Waking up with Emma Swan in Snow White's Apartment was one of the strangest but best moments of Regina's life. She couldn't help the feeling of content and happiness lay beside her.

The night before they had talked a little before they had fallen asleep. They had gotten back and Snow made everyone hot chocolate before they went to bed.

"So you two are officially together now?" Snow asked curious about what was going on between the two of them. A few years ago she would have freaked out if Emma had told her she was dating Regina. A lot had happened since then and Snow knew that Regina had changed for the better in the last few years. Regina had looked at Emma who had looked to Regina. Each wearing the same expression. Their faces waiting for the other one to say yes but neither knowing what to say.

"I think that's a conversation we need to have still Mum," Emma said smiling at Snow, who handed them all their hot chocolates.

"Either way Mom's I support you," Henry said secretly excited that his mom's had started to get closer. Ever since Regina had been ill Henry had seen what had slowly blossomed between the two. He hadn't pushed the matter knowing his stubborn mom's needed to get there by themselves. "So whats your plan with Aldara?"

"I'm not sure yet, I need her to trust me so I can talk to her about everything. I also need to get my memories back. I know it shouldn't matter but not being able to remember what happened and why it happened is starting to scramble my brain. I've been all over the place lately. I need to start concentrating. I think I need to sleep" Regina said in a tired voice, yawning at the end. She was so mentally and physically drained that Emma had to help her up the stairs. Emma gave her one of the old t-shirts she used as pajamas and some old sports shorts and went to get changed herself. When she came back to Regina. The Queen was stood in the corner of the room not knowing what to do.

"Sorry I don't buy Pajama's I just use my old clothes. But I have to say you make it look sexy" Emma said winking at Regina who blushed a little. Emma got into bed. " You going to come to bed?" She said patting the space next to her.

Regina nodded nervously and slowly started towards the bed. Emma impatient grabbed her by her waist and pulled her under the covers. Regina was laid with her back against Emma's warm body. She was finding it hard to relax sure that Emma was going to change her mind.

"There's nothing to worry about Regina I'm not going to hurt you, not ever" Emma whispered into Regina's ear. " I know this is all new to us, and we haven't really been able to talk about it but I think it's important for you to know, I trust you. I want you to be able to trust me too. I Promise I'm not going anywhere. I will be here as long as you need me to be even when I'm not actually with you I will be there for you." Emma said as she pulled Regina closer to her. Regina relaxed a little in Emma's arms. She felt safe there. She did trust Emma it was other people she didn't trust. It made it very difficult to believe Emma and she could be happy together. For now, she would just have to live in the moment and hope tomorrow brought them better luck.

"Emma, what do you see in me?" Regina asked her eyes watering a little after Emma's speech. She turned so she was facing Emma. She placed an arm around the blond's waist. Emma smiled at her sweetly then swept away a stray hair on the Queen's face and tucked it behind Regina's ear.

" Apart from you looking absolutely stunning in a pantsuit?, You brave, caring, passionate, intelligent and most of all your not scared to admit you have a bad past but you don't let it stop you becoming a better person. That's something I admire you for because I know how hard it is to let go of the past." Emma said looking into Regina's eyes to make sure she listened to every word. Instead of saying anything Regina had nervously kissed Emma lightly, Emma moaned in surprise into the kiss but then began to kiss back. It was different from the kisses they had shared before it was more passionate and solid. Neither of them tried to pull away instead they lost themselves and let their emotions do the work.

They finally pulled away from each other, their faces were red and their lips were swollen. Regina held Emma's face between her hands. She stared deep into the blond's eyes getting lost for a few seconds. She couldn't help but notice how different she and Emma had been to each other since she found out about Aldara. Emma had supported her and made sure she was there for Regina when she had needed her. When Emma had been in the dark pit she couldn't help but want to show Regina that they could work. That they could both make it work between them. All they needed was each other and their son. Emma was determined to make her Queen happy that was her last thought before she fell asleep with Regina wrapped up in her arms.

Regina felt a buzz of happiness and freedom all over her body. She had never felt this sense of belonging before. Emma and she just seemed to fit together. Even though many of their interests were dissimilar, they seemed to get along fine. She sat up a little to stretch her aching muscles. She looked down at Emma who's blond hair was splayed across her pillow.

Even now Regina was better, Emma would still come round to check on 'Henry'. That usually meant staying up watching crap on tv and talking about anything they wanted too. Once Emma had even challenged her to a game of chess. The blond was pretty good at the game and had beat Regina once or twice, Regina usually had the upper hand. Having played against people who could play chess professionally, she was almost impossible to trick into a checkmate. She and Emma being was still the best way for Emma to live her life. Regina was all too aware that they might suffer as a couple because of the person Regina used to be. There were things she had done that might challenge them as a couple. She started to panic, maybe she had made a mistake by letting herself be with Emma. She had put the Saviour at risk by being with her. There was a lot of people that had a vendetta against her. Most of them for good reason.

She hadn't realized she had been shaking until Emma had woken up and sat up to comfort her. The blond pulled Regina into her embrace.

"Stop Panicking, nothing is going to happen to us. I wish you for the long run, Regina. I promise." Emma whispered. Regina felt the tears well in her eyes.

"You can't promise me anything Emma, You don't even know half of the despicable and inhuman things I did as the Evil Queen. I can't even forgive myself for most of the things I did. How will someone as amazing as you like someone who has a past as hideous as mine?" Regina said becoming a little hysterical. Emma waited for Regina to calm herself down, knowing at this point, her words wouldn't have any effect on her.

Regina breathed deeply for a few moments. She knew she was probably wrong, but there was always a voice in the back of her head telling her she was going to screw it all up at some point. She finally calmed herself enough to stop crying but she was still shaking.

"Regina, talk to me," Emma said softly, Regina looked at her then looked at her hands. She shakily took a breath. She stayed quiet for a while mulling over what she was going to say.

"Emma, there is a lot of things I have done, that you don't know about. Some of it is horrendous, I don't really remember a lot of it. The memories seem more like a vivid dream, I'm not even sure if some of it actually even happened. The things I do remember clearly haunt me all the time and I'm still not sure that I can control my dark side. Sometimes I just slip into the mindset and I don't realize until I've said or done something I regret. I don't know if I'm good enough or strong enough to be with you. I still, even now, do certain things that make me wonder if I can fight the evil part of myself." She said pulling away from Emma's arms and sitting up to hug her knees. "Part of me knows I can fight it off, Then the other part is questioning why I am fighting it. I don't deserve to be here in this house in bed with you. I hurt so many people, I can't see why someone who has been affected so badly because of my selfish actions would want to be with me?" Regina said her voice breaking in places and she tried to fight the urge to cry the entire time.

"Regina not all of this was you, something where in place before you were even born. had your entire life planned out for you, she kept Zelena and you apart, she turned you against Snow and killed Daniel in front of you. Rumple literally groomed you into the Evil Queen and gave you the dark curse as a part of his plan to get Neal back. Sure some of it you decided to do and I can't say your not to blame. I just know that if it wasn't for all of these people turning you against the world, against yourself. You might not have had to fight the darkness at all." Emma said trying to make her see she never stood a chance against it all. "

You might have done evil things it doesn't mean you have to be evil. I've done a lot of things I regret and to be honest it's why I struggled so much to be called the Saviour, I mean I wasn't really the saving type before I got here. I just learned that the type of people you surround yourself with shouldn't be someone who wants you to hurt. They should be the kind of person, who when you are hurt, helps you to heal. Regina you have us to help you heal, Henry, Snow, David, Archie, even the dwarfs! All the people you've been fighting against are the people who want to help you the most. We never want to see people suffer. Regina you only just started the fight, it is hard to fight something that's been a part of your life for so long that you depended on so much as a part of your identity. Now it's not people get to see the real you. I promise here and now I will help you to be the kind of person you can feel proud to be." Emma said to Regina who was starting to calm down now Emma had talked to her. She stared at Emma. She couldn't even fathom how Emma could see the good in her, but she did. Maybe she was right perhaps if she can lean on the people around her when she is struggling she might not have to go to the dark and lonely place she found herself in so many times before. She couldn't help the feeling of tenderness and endearment that hit her when Emma spoke.

She never saw herself as she got older as someone a person could love let alone be loved. In less than two minutes Emma had shown her that she had people around that did love her and wanted her to be happy.

"I think I'm falling in love with you Emma," Regina said she didn't really mean to tell her this soon. She couldn't help herself from admitting it. Emma's face just lit up. Regina got embarrassed and tried to get ou or bed but Emma sat up and pulled Regina back to her by her waistband. Regina's back was against her so she wrapped her arms around the brunette's stomach and rested her chin on Regina's shoulder.

"Don't worry I'm here to catch you" Emma whispered and kissed her cheek lightly. Regina turned to face her and captured Emma's lips with her own.

Snow was the first person up. She had made breakfast for David and Henry. Snow had forgotten to catch up her husband on the recent event. Henry and he had been halfway through their breakfast when Emma and Regina came down the stairs. He had almost choked on his toast when they had come downstairs hand in hand. He struggled to swallow the bread as they descended.

"Emma, Regina?" His voice giving away his surprise more than he liked.

"Yeah Granddad, get with the program!" Henry said laughing at David's surprise at his Mom's. Emma smiled shyly at her dad.

"I promise I haven't been keeping it from you, I all happened too fast, Mom and Henry only know cuz they had to help Regina find me," Emma said. David's face became even more surprised but not in a good way. He looked at Snow.

"Our Daughter went missing and you didn't tell me?" He said. Knowing his wife probably had a reason but he would have liked to of helped them find his daughter. Snow gave him a glare.

"David I did call you but you hung up early because you got a call from someone else and never remembered to call back!" Snow said to him. David, embarrassed sipped his coffee his cheeks turning a little red.

"Um yeah, I... uh, think I remember that," He said then smiled apologetically to his wife. Snow chuckled then went to fetch the girls some coffee. They sat at the dinner table on the opposite side to Henry and David. Snow placed their mugs in front of them. They thanked her and Emma took a sip. She instantly regretted it.

"OW HOT! I'B BUMP MA TUMB" Emma said wincing a little. Regina raised her eyebrow at her. "What it's really hot?" Emma said defensively.

"You don't say," Regina said smirking at Emma, who pushed her lightly. "that's not the reason at all why I haven't tried mine yet" Regina mocked her lightly chuckling at Emma just pretended to sulk. "You look like Henry when you do that," Regina said and they all laughed as Henry made the same face to demonstrate.

"So I have a day off today, plans?" David asked when everyone had finished.

"I need to find my daughter and get her to trust me enough to talk," Regina said " Plan wise I am not sure what that entails, but I'm not giving up on her" Regina said Her mind already working out a way to get her trust.

"I think she needs to see that you changed, I mean I didn't really believe it until I saw it," David said sipping from his mug.

"THAT'S IT" Regina broke out making everyone jump. She didn't say anything, lost in thought.

"Gina?" Emma asked confused by her outburst. She tapped the Brunette's shoulder.

"Hu" Regina said coming out of her daydream.

"Care to explain what it is?" Emma said. Regina looked confused then suddenly realized what Emma was referring too.

"I need to have her, see me doing something good. She's not going to believe me straight away but after a while, she won't have a reason to not trust me at least a little. Perhaps, for now, you and Snow could go talk to her?" She said to David. If Aldara couldn't trust Snow White who would she trust?

"Sure Regina, I'm not sure how much she will listen to me though, our talk yesterday didn't seem too promising." Snow admitted remembering the woman's reaction to her. " She seems pissed that I forgave you."

" I'm not sure about Mom and Dad going out there alone. She might not have hurt anyone yet but she might, I will go with them." Emma said.

"No your not going anywhere near her. I'm not letting her take you again" Regina said panicking at the prospect of Aldara hiding Emma again. Emma took Regina's hands in her own and made Her look in her eyes.

"She won't be able to, You can teach me how to put the cuffs on her." Emma suggested " Without her magic, she might start to talk, she won't have it to hide behind. I made you talk didn't I who else would you open up to. The thing is I know how she feels mostly. I felt abandoned, lonely, angry. It took a woman who was paid to find me to put me jail for me to realize who I wanted to be, I think Aldara needs someone to show the way" Emma said trying to explain to Regina what might happen.

"Mom I think I might stand a chance too. She is hurting and I'm her brother, I want to help her" He admitted even though Aldara had scared him a little.

"Maybe he is right," Emma said know there was no way Regina would let Henry go with them.

"I remember the way to where she is staying," Henry said knowing it might help.

"Mom I can even take the storybook with me so she can read your story," Henry said getting up to fetch it.

"Won't that make it worse, that book makes me out to be some kind of monster!" Regina said having only read the worst parts of her story.

"No Mom it explains everything, Your story, Cora, Snow, Zelena. Some of it sure might be a little hard to get through when you know it actually happened but it will show her what you like before Daniel was killed. What you would have been like if Cora hadn't..." He trailed off knowing it still upset her.

" Your right Henry it might help," Regina said defeated. " I'm just going to go back to my house for a while... to think," Regina said distantly. She poofed away. Emma sat there not knowing what to do. She wanted to drive to Regina's and talk to her but she knew she must need her space at the mnt. " We need to find Aldara". The other three agreed they quickly got ready and drove to the old house. They got out the car and walked through the forest to the spot where Snow and Henry stood with Aldara. Henry shakily knocked the door. This time the door opened after a few minutes and revealed a fatigued-looking Aldara.

"Do you people ever give in, what do you want?" She said her voice not holding its usual threatening tone. She just sounded annoyed and worn out.

" We want to talk to you, could we come in?" Snow asked a little too politely.

"Whatever" Aldara said walking off. The family stood there a few seconds. Henry just shrugged and walked in. The others followed him a little more wary than Henry. They all shuffled in. The inside was very Bohemian. None of the furniture matched but it all looked perfectly though out. There was a small set of stairs in the middle. On the left side was a small kitchen it had dark oak flooring and there were a small silver metal stove and a refrigerator. The counters were white with black marble tops. The wall was covered with posters, pictures, and souvenirs. Emma recognized a few of the people from various bands and movies.

Aldara's taste in music wasn't much different than Emma's. Also Regina's, who secretly liked Emma's music but had yet to admit that to Emma. Henry had told Emma he had once caught her listening to Beyonce in her office once when he had come in unexpectedly early. He hadn't mentioned it. He had, however, told Emma straight away, who at the time, had done a little victory dance.

"I like your place, is that a signed rolling stones poster?" Emma said getting closer to inspect the wall decorations.

"Yeah, I went to their concert a few years ago and met them after," Aldara said in a cautious but tired voice.

" Me too, I couldn't afford the backstage pass though. These are incredible" She said in a daze.

"Yeah, I don't really stay in one place a lot," Aldara said plainly.

"Why's that" Henry asked curiously. Aldara looked at him her face softened when she saw how trusting he was of her already. So she decided to talk a little about it.

" I have been here since I was 15. It's not been easy, but I finally got here." Aldara said. She walked into the front room. They followed her, The front room decorated similarly to the kitchen. There was an old worn patterned run on the floor. On the one end of it was a small white sofa. A wooden chest/ table sat in the middle. There was a collection of guitars in the one corner.

"Wow they're cool," Henry said excitedly as he quickly made his way over to them. " Which one is your favorite?" He asked innocently. Aldara was taken off guard by the family. They weren't as pushy as she had imagined them to be. She was expecting them to force feed her hope and goodness, instead, they were just chatting casually with her about her stuff. It had taken by surprise and she caught herself letting her guard down a little.

"The hummingbird is the one I like to play the most. It's the one I learned to play on. I use it to write now mostly. The Goldtop Les Paul is my newest one. I play songs on it when I record or perform."She said knowing she might of just giving away too much.

"You sing?" Emma asked curious and fascinated. Maybe this would be easier than she thought. Aldara had seemed to calm down a little since their first meeting. Emma knew this would be her best chance at getting Aldara to talk properly with Regina, she just had to work it right.

"A little now and then, not as much as I'd like. It was something I loved to do since I was a kid," She said fondly looking at her guitars. "Anyway if you come here to soften me up, it won't work I don't have an issue with you and your family. Regina is the reason I'm here. She is the one that abandoned me, ruined my home and forced me to have to come to this place." Aldara said her voice starting to become more hostile than before.

" Calm down sweetie. We understand you are angry at Regina. We came here because we want you to see that Regina was a different person now. Since the curse, she had been pretty much isolated in the town. Of course, I'm not expecting you to feel sorry for her. She did cast the curse after all, but she adopted Henry and that soften her a little. A lot has happened since then. As Snow White, the Evil Queen's former victim I think I have to tell you she isn't the Evil Queen anymore. Sure she still struggles to fight the darkness and now and again she might relapse slightly, but she really is trying to rectify her past as much as she can. I think if you would give her a chance you will understand her and maybe even forgive her, which I know seems impossible right now. Just remember that she has a story too." Snow said she could see a similar look in her eyes as Emma had when the curse first broke. A mix of confusion and anxiety with a hint of betrayal.

"Why doesn't she remember me then, I mean shouldn't she know what she did?" Aldara said gritting her teeth.

"We don't really know we thought your neckless would work but it didn't" Emma explained. It had baffled her too. Usually, the token would work.

"So that's it then she won't remember me," Aldara asked a little upset. She couldn't understand why Regina not remembering, bother her so much. She had no idea before that Regina would remember her at all. She thought she would have recognized her after a while. She couldn't understand why Regina would have taken a potion to forget about her.

"No we aren't giving up we are going to try everything we can to help her remember, we just need your help. If you really want her to remember, your going to need to work with us." Snow said knowing Aldara was their only chance at Regina remembering anything about her. Something was bound to spark her memory at some point. She could see Aldara thinking it through.

"If you talk to her about what you know maybe it will break the spell," Emma said knowing that wasn't what needed to happen. She knew Aldara wouldn't accept what actually could work at that point. That would be a work in progress.

" Do you really think she didn't want to abandon me I mean she wasn't the nicest person back then," Aldara asked a timidly not sure what she wanted to do. He minds fighting against its self.

"I think I know my mom well enough to tell you, she secretly always wanted children. She took a potion after Snow's Dad died, so Cora couldn't force her to marry just to have an heir to the throne" Henry said not wanting to say too much knowing it was Regina's story to tell. Aldara looked thoughtful, She glanced back and forth between the four of them.

"You know I think talking to Regina might clear somethings up for you. Henry brought our storybook with him. We thought you might want to learn some more about what has happened" David said. He had taken a seat back for a while but felt a little more comfortable now he knew Aldara was being calm with them.

" Could I see it?" She asked Henry, trying to fighting the against the anticipation that built up inside her. Henry pulled it from his bag. Aldara looked at him then at the book. She noticed that it looked old-fashioned and bulky. " I thought it would be..."

"Shorter?" Henry said knowing what she meant. " The story they have in this world are doctored versions of the truth. There is a lot they don't put in so it will seem more black and white than it actually is." Henry explained. He held out the book to her. Aldara took it from him gingerly. She held it, unsure what she wanted to do. She looked back at them.

" I looked like that the first time Henry told me what it was" Emma stated. " It can seem like a lot."

" If you have any questions don't worry about asking us. Henry knows most of it, to be honest," David said smiling at Aldara who nodded then looked back at the book.

"Do you mind if I borrow this?" Aldara asked Henry.

"That's why I brought it with me, It helped almost everyone else," He said smiling brightly.

" We'll no now and leave it with you." Snow said knowing she would probably want time to read it.

" Could I have your guys numbers... In case I need to ask you anything. I mean I could just turn up but I think that might be a little rude." Aldara said smirking at the end.

"Sure I'll give you mine and I'll give you the number you need," Emma said, She had almost everyone's number on file at the police station. She quickly noted her number down on a random piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Aldara.

"Thanks," Aldara said putting it in her pocket. "Do you guys want a drink or something before you go?" Aldara said not wanting to be rude to them after they'd just helped her.

" No we should be on our way, you have a lot of reading to catch up on." Snow said smiling at Aldara who nodded. The gang made their way out of Aldara's house. She walked them to the front door. They were about to walk away when Aldara stopped them.

"Um... Thanks for the book. If it's ok with Regina, I wouldn't mind her coming over. As long as Henry and Emma are with her. I guess it couldn't hurt to know what happened." Aldara admitted she didn't seem to convince it was a good idea but clearly, she wanted Regina to remember what happened.

" Sounds like a plan" Emma smiled at Aldara, she was happy that she had changed her mind about them.

"I think Mom will be ok with that" Henry said knowing that the news might make Regina feel a little better.

"I'll see you guys soon I guess," Aldara said. They all said goodbye to her and Snow had even hugged her. Emma could see it made Aldara uncomfortable.

"Don't worry you get used to it," Emma said knowing what it was like. Aldara nodded. "Don't forget to message me so I have your number." Emma reminded her. They started walking back to the car.

"I think that went well," David said knowing it definitely could have been worse.

"Yeah, but it was just us, with Regina present it might be a little bit tenser," Emma noted. She knew how Regina could get and if anything Aldara had proven she has her mothers temper.

"Maybe, but she has the book now, she might be a little more lenient if she knows what she could have been born into," Snow said she knew that it would have been a worse upbringing for Aldara if she would have stayed. Sure she would have been doted on and almost everything would have been done for her, but Cora would have ruined her and Regina had other plans. Regina would have only resented having a child, she had known what Cora was capable of making her into.

"Let's just get home. I need to speak to Regina" Emma said a little anxious to talk to Regina about Aldara but she knew that Regina would be happy that she could talk to her. The all scrabbled into the car. The drive back was quiet. Mary Margret had put the classical station on, Henry and Emma rolled their eyes at each other when she started to hum along.

When they got back Emma got straight into the Bug. Henry had wanted to go with her but she knew Regina wouldn't want him to be there just yet. She pulled away after quickly saying goodbye. She made her way to the Major's house. Her hands were sweating on the steering wheel. She knew this conversation might be difficult, Regina's exit this morning had told her what mood she was in.

Once she got to the house she parked out the front and walked as calmly as she could to the door. She knocked it and stood back. She fidgeted nervously on the spot. Regina pulled the door open. She makes up looked intact and her clothes fresh on. Emma knew Regina better than to think she hadn't been upset this morning.

"Hi" Emma began not knowing what to say.

"Emma?" Regina said. " How did it go, you've been haven't you?" Regina asked her voice giving away her inner panic. Emma smiled at her.

"How long have you been waiting for me to get back?" Emma said knowing that Regina would have been pacing around whilst they were going to talk to Aldara. Regina gave Emma a glare.

"Seriously?" Regina said impatiently to find out what had happened.

"Ok, ok let me get a cup of coffee first," Emma said walking into Regina's house.

"Please come in," Regina said sarcastically as Emma walked passed her.

" Where do you keep your good coffee again?" Emma asked ignoring her comment.

"Top shelf of the cupboard, right at the back in the tin. When was it ok for you to invite yourself in?" Regina said irritated. Emma who was reaching for the coffee looked back at her.

"Since you started to take so long to invite me into your house," Emma said and grinned at her. Regina shook her head and went to get herself a cup.

"I already got your cup," Emma said pointing to it on the side.

"Oh um... thank you," Regina said a little shocked Emma knew what mug she preferred.

"Well, I did practically live here for a while, remember?" Emma said as she put the coffee in the machine to brew. She turned to face Regina. She pulled her into a hug. "How are you doing?" She asked noticing Regina's sober face.

"Better if you would tell me about today," Regina mumble into Emma's Jacket.

"Give me a minute, It might be a long story," Emma said wanting to be sat down before she started. Regina nodded into her shoulder.

"Did it at least go well?" She said just wanting to calm her racing mind for a second.

"Better than I think we all thought it would" Emma reassured her.

"Good," Regina said sighing a little in relief. Emma nodded.

"Yeah I think you will like the outcome, our son is a god sent" Emma chuckled lightly.

"I knew that," Regina said. She smiled to herself.