Emma rolled over and looked at the date. Her eyes widened before she looked over her shoulder to make sure that Regina was still asleep. Getting up quietly, Emma quickly got dressed before writing a note and leaving the house.

Today was June 3rd. The day that Emma dreaded all year long. She got into her bug and drove towards the town line. She pulled over onto the side of the road before getting out and started to walk through the forest.

Emma hoped that Regina would understand why she had to go. The note had been pretty clear. This was a tough day for her, and she wanted to be alone. Unfortunately, Regina was a stubborn woman, and would probably search for her as she had every year.

Emma kept walking through the forest. She figured that if she walked long enough, she would eventually find a hiding place that Regina would probably never look. Taking a deep breath, Emma tried not to think about Max. Things would only get worse.

Regina rolled over and immediately woke up as she felt Emma's empty side of the bed. She looked at the date on the clock before cursing and getting up. Emma had left her a note, but she didn't need to read it. It said the same thing every year.

"Henry!" Regina called. Henry opened the door of his room and sleepily looked out. "Get dressed please. You're going to spend the day with Snow and David."

"Not that I mind, but why?" Henry asked. Regina pointed at the date on the clock before hurriedly getting dressed.

"She's gone?" Henry whined. He didn't understand why Emma always disappeared on this day. It was concerning.

"Just like every other year," Regina said through gritted teeth. She was frustrated with herself that she hadn't remembered that today was the "disappearing day".

"It'll be fine," Henry said. "You always manage to find her." Regina smiled at him before pushing him out of the door to go get dressed.

After dropping Henry off with Snow and David, Regina had some serious searching to do. Emma had warned Regina before that if Regina used a locator spell to find her, she would knock her out with magic on sight. Regina wouldn't put it past her.

The first place that Regina thought to look was the town line. Emma would never hide in town, since there would be too many people. The town line was where she could sit and think about her life, while having an option to run.

As she pulled up to the town line, Regina smiled as she saw Emma's bug parked on the side of the road. "Gotcha," she whispered.

She parked her car before getting out and heading into the forest. There were a million places that Emma could be hiding, but if Regina knew her like she thought she did, Emma would be sitting in a tree somewhere.

"Emma?" Regina called. "Where are you?" She was met with silence. Either Emma was deeper in the forest, or she wasn't interested in responding to Regina.

"Emma please answer me," Regina pleaded. "I just want to talk." She walked while looking up into the trees. Why were there so many trees in a forest?

Finally, Regina saw her. She was sitting on a branch, staring blankly into space. Regina started climbing the tree, and was soon sitting next to her on the branch. For a queen, Regina did have good climbing skills.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked.

"I'm here to help," Regina replied. "You've told me the story about Max. It's not your fault."

"How would you know?" Emma hissed. "I was supposed to be watching him! I was supposed to be the responsible one. My foster parents trusted me to watch Max and the other little kids while they played outside. Instead, I was more interested in reading my book. He ran out into the street and was killed. On my watch. It IS my fault."

Regina shook her head and grabbed Emma's hand. "Yes, you were supposed to be watching him. Yes, he ran out into the street and was killed. But you weren't the one driving the car. And your foster parents shouldn't have let him play outside with only you watching if he was so little. You need to move on. You can't keep doing this every year."

"It's my tribute to him," Emma said. "By sitting alone, it gives me a chance to think about what I did."

"And do this?" Regina asked, tracing her finger over the scars on the underside of Emma's arm. Emma tensed and went to pull away, but Regina tightened her grip.

"You can't keep running away every June 3rd," Regina said. "You have a family that loves you, and I'm sure that Max would want you to move on."

"It has been 20 years," Emma mumbled. "I guess I should let him go."

Regina squeezed her hand again. "Home?" she asked.

Emma smiled. She loved hearing that word. She nodded.

"Home."