Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I just take them out to play with them. I promise to bring them back safe and sound, and a lot happier than they are on the show.

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews/comments, faves and follows. They're very much appreciated and make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. :)

A/N 2: There might not be an update next weekend(ish) since I'll be on vacation all of next week. Consider this your warning that there might be a short hiatus

Chapter 15: …, And The Ugly

Neal made his way straight to Henry's school, wanting nothing more than to talk to his son to see if he really knew what was going on. He couldn't believe that Henry wouldn't have mentioned something like that to him. They had talked so much about their family since their return from Neverland, and Neal was sure that Henry wanted him and Emma to be together, so they could be the family they both wanted.

There was no way in hell that Henry preferred the Evil Queen to him, his father. She wasn't even his real mother. No, he had to take his son away from all of this, away from her … and once he had taken Henry somewhere safe, he would come back for Emma. She would come with him to be with Henry … she had to.

He was so focused on his thoughts that he didn't notice the woman crossing his path, thoughts focused mostly inward as well, until they crashed painfully into each other.

"Ouch," a female voice uttered as its owner landed on the sidewalk.

"Yeah," Neal rubbed his forehead, then turned to see whom he had run into. "Sorry, Snow," he said, reaching out a hand to help her up.

"No problem, Neal," Snow said sweetly. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, fine," he replied automatically, but then his thoughts went back to Emma and the reason why he had been in such a hurry. "Actually, no, I'm not … I just … I just had a huge fight with Emma," he stammered, making sure he looked hurt and confused. He did recognize a golden opportunity when he saw one after all.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Snow replied and rubbed his upper arm in comfort. "What happened?"

He pretended to hesitate. "You know how Emma is sometimes," he said slowly, as if weighing his words carefully. "She still has a little trouble accepting that we're in love …"

Snow chuckled knowingly. "Yes, Emma can be incredibly stubborn," she agreed. "I've never seen anyone resist true love like that." She gave Neal an understanding look. "What did she do this time?"

"She's trying to keep Henry away from me as punishment for telling her I love her," he told Snow, twisting the truth so it fit his view of the world, knowing he would find a sympathetic ear in Snow.

"But why would she do that?" Snow gasped. "You're Henry's father. You and Emma are his parents."

"Exactly," Neal crowed. Then he went in for the kill. "I think … I think the Evil Queen is poisoning Emma's thoughts against me."

Snow's eyes widened. "I knew she wasn't as good as she's pretending to be," she hissed. "Tell me more."

Neal sighed. "I don't know if I should … Emma would be pretty mad, I think." Oh yes, she would be, but that was fine with him if he managed to ruin her relationship with Regina. "I can't betray her like that."

Snow rested one of her hands on his shoulders and try to catch his eyes. "I wont tell her, if you won't," she told him. "I can keep a secret."

Neal almost laughed at that, even if the tale he meant to spin for Snow wasn't meant as a secret. No, Snow, you really, really can't. "Are you sure?" he asked. When Snow nodded eagerly, he continued with a small, hidden smile. "Let me tell you a little story …"

o o o

David sat down behind the desk and put his feet up, obviously going for the casual approach. Emma rolled her eyes, already imagining the tone he was going to use once he began to question her about what he had seen.

"So," he drawled almost lazily. "What were you and Neal fighting about?"

And there it was, Emma thought. The non-confrontational, conversational strategy. We'll see how long that lasts. "Nothing," she replied automatically, still hesitant to divulge her feelings for Regina to her father.

"Okay," David replied with a shrug. Emma could tell from the look on his face that he was merely allowing her to delay the inquisition for a moment. She watched as he fidgeted for a moment, then sat up, rolling his shoulders. "Listen," he said slowly. "About the thing with the job … Ruby returned your badge?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"I don't know what your mother was thinking," he continued hesitantly, "but she never even mentioned it to me." He shrugged. "I really don't want your job."

"I have a feeling there are quite a few things Snow isn't mentioning to you these days," Emma muttered under her breath.

David had keen ears, however. "What do you mean?" His thoughts went back to Snow's clandestine meeting with the Blue Fairy for a moment.

Emma snorted. "This whole power trip she's on? Wanting to declare herself ruler of this town?" she asked. "Did she talk to you about that before she sat down to draft a grand declaration?"

David shook his head. "But that doesn't mean I don't support her decision," he added quickly. "She is the rightful queen."

Emma groaned. "Says who?"

"What do you mean?" David sounded confused.

"Oh, I don't know, David," Emma sneered. "I think Regina is still the rightful queen, isn't she? Or did she abdicate? And what about the half dozen other kings and queens, princes and princesses we have waltzing around Storybrooke? There's one on every corner here, for crying out loud."

"They're from different kingdoms," David sputtered. "And Storybrooke definitely belongs to the White Kingdom, everybody knows that." He stood. "And for your information, Regina has never been the rightful queen."

"Really?" Emma asked. "So when the King died, she didn't become Queen?"

"No."

"So that means if Snow died, you wouldn't inherit the crown?"

"Don't even say something like that about your mother," David demanded. "But yes, of course I'd be King if she died."

Emma just raised her eyebrow, having made her point. "So Regina is the rightful queen, whether you want her to be or not," she stated. "Not that she even wants to be."

David snorted. "It's all she ever wanted," he said. "Power and people to lord it over."

"You don't know her at all," Emma barked. "All you know is he things she did to you in the past and the stories that you were told about her. You have no idea what made her that way, do you?"

"Was that what you and Neal were fighting about?" David asked. "Your incessant need to always defend Regina?" He shook his head. "I don't understand you, Emma."

"I don't understand you and Snow either, so we have that in common."

"But Regina is our enemy," David insisted. "Do you know how many times she tried to kill your mother?"

"Yes," Emma said mildly. "And how many times have you two tried to kill her?" She stopped David before he could say anything. "I know, I know … but here's the thing, that's all in the past. Regina has changed so much, she's been fighting on our side for a while now. And don't forget she saved your ass in Neverland," she pointed out. "And Snow's and Henry's and—"

"Stop it already," David bellowed. "Yeah, she saved us that one time, but only because it served her purpose."

"What purpose?" Emma wanted to know. "We already had Henry back. She could have just taken him and gotten off that godforsaken island and leave you behind." Her mind traveled to Regina and the way their eyes had met over Henry's body after Regina had saved him from Pan's clutches. Emma knew without a shred of doubt that Regina would have taken Henry and her with her.

"Leave us behind?" Of course David had to pick up on that. "But not you?"

No more stalling, Swan. "No, Regina wouldn't have left me behind," Emma declared, swallowing hard around the lump in her throat. "Because she loves me," she added softly. "And I love her."

David looked completely stunned. "That's impossible," he finally ground out after a long silence. "She's a woman."

And what a woman she is. Emma tried hard not to let her thoughts linger too long on just how much of a woman Regina was, how she felt under her hands, how her lips tasted. Stop it, she admonished herself. You know what happens when you do that. "Yes, she's a woman," she told her father. "And I'm desperately in love with her."

"You can't," David yelled. "As your father, I forbid it."

"You what?" Emma shouted. "Are you under the impression that you have the right to allow or forbid me anything? I'm an adult!"

"You can't love someone with a black heart, Emma," David tried to reason with her. "I don't know what she's told you, but whatever she said, she lied to you. She can't love … not you, not anybody else. I know she's attractive, but there has to be someone else out there for you." He paused. "Neal is—"

"Don't," Emma warned, absolutely incensed at David's complete lack of understanding. "I just had this fight with him, I don't need to rehash it with you. Neal is not my true love, no matter what Snow says. Maybe I should have it tattooed on my forehead."

"But how do you know?" David was beginning to sound a little desperate.

Emma's thoughts turned to Regina again, to the way they made magic together, the way their true love just made things happen. She felt the telltale tingle in her body and quickly tried to think of something else. Focus on the conversation, yes. "How I know Neal is not my true love?" she asked with a smile she couldn't hide. "Because Regina is."

o o o

Regina wrung the last bit of water out of her hair and slipped on a white button down shirt and the lacy black panties she had laid out on her bed earlier. Not long after sending Emma back to Storybrooke for the second time that day, she had felt the need for a relaxing bath, so she had finally conjured up that hot tub behind her cabin and had enjoyed its relaxing properties for a little while, hoping that would help with the unsettling feeling in her stomach.

Her thoughts went to Emma automatically. She wondered how she was doing, how her talk with Neal was going. It hadn't taken her long to figure out that the feeling in her stomach wasn't just her own nervousness and reaction to missing Emma. No, it felt like a faint echo of Emma's feelings. She had known that it would happen sooner or later with the way their magic connected, intensified by their love for each other, but in all honesty she hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

Regina padded through her cabin, clad in nothing but panties and the shirt that wasn't buttoned all the way up. She trailed her fingers along the front door as she passed it on the way to her kitchen, smiling softly to herself. In many ways, leaving Storybrooke behind, if only even for a short while, had been the best decision she had made in a long time.

She waited impatiently for her coffee to settle a little in her French press before pressing the plunger down in a slow, even motion. She could almost taste the coffee already just from the aroma of the freshly ground beans that still lingered in the air. She picked up a mug and the coffee maker, ready to pour herself a cup of the finest ambrosia known to men.

The tingling in her belly was the only warning she had. It wasn't enough to allow her to put down her coffee.

o o o

"You're kidding, right?" David asked, shaking his head. "This is all some elaborate joke to get back at your mother and me for trying to take your job." He smiled a little. "That's it, isn't it?"

David gave her such a hopeful look that it almost broke Emma's resolve, but she knew she needed to stay firm. "It's not, David," she said far gentler than she was feeling towards him at the moment. "Regina is my true love and I am hers."

"No!" David yelled, his face going red. "No! You can't do that to your mother," he pleaded. "Think about what that would do to Snow, please."

Oh God, Regina, Emma thought. Why do I have to go through this alone. I don't want to have to deal with this alone. "Oh no," she muttered a second later when she felt the tingling in her whole body and expected to be whisked away in a heartbeat. But nothing happened, at least not to her.

But David jumped back a foot when Regina Mills suddenly appeared next to Emma in a cloud of white-gold smoke.

"Really, dear?" Regina husked, looking at Emma and then down her own scantily clad body. "We need to work on your self-control." Then she finished pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"Sorry," Emma mumbled, a little embarrassed at her lack of control. "I was just …"

"Thinking of me, yes I know," Regina finished for her. "Things not going too well?" she asked softly.

Emma nodded. "How did you know?"

"Apart from the fact that you suddenly acquired the ability to pull me to you when you need me? A power, I might add, that even I don't possess." Regina pointed at her own midsection. "I could feel you."

"I'm so sorry," Emma repeated. "I didn't mean to pull you here. Especially not looking like that." She let eyes travel slowly over Regina's body. "Damn, you're hot." She took a step closer, not able or wiling to ignore the pull of their feelings.

Regina cleared her throat. "We're not exactly alone, dear."

Emma looked over at David who seemed to just come out of his stupor. He shook himself wildly as if to wake himself up, but when Regina was still there once he was done, he straightened and pulled his gun, pointing it at her. "Get away from her," he ordered.

Regina looked only mildly affronted. "Really, Charming?" she mocked. "Afraid of a half-naked woman holding a coffee-maker? Scared I'll drop hot coffee on you?"

"Dad!" Emma yelled, moving her body in front of Regina at the same time. "Stop! Just stop."

"What do you want, Regina?" David ignored his daughter and tried to side-step her.

"A cup of coffee," Regina snarked. "Apart from that, I don't want anything, whether you believe it or not."

"Then what are you doing here?"

Regina gave Emma a slightly exasperated look. "I was … summoned."

"Summoned?" David's eyes wandered from Regina to Emma and back. "What do you mean?"

"She means that I summoned her here … with our magic," Emma explained. Her hand reached out behind her, needing to feel Regina's hand in hers. Regina put down her coffee and took her lover's hand. "I needed her and our true love made sure she was here."

"True love?" David was stunned. "But Snow and I can't … we don't …"

"That's because your true love isn't mixed with magic," Regina explained softly, trying hard to be civil even when faced with one of the idiots.

"How do I know it's not just one of your tricks?" David asked, although his resistance was getting weaker as he stood facing them, watching them holding hands and looking at each other the way he knew he looked at Snow. "How do I know you didn't just appear here to mess with us?"

Regina almost pitied him and his desperate attempt at trying to understand what was before him. "Do you actually believe I would leave my home dressed like this if I had been given a choice?" She raised her eyebrow at Emma, who blushed a little deeper and looked at her own feet. "A little more warning next time would be nice, dear," she whispered to Emma.

"I guess not," David muttered, lowering his gun. "Emma really pulled you here?"

"I did," Emma confirmed. "It happens when I think of Regina or need her, although usually I appear by her side."

"How long has this been going on?" David pointed between them. When he realized he was pointing his gun at his own daughter, he quickly re-holstered the weapon.

Emma and Regina shared a look and David could see there was a whole conversation going on that he wasn't privy to. "Since our return from Neverland," Emma finally said to Regina's obvious surprise.

David wondered at the story behind that. "I'm really supposed to believe that you love Emma?" he tried one last time.

Regina twirled her hand and ran it over her body and suddenly David could see the difference in the magic he had witnessed. Regina's was always purple and the one before had been a light golden color. If he had needed proof that she hadn't appeared here by her own will, then this was it.

When the smoke cleared Regina was fully dressed, and Emma delighted in seeing that Regina had chosen to wear jeans again.

"While this is really none of your business," Regina said firmly, "I will answer your question just this once." Her eyes met Emma's as she continued. "I love Emma and I will never hurt her."

Emma couldn't help herself. She pulled Regina into her arms and kissed her. As always when their lips met, it threatened to escalate quickly and Emma had to consciously remind herself that they were not alone. She pulled back slowly, giving Regina a luminous smile. "I love you."

When they turned back to David, he looked at them with an unreadable expression on his face. "I … I believe you," he stammered after clearing his throat, "but I'm going to need some time."

Emma's shoulders sagged in relief. "That's fine, Dad," she whispered happily. "I know it's a lot to take in." Her joy at the fact that he was at least going to try and believe in them showed in the bright smile on her face. "Thank you," she whispered, eyes shining suspiciously.

Regina also smiled at David, trying to look as sincere as she could. "Take all the time you need, Charming … Just don't try to get between us," she warned. "You won't like the results."

Emma chuckled. "True," she said with a grin at her father who looked like he wasn't sure how to take this threat. "Our magic tends to not like obstacles …" she explained. "I'm not sure what it is but this magic really doesn't like it when we're kept apart."

"I'm not sure I get what you're saying," David said slowly, "But I'll take your word for it."

Regina turned to Emma. "Mind if I go back now?" she asked. "Now that things are okay here, I'm sure you have work to do."

Emma sighed but nodded. "Fine," she whispered. "One more kiss?"

Regina shook her head with an exaggerated sigh. " You need a new line, dear."

"Why? This one's working just fine for me," Emma grinned happily and pulled Regina close again. "Look away, David," she threw in her father's direction and then pressed her lips to Regina's. Their mouths had only just connected when a screeching sound behind them pulled them apart again.

"What is going on here?"

Regina thought she had never seen or heard Snow that angry before. So much for going home, she sighed as she noticed the desperate way Emma clung to her hands, and the wave of hurt she could feel coming from her. She decided to try and be nice to this idiot as well, so she faced Snow with a smile. "Hello, dear."

"Get away from my daughter!" Snow demanded. "I can't believe Neal was right."

Emma groaned. She talked to Neal?

This had disaster written all over it.