Previously on Sacrifice:

Cora nodded slowly and let Regina go. She watched as the doors shut behind her daughter. "I love you too." She whispered to herself.
Perhaps Regina was right. Power would mean nothing if she couldn't have her daughter.

Six weeks later Regina was slowly moving around the relatively big apartment. Her right hand was carefully pressed against her chest, although she put little pressure on it. Her wound still hurt despite all the physical therapy and she had given up on hoping the scar would go away completely. Her physical therapist insisted that she was healing very well and soon enough it wouldn't hurt to move anymore, but Regina was bored out of her mind staying in the apartment. She wanted the pain to go away so she could do something other than read and watch tv as her mother worried over her. As she slowly reached in a cabinet she wished, not for the first time, that they had stayed in Storybrooke. She could have easily taken away the pain if she had her magic. But when her gaze settled on a framed picture of Henry, she knew she had made the right choice.

When she had woken up after surgery, her mother was so relieved. Cora had been so sure that she had killed her daughter. It wasn't difficult for Regina and Neal to convince her to move to Boston. So when Regina was finally released from the hospital, they packed up their things and Neal drove them to their new home. Both of the women were nervous to be living without magic, but they each wanted to do better for their child. Regina stopped using magic as Henry wanted and Cora stopped trying to control her daughter's life. There were still times they fought, but Regina was happy that she finally had a relatively normal relationship with her mother.

Regina checked the time above the stove before sighing. Henry was supposed to be here soon and the thought that she was finally seeing her son for the first time in almost two months made her more restless than usual. She talked to him almost everyday since they moved to Boston, but it wasn't the same as seeing him. Their relationship had also improved greatly for the first time since Snow White gave him the fairy tale book. Henry was starting to understand that not everything was black and white, good and evil.

Neal usually called to check up on her and share the latest news of Storybrooke. It was him that suggested bringing Henry down for the weekend and Regina had been quick to agree. She was happy that Neal had been so supportive of her continuing her relationship with Henry and wondered how he could possibly be related to Rumpelstiltskin. From what he told her during their phone conversations, his father had once been a kind man. Regina had scoffed at that, but Neal was quick to point out that she hadn't been born the Evil Queen just as his father had not been born the Dark One. She realized that he was right and applied the same logic to her mother. It helped her to see eye-to-eye with Cora. Neal almost always asked how things were going with her mother and she would end up asking if he had forgiven his father yet. Their common backgrounds allowed them to talk easily and Regina found herself with a new friend, much to Emma Swan's dismay.

According to Neal, the blonde had steadfastly tried to ignore him but Regina's near-death made her rethink some things. She was still reluctant to open herself to him, but he figured that Henry's "secret" plans to get them together would eventually convince her. Regina had laughed at Neal's description of Henry's new operation that usually involved him and Emma stuck somewhere together for a few hours. The last time, he convinced Ruby to 'accidently' lock Emma and Neal in a jail cell and lose the key for the night. Of course, they saw right through it but decided not to say anything to Henry.

Regina poured herself some coffee as she heard her mother's voice outside the door. She put the cup down and moved towards the door to see if she could figure out who she was talking to. She jumped back in surprise as the door opened and her mother walked through, followed closely by their neighbor, Edward. They both carried a few bags of groceries and Regina moved out of their way.

"Regina, you remember Edward, right?" Cora asked as they set the bags on the counter.

"Of course. How are you?" Regina gave him a sweet smile. She knew who he was because he seemed to have a sweet spot for her mother. He always offered to call her a cab or help with groceries. Regina found it quite amusing to watch him try to flirt with her mother because he would lose his nerve before asking her out for drinks every time.

"I'm doing quite well. How are you doing?" He responded, echoing her smile.

They had agreed to tell anyone that asked that Regina had been stabbed near her old apartment, so she moved in with her mother until she could find a safer neighborhood to live in. Like everyone else they had met, Edward didn't know the true story.

"Better, thank you."

"Fantastic." He grinned before turning to Cora. "Well, I should head back to my apartment..."

Regina covered her grin. From here, Cora would walk him to the door and he would start to ask her out but end up quickly bidding her a good day and disappearing into his apartment. She bit her lip as the typical scene played out. He stuttered his goodbyes and Regina waved before he went into his apartment.

Cora shut the door and walked over to where Regina stood. She started to unpack the groceries.

"Honestly, Mother. You must put him out of his misery and ask him out yourself."

Cora gave her a look. "Edward isn't interested in me like that, dear. He is being a gentleman."

Regina rolled her eyes. "You keep telling yourself that." She checked the time again. "They should be here soon. Neal said that Emma decided to come with them. Apparently she needs a break from the small town scene."

"Alright. I'll start dinner."

The two quietly worked together until the doorbell rang. Regina nervously smoothed down her hair before opening the door.

"Mom!" Henry yelled before wrapping his arms around her. Regina returned his hug, despite the pain.

She looked up to see Neal and Emma. Henry let her go and moved to explore the apartment. He cautiously said hi to Cora and disappeared into the other room.

Neal gave Regina a hug. "Hey. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing just fine, thanks." Regina responded before pulling away. She waved at Emma, who looked quite uncomfortable. "Miss Swan. Thank you guys for bringing Henry here. Come on in."

Neal and Emma walked into the apartment and looked around. The room was decorated in blacks and greys with a bit of red. The pattern was similar to the one Regina had in her mayoral office.

Emma laughed. "Looks like you kept your interior designer. Did your castle look like this too?"

Regina raised her eyebrow. "There was much less color in my castle and more mirrors." She answered dryly before showing them to the kitchen.

Cora turned to look at them and smiled. "Neal, Emma. How are you?"

"Fine." Neal answered for them. Emma had already admitted that she felt weird about being around Cora. Even though Regina said that her mom was changing, Emma wasn't sure if she could be good. She agreed to come on this trip so she could be close to Henry and make sure Cora didn't try anything. Although she was quite sure Regina would never allow Henry to be hurt. Any doubts Emma had about Regina's love for her son vanished the moment she stepped in front of Cora's dagger.

"Good. Dinner should be ready soon. Please, have a seat while we finish up."

Emma and Neal followed Cora's suggestion by sitting at the small island in the middle of the kitchen. They exchanged a few stories about their trip as Regina and Cora put the finishing touches on the dinner. Henry came back in the kitchen a few minutes later holding a few comic books.
"Mom, you got me the new comics I wanted?!"

Regina turned around and gave him a smile. "Of course, dear. Boston has a few awesome comic book stores. Maybe we can take a trip to one tomorrow."

Henry's eyes lit up and shook his head excitedly. "That would be awesome!"

The adults chuckled at Henry's enthusiasm. He plopped down on the couch in the living room to start reading his new comics. Neal watched him for a moment before turning to study Regina.

"You look good. How is your recovery going?"

"Slow. But it's getting better. The doctor said it would be a few months before I feel normal again." The frustration was clear on Regina's face.

"Are you sure you are okay with taking Henry for the weekend?" Emma asked.

"Absolutely." Regina said firmly. There was no way she was going to miss a chance to be with her son, pain or no pain.

"When are you guys coming back to Storybrooke?" Neal asked.

Regina exchanged a glance with her mother before shrugging. "We still have some things to work out. Besides, it might be only me that returns to Storybrooke." She said teasingly.

Cora rolled her eyes. Emma and Neal looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Mother has an admirer." Regina answered Neal's question with a laugh.

Emma's eyebrows shot up. "An admirer?"

"He's just a nice neighbor. He doesn't like me." Cora glared at Regina for bringing it up.

"He certainly does. He tries to ask her out almost every day, but then chickens out. He must be intimidated."

Neal laughed as Emma looked disbelieving. Neal looked at Cora and smiled. "Well you should ask him out yourself."

"That's what I said! Put the poor guy out of his misery!" Regina said as she pulled out a bottle of red wine. She offered some to her guests, who both nodded yes so she poured four glasses.

Cora took her glass from her daughter and shook her head. "I'm not 'asking him out.'"

"Why don't we ask him to join us for dinner?" Emma suggested before taking a sip of her wine.

Regina's eyes sparkled as she put her glass down. She moved to the door, but Cora grabbed her hand. "Don't even think about it, my love."
"Mother, it will be fun."

"But we will have to explain everything to him." She gestured to their guests. Regina realized she was right, Edward would question why Regina left her son with his biological parents after raising him for eleven years.

She nodded slowly. "Fine. But I am inviting him over for drinks next week if you don't."

Cora reluctantly agreed and they moved back to the island. Neal and Emma tried not to laugh at the excited look Cora was clearly trying to hide, but in the end it was Regina who burst into laughter.

The dinner went by rather well. There were many stories shared and jokes told. Neal told them stories about being in Neverland while Regina and Cora took turns talking about their experience in Boston. At Henry's request, Emma told them about the places she had been before Storybrooke. There was an unspoken agreement to not talked about the darkness in any of their pasts, so the talk was kept light.

It was dark outside by the time Neal and Emma stood to head to their hotel for the night. Henry had gone to bed over an hour before while the adults finished the wine. Their conversation had turned more serious and they discussed a possible timeline for Regina and Cora's return to Storybrooke. In the end, they decided it didn't matter when they would return as long as Henry could continue to visit. Regina and Cora thanked Neal and Emma for coming before they left.

Cora insisted on doing the cleanup so Regina didn't strain herself. She sat on the couch and relaxed for a moment as she thought about how well the day went. She was finally getting along with Emma, something Henry had wanted since day one. Henry was happy, and he was with her for the whole weekend. Her relationship with her mother was better than ever and she couldn't be more content.

Cora sat next to her and Regina leaned over to rest her head on her mother's shoulder. Cora brushed her hair out of her face. She was right; getting her mother away from magic was the best thing she could have done.

"I love you, Mother."

"I love you too, dear."

the end! thank you so much for reading this story!

xoxo

lyndsay