Author's Note: Well...hopefully you guys like this new chapter.

Sarah continued towards the park with Henry and Little Snow, again holding their hands. Once more Sarah joked to get all of them in a better mood, trying to bring Little Snow back from her sudden tenseness; and, slowly, it had worked.

Smiling and laughing once more, the trio arrived in the park where Sarah was shocked by who she found watching the children play.

"Geppeto?" Sarah asked as a huge smile spread across her face.

Gepetto turned and scrunched his brows at the stranger who called him by his true name. Her next words completely shocked him.

"Ma che cosa fai qui? Non dirmi che Pinocchio a diventato un pupo un altra volta!" Sarah began speaking in Italian to Gepetto.

Three sets of eyes stared at her.

Feeling Little Snow and Henry staring at her funny, she looked at the two then rolled her eyes. Looking back up, she asked her question again in English.

"Please tell me that Pin hasn't turned into a puppet again!" This time she rolled her eyes as she said the words.

Gepetto gave a small smirk at this strange woman who seemed to know him and his son.

"You know Pinocchio?" Henry asked as he looked up at Sarah.

"Ohhh, yes." Sarah laughed with a shake of her head. "I know Pinhead very well."

The nickname was lost on both of the younger children, but somehow Gepetto understood why this woman called him such things if she knew that Pinocchio could turn back into a puppet.

"I—ah…I don't know for sure. You see…I saw my boy…but he was…" Gepetto lowered his head as he suddenly became choked up remembering the scene he had walked in on.

Sarah's remaining smile after laughing slipped from her face as she heard the pain in Gepetto's voice. Even Henry and Little Snow heard the heartbreak in the older man's voice.

Pulling himself together, he looked back at the stranger's face, seeing something in her eyes that made him continue speaking.

"When…when I went back he wasn't there. And I haven't been able to find him. That's why I was here." He waved his hat around towards the playground. "I was hoping he was here."

Sarah nodded her head, understanding that Gepetto was hoping that his little boy was with other children. After all, Pinocchio had easily strayed back in the Enchanted Forest. Why would here be any different?

With that thought, Sarah smiled. "Well, if I know Pin—and I do," Sarah began, "I might be able to track him down for you."

Both Henry and Little Snow looked up at Sarah at the statement.

"I'll explain later," Sarah said as her eyes remained locked on Gepetto.

"I'm—I'm sorry. How do you know…" Gepetto was about to ask curiously.

"Long story." The threesome answered at once, effectively stopping Gepetto from really asking a very complicated question.

"I promise, Gepetto, if he's here in town, I'll find him," Sarah assured with a huge smile.

It was when Sarah smiled that Gepetta finally realized why she seemed so recognizable.

It was Regina's smile, yet the sight of the girl brought no apprehension. No fear came at the sight of her. Instead a sensation of warmth came over him; and for the first time in days, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you." He whispered his thanks with watery eyes and a small smile.

"Don't thank me yet! If I know Pin like I do, he might be in trouble. After all, it's what he's good at getting into," Sarah said with a twisted smirk that reminded Gepetto some how of Regina.

Henry looked at Sarah with curiosity at her words. "You know Pinocchio? And why do you call him Pin?"

At the questions, Sarah laughed with a wide smile on her face. "I've known Pinocchio since he was a puppet. And I call him Pin because of all the mistakes he makes. Let's just say he used to do things that little boys shouldn't do."

At this Henry smiled and nodded his head. "Yeah, gambling and stealing aren't exactly what a good boy does."

"HEY! How did you know that? I didn't read that," Sarah said in shock. She was about to mention Henry's book when he responded.

"Pinocchio is another fairy tale here. It's a well-known story."

Rolling her eyes, Sarah quickly shut her eyes and shook her head. "What kind of fair tale is that?"

Henry gave a shrug.

"Doesn't matter anyhow. If I catch you hanging out with Pin, you're going to end up in trouble! With ME!" Sarah warned Henry with a stern look.

Henry nodded his head while his eyes tried not to pop out of his head at the look of seriousness on Sarah's face.

"I promise," Henry finally said, making Sarah's serious face fall away.

"Good! Now you and Snow go have fun, and show her around!" Sarah said, pulling both Henry and Little Snow in front of her and forward towards the playground where the other children were playing.

Taking a few seconds to look between Sarah and the other children playing, Little Snow looked to Henry to see what he would do. Henry looked at Little Snow and then looked to the familiar faces of classmates and neighborhood children. Something told him this wasn't a good idea; but then he looked at Sarah, who motioned to Little Snow by looking at her quickly out of the corner of her eyes. Letting out a sigh, Henry grabbed the hand of the little girl that he would one day call Grandma and pulled her towards the other children.

"Come on."

Sarah smiled with pride at Henry and watched them for a few moments making sure they went towards the other children. Without looking at Gepetto, Sarah quickly spoke. "Let me guess, he turned into wood again!"

Gepetto started, "How did you…"

But he never got to complete the question. Sarah immediately interrupted him.

"When I said I know Pin, I mean I've seen him at his worst. Trust me, if he's around here, I'll find him."

Gepetto couldn't help but stare at Sarah in astonishment. "For some reason, I think there's something you're not telling me."

Sarah smirked, again reminding Gepetto of Regina, and could no longer hold back the question burning in his mind.

"I'm sorry for asking," Gepetto stepped closer to Sarah, "but are you related to the Queen?"

Sarah's smirk became a brilliant smile before she nodded.

Gepetto couldn't help but be curious at how comfortable with how close he had gotten to her, unlike the Queen.

"How are you related?"

Then something Gepetto never could have imagined happened. Sarah began to recite a poem in Italian.

"Non sempre il tempo la beltà cancella

O la sfioran le lacrime e gli affanni

Mia madre ha sessant' anni"

Gepetto's eyes widened.

"E più la guardo

E più mi sembra bella."

Gepetto remained slack jawed as she continued to recite a poem that he had learned as a young child.

"Non ha un accento, un guardo, un riso

Che non mi tocchi dolcemente il cuore.

Ah se fossi pittore, farei tutta la vita

Il suo ritrato."

The moment when he had painted Pinocchio's face suddenly flashed Gepetto's mind.

"Vorrei ritrarla quando inchina il viso

Perch'io le baci la sua treccia Bianca

E quando inferma e stanca,

Nasconde il suo dolor sotto un sorriso."

Suddenly the Queen's face flashed in Gepetto's mind as he remembered every moment he had ever seen her smile. Hindsight made him understand that she had hidden her own pain with a smile for many years.

"Ah se fosse un mio prego in cielo accolto

Non chiederei al gran pittore d'Urbino

Il pennello divino per coronar di Gloria

Il suo bel volto."

Sarah slowly approached Gepetto and reached out to place her hand on top of Gepetto's as he held his hands together tightly. Her hand covered his, and he couldn't help but stare into Sarah's eyes.

"Vorrei poter cangiar vita con vita,

Darle tutto il vigor degli anni miei

Vorrei veder me vecchia a lei…

Dal sacrificio mio ringiovanita!"

And with that, Sarah smiled and pulled away from Gepetto. His eyes were shining with unshed tears. Knowing that Gepetto would not want her to see him so vulnerable, she turned and began walking back towards town, giving Gepetto, as well as Henry and Little Snow, time to adjust to what was happening.

The Gepetto's voice rang out, making Sarah stop in her tracks.

"Who taught you that poem?"

With a smile forming on her face, she turned her head and answered the shocked man.

"You."

And with that, Sarah turned and jogged back to town.

Gepetto watched her go, not able to say a word. It was as though he had been shown a secret no one else had ever heard or seen before. Whoever this Sarah was, she knew things that he had not told anyone since he was a small child. And she seemed very confident about finding his boy.

A small smile found its way across Gepetto's mouth. A sudden thought made him hope for what he never thought he could have. Suddenly, he wasn't so afraid for his boy anymore. Somehow, he knew Sarah would find him.

The sudden puff of purple smoke that appeared before him made his smile disappear completely as he found not one but two Regina's before him.

"Where's Sarah?" Regina asked Gepetto immediately.

Gepetto said nothing but pointed to the still visible retreating form of Sarah.

Queen Regina let out a sigh as she turned and saw that Sarah was indeed all right. An instant sigh came out of both women's mouths, both of their bodies seeming to slump with relief.

"Is—Is she in some kind of trouble?" Gepetto asked hesitantly. He had never really had direct contact with the Queen, mostly having kept out of her way. Still, for some reason, he felt a protectiveness towards Sarah even after the few moments he had just met her.

"If she stays away from Ruby she'll be fine!" Regina said as she turned and quickly made her stare steely as she looked at Gepetto. But it was too late. Gepetto had seen the "Evil Queen" in a moment of weakness that he had never seen before.

"What are you doing here?" The icy question did not have the effect that it normally would have before Gepetto met Sarah.

It was Regina's eyes that reminded him of the vibrant young woman that he had met but a few moments ago.

"I, ah—I was just telling your daughter that I was looking for my boy."

The word daughter caused Regina to tense and step closer to Gepetto.

"She told you who she is?"

Gepetto shook his head. "No. She just…she reminded me of you…for some reason."

The words caused a thrill of pride, a thrill that there was a little smile on Gepetto's face as he spoke of her. Then the surge of protectiveness came, followed quickly by her staring daggers at Gepetto.

Gepetto saw the change in the Evil Queen's face, but what shocked him even more was when the other woman turned and the same face broke into a huge vibrant smile at the sight of him.

"I hope Sarah didn't insult your son in her usual manner Gepetto! I hope she didn't hurt your feelings. It seems like when those two are near each other an explosion always seems to happen." The laugh that came out of Queen Regina's mouth caused a huge smile to split Gepetto's face.

Immediately, he knew that this was Sarah's mother, and the similarity between the two was instantly seen. It shocked Gepetto to see the joy and happiness in this other version of the woman he knew.

"Where's Henry and Snow?" Regina asked suddenly, realizing that Sarah had walked away alone. She'd have to talk to her daughter about being more protective of Henry. She didn't yet know that everyone had been trying to take her son away from her.

"Snow's right there. Did you just say Henry?" Queen Regina pointed towards the spot where Little Snow was plying with what appeared to be a group of other children, shocked that her great grand baby's name was being used for one of the older children running around.

Gepetto watched as one of the women leaned over and pointed towards the little girl that had been with Henry, and the difference between the two women became most obvious.

One was older than the other with a bit of gray in her hair that was expertly concealed by her still long raven dark hair, while the woman that he had called the Evil Queen's hair sported a short modern cut. The older woman had a radiance to her face that he was so unaccustomed to that it shocked Gepetto into realizing that the woman he considered evil could look like this.

"We have to tell Sarah to keep a closer eye on Henry. She can't leave him alone like this." The worry and fear in Regina's voice made Queen Regina turn her head and stare at the obviously distressed and somehow fearful woman.

Gepetto felt and saw her fear as well. The way Regina was wringing her hands and staring at Henry made him stare between the two women.

"He's not really alone. He's with Little Snow and with the other children," Queen Regina said as she again tried to look toward the children and figure out which one of the children was her great grand baby.

Regina turned and looked at the confused face of her other self. If it had been another person, anyone but literally herself that had said such a thing, she would have screamed and threatened the person. But she didn't

"Am I missing something?" Queen Regina asked, seeing the look on Gepetto's face that showed he was uncomfortable after Regina's words.

"I don't know how you forgave her, and frankly I don't want to know," Regina began as she turned her head back to check on Henry and Little Snow. Finally she turned back to Queen Regina.

"But I dedicated my life to making her pay for what she did to me. Unlike…you…I couldn't forgive her for Daniel's death. So this—this place—I cursed everyone you see here so I could make sure she suffered, so I could finally have my revenge against her. And Henry…Henry is MY son here. Miss Swan, or Emma, the Emma that gave birth to my Henry, she's never been involved with his life, never knew him until only recently. And everyone…and I mean everyone here is determined to take him away from me. And I will not allow it. Henry is MY son."

The horror that came across Queen Regina's face did not alter Regina's threatening stance at all as she prepared herself for the backlash she knew would come. Before Queen Regina could say a word, Regina continued by stepping closer to the older woman.

"And no matter what you say or do, I will not lose my son. I've raised him. I've made him my world. And you have no idea how long I waited for him—what I had to go through to get him. Emma may have given birth to him but he is my son!" Regina was getting louder as she continued but Queen Regina stopped her with an unexpected act of grabbing her and hugging her tightly.

Regina instinctively struggled at first, but the feeling of being hugged was so rare that she soon stopped and just allowed the hug. Finally she closed her eyes and reciprocated the hug.

"You don't have to defend yourself with me. With," a chuckle escaped Queen Regina's mouth, "with yourself. I can see it in your eyes that our lives have been different, that for some reason…you don't see the little girl that I do, that you don't love her like you love Henry. I can't understand that. I honestly can't. But I know that I love my daughters as much as you love your Henry, and no one is going to take anyone away. We're a family. We all belong together—no matter what anyone says."

Gepetto felt the clog in his throat as he realized what Regina had been saying about Henry was how he had felt about his boy, about his Pinocchio. In that moment, he realized that he had more in common with the Evil Queen than he had thought possible. He knew the pain of wanting a child, of wanting a family, of feeling alone and then finally having his greatest wish- his miracle - come true.

Pulling away from Regina, the kind Queen quickly wiped away the tears that had fallen from the younger Regina's eyes, then grabbed Regina's chin and forced her to look into her eyes.

A little unnerved at staring directly into her own eyes, yet somehow calmed by them.

"I miss Daniel every day of my life, and I've been blessed with having his daughter; but Snow is as much my daughter as Sarah. No matter what has happened or what differences between our two worlds, you need to know that she's ours. Yours. And no matter how you think she's responsible for Daniel, she is the reason that Emma exists. And without Emma there would be no Henry. And if you love Henry, you owe his existence to Snow."

Regina said nothing, wanting to fight the words being said to her; and not being able to muster the energy to do anything.

Suddenly a yell made them all jump.

Both Reginas quickly turned and searched as they began to hear a child crying.

"HENRY!"

Author's Note: The Poem in this chapter is dedicated to my father. My entire life he would recite it to me by memory. It's from Edmondo De Amicis called A MIA MADRE. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter. If so...let me know.