A knock on her door startled Regina. She flinched, dropping the knife she was holding and the apple she had been in the middle of slicing. With a huff, she went to answer the door.

"Ms. Swan, what exactly do you think you're doing here?"

Emma stood on her doorstep, looking disheveled and completely exhausted. As if summoned by the sound of his birth mother's name, Henry came running down the stairs to greet her.

"Hey, Emma!"

"Oh, hi, kid," said Emma. "Look, I don't have time to hang out right now. I need to talk to your mother."

Regina sighed and stepped aside to let the other woman in. A few minutes later, the apple pie was forgotten and they sat in Regina's living room, talking over steaming mugs of hot chocolate with cinnamon.

"No cider today?" asked Emma.

Regina shook her head. "It's ten in the morning, Ms. Swan, and you're driving. I think not."

They sat in awkward silence for a while before Emma started talking abruptly. "You know, not all muggles are okay with magic. When I was a kid, there was this family, and I thought they might want to adopt me, but then I started showing signs of magic. They really freaked out. Sent me back and said I was an unholy devil child."

Regina nodded. "You told me about that a long time ago. Why bring it up now?"

"Because earlier today I was out on the job, tracking this criminal we've been trying to catch for ages. We think he's been kidnapping kids, Hogwarts age and younger. I didn't catch him, but I did save the two kids he was after. They're twins, Ava and Nicholas Zimmer. Apparently they got their Hogwarts letters a few days ago, and their muggle mother kicked them out of the house."

Regina stared at Emma in confusion. "Emma, that's horrible, and I can see why it's bothering you so much. But what exactly do you expect me to do?"

"Help me find their father."

"What?"

Emma pulled something out of the pocket of her red leather jacket and placed it on the coffee table. It was a compass, old and cracked, and instead of pointing north, the needle pointed east, into the morning sun.

"It's enchanted," said Regina.

"It's all they have left of their father," said Emma. "He was a wizard, I know it – otherwise why would he have had a magic compass? I just need to find him. But the people at the Auror office think I should just dump the kids into the system and move on."

"They might have a point," said Regina. "You're an auror, not a social worker. You have other responsibilities."

Emma sighed. "I thought you of all people would understand why I can't do that. Help me, Regina. Please. Help me find their father."

She set her mug of hot chocolate back down on the table and looked at Regina with what could only be described as a sad puppy face. For a moment, Regina hesitated. Then she shook her head.

"No. I can't."

"What?" Emma looked as shocked and betrayed in that moment as she had all those years ago when Regina had confessed to brewing the Draught of the Living Death and using it on her step-daughter. But instead of pulling out their wands and throwing themselves into a heated battle, they just stared at each other.

"I'm not going to stop you," said Regina. "Go find their father if you really want to."

"But you're not going to help me?"

Regina shook her head. Emma stood up, looking at her with resentful eyes, and stalked away. A moment later, the door slammed. Henry, who stood in the doorway, watching, looked at her with the same disappointed expression he had worn the past few weeks.

"Why didn't you help her?" he demanded.

"Henry …"

"She's just trying to do something good, and you wouldn't help her."

"Oh, sweetheart, it's not that simple," said Regina.

"Yes it is!" he shouted. "You're the Evil Queen!"

Holding back tears, he turned and ran up the stairs. Regina was left with a slammed door, two mugs of cold hot chocolate, and an unfinished apple pie that she knew no one else would dare to eat.

Ava and Nicholas Zimmer's dad was hard to find, and even more difficult to convince. "They're Hogwarts age now, anyway," he had said. "They'll have a home, and a better one than I can give them." But Emma had opened up about her own childhood, and reluctantly, their father – a squib from a family of wizards, who lived in the muggle world and worked as a mechanic – agreed to take the kids, during the summer vacation at least.

Mission accomplished, no thanks to Regina Mills.

So why was it that Emma found herself sitting in a muggle bar a few blocks away from Storybrooke Avenue, taking a swig of beer and trying not to think about her ex? She certainly wasn't hoping to run into her. That wasn't it at all.

"Hey," said a familiar voice. She looked up and saw Regina, totally overdressed for the place in one of her sensible pantsuits, sliding into the seat beside her.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked.

"I could ask the same, but I think we both know the answer to that," said Regina. "I saw your car parked outside. Speaking of which, you're going to need a ride home."

Emma laughed. "Don't be silly, I can just apparate."

"Drunk?" said Regina. "I don't think so. I'll drive you."

Emma complained, but after all, hadn't she been practically longing to run into Regina when she came here? So she let Regina take the wheel and sat in the passenger seat of the other woman's Mercedes Benz, watching her drive.

"Are you just going to stare at me all night?" Regina asked.

"Right. Sorry."

"Look, Emma, about earlier …" said Regina.

"Don't."

"Emma …"

"You don't have to apologize. I know we're not friends. I shouldn't have come to you with my problems, you didn't have any reason to help me, but I hoped …"

"Just shut up and listen!" Regina snapped. Startled, Emma stopped talking and stared at her. "I told you no because I was scared. I couldn't … Emma, the terms of my sentence were clear. I can never use magic or enter the magical world again. Being in contact with you is risky enough, but going off to help find the wizard father of two Hogwarts first-years might have led right into a wizarding community. You know what the stakes are for me. I just couldn't take the risk. I'm sorry."

Emma's mouth hung open. Realization dawned in her eyes. "I … I didn't even think about that. Regina, I'm the one who should be sorry. I should have realized."

Regina shrugged. "I shouldn't have expected you to."

When they got to Emma's flat in London, Regina walked her up to the door. To her surprise, Emma turned and pulled her into a kiss. Regina stood there in shock for a moment, but then she pushed her away.

"You don't want this?" Emma asked, with the sad puppy look returning.

"You're drunk," said Regina. "You won't want this tomorrow morning. Now go get some sleep. I need to get home to Henry."

Emma nodded sullenly and turned to close her door.

"Oh, and Emma?"

"Yes?"

"You'll have to come back to get your car tomorrow."

"Yeah, I guess I will."

"If you want, you're welcome to stop by my house. I made an apple pie."

It was a dangerous olive branch, not least because no sane person would accept an apple from Regina Mills. She waited nervously, expecting to be turned down. But Emma smiled.

"We'll see," she said. "Thank you for getting me home."

It wasn't a yes, but it wasn't a no, either. As she got back in her car and started her drive home, Regina smiled to herself. She knew that hope was dangerous, but maybe – just maybe – she didn't have to be alone.