Regina was in no hurry to get to Storybrooke once the plane landed. She was beginning to think this had all been a mistake. Why had she agreed to come back here? Why wasn't she turning around right now and leaving? It was ludicrous for her to be doing this – to be getting anywhere near the Home Office.
But she thought about Henry and she knew that she couldn't let anyone in the Home Office get a hold of him. Assuming they knew about Henry – and at this point, Regina was willing to bet they did – they would do anything to get ahold of him if they couldn't get a hold of her.
They could use him as leverage against her, which made her wonder if they were there because of her. Emma hadn't said anything about the Home Office mentioning her and she figured that would be something Emma would have told her already. Not to mention that Emma would want to know why the Home Office had an interest in her.
That was part of a long list of conversations she didn't want to have.
It was just that she couldn't figure out an easy way out of this.
Everything had become too complicated.
She glanced over at Emma who was pacing in front of the rental car talking to Mal on the phone. The first issue they needed to overcome was getting into Storybrooke. The Home Office had operatives all around it and while Lily and Emma had gotten out that was only because of Zelena and Mal providing a distraction. That couldn't be counted on this time around.
Lily had already asked her if she had any ideas, but Regina had merely shaken her head in response.
Emma and she hadn't exchanged words since Emma's comment about Henry. It had angered Regina – mostly because she did feel guilty about abandoning her son. Even with just half a heart, she could still feel emotions – which was not what she had been expecting.
She remembered reaching into her chest that day and pulling out the heart. It was an odd combination of deep red and black. She knew the black was her own doing – built up over a lifetime of misdeeds and cruelty. She thought when she split it that by taking only the blackened part with her that she would become hardened to this world, this life, and all the misery it had brought her.
That wasn't the case though.
And what had it all been for really? Here she was going back to the place she had sworn never to return to.
The fact Emma hadn't come up with a plan to even get them back into Storybrooke wasn't exactly comforting either. That was the other woman's problem – she reacted or rushed into things. She didn't take time to think through that her actions have consequences.
Regina felt bitterness at that moment, bitterness over how Emma had affected her life.
Glancing over at the other woman who now appeared to be arguing with Mal – never a good thing – Regina wanted to grab her and explain to her that following her into the underworld had been a mistake. Yet, Emma already knew that because of the letter that Regina had left behind for her.
She was still looking at Emma when Lily approached her.
"She feels bad about how everything went down," Lily said. "I hope you can see that."
Regina fixed her gaze on the other woman – and not in a kind way. "All I see is us wasting time here because you two didn't bother to consider that we might have trouble getting back into town."
"Perhaps you could help us brainstorm then instead of staying as far away as possible," Lily said. "You two learned to work together before, surely you can put aside some of that animosity and be useful. After all, you are the one in a hurry to get this done and run away again."
Lily began to walk away and then turned back once more. "Here is a piece of unsolicited advice for you from someone who spent most of her life running away – it doesn't solve anything."
Regina let her walk away. Engaging in any sort of conversation with her would be pointless.
Maybe all of this was pointless.
A few minutes later Emma was getting off the phone.
"Ok, we're going to have to just do this – just drive right in."
"All of that and your grand plan is to just drive into town?" Regina asked.
"We could waste time going around the perimeter trying to find a spot that the Home Office isn't watching, but that could take too long and increase the chances of us being caught," Emma said. "Going in fast is our best bet."
"Can't my mom or Zelena help?" Lily asked.
Emma shook her head, "Mal says their magic has been going non-stop as the Home Office has increased their attempts to get in. They both need to rest from the sounds of it."
Regina was about to ask what the Home Office had been doing to try and get in, but she stopped herself figuring Emma probably didn't know. She would need to speak with Mal or Zelena to see what kind of magic they had deployed out here.
The world outside of Storybrooke only had pockets of magic and there were none close by to Storybrooke. However, if they were close enough to the barrier then they were close enough to that magic to do their own.
She again wondered about what the Home Office was doing there. They knew about the town of course, but why do this now? They may have told Emma that this was about making them return to their world, but Regina knew there had to be more to it than that. The Home Office was after something – and if it wasn't the town, the only thing Regina thought it could be was her.
"Regina?"
Regina looked up to see Emma standing there, apparently waiting on her to respond.
"Are you ready to go?" Emma asked.
No, Regina thought, but what choice did she have. She nodded to Emma and made her way to the car. Regina tossed the keys to Emma, who looked surprised that Regina would let her drive, but Regina had no desire to be in the front seat if the Home Office was indeed watching the entrance.
There was no speaking as they all got into the car and headed out. The closer they got to Storybrooke, the more Regina was wondering again what she was doing here. There was no way this was going to end well.
She could feel the tension in the car increase as well – and it didn't all have to with the Home Office. While she was sitting in the back seat, she saw Emma look into the rearview mirror at her several times. Finally, Regina kept her eyes looking out the window, getting lost in her thoughts about how she had gotten here. Not the coming back to Storybrooke, but how she had gotten to this point in her life in general.
"Shit," Emma said as she slammed on the brakes. The move forced Regina to look out the front window where she saw Emma had stopped as a man was standing in the middle of the road. They were probably another five miles from Storybrooke's border so they had not been expecting anyone to be out this far.
"Just go around him," Lily said.
"No," Regina said, even as she unlocked her door and got out. She had recognized the man immediately. Keeping her expression neutral, she walked up to him even as she heard Lily and Emma getting out of the car behind her.
"Hello Regina," the man said once she got within a couple of feet in front of him.
"Lawrence," she replied.
"I don't suppose you will let us do this the easy way," he said.
"I think you know the answer to that," Regina said.
"I told her you wouldn't."
"I suspect she knew that without you telling her anything," Regina said.
"The hard way is fine with me," Lawrence said. "See you later Regina. And believe me, I'm looking forward to our reunion."
He stepped back and then turned and walked off to the side of the road even as Regina turned back to the car. Once they were all in the car, Lily turned to her, "You want to explain that?"
"I have a bit of a history with the Home Office."
"And you didn't think that was pertinent to mention before now?"
Regina didn't answer but she saw Emma looking at her in the rearview mirror again.
Emma put the car in gear and headed to town, while Regina thought about what this all meant. Without saying it, Lawrence confirmed that the Home Office was there because of her. Did they know she wasn't in town and hadn't been? Did they know where she had been? Lawrence looked like he had been waiting for them to get there which meant they had to have known.
She thought suddenly of Hannah.
Getting out her phone, she dialed her number.
"Regina?" Hannah said. "Is everything ok?"
"We haven't gotten into Storybrooke yet. We were stopped outside of it by one of the operatives from the Home Office. He was waiting for us. I don't know if they know where I have been, but you might want to take some precautions," Regina said. "If you need money or a place to stay…"
"Thank you, but I have already taken precautions. I know how to disappear," Hannah said. "I will be safe."
"Just lay low for a couple of days at the very least," she said. "I will keep you apprised of what is happening here."
"You be careful too."
"I will and I will see you when I get back."
She hung up feeling some measure of relief that Hannah was safe and at least prepared for action if her identity became compromised.
"Who were you talking to?" Emma asked.
"It's none of your concern."
Emma gripped the wheel a little tighter but didn't say anything and Regina too fell back into silence.
It wasn't long before they were passing over the town line – Emma sped up as she neared it, unwilling to take any chances. She drove into the city proper and stopped only when they were outside city hall, which was where she told Maleficent and the others to meet them.
Her anger seemed to be increasing as each moment passed. Clearly, Regina knew more about what was going on than she had said so far and her constant disregard for anything Emma had to say had gone beyond a mere annoyance.
Once the car was parked, she stayed where she was at. "Tell the others we will be in in a moment," she said to Lily.
Lily paused a moment, glancing back at Regina, and then nodding. Even after Lily had left the car, Emma didn't say anything immediately.
"I don't want to do this," Emma said finally. "I don't want it to be like it was before when we first met. I don't want us to be on opposite sides. We can't face what is outside the barrier if we can't stand together. I'm willing, but I need you to meet me part way on this, do you think you can do that?"
Regina didn't say anything and Emma glanced at the rearview mirror but saw Regina was merely sitting there looking out the window, not up at her.
"Fine," Emma said after more silence. "Let's see if we can do this quickly then so you can run away once more."
Gripping the door handle to get out, she was about to exit when Regina spoke.
"Why aren't you married?"
It was spoken in the flat, emotionless way that Emma was guessing was part of Regina's new normal. Still, the weight of those words hit her unexpectedly.
"He asked," Emma said. "I told him I couldn't."
"Why?"
"Because of you and that stupid letter you left behind," Emma said. "Because you left and you didn't even give me a chance, a chance to ask if you meant what you said in it."
She turned in the seat to face Regina. "So, did you mean it?"
….
"Does that matter?" Regina asked in return.
"It does to me, but maybe it doesn't to you," Emma said, as she turned and got out of the car. She didn't know why she was even trying. Maybe she just needed to accept that the Regina she thought she knew was not this Regina.
Regina also got out of the car and the two women began to walk into the building, neither one saying a word.
They were about to enter when Regina stopped, forcing Emma to stop.
"What?"
"Is Henry going to be in there?"
"Yeah. He wants to see his mom," Emma said.
For the first time, Emma thought she saw a bit of fear in Regina's eyes.
"He's not angry," Emma said, trying to reassure her.
"How could he not be?" Regina said although she didn't seem like she directed it toward Emma.
"He missed you," Emma said. "He just wants to see you."
Regina still looked unsure, but a moment later she reverted to the look Emma was now getting used to seeing on her face – one that meant all her walls were up.
They entered the building and into the council chambers. They were barely a couple of steps in when Henry came running up them.
"Mom," he said before hugging Regina. Emma noticed Regina hesitated for only a moment before hugging their son back.
"I'm sorry," she heard Regina whisper to Henry.
They stepped back from each other and Emma led the way up to where everyone else was gathered. Mal, Zelena, Snow and Charming, and Ruby were all there.
"About time you get your ass back here," Mal said.
"Good to see you too," Regina responded. "You look tired."
"I am tired," Mal said. "These Home Office bastards aren't fooling around."
"No, they wouldn't," Regina said. "It's not their style. They are like a military force – they follow their orders with precision and they don't retreat."
"Lily mentioned that you ran into one of them on your way in and that he seemed to know you," Mal said. She left the statement lingering there in obvious hopes that Regina could pick it up.
"You and Zelena will need to explain what's been happening magically," Regina said as she held out her wrist and Mal didn't hesitate to remove the magic-blocking bracelet. "Those bastards shouldn't have been able to find this place. I thought I left it protected but clearly, I miscalculated something. For now, we can't waste any time. Show me the spots that most need reinforcing so we can deal with those first. Then we can discuss a more permanent solution."
"The barrier is fine for now," Mal said. "The moment you crossed the town line our magic was no longer needed."
Regina looked at them quizzically. "That shouldn't have happened. I mean the only way that would have affected anything is if my original theory on how to keep the magic going in my absence was correct, but if the Home Office found this place then it couldn't have been."
"You mean leaving a part of your heart behind," Snow said.
"Yes," Regina responded. "A part of me, a part of my magic should have been sufficient to keep it going. That is why I left it here. I created this place with my magic and ever since the curse was broken, it has required some part of my magic. Even when I have left the borders it's never been for long because of that reason. I thought the half of my heart would be enough."
"It was," Mal said, but this time she looked at Emma – something that didn't escape Regina's notice.
"Is there something you haven't told me?" Regina asked facing Emma.
Emma looked at the rest of the people gathered there before making eye contact with Regina.
"The other half of your heart is no longer in Storybrooke," Emma said. "That is why I needed to bring you back here."
"Wait, what do you mean my heart isn't here? Where is it?"
"Hook took it."