Emma stood against the kitchen counter, far enough to keep from punching Hook, but close enough to any defense weapons. Regina, meanwhile, sat at the head of the table her hands clasped in a dignified manner. They'd attempted to send Henry to his room, but when he insisted that he was old enough to be involved, they relented and allowed him to remain present. They did, however, keep Hook at a safe distance from any of them. As much as they didn't want him anywhere near their home, they also didn't want him gallivanting the streets of Storybrooke.
"Ok," Emma finally said. "You've got five minutes. Starting now."
"That hardly seems fair," Hook countered.
"It's more than fair. And if we call bullshit, you never come near us again. You never come back to Storybrooke. Hell, you never come back to Maine."
"And if I do?" Hook asked the blonde.
Emma looked down at her watch, "Four and a half minutes."
Crossing one leg in front of the other, Hook moved to lean against the doorway, the silver rings on his fingers as polished as ever. The shape of his flask visible through the thin material of his coat. When he parted his lips to speak, Emma couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to kick him in the—
"It would seem, Your Majesty," Hook said sarcastically, "that your mother is alive."
If Regina was shocked by the news, her composure expressed otherwise. She kept her head held high and simply stared at the deplorable pirate. "That's not possible," she said in a tight tone. "You know very well that Cora died six years ago."
"That may be, but I assure you, she is very much alive," Hook replied. "In fact, if my sources are correct, she's on her way here as we speak."
"What 'sources?'" Emma interjected. "Have you been spying on us?"
Hook smiled a toothy smile, and Emma fought the urge to shudder. "Don't flatter yourself, love. It's not you I was concerned with, but the Crocodile."
"Grandpa?" Henry piped. "He's good now. He hasn't been dark since—"
But Hook merely rolled his eyes, annoyed by the unwavering optimism in the boy. "He is still the Dark One, yes? All it takes one temptation, one mistake. He'll return to the darkness soon enough."
Holding up a hand to silence Hook, Regina offered Henry a reassuring nod. "Can we go back for a moment? What makes you believe that my mother is alive? And why would she want to come here?"
"I saw her," Hook said nonchalantly, as if he were saying the run had risen that morning. "Bloody lucky too. Spotted her just in time to change course."
"Don't tell me you were scared of her?" Emma snorted, though she knew would've done the same thing. "So, what— you saw Cora and thought 'Oh I know, I'll drive 2,000 miles and let her daughter know? The same one I helped kidnap and torture?' Yeah, don't think we've forgotten about that."
"2, 423, actually," Hook chimed. When neither Emma or Regina said anything, Hook took pity on them. "If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it the moment I saw you. Regardless of our past… relationship, I came here as a courtesy."
Shaking her head, Emma did her best to resist the urge to kick him out of the house. "How did you even get here? Last I heard, you were off gambling in Nevada."
"Now who's spying?" Hook asked with a wink. "I'm a pirate, or have you forgotten? Coordinates are my speciality."
As Emma and Hook continued to bicker, Regina sat perfectly still. Her brow furrowed as she fell deep into thought. Suddenly, she was transported back to the last time she was with her mother; Cora in her arms, finally seeing her daughter, telling Regina that she would have been enough.
It wasn't until Regina heard Henry calling to her that she returned to the present. "Mom?" She felt his hand rest on top of hers, saw the concern in his eyes, the slight tilt of his head.
"Emma," Regina started. "Call your parents. I think a meeting is in order."
In ten minute's time, David and Snow appeared at their daughter's doorstep with Neal in tow. Old enough to hold a conversation, but too young to grasp the magnitude of such a situation, Henry agreed to look after little prince under one condition; Emma and Regina tell him what he missed.
Emma hadn't exactly filled her parents in over the phone. Figured it was best to tell them in person. All she said was that it was important. That Hook was back. Told her father to try and restrain himself. In all fairness, David only punched Hook once in the face upon arrival, and there was no blood. Though, in the end, Emma thought it would be best if Hook waited in the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, did you say Cora is alive?" Snow shook her head. With her hands on her hips, she stood in front of the fireplace beside her husband, who seemed equally as perplexed. "But she's—"
"Dead, yes," Regina finished the thought. "Though by now, we should all know that anything is possible. I would't put it past my mother to have found a way back." Regina tried to ignore the beads of sweat that had begun to form beneath her blouse, the way her palms had begun to clam up.
Emma noted her partner's slight shift on the couch, the way Regina's lips pursed together in a tight line. Meeting Regina's eye, she tilted her chin in silent correspondence; Regina simply turned back to Snow and David, tired of Emma's constant hovering.
"If Cora really is back, is that such a bad thing?" Snow piped. "I mean, she had her heart when she died." Her voice went soft at the memory, her own role in the event still fresh in her mind. "She wouldn't hurt anyone, right? She'd be on our side?"
"I don't know," Regina said honestly. "I wouldn't put it past her to have an agenda, with or without her heart." She couldn't hide the bitterness in tone, no matter how hard she tried. Regina was still struggling to wrap her head around it all. How long had she been back? Why come to Storybrooke? Why now, after all this time?
Folding his arms over his chest, David let out a long exhale. "So, we need a plan," he surmised.
"Council meeting?" Snow proposed.
Emma and David shook their heads in unison. "Not yet," the blonde said. "It'll only freak people out."
"I agree," said David. "Not until we know more." He closed his eyes and paused for a moment before clearing his throat. "Hook? Will you come in here for a minute?" Silence. "I have no intention of hitting you again. Not today, anyway."
Heavy footsteps dragged across the wood floors as the pirate meandered into the living room. His face had begun to bruise a bit, his nose somewhat swollen. He kept a fair distance between himself and Charming, staying close to the nearest exit. "Your Highness," he greeted dryly.
"What else do you know? When and where did you last see Cora?" David questioned. Emma quietly chastised herself for forgetting her role as the sheriff and skipping straight into the role of a concerned partner; the questions David was asking were ones Emma should have thought of.
"As I told your lovely daughter here," Hook began, his voice slightly nasally, "I only saw her in passing. About a month ago."
"A month?" Emma squawked. "You didn't tell us that!"
Regina felt her heart skip a beat as thought of the time that had passed since her mother's death, all that had changed— how much she had changed. So many times she'd wondered what life would have been like had Cora lived, what her mother would have thought about where she was now, what kind of grandmother Cora would have made. Regina was only brought back to the present when she felt another nudge against her hand, the baby begging her to say something.
"If my mother is back, if she's on her way here, we don't have much time," Regina murmured softly, her gaze on her rounded stomach. "For all we know, she could already be here."
That night, Regina and Emma laid in bed beside one another, their hands clasped together as silence wrapped around them. The lights were turned off, and together they stared up at the ceiling, lost in their own thoughts. Regina could sense Emma's worry, knew the blonde was doing her best not to let it show. She listened to Emma's staggered breathing and knew she was scrapping yet another idea of how to keep Regina safe.
Regina, however, felt the numbness that washed over her that morning begin to fade. Her own heart started to race as she considered all of the possibilities Cora's return offered. Though she knew better than to do so, she hoped Snow was right about her mother— that with her heart, Cora wouldn't be a threat or danger to anyone. That if Cora was coming back, it was to see Regina and mend their relationship.
"Regina? Are you awake?"
Regina gave Emma's hand a tender squeeze. "Mhm."
A beat of silence. Emma struggled to make sense of the words that filled her head. Knew what she wanted to say, but didn't know how to say it. Was afraid that if she did, it wouldn't disappoint Regina.
"I'm sorry," the Savior finally said.
Frowning slightly, Regina felt Emma stiffen next to her. "What for?"
"For everything. For not being home enough this week. For not looking after you and Henry more. For not being able to protect you from… from all of this." Regina heard Emma's voice break at the end, listened to Emma sigh heavily. "I should've sent Hook to the Enchanted Forest when I had the chance."
"That wouldn't have changed anything," Regina said. "He's just the messenger. Cora may have very well still returned."
Turning onto her side to face Regina, Emma let go of Regina's hand and pressed her palm against Regina's stomach. "How are you feeling?"
"Just fine, dear. I've not been sick since—"
"That's not what I meant."
Regina glanced over at Emma and stared at the woman's silhouette. She couldn't see the woman's eyes, but she could feel Emma's gaze on her. "A part of me hopes that…" Regina trailed off, afraid to finish the sentence.
But she didn't need to say anything else. Emma already knew. Placing a gentle kiss on Regina's cheek, Emma pulled her into her arms and held her close. "You know I'm here, right? Whatever you want to do, whatever happens, I'm here."
Nestling into Emma's embrace, allowing herself to be held, Regina nodded and hummed softly. "I know."
It wasn't long before both women drifted off to sleep, Regina comforted by the warmth of her lover.
Regina sat behind her desk, buried beneath piles of paperwork. A steaming glass of hot cider rested atop a cork coaster, just an arm's length away. Madam Mayor nursed her drink it quietly as she flipped through the pages of yet another maintenance request. Aside from the gentle hum of the heater, the room was practically silent. The brunette's focus had yet to be interrupted, even when she caught sight of the first rays of sun in two weeks peaking through the gray clouds. Winter was soon coming to an end, she could sense it. Spring too wasn't far away now.
She just was signing off on another repair request when she heard the ambulance pass by the window, followed by a firetruck honking furiously. It was a curious thing, Regina thought. Few accidents happened in the town of Storybrooke, and if they did, they were typically minor scuffles. There was rarely any need for the town's only emergency responders.
Down the vacant halls and past the deserted desks, Regina shuffled through the office until she made it to the front doors. It was then that she was struck by a vicious shiver. From her spot on the front steps, Regina watched as residents emerged and congregated in the streets, a line of smoke rising up to the sky.
With nothing to hold onto to keep steady, Regina hobbled onward towards the sea of panic. When people saw her approach, they whispered to one another hastily. The crowd shifted, almost as though they were trying to block Regina from the center. From the looks on their faces, Regina knew. Her insides had twisted inside and out as the pieces clicked together. Shoving past each and every onlooker, Regina's legs nearly gave out from beneath her when she saw it: two cars had slammed together in a head-on collision. A navy sedan with the air bags released sat without a driver. But, the other vehicle…
A rusted yellow Bug with the hood smashed in reeked of gasoline. The windshield had been destroyed, crushed into pieces. The driver's window had been rolled down half way, just as it always was. And slumped over the wheel, unconscious, blood trickling down her temple, was Emma.
Somewhere in the distance, Regina heard her mother's voice. Those three words she'd fought so hard to escape."Love is weakness, Regina."