At the North Pole

"Why are we here? Emma asks the older woman the moment they enter the large hall.

"We're waiting for Prizzy to bring us the things you'll need for tonight." Mrs. Claus tells her.

"I just thought that I needed the coat." The blonde says confused. "And Prizzy?"

"That's his name." the woman in front of her says and Emma can't help but chuckle.

"I'm sorry, it's just that in Storybrooke we also have some dwarves that are named like that."

"I've heard of this Storybrooke." Mrs. Claus says whimsically. "A rather interesting town."

"Interesting falls short." The blonde agrees.

"And this Regina woman you mentioned…" Mrs. Claus tells her knowingly. "Does she live in Storybrooke as well?"

"She does." Emma blushes softly.

Already talking about Regina, that didn't take long.

"Then why would she want to kill you?"

"She doesn't want to kill me." Emma says embarrassedly. "At least not in the literal sense." She smiles at the older woman. "In fact, if I know her as much as I do, she´s probably trying to find a way to bring me back."

"So you two are close?"

"As close as two people can be." the blonde smiles warmly. "We share a son."

"Henry Mills, 13 years old." Mrs. Claus smiles cheekily. "It is our job to know all the children of the world dear."

"And I can see you take that job very seriously." Emma says warmly. "But yes, if there's one thing Regina and I have in common is our love for Henry. How he will always come first."

"And that's all?" she gives the younger woman a knowing wink. "I may not be as young as I once used to dear, but I can see how your eyes shine when you speak her name."

Emma blushes and looks down.

"I think I love her." She admits softly to the older woman in front of her. "I've had feelings for her for a very long time."

(Flashback)

"Why did you do that?" is the first thing Regina asks her once they get inside the Manor.

"Do what?" Emma answers her cheekily.

"Defend me." The brunette whispers to her.

"Because Whale was wrong. You're no longer the Evil Queen. You deserve this second chance."

"Not many people believe that."

"But the people that matter do." The blonde tells her vehemently. "My parents, Henry and I." she smiles warmly. "We all want you to be happy."

"I don't know if I can be happy." Regina confesses to her. "Gold once told me that villains don't get happy endings."

"Then it's a good thing that you're not a villain anymore." Emma smiles warmly at her. "You're just Regina, Henry's mother and my friend."

"You're also my friend, Emma." The brunette gets close to her and grabs her hand softly. "In fact, apart from Henry, no one has ever fought or believed in me as much as you do." She admits shyly. "I don't want to disappoint you."

"You will not." She promises the older woman. "Just be yourself. Try to be happy. That's all I want for you."

"I'll try." Regina smiles and gives her their first hug.

Emma knows right away that all she wants is to make Henry and Regina happy. They're all that matter.

(End of Flashback)

"And does she know about your feelings dear?"

"I don't think so. But even if she did it doesn't matter because she doesn't feel the same."

"And how can you be so certain of that?"

"Well because she's magnificent. And I'm just me." Emma says simply.

"Darling, if there's one thing I'm certain of is that you're no mere human. And I can sense extraordinary inside of you, Emma Swan."

Somewhere in the North Pole

"We made it Mom!" is the first thing Henry tells her once they land in some sort of hallway.

"It seems we did." Regina agrees and uses her magic to create some sweaters for them. Luckily it worked.

"So this is the North Pole." The young boy starts saying.

"Not what you were expecting?" Regina smirks knowingly at him.

"I mean where are the elves, the reindeers and snowmen?"

"You better Henry than to expect stories from movies or books to be similar to reality." The brunette chuckles.

"Well, it would have been nice if this time it did." Henry murmurs bitterly.

"Stop pouting Henry and let's go. We came here with one objective and that was to find your mother." Regina hurries him forward and both start walking.

"Why does this place look like some sort of aquarium?" the young boy asks.

"Well, I assume they need immense amounts of heat in order to keep the cold at bay." She points towards one of the windows where they can see it's clearly snowing. "Imagine being in a place like this without heat."

"I get it." Henry trembles. "Chilly." He continues walking but stops when he hears something. "Did you hear that?"

"I did." the witch agrees with her son and immediately both run towards the noise.

"Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight. Walking in a winter wonderland."

"Is that Winter Wonderland?" Henry asks her confused and before Regina can answer him they both find what was making the noise. "Is that…" he simply says and the brunette can only nod in agreement.

"He'll say are you married? We'll say no man. But you can do the job when you're in town." they both see an elf dancing to the beat of the song.

"A real elf!" Henry says loudly and this makes the elf stop dancing.

"More people?!" he exclaims while turning off the stereo. "Are you kidding?"

"What do you mean more people? Has another one come through here?" Regina asks him quickly. "A blonde, tall with green eyes and freckles?"

"A blonde did come through here." He says carefully. "She went that way once she decided to start running like a crazy banshee."

"That sounds like Emma mom!" Henry tells her excitedly. "We're getting closer."

"It seems that we are." Regina agrees and smiles softly at the elf. "Thank you, for your help."

"No problem." He grumbles. "Now, is anyone else coming behind you or can I finally continue dancing?"

"No one behind us." The young boy promises. "Now let's go mom." He pushes her out of the room and starts walking to the left. "A real elf mom, can you believe that?!"

"All I can believe is that Emma could be the only person capable of placing herself in a situation as bizarre as this one." Regina murmurs.

"I know you care about her." He sing-songs to her and before she can refuse he interrupts her. "I can see it in your eyes."

Regina closes her eyes but realizes she can't lie to her son. She promised not to.

"Of course I care about her Henry." The brunette smiles sadly. "She's the only person, apart from you, that has always believed in me and wanted what was best for us."

(Flashback)

"She must pay for her crimes!" Whale says loudly in one of the council sessions.

"Regina has redeemed herself. She has saved this town many times and I can even count the number of times she has saved your ass." Emma says angrily to him.

"We all know she has done it because of her son. But that doesn't mean that we can allow her to roam free across town. Who's to say someone won't kidnap the child one day and make her revert to her old ways?"

"Is that something you have thought about Whale?" the brunette witch asks quietly. "A plan in order to test your theory?"

Snow, Charming and Emma give the man menacing looks.

"I would never endanger a child." He raises his hands.

"Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"That's ironic coming from the Evil Queen." He sneers at her.

"No, that's coming from a woman who once believed your lies. One that trusted you." Regina says bitterly.

"What are you talking about?" Emma asks her softly and then looks at Whale. "What is she talking about?"

"That happened a long time ago. I was another man." Whale murmurs.

"What the dear doctor is afraid to tell you is how he made me believe that he could bring my beloved back to life."

"Daniel?" Snow asks sadly. "When was this?"

"A couple of months after I married your father." She can't help to say father bitterly. "Rumpelstiltskin introduced him to me and he offered to bring my beloved back if I gave him a heart. At that time I refused to use magic, so I stole one from my mother's vault."

"And it didn't' work…" Emma whispers sadly.

"I thought it didn't." Regina sneers at the man in front of her. "Turns out that he never tried. That he stole the heart I gave him and used it for his own experiments." She then looks at Emma. "It was an alliance done between him and the Dark One. He needed me broken, and the way he knew that would happen was if I accepted Daniel's death."

"And you still claim that she can cause us harm?" the blonde asks bitterly to Whale. "Even if your presence in this table is testament enough to the fact that Regina is doing her best to redeem herself from her past?" she chuckles darkly. "You bastard."

"I never killed people! I didn't bring us to this place."

"No, you were too much of a coward to get your own hands dirty. Instead, you manipulated and used others. Kinda sounds similar to another person I know." Emma says to him darkly.

"You are just one person in this table." Whale spits bitterly. "I'm sure the other members agree with me." He says and notices that no one is. "Are you all crazy?!"

"Regina is paying for her past crimes." Snow tells him determinedly. "And she has been doing her best to make-up for past mistakes. Storybrooke is a place for new beginnings, and the crimes done in the Enchanted Forest won't be used to trial a person. Not here."

Whale stares at all the people in the table and gives Regina one more bitter look before standing up.

"Then I guess that forces me to step down from the council. Find another head of the hospital."

"There are many suitable candidates that are willing to." Charming informs him. "Thank you, for your honesty."

"I will make you pay for this." Whale threatens Regina and before she can say anything Emma stands up as well.

"I did not just hear you threaten the Mayor." She tells him calmly. "And, if for some reason you think that you can try to do anything to Regina or our son I will find you." She promises him. "And unlike Regina, I won't be as merciful as she has been."

(End of Flashback)

"So you love her then?" Henry asks her softly.

"Your mother is a very charming person." She smiles warmly. "How could I not love her?"

"Then tell her!"

"She doesn't feel what I feel."

"And how would you know that?" Henry asks obviously.

"Because she's spectacular and I'm just me."

"Mom, Emma is crazy about you. Probably just as crazy as you are about her." He smiles happily to her. "And I'll prove it to you once we find her." He promises her and pushes her forward.