Power Outage

This is a bit of longer chapter, I hope I've done it justice and it doesn't drag, in my mind we are a little over half way through this story now, I'm thinking that there may be around 13 chapters in total, I'm thinking that over the next couple of chapters Regina and Brianne will become closer and their relationship will continue to develop, then something else will be revealed about Brianne that could help answer some questions for Regina.

Blue eyed the tiny tornado suspiciously "what happens if that thing gets out" she asked

"Nothing, because it's never getting out" Zelena replied clapping her hands together triumphantly "It's worked perfectly"

Blue didn't look at all convinced "metaphorically speaking then?" she asked, "what happens if that thing gets out?"

"Well" Zelena rolled her eyes as she continued " its locked now so theoretically there is only one way that, that could possibly get out and that is if someone were to say those three little words that were on the scroll that I gave too Simba while they were standing near it, if that were to happen and that got loose, there is no telling how big it would grow or what damage it would do, but one things for sure, it would probably make quick work of tearing this town apart and if someone were to try and absorb the magic well let's just say that, that might not be very pretty either, our best hope would be if Taka were nearby as it would likely just return to its original user as soon as it sensed they were nearby without causing any destruction, but I wouldn't want to be here if that happened either because that is some powerful magic and he would be one pissed off magic man if he was ever reunited with it. But no one knows those words except for me, Simba will have destroyed his copy by now and even if he hasn't we still have nothing to worry about, Taka doesn't even know about this place and even if he did he has no way of getting here and he's the only with anything to gain from releasing it, plus I'm working on finding a safe way to release it into the hemisphere without causing any chaos in the process, so hopefully we'll be able to get rid of it completely soon, hey you can help me if you like" she concluded turning to face Blue who looked a little pale but slowly nodded non the less.

"right then" Regina interrupted "I don't know about the rest of you but I'd quite like to get a few more hours sleep before I have to get up for work, "we've seen that it's back and secure so how about we all get out of here now" she was met with nods of agreement and one by one they all disappeared, reappearing in their retrospective homes.

Regina reappeared in her kitchen so that she could grab herself a glass of water to take up to bed with her, she stopped briefly to listen at Brianne's door and was happy to be greeted by a silence that she hoped meant that the woman inside was sleeping soundly, a gentle tap and a quick peek around the door confirmed her suspicions, with a fond smile in the blondes direction she retreated back out into the hallway quietly pulling the door closed behind her and padded towards her own room, where she magically changed back into her pyjama's and climbed back into bed, falling into a dreamless sleep the second that her head hit the pillow.

xoxoxo

Groaning Regina groped for the alarm clock silencing its incessant beeping, blinked, looked around bleary eyed, then having no desire to get up yet she closed them again and snuggled back into the depths of her cosy duvet, she hadn't actually meant to doze back off but doze off she did, consequently she was running considerably late when she woke a little over an hour later, horrified she stumbled out of bed almost falling flat on her face as she did, rushed through her bathroom routine at breakneck speed and opting to use her magic to finish getting herself ready for work she waved hands in the air, she knew even before she looked down at her still pyjama clad self that hadn't worked, alarmed she tried again this time focusing extra hard, her magic had never failed her before, the second time it still seemed off, like it faltered or something but it worked and she didn't have time to question it right now if it continued to be a problem she'd have to look further into later, now she was in a rush.

Racing down the stairs she quickly made breakfast for Brianne who was back to laughing at cartoons in the lounge, Regina longed to stay home today and not just because she wanted to hear more of that joyful laughter but also because she felt oddly drained today, but tiredness had never stopped her turning up for work before and it wouldn't start today. A quick glance at the clock on the kitchen wall told her that it was almost a quarter to ten she really needed to leave, thank goodness for magic she thought as she called into to say goodbye to Brianne informing her that her breakfast was ready in the kitchen and she would be back for lunch then she disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

That's weird she thought when the smoke cleared and she was still stood in her kitchen as opposed to her office which is where she should have now been, what is going on with my magic today she wandered starting to feel more than a little alarmed when she tried again and this time nothing happened at all, it was like her magic had just disappeared, she couldn't even feel it anymore and without it she suddenly felt extremely vulnerable, not knowing what else to do she rang in to ask her receptionists to hold her meetings that day, then called Emma.

"you aren't the only one" Emma informed her, when Regina had explained what had happened "I was actually abouts to call you when you called me, mines gone too"

"What!, oh no Emma this can't be good" the brunette sighed,

"hey, you don't suppose that this has anything to do with Zelena's magic draining ruby thing, do you?" the saviour asked

"It had better not have" the mayor replied through gritted teeth "but as I don't have any better ideas, I'll call my sister and we'll meet at my vault in half an hour" the blonde agreed, and they said brief goodbyes.

Regina had barely hung up when her phone started ringing she rolled her eyes as she saw that Blue was calling she really didn't have the time or the desire to discuss Blues concerns over Zelena's little invention especially now that she had some reservations about it herself but it was precisely because of those reservations that she found herself entertaining a conversation with the fairy, maybe she thought Blue could help them figure out this little problem of theirs.

As it transpired Blue had the same problem but none of the other fairies seemed to be affected which was something, if Zelena's stone was stealing magic it appeared that it was only stealing it from those who had been within a close proximity to it in which case they would have to ensure that no other magic wielding beings got near it while they figured out how to get their magic back out without letting loose the little tornado spinning around inside in the process. Hanging up with Blue having invited the fairy to meet her and Emma at the vault she finally turned her attention to calling her sister.

She called three times before Zelena answered which was very unusual for the red head who usually answered within the first few rings. Even more unusual was the harassed tone with which she spoke and the echoing screams of baby Robyn in the background who was usually such a content baby, Regina had never heard her little niece cry like that before and the sound caused her brow to crease with concern

"Bloody hell Regina" Zelena frantically bellowed down the phone, "How did you do this without magic? The nappies alone, and she won't stop crying and I mean usually I just magic something up for her to watch floating, flick of a wrist her nappies clean and the bottles ready, but now it's taking so damn long to do anything, I've been trying to find time to call you all morning but I just haven't had the chance, who knew that babies were so demanding " she huffed

Regina couldn't help but roll her eyes a little at that "you've lost your magic too then" the brunette stated

"Whatever gave you that idea dear sister" Zelena retorted sarcastically, as baby Robyn's cries continued to rise and fall in the background, "So we share this little problem then, aren't we good sisters, mother would be proud" the red head sniped, her frustration evident in the strained tone of her voice.

"Not just me, Emma and Blue too" Regina explained

"Great so I suppose you all think my ruby is to blame, buts it not you know, this," Zelena continued "this is something different"

"The thought had crossed our minds" Regina admitted "Well can you blame us" she defended when she heard Zelena huff, "the thing was made to literally drain magic from magic users" she continued "and here we all are apparently drained of magic, Look we are going to meet at my vault in twenty minutes, I'll call Belle and ask her to meet us there so that she can take the baby while we try and figure this whole mess out"

"fine" Zelena agreed "but it's not my stone, you'll see" and with that the line went dead the red head had cut her off, sighing Regina rubbed her temples where a headache was beginning to ebb and dialled Belles number, the younger woman quickly agreed to meet them at the vault so that just left Regna to make her way there.

Turning around she was startled to see Brianne sat on the opposite side of the kitchen island quietly munching her way through the bowl of cereal that she had prepared for her, Regina hadn't heard her come out into the kitchen and had believed the blonde to still be engrossed in cartoons while she was making her phone calls so she had no idea how long Brianne had been in the kitchen or how much she had heard of her dilemma,

"I need to pop out for a bit" Regina explained quickly regaining her composure

"I know" the blonde shrugged "I hope you manage to sort your magic problem out" she smiled warmly at Regina who returned the smile with an equally warm one of her own

"Thanks, I'll try and make it back for lunch okay, but if I don't make it I'll send Ruby round with something from the diner, I'll see you later" she finished and grabbing her keys she left, a few minutes later she was pulling up outside of the cemetery , she was the first to arrive and proceeded to pace impatiently in front of the crypt that acted as an entrance to her vault until the others began to arrive, first came Emma and Belle whom Emma had picked up along the way, then Blue who was looking a little dishevelled, her hair wasn't quite as pristine as usual so she evidently usually used a little magic when she was making herself presentable to the world, but she had nothing on poor Zelena who arrived a few minutes later, with her wild red hair stuck out all over the place, the baby had clearly spit up down her mother's back at some point that morning, and she was leaving a trail of things behind her which were falling out of a Robyn's open baby bag as she walked, Belle raced to collect them relieving Zelena of the bag and zipping it up. Baby Robyn who was strapped in her car seat was still crying or perhaps crying again, little face all screwed up and bright red, Belle having located her pacifier quickly popped it into her little mouth and the crying mercifully ceased immediately.

"Thank goodness for that" Zelena sighed a look of sheer relief crossing her face as she handed the now quiet, content baby over to Belle and bade them farewell before turning to follow the other three down into the vault.

Upon close inspection the stone looked no different than it had the night before, the tiny tornado continued to spin around in its core unchanged.

"It's like I already said sis it's got a sort of lock on it, and the lock is active so nothing can get in and nothing can get out unless someone utters those three little words, so whatever is causing our little power outage it's not that" Zelena declared

"Great, now we are going to have to go and talk to the imp for help" Regina glared

"No!" Blue exclaimed horrified by the thought of Rumpelstiltskin knowing that she was without her magic,

"well do you have a better idea?" Regina rounded on the fairy "I don't like It much either, but it is what it is, so if anyone does have a better idea please share it with the room otherwise I'm going to speak to Gold"

She looked round and waited for someone to speak "I thought not" she sighed turning to leave, closely followed Emma and Zelena,

"actually I'd rather head back to the convent and let the other fairy's in on our little problem, and I would rather you not mention to Mr Gold that I'm involved with this if you can help it" Blue said

"you mean that you haven't already told them?" Regina asked incredulously

"please, do you think that my appearance would be anything less than perfect if I had" Blue laughed sprucing her hair "No, I didn't want to cause a panic over this stone until I knew whether it was responsible for our problem or not"

"Okay do what you have to, we'll be in contact later and don't worry we won't mention you if we don't need too" the mayor assured continuing to head out of the vault followed by the others, once back above ground Blue parted ways with them heading back to the safety of the convent.

xoxoxoxox

"and that's it?" Regina asked, relief flooding through her, she wasn't sure what she was expecting the answer to their problem to be, but whatever it was it was she didn't think that it would be as simple as this,

"That's it dearie" Gold confirmed having heard all about their little problem "you've simply over exerted yourselves, that last return took it a lot of power, it drained you, but your magics still there you just can't access it at the moment, I'm afraid that there's no quick fix for this, you're just going to have to wait it out, it should start to return within a day or so but when it does I would recommend you limit your uses of it until you are back to full strength, you'll feel it when you are, after all you wouldn't want to drain yourselves again unnecessarily now would you" he smiled the hint of maliciousness shining in his eyes he seemed to be enjoying this a little to much,

"and how long will that take?" Regina asked

"a week give or take a few days" he replied "oh and don't forget to pass this information on to our little Blue fairy friend your Majesty" he added slyly as they were leaving

"I'm not even going to ask how you know about Blue's involvement" Regina replied letting the door swing closed behind her

"oh I have my sources" Gold said watching through the window as they all clamoured back into the Mayors Mercedes, corners of his mouth curving up into devious grin "Nothing goes on around here without me hearing about it"

xoxoxxoxo.

Regina put a quick call into Blue, from the car and filled her in minus the part about Gold somehow already knowing about their plight, then she stopped by her office to pick up some paperwork informing her receptionist that she would be working from home for the rest of the week "could you cancel all my meetings for this week, hopefully I'll be back in on Monday so I'll rearrange them then" she said on her way out.

Then dropping the paperwork on the back seat of her car, next to Emma she returned the other two to their own cars outside the cemetery and headed back home.

After exchanging a quick greeting with Brianne who was still laughing at cartoons Regina retreated to her home office to take care of her first port of call. Th phone was answered by a rather chipper Ruby who happily fetched Miriam to the phone as Regina requested, "It's Regina Mills the Mayor here, I'm just calling to give you an update on your return home" she said when the Jolly woman came to the phone, "I'm really sorry to have tell you that due to some unforeseen circumstances there is going to be a slight delay on it" pausing for a moment she listened as the other woman spoke "yes I understand that it's disappointing and if I could do anything about it, I can assure that I would, as it is we should be able to get you back next week" the brunette explained, rubbing her temples where a pounding was beginning as she paused to listened further "thank-you for your understanding, I'll be in touch when I know more, goodbye for now" she said ending the call and quietly groaning as the pounding in her head grew.

A glass of water and a couple of aspirin were suddenly placed in front of her, surprised by their appearance she looked up to see Brianne making herself comfortable in a chair on the opposite side of her desk, "thanks" she smiled grimacing a little as she swallowed the tablets,

"I was going to come in when I realised you were on the phone, I saw you rubbing the sides of your head and every time I see you do that you get two of those white tablets out of the cupboard, so I figured I could go and get some for you" Brianne shrugged answering Regina's unspoken question

"well thanks" the brunette said again "I really needed them; I don't suppose you'd like to stay here a little longer would you? Only I've just had to tell Miriam that we won't be able to send her, and the children home this week as planned so Granny will only have that tiny room available for a little while longer"

"I'd love to" Brianne beamed

"Great. Now are you ready for some lunch?" Regina asked, the blonde nodded happily, and the two women accompanied each other to the kitchen.

The rest of the day passed without incident, the Mayor worked for a little longer before deciding to finish early, she called Henry and arranged to meet him the next day for a catch up. She missed him and couldn't wait until she could have him back home again. After she said goodbye, she popped dinner in the oven and ran upstairs to shed her work clothes, grabbed a quick shower and pulled on a pair of comfy pyjamas. Back downstairs she stopped to check on the dinner before heading into the lounge with a drink in each hand one each for her and Brianne.

Oh my" the blonde said taking in the brunettes appearance as she walked into the room

"What is it, what's wrong" Regina asked suddenly feeling incredibly self-conscious,

"Nothing's wrong" Brianne assured as she stood up and walked towards her, stopping when she was close enough to take one of the drinks from her, and pausing a little longer than necessary once the drink was in hand, eyes flickering around Regina's face, taking in her wet hair and briefly resting on her lips before coming back up to gaze into her eyes, "It's just, I've never seen you properly without your make-up on before" she whispered "I didn't realise just how pretty you were underneath it" Regina's breathe caught and her heart began to race as she saw the blondes hand rising out of the corner of her eye, blue orbs still gazing intensely into her brown ones as she remained frozen to the spot, then unable to hold the gaze any longer the brunette blinked and it seemed to break the spell, the hand that was now over half way up to her face promptly dropped back to the blondes side and flashing her a bright smile Brianne thanked her for the drink and took a quick sip before turning away from her, Regina swallowed, let out the breath that had caught in her throat and followed the blonde settling on the sofa beside her, her heart still beating way too fast.

The rest of the evening passed companionable enough, Regina occasionally glanced in the blonde's direction and found herself wondering what would have happened if that hand had reached her face, did she even want something to happen? Or was her imagination just running away from her, what was it about this blonde that had her heart pounding a little faster when she gazed into her eyes, had her holding her breathe when she got close, what was it that drew her to Brianne and made her feel like she already knew her in some way even from when they first met.

She tried not to think about it as they enjoyed dinner together in the kitchen and even managed to fully immerse herself into the book she was reading as she curled up on one end of the sofa while Brianne curled up on the other end watching a movie, she'd been sat like for about an hour when her legs began to cramp, without looking up from her page she stretched them out towards the middle of the sofa tensing and pulling them back a little when her bare feet suddenly came into contact with soft warm skin, looking over the top of her reading glasses she moved her gaze to rest on the blonde whose eyes were still glued to the scene that she was laughing at as it unfolded on the screen she tensed again as warm skin found her bare feet a second time, gaze falling to her feet she saw that Brianne who had also stretched her legs out at some point had her feet resting against hers, relaxing Regina returned her attention to her book, she didn't know where this was leading but she felt perfectly happy and content as she passed the rest of evening with her feet nestled together with the blondes, and every time Brianne moved a little the brunette felt her heart pitter patter a little faster.

It was still relatively early when the movie finished, but Brianne yawned widely and turned the t.v off waited patiently for Regina to get to the end of her chapter then told her that she was going to head up to bed early, the brunette not really wanting to stay downstairs alone slipped her bookmark into place, snapped the book shut, folded her glasses up leaving both on the coffee table in front of her and followed the blonde up the stairs, saying a final goodnight as they parted ways at Regina's door, Brianne planted a light kiss on the brunettes cheek before hurrying off up the hallway to her own room.

Regina didn't even bother to set her alarm that night as she settled down to sleep, she didn't need to go into work the next morning and Henry was still staying over at Emma's so what would it matter if she ended up oversleeping a little in the morning. Loud cries woke her just after two in the morning, she headed to Brianne's room and found her in the throes of yet another nightmare, but this time she noted as she soothed the blonde it didn't seem as intense as previous nights and she was able to calm and resettled her a lot quicker as a result, maybe Regina hoped as she retreated from the room a short while later this would prove to be a turning point for Brianne and she wouldn't have to suffer every single night for much longer.

It was little after ten when Regina woke up the next morning, the first thing she noticed was the feeling of her magic coursing through her again, It felt like an old friend returning to her, she knew she could have called it to her use if she wanted to her hand even twitched with the temptation of making a fireball just to prove she could but she also felt that she was nowhere near back to full power so she did as Gold had advised and resisted. She had managed without her magic in Storybrooke for over twenty-eight years so she was sure that she could manage again for a few days in the same small town, still she was relieved to feel it back, and no longer felt so vulnerable it was after all her strongest form of defence and there were still some who understandably bore a grudge and might try to seek revenge if they caught wind of the fact that she was without her magic, but she would only use it if it was absolutely necessary until she was back to full strength again.

Stretching she yawned and reached for her mobile quickly calling her sister whom she had received no less than twelve miss calls from in the last ninety minutes, Zelena answered the call on the first ring "Thank god" she greeted her sister "I'm just about going out of my mind" she cried hysterically "My magic returned this morning and I used it but it didn't work for long" she confessed tone full of regret "I hope this won't prolong my getting back to full power" she sighed "the fact is I need help little sis, this is all new to me without magic"

"okay, It's okay" Regina soothed "leave it with me, I'll try and sort something out, in the meantime just take a few deep breathes and hang on in there, you can do this" she assured before saying goodbye and ending the call immediately calling Belles number afterwards.

"Belle, I could really use your help" she greeted as soon as the younger brunette answered "Zelena's really struggling without her magic, I know she can learn to look after Robyn without it, she just needs a little help right now, is there any chance you could head over there and stay with her for few days, show her the ropes so to speak? I'd pay you for your time, I'd go myself or have her, here but I have a lot of paperwork to get through so if I can get her the help she needs until this thing is over and still keep up with my work that would be great" she explained

"don't be silly I'd love to help" Belle replied happily "no payment necessary, I'm glad you asked me, I love baby Robyn let Zelena know that I'll be right over"

"thanks Belle, you have no idea how grateful I am" Regina told her as they said goodbye, as soon as she had hung up with Belle she called to tell a very relieved Zelena that help was on its way.

Then unceremoniously dumping her phone on her bedside table, she sighed, lay back on her pillows stared at the ceiling and contemplated until nature's call became so insistent that she could no longer ignore it and she had to run the last few steps to the bathroom to make it on time to relieve herself. Feeling refreshed and a lot more comfortable when she emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later Regina got herself ready for the day, she dressed and applied her make-up as though she were going into work as she always did when she worked from home, she found that it helped her get into the mind set to work when she did so and she was more productive as a result, she explained this to Brianne when she asked if she had decided to go into a work after all when Regina walked into the kitchen a short while later to find the blonde sitting in her usual seat at the kitchen with a bowel of muesli sat in front of her, in front of Regina's usual seat sat a second bowl of muesli with a bottle of milk next to it,

"you didn't have to do this" Regina smiled as she took it all in

"you do it for me every morning so I figured it was about time I repaid the favour" Brianne shrugged "I would have made you coffee to, but I don't know how to use the machine yet" she continued hopefully,

"come on I'll show you" the brunette chuckled as the blonde jumped up and followed her over to the coffee machine eager as always to learn.

After breakfast Regina excused herself to the study and pulled out Simba's file to complete it, with all the drama surrounding their little power outage she hadn't gotten around to submitting the new information about the stone reappearing with its little tornado inside, once that was done she cast it to one side ready to file away when she returned to work on Monday and steadily worked her way through paperwork until one o clock when the increasingly noisy grumblings from her stomach told her that it was time to stop for lunch.

Putting her glasses down on top of her paperwork Regina moved from behind her desk and headed towards the kitchen where she began to put a couple of sandwiches together, she was still buttering the bread when a very chipper Brianne joined her and took a seat while she waited for her food, the two of them made a little small talk as they ate but for the most part they were content to just sit in silence together as they made quick work of their lunch after which Regina returned to her office to work, a little while later she was presented with a cup coffee by a very proud looking Brianne, "I did it" the blonde said stating the obvious "and I ran the cleaning cycle afterwards just like you showed me" she beamed

"Thanks" Regina replied taking a sip, feeling touched by Brianne's thoughtfulness "this was lovely of you"

"your welcome" the blonde smiled turning to leave

"wait" the brunette called to her "please stay and keep me company while I finish this" she invited holding up her cup a little and glancing at the clock "I have to finish up here now anyway, Henry will be here soon"

Brianne happily complied walking back to the desk and dropping into one of the comfy seats across from Regina's, they were still sitting like that chatting away when the front door opened, and a voice called through the house "mom!"

"In the office Henry" the brunette called back,

"are you ready to go" Henry asked as he walked into the room, "Oh hi Brianne" he said spotting the blonde in the chair "how are you doing?"

"I'm good thanks" Brianne replied smiling warmly at Henry as Regina pulled him into her embrace planting a kiss in the middle of his forehead, "let's go then she smiled, I'll see you in a couple of hours" she said turning to say goodbye to the blonde before leaving with her son.

"So what do you fancy sweetheart?" Regina asked Henry once they were in the car "Ice-cream from the parlour or something from Grannies?"

"definitely Grannies" Henry replied "I'm glad we're doing this; I've missed you mom"

"I've missed you too Henry" the brunette sighed "are you looking forward to coming home next week?" she asked casting a quick smile in his direction before returning her full focus to the road ahead, "I know I'm looking forward to having you back" Henry nodded enthusiastically in agreement, it would be bitter sweet for Regina, her son would be home, but her new found friend whose company she had grown to enjoy so much would be gone, son though would always trump friends and his homecoming would be something to celebrate, "We'll get your favourite take out on your first day back" she smiled as they pulled up in front of Grannies. Once inside they chose a seat and Henry chose pancakes with syrup, blueberries and whipped creamed on top and a hot chocolate with cinnamon, Regina didn't usually let him have that much sugar in one sitting but today she decided treat him and let him indulge, she chose a small slice of apple pie and a latte for herself and asked Grannie to box up a piece of chocolate cake for her to take away. They passed leisurely hour catching up, Henry told her all about school, and stories about the funny mishaps that Hook often had with modern technology "he just can't grasp it at all" Henry laughed tears streaming down his face " I mean he still refers to his mobile as his talking device and the call button as the Emma button, and you should see him when he tries to use the microwave, I really don't know how he hasn't electrocuted himself already the way he stabs at the buttons with his hook"

"I'm glad you're having so much fun over there, but I hope you're staying safe Henry" Regina said with an edge of concern in her voice that quickly sobered Henry up,

"Of course I am mom" he assured her laughter long gone "I'm fine with Emma and Killian, don't worry about me"

"your my son Henry, I always worry about you" Regina replied fondly

"I worry about you too mom" Henry countered "It's been nice to see you happier again" he smiled

"thanks Henry" she said reaching out and covering his hand with her own, "now I think it's time we get you back" she continued inclining her head towards the door and standing up to go, Henry followed her lead and the two were soon back in the car heading towards Emma and Hooks house, when they arrived Regina got out and walked Henry to the door asking him to send Emma out as he went in and taking a seat on the swing seat that sat on the veranda while she waited, she didn't have to wait long for Emma to join her.

"Have you found out anything about Brianne?" she asked getting straight to the point

"No nothing" Emma replied shaking her head "and I've pretty much exhausted the materials we have she just doesn't seem to pop up anywhere" she shrugged "for whatever its worth though I still believe she's been telling us the truth and I think you do too so maybe you should stop worrying about it so much"

"What makes you think that I know she's telling the truth" Regina asked

"well you're letting her stay at you house aren't you" Emma laughed

"I suppose you're right" the brunette admitted "she seems genuine to me and if she wanted to hurt me I'm sure she would have done it by now after all she had the perfect opportunity when I was without my magic, time to give her the benefit of the doubt, I'm taking her shopping on Saturday if you, Killian and Henry what to meet us for some lunch at Grannies, my treat"

"you're on" Emma replied happily, she loved food and Granny was an awesome cook "we'll be there"

"I'll see you then, then Miss Swan, would you tell Henry I said goodnight" Regina concluded making her way back towards her car as Emma closed the front door behind her. Arriving home not long later she made a pasta bake which Brianne enjoyed so much that she asked for seconds, then she presented the delighted blonde with the slice of chocolate cake that she bought for her earlier. Feeling full and content the two of them retreated to the lounge where they adopted the same positions as the night before sat on opposite ends of the sofa, Brianne laughing at another comedy flick and Regina with her book their feet nestled together in the middle, and much like the night before when they parted ways on the landing at bedtime Brianne planted a gentle kiss on Regina's cheek.

The next day passed much like the last except that there were no missed calls from Zelena that morning and no trip to Grannies with Henry that afternoon, Regina had opted to finish early and they had ended their day the same way as the previous two, and that night was the first night that the brunette wasn't woken by Briannes screams.

Friday did start with a call from her sister but the red head was a lot more chipper than before, the strain was gone from her voice and she was raving about all the little techniques that Belle had been teaching her, "I think I'll use less magic from now on sis" Zelena said relishing in her new found success "I mean I'll still use it of course, the nappies for one, I'll glad when I don't have to change those by hand anymore, but at least I know I can now and there is so much else I can carry on doing without magic" she continued sounding positively ecstatic with herself.

"I knew you could do it, I'm proud of you" Regina told her before they had ended the call.

Joining Brianne for breakfast a few minutes letter the two of them discussed their impending shopping trip the next day, the blonde was so excited and barely seemed able to keep herself still that night as they sat on the sofa together and Saturday morning she practically bounced out of bed.

They left for their trip as soon as the breakfast things were cleared away. Entering the stores the blonde excitedly rifled through clothing rails and tried things on "what about this?" she asked turning dramatically to face Regina with a huge floppy hat on her head

"definitely not" the brunette giggle handing her a pretty scarf "try this" she said showing her how to wear it, "much better" she smiled at the blonde "now let's see what else we can find"

An hour later they left laden with bags which they dumped in the car before they ventured into another store, by the time they had finished in that one, they were done and it was half past twelve which meant that it was time to meet Emma, Hook and Henry for lunch, so ditching the bags in the car with the ones from the first store on the way they headed over to Grannies, the others hadn't arrived yet so they settled in a booth and ordered a drink each while they waited, they weren't waiting long when the others arrived, Henry slid in next to Regina while Emma took the seat next to Brianne and Hook pulled a seat onto the end of the table.

"what'll you all be having" Ruby asked approaching the table pad in hand,

"chicken salad for me please" Regina said

"Burger, chips and another strawberry milkshake for me please" Brianne followed

"make that two" Henry said

"same again but with vanilla milkshake instead of strawberry" Emma told her

"Burger and chips for me too love, but I won't be needin anything to drink, I've got my drink right here" Killian took a flask of rum from an inside pocket and placed It on the table, Ruby rolled her eyes as she took note of his order but refrained from commenting. Lunch was a pleasurable affair and they all sat considerably longer than necessary enjoying each, others company it was gone three by the time they parted ways.

Brianne went straight to her room to unpack her new things when they got home while Regina settle with her book in the lounge, it was half an hour before Brianne claimed her usual spot beside her, they ate what was left of the pasta bake from the night before for dinner and turned in for the night at around eleven clock "I've had a lovely day" Brianne gushed on the hallway "Thank-you so much" she whispered taking one of Regina's hands in her own and leaning in to plant a gentle kiss on her cheek "goodnight" she breathed into the brunettes ear releasing her hand and headed to her room. Regina watched her go heart hammering a hundred miles an hour in her chest before she turned and retreated into her own room.

xoxoxoxxoxoxo

Regina had felt her magic growing stronger every day, and she returned to work on the Monday as planned, it was that afternoon that she felt her magic return to it's full strength, she knew from Emma that hers had been back at full strength since the Friday afternoon and Zelena's much to her relief had returned late Sunday night so they were just waiting for Blue now but they wouldn't need her for a simple return to the enchanted forest so after a quick check in with the others she called Miriam to give her the good news, arranging to send her and her children back the following afternoon, which is where they were now, In the middle of the town square wands in hand ready to open the portal.

"Okay then everybody ready" Regina asked looking around, everybody nodded and the excited children fell silent under their mothers glare "then let's do this" she directed her wand to towards the centre of the square, Emma and Zelena following suit, Blue looked on face pinched with worry, she had already expressed her opinion that it was far too soon for them to be attempting this.

"you've been back to full power less than a day" she had implored to Regina "what's the rush? Why not wait a few more days? It's not as though Miriam and her family will know any different" she had pleaded

"No but I will" Regina had replied "they've already waited longer than they should have, I understand your concerns Blue and they are duly noted but I've already spoken to Gold and he assures me that it's fine and there is nothing that can be gained by waiting any longer"

"but can really trust him" Blue had asked

"not as general rule no" the brunette had confessed "that's why I took Emma with me when I spoke to him and she assures me that he was telling the truth and I do trust her and her gift, so the only question that remains is do you?" Blue's brow furrowed her confliction clear on her face "do you trust our dear saviour Blue?" Regina had pressed.

"Yes" Blue had finally conceded and nothing more had been said on the matter.

Focusing Regina watched as the portal in front of her grew, this one, unlike the one that they had opened for Simba and his family opened with ease, they could even see the outline of a farmhouse beyond it before the light became too bright to look into, Miriam and her children flocked through it and then they let the portal close behind them, but when the light finally disappeared something occupied what should have now been an empty space in front of them, for a second no one moved or spoke, Regina upon registering the fact that it was only a small boy no older than maybe five or six was the first to regain control of her senses slowly moving towards the child, "It's okay" she said gently as she approached him crouching down to his level, as he raised his head until his eyes filled with fear met her own "don't be afraid" she soothed to no avail because at that moment his big round eyes brimmed over with huge tears, he threw back his head and began to sob hysterically, choking on his words

"where'd my mumma go" he wailed

Regina instinctively reached out pulling him into her embrace and desperately tried to soothe him, "it's okay" she whispered as he fell against her and continued to sob "we'll get you back to her" shocked onlookers continue to watch on in silence, Blue had an I told you so look on her faced but she refrained from speaking and two small words escaped from the saviour's lips cutting through the air, Regina barely caught them above them above the sobbing child in her arms.

"oh crap" Emma said