Regina wondered how her dad did it – managed to run this town with such ease. Having worked with city administrations before – in big cities – she knew that bureaucracy could make things slow down considerably. She was used to that as most of the projects she worked on were mired down in all kinds of zoning issues.

But until she took this interim position, she didn't realize that in small towns at least, everyone thought the mayor could solve all problems.

She had more respect now for him than ever before.

Part of the problem was that as she tried to concentrate on each issue before her, her mind kept straying to Emma. Last night, her mom had asked her if she wanted to be with Emma again and she hadn't had an answer, and she still didn't have one.

It didn't help that she had another strange dream last night. This one again featured Emma. This time the two of them had been in a small clearing in some woods. They had been fighting and then suddenly the dream turned rather explicit.

She woke with the feeling that the dream was more like a memory, but she knew that was impossible.

All of this was beginning to feel so surreal to her. The whole her coming back here, Neal coming here, and Emma. If her father hadn't had his heart attack, she would still be in Philly, still contemplating whether to stay there and just fly down to Savannah as needed or moving down there like she had originally planned.

But not those thoughts weren't what kept coming into her mind. Now it was, what did the future hold for her and Emma. Was it possible that they could reconcile and move past their past to come together once more?

And what did it mean if they did?

Shaking her head, trying to drive the thoughts from her head, she turned her attention back to her work.

But it wasn't long before the intercom went off. "Mr. Gold to see you, Mayor Mills," the secretary said.

"Send him in," Regina said, wondering why Gold would be there to see her once more.

Gold was smiling as he came limping into her office. Suddenly, she wondered how it was that he had injured her leg. He had always had that limp as long as she could remember him, but for some reason how he came to have it wasn't coming to mind.

"Hello Regina," Gold said, stopping short of her desk, but remaining standing, his hands folded on top of the cane.

"Hello," she responded. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, you already have. I am merely here to thank you," he said.

"I'm sorry," she responded. "You have me at a loss."

"Didn't Neal tell you?"

Now she was more a little confused. What did Neal have to do with any of this?

"I am not sure I know what you are talking about."

"Forgive me then," Gold said, bowing his head slightly to her. "I just assumed he had told given how close you two are. I must say I was certainly surprised when he walked into my shop but even after all of these years I recognized my son. So, since you are the reason he is here, I thought it only prudent to come and offer my thanks to you."

"Wait. Neal, my Neal, is your son?"

"Yes," Gold said, a smile still gracing his lips. "I am very grateful to have him back in my life and I owe that entirely to you."

"How is this possible?" Regina asked, even though she had only meant to think it not say it. As far as she knew Mr. Gold had never had a son, had never been married. And Neal was from Tallahassee.

"I will leave it to Neal to explain it to you," Gold said. "You two have much to talk about. But I would be remiss if I didn't come to visit you and express my appreciation for what you have done."

Before Regina could say anything, Gold turned and walked out. Sitting there in stunned silence, Regina was reviewing everything she knew about Mr. Gold, but nothing pointed to him having a child. Still, she knew questioning Gold would be pointless.

She shifted her focus to Neal and what few things he had said about his father. About all she knew about him was that Neal had run away from home as a young child because of his father. He had once described his father as both a coward and a man who could not bear to give up his power.

Picking up her phone to text Neal, but she paused before doing so. Neal was her best friend. She trusted him. She was sure if Gold spoke the truth there was a reason why Neal had not told her about their connection.

She sent him a text, but only to see if he wanted to get dinner that evening. She would speak to him face to face about this.

…

Emma was having a good day. She knew she shouldn't be that happy, but she couldn't help it.

Yesterday, she had been as low as she probably ever had been in life. Sitting out there at the town line she had thought about how it was finally over – she had lost Regina for good. If she was being honest with herself, she knew she had lost Regina long before that. She had lost her when she had cheated on her all those years ago.

Then there was Regina getting into her car and she had started talking about Neal again, and Emma had wanted to yell at her – to tell her she didn't want to hear about Neal and how they were happy together.

But then the conversation took a different turn, one Emma hadn't been expecting.

The feel of Regina hugging her was like magic.

For so long she had longed to hold Regina in her arms once more, and while it was Regina hugging her, she let her body sink into hers.

Even now, less than a day later, she was still relishing the feel of Regina so close to her.

It was probably what prompted her to have a strange dream last night –a dream where she was in a garden of some sort with Regina and Regina was smiling at her like she used to smile at her and they were holding on to each other and kissing each other.

Emma had woke feeling warm with the feeling of love for Regina.

Now, she needed to make sure that Regina knew she loved her still. The only way she could think to do that was to be able to finally cross that town line. She still had no idea why she was unable to do it and last night she should have been able to do it with Regina standing there just on the other side of the line.

If she had been able to then she could have taken Regina up in her arms and maybe even kiss her.

For a moment last night, she thought they were going to kiss.

She wished she could have talked more with Regina last night, but Neal had interrupted her. Having seen Regina and Neal interact, she knew that Regina indeed had no interest in Neal sexually. Neal on the other, she couldn't get a real good feel for him. He clearly liked Regina but there seemed to be a nervous current going through him last night.

Emma knew that she would need to spend more time with Neal to get a better handle on him. Plus, he was Regina's best friend, which meant Emma needed to get along with him if she hoped to get back together with Regina.

She was sitting at her desk at the office, getting ready to go out on patrol when she saw her mother coming in. They hadn't spoken again since her mom had felt the need to throw her past transgression back in her face. Emma checked the time, it was lunchtime at school, and sometimes her mom would come to the station to have a quick lunch with her dad.

That was why she was surprised when her mom came up to her instead.

"Emma, can we talk?"

"Sorry, I'm heading out on patrol," Emma said, standing up.

"I got it," her father said, coming out of his office.

Great, Emma thought, they had planned this. Her father gave her a look meant to convey that she needed to speak to her mom, just before he kissed Mary Margaret on the cheek and walked out.

Mary Margaret moved toward his office and Emma reluctantly followed her. Once they were in there with the door closed, Emma stood there with her arms crossed.

"I'm here to apologize," Mary Margaret said.

"Well, I'm getting tired of you having to apologize," Emma said. "I'm tired of you trying to tell me how to live my life. You've been doing it all my life. What is so wrong with letting me live my life the way I want?"

"I only want you to be happy," Mary Margaret said.

"No, you don't," Emma said. "You want to be happy with the way I live my life. If you wanted me to be happy you would never have forbidden me to see Regina all those years ago. Tell me, mom, what bothered you the most about it – Regina or me? Did it bother you that much that I fell in love with a girl?"

"I have no issue with your sexuality," her mom said.

"So then it's Regina. Why don't you like her?"

Mary Margaret turned from her a moment and then faced her again. "I don't think she is good enough for you," she said finally.

"How can you say that?"

"I have always felt that way about her," she said. "Even before you two started to date and I had her in class, she always had it easy. Look at who her parents are. Do you think someone like that can ever be with you without looking down on you?"

"You're unbelievable," Emma responded. "You don't know Regina if that is the way you think she is. She has never made me feel like I wasn't good enough to be with her."

"I didn't come here to argue with you," Mary Margaret said. "I came here to make amends."

"I don't see that happening."

"Emma, I love you, and I know we can get past this."

Emma always felt like this with her mother – like she wasn't listening to a single word she was saying.

"I have one simple question for you," Emma said. "If you do wish me happiness, this should be an easy one for you. If Regina and I get back together – and yes, it's a possibility mother. She and I were together last night. If things progress how I want them to, she and I are not only going to be together, but it's not going to be here in Storybrooke. Will you support us? She and I?"

Mary Margaret didn't answer quickly and Emma turned to leave.

"I will support you," Mary Margaret said.

Emma turned back toward her. "I'm going to hold you to that."

…

Mary Margaret left the station and headed back to the school. Despite telling Emma she would support Regina and her getting back together, she already started to come up with a way to make sure that never happened.

When she got to the school, she sent a quick text message to the one person she thought may be able to help her – the one person that could ensure Regina would not accept Emma back into her life.

When Killian replied to her text, she smiled.