina asked.

"I'm bloody dying," she snapped back between heaving coughs. Regina took that as a no. It was also the first time Zelena had admitted to her half-sister that she was dying, and it made Regina feel odd and conflicted.

"You should come to Storybrooke," Regina said. Then she could heal Zelena and she would not have to feel too guilty all the time.

There was no reply, but the coughing fit seemed to subside, and she could hear Mattias muttering something to Zelena, but she could not make out what. There were muffled sounds of whimpering. Zelena was dying.

"Why?" Zelena gasped as she regained her composure. Mattias was still talking on the background, softly. Regina wondered if he was doing the same thing Robin did when she was sick, hold her tightly and tell her how much he loved her, sometimes kissing her for good measure. Being her support and comfort when she needed it.

"Well, I was just thinking that it might be nice and..." she trailed off, unsure.

"I can't, Regina," Zelena said softly. "I have kids and work and a bunch of other stuff. I may not work a nine to five, but I still have a well-paying job and mouths to feed. I still have a life and people who care about me. I can't just swoop in and fix the mess you made." She paused. "I want to, for Morgan's sake, but I can't. You have to sort this out yourself."

Mattias said something to her, and she replied. They had a mini conversation before Zelena said: "What if you came to Heidelberg instead?"

"Hm?'

"Here, well not here exactly, I am in Tokyo, but there. To Heidelberg. Come visit us. I think you can uproot yourself for a week a bit easier than I can," she explained.

"I guess so," Regina said. It was not her idea of ideal, but it was much better than nothing. Maybe she could bring something to Zelena. "I'd have to talk it over with Robin and see if the city council can mange in my absence, but it might be doable."

"It'll have to be in a few months," Zelena said. "I'm in Tokyo till the end of next month and the month after that is pretty busy too. Maybe in June or July?" She coughed again, but it was not a big fit. "We can talk about it later," she said through a yawn.

She was not disappointed with the timetable. More time meant Regina had more time to sort out an answer. Belle had been going through some books, but they had so little to go on and no one was keen on some multi-realm quest for a cure-all like a philosopher's stone or something that might not even work outside of Storybrooke. If lake Nostos was still a thing, that might have been feasible, but it had dried up; the last of its water used to break the infertility curse on Snow White.

"Sounds like a good idea," Regina said. "And for what it's worth," she added, "I hope you find something that works. I hope you get better."

"Yeah," Zelena sighed into the receiver. "Me too. Bye Regina."

"Bye."

Regina put down her cellphone and looked up. Robin was standing in the door frame of their bedroom.

"She sounds like she's dying," Regina said, still a bit shaken. "I think it was easier when I had no idea, but now it's all I can hear in her voice. How laboured it sounds when she talks, how out of breath and completely done she is."

Robin came over and sat beside her. "You will find a way," he said.

"I know, but I wonder sometimes if we should. She did all that stuff."

"Regina, how many second chances did you get?"

"A lot," she replied. "But we've given her a lot too."

"How many?" Robin asked.

"Two, maybe."

"Did you change after two?"

"No," she replied. "I changed after Henry."

"Yeah," he said. "And I know there's the curse, but there's a caring mother in there and a person who is dying and terrified of the whole she's' going to leave behind. Because she managed to dig herself a hole into people's hearts."

"You've changed your tune," Regina pointed out.

"Well, Morrighan loves her and I love my daughter," he said. "And it's the right thing to do." He wrapped his arms around his wife and pulled her close. "I love you, Regina," he said. "So very much. You can do this; I know you can."

Regina smiled. "Everything's easier knowing you've got my back," she said with a chuckle. "So how do you feel about going to Heidelberg? We would be meeting her family, so I guess I would be meeting my niece and nephews. And what about Mattias. I know Morgan still sees him as her dad, even if she doesn't say so to our faces."

"He was there for her when I wasn't," Robin said. "I should like to thank him in person. He raised a good girl."

"They both did," Regina said. "This could work. We slip some potion into Zelena's drink, she gets better. It will help Morrighan knowing that her mother's fine. And we should get to know this new Zelena. I have no will to break the curse she is under. I think it might be mercy now. Maybe she has become a good person somewhere along the line."

"Love tends to do that," Robin said. "We should ask Morgan what she thinks."

His wife agreed with him and they exited the room and walked down the hallway to Morgan's room and knocked on the door.

"We're coming in," Robin said.

She said nothing to stop them, so they opened the door. She was stretching on the floor, in black yoga pants and magenta marbled sports bra in the splits with her foot in her hair, which was getting redder and redder as it grew with every passing week. She pulled out an earbud to listen to them. Her phone was on the ground playing music.

"Yeah," she said, still clearly annoyed with them.

"We were just talking to Zelena," Regina said. "And we were thinking, the three of us, that it might be nice if we went to Heidelberg."

Morrighan switched leading legs. "Oh," she said. "Really, isn't Mom in Tokyo, it's very late there."

"Yeah, she is," Regina said.

"She needs sleep," Morrighan said unimpressed.

"She doesn't have to answer the phone, she's a grown woman," Regina said.

"She will because you're calling and she's worried," Morrighan said. "She answers me almost every time too. If I want to text her something and not disturb her, I text it someone else and have them text her."

"Well, what do you think?" Robin said.

"Sounds nice," Morrighan replied, switching stretches. She was incredibly flexible. Morrighan did not think so, always claiming she would be a terrible contortionist (not to mention was too tall) and that's why she stuck to aerial, but she still had more range than most people in the town.

"Do you know why Zelena's in Tokyo?" Regina asked. She was starting to get uncomfortable with the way her niece was bending herself into odd shapes.

"If she didn't tell you, that's up to her," Morrighan replied. Then she stood up.

"You know, we could convert a room in the basement into a gym," Regina said. She and Robin had never bothered, but if Morrighan wanted a home gym it could be arranged.

"Honestly, I'm fine here," she said nonchalantly with a small smile.

"It's not good to be trapped in one room all day," Regina pointed out.

"I'm not," the girl countered. It was true.

"If you change your mind, let us know," Robin said. "Good night," he said, closing the door and pulling Regina out of the door frame.

They went downstairs and made popcorn and watched a movie with nothing else to do. Morrighan came down a while after in pyjamas and sat on a different couch.

"What movie do you want to watch?"

Morrighan shrugged.

"Okay, what's your favourite movie?" Regina said.

"Uh," she said, thinking. "I Kill Giants is good, but I don't want to watch that..." she thought for a moment. "Maybe Interstellar? But I'm sure you've seen it."

"We haven't," Regina assured her. She took the remote, rented the movie, and played it.