13: Day Three: part one

It wasn't easy explaining to Henry why he couldn't let his other grandma know who he is. That is, it was hard for her anyway. Cora had come back from the past. She didn't know who they were. She didn't know who Regina was because this version of Cora existed when Regina was very young. Henry, however, being the resilient little kid that he was, accepted it on faith.

"But when do I get to meet my grandma?" He asked in the car ride back to school. Emma sighed uncomfortably.

"I dunno, kid."

"Is she ever gonna know who I am?"

"She knew the first time."

"But I didn't get to meet her the first time. And she was evil. Now she doesn't seem so evil."

"Just...be careful around her. Don't let her know who we are."

"What if we just told her? We could make my mom's life a little better when Cora goes back to the Enchanted Forest, right?"

"It doesn't work like that, Henry. We can't go changing the past. It could change the future~our present." Henry sighed, slumping in his seat. There was silence in the car for a moment, and Emma took the opportunity to be a mom. "Henry...you can't go skipping school again."

"But it was important!"

"You should have asked me." Emma shot back firmly. There was a heavy silence, and she sighed calmingly. "Look, kid, if you make that excuse once you'll make it again. Then you'll be skipping school for stupid things you thought were more important. The real world doesn't work like that. Besides, Henry…" she sighed, not knowing how much she wanted to actually tell him this. "When I was your age I skipped school all the time. I don't...I never went to college. I never got a steady job. If it wasn't for Storybrooke I'd be working the same dead end career I'd been working for years."

Henry was silent in the seat next to her as they pulled up at the school. She parked the car and took a deep breath, gathering her most stoic mom face.

"I want you to come straight home after school. You're grounded."

Henry shot up in his seat.

"But mom!"

"Henry."

"Don't you even care about saving Storybrooke?" He practically shouted. "Isn't that what Operation Cobra was all about? You're just like my mom." He growled before slamming the car door behind him and running up to school. Emma wanted to call after him, but her voice died in her throat.

. . .

Regina didn't usually do takeout, but today had been a long, frustrating, tiring day, and she really did not want to cook. Between trying to deal with Henry's sudden disobedience, the Jennifer Crisis, Gold's and Cora's demands for her to deal with Miss Alexander, keeping Cora hidden, and now Miss Swan's intrusion into their otherwise well oiled machine, she was exhausted.

So, she stopped by Granny's that evening for a late dinner. She had yet to talk to Emma about Henry's behavior, but that could wait for her stomach. It was almost ten, and Granny was ready to close up for the night. Not that anyone ever came in past nine anyway. But when she walked in, she was not expecting what she saw. Jennifer Alexander was sitting at the bar with some fries, a glass of some kind of liquor, and Henry's storybook.

Jennifer seemed to be able to feel Regina's gaze on her because she turned, and her eyes lit up when she saw who it was. "Hey, Miss Mills, I wanted to talk to you! You just caught me, too; I was about to leave." She smiled a lazy, watery sort of smile with sparkling eyes. Regina raised her brow curiously and sat down slowly next to Jennifer. "I heard about Henry skipping school. Mary Margaret, um, caught up with me this afternoon. We were just talking about Henry and Emma, and I guess he's grounded." Grounded? Well, at least she knew Miss Swan could do one thing right.

"Good. Skipping school isn't a condonable offense."

"Yeah, I know." She admitted sheepishly. "That's what I wanted to talk about, actually. I should have taken him back to school this morning when he knocked on my door."

"Yes, well, it would have been nice of you to at least let me know." Regina admitted, trying to catch her gaze.

"Next time! Well, hopefully there isn't…one." Jennifer stopped. "Look, it was irresponsible of me. I am sorry."

"I know; thank you." Regina answered genuinely, her gaze catching Jennifer's cheeks which were somehow even more flushed than usual. Her eyes were sharp and shining, and she frowned at Regina's stare. Regina swallowed and took a breath in through her nose, refocusing. Tomorrow will be the last day before the protection spell breaks, and she had better things to worry about than the red tinge to Jennifer's skin. "So what did you think of the book?" Jennifer scoffed.

"It's ridiculous." She admitted. "I read the entire thing today. I mean it's so...vibrant and creative. I can see why Henry would latch onto something like this. And I feel horrible because I know he's counting on me, but I just can't...believe it." Her voice was swaying.

"And why not?" Regina asked. Jennifer took a sip of her drink.

"Because it's magic. It isn't real." In response, Regina lit a fire ball in her palm. Jennifer turned to Regina curiously at the sound of a roaring flame but then nearly jumped out of her skin. She stumbled off the bar stool, her eyes wide with terror.

"Fuck! Regina, you're...!" Jennifer dove for a towel to smother the flames, and Regina's name on her tongue made her chest tighten. It had only been Miss Mills up until now. Quickly, Regina closed her palm and stood up, taking a step toward her.

"It's okay. I'm fine." She assured. She held out her palm. "See?" Jennifer froze, skeptical and speechless, towel in hand. Hesitantly, she straightened her shoulders and approached, glancing from Regina's eyes to her palm.

"You're not...burned." Jennifer, ever so slowly, traced her finger along the ridges of Regina's hand. The mayor watched her patiently, tracing the flickering of Jennifer's lashes. "H-How is that possible?" Jennifer asked, looking up at Regina whose expression quickly evened.

"It's magic. The Evil Queen can do magic, can't she?" Regina's musing words were laced with a heaviness that Jennifer's tipsy head couldn't decipher. She frowned, her finger dropping from Regina's palm.

"...Magic?" Jennifer asked slowly, testing the word out on her tongue. "No, Regina, how…" she looked pained and irritated, thinking Regina was being facetious. "How did you...do…"

"Magic, Miss Alexander. It's real." Regina blinked rapidly, almost annoyed in her assurance. She was quickly realizing that Jennifer might not remember much of this in the morning if she kept drinking like she was.

"Look," Jennifer sighed, standing up. "That was a nice little trick, but it wasn't funny. I thought you were hurt."

"It wasn't a trick." Regina told her, quick and angry now.

"Alright, fine. Fine." Jennifer hissed, her breath smelling like the alcohol she was drinking. Regina quieted, straightening her shoulders. And she waited, her surprise hidden behind a blank facade. Jennifer was actually...angry. "I have to go." Jennifer finally sighed, glancing down as she picked up her jacket and Henry's book.

Wordlessly, Jennifer left Regina standing there in the diner, alone with her heels and a plate of french fries. The ice machine whirred, there were two dull clicks of Regina's shoes, and Ruby peered from the back with questioning eyes. She, much like the rest of the town, was vehemently suspicious of Regina. So, she watched as the mayor, with a crushing grip and a bone-snapping clench of her jaw, grabbed the glass of liquor Jennifer had been gulping and downed it. Ruby watched as she winced and hissed and squeezed her eyes shut with a resigned nod.

"She drinks paint stripper."

. . .

The next morning Jennifer awoke with a throbbing head and a churning stomach. After adjusting her eyes to the light of a crisp morning sun and groaning her way into a fresh set of clothes, she made her way down to the diner for a nice, cold 7-Up and maybe a few saltine crackers if she thought she could stomach it.

Her head was throbbing like there was a jackhammer being slammed into her skull. It felt almost as bad as her concussion had. Thank god that had been mild enough to be gone by now, though. Because if she had still had noticeable symptoms yesterday then she wouldn't have been drinking. She was a doctor not an idiot.

So, after going to Granny's the previous night for some fries (which, she'd discovered, were the best in town) she went to an actual bar for some actual drinks. It wasn't her usual go to stress reliever, but it was a good tool for forgetting. And, just for a moment, she had really just needed to forget how much she was letting Henry down. She couldn't help that she cared for him a disproportionately large amount for only being in this god forsaken town a week.

She couldn't help that she wanted to make everything better so badly and that she put the blame on herself if anyone ever felt vaguely less than okay. She was a doctor, and it was her job, and one of her closest friends, Valerie, always told her that she cared too much, and she always agreed, but she never did anything about it. Val said that she couldn't hold the world on her shoulders forever, and she agreed. And she never did anything about it.

The usual crowd was in the diner for breakfast when she sat at the bar and flopped her head on the counter. "Rough night?" Ruby asked as she approached. Jennifer looked up. There was a slight smirk on Ruby's face.

"Don't talk so loud." She groaned.

"I'll grab you some aspirin. Anything else?"

"A 7-Up and some saltines please." She sighed, her brow furrowed appreciatively. Ruby smiled knowingly before turning away when the bell above Granny's dinged. She winced but turned at the noise. It was Regina. When she spotted Jennifer, she took a breath and walked to her with hesitant devotion.

"Do you remember what I showed you last night?" Regina asked, clasping her hands together in front of her. Jennifer frowned.

"Last night? I didn't…" and then it came back to her. Her mouth fell open, and her eyes widened. "Oh. Regina." The mayor watched her in her perfect pant suit and perfect hair and expectant eyes. And Jennifer, her hair in a haphazard ponytail and no makeup, didn't know what to say. "Wow, I must have been really drunk. I could have sworn you…" she held her hand, palm up, like a claw. "...you, you had fire in your hand. But you weren't getting burned."

"You're correct; I did do that." Regina affirmed, expressionless as Ruby approached with what looked like a makeshift hangover cure for Jennifer.

"Here you go!"

"Thank you so much, Ruby." Jennifer sighed, and Regina took the opportunity to ask Ruby for a coffee. It was quick and ungracious, and Ruby had no patience for it, but Jennifer didn't really notice in the moment. After downing the aspirin, Jennifer looked to Regina again. "That couldn't have been real. It's not possible." Regina sighed, exasperated.

"Are you always in the habit of denying things that are right in front of you?" She accused, a little more annoyed this time.

"I don't…!" Regina just glared at her.

"Miss Alexander, don't insult me."

"I'm not trying~"

"You think I'm lying to you." Regina cut off Jennifer's plea with a low voiced reminder.

"Just because I don't think what you're saying is...truthful...doesn't mean I don't think it's honest!" Jennifer protested a little more enthusiastically than she'd wanted as Ruby came back with Regina's coffee.

"Alright whatever you're...afraid of...it isn't helping anyone." Regina told her, self-righteous, before turning, knowing full well that Jennifer was currently in no position to accept what she had seen. And she walked out of Granny's with her coffee and her dignity.

"Regina!" Jennifer called after her, almost a whine, but she was gone. Her head pounded, and her throat tightened, and she wanted to punch something.

. . .

If Rumple wasn't going to tell her more about this mysterious brunette, Mara, then Cora was going to find out for herself. She seemed oddly familiar, but Cora couldn't place her. She wasn't part of any royal court in the Enchanted Forest because Cora would have remembered her, but she must have been powerful if she was working this closely with Rumple. Besides, her expression yesterday after the Sheriff and Henry left was still burning in the back of her eyes.

Her thoughts strayed as she observed Mara walk through the streets of Storybrooke to a building called "Granny's." She watched through the window, from the shadows, as Mara talked with Jennifer Alexander. Cora couldn't help but admire how innocent Jennifer was. She was completely oblivious to the fact that there were other realms beside her own and things more powerful than she could imagine right in her own backyard. She couldn't help but chuckle at the world that was waiting for her.

. . .

"Are you nervous?" Cora asked, amused. She watched as Rumple sighed in annoyance and looked up at her. They were standing in his shop, waiting for Regina to come in and say that Miss Alexander had had some sort of epiphany, that she believed now. Though Cora was less threatening when she was this young she was still just as meddling and irritating.

"We need Miss Alexander to believe." Gold ground out.

"She will." Cora told him gently as she watched the trees sway in the morning breeze. "Give her time."

"We don't have time." Rumple pointed out. "Mara showed her magic, and she still refuses to accept the truth." Rumple exclaimed, curling his lip in frustration.

"Rumple, I have seen the way Mara and Jennifer interact. She can get her to believe if she truly wants to."

"Did you tell her that?"

"Of course. In fact, she might even be with her now."

. . .

That afternoon, when she was sure Henry would be home, Regina knocked on Emma's door with force that was probably unnecessary. She waited impatiently for the door to open and when it did Snow was standing there expectantly. "Do you need something, Regina?"

"I'm here to talk about Henry...and Miss Alexander." She admitted, her hands clasped firmly in front of her. Snow admitted that they were all just talking about what their next steps would be and let her in, quickly showing her to the Charming family dinner table where the four of them were already gathered.

It was partially Cora that had pushed her to come here but also her own desperation. It was the afternoon of the third day and Jennifer was in a state of perpetual denial on the existence of magic.

When Henry saw her from his spot at the table he jumped up, a look of urgency on his face. Emma quickly followed. "Mom! Good, you're here! We have to find Jenny! We have to show her magic!"

Her heart fluttered. He didn't realize how long she'd been waiting for him to want her. So, like a fool, she almost stumbled over her next words. "I...already have. Last night, but she was…" Regina curled her lip. "...rather intoxicated. She blamed it on the alcohol."

"Well, we have to show her again."

"Henry, hold on a minute. You're not leaving this house." Emma reminded him. It looked like Henry was about ready to cry in frustration at this point.

"Don't any of you realize how important this is? Jenny has to save Storybrooke! I can help!"

"And we'd let you if you hadn't betrayed Emma's trust." Charming jumped in. What about her trust, Regina couldn't help but wonder bitterly. Henry licked his lips and turned to Emma, angry but determined.

"You have to convince her. Jenny has to trust you. She won't believe if she doesn't trust you."

"And how do you propose Emma does that?" Snow asked.

"Jenny was mad at Emma when she first came to Storybrooke, right? Well, if she doesn't trust you then she's obviously not over it. You just have to make things right again."

"Kid, that's a lot easier said than done."

"Well, you have to try!" He turned to Regina. "Mom, Jenny likes you. She might listen to you. You should go, too." The comment threw Regina off guard, but she didn't have time to process it before everyone started talking at once, all having different ideas on how to approach Henry's suggestion. Their voices swirled in the air, and Regina nearly throttled all of them for the insufferable racket.

"Enough!" Regina finally yelled over the noise. She sighed, glaring at each of them. "Either we do this now or we lose Storybrooke."