OKAY, PART 2 OF THE DINER, BECAUSE WAS BEING WEIRD AND ONLY LETTING ME UPLOAD THIS IN PIECES.

Everyone stared at her for a few minutes in stunned silence. While she was waiting for them to react, Regina flipped through the menu, trying to decide on something. Perhaps a nice little stack of pancakes? Or the French toast? Fresh fruit on the side, because nutrients were important, but then again—

"Are you insane?" Emma said incredulously. "Why would you want to bring Cora back?"

"Because she's my mother, and I loved her dearly. Should I get the French toast or pancakes? Can't quite decide what I'm in the mood for," she said absently, frowning at the menu.

"Regina!" Snow exclaimed, horrified.

"Don't look at me like that, Snow, it's my cheat day."

"You can't bring Cora back!"

"I can't. Henry can," Regina said, smiling poisonously.

"But why?" David asked, staring at her with wide eyes. "She was horrible to you, Regina! She murdered your fiancé!"

"And Snow murdered my mother, but we're still friends," Regina said coldly.

Snow's face drained of blood and she went very still. Regina kept her eyes fixed on David, though her words were directed to everyone.

"My mother was only the way she was because she didn't have her heart. She couldn't love, she couldn't regret, she couldn't be decent." She took a deep breath. "And I used to be just as bad, if not worse."

Emma shredded her napkin, avoiding her eyes; David looked at her sympathetically, reaching out to take her hand.

"Regina, no one blames you—"

"Good," she said bluntly. "Because you shouldn't. So you shouldn't blame Cora, either. She could redeem herself; she could be a better person. All she needs is the second chance you all gave me."

Emma sighed, dropping the napkin. "But she was ready to kill us all," she said, meeting Regina's eyes worriedly. "She was ready to kill Henry."

Neal answered before Regina could. "So was my father, at one point. Remember when he was obsessed with that prophecy about a boy being his undoing? He was literally ready to kill Henry. And look at him now." He dropped his gaze, looking at the table. "If Regina says Cora can redeem herself, I believe her."

Regina looked at him in surprise; she hadn't expected anyone to jump to her defense so quickly. "Thank you, Neal."

He gave a small shrug, still keeping his eyes on the table. Regina looked around at the rest.

"If it'll make you feel better, I'll even enroll her in some sessions with Archie. Those seemed to help Rumple." She still refused to refer to him as "Dad".

"Regina, she was a psychopath!" Emma said desperately. "It's dangerous! Who knows what she could do to us? Do you remember nothing?"

"I remember everything!" Regina flared up. "I remember how you all conspired to keep Henry from me; how you fell for her pathetic frame-job, because you were all so desperate to see me in jail; how you brought her back to Storybrooke in the first place! I remember trying with every fiber of being to be a better mother to Henry, and how you all were so quick to turn on me despite that!" She slammed her hand down. "You got to have your parents back, Emma! Why can't I have mine?"

Emma's mouth dropped open; she stared at Regina with wide, fearful eyes. "Regina," she croaked. "I was only trying to—"

"Well, stop trying to," she hissed. She glared at them, moving her eyes from the stunned David to the petrified Snow. "I wasn't asking permission. I was simply notifying you." She leaned back in her seat, still rigid with fury. "Out of respect for the rest of the town, I'll give them some time to readjust to having Graham back. But in the meantime, I'm going to work with Henry and figure out exactly how he resurrected him, so nothing goes wrong when I bring my mother back."

There was silence for a long time as they all let her words sink in. Regina drew in a deep breath, watching their faces as they swallowed the fact that whether they liked it or not, Cora would be back. They had no say in the matter, and if they did, it should have only been words of encouragement. They owed her that. After everything they put her through, that she had achieved, they owed her.

"Okay," Snow said finally, surprising everyone. "You're right, Regina."

"I know that," she said impatiently. "But I appreciate the sentiment all the same." Regina raised her eyebrows at Emma and David. "Ahem?"

"I agree with Snow," David said in a low voice. "But… just take some time and really think about it, okay? Make sure you want it."

Regina smiled slightly, and nodded. "Emma?"

Emma took a deep breath. "I suppose there's nothing I can say that will make you change your mind?"

"No. At the moment, I don't really value your opinion."

"Great," she said weakly. "Then go for it, I guess."

Regina clapped her hands together. "Excellent! So, we are all in agreement, then, even though none of you really had any choice in the…" She trailed off as Hook suddenly shot his hand in the air, waving it as though he were in school. She closed her eyes exasperatedly. "What is it?"

Hook dropped his hand. "Excuse me, but no one asked me for my opinion on that matter."

"That's because no one cares about your opinion."

"I don't appreciate that," Hook frowned. "I'm feeling very unloved."

"And that would be because no one loves you. Now as I was—"

"Does no one care about the fact I might be very uncomfortable with Cora back in our lives?" Hook said loudly.

Regina exchanged a confused glance with David and Neal, while Snow and Emma tsked, shaking their heads knowingly. "What do you have to do with anything?" Regina scoffed. "You're completely useless. You contribute nothing to society."

Hook made an indignant noise, putting his hand to his heart. "Regina!" he said in an injured tone. "I resent that! I contribute my beautiful face to society every day!"

"Yes, thank you for that," Neal said, raising his eyes to the ceiling. "God knows where civilization would be without your beautiful face to guide us."

"What are you worried about?" David asked, rounding on Hook. "I thought you and Cora were friends. You should be pleased."

Hook dropped his eyes to the table, going very still. "I wouldn't call us friends," he said in a low voice.

"You okay, dude?" Neal asked, peering at him concernedly. "You look like you're going to be sick."

"I'm fine," Hook said in wavering voice that implied he was completely not fine. "It's just… I had a complicated relationship with Cora."

Regina narrowed her eyes, studying him: his eyes kept shifting around nervously, flickering between Emma and Snow; he was breathing very shallowly, his fingers tapping anxiously on the table. "Exactly what went on between you two?" she asked suspiciously.

Hook suddenly became very interested in his rings, turning his hand over to watch them catch the light. Regina's eyes widened as a horrible sense of realization dawned on her.

"Oh, my God…" she breathed. "You didn't…?"

Hook looked up, his brow twitching. "I didn't…?"

Regina clamped a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide with disgust. "My mother?" she squeaked, her hand falling away. "You slept with my mother?"

Hook looked startled. "With Cora?" he said incredulously. "Are you mad?"

"You did, didn't you?" Regina said shrilly. "Oh, my God, you sick, twisted bastard, you slept with my mother!"

"No!" Hook said, horrified. "Regina, honestly!"

"Oh, my God!" she moaned, dropping her head in her hands. "I can't believe this!"

"I didn't!" he insisted. "Anything that happened came from her, not me!"

"I don't know," Emma said, raising an eyebrow. "You two looked pretty friendly to me."

Regina lifted her head, looking at the ceiling miserably. "Oh, my God," she whispered, feeling tears gathering at the back of her eyes. "This is disgusting."

"Hook," David said, looking deeply disturbed. "You have a problem."

Hook's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "How many bloody times do I have to tell you? It wasn't me!"

"We should get him some sessions with Dr. Hopper," Snow said firmly. "The man is a sex addict. It's an illness."

"That's not true, stop saying that!"

"We're here for you, buddy," Neal said gently, putting an arm around him. "We'll help you get through this."

"Get through what?" he demanded. "Her mother's the one with the problem! This is why you can't bring her back!"

"Don't blame your mental illness on my mother!" Regina spat. "You pervert!"

Hook sputtered. "I'm the bloody victim here! Why is everyone yelling at me?"

"It's all right," Emma said soothingly, reaching across the table. "Archie's really great for helping people get past addictions, look what he did for Rumple's magic addiction."

"I don't have an addiction!" he said through clenched teeth.

"Yes, you do," Neal said sadly. "This whole time, we just thought you were a slut. But now we know, okay? Now we can help you."

Hook stared at them all open-mouthed and wide-eyed, his expression a mixture of disbelief and rage. "You're all mad," he breathed, standing up. "I can't believe what I'm hearing, you're all mad!"

"Denial," David said, looking at them all gravely. He turned to Hook. "Look, admitting you have a problem is the first step. You have to learn to accept yourself before you can—"

"I accept myself! I bloody love myself! I'm one of my favorite people!" Hook said, throwing his arms up. "Cora came onto me, okay? And for the last time, nothing happened!"

"Sure, it didn't," Snow said witheringly, slitting her eyes at him. "You were just an innocent victim."

"I was!" he insisted furiously.

Regina shot him a look of pure venom, standing up and stalking closer to him. "You listen to me, pirate," she growled, pointing a threatening finger in his face. "When I bring my mother back—and I will bring my mother back—if you so much as glance in her direction, I will destroy you. I will grind your spirit beneath my boot, I will crush your soul with my bare hands! I will take every last cell that makes up your pathetic existence and obliterate it."

Hook glowered at her. "You're very eloquent. I find that extremely attractive in a woman."

If Neal and David hadn't been there to restrain her, the diner would have become the site of a very gruesome murder. As it was, they had to keep a firm grip around her arms and lead her outside, before Hook suffered a painful death; Ruby and Graham watched with wide eyes as Regina was escorted away, still spitting curses and dark words.

"…into the fiery pits of Hell!" she finished as the door shut behind him. "I HATE HIM!"

"Regina, calm down," David said. "Don't worry, we'll get him some sessions with Archie."

"I need some sessions with Archie!" she snapped. "How much more do I have to take? Rumple's my father, Neal's my brother, Graham's back, my son has magic, and now I find out that Hook—" she choked on the words, shaking her head. "I can't. I can't! How much can one person take before they break?"

"Regina—" David began, but Neal stopped him.

"I get it," he said as she tried to catch her breath. "I'm dealing with a lot, too, okay? I just found out about a sister I never knew I had. My kid's playing around with magic, and that obviously scares me. This—this Graham guy comes back from the dead, and now Emma's all…" Neal closed his eyes, drawing in a calming breath. "My best friend may or may not be involved in a very weird situation with your mom, who you're planning on bringing back from the dead. I'm—" his voice cracked, sounding a little more high-pitched—"I'm not doing so good, either you know?"

Regina looked at him sadly. "We're so fucked up," she said in a soft voice.

"We're all fucked up," David sighed.

"David, please!" Regina snapped. She turned her eyes back to Neal, looking at him intently. "This is a family moment."

Neal gave her half a smile. "Still weird to think about, huh?"

Regina shrugged. "It's getting less weird."

SO THESE WERE KIND OF SOME TRANSITION CHAPTERS, SETTING UP THE NEXT ROUND OF CONFLICTS. I'M ALSO GOING TO BE WRITING ABOUT EVERYONE ADJUSTING TO GRAHAM'S PRESENCE. CORA IS SOMEONE I'VE BEEN PLANNING TO BRING BACK FOR A WHILE, BUT I'M NOT READY FOR HER JUST YET. SOON THOUGH, AND OTHERS WILL FOLLOW.

OKAY, DARLINGS! REVIEW! I NEED SOME INSPIRATION, SOME DIRECTION! SPECIFIC INTERACTIONS YOU REQUEST? CONFRONTATIONS? ANY KIND OF SCENE? I'M WRITING FOR YOU, SO LET ME KNOW!