Emma looked up at her family as they walked into the police station. Henry was at Archie's place and she was dressed in jeans, boots, a white tank and her signature red jacket.

"You wanted to talk to us, Emma?" Neal asked.

"Yeah. Things are gonna change from now on." Emma said, crossing her arms. "I am sick of the way things have been progressing and it's time to put a stop to it."

"Let me guess: Regina-" Charming started.

Emma suddenly fired off her gun, silencing him at once. Dust sprinkled down from the ceiling and she dusted off the arm of her jacket. "This is what's going to happen. You're going to shut up and you're going to listen. I don't care about your opinions right now. One: Regina didn't do anything and I want you to stop talking about her in such a way that it makes me want to shoot you. Regina's a good person. I know she is to have dealt with you all for so long. Now." She sat down and crossed her legs. "Starting with you, Neal… you're fired. I want you to clean your crap out and get out."

"Wait a minute-" Charming began again so she fired off the gun a few more times.

"Dad, you seem to think you're still the prince. I'm the Sheriff. I make the rules. I hire and fire people. You're the deputy, the desk job, the coffee fetcher. You do what I say." She hissed. "Also, Neal, I don't ever want you near my son again unless it's with my permission. Anything that concerns him goes through me first."

"He's my son too." Neal snapped.

"You gave up any parental rights you had when you left me to rot in fucking prison!" Emma roared. "He is my son. There is only one name written as his legal guardian now...and that's mine. Got it?" Neal glared at her and she smirked, turning to her father. "Stop insulting Regina. She could've killed all of you a long time ago with a flick of her wrist but she didn't. She saved us all a dozen times and even when she was ostracized like hell, she still came running when it was needed. You are no longer a prince. You are no longer a king or a noble or whatever. You are a deputy. I am the Sheriff."

"Emma, this is-"

"Mom." Emma continued. "You may be the mayor now and good for you, but I don't want you bad mouthing Regina either. In fact, just don't talk about Regina when in my presence. I don't care who you are, but you will not be going over my head making decisions involving me or my son without my permission."

"This is what we were talking about." Neal hissed. "Regina doing some kind of mind trip on you. Henry is my son too and-"

Emma rolled her eyes and fired the gun again. She changed the clip and leaned it against her shoulder. "It's like talking to a wall. No, this is not a trip, this is me. This is me getting sick of tired of being pushed aside. I am the Savior, the both of you ruined Lily's life to make sure of that, but don't get me confused. I am not a princess and I don't want to be. I am perfectly fine with getting my hands dirty and if I have to do so to push facts through your thick skulls then fine. This town needs a leader who can lead."

"These are our people. We've lead them for years." Charming said.

"That's correct. And yet half of them wouldn't care if you were staked because of what you did to Lily." Emma replied. "In fact, you're fired too."

"I can just rehire him." Snow said. "And Neal. I'm the mayor."

"Great, fire me then. Re-Elections are coming up. I hope you put up a good fight. By the way, as of 20 minutes ago, me and Henry moved out." Emma smirked. "This meeting is adjourned." She sheathed the gun and made her way outside. She felt empowered and invigorated and just plain...good. She used magic to locate Regina and found her and the pack in wolf form, laying on top of some rocks, sunning themselves in the sun. "Hey!" She smiled as she climbed up the rocks and sat down to take a breather. Regina raised her head, making Ruby growl. The Dark Wolf was cuddled up close to her and was trying to groom her fur. Regina, Belle and Zelena had doubled in size over the last couple weeks, well their bellies had. Ruby gave Regina's a few licks then laid her head over it. Regina purred in response. All of them perked up when Emma told them about what she'd just done.

Ruby and Lily burst out laughing. Merida and Mulan snickered and Zelena only nodded and nuzzled Belle's neck.

"You're going to run for mayor?" Regina asked. "I know a trick to keep getting elected. Cast a curse." She snickered and Ruby snorted on her ear, making her growl.

"Who better to be the mayor than the Savior?" Belle voiced. "I think it's a good idea."

"Me too." Regina said. "You are a good leader Emma, and a good person."

"Thanks, Regina. They're going to fight it though." Emma said, feeling proud and a little smug at having Regina's approval. She hadn't actually been serious about that, seriously can anyone imagine her as the mayor. But thinking about it, it didn't sound like such a bad idea.

"You know we have your back if you need it." Ruby said.

"Thanks." Emma sighed. "Now to just tell Henry. He won't be happy."

"He never is." Lily muttered, getting to her feet and trotting off.

"What's her problem?"

They shrugged. "Mal is gonna be waking up soon."

"Do you think she'd join the pack?" Ruby asked.

"Hell no. Maleficent is a dragon and to her, they're superior to wolves." Regina replied.

"And do you think she'd follow you?" Mulan asked with a wolfish smirk.

"I don't see why not. I am the Dark Wolf."

Regina rolled her eyes and looked at Emma. "I can help you get ready for the elections. Believe me, I know how to win idiots over."

"You really think I have a shot?" Emma asked.

"Of course. But you gotta be ready."

/

Emma smiled as Henry ran from the bus to hug her. "Hey kid. Ready to go? I got a surprise."

"Yeah!" He momentarily paused at seeing Regina. The queen was wearing only some jeans and a long sleeved blouse that showed off her growing belly nicely. "Hi...Regina."

"Hello Henry." Regina greeted cheerfully. "How was school?"

"It was okay." He shrugged.

Regina smiled and turned to Emma. "Shall we, Miss Swan?"

"We shall. Are we walking?"

"It's a beautiful day. Why not?" Regina asked, taking the lead as they walked to the new house that Emma had purchased.

"Why is she here?" Henry whispered, although Emma knew Regina could hear every word.

"Her Majesty the Queen is gonna help me run for mayor."

"You're running against Grandma?"

"Yep. Everything's getting too crazy for me so I'm gonna make some changes."

"Make it an operation?" He smirked.

"Yep." Emma smiled. "Regina, give us an operation name."

Regina smacked her lips as she thought for a moment. "Operation...Meerkat."

"Meerkat, I like it." Emma said. She looked down at Henry, who still looked confused as to why his former mother was here. They came to the large house that Emma had purchased. It had a nice yard and wasn't too far from town that Henry couldn't see his friends and she could head out into the forest to see the pack. "It might need some fixing up, but I like it." She'd already moved in everything they owned and had gone out with Belle to buy some furniture and groceries. "What do you think?" Emma asked as they walked in.

"I love it!" Henry exclaimed, throwing down his bag and racing upstairs to see his room.

"Indeed, you have better taste than I thought." Regina smirked.

"Are you okay with this? Being around Henry, I mean?"

Regina nodded. "Perfectly so. He's happier here. That's all I will ever want him to be: happy." Emma smiled softly, in awe of how selfless the brunette could be. "Now." Regina conjured a full length mirror. "We need to find your inner boss bitchiness and bring it out. The best kind of mayor is the one that isn't afraid to do what she has to do."

"Like you?"

"No. You are you, Miss Swan. I want you to be the kind of mayor you want to be. You're already the Savior, now you just need to transition to leader."

"So the red leather jacket isn't gonna work?" Emma asked timidly.

"Be confident, Emma. You're going to be a leader and a leader has to be strong." Regina instructed. "A leader has to look like a badass." She waved her hands and conjured a skin tight long red dress on her body, one of her favorite from her Evil Queen days. Emma's jaw dropped when she caught sight of the brunette's ass in that dress. Regina smiled as she studied herself in the mirror. "This baby is gonna destroy my body." She said absently before turning back to Emma and closing her mouth. "Looking the part is step one to feeling it."

"Okay, I get it." Emma quickly thought of the spell she wanted to cast and waved her hands. Her clothes were replaced by a slim fitting white dress with quarter length sleeves and a low neckline but had a belt of diamonds. Her hair became sleek and wavy, spilling around her shoulder and her boots became tall silver stilettos.

"Where have you been hiding those?" Regina asked, blatantly staring at her chest.

Emma covered herself. "What? You can have everything on full display but I can't?"

Regina arched an eyebrow, smirking as she spun in a circle, purple smoke engulfing her. When it cleared, she was in one of her familiar black pants suits with a white silk shirt underneath. Emma spun as well covering herself in white smoke. When it cleared, she was in a white pants suit with a white silk shirt and black heels. Regina grinned as she waved her hands again, conjuring a little black dress with a red jacket and red heels. Emma did the same, changing her clothes into a sleek black and white dress with matching heels and went well with her red leather jacket, giving her a professional air and still letting off the impression that she could kick ass.

"You do know that you'll be the mayor and could essentially dress how you wanted, right?" Regina asked as Emma inspected herself in the mirror.

"I like this." Emma said. She waved her hand again and changed into a fitted dark blue shirt with quarter length sleeves, tight black jeans, long black boots, and a fitted black vest with Storybrooke on the shoulder. "Or this. It's different at least."

"It looks nice." Regina smiled over her shoulder. "Next, I don't think you need to work on the attitude. You have that perfectly." She smirked as Emma conjured a holster on her belt and put her gun in it. "Now that we have wasted a few minutes just changing our clothes, you should get out and meet the people and try to earn their trust. You're the Savior so check that."

"Why didn't you ever use any of these techniques and stuff to be a better queen?" Emma asked curiously.

"I was nothing more than a replacement and the people never gave me a chance." Regina shrugged. "They didn't want me, they wanted Ava and Snow."

"I'm sorry for that. I'm sure if you'd been given the chance, you could've been a great queen."

"It was never meant to be." Regina replied. "And I don't let it bother me."

Emma shook her head. "Really, Regina. I wish I'd have been there."

"Considering Snow was only 10 or 11, that would've weird." She said, smirking.

"True." Emma smiled.

They spent the rest of the day pretending to be training Emma when really all they did was practice a bit of magic and drink. It was around 6 when Henry came running downstairs to answer the door. Emma stood up as Neal walked in.

"I'm gonna go with Dad for dinner, Mom." Henry said, grabbing his coat.

"Henry, wait." Emma called. "No one told me about you two going to dinner."

"It's just Dad." Henry said.

"It doesn't matter. Your dad needs to ask me before you go anywhere from now on." She glared at Neal. "Have you forgotten our conversation this morning, Baelfire?"

"Emma, he's my son." Neal hissed.

"He can be your brother for all I care. Henry is staying home tonight until you learn your place. You're his father, but I'm his mother and legal guardian and you will abide by my rules. Got it?"

"Mom, relax." Henry looked at her like she was crazy.

"Go upstairs, Henry. I'll order out tonight."

"But-"

"Go." Emma said sternly, unaware of the approving smirk that Regina was throwing her way. Henry sighed as he went back upstairs. Emma turned back to Neal. "Back off."

"So you're just gonna isolate him from us? Like she tried to do?" Neal gestured to Regina, calmly sitting in a recliner, sitting a glass of wine. "He's only gonna resent you for it."

"Henry needs to learn that he is not a prince, he is not exempt from rules, and that his mother should be respected. I will not have you or my parents undermining my authority anymore. I told you things were gonna change, I meant it. And you know you better back off Regina. Ruby's gonna kick your ass."

"This is ridiculous. That's my son."

"He was your son 10 years ago, where were you then? Off somewhere joyriding while I was in prison?! Regina is the one who gave Henry his best chance and you did nothing because you listened to some stick about destiny and shit. Now get the hell off my property before I blast you off this porch." Neal glared at her before turning and storming off. Emma slammed the door.

"What's going on?" Henry asked, standing on the stairs. "Why'd you do that?"

"Because he needs to learn." Emma replied. "How does pizza sound for dinner?"

"Mom." Henry said sternly, looking at her in a way that mimicked Regina's almost perfectly, showing that there was more of Regina in her son than her or Neal put together.

"Come here, Kid." Emma sat down on the couch and Henry sat next to her. Regina teleported away, giving them privacy. "I am the Savior, but I don't make any decisions. My parents do, and Neal does, and you do. They call me when they need someone to battle a monster, but they completely override everything else in my life. I barely see you nowadays. Neal or my parents always have something for you to do, and I love that you're spending time with your family, but when they make decisions for you, and more importantly for me, against my wishes and without my permission, then I have to draw the line. It has to be drawn somewhere so I decided to draw it here. I want to change my life and yours and make them better."

"But they're our family."

"That's true, but I'm your mother and I'm only doing what's best for us. They're not happy because they're so used to getting their way and everyone doing what they say. I'm not going to be like that anymore because they're not making a good impression on you."

"What do you mean?" Henry asked.

Emma sighed. "You're not a prince, Henry. You're not a noble or whatever. You're just a kid and that's all you need to be. Your grandparents reward you for your terrible behavior, and you have been extremely rude lately, and I want it to stop. Your father cannot just come and do whatever he wants."

"You're each other's true love."

"He's an ass and I hate him. I know that's not what you want to hear but there was no way I could sugar coat that with a straight face."

Henry looked down, processing all that she'd said. "I'm sorry. I didn't even know. I'll do better, Mom."

Emma felt a stab in her chest, at having her son willing to go along with her demands so easily, but also at realizing that he refused to do the same with Regina, simply because of who she used to be. "Do you miss Regina?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Sometimes."

"What do you miss?"

"Some of everything. Her cooking for one. And she used to call me her little prince and tell me stories. It doesn't matter now though."

"You know she still loves you." Emma said.

He shrugged again. "Pizza sounds good." He went back upstairs and Emma placed the order. She leaned against the kitchen counter, jumping when Regina appeared nearby.

"Everything alright? They didn't give you a hard time did they?"

"He misses you." Emma said. Regina frowned, looking confused. "Henry, not Neal."

"Oh well that's much more plausible." She replied. "Henry made his decision. He must live with the consequences. Especially now since I'll be preoccupied." She glanced down at her growing stomach. "Lots of things are changing in Storybrooke. Attitudes can certainly do so."

"If I win...can I get a kiss?" Emma asked.

"Sure."

"Really?!" Emma did a giddy little dance. "Sorry I know we can only be friends now but-"

"Relax, Miss Swan. It's only a kiss. I'm sure Ruby won't mind considering I'm carrying her child. If she does, I can handle it." She smirked. "I would be happy to handle her wrath. But first...you have to win."

Emma put a lot of effort into being the perfect candidate for mayor. Henry even helped, along with his friends. The pack helped as well, discreetly so as to not hurt Emma's image, although she could hardly care. Regina coached her on talking and being persuasive and diplomatic. By the time the actual elections rolled around, she was in the prime position to unseat her mother, who was already struggling a bit to gain supporters. The people already knew what it felt like to be under her rule, but they trusted Emma too. She was their Savior and she was far more familiar with this world than Snow. Emma put Regina's teaching to good use during the debate, which was easy since half the stuff had to be explained not only to the people but to Snow as well. She held nothing back, not exactly talking dirty about her mother, but not sugarcoating what she'd done. Her mother, although had a good heart, was selfish, and tended to worry about her own happy ending before she did something to protect those that followed her. Emma not once said anything about what happened with Lily and Mal, but she didn't need to. The people didn't hesitate to question their Pure Princess about her actions involving stealing and cursing a baby. Snow tried to justify her actions and explained that she would do whatever it took to make it up to Mal and Lily.

And that was when the dragon awoke from her slumber...just in time to hear those lovely words...

The great dragon suddenly landed outside the town hall where the people were going to vote. The citizens scattered while Emma quickly made her sword appear in her hand and raced forward to protect her mother from the irate dragon, but Maleficent suddenly smacked her as she raised the blade, sending the Savior flying across the earth and landing painfully on her back. None of the pack moved to intervene. Not even Lily, who looked very amused by the entire situation. Maleficent raised her paw to inspect it, noting the sword buried deep in her palm. She plucked it out and shifted back into her human form. The beautiful blonde tilted her head, studying the blade.

"Maleficent, please." Snow pleaded when the dragon turned her attention to her. "I'm sorry."

Mal arched an eyebrow before walking over to Emma and extending her hand. Emma looked down at it before taking it and was yanked back to her feet. The dragon flipped the sword and she grabbed it by the hilt. "Why are you doing this?"

Mal leaned forward and whispered into her ear. "Because any chance I can to make your mother look like a fool, I will take it. Now take a knee." Mal stepped back and Emma got down on one knee with the sword tip pressed to the ground. The dragon breathed flames over her, bathing her in the fire. It didn't hurt, in fact it felt amazing. When all was said and done, Emma's sword was now made of diamond and sparkled in the light. Her clothes had been replaced with a White Knight's garb. "Arise, Savior of Storybrooke. White Knight. Emma." Emma stood up and bowed her head as Mal turned to leave, pointing at Lily. "You. Follow. Now." Lily rolled her eyes and followed her mother as they teleported away.

"You saw it people. Even the Dragon Queen has placed her vote with the Savior." Tink said. "Would you dare question the logic of an ancient dragoness?" She made a show of displaying Emma, who rolled her eyes at the laughing fairy. Snow looked shocked to say the least, maybe even a little proud, but Emma's eyes were only searching for one person's. She looked up at Regina and found her smiling as she walked towards her.

"I was never in any danger, was I?" Emma asked.

Regina wiped away a nonexistent speck on her shoulder. "If the Dragon Queen wanted to kill you...you would be dead. She is becoming unpredictable and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that."

"But Lily's in the pack. She won't hurt anyone, will she?"

"I doubt it. She might even know what that thing was in the sky." Regina said thoughtfully. "What'll be your first decree as mayor if you win?"

"I don't know. Probably fire my parents just for the hell of it. I might hire them back later, but…" She shrugged and hugged Regina. The brunette was obviously shocked by her reaction, but returned the hug after a moment. "Thanks Regina, for believing in me. Even if I don't win, it means a lot to me that you helped me, especially after how stupid and jealous I was of Ruby."

Regina kissed her forehead and stepped back with a smile. "No worries, dear. We all just want someone to believe in us. And despite our tattered romantic relationship, I cannot thank you enough for saving me from that darkness. I'll always be grateful to you for that."

"I'm the Savior. It's what I do." Emma shrugged.

Regina smiled. "You are going to make one hell of a mayor."

"I'm in the market for a secretary."

Regina scoffed and flicked her hair over her shoulder. "I am a queen, I will not be getting you coffee or hot chocolate with cinnamon in the morning or grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries in the afternoon. Although I would love to see the travesty of a filing system your mother probably has." She shuddered at the thought of it. Meanwhile Emma was just surprised that the brunette was aware of her favorite foods. She could definitely name the queen's favorites, but she hadn't realized that Regina knew hers as well. Regina was still muttering to herself about how inadequate her mother was as mayor when Ruby came over, again making sure to touch the queen's stomach before accepting a hello kiss from her mate.

"So, Emma, what do you say to a party at the Rabbit Hole?" Ruby asked, putting an arm around Regina. "To celebrate your obvious win. Snow can't beat a fucking dragon, that's for sure." She smacked Regina's hand away when she tried to touch her face.

"Sure. I'm up for it."

"What's the point? I can't drink." Regina pouted. "This is your fault for knocking me up."

Ruby rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Worry not, your majesty, we shall find something for you to do. But first, you have a doctor's appointment."

"Ruby, an appointment every other week is excessive."

"Then how else will we know that the baby is okay?"

"I'm sure the baby is fine." Emma supplied. "They have the best mother in the world, they're in good hands."

"Thank you Emma." Regina smiled, looking up at her mate. "See? The White Knight says I don't have to go, so I'm not going."

"You're going." Ruby said matter of factly with a firm nod. She started walking towards the hospital and Regina remained with her arms crossed defiantly. Ruby didn't even have to turn back around before Regina sighed.

"See how she makes all the decisions?" The queen scoffed, marching after Ruby.

Emma smirked. Truly, they were made for each other. She turned her head as the rest of the pack followed their leaders, Zelena cursing the entire way about having to walk everywhere when they could just teleport. Lily, having returned, stayed where she was. Lily felt her gaze and glared at her. She didn't understand why the dragon suddenly hated her with a passion. Just after Emma had gone running with the pack, Lily just became a different person, more angry and animalistic. "Did I do something to you?" She shrugged away the few people coming to talk to her and approached the dragon.

"What?" Lily growled, eyes glowing.

"You've been acting like a complete bitch lately, I was wondering if I pissed you off."

"Dragon stuff, it has nothing to do with you." Lily shot back.

Emma could feel she was lying about something. Maybe not about it being something to do with dragons, but it obviously had something to do with her. "I know we're not really friends or anything, Lily, but you have to know me better than to lie to me. And do it so poorly, might I add."
"You've been spending too much time with Regina." Lily scratched her neck absently.

"You're probably right." Emma shrugged. "But what's going on with you?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because."

Emma sighed. "Come on, Lily."

Lily growled at her. "I'll see you tonight after the votes have been tallied. We can talk then." She started to teleport away when Maleficent appeared once again.

"Why are you beating around the bush, Lilith?"

"Because not all of us are as confident as you, Mom." Lily called.

Emma smiled at how juvenile she sounded. But her smile disappeared when Maleficent approached her. "May we speak privately, Savior?"

"Sure." She found herself at the precinct. It was empty and dark so she went to cut on the lights. "Thank you for the White Knight thing back there. And the heart attack that came with it."

Maleficent chuckled. "My pleasure, dear. I wanted to ask you about Lily."

"I wanted to ask you about her too. Why she is being so cryptic and weird?"

"Puberty." The dragon waved her hand dismissively.

"She hasn't gone through puberty yet?" From the looks of things, Lily certainly had. She already possessed her mother's temper, wit, and beautiful body- Enough of that.

"I was told you had some videos of her, from when she was younger. May I see them?"

"Oh, of course. I should've showed you a long time ago." She quickly went to go get the camera and plugged it up to the TV. Maleficent watched her movements closely, but she wasn't guarded at least. She watched the videos of her and Lily as children, laughing and making faces for the camera. It made her own heart twinge painfully just watching it.

"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." Maleficent said softly. Emma looked over at her. "Albert Schweitzer."

"What?"

"I have read a lot of this world's literature." The older blonde said dismissively. "Thank you. I wasn't there for Lily's younger years, but she has told me that your presence helped somewhat with the darkness. I will not hold you accountable for the actions of your parents."

"T-thank you." Emma dipped her head respectfully.

"No, thank you." Mal stood up and extended her hand. "Good luck in the running."

Emma nodded again as she shook hands and the dragon was gone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Regina looked at herself in the mirror, naked and glowing. She smiled softly and started to rub her growing belly. She was going to be a mom again. A real mother. She could hardly believe that all of this was possible when not too long ago, she'd almost giving up having true happiness.

"Hey." Ruby appeared, leaning against the doorway. "You okay?"

"Ruby, I don't think I've ever been better."

"Oh yeah?" Ruby came forward and wrapped her arms around her. "I love you, Regina." She sighed.

"I love you too, Ruby."

"I was thinking about something." Ruby said, stepping away to get her robe for her. She held it open as she put it on.

"What is it, dear?" She asked, tying the robe and following the werewolf into their bedroom.

"Do you think I could be a mother with all this darkness?" Ruby held out her hand and the Dark One's dagger appeared in it. "As much as I love the power of the Dark One, you and our child will always mean more. What if I endanger them because of this? What if I become like Gold, care more about my power than anything?"

"You want to take it out?" Regina asked.

"Doing that would mean someone else would have to take it into themselves, and I'm the strongest person to do that right now. Is there a way to destroy it permanently?"

"Perhaps, but it'll take some time." Regina answered. She entered Ruby's arms and leaned her head against her chest. "You saved me, with and without the darkness, Ruby. You are going to be a wonderful mother, and you are going to be able to do that with or without the darkness. I believe in you."

"Thanks, Gina."

"Anytime, my love. If this is what you desire, then we'll do everything in our power to take this darkness out of you, and we'll have our family."

Ruby suddenly picked her up and Regina laughed as she carried her mate over to the bed and dumped her on it. "We'll raise our child as one of the pack, and they'll never want for anything. They're going to be beautiful and smart just like you, and just plain awesome, like me."

Regina laughed. "Indeed. They will be perfect."

"Just like you." Ruby kissed her nose. "I can't wait. Do you think it'll be a boy or girl?"

"Probably a girl."

"It's gonna be a boy."

"Girl."

"Boy."

"Girl."

"It will be a boy. How much you wanna bet?" Ruby smirked.

Regina thought for a moment. "Okay, if it's a girl, you have to get up for the first month in the middle of the night and take care of our little girl."

"And once it's a boy, you have to do it, plus a ton of sex."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Deal. But we can start that ton of sex right now."

"Uh, I love you so fucking much." Ruby grinned.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Read and Review!