A/N - A HUGE thank you to you lovely readers still following our story. Your reward? An update! We clearly know how this story is going to end and I think it will do the story justice. Our focus is finishing this story before we start our new one. Unfortunately we are not going to continue I Will Always Find You or Nightfall since the show has sucked out inspiration for Emma. Okay, well mainly me. I adore our story here with Apple and with what we have planned, the muse is set to full throttle for writing our savior.

Our next adventure will be an AU EF with an OC that was introduced here, no Emma, Hook, or Hood. It will be focused on Regina at the heights of her rivalry with Snow, but something so minor happens that things change. I think it'll be a lot of fun. Perhaps we'll do more SwanQueen in the future, but this is a story that Cam and I want to tell.

With that... enjoy and let us know what you think about Chapter 12.

Anxiously, Regina's gaze kept going back to the wall clock. Her nerves showed; she was too rough with a pair of cherry tomatoes for the salad, crushing the tender fruit when trying to slice then.

She's not going to show up. We'll have gone to all this effort, all this emotion, and she won't show.

Irony was that Emma Swan stood outside the mansion door with her hand paused in mid knock, reevaluating why she was here. A heavy sigh escaped while she lowered her hand in thought. The incident earlier today had made her finally believe she was the savior of Storybrooke and all of the people here, except her son, were citizens of the Enchanted Forest. It was a sobering reality that the twins she saved were Hansel and Gretel - the same Nicholas and Ava that she had formed a unique bond with since they had been orphans and survivors like herself. She didn't even want to think about David and Mary Margaret being Prince Charming and Snow White, her parents …

"What are you doing, Swan?" she whispered, balling that same hand that were to knock into a fist.

Having time to ruminate on everything that happened since agreeing to dinner was making her second guess coming here. Regina had been speaking the truth about moving past the harm she had caused Emma, but was that really for the best? She was terrible at putting people before her and right now, it felt unnatural being here despite the longing she had in her heart for both Mills' living here. Had she been entirely unfair to Regina, promising the mayor that she could really try and move past the damage?

Henry had tried to help Regina get dinner ready, but found that he was continually in her way, or drawing her anxious ire unintentionally. He gave up on trying to be of use and instead kept his attention split between watching her and watching for Emma. Circling out of the kitchen and toward the den, he spotted the Bug in the driveway.

Henry bolted back to the kitchen, hissing in an excited whisper, "She's HERE!" Then, he ran for the front door before Regina had a chance to say a single word. Behind him, Regina cursed, hastily removed her apron, and fussed with her hair to ensure it was perfect.

He flung the door open and grinned up at Emma. "You came!"

Emma's sullen, contemplative expression immediately shifted to one of mortified terror as she cursed inwardly. Shit.

"Yeah …" she forced out as Henry's jubilation was making her feel terribly awkward and guilty about her turmoil.

Regina came to stand at the top of the stairs, from the kitchen, and felt her heart lurch. She's really here. Quickly but with typical Regina composition, she descended the stairs. Hand touching Henry's shoulder in both gratitude and warning to be calm, she offered Emma a genuine, gentle smile.

"Hello, Emma. I'm glad you're here. Please, come in," she said, her tone genial despite her nerves.

"Thanks," she answered stiffly and accepted the invitation inside. With a quick unzip, she shed her red leather jacket.

"I got it!" Henry said and with exuberant speed, lifted the jacket out of Emma's hands to hang up.

Regina followed them, closing the door.

Take it slow, take it easy. You have forced her to deal with so much. Be… kind, she coached herself silently.

"Dinner is just about ready. I was just finishing up the salads," she told them. "Would you care for a drink, Emma?"

Anxiety increasingly crept into her heart. Every beat held suspicion and it due to Emma working herself up outside. Her brain had turned apples into cider and presumed foul play right away because of what happened. Adult drinks were just not going to happen.

"Water's good," she answered.

Regina paused, words catching in her throat.

Henry saw her reaction and quickly looked to Emma and said, "How about a soda? Mom let me get two. I'd be glad to share with you!"

Her suspicion melted into fondness and regarded Henry with the first smile since arriving here. "Sure, Kid. Thanks for sharing."

Soda with lasagna? Regina resisted a shudder at how that would taste. These two…

"Soda it is," she said brightly. "Why don't you both sit down? I'll bring drinks and finish up the salads. It will be just a moment."

"Kay." She said, watching Regina go with a face that was indecisive and troubled, especially to the keen eye that belonged to Henry Mills.

Henry looked from brunette to blonde and back as his mother retreated to the kitchen. He took a deep breath and nodded to himself, then looked back to Emma. He beckoned her closer with a wave of his hand, needing to whisper. It took a moment before she caught his hand gesture.

"What?" she asked at conversation level, completely clueless.

Henry gave her a very serious look, imagining all the terrible and fearful thoughts that she had to be having. He rested a hand on her bicep and stared into her eyes. "I promise that everything we'll eat and drink are safe. I kept watch," he said earnestly, "because I know you'd worry. You have my word that everything is okay. Okay?"

Balking for a response, Emma stared at him in wonder that he did that for her.

"Are… are you sure that you did that just for me, or maybe because you don't trust your mother enough?" she asked, summoning the courage to just speak her mind freely with the kid.

"I trust her, and I know how sorry she is," Henry replied, frowning, his voice still hushed. "I did that just so you would know you're safe here, and that… well, that I've got your back too."

"I never worried about you having my back, Kid. Just … I was worried about you with her. It's really messed up from my perspective. All of this ...everything that happened since I came here and now …?" She set hands on her hips and lightly shook her head. "Now, I know the whole truth and it's made everything even weirder."

At that, Henry couldn't help but grin. "Tell me about it! How do you think I felt when Miss Blanchard gave me the storybook and I realized what she was telling me about everyone?! And she didn't even know what she'd done!"

"This is completely different," she argued.

"Shh," he insisted. "I know it's different for you, being who you are! I know things are weird right now, because of what my mom did. She made a huge mistake, messing with magic, and trying to use it on you. But, I know she's really sorry. Like… really sorry."

Henry's eyes widened for emphasis. He gave Emma's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"But, I know my mom loves me and would never hurt me on purpose. We're both safe. Okay?"

Despite the assurances of a ten year old and feeling the truth of his words, it was going to take a lot more for Emma to feel comfortable in Regina's presence. While they stood there in the hallway, her gaze shifted to the living room and the wooden horse that she had found for Regina that stood proudly atop the mantle. A gift given in apology for her own behavior while under the mayor's curse. A curse that had been broken with true love's kiss.

"I honestly don't know, Henry," she admitted.

"I know it'll take time." His serious look transformed into a soft smile. "I'm just really glad you agreed to try, and that you came for dinner. You're brave. Even when you're scared. I like that about you."

"Well, I'm glad one of us thinks I'm brave because right now I think I'm stupid. C'mon." She clasped a hand against his shoulder and motioned for him to follow her with a tilt of the head. "We better go find your mother."

As the duo turned toward the dining room, Regina came out from its side door off the kitchen. She carried an expensive service tray with two sodas on ice, and an iced tea. Having expected them to be seated in the dining room by then, Regina cocked her head in surprise, then spotted them lingering in the foyer.

She paused a long moment at what looked to conspirators, then smiled nervously. "I have your sodas."

"Yeah? We were just coming in. Henry was telling me about his day." She said the lie with practiced ease.

Rather than complicate things, Henry simply went over and took his seat at the table, smiling at his mother.

"Well, that's nice," Regina said, deciding to take this at face value rather than assume the worst. She set the drinks down on the placemats. "Here you are, Henry… and Emma. I'll be right back with salads, and the lasagna."

And with that, the mayor swept back to the kitchen as the savior kicked out her chair and sat across from Henry. She glanced around the fancy place settings which made it look like they were fine dining instead of a having a cozy at home dinner. She found it irritating and tapped the end of the knife defiantly, forcing it up and out of place to make it feel more homey instead of plastic perfection. Henry watched her, wide-eyed.

Taking a deep breath, Regina emerged again from the kitchen with plates of salad for each of them. She smiled at Henry, then a bit more guardedly at Emma as she set her plate down. In a flash, she was gone again, retreating to the kitchen. She donned her oven mitts and carried the casserole dish of lasagna out, setting it in the center of the table on hot pads, where Emma had observed Regina doing most of the hostess work on Henry's side of the table. She was giving her space and being purposeful with every move to not spook Emma.

Regina took her seat and smiled. "Let's eat."

Emma glanced down to fresh greens, carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers - all perfectly shredded, sliced and diced with each plate looking exactly alike. It was uncanny and unnerving all at once that Regina needed this much control over everything but as she looked at Henry, she knew he would say that it was just how his mother was trying to calm her nerves and make things perfect for them.

Poking her her head up to get a better look at the center of the table, she couldn't deny that the lasagna smelled and looked delicious. "So … what're the dressing choices?"

"Oh! Yes, sorry. Just a moment."

Flushing with embarrassment at the error, Regina rose and retreated to the kitchen. She paused a moment at the refrigerator, honestly debating whether to transfer the contents of store bought salad dressing containers to nicer bowls, or to just taking the bottles out. Gritting her teeth, Regina opted for the latter, thinking that it was what Emma would prefer to see. After all, she'd noticed the defiant knife at her place setting; of course she had!

She returned with ranch, knowing Henry liked it, a few different options for Emma, and an apple vinaigrette for herself. As gracefully as possible, which was difficult with five different salad dressing bottles wedged into her hands, Regina set them down.

"Take your pick," she said with a briefest of smiles.

Henry stared at his mother before giving her a, hopefully, calming smile because she was really overdoing it with Emma. Bringing the bottles to the table was a nice touch, he had to admit. Regina never did that! It was barbaric slopping the dressing from the bottle while making a mess, unlike using a spoon. Emma mirrored her son's look towards Regina before green eyes swept over the dressing choices.

"Uh … ranch?" She watched Henry grab the bottle she was looking for. "Oh. Yeah. When you're done, Kid."

Regina flashed a wink at her son and sat back down, even though it was killing her to leave the bottles on the table like this. She focused on lightly splashing her salad with the vinaigrette.

Operation Spark, Regina thought. Alright. How do we get the spark back, as it were? I don't even know what to talk about, and it's hardly fair to rely on Henry to mediate conversation!

Emma reached over the table to take the dressing and poured a nice healthy portion over her dish that one would believe she was having a bit of salad with her dressing! She left the bottle unopened to the side of her plate and dug in.

Well, I see Henry's habits come to him naturally, she thought. Regina repressed a shudder and focused on her salad. Are we too different? Was the attraction really only because of my backfired curse?

Seeing how something as simple as table manners really differed, it unnerved the mayor. And, Regina would not allow herself to think a moment on all the ways they were complementary in other settings. Not right then.

Henry looked from his mother to Emma and back, conscious of how awkward this was.

"Everything looks great, Mom," he offered just so it wasn't completely silent.

"Yeah," she agreed. "It does. Salad tastes good."

Emma wasn't trying to be difficult here. She honestly had no idea what to talk about in front of the Mills family.

Regina nodded and offered them both polite smiles. "Thank you."

Henry lifted his brows, looking at them. To Emma, he asked, "Have you talked with your… um, Miss Blanchard or, uh, Mr. Nolan since starting to figure things out?"

The prongs of the fork scraped against the bottom of the plate as she roughly speared through a piece of lettuce. "No. I was too busy… working things out before I got here tonight."

Speaking to her parents in any form was the furthest thing from her mind!

"I haven't talked with Mary Margaret since…" she stopped and scrunched her face in thought, "Yeah, not since I saw her outside of Granny's. Bit after I was made deputy."

"Oh." Henry cut a glance toward Regina, but she was focusing mostly on her dinner. "I thought you guys talked, or texted more… or something. But I know things have been… busy."

"Well, yeah. Here and there. Just … not a lot. Or anything of substance." She cleared her throat while casting Regina a sideways look. "I had other things on my mind at the time."

Regina looked up then, cheeks pink. "It… might be nice for you to get a chance to know her… or them," she suggested after a slight pause. "Their… well… their cursed selves aren't quite-"

How do I say this? she wondered, finding this awkward.

"-well, their cursed selves are nice people. Shadows of who they were, but they're… nice."

Regina's attempt at neutrality came across to Emma as trying too hard. It was actually rather comical and she had to stifle a laugh. "So you find your arch enemies ... nice? That's what I'm hearing?"

Henry's expression turned to one of alarm, knowing that his mother didn't generally like any sort of teasing directed her way. And on this topic? Henry braced for an explosion, slinking down in his chair.

Regina looked flummoxed, then found her voice again. "Well… if we're being candid, yes. The curse made them quite… docile. And compared with how my experiences with them had been before… nice is an apt description."

"Huh." She looked down at her plate and poked at the lone carrot left. "So there's really no point in getting to know them now because they're not really my parents."

Henry opened his mouth, then closed it, unsure what to say. Regina saved him the trouble.

"I disagree. From what little I've seen, your very presence here weakens my original curse. It's changed how they behave… like Mary Margaret having a bit more backbone with me when you brought Henry back. And, Charming… well, David Nolan waking up. Your being here seems to bring out their old selves, and that's good for you both."

"Yeah … lucky me," she said with detachment.

The Regina mess aside, knowing her parents were here with no memories of her and basically the same age was a difficult pill to swallow. Getting to know her parents was so foreign because right now, they weren't her parents yet. It didn't matter how Regina spun it. To get that to really happen, Emma needed to break the curse. To break the curse, she needed true love and right now, her and her true love weren't doing anything except tolerating each other. Or at least Emma was behaving that way.

She was stuck - boxed in by the town that was forcing her to stay here until the curse was broken due to its design. The more she thought about it, the more it angered her. The fork fell from her hand and clanged hard against the plate, her grip loose as features hardened. Both Henry and Regina jumped.

"Maybe after dinner, Emma, you and I could kick around my soccer ball? I want to try out for the school team," Henry said quickly, hoping to diffuse the tension.

"What?" The question seemed ludicrous to her because Emma wasn't fully understanding what was being asked but once the layers of heated rumination peeled away, she realized what Henry was doing.

"Oh. Yeah." She nodded and there was less bite to her voice. "I'd be happy to help out. Not that great at it, but if it helps…?"

Regina sighed and nodded her assent to this.

"Cool, thanks, Emma! Give us some time to play before dessert," he said.

"Dessert?" she says with unfortunate suspicion.

Regina twitched slightly at her tone. "Ice cream from Any Given Sundae."

Emma's gaze raked away from Regina and visibly softened when it fell upon Henry. She remembered his words - how he assured her that she was safe here.

"Right. Ice cream sounds good," she replied with gentleness.

"Cool, okay!"

Henry looked to his mother. She nodded that it was okay, then quietly rose and started to clear the plates. Regina looked to Emma.

"You both have fun and I'll scoop up the ice cream when you're done playing."

"Alright." She rose and gave the kid a smile. "Let's go."

Henry bounced up and ran off to get his soccer ball. Regina gave Emma a strained smile, then started to carry the dishes back to the kitchen, leaving the deputy feeling detached and confused. It didn't matter if Emma were under a curse or not, that woman made her feel things for and about her that had never surfaced before. Even with Henry's father…

"Lemme help." The words came out of her mouth before she could censor it and was already carrying the leftover lasagna into the kitchen.

Regina nearly tripped over her own feet, surprised at the offer. She recovered with her usual poise, though, and looked over her shoulder at Emma, the smile coming easier. "Alright. Thank you."

"Yeah." It was a stunted acknowledgement that Emma heard Regina, but it didn't give the mayor much to work with until they moved into the kitchen. "So uh … does this just get covered and go in the fridge? Or are you the gotta put it in an unnecessary dish and wrap it kinda person?"

Regina's mouth moved soundlessly, a smile and scowl both fighting for dominance on her face at the way Emma had phrased the question. With a bit of effort, she said, "Covering it is fine. There's wrap in the cupboard left of the sink."

She pressed her lips together, impressed with the answer. "Cool." Then Emma went over the cupboard and pulled out the wrap. With a quick, loud rip, foil was freed and placed over the dish.

We've been in the kitchen together, alone, before. Just be… yourself. Be… relaxed? Regina thought to herself, on edge nevertheless.

"Thank you very much, Emma. I can start the dishes while you and Henry play… then we can come back together for ice cream," she said, trying to sound like this was all normal.

With folding the foil under the lip of the casserole dish near the sink, Emma could look out the window and see Henry practicing his dribbling across the lawn, passing the ball to unseen teammates or kicking it hard to score a goal. He soon raised his arms out in victory like he had just won the World Cup after bouncing the ball against the fence. It made her smile that he was so happy.

Regina followed her gaze and smiled adoringly to see Henry having fun. They'd come through such a dark period in his life, and she was so thankful to see him a happy boy again. Her gaze cut over to Emma, cognizant of it being her influence on his life - on their lives - that Henry was a typical, happy boy.

"He seems to have quite a knack for soccer," she mused aloud. "It was hard to grant permission for him to try out for a team sport. I'm so afraid of his being badly injured. But, I have to admit that he does well and that he loves it."

Emma snorted, not surprised that Regina's over protectiveness crossed over into contact sports. "Well, he certainly doesn't get that from me. Good for him."

"Yes."

She half-chuckled because Henry certainly didn't get any sort of team playing skills from her by proxy! Regina continued to watch Henry, acutely aware that Emma still had not gone outside to play with him. She debated whether to say anything important or let the domestic calm simply be. Regina opted for the latter.

"I'll just give our other dishes a rinse and load the dishwasher," she commented lightly. "Spare Henry one chore tonight."

That broke Emma out of her reverie, remembering that she was supposed to be out there playing with Henry. She grabbed the dish and moved out of the way, giving Regina the sink. "Yeah. He'll appreciate that."

Despite being all business in putting the leftovers in the fridge, Emma's mind was working furiously at how simple and normal this all felt. They managed to share space for several minutes without either of them needling the other or causing a misunderstanding. They didn't even have to try. It just happened.

"I'll let him know the good news," she said after closing the fridge.

Regina nodded. "Alright. Come on back when you two are worn out."

"You mean when he runs me out," Emma answered with a laugh.

Brown eyes danced with genuine mirth. "You can have an extra scoop then."

"Ooo. Lucky me…" She felt her mouth curving into a smile, which confused Emma. Just minutes ago she was questioning why she was here and now she was grinning like an idiot. It had to be the ice cream because ice cream made everything better. It couldn't be because she was genuinely having a good time with Regina.

"So … yeah," she quickly said with a clearing of her throat.

There was nothing else to say that wouldn't be awkward at this point. Especially with those big brown eyes looking at her so expectantly. Emma tore her eyes away from Regina's and took her leave outside, finally exhaling that breath she had been holding in.

With Emma's departure Regina sighed heavily, white-knuckling the counter as fiercely as she gripped it. She took a deep, calming breath, then continued to clean up the kitchen while they played.

Outside, Henry was keeping the deputy on her toes.

"Whoa! Kid!" Emma managed to get her hands up in time to catch a wayward soccer ball that was heading right for her face.

"Good catch!" Henry shouted, grinning. "C'mon - kick it back!"

With a flick of her wrist, the soccer ball spun between the palms of her hand and declared, "Alright ... but fair warning! I might kick this into the neighbor's yard!"

She released the ball and timed it best she could, kicking the spinning ball. It bounced weakly across the grass towards Henry with a very disappointed Emma looking on.

"Or … not …"

Henry arched an eyebrow, resisting the impulse to launch forward and kick it back. "Not a soccer player, huh?"

"Ah … no. Sorry, Kid. Never was into sports," she answered, hands resting on her hips.

"Was my dad?" he asked hopefully. "He must have been athletic…"

Emma froze, searching for something to say that wasn't trivial but wasn't a lie. She just didn't want to disappoint Henry as to who her father was and how he behaved towards her. "Ah … well. Uh ... He was a good runner?"

Not a lie, but it was a terrible come back. Running from the authorities and from marks had to count for something athletic.

"Oh," Henry said simply, comparing that tidbit with what he'd imagined. Of course, he pictured a track-and-field star. Then, he smiled. "Well, we can still play and I just won't try to hit you too hard."

"Now that sounds like a plan. I also promise not to smack the ball hard and break something of your mother's. That would suck." she said with a chuckle, inching closer to Henry.

He chuckled too and lightly kicked the ball her way. "Yeah, it would. She's being good, so we wouldn't want to blow that up, huh?"

She adjusted, arms out to keep her balance when a leg extended to stop the ball with a boot. "I guess that's one way of looking at it."

Henry bit his lip to hide a smile at her comical overreaction to managing the soccer ball. "You think it's going okay, right? I mean… awkward and nervous and stuff, but it could be worse."

Frowning, she tapped the ball with enough force to get it to Henry. "Yeah. It could be."

With ease and grace, he angled the ball, did a bit of footwork, then gently lobbed it back to her. "The talk in there, once I came outside, go okay?"

She definitely appreciated how Henry could look like a soccer star next to her lackluster abilities. Her foot stopped the ball and she shrugged. "Yeah. It went okay. Better than dinner."

He nodded. Sagely, he said, "That's good then. Maybe you need more time when I'm not there then."

"Well, I dunno about that." She kicked the ball back. "That might be pushing things more than I'm comfortable with."

Henry missed the ball with a slight misstep and had to chase it down. He considered what Emma had just said and shrugged.

"Okay. I get that. When I realized the curse was real and only I knew it, I hated being around her. It was scary, knowing what she could do and feeling… stuck," he admitted. Henry sent the ball back to her. "So, I can be there for you while you figure things out with Mom."

Blinking at Henry's enlightened self awareness, Emma had to remind herself that he was only ten. "Right. And ... yeah, that makes sense, but the thing is Henry? Your mother hurt me pretty bad and all throughout dinner, I was fighting with myself. I wanted to leave quite a few times, but… I made a promise. To try. Plus, I'm fuc- … ah ... fricking stuck here. So it's best to play nice."

Henry's slouched his shoulders. "Oh."

He was glad she was being honest with him, but he felt badly that Emma was going through this just for him. He wished adults weren't so complicated. Because, in his mind, curse or no curse, it was clear they loved each other. So, why couldn't they get past what happened?

"You're not really stuck though," he said quietly. "I know it would be hard, knowing who's really here and everything. But you could. The people who are really stuck are all the people in town who can't leave because bad things happen to them. You do have a choice, Emma. So, you might be afraid of the one you're making because of what it all means to you. But, it is your choice."

She shook her in disagreement and kicked the ball back. "No. Sorry, kiddo. Me and your mom had a long talk about this. Every time I wanna leave, something happens to keep me here. Like the storm? I was dead set on leaving that day and was even on the way out when I saw Ava and Nicholas in trouble. Of course I'd help them. So it pretty clear that this damn town doesn't want me leaving until I break the curse..."

Henry had suspected as much, then kicked the ball back to her. "So, what do you need to be able to forgive Mom for what she did?"

She brought her foot up to stop the ball and shrugged. "I honestly don't know, Henry. This isn't something you can just forgive and forget so easily."

Behind Emma, Henry could see his mother in the kitchen window. She was disciplined as usual, trying not to outright watch them, though occasionally, her gaze strayed outside. He was careful and did not make eye contact, not wanting her to read anything into whatever his expression might suggest. So far, Operation Spark was not going as Henry had hoped. He could only look at the fact that Emma had resisted walking out on dinner as a reason to keep the faith.

"I hope you can find a way. Otherwise, you are just as trapped as everyone else in town. Only it's worse because you know it."

The fact that Emma was still here after dinner indicated that she wanted to find a way, but she wasn't going to admit that to Henry. What if she couldn't find a way to accept Regina into her life after what happened? It was, at least to her, an ultimatum created by the curse. That she had no choice but to break it or the kid was right. They all would be stuck here. Clearly the curse wanted to be broken, but it was a matter of how.

With a grimace, she kicked the ball back to Henry with a little more controlled force. "Well, maybe there's another way to break the curse? Does it have to be me and Regina?"

Henry stopped the ball, bounced it on his knee, then let it drop. His expression was extremely pensive then, working through the details of her question.

"My book just said that you were the Savior, and that you had to break her curse. It didn't specifically say that it had to be with Mom. I mean… I imagined it being a big, magical battle or something, given who she is and who you are," he said. "Your being here changes things. Your bringing back happy endings, like to Nicholas and Ava and their dad… that weakens the curse. Maybe it doesn't really have to do with Mom at all, other than undoing what she did, bringing everybody here. We might all be coming at this all wrong, just because of what she did to you."

And if that's the case, he thought, a frown forming slightly, Emma will fix things and then get out of town as soon as the curse breaks. Because, maybe she doesn't really want to deal with Mom or her parents…

Henry's words caused Emma to cross her arms, needing the vulnerability that was invoked to subside in some way. Yet that didn't stop her from glancing over her shoulder towards the kitchen window. Regina was busying herself at the sink, but the deputy had to wonder if it was pretend work so the mayor could watch the two of them play. What was really curious was Emma's feelings towards her in this moment. Spying on them wasn't the first motive that came to mind, only enjoying the moment as Regina watched two people she cared about play around outside.

"Your mom said she was gonna help me bring back the happy endings," she stated curiously as eyes shifted towards her son. "Does that make her an honorary savior too? Cuz to be fair kid, I can't do this on my own. Helping the town."

"Honorary savior?" he repeated, sounding skeptical. "I guess…? If thinking so helps you. I just see it as Mom finally doing the right thing."

"I was making a joke. A bad one. Sorry. But … yeah," Emma nodded in agreement and stole another glance towards the kitchen window. "She is …"

"Oh. Gotcha. Sorry," Henry chuckled. His gaze followed Emma's. "So… maybe just work on making things right in Storybrooke with Mom. And maybe that would be enough to break the curse."

"Hope so, Kid. Town's been asleep for too long," she mused.

Just at the edge of the forest, a lone wolf trotted along with intent. The pads of his thick paws sunk into the moist ground as rain had briefly covered Storybrooke just hours prior, his breath coalescing into the air - clearly on the hunt for something and had been for some time by how hard he panted. He stopped by the road that led to the city, sniffing for the scent that was all too familiar but misplaced. As he sniffed further down the road, the wolf stiffened and haunched lower, excited. He had been here! The scent was a few days old, but he was what the wolf desired to see again!

He howled with deep yearning, hoping that his lost pack member would hear it! Then it was with great haste that the silvery grey wolf sprinted along the road towards Storybrooke ...