A/N: Hey guys! Finally got a chance to post this update! *all mistakes are my own* ENJOY! :)

Meliorism: (n.) the belief that the world gets better; the belief that humans can improve the world

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"This party was so much fun!" Kelly says as she comes to lean against her mother.

"Yeah!" Roland says, "Mommy! Can we come back to have parties like this all the time?"

Zelena smiles, "We'll see. Why don't you too go by Henry and see if he'll start another game?"

"Come on!" Roland shouts, taking Kelly's hand, "Let's see if Leo and Ruthie want to play too!"

"He calls you Mommy?" Little John asks, sitting next to Robin, his best friend and leader.

"Of course," Zelena asks, trying not to show her offense. "He's my son. I raised him."

"But you're not his mother," Little John says. There's no confusion in his tone. He cared dearly for Marian, she was the kindest soul. He knows Soulmate magic doesn't lie, but Roland can't forget about his mother - his real mother. Little John won't stand for it.

Zelena rolls her eyes, placing a hand on Robin's knee, silently telling him not to step in and say something. "I didn't birth him," she says obviously, with an eye roll and a sigh. "That does not mean I'm not his mother. He has two of us. He knows Marian was his Mama; I'm Mommy. He can have more than one." It's like she's talking to a child, having to spell everything out for him.

Little John dips his chin down, "Of- of course he can," he stumbles over his words.

Robin chuckles and pats Little John's shoulder, "Don't sweat it, you couldn't know. But we most certainly tell Roland about Marian. Even without our memories, we knew about Roland's mother. He knew she died, and that she loved him very much. Having Zelena here," he says, covering Zelena's hand with his own and smiles, "is a blessing. A bonus," he chuckles, "if you listen to the words of the Land Without Magic."

Little John nods and looks to Zelena, "I'm- I'm sorry."

Zelena gives a brief nod back and looks to her children, "They'll never sleep now. There's been too much excitement."

Regina chuckles and looks over to her wife, surrounded by so many people thanking her. She can tell how uncomfortable Emma is by how much she's scratching the back of her neck.

Zelena huffs and leans close to Regina, "Look at them fawn over their precious Savior," she scoffs. "She only used her magic at the very end. But she's the one who gets all the credit for saving the day," she scorns.

"Careful, Zelena," Regina warns. "Green may be your color, but I'd hate to have to you change your skin color so soon."

Zelena dismisses her sister with a wave of her hand, "Please. I most certainly do not want those awful peasants touching me and hugging me like that. But a little appreciation would be nice."

Regina places a hand over Zelena's, resting on her knee, "I appreciate you, Lena."

Zelena sighs and tips her head toward her sister and gives a tired smile, "Thanks, Mei Mei. I appreciate you too."

Regina smiles and pats her sister's hand. "Emma, dear," she calls, standing from her spot next to Zelena. Emma looks over at her wife and smiles; it's a weary smile, it's been a long day, even longer since they got a full-night's sleep. That hadn't happened since their memories came back. "Could you come here for a moment?" she asks sweetly.

Emma smiles to the people around her and excuses herself. She walks over by her wife and swings her arm over Regina's shoulders. "Thank you," she whispers as she kisses Regina's temple.

Regina smiles widely and lets her arm wrap around Emma's waist, "Always," she replies. "Now, we need to calm everyone down."

"And how are you thinking we do that, Mrs. Mills?" Emma asks with a smile.

"I was thinking a movie, Mrs. Mills," Regina replies with a smirk.

Emma gasps, "A movie? Why, how would these kids react to a movie?"

"Okay, ew," Zelena groans, stands up and says, "You two are absolutely ridiculous. Go start the movie or get a room."

Emma and Regina share a look before sharing a chuckle. "Oh Lena," Regina starts, "don't be such a spoilsport."

"Yeah Z," Emma adds, "quit being such a killjoy."

"Just play the damn movie," Zelena grumbles, enunciating with an eye roll.

"Disney?" Emma offers.

"Hmmm," Regina muses, "That narrows our options; they redid many tales about the people here, and not always nicely," she adds.

"The Lion King?" suggests.

"I'm not sure if they've met any of Simba's pride," Regina ponders aloud.

"Wait. Gina, you're joking. Simba's a freaking lion. He's not real."

Regina sighs, "Emma. Your parents are Snow White and Prince Charming. You married the Evil Queen, your sister-in-law is the Wicked Witch, your brother-in-law is Robin Hood, our Godmother is the big bad wolf. You really need to expand your beliefs, dear." Emma's mouth drops, Regina huffs, "Simba and his pride are shapeshifters. They're similar to Ruby but they control their turning."

"And they're lions," Emma states obviously.

"Yes, and they're lions," Regina agrees with a chuckle.

"Okay, mind-blown, babe. Mind. Blown." Regina clears her throat and raises an eyebrow at her wife, "Right. Focus. Focusing right now. How about…." she pauses and looks around the room, "Toy Story? Oh god, are the toys really alive? Please don't let them be alive, I can't handle that." Regina laughs and shakes her head, "Oh thank god. Ummmmm….Inside Out?"

"Oooh! All the kids absolutely adore that movie," Zelena adds in.

Regina nods, "Perfect. Let's go set up." She turns and moves toward a vacant part of the Great Room. She watches Zelena go into the kitchen, presumably for snacks, and Regina turns her attention back to her task at hand. She waves her hand and everything disappears from the wall. Another wave of her hand and the floor is littered with floor pillows, blankets, and comfy chairs. She smiles as she glances around herself as she snaps her fingers and a projector appears, shining onto the now-empty wall, ready to play the movie.

"Mommy!" Tommy shouts, "We gonna watch a movie?!"

"We are, Querido" Regina says with a smile. She sees she has the attention of all the children in the room, "We're going to watch a movie tonight before bed."

"A...movie?" Leo asks, testing out the word.

"Yes, it's a moving picture. It's wonderful," Regina says with a smile.

"Yay!" Daniel says, stepping forward. "Do we get to lay on the floor?" His eyes grow wide, as do the rest of the children's.

"Yes," Regina chuckles, nodding her head as the children's eyes light up.

They all gasp and rush to claim a pillow on the floor.

Zelena steps out of the kitchen in time to see the kids race to find a pillow. She laughs and walks over to pass out all the snacks she and Robin could grab. Together, they hand out snacks and then settle on one of the chairs, side-by-side.

Regina makes sure all the children are settled as she starts the movie. She can't keep the smile from her face as the children from the castle ooh and aah at the wonderful technology they've never seen.

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Regina kisses Tommy's head, tucking him in and smiling at the rest of the children in the room, fast asleep in their beds. She checks on her niece and nephew, sleeping next to Tommy, in the room across from Regina and Emma's. She steps into the hallway and smiles at her sister and brother-in-law as they step into their room, directly next to theirs. Regina takes Emma's hand and they walk across the hall toward their bedroom. "Think we can make this talk quick?" Emma whispers, Regina gives her a confused look and Emma raises her eyebrows suggestively, "I mean, talk to Henry and then have some alone time?"

Regina rolls her eyes but steps up into Emma's personal space, staring at her lips. She licks her own and replies, "Perhaps." She shrugs and steps into their room.

Emma barely holds in a groan but follows her wife into the room and over to the fireplace. She plops down on the chaise next to her wife and looks across at her son who is avoiding eye contact.

"Henry," Regina starts, leaning forward closer to her son. "We want to talk about your feelings regarding the other world."

Henry shrugs, still not looking up, "Look," he begins, "I get it. We're going back. I understand why in ways I didn't before. I just don't want to go back, you know? Even though I have friends and stuff there and I love my classes, I don't want to forget our family again."

Regina raises a hand to stop him from continuing his rambling, he gets that from Emma. She smiles, "Henry, we're not going to forget."

"What?"

Regina nods, "When we go back, we won't lose our memories again. Ever."

Henry's eyes are cautiously excited, "For real?"

Regina chuckles, "Yes, we live directly above the Gateway, dear. Of course we're coming back. We can come and go between the realms freely."

"We have to stay in touch with our family," Emma adds, "We have a lot of time to make up for."

"But how are we going to keep our memories?" Henry asks.

Regina sighs and looks down at her hands, wringing together on her lap. "We were told the Gateway required a fee; a fee that demanded our memories when we went to the new realm." She shakes her head at herself, "I overlooked it, I should have caught it." Emma places a hand atop Regina's, slowing their aggressive wringing. "I was so caught up with leaving and getting away that I didn't even notice Blue had altered the doorway. It's only luck that made sure we made it to the new world and weren't scattered atoms across the universe."

Emma squeezes Regina's hands, "You couldn't have known; nobody knew."

"I should have. I know how she works. I should have seen this coming."

Emma shakes her head, "You, Regina Mills, are not to blame for our memories. And now we never have to go through that again." She smiles at her wife before turning her attention back to Henry. "We don't have the time to lose our memories. We need to catch up with our family aaaaand," she adds with a smirk, "Your mom needs to teach Daniel how to control his magic."

"And your other mother too," Regina adds with a smirk.

"And your cousin," Zelena says as she sweeps into the room, flopping onto the couch next to her nephew. When she only receives confused looks she adds, "What?" She pauses, staring at all three faces looking back at her. "I'm powerful but I'm not a teacher. I'm not good at teaching magic. I just do it. I don't know how, it just happens. I'll leave the teaching to you, Mei Mei," she says with a smile.

Emma stares at the blatant care exuding from her sister-in-law. She's shocked, "Was that a compliment? To your sister?"

"What can I say," Zelena asks with a smirk, "Know thine enemy," she replies with a wink. She notices the look that Regina is giving her, "What?" she repeats. She groans, "Don't make me say it, Gi."

Regina simply raises her eyebrows, trying to keep the smirk from her face.

Zelena groans again, flopping back into the couch further, resting her neck against the top of the couch. "I want Kelly to have a deeper understanding of magic than Rumple taught me in my time studying with the Dark One." She pauses and sighs, sitting up straighter and looking down at her hands. She sighs one more time for good measure. "What I know about magic is dark; it's angry. I don't want Kelly to grow up like that. Everything I know comes from a dark place. It's not good magic. I try to do good things with my magic but it still comes from a dark place. But, Regina knows about good magic. She knows about all kinds of magic - always reading, always learning; that's my Mei Mei." She smiles which quickly turned into a smirk. "I'd even a guess that what she knows would rival the knowledge of the fairies." She's very proud.

"It most certainly is a deeper knowledge and understanding than the fairies," Regina agrees.

Henry laughs and looks between his moms and his aunt, "So we're staying?"

"Well, sort of," Regina says, glancing at the fireplace before looking back to her son. She sees his face fall and quickly continues, "Our reason for leaving is still the same. We left so you could have a better life, a normal life. We have lives in the other world. Friends, jobs, other commitments in the other world. We'll certainly come back and forth between the realms on weekends and holidays, and perhaps during the week if we need to. But we're going back to the other realm. We want you to have an education there; you excel in so much there, Henry. We want your brother and sisters and even your cousins to grow up in the other realm with school and parks-"

"And no ogres," Emma adds on.

"Or fairies," Zelena says as her lip curls in disdain.

Henry nods, processing what the women are saying, "But we'll come back?"

Regina smiles, "Absolutely."

"Yes!" He jumps off the couch and rushes over to crush his mothers in a hug. He laughs at the shock before they each wrap an arm around his back; he rests his chin between their heads on their shoulders, sighing before standing up and returning to the other couch. He sits next to his aunt and wraps his arms around her middle, resting his cheek on her shoulder.

Zelena is caught off-guard, as she usually is when someone showed such blatant affection. She wraps her arms around her nephew and rests her cheek on the top of his head, smiling.

Regina rests her hand on Emma's knee, sharing a tired smile before looking at Henry and Zelena. "Why don't we all get some sleep? We all need to rest. Tomorrow can be a day of celebration before we head back."

Henry groans, "Do we have to go back so soon?"

Regina chuckles, "Yes, you cannot keep missing school." She tilts her head and gives an understanding smile, "We'll be back dear, we can come back on the weekend."

"Okay," he says with a yawn. He stands and heads for the door, "G'night."

"Night." "Goodnight, dear." "Goodnight, Henry." The three women call to his retreating form.

"Goodnight," Zelena says as she stands, "See you in the morning." She heads for the door as the other two women bid her goodnight.

Emma rests her head on Regina's shoulder and sighs, "It's been a long day."

"That is has," Regina muses as she wraps Emma in her arms and kisses the top of her head. "And if I remember correctly," she continues, catching Emma's attention, "You still owe me a bath."

Emma lifts her head and smiles at her wife, "I do." She stands, pulling Regina with her. Together they stumble into the bathroom, wrapped in each others arms.

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"MOMMA! Lookit!" Tommy shouts from his spot atop a giant horse.

"I see!" Emma responds from her spot on the ground. She raises a hand to her eyes and looks up to see her son, seeing only his shadow. The beast moves a step forward, closer to Emma but before she moves backward, she realizes now she can see, the shadow is now covering her eyes and she looks up to see her wife smiling down at her, with their youngest son securely in front of her.

"Mommy, can we go fast now?" Tommy asks, looking up at his mother behind him, being sure to keep a grip on the horse's bridle like she showed him.

"Maybe next time, Sweetie. We have to practice staying on by yourself before we can go fast," Regina says, smiling at her son.

Tommy's head hangs in defeat but takes a deep breath and looks down at his blonde mother. "Momma I so tall!"

"That's right, Bud," Emma says with a chuckle.

"How nervous are you right now?" Regina asks with a smirk.

"On a scale from one to ten?" Emma asks, "Twelve."

Regina lets out a laugh, causing Emma to smile. God, she'll do anything to continue hearing that carefree laugh.

"Mommy!" Tommy shouts, eyes wide, "I gotta potty."

"I got this Gina," Emma says, stepping forward to grab her son from the giant beast's back. Tommy reaches down and wraps his arms around Emma's neck, letting his legs fall away from the horse.

"Now Momma!" Tommy shouts as Emma sets him on his feet. He holds tightly to her hand and starts pulling her toward the castle and a bathroom.

Regina chuckles and turns her attention to the other people on horses in the field. She sees Leo and Ruth chasing after Snow on her horse, with Eva clapping and laughing in front of her. Snow smiles down at her youngest daughter, holding her tight. Regina looks to see Daniel, Abigail, and Kathryn over at the other end of the field. Kathryn lifts a hand to Regina and Regina can't help the smile that takes over her face. She turns her horse, a beautiful gelding, and let's him trot over by Kathryn. She sighs, happy to be on a horse again. She hasn't been riding herself since Emma found out she was pregnant with the twins. It'd been over a year; she had taken Henry to all of his lessons but she had not been on a horse herself in quite a while.

She feels the horse move under her, the gentle sway as he trots her toward Kathryn. This beautiful buckskin gelding, trusting her and leading her where she needs to go. She reaches down at brushes his mane away from the saddle, rubbing his neck as he comes to a stop next to Kathryn and her children.

"Regina! You came!" Daniel says with a smile, "Did you see my runs earlier?"

"I did," Regina says with a smile. "You're a natural, dear."

"Even faster than Mom," he says proudly, straightening his shoulders and puffing out his chest with pride.

"Really?" Regina asks with raised eyebrows and a smirk, "That's impressive."

"Do you want to race me?" Daniel dares.

Regina tries to hold back a chuckle, "Oh I don't know if that would be fair, Daniel." She looks up to Kathryn and sees her friend whisper "beat him" and nods with a smile. He looks like he's about to protest about fairness when Regina continues, "I'm not sure you could handle losing a race today."

Daniel gasps and narrows his eyes in challenge. Kathryn can't help the chuckle that escapes her. She swings off her horse and starts rubbing her neck. Regina does the same thing and she "thinks" about Daniel's offer. She stares into her horse, Atlas' eyes.

"Before we race," Regina starts, "Tell me about your horse." Daniel gives her a confused look. She says nothing about the look and runs her hand across Atlas' flank. When Daniel says nothing she explains, "In order to be the best or the fastest, you need to know your horse as well as you know yourself. So, what can you tell me about your horse?"

Daniel straightens his shoulders, unaware there would be a lesson today, but he knows how to respond when a teacher asks a question. He hops off his horse and grasps the reigns, leading him over to stand in front of Regina, who is still focused on her Buckskin. "His name is Eli. He has been my horse since he was born. We started training as soon as he was ready. We grew up together. I know him best."

Regina watches him, feeding an apple to his horse. Daniel leaves his hand in the air and his horse, Eli, pushes his nose against the hand. That's a good sign Regina says, noting the bond between the two. "Do you know a lot about all the horses here?"

Daniel nods, "I come and take care of them when I'm done with my studies." He points at Regina's horse, "That's Atlas; he's younger than Eli. Slower too," he says with a smirk.

"Oh really?" Regina asks with a smirk. He certainly talks like he's older than 5. Definitely the Princely lessons. Off of Daniel's nod, "Well, we'll just have to see about that, won't we?"

He smirks, a challenge twinkling in his eyes, a look that's all Kathryn. He hops atop Eli, with a boost from Kathryn.

Regina winks at her best friend and mounts her own horse. "Alright, dear, I haven't been in this place in a while. Is the stone monument still in the far west corner of the castle grounds?"

Daniel gasps, "No one knows about the monument."

"I know," Regina says with a chuckle, I used to hide out there and think.

Daniel's jaw drops, "That's what I do!"

Regina can't keep the smile off her face. She looks away from her godson to his mother, "Would you start us, Kathryn?"

Kathryn snickers, "Don't beat him too bad, Regina. Or I'll send him with you while he's complaining."

"No promises dear."

Daniel scoffs, "I will win, Momma."

The two move their horses to stand at the edge of the paddock. Kathryn leads her horse, and Abigail's, to stand next to both riders. "Alright, first one around the monument and back here wins. No cheating, no dirty tricks," she adds with a raised eyebrow and Regina's not sure who she's talking to.

She waits for Daniel to settle further into his saddle. Regina nods at Kathryn as she turns to her daughter, "Do you want to say go, Abi?"

Her daughter nods excitedly. She sits straighter in her saddle and says, "Ready. Set. Go!" and they're off. Daniel is leading as they head into the woods and disappear from sight.

Kathryn looks up at her daughter as she looks into the woods, waiting for her brother to race back. She smiles, it's about time things get back to being normal. Together, they watch and wait for the racers to return. They race out of the woods and Daniel is still in the lead.

"Go Danny!" Abigail shouts, clapping her hands and bouncing in the saddle as her brother races toward her.

It's not over yet. Regina lowers herself so she's practically laying on Atlas' back. Daniel is still leading but he's completely ignoring the fact that Regina is catching up; he's already celebrating. Regina races past him and crosses into the paddock nearly a full head in front of him. She's laughing as she walks her horse, calming him down. She has Atlas walk back to where Kathryn and her children are. She hops off of Atlas and raises her hand in front of her, he nuzzles into her hand before he nickers and stomps his front hoof in satisfaction.

"Well done, Regina," Kathryn says with a barely contained smirk.

"Thank you Kathryn," Regina smiles back before she turns to Daniel. With a straight back, she nods her head and says, "That was a race well-run, dear."

Daniel huffs. Kathryn quickly steps in and says, "Now Daniel, I know you haven't lost a race recently, but you cannot be a sore loser. You're better than that."

Daniel rolls his eyes, causing Regina's eyebrow to skyrocket into her hairline. Daniel looks at the looks each woman is giving him and his shoulders drop, "Sorry," he mumbles. He straightens his back and looks up at them, "Nice job, Regina," he says as he bows his head. Regina smiles and winks at her godson, who smiles in return. "How did you do that?" he asks.

"Do what?" Regina responds as she runs her hand down Atlas' neck, brushing the black hair of his mane away from his golden body. She makes sure it's all falling to the same side and the flop in front goes away from his beautiful brown eyes.

"Beat me," Daniel says, studying his godmother. "You were behind me the whole time. How did you win?"

Regina smiles, "You told me you knew all about these horses. Do you know their names reflect their personalities? Eli stands for "height", it means he is good at jumping. Atlas is strong, he was a good that had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He is very strong and has a ton of stamina."

"You were always going to win, weren't you?" Daniel accuses.

Regina lets out a bell-like laugh, "I was hoping to."

Daniel nods with a smile, "This just means I have to get better."

Regina chuckles and nods, "Absolutely. Now let's walk this horses down before we brush them." She hops back up on Atlas' back and together, she and Daniel walk around the paddock, chatting as they cool down their horses.

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"Do we hafta go back?" Tommy whines as he stands between his mothers.

Regina smiles and cups his cheek, "Sí, Querido. We have to go back to work, Henry has school; but we'll come back soon."

"Tomorrow?"

Regina and Emma chuckle at their son, "Not quite tomorrow, Kiddo, but soon."

"How many sleeps?" he asks with narrowed eyes.

"We don't know yet, Bud," Emma says, "We have to go back first and then we'll decide." She stands back to her full height and turns to her family and friends. It's time to say goodbyes.

Ruby rushes and wraps her arms around her friend and goddaughter, "You better come back soon," she says, squeezing Emma tight.

Emma laughs as she returns Ruby's hug in full, "You got it, Rubes."

Kathryn embraces Regina and can't help the smile that overtakes her face when Regina hugs her back without hesitation. "Don't be a stranger."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Regina says. "Never again."

"Promises, promises," Kathryn sighs, causing Regina to lightly push her friend's shoulder with a scoff.

Regina steps back and nods toward Frederick, standing behind Daniel and Abigail. Daniel steps forward and wraps his arms around Regina's waist, "You're coming back?" he whispers.

She bends her neck so she's closer to his ear, "Absolutely. We'll be back soon," she promises, "and then I'll show you how to race properly," she adds with a wink.

Daniel giggles and steps away from his godmother. He steps back and wraps an arm around his mother, standing next to his sister and father with a smile.

Regina turns her attention back toward her family and smiles as she sees her sons saying goodbye to their grandparents and Emma's younger siblings. She sees Robin and Zelena saying goodbye to the Merry Men. Her smile grows when she sees Emma wrapped in the embrace of her parents. No matter what Emma says, Regina knows how much it hurts her wife to have missed so much time with her parents and now her siblings. She watches as Emma relaxes into the hug from her parents and laughs when Tommy pulls her away to whispers something in her ear that has Emma chuckling and nodding her head. Tommy comes running toward Regina and she scoops him into her arms, "Ready Mommy?"

"Just about, Querido. Do you have all of your things in your backpack?"

Tommy nods his head vigorously. "Henny hepped me maked sure I gots my stuffs."

Regina smiles, "Good," she bops his nose and smiles wider when that elicits giggles from her youngest son. She sees Snow walking toward them and sets Tommy down.

Tommy runs passed his grandmother saying "Bye Gwama!"

"Bye Tommy," Snow says, making her way over to Regina.

"Goodbye Snow," Regina says.

"Come back soon, Regina," Snow requests as she wraps Regina in a hug.

Regina wraps her arms around Snow and sighs, "Of course. We'll be back soon."

"Not four years," Snow says with a smile.

Regina chuckles and pulls back from the hug, "Not four years," she agrees.

"Alright you lot," Zelena says as moves toward the entrance of the Gateway, "No more feelings and goodbyes. We're not leaving forever." She takes her sister by the hand and says, "Come along now, I miss my wifi and-"

"And your 9am wine call with the other stay-at-home-moms?" Emma asks with a smirk. Zelena huffs and mutters something about not being that kind of mom. "Suburbia bi-"

"Emma!" Regina shouts with wide eyes.

"Watch yourself, Swan," Zelena warns, eyes narrowed at her sister-in-law.

Emma can't stop the laughter from bubbling its way out of her. "It's Mills, Sis," she says as she holds her sides.

Zelena grumbles about the actual work she does while being a stay-at-home-mom. "Cooking, cleaning, watching my nieces and nephew, volunteering at the kids' school," she puffs out an angry breath, "helping you and my sister when you need it. But suuuuuure, make a joke about the one time I had wine at 9am. Just you wait, Swanie. Just you wait."

"Love you Z," Emma calls to her sister-in-law.

Zelena rolls her eyes and looks toward the Gateway entrance. "Mhm," she hums.

Regina laughs and looks at her sister, "Ready?"

"Let's drive back," Zelena states.

"We don't have a car, Z," Emma states obviously.

Zelena sighs and rubs at her forehead, "We have magic, Emma."

"Oh, right." She chuckles, nervously grabbing the back of her neck.

Regina smiles at her wife before raising an eyebrow at her sister, who shrugs. "Alright, Lena. Let's get going. The kids have school tomorrow." Her eldest son, along with her niece and nephew, collectively groan. Her sister chuckles and nods her head. "Emma?" Regina calls.

"No, no, you do it, babe. I'm exhausted."

Zelena laughs aloud, "Well, that's not something you've ever said before, is it?"

Emma narrows her eyes but takes Regina's outstretched hand and feels her wife's magic wrap up her arm and into her chest. She can practically hear what her wife wants her to create. Here goes nothing Emma thinks as she lets their magic flow from her free hand.

She blinks, the magical dots across her vision fade away and in its spot, "It's a trolley," Zelena says, disappointed.

"Sorry Z, we couldn't fit the Cadillac through the arches," Emma teases, much to her sister-in-law's chagrin.

Zelena mutters, "wasted potential," as she gathers their belongs and creates a ramp to get the trolley safely down the steps and into the halls of the Gateway. Zelena loads the bags into the last few seats on the trolley extension of the golf cart before motioning for the children to pick a seat.

Regina looks to Kam and Louisa, holding the twins, and steps forward. She takes Lottie from Kam and smiles as her daughter nestles into the crook of her neck, playing with her necklace as she yawns. "Your Majesty, are you sure you do not require our protection?" Kam asks as he bows.

Regina sighs, "Kam, I'm just Regina now. No need for an entire legion of warriors."

Kam scoffs, "Always a queen, always a ruler. But if you are sure, I shall wait in this castle until your return, should you need me."

Regina rolls her eyes, "Of course, Kam, you're always needed."

He attempts to suppress his smile as he nods his head, "I will continue the training of my men and will await your orders."

Regina smirks, "You could always start by listening to Snow." Kam scoffs, offended once more. Regina can't help the laughter escaping her as she says, "Or you could help her."

Kam narrows his eyes in suspicion, "Is that an order, Your Majesty?"

She smiles once again, faintly saying, "If you need it to be."

Kam nods, "I suppose I could explain to her what she's doing right. That will be a shorter list than what she's doing wrong."

Regina chuckles and shakes her head. She turns to Louisa and says, "I'll have Henry come and take Evelyn. He hasn't had much time with either of the twins since we arrived."

"I can take her," Louisa says as she steps toward the trolley.

"But we'll need someone to hold her on the ride back to our house," Regina reasons as she tries to make eye contact with her oldest son.

"I will hold her," Louisa says simply.

"You're- you're coming with us?" Regina asks in confusion.

"Of course. I miss the other world too, you know," she says factually. "And I just found you all. I'm not ready to lose you just yet."

Regina smiles softly, "You're not losing us, Louisa."

"I know, because I'm coming back with you."

The smile never leaves Regina's face. Before she can respond Henry walks over, catching the end of their conversation, "You're coming back with us LouLou?"

Louisa smiles and nods, "Of course, Duckling."

"How will we explain her presence?" Zelena asks as she moves over to join the conversation. "She can't be our mother, people already know that relationship is antagonistic and toxic."

"An estranged aunt, perhaps, looking to make amends."

"Or a stepmother," Henry adds. "And honestly," he pauses to shrug at his mother and aunt, "We might not even have to explain her presence. She's just with us, that's all that matters." He sighs, "Yeah, I know how the Suburbians are. They'll notice and want answers. Hmmm, can I think about it on the way back? Can we talk about it after I've thought up some ideas?"

Regina laughs, "Of course, Henry. Now, why don't you go back to the trolley and get comfortable. We'll be out of here shortly." She smiles toward Louisa, "Thank you," she says warmly.

Louisa smiles and nods before she heads toward the cart too.

Snow comes up to stand next to Regina and says, "So, Kam's going to help with the kingdom?"

Regina nods, "Yes, I'm assuming that since there's no more immediate threat, you'll all want to get back to a sense of normalcy."

"Actually," Snow starts, "We all seem to be enjoying living together in the castle. It's plenty big, and close to everything we need. There seem to be less people in and around the castle, thanks to Jafar and his menacing minions, so we might stick together a while longer."

Regina bobs her head in agreement, "I suppose that's up to you all."

Snow chuckles and nudges her elbow against Regina's, "We've all stayed in the area. The royals and our immediate circle of friends all have plenty of space in this castle. They even have chances to travel should they need a break but the ogres seem to have grown in number, so there hasn't been much travel."

"Talk to Kam," Regina says simply. "He's helped plan the attacks on the ogres many times. He knows their weaknesses and how to stop them."

Snow nods, "I will make sure he's in the next War Room meeting." She turns to see her daughter help situate Tommy between Henry and Louisa. She smiles, "Be safe Regina, and come back soon. I wish there was a way you could let us know that you've made it back to your house safely."

Regina smiles and waves her free hand. When the smoke clears, there's a small, compact mirror. She hands it to Snow and says, "It works similar to Skype. Open it and it will ring through to one of our phones. Then we'll be able to show you that we've made it safely."

"I would appreciate there very much, Regina," Snow says as she takes the compact from Regina's hand and holds it close to her chest as she smiles.

"See you soon, Snow," Regina says with a small head nod.

"Bye Regina."

She heads over to her family and settles into the front seat next to her wife. She turns to see her sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew, sons, and Louisa holding Evy all smiling and waving to their family. Regina turns to Emma and smiles widely. "Let's go home."

A/N: only the epilogue remains :)