A/N: This chapter still falls solidly in the set-up category, but hopefully you'll appreciate the character development (however slight) and the divergence from the show's canon. Please R&R! I won't know what to change in future chapters if you don't tell me. (But please be nice. My ego is shamefully fragile.)

xxxxx

It had been two days since Henry left with David, and Regina was finding her apple tree a poor substitute for her son. She didn't even have the diversion of bureaucratic nonsense to pass the time since stepping down as mayor. Not that she otherwise minded losing the title. It's not like she particularly wanted to serve a community of people who hated her. She had been good at it though, and she would miss the strategy of politics. At the moment, though, her ousting just contributed to the unwelcome predicament of having too much time on her hands.

The quiet and the endless ticking of the clock were fraying her nerves. Inaction did not suit her. She needed a project. She needed a mission. She needed to get her son back.

Her mission was not that simple though. She couldn't just perform another legal kidnapping like when she reclaimed custody at the town meeting. No, she needed Henry to want to return to her. Master manipulator that she is, this was still no small task. Especially since she really didn't want to manipulate Henry; she wanted something longer-lasting. She wanted him to choose to love her.

How could she ever hope for his attention, let alone his love, with Emma Swan in the picture? She had tried eliminating her—that was a disaster. Even if she wasn't attempting this whole redemption concept, permanently removing Ms. Swan would only turn her into a martyr in Henry's eyes, making her even more of an obstacle in her absence than in her presence.

There was an odd thought. Maybe Emma Swan is less of a problem physically present in Storybrooke than she is missing in the Enchanted Forest. Physically present, she can make mistakes, be taken for granted, crumble under the parental pressure, and possibly even bolt from town in the dead of night under her own volition. Then, maybe Henry would notice that she, not Emma, was the mother that would always be there for him.

But he could never come to that realization while Emma was in the Enchanted Forest. As long as she was gone, she would be Savior Mom in Henry's eyes—his valiant birth mother who swooped in, slayed a dragon, and saved him and the rest of the town from the Evil Queen's curse.

Her path was clear. She had to rescue Emma Swan.

xxxxx

"Thank you for meeting me," Regina said as she slid into the booth at Granny's.

"Of course," David replied. "You said it was about Henry. Besides, you are too smart to try anything in the middle of the diner."

"Unless I wanted to kill everyone," she countered.

"True. But, if that were the case, you would have already done it," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Point taken." Despite the Prince's implication that she was capable of mass murder, she couldn't help but smile a bit. Maybe he wasn't the Dense Prince after all. It seemed he could be somewhat quick-witted. Hopefully that meant that this proposal of hers might not be as painful as she initially expected.

Ruby sauntered up to their booth, order pad in hand, but she turned an accusing eye toward David. "And just what is this about?" she demanded, indicating Regina's presence.

"I don't know yet, Ruby," David responded. "Why don't you give us a minute, and I'll let you know."

"Fine," she replied, though her expression indicated that she considered his fraternization with Regina anything but fine. "Drink orders?"

"Just water for me, please," Regina said.

"Same for me," David added.

"I'll be right back with that," Ruby said as she walked away. Great, she thought. Not only do I have to watch Snow's husband confer with the Evil Queen, but I'm not even going to get a decent tip. 'Just water.' Nice.

"Okay, Regina," David said. "Just what is this about?"

"I want to help you get Snow and Emma back." There. She said it. She even said each of their names without visibly flinching. It was a good start.

David looked incredulous. "Just like that?" he asked. "You just woke up this morning and decided to help bring back the two people you hate most?"

"No," Regina responded with exaggerated patience. "Not just like that. And I don't hate them," she added in a quiet voice. She pushed on before he could latch onto that statement. "I told Henry I want to redeem myself. Helping bring back Snow and Ms. Swan seems like a logical place to start."

He hadn't gotten up to leave, so that was promising, but she could see that he was still skeptical of her motives.

"I just want Henry to be happy," she said softly. Then, in a stronger voice, she continued, "And we both know that Henry won't be happy until Ms. Swan and Snow are back."

David could not deny the logic of her statement, but the obvious needed to be stated. "I would have to be a fool to trust you."

"I know," Regina replied with a mirthless smile. "But, you would also have to be a fool to think that you don't need my help." Some of the tension released from her shoulders. This was the natural order of things. People were supposed to be at a disadvantage to her. She was not supposed to be in a greasy spoon diner asking for the trust of a man who had once thrown a sword at her heart.

"What do you mean?" David asked, as Ruby set their waters on the table.

"Are you ready to order?" It sounded like David and Regina were finally getting to the good stuff, Ruby thought. I might as well interrupt them.

"Grilled chicken and spinach salad with raspberry balsamic, please," Regina said, perfectly happy to keep David waiting for her reply.

"Burger with a side of onion rings, please, Ruby."

"Coming right up," Ruby told them as she collected their menus and went to put the order in.

"Well?" David asked.

"You don't seriously believe that you have any hope of retrieving your family without magic, do you?" The word "family" left a sour taste on her tongue, but it seemed to hit its mark with the Prince, who looked suddenly uncomfortable. His distaste with magic was no secret.

"You aren't the only one with magic," he protested.

"No, I'm not," Regina acknowledged. "But I'm still your best choice."

The skepticism was back on the Prince's face in full force.

She continued, "Let's examine your other options. You could enlist the help of Rumpelstiltskin. He's very powerful and is probably capable of whatever magical task it is that you require," she explained lightly. "Of course, he is the one that created this curse in the first place and made sure he had his magic back when it broke, but I'm sure you can overlook that. After all, he never has his own agenda," she paused in her speech to allow the absurdity of her last statement to sink in.

Satisfied that she had eliminated Rumpelstiltskin as a magical resource for David, she continued, "Your next logical choice would be The Blue Fairy, correct?" He reluctantly nodded, clearly not looking forward to hearing whatever she had to say about someone he respected and trusted as much as the fairy.

"My best guess is that you've already sought her help and that she couldn't, or wouldn't, help you." Regina saw the truth of her assumption as David broke eye contact and looked down at his hands. "True, she was very powerful in our land, and she did help you save Emma from the curse, but," she paused to make sure she had his attention, "Not only do you not know whether her magical abilities are up to the task outside of the Enchanted Forest, you do not even know what her goals are."

"Her goals are the same as mine," David insisted. He was not just going to sit here and let Regina slander his friend and ally.

"Oh really?" Regina laughed. It was not a comforting sound. "Your goals are always the same, are they?" The fear was back in his eyes. Good. "Then why did she tell you and Snow that the wardrobe could only transport one person when it could actually transport two? Why did she lie, when otherwise one of you could have gone through the wardrobe with Emma and prevented her from spending the first twenty-eight years of her life alone?"

"No," David shook his head fiercely. "This can't be true," he denied. "You're lying. You are lying. You just want to manipulate me so that you can weasel your way back into Henry's life. Well, it isn't going to work. So give it up."

"I don't expect you to believe me. We've established that you would have to be dim-witted to trust me, but I do expect you to seek another source in an attempt to discredit my story. In the process, of course, you will discover that I am, in fact, speaking the truth, but of course you don't believe that right now. I expect you to investigate what I am telling you, because to trust the wrong person, especially if that person is The Blue Fairy, could endanger your wife and daughter." Those familial words again. They made her want to smack her lips together to get rid of the bitter taste in her mouth. Once again, though, exploiting his family relationships played him back into her hands.

"Who could I find to corroborate your story?" David couldn't believe he was even acknowledging the possibility that she could be telling the truth. "If she did such a thing, I can't expect The Blue Fairy to just confess."

"Pinocchio." Regina said.

"Pinocchio?"

"The boy who went through the wardrobe before your daughter. I believe you know him as August."

"August?" David couldn't believe it. August was Pinocchio? And he had gone through the wardrobe? Though, it did start to make some sense. Of course Gepetto would want to save his son. But that would mean that Regina was telling the truth, and the Blue Fairy had betrayed them. His head was starting to hurt. "Where do I find him?"

"I can't do all the work for you," Regina replied sarcastically. "You're the Acting Sheriff. I'm sure you can figure it out." While she was glad David was listening to her, she was getting tired of having to plead her case to someone who would never trust her.

"How do you know all of this?" David asked.

Ah, she thought. There's that lack of trust again. "I have my ways, David. And you certainly can't expect me to reveal them to you. Particularly when you have not even agreed to work with me." Yet, she thought.

David acknowledged the truth of her statement with a nod and was grateful when Ruby appeared with their food. They ate in, if it was not a companionable silence, it was also not an awkward one. Despite all of his history with the Evil Queen, David couldn't help but feel that she might be behaving honestly this time. Regina was perfectly happy to give David time to organize his thoughts. She had made her case well and was confident that he would allow her to help retrieve Snow and Emma. Then she would be one step closer to getting her son back. And she had not gotten this far in life without knowing the proper time to exhibit patience.

After completing their meals in silence, Ruby returned to clear the table.

"Granny outdid herself on the grill today," Regina said. "The chicken was fantastic." See, she could be nice. Henry would be so proud. And, if the look of confusion on Ruby's face at receiving the compliment was also entertaining, that was hardly Regina's fault.

"Thanks," Ruby said. "I'll be sure to pass that along." And with a look at David that clearly demanded to know what the heck was going on, Ruby stacked their plates and returned to the kitchen.

David turned his attention to Regina, her amusement at Ruby's discomfort not lost on him. He let it go, for now. "Rumpelstiltskin is not trustworthy, and maybe The Blue Fairy isn't either," he summarized. "But that still doesn't mean I should trust you."

Despite the fact that he was making her work harder, her respect for the Charming Prince increased with his direct and accurate assessment of the state of affairs. "No, it doesn't," she agreed. Her quick agreement threw him off-balance, and she continued before he could regain it. "But you still should. You know what my agenda is. My agenda is Henry. That's all. That is the beginning and the end of my motivation. To see Henry safe and happy."

"And to get him back," David interjected. An Evil Queen with pure intentions was outside the realm of his experience.

Regina laughed mirthlessly. "I would love to get my son back," she admitted. "But I hardly think it is possible at this point." She refused to acknowledge the truth of her words. It had to be possible. She had to be able to get Henry back. She couldn't bear the alternative. "The best I can hope for, at this point, is to give him back his other family." The words were strangling her. "And maybe get him to stop hating me," she looked down at her hands. She hadn't meant to reveal so much. She hated that she had. Pity from this man would be intolerable.

"He doesn't hate you," David reached across the table and grasped her hand. "He's just confused and scared. It's not every day you wake up and realize that your mother is the Evil Queen of Fairy-tale Fame and your grandmother is Snow White." He smiled. "Henry may have been sure that the curse was real and that he had it all figured out from his book, but there is no way he was fully prepared for it to be true. He's still in shock." What was he doing? Comforting Regina, The Evil Queen? Had he lost his mind? They were mortal enemies for goodness's sake. It must be the Charming in him, he thought. Just could not resist aiding a damsel in distress, however dangerous that damsel might turn out to be. At the look of hope that temporarily suffused her face, however, he felt something warm inside his heart. But he pushed it aside to consider at another time. He had a proposal of alliance on his table that needed to be addressed.

"Regina," David began, withdrawing his hand, "I believe you love Henry. But it is common knowledge that you want both Snow and Emma dead."

"I don't want them dead," she interrupted. The truth of her words once again surprised her. How many times had she wished that Snow White was gone from her existence? And it was only days ago that she had attempted to murder Emma. How odd that she shouldn't want them dead.

Her surprise must have shown on her face, because David looked mildly amused. "You look disgusted with yourself for your lack of homicidal intentions," he told her, chuckling at the absurdity of the situation.

She glared at him, though without her usual level of malice. She didn't appreciate having her rocky road to redemption mocked so openly. "It's new for me, okay?" She snapped at him, embarrassed. This personal growth thing was humiliating.

"Well, it's good new," David replied.

"That's something, I suppose," Regina grumbled. She still couldn't believe she didn't want Snow and Emma dead. What was happening to her? The last time she saved Snow's life, it had ruined hers. Joining up with the good guys never ended well for her. She couldn't help but wonder if working with Charming was, indeed, against her better judgment. But if it could help her get her son back . . . .

"It is," David assured her. "Well, let's get started then," he leaned forward over the table. "Just how do you propose we get my wife and daughter back?"

xxxxx

A/N: That's it for the first installment. I hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know what you think!