This chapter is for Samantha S Dracul with the prompt: "You could make a story in which the Evil Queen and Regina decide to rejoin, but if they figure out how to do it, they must live together with Emma and the children."

Swan-Mills family kiddos will be mentioned in this chapter but not physically in it.

"I think I know how to rejoin with the Evil Queen," Regina said. "And I want to do it."

"What?" Emma asked. "No way are you rejoining with her."

"I have no choice," Regina said. "She's managed to get herself out of snake form, and now all she'll do is go back to wreaking havoc on the town. I can't let that happen. I need to stop her while I still can."

"How are you even going to do that?" Emma asked. "I'm sure Jekyll would have loved to rejoin with Hyde and end his reign of terror but they never did."

"That's because Jekyll didn't know what he was doing in the first place," Regina said. "He was experimenting and made the first serum by accident."

"Again, how do you plan on getting her back inside you?" Emma asked.

"It's very experimental," Regina said. "But I'm thinking that if I make the same serum and drink it again, we should go back to being one body."

Emma bit her lip. "Are you sure that this is a good idea?"

"No," Regina admitted. "But I have no choice. It's my fault that she's destructing the town, and I need to stop her."

"There's other ways to stop her then rejoining with her," Emma argued. "Think about the three kids upstairs-"

"I am thinking of them, and that's why I have to do this," Regina interrupted. "I can't sleep at night for the fear that she's going to come and take one of them. If she's with me, she can't do anything to hurt any of us."

"But it's so risky," Emma said. "What if she just tries to kill you from the inside?"

"Once we rejoin, the only thing that will change is that I'll start having the impulses to kill people again," Regina said. "Or take revenge. But it's the me now that will be in charge and keep her under control."

"I know that you need to do this," Emma said. "But is it worth it?"

"I let her out and now she's destroying everyone's happiness," Regina said. "This has been my problem since I first set her free."

Emma sighed. "Okay. I'll help you."

"How's it going?" Emma asked, walking into Regina's vault.

"I figured it out," Regina said, smiling triumphantly. "I just need to mix a few final things and then it's done."

"Do you need to be by her to rejoin?" Emma asked.

Regina nodded. "That's where you come in. I need you to use yourself and Henry as bait so I can drink the potion from the sidelines. If she knows what's happening, she'll just kill me. She'd rather die than be back inside me."

"Why Henry and I?" Emma asked.

"Because she knows that I would rather die than have anyone I love be hurt by her," Regina said. "And we can't use Ava and Lola, they won't understand. She'll take you and Henry and use you against me to stop me from stopping her."

"But you'll take the potion before she can do anything, right?" Emma asked.

"Of course," Regina said. "I would never let her do anything to you or Henry."

Regina held up the vial containing the serum and smiled. "Victory. Now let's go rejoin with her and get this over with."

"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Henry asked. "We're walking in the forest like we're live bait."

"We are live bait," Emma said. "We just have to keep walking until she shows up."

"And if she never shows up?" Henry asked.

Emma shrugged. "Then we go home and try again tomorrow."

Henry sighed and started kicking up rocks as they walked along. He just wanted to go home, not wander around being bait for an evil woman who wasn't his mother.

"You look deep in thought," the Evil Queen said, stepping out from behind a tree. "Be careful, thinking too hard could give you wrinkles."

"Stress also gives you wrinkles, and you've been causing plenty of stress," Henry countered.

The Evil Queen smiled. "You're getting better at your comebacks. I'm so proud."

"He is nothing like you, so stop right there," Emma said.

Regina listened as Emma and Henry kept the Evil Queen distracted. She pulled the top off of the vial containing the potion and stepped out from behind the tree she was hiding from. She had to get closer or this wouldn't work.

Stepping closer, Regina downed the potion. She shuddered as it passed completely through her, causing the Evil Queen to shudder as well. She spun around to face Regina, pure fury on her face. "What have you done?!"

"Fixed the problem that I first created," Regina said, stepping closer to her other half. "I never should have let you out, and now I'm fixing my mistake. For the town and for my children."

"You're going to regret this," the Evil Queen hissed.

Regina shrugged. "Maybe. But you've been on my back about being weak, and this is being the opposite of weak. I don't want you back in me. But I have to. And that's being brave."

The Evil Queen screamed as she dissolved and was sucked back into Regina. Regina gasped and fell to the ground, clutching at her heart.

"Regina!" Emma shouted, running over and dropping to the ground beside her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Regina said. "This may sound odd, but I feel more like myself than I have since I let her out."

"She's not hurting you, right?" Henry asked.

"No," Regina said. "I'm just fine."

Emma studied her carefully. "Okay. Well, in that case, I think it's time we told the town that the Evil Queen's reign of terror has ended."

Regina smiled. "I like that idea."