Hello everyone! Here is the next chapter for you all. I am looking for some opinions. I am about to finish one of my other stories and I am thinking about starting another story. I have three ideas that I cannot decide from and was wondering if you would help me decide. My ideas are...I have an Evil Charming story idea in the form of Cinderella, An Outlaw Queen AU where Regina and Robin know one another from college, go their separate ways and come together years later only to find Regina is engaged to be married and Robin wants her back or I have a AU story that has been whizzing around my head for so so sooo long of a Regina raising Emma sort of story line going along the lines of the curse still but taking things in a different direction. I swear that idea has gone through my head since at least the second season of OUAT and I have yet to write the story haha! SO...yes please let me know what idea you would like to see next! :-)

Anyway enjoy this chapter.

It was the next morning and Cora had been a little nervous to see how Regina would be around her after the night before. Even though they had said sorry to one another and Regina had told her that she loved her she still wasn't sure how Regina would React towards her. But as Regina had come bounding into her bedroom and jumping on her bed shouting "Mommy wakey wakey! The sun is out!" Cora soon realised that her young daughter had forgotten all about their argument from the night before.

"I'm awake Regina." Cora laughed a little as she rolled onto her side. She tried to give herself a minute to fully waken but it seemed Regina had other ideas.

Regina leaned over and climbed onto Cora, a leg at either side of her and leaned down hugging Cora, her chin resting on her shoulder as she looked over at her mother. "You don't look awake mommy." Regina frowned. "You need to be up to be awake and you not up."

Cora laughed again. "I just need a minute to waken up fully dear." Regina sat up and she jumped off of Cora onto the bed beside her. She then shuffled into the duvet, bringing it up to cover her and she lay down beside Cora turning onto her side so that she was looking at her mother. She gave her a big smile which Cora gladly returned. Cora reached over and tucked a bit of Regina's hair behind her ear. "Did you have a good sleep sweetheart?" Cora asked.

"Yes mommy did you?" Regina replied.

"Yes thank you Regina." Cora answered with a smile. She then turned onto her back slightly and glanced at the clock. It was late morning, clearly everything that had happened the night before had tired both mother and daughter out. Cora reached over and grabbed her list from the bedside table and looked it over to see what she had planned for the day ahead.

Regina shuffled closer to Cora and looked over at the paper although she wasn't entirely sure what was written on the paper she was still interested. "What it say mommy?"

"This is a plan of what we are going to do today." Cora started to explain. "Since it is half past ten I think we have missed our big breakfast…"

"No breakfast?" Regina asked with a little panic and shock at the fact she may not be getting her breakfast.

Cora laughed a little and shook her head. "No we will have some breakfast but only a little breakfast because…well you remember last night when you wanted to have a picnic?" Regina nodded her head. "Well I thought we could go to the park with a picnic lunch. What do you think?"

"Yea that sound good mommy!" Regina said excitedly.

"I thought you would like that. So shall we get up and have a little breakfast? Then we can get ourselves dressed and get out picnic organised." Cora said.

"Okay mommy!" Regina said as she quickly sat up and jumped off the bed. Cora got herself out of bed and they both made their way down stairs and into the kitchen. Cora went about sorting out some breakfast while Regina went and sat down at the table in the kitchen. Once Cora had finished making the toast she gave some to Regina and then sat down in a seat beside Regina and had some toast herself. Regina worked her way through her toast quickly and held up her plate once she was finished. "All gone mommy." Regina said proudly.

Cora gasped in mock surprise and said. "My Regina where has that toast disappeared to? Surely you can't have eaten it that quick."

Regina giggled and nodded her head. "I did mommy. I eat my toast super fast. It all in my tummy now." Regina rubbed her tummy as she spoke.

"No…It can't be in that tummy." Cora said as she reached over and tickled Regina a little making her giggle even more and squirm on the chair.

"It is." Regina laughed.

"You are too fast for me Regina." Cora smiled. "Now why don't you go and get yourself dressed…"

"Okay!" Regina said. She jumped off of her chair and ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to go and get ready.

While Regina was upstairs, Cora finished her toast and then went about clearing up all the dishes and washing them. She then went into the cupboard in the hall and pulled out a picnic basket that she had seen in there a while ago. She also pulled out a blanket and then went back into the kitchen. She collected many things from cupboards and the fridge and started to make up some food for the picnic. Regina soon returned back down stairs sporting a pair of light denim shorts, a white t-shirt that had a sequin picture of a yellow sun on it and in colourful print said ' Hello Sunshine!', a pink cardigan, a pair of white sandals that had daisies on the front and a flower hair band to match.

"Mommy I ready." Regina announced as she entered the room.

Cora turned round and looked Regina over and she was quite impressed with how the little girl had done with picking out her outfit. The outfit seemed to match up well although she wasn't so sure it was shorts weather even if the sun was out. "Are you sure you won't be cold outside with your legs out Regina?"

"The sun out mommy." Regina replied.

"I know the sun is out sweetheart but I am not so sure it is that warm." Cora replied.

"I be okay." Regina shrugged.

Cora just nodded her head deciding to leave it at that. She lifted the picnic basket off of the table and carried it into the hall with Regina following close behind her. "Okay Regina I am going to go and get ready. I won't be a minute." Regina just nodded her head as she skipped through into the living room. Cora quickly ran upstairs and grabbed some clothes. She threw them on, sorted her hair and makeup, grabbed some shoes and ran back downstairs. She walked through into the living room to see Regina sat on the sofa flicking through the TV. Even at three years old Regina seemed to know how to work the TV better than she did. Cora sat down on the sofa beside Regina and pulled on her shoes. "Right Regina shall we get off to the park then? You can play for a bit before lunch."

Yea!" Regina squealed. Regina turned the TV off and ran out of the living room. Cora followed her and she grabbed her bag and keys before picking up the picnic basket. They both made their way out of the house, Cora locking the door behind her and were soon on their way towards the park with a very excited Regina. The walk to the park was short and as soon as they entered the park Cora had told Regina she could pick the best spot for them to sit. So Regina searched and searched until she found a spot that was bear the pond to watch the ducks but close enough to the play park so that she could come and go as she pleased and her mother could see her. Cora pulled out the blanket and placed it on the grass. She sat down and Regina walked over towards the pond. "Mommy look ducks" Regina said pointing towards all the ducks.

"Oh yes. Be very careful by that pond Regina. I don't want you to fall in." Cora said.

Regina ran back over to Cora and jumped down on the blanket. "Mommy why the ducks keep disappearing in the water?"

"Oh…I'm not sure dear…maybe they are just a little bit too hot and want to cool down." Cora replied.

"Mommy can I have a duck?" Regina asked.

"What? As a pet?" Cora asked back and Regina nodded her head. "Oh no we can't have a duck as a pet dear."

"Why not?" Regina frowned. "A pet duck would be good."

"Well…ducks aren't really pets dear. Ducks need to live out here. This is where they belong." Cora tried to explain.

"We could keep my duck in the bath. Then my duck would have water to swim in." Regina said. "I know what duck I want. Please mommy?"

"No Regina we can't have a duck. I'm sorry." Cora replied.

"Aww." Regina whined a little. "What about a lion?"

"A lion? That might be a little bit too dangerous dear." Cora said as she rested back on her hands and looked up at the sky enjoying the sun. It was a lovely day by all accounts and there was a nice breeze in the air.

Regina frowned a little and bit her lip trying to think of another animal she could have as a pet. "A dolphin?"

"Where would we keep a dolphin Regina?"

"In the bath." Regina replied as if it had been the most obvious answer.

"Don't you think a dolphin might be a bit too big for our bath?" Cora asked.

Regina shrugged her shoulders. "Alright then. What about a…" Regina said as she looked around trying to think of more animals. "A penguin."

"Well Regina you can't really have a penguin for a pet either…" Cora said.

"Hmm…a hippo?" Regina asked.

"A hippo might be a little on the big side princess." A voice from behind them said. Cora and Regina turned round to see Rumple stood behind them. Regina squealed and jumped up into his arms. "Hey there Regina."

"Hi daddy!" Regina replied happily.

"Hi Cora." Rumple said looking down at her.

"Hello Rumple. Out for a walk?" Cora asked.

Rumple nodded his head. "I was and then I saw you both over here so I thought I would come and say hello. You don't mind do you?" He didn't want Cora to feel he was overstepping on her time with Regina.

"No it's alright. We are just out enjoying the sun. We are going to have a picnic aren't we Regina?" Cora said.

Regina nodded her head. "Yes daddy. You stay for picnic."

"Oh I'm not sure about that princess. Maybe mommy wants to spend some time with you on her own." Rumple replied.

"It's alright. You can join us if you want to." Cora said quickly, although she wasn't exactly sure why she did.

"Yey! Come on daddy." Regina said wriggling out of his arms and pulling him onto the blanket. Rumple followed Regina and sat down beside her. "Daddy do you think I could have a duck as a pet? I know which one I want." Regina said sitting on Rumples lap.

"Well you see Regina if you took the duck out of his home I don't think he would be very happy." Rumple said.

"But he be with me at my house." Regina replied not really understanding.

"Yes but the ducks home is here in the park and in the pond. I think the duck likes it here. If you took them away from their home that would make them very sad and you wouldn't want that would you?" Rumple explained.

Regina shook her head. "No I don't want duck to be sad." She sighed a little and then glanced over to the play park. "Can I go play please?"

"Yes go on." Cora said. They watched as Regina ran off towards the play park. They sat in an awkward sort of silence for a bit not sure what to say.

Rumple coughed a little and then looked over at Cora. "So how has she been?" He asked finally. Sticking to the subject of Regina seemed to be the best option he had for the moment.

"She's been okay…although last night I experienced my first toddler tantrum. It is an experience I hope not to have again." Cora replied

"Bad one was it?"

"You could say that. Lots of shouting and loosing tempers and not just Regina." Cora replied back, her face turning sad as she remembered it. "I…I almost lost my temper…like I would have years ago…" Cora admitted. "It was over something stupid as well. She had made a mess in the bathroom when she was in the bath and I asked her to help me clean it up before we had a story and bed time. She had wanted a long story but I told her we probably wouldn't have time for that and she didn't take that very well.…I don't know if she was just tired from her day with you…but she kind of kicked off and refused to help clean up…then the angrier she got the angrier I got…and well I grabbed her and pulled her out the bathroom and put her in her bedroom and closed the door." Cora explained. "I was so close to losing it like I used to…I thought I'd be able to handle something like that but obviously I was wrong."

"Every parent has a moment where they almost lose it Cora. Every parent has a breaking point." Rumple said.

"Yes but I wanted different for Regina. I wanted her to have this six months without fearing me and last night…she probably did fear me…I mean I walked out of her bedroom and I didn't even turn on her night light and she hates being left in the dark." Cora said.

"Cora we all make mistakes. The good thing is you have realised your mistake and you are admitting it. Before all this you would never have done that. You would have thought what you had done was right." Rumple replied. "You would have thought it a fitting punishment would you not?"

Cora nodded her head. "Yes I would have and that's what makes me feel worse. I hated myself for how I handled things. I should have handled it better."

"Well at least you know for next time and believe me there will be a next time. Regina is at that age. Tantrums are part of the course. I'm not sure how I will react when she throws a tantrum with me."

"Oh I'm not sure she will do it with you." Cora said.

"Oh she will Cora. She will push her luck and see how far I will go. All children do that with their parents at some stage. Regina is not a stupid girl. She is very smart. She always has been." Rumple said. "But I bet you when she got up this morning it was as if nothing had happened last night…"

"It was." Cora said quietly.

"That's the wonderful thing about children. They are resilient. Regina knows she went over the line last night. She knows by the way you got angry and I am sure next time the tantrum won't be as bad."

"You think?" Cora asked with a raised eyebrow a face he had seen so many times on Regina.

"Yea…" Rumple said with a smile. He then laughed a little and Cora frowned.

"What? What's funny?"

"It's nothing. It's just the face you pulled there it just shows me how much Regina is like you…she is more like you that she has cared to admit over the years…or cared to think. There was a time where I said to her she looked nothing like you…but as the darkness took over her I could see you in her more and more. Now that you have your heart, I see the light side of you both…and you are very much alike."

Cora smiled at that. "Well…I am glad…well about the light part anyway." Rumple chuckled a little. "So where is Belle today?"

"Library. She needed to sort some things out." Rumple replied.

"And you did not fancy going with her?" Cora asked.

Rumple shook his head. "The library is Belle's thing. I thought I would come out for a walk and now…well I am glad I did. I hope you don't feel I am imposing on your time with Regina though?"

Cora shook her head. "I did invite you to stay and anyway it might be nice for Regina with we all spent some time together, whether it be the three of us or with the rest of the strange family we have. There are people in my family now that I never thought I would be that close with but…I kind of like it. I have been alone and heartless for far too long. It's time to change that."

"I feel the same way Cora and I would love to spend more time with you and Regina. Show her and give her the family she should have had to begin with." Rumple said.

"The queen of hearts and the dark one as your parents in the Enchanted Forest…no one would have dared touched her or go near her." Cora said with a slight laugh.

Rumple chuckled a little and looked out towards the playground. He spotted Regina looking up at the climbing frame as if she was trying to figure out the best way to go. "No they wouldn't have. As it worked out I done everything I would have killed someone for doing to her if I had known I was her father. The things I done to her Cora…to make her turn dark…to make her do what I wanted…"

"It's in the past now Rumple…" Cora said as she leaned over and placed a hand on his knee. "Although Regina may not fully forgive you for everything…because I know in my heart she may not fully be able to forgive me and I do not blame her…perhaps this time we have with her will help her forgive us a little. At least help us move past it. I want nothing more than to take back everything I done to Regina but I know that I can't."

Rumple did not take his eyes off Regina who had not decided on the best way to climb up the climbing frame. He nodded his head at everything Cora had said and then let out a sigh. Turning his head to look at her he said, "We seem to be sharing everything today don't we?"

Cora laughed a little. "Yes we do. Makes a nice change sharing things and being nice to one another rather than being at each other's throats."

"It does." Rumple replied as he looked back towards Regina. "She really is quite smart our girl."

Cora looked over towards where Rumple was looking and smile. "She is indeed."

"She just stood back and watched everyone climbing that climbing frame and figure out the best way to climb it so that she wouldn't get knocked off or fall. I could see the concentration in her face as she looked at it. She done all that and she is only three years old." Rumple said proudly.

Cora smiled. "Well she has been here before."

Rumple chuckled. "Yes…but she doesn't retain any adult Regina memories."

"True…" Cora nodded. "You know I was thinking if you're not busy you could join Regina and I for dinner tonight? I mean we are going to Grannies tonight with the Charming's, Henry, Emma, Neal…Regina has going on about seeing everyone again. So if you would like to join us…I had meant to say to you yesterday when you dropped Regina off."

"That would be wonderful. Belle has to work late at the library tonight so I would love to join you all." Rumple replied.

"Good. Regina will be so happy that you are joining us." Cora smiled. She then glanced down at her watch. "Right I am going to go and get Regina so we can start having some lunch. I think she has worked off enough energy for now." Cora laughed a little as she stood up and walked over towards the play park.

Rumple watched Cora and he couldn't help but smile as he watched Cora calling up to Regina who had managed to get to the top of the climbing frame, apparently not scared of anything it seemed. He watched as Cora and Regina conversed and it seemed Regina wasn't so sure about stopping her playing to have some food but Cora was of course insistent on it. He watched as Cora held her arms up and Regina sat on the edge of the climbing frame and jumped slightly into Cora's arms and his smile grew as he saw Regina giggling and Cora tickling her.

Watching mother and daughter made him think what life would have been like if Cora had not taken her heart out and left him. What if she had kept her heart? Let love in and stayed with him. He would have known about Regina. He could have raised her and watch her grow up, they both could have in a much different light. He wondered if Cora had stayed and he had known about Regina would he have stopped being the dark one? Would he have done half the evil things he had done? A part of him wished he could see what would have happened if things had worked out that way. He still had a soft spot for Cora and he knew no matter what that feeling would never disappear. Cora had been someone special to him and although she had hurt him it didn't change how he felt about her.

He was brought out of his thoughts as Regina jumped down beside him and Cora sat down and pulled the basket over. "Okay we have plenty of food to go around. We have sandwiches and some fruit, I prepared some salad."

Rumple laughed as he saw Regina's face change to a face of disgust when Cora mentioned the fruit and salad and watched as Regina tried to peer into the basket to see if her mother had packed something a little less healthy and more sweet like. "Not too keen on the fruit or salad Regina?"

"No yucky!" Regina said shaking her head.

"Now Regina you know if you want something sweet you have to eat some fruit or some of the salad. Remember we talked about that on the way here." Cora said.

Regina huffed a little and looked from the salad and to the fruit. She already had her sandwich on her plate. Surely that was enough? "But mommy…" Regina whined a little but soon stopped as she saw the look on Cora's face. She sighed a little. "I have an apple please…"

"Good girl. Here you are." Cora praised and passed her a bright red apple. Cora then went about preparing a plate for herself and for Rumple and they all sat and ate their lunch.

"Mommy do we have any food for the ducks?" Regina asked as she took a big bite of her sandwich.

"We might do once we are finished dear." Cora replied.

Regina nodded and then looked at Rumple. "What you eating daddy?" Regina asked peering over Rumple.

"Some salad princess." Rumple replied.

"Yuck." Regina said sticking her tongue.

Rumple chuckled. "ironically she loves salad as an adult." Rumple said making Cora laugh a little.

So that is how they spent their afternoon. Eating their lunch, Regina finally getting a sweetie after she had finished her apple of course, and feeding he ducks with the sandwiches left over. Cora and Rumple then played with Regina for a little while in the play park all just enjoying their quality family time.