Regina: 63
Snow: 56
David: 58
Emma: 28
Henry: 10
After Emma's twenty-eighth birthday, she decided to indulge her curiosity. She had heard many horrible things about the former Evil Queen and she was ready to find out if they were true. Emma arrived at a run-down shack and walked up to the door. She hesitated a moment before knocking. When the door opened, there was an older woman on the other side. She had messy grey hair, a rag of a dress on, and a cane. "May I help you?"
"Are you Regina? The Evi...former Evil Queen?"
"Who wants to know?"
"I'm Emma," she said, "my parents are Snow and Charming."
"What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to meet you. May I come in?"
Regina stepped aside to let Emma in, "have a seat." The woman limped over to the couch and sat down across from the chair Emma had claimed.
"How did you get hurt?" Emma asked.
"A few years ago, I fell and hurt my hip. It's just never healed properly."
"You know, I've heard a lot about the Evil Queen, but I don't see her."
"I'm no longer queen and I'm too tired to be consumed by revenge. Oh, would you like something to drink?"
"I can get us something if you tell me where the cups are."
"I can do it." Regina stood and limped to the kitchen. When she was out of sight, Emma heard a thud and clatter.
"Regina!"
"Emma," the woman said as her voice shook.
Emma rushed to the kitchen to find Regina on the floor, "are you alright?" she asked as she rushed to her side.
"I don't know. Just give me a minute. I can't stand right now."
"What happened?"
"My hip spazzed and I fell."
"Does this happen often?"
"Not really," Regina answered.
"Are you lying?"
"I'm fine here. Besides, I have no other options."
"I bet I could talk my parents into letting you come back."
"They'll think I'm lying to get closer to them."
"Why don't I stay with you for a while?"
"Emma, I appreciate your concern, but you really need to stay away from me."
"Why?"
"It'll devastate your parents if you don't."
"Do you think you can stand now?"
"Yes," Regina answered. Emma helped the woman to her feet and handed the cane to her.
"You are my one chance to have a grandmother."
"I'm not grandmother or mother material for that matter."
Emma sighed and left the shack. Regina couldn't believe that the daughter of the woman she had spent a good portion of her life trying to kill, wanted her in her life.
Emma walked into the sitting room where her parents were.
"Where did you venture off to today?" Snow asked her daughter.
"I went to see Regina."
"What?" Snow was shocked.
"Are you crazy?" David was furious.
"I was just curious and wanted to see what she was like."
"Emma, you could have been killed," Snow pointed out.
"She doesn't have enough strength to kill anyone."
"I don't understand."
"She's a lot older now and her body isn't in the best shape. She needs a cane and when I was there, she fell."
"She's probably just playing you," David said.
"She told me you'd say that."
"What else did she say?"
"That I need to stay away from her. She said you'd both be devastated if I didn't."
"That woman has lied again and again. If she didn't have magic then maybe we could let her return, but we can't trust her."
"I know," Emma said. "Would it be alright if I visited her from time to time?"
"Emma, you're twenty-eight years old, we can't tell you what to do," David said.
"You tell me what to do all the time."
"That's advice," Snow commented.
"Uh-huh, sure it is."
Emma went back to the shack the next day.
"Emma, what are you doing here?"
"I told my parents everything and that I would be visiting you from time to time."
Regina let the woman in and limped back to the couch. "How did they take it?"
"Not well, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. They said that your magic is the main reason they don't trust you."
"I know," Regina said.
"So, are you sore from yesterday?"
"A little, but it's nothing I can't handle."
Emma pulled out a black cuff, "if you put this on, it will block your magic and you can't remove it."
"Why would I put that on?"
"I told my parents that you would because they want to see you for themselves."
Regina held out her left arm and Emma placed the cuff on her. "When are they coming?"
"Around dinner time."
"I guess I had better start cooking." Regina held out her arm, "could you give me a hand, dear."
"Sure," Emma helped Regina to her feet, "maybe I should stay with you?" she suggested.
"Yeah," Regina breathed out, "I'm a bit unsteady."
Emma helped Regina with dinner and did whatever the woman asked. Dinner was almost finished when Regina became dizzy and slid to the floor as the room spun around her. She hadn't heard the knock or seen Emma go to answer it. Emma had let her parents in when she heard, "Emma!" The voice was terrified and shaky.
Emma rushed to the kitchen with her parents behind her. She found Regina on the floor, sitting up against the wall, with her head in her hands. "I didn't hear you fall."
"I didn't fall," she mumbled not moving her hands. "The room is spinning."
"Don't you feel well?"
"This happens sometimes. It's been happening since that bad fall I took."
"The one that injured your hip?"
"Yeah," Regina sighed. She put her hands down, lifted her head, and kept her eyes closed as she leaned her head against the wall.
"Do you need anything?"
"I can't do this."
"Do what?"
"Face your parents like this. I'm a pathetic mess and they would probably just tell me that I got what I deserved."
"I don't think they would say that."
"Emma, take the food and go home. Don't come back this time."
"I can't do that."
"Emma, I can't live like this anymore. I need you to go."
"I'm not leaving. If I do then you'll kill yourself."
"Emma," the woman said through tears, "please go," she choked out.
"We're not going anywhere," the male voice startled Regina. She opened her eyes and looked towards the sound. The room still spun, but she could make out who was in her kitchen.
"When did you get here?"
"We've been here since Emma came into the room," Snow answered. "Maybe you should lie down?"
"I'll just sit here for now. If I need to lie down then I will. I can't make it to the couch or bed right now."
Snow and David took in the woman's appearance. She was in a peasant dress and had grey hair pulled back into a ponytail. A far cry from the Evil Queen they banished twenty-eight years ago.
Eventually, Regina was able to stand up again. David helped her to the table while Snow and Emma served dinner. "You hit your head when you fell?" Emma asked.
"Yes, I did."
"You didn't fall, did you?" Snow asked.
Regina stared at her stepdaughter, "no, I didn't."
"What happened?"
"A mob found me and attacked me. I never sought medical help because I knew there wasn't a soul who would help me."
"Why did you lie to me?" Emma asked.
"I figured that if you were anything like your mother, that you'd insist on finding a way to protect me."
"Am I like my mother?"
"You came back after I told you not to. So, yes," Regina answered.
Emma looked at her parents, "there has to be a way for us to take her home."
"Emma," Regina said, "I'm fine."
Emma was quiet for the rest of dinner. She and her mother cleaned up. David noticed how Regina was sadly looking at the two women. "I'm sure we can figure out something," David said.
Regina was startled, "I'm sorry, what?"
"Give us time to smooth things over."
"David, I can't go back."
"Not right now, but we'll find a way."
Regina went to stand but David walked over and took her hand before helping her up, "thank you."
David held onto Regina as they walked into the living room and helped her to sit on the couch.
It was decided that Emma and Henry would stay with Regina while Snow and David worked to smooth things over. Henry and Emma had taken to calling the woman 'nana'. A month later, David and Snow sent for Regina, Emma, and Henry. Regina was terrified to return to the kingdom and the trip was quite long. She knew she'd be exhausted by the time they reached the castle. Emma had the coachman stop a few times so Regina could get out and stretch. She fell asleep after the last stop. Emma woke her when they reached the castle. David and Snow were on hand to greet the woman. David helped Emma get Regina out of the coach. Snow immediately hugged her stepmother and said, "welcome home, mother."
Regina smiled and felt her eyes begin to water, "thank you, dear. Now, I'd love to stay up and spend time with you all, but I'm exhausted."
"That's fine," David said, "we figured you'd need a day or two to rest."
"I'll take you to your suite."
It took a while, but eventually, they made it to Regina's old suite. "How did you get everyone to calm down?" she asked Snow.
"The people here trust us. It was hard to get them to listen at first, but they figured that since we were saying all of these nice things and letting Emma and Henry stay with you that it must all be true. They also had us checked to see if we had been influenced by magic."
"Could you get Emma for me? I need help getting ready for bed."
"I can help you. Unless that would make you uncomfortable."
"No, it's fine. I just didn't know if you'd be comfortable."
Snow helped the woman get ready. When she was helping Regina change, she noticed scars all over the woman's body. "They did this to you?"
"Yes," Regina answered.
"How did you survive?"
"The wounds weren't fatal, but they were bad enough to scar."
Snow continued to help Regina get ready for bed before tucking her in. "Emma said that she's going to stay with you tonight since you're so tired. She wants to make sure that you don't get hurt during the night."
"You and David did a great job with her."
"Thank you," Snow smiled.
"Just like you, she's her mother's daughter."
Snow smiled and said goodnight to Regina. No one ever thought that Regina would be living in the kingdom again or even in the castle. Now she was and the king and queen had made her a part of their family again. Regina no longer cared about power. She never asked to be reinstated as queen and never tried to tell Snow and David what to do. She spent time with her great-grandson and granddaughter. Emma was preparing to be queen one day, but she still spent a great deal of time with Regina. This was the life Regina had always wanted and now it was her life.