For the next two days, Lily and Emma set up surveillance on the club. They made note of people coming and going and at what times – looking for patterns. When Lily had returned to the hotel after speaking briefly with Regina, Emma had concluded that taking Regina by force was their only option.

How to do that exactly remained a big question mark.

Yes, they had anticipated before leaving Storybrooke that if they found her and she was unwilling to come back on her own that they would need to essentially abduct her. It was a plan that not everyone was comfortable with – the chief being her mother. The ever-optimistic Snow White seemed to think that Regina could be reasoned with no matter what.

Mal had rolled her eyes at the very notion.

They had even brought a magic dampening bracelet that Mal had made just in case. It would appear they were in a "just in case" scenario.

Of course, they weren't expecting Regina to be heading up a criminal empire where she was always around other people.

Tracking Regina was even harder than anticipated. They had no idea where she was living as it appeared she never left the club at night but yet somehow ended up being driven to the club the next day. It had to be magic, but Emma had no idea how to track it to figure out where Regina was calling home in this city.

They were going to be speaking with Mal tonight on the phone to not only get an update on how things were in Storybrooke but also see if she could help them navigate some of Regina's magic.

If they couldn't track her to wherever she was sleeping, it left them with only two certainties as far as locations went – the club and the orphanage. Regina had told Emma she went to the orphanage at the same time every week. Emma didn't like the idea of taking Regina while there with all those kids around.

They might not have a choice though as it was also the only place Regina appeared to go without any of her personnel around. It was why Emma was again parked down the street from the place, considering options about pulling off an abduction there.

She couldn't help but think of her own time in an orphanage – memories best left in the back of her mind.

Again, she wondered about this orphanage and Regina. Did Regina choose it? Had she met Hannah first? Why pour her money into this charitable cause as opposed to all the others she probably could have done?

What was the significance of this place?

She was so lost in thought that she was startled when someone knocked on the passenger side window. Turning, she saw Hannah bending over slightly to look in the car and signaling for her to unlock the door.

Reluctantly, Emma did so and Hannah slipped into the passenger seat.

"Kids live here," Hannah began. "Which means we try and be watchful of things like cars we have never seen before parked for long periods of time, especially when no one ever gets out of the car. So, do you want to explain to me what you are doing here?"

Emma was so shocked by this turn of events that she didn't speak at first, prompting Hannah to speak again.

"Whatever you are doing here, whatever it is that you want, just don't," Hannah said. "Leave her alone."

Emma turned toward her, tired of this woman's presumptions. "Look, I don't know who you think you are," Emma said. "But none of this is any of your business."

"You being here would suggest otherwise," Hannah said. "Now what is it that you are doing here?"

"Why did you believe her?" Emma asked. "You said she told you who she really is, if that's that case, why would you believe that?"

"It's the truth is it not, that she is the Evil Queen of the fairy tale? That she used a poisoned apple on your mom? That she cursed an entire realm into this world? That is all true, correct?"

"Yes, but …"

"No, no but. It's the truth. Gina has always told me the truth. I know about what she does. I know about how she makes the money that she is using to build the new orphanage. Do I approve of what she is doing? No, I do not," Hannah said. "But before she came to town we had gang wars, we had murders happening on a nightly basis and people were afraid to go out at night in many neighborhoods. Since she has consolidated things, that hasn't happened. Again, I don't condone the things she is doing, but I can't argue with the results either."

"So what, you are getting a shiny new orphanage so the rest be damned? She needs to be stopped."

"Is that why you are here, to stop her? Did you come all this way because you can't stand the idea that she might be on the loose and living her own life?"

"That isn't it."

"Then what is it?" Hannah asked, a sternness in her voice that showed she wasn't about to back down from Emma. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here because our town, the town she created, is under siege and she is the only one who can save it," Emma said. "I am here because there is no other option but to bring her back."

"She doesn't want to go back," Hannah said.

"And how do you know that?" Emma said. "Who are you to even be involving yourself in this?"

"First of all, you are the one sitting outside of the orphanage I run," she shot back. "Secondly, I know this because I actually talk with Gina. I don't invade her life and make demands of her. I listen when she speaks."

"I have tried to talk to her, but she won't listen to me," Emma protested. "Do you think I want to be doing this, that I want to be at odds with her? I don't. I never did. I just don't know how it all went wrong."

Even as she said it, she knew it wasn't the truth. She knew what the catalyst to all of this was, just as she knew it was her fault. Regina had laid it all out for her in her perfect penmanship.

She was the reason why Regina had chosen this path.

"If you don't want it to be this way then maybe you need to change it," Hannah suggested. "Gina isn't perfect, believe me, I know, but it doesn't mean she deserves to be hurt like she has been. If you want to change things between the two of you, you will need to win back her trust."

Sighing, Emma, turned from her and then back to her. "We don't have time for that."

"Why? What is so important about what is happening back there in Storybrooke and why do you need Gina? You tell me that and if I think your reasoning is sound, I might consider helping you," Hannah said.

"Why would you do that, help me I mean?"

This time it was Hannah who was looking away and she stayed that way for what seemed like several minutes although Emma knew it was much shorter. Who is the woman, she again thought, and what is it between her and Regina?

Finally, Hannah began to speak, although she didn't turn to Emma.

"I take care of kids who don't have anyone to take care of themselves," Hannah said. "I've seen all kinds of children – those who people had written off as bad seeds who just needed someone to be there for them. Children have amazing resiliency but somehow we lose that as adults. We don't come back as quickly as we once did when we were hurt. When I met Gina I saw someone who was broken like I have seen so many children and I knew at that moment she needed someone to be there for her. And I wanted to be that person."

"But one thing you learn in my line of work is that you can't save everyone," Hannah said, as she faced Emma. "I can't save her. And I want to, I want to see that hurt disappear from her eyes, but I can't do it."

"At least not alone," she added.

Emma nodded. "Ok, then. You answered my question so I will answer yours. Has Gina told you anything about the Home Office?"

"What do they have to do with this?"

"Everything."

…

When Emma left Hannah, she returned to the hotel where Lily was waiting on her. She walked into the room where Lily was pacing back and forth talking on the phone and she shook her head slightly at Emma, who gave her a concerned look.

"I get that," Lily said, "but there is a reason why Emma and I are out here and you and Zelena are back there. You two know what to do with your magic, Emma and I are amateurs at best. We can't take on Regina and her magic and she knows it."

Emma sat down, realizing Lily must be talking to her mom and earlier than they were scheduled to talk to her. And it didn't sound like it was a good conversation.

"Put her on speaker," Emma said.

Lily told her mom that Emma was there and she was switching over to speaker.

"Emma, you need to get Regina back here now," Mal said.

"Working on it," Emma responded.

"You have the bracelet, you are going to have to get that on her now and bring her back," Mal said. "There was another breach today and Zelena barely got it closed off. It's getting worse. At this point, I don't care how you do it, knock her ass out if you have to, get her here."

"I have told her over and over that we are doing our best out here," Lily said.

"We might have an unexpected ally," Emma said. "That woman Hannah, the one who runs the orphanage, is considering helping us."

"We don't have time for her to be considering it," Mal said.

"She may be our only hope."

There was a pause. "Who is this woman again?"

"I don't know," Emma said. "She's friends with Regina, or Gina, as she calls her, but there is something off about her. I'm not sure what it is, but she does appear to care for Regina."

"If she cares for her, why would she help you?"

"That is one of the many questions I have about her," Emma said. "Like I said, there is something off about her. But I do think we can trust her as crazy as that seems."

"And how exactly is she going to help you?"

"We don't know where Regina is going to be except at the club at night which is like a fortress for her or the orphanage and I don't want to grab her there."

"Why not?"

"It's an orphanage Mal, a place for children that have no one but the people there to care for them. I won't take Regina on in front of these children. I won't. And with Hannah's help I won't have to," Emma said. "She knows where Regina's home is at in the city."

"Ok," Mal said. "But you have to hurry. In a matter of days, Storybrooke could fall."

….

Long after Emma had left, Hannah was still thinking about what she had been told about what was happening in Storybrooke with the Home Office.

She found that she had no idea how Regina would react to such news either. They hadn't known each other long so there was still much she didn't know about the other woman and what she did know had come in fits and starts. When Regina had confided to her about who she was, Regina had been surprised when Hannah had accepted as fact.

Later Regina would admit that when she told her the truth she had also been planning on erasing Hannah's memory of it. She had said it was a moment of weakness that had caused her to reveal her true self.

Regina had been unprepared for Hannah's immediate response, which was, "Ok, so tell me what do the stories have wrong about you because the stories are always wrong."

After her initial surprise, Regina had laughed and began to tell her the story of her life.

But the narrative was not like a story. It didn't come from her with a strict beginning, middle, and end. Instead, Regina could tell part of the story for an hour or more, then Hannah wouldn't hear any of it for days, then maybe get a quick 20-minute anecdote from Regina's life, and then later it would feel like she was reciting a chapter.

It was a good thing Hannah was a great listener because she was able to piece much of it together, but the thing about piecing something together, you can't get a complete picture if you don't have all of the pieces.

Therefore, Regina did remain a mystery to her.

All she knew was that the moment Regina knew of Emma's and Lily's presence here, she had come to Hannah. She had shared her fears with Hannah that there being there meant Regina would have to move on – another ending is what she called it.

She had seemed sad, but that hadn't lasted. The sadness turned to anger – anger that Emma was there and again trying to destroy her life. She wanted Emma to go away, and she was willing to do what it took to make her go away.

That had scared Hannah because she hadn't seen Regina give into anger and she didn't want her to.

Now she had to figure out her next move. Did she tell Regina what Emma had told her? Did she help Emma? Or did she try and stay out of it completely?

After all, she hadn't answered the question when Emma asked if Regina had told her about the Home Office.

Regina had, but what Hannah hadn't told her in return was that she already knew about the Home Office.