DISCLAIMER. STILL NOT MINE.

Emma and Regina stayed where the were and watched Mary Margaret and David take an over excited Henry with them. For a few minutes Regina and Emma remained silent not knowing what to say. Finally it was the brunette who broke the silence. "My room has a nice balcony. We can sit there. I'd like to know everything about Henry during the last year". Emma nodded and left the chair expecting Regina to do the same and lead the way to her chambers but all the former Queen did was to raise an eyebrow and carelessly move her fingers "No need to walk. While I don't kill people or cast evil curses no one cares about me using magic..." Emma looked around and looked back at Regina "Nice..." Regina chuckled "the not being a killer any longer dear?. I would say it's hard enough to deserve something better than nice, but I know you are short of synonyms... You have water and fruit over there if you want some, Emma" The former Sheriff turned and observed the older woman, her body language was as playful and relaxed as her voice so she smiled and sat declining the offer.

They moved towards the balcony and sat there enjoying the sight. Emma immediately started explaining everything to Regina. Henry was starting to pay attention to girls. He was a good student. He loved science and maths and was very good at chemistry. "He really is yours Regina. I think the chemistry thing comes from you and your witchcraft. I always stay around him when he is in the kitchen but the kid is one hell of a cooker, though he is still trying to understand how to cook and not to get all kitchen dirty. He loves reading about everything. You brought up a nice young man. He has your quirks, he rolls his eyes like you. Shrugs like you too. You two even share what I hate the most about you, a weird compulsion to maintain the order around you, kind of control freaks you two are, the need to know and understand everything that surrounds him." Regina smiled with pride and gratitude at the blonde's words and nodded "This past year, I knew he was with you. He would be perfectly safe with you, but it hurt so much... However, it is not Henry who brought US here. It is not one Charming finding another one. Another bond brought you here, am I wrong?"

Emma closed her eyes and considered the answer to the question. She moved to face the brunette and nodded. Regina wanted Emma to keep talking but she had to admit that it would be easier if she was the one starting the next part of the conversation. The former queen spent the last year getting ready for the day Henry and Emma would be back. Emma on the other hand had barely had a few hours to accept everything that was going on around her, so with a sigh Regina started. "Daniel came back to my life for a short period of time while you were in here with Snow. You probably remember what I had to. The thing is that I always thought he was my true love and I never understood his last words to me. I wanted him to stay because I was sure he was my happy ending, but his last words to me were if you loved me then love again. He used the past as if I was not in love with him any longer. After... he left I went home and I cried my eyes out. I didn't want to let go of him. I spent days thinking what he meant when he told me that if I ever loved him I needed to let him go and love again. My conclusion was that he was asking me to truly let myself go and be a better mother for my son, that meant allowing him to get to know you and also meant that I would have to learn to share him with you. I thought Daniel meant I needed to give my true love to my son. True love is found between lovers but most frequent is between parents and children. I'm telling you this because until we were back here and I started deciphering why we kept our memories I never fully understood Daniel's words.

For a few days we thought that the memories would vanish sooner or later. Later on we saw they weren't going anywhere. We were keeping all the memories from both our lives thought it was not supposed to be like that. People thought I failed. I'm the Evil Queen I never fail, as simple as that. My magic never fails so I knew there had to be something else. Something Rumplestiskin knew and kept hidden from me. I read every single book or work I could find about magic. I finally understood what was going on. Magic always comes at a price though sometimes it gives small freebies and we were given one, one that could be a blessing or a curse.

People was right about one thing though, it was my fault that we kept all our memories. I said I don't make mistakes and I don't. I simply made a biggest sacrifice than I was required. I gave up what I love the most as needed but the biggest sacrifice was giving him to you and giving both of you up, not only him. There were two choices, giving him up or giving him up making sure he had his best chance.

I could have just giving him up without changing your past. You would have given him up, he would have ended up who knows where and you would... well who knows. The result of doing that would be us back here remembering only who we were here. Giving him up like that would have hurt a lot and was enough to save us.

As I seem to always choose the most difficult road. I did too this time, but for once it was also the best one. I gave him up to save us all the same but I made sure Henry and you remained together and I gave you the best memories I could cast. That did not hurt, that simply broke my heart in a million pieces. Since we met I thought the best for Henry was to be away from you. I thought it was the best for him but I was only being selfish making sure that he would not need any other than me. I fought to keep you away from him and at the end the only way to save my son was giving him up to you so you could raise him. That broke my heart. Magic, my dear, has a funny sense of humour and giving Henry to you must have felt as a redemption because we kept our memories. Those memories were a link to you and him, and by extension a chance to be back home in the future. While we could remember there was a chance of being together. For a year, I have been studying and getting ready, strengthening my magic to be able to bring us back to Storybrooke. I designed a new spell in which the price will be exchanging the Enchanted Forest for Storybrooke. Right now both our world exist. As happened when we were in Main one is alive and the other is sleeping, the thing is that eventually we will need to think if we want to stay here or leave but that is something we will have to think about in common with the rest of the people from the Forest. We have the same reasons to stay as we have to go back truth be said, so we have time.

So for a few months I thought it would be Henry's heart the one that would eventually bring you two to us. I thought he would finally find a way to come back to his grandparents, love conquers it all but blood is strong but there is something else that is stronger.

What I just told it is what I explained before to your parents with more details, but we both kept a part of this out of our previous explanations. I want to keep this between us, if you ever dare to tell this to anyone... you'll be in trouble Ms Swam. I have been holding to my memories, to the good ones. My best memories and the happiest ones belong to Henry. Surprisingly I learnt that you became part of those memories too. I was always good at compartmentalizing my feelings. As usual Ms Swam you always find to annoy me and even when you had no memories of me you managed to be annoying by sneaking and conquering part of my memories becoming part of my good memories. At first it was pictures of you and Henry smiling, playing, eating at granny's, after some time it was you on your own, driving that thing you insist in calling a car, freezing because you seem to ignore the wonders of a coat, your smile, the way to turn your head and look at me when you are about to send me straight to hell,... and later it was just moments we share together, teaching you about magic, explaining you the differences between apples, the way in which we both seem to drive the other insane... I missed my son, I missed his mother, but what I missed the most was you.

There was a chance for a happy ending and it seemed that you were going to be in it as my son's mother. I celebrated Henry's birthday trying to feel him closer until I got him back. I thought birthdays are important days and it could be the perfect portal to bring up his memories but nothing happened. For some reason I decided to do the same thing with yours. I kept myself apart from Snow and Charming on those dates and I'd rather keep it like that, they are way too happy and sweet and... they make my stomach ache with such sweetness. It is your birthday today and as I already explained I wanted to celebrate as a way to keep my son close to me. I cooked a cake and blew a candle. I thought about what Henry would doing, I know he gets all excited about birthdays. I thought you'd be happy having him and though I've known for a long time I missed you I never admitted it till today. Today was the first time I said those words really meaning them, I miss my son, I miss Emma. I missed you because of you not because you were the mother of my son. I wished you a happy birthday and suddenly there was your voice saying my name. You brought my son back. You remembered me, not your parents or friends. It was me and we will have to make sure we understand that because it was not supposed to be like that and it is annoying that even I never fails magic seems to be playing tricks on me"

Emma stared at the older woman, she looked, moved, smiled, she even smelled like Mayor Mills, but it seemed to be a really improved version of herself. Regina's voice was always something that made Emma's body shiver but now it was sweeter, softer and it felt filled with emotions. Emma looked deep into Regina's eyes. Few times Regina lost control in Storybrooke and Emma learnt that the only way to get to understand what she was thinking was through her eyes. Those brown eyes became the best ally for Emma always telling her what Regina never meant to be said. "The first thing I remembered after I remembered is that I missed you too. I missed seeing you walk on those crazy heels, missed the way you just start those silly fights with me, but mostly I missed the way you look at me when you think I don't see it. Don't worry about my parents. I don't want them to know my first thought it was you. I see you are getting along and I'm glad to know that you are not the most hated person here, but... I think I'd rather keep this between us. At least for a little bit. Now ff you want me to explain what happened and the risk of you saying I have the most amazing lack of vocabulary... no clue at all.

When you explained to me, to us that in order to save them you needed to say goodbye to Henry. Soon after arriving in Storybrooke I noticed that what you said and what you wanted to say were different things. It was impossible to understand your moods until I paid attention to your eyes. The look on your eyes always say a lot, back then and right now Regina. You cannot control your eyes and I'm very thankful for that. That awful day, the look on your eyes, it killed me, broke my heart. I agree with Mary, Sn, my... ug... Mary Margaret. You said you were giving us good memories and though I trusted you I never had the chance to see what you did. We went from being your son and your... whatever I was to you to being to normal people. Mary Margaret said she appreciates what you did, I can't do that. I appreciate what you did as much as I hate it because I know it killed you deep inside. There should be more than appreciation to thank you Regina. I wish I could do a great gesture to say thank you that would erase all the pain you felt there and for a year.

I don't know how to take this Regina. My knowledge about magic is none but I know that your curse was enormous. You sacrificed what you loved the most out of hate to cast it and then again you sacrificed what you loved the most to save your people but this time it was out of love. I understood right then that since we met you underwent a change, from villain to hero, but a hero without a happy ending. I felt my heart breaking and now I know why, I was hurting because you were hurting. The Evil Queen would have acted differently; finding a way for her and her son to run away and leaving everyone behind despite of everything. Queen Regina saved her citizens without thinking about it twice.

I wish I could say what happened. Two years ago you started teaching me magic. If back then you would have asked me who would be meant to break and fix something like this I would have said Henry. He believed in fairy tales, happy endings, true love, white knights, evil creatures, and he is related to Snow and Charming by blood. I'm on the other hand the sceptical. I killed a dragon, fought against wraiths, met with Peter Pan, killed ogres and knights while wondering when was the alarm clock to ring... I never saw Red, Granny, the dwarves, the Evil Queen... I saw my friend Ruby, the lovely woman that every morning had a coffee ready for me at her dinner, drunk Leroy pissing me off, and the pain of the ass we had as Mayor. Never paid attention to who you were here, it was not relevant for me.

I am related by blood to Mary Margaret and David, in fact I am much more related to them than Henry is. They should have been the ones making my heart beat again, but it was you Regina. Not them. I was blowing the candle and what it came to my mind was the sight of you blowing a candle, I heard you wishing me a happy birthday and this annoying feeling vanished as soon as I said your name. The memories brought to my mind were all about you. The way you looked at me thinking I was about to let you die in that fire. How you were so close to kill me when I hurt your precious apple tree, I'm really sorry for that by the way. The way in which you look at Henry when you think no one else is paying attention to you. Your voice, your smell, the way your body moves. How you roll your eyes when someone says something you don't want to hear like you are doing right now. I felt like I was home, I could feel your hands trying to reach me. I felt you were just waiting for me to be home and I said your name... and as always happens when you are involved all of a sudden all hell broke loose..." Emma smiled and Regina laughed at the familiar feeling of their fights. "Why you Regina? I don't understand it, well I do but I'm not sure about it. We were always fighting each other for Henry or fighting someone else who tried to hurt my, our son. I guess that we managed to build some kind of weird connexion between us through him. It does not make much sense anyway, right?".

The brunette took a few moments to try to put things in order inside her head. "I think it has more to do with us as women than him. The way you look at me when I told you I would give you good memories. I told you it broke my heart. It did but the way you looked at me it was like you took the pieces from me. I never felt the same here, I did what I had to do but something was missing.

We, you and I, might not be as different from your parents as we want to be, and it hurts like hell to admit so. Charming always managed to beat me and always managed to find Snow. On the other side Snow being as annoying as her husband did the same several times. As I said, magic has a weird senses of humour and it seems fit that we ended up like this, because this is going to be a permanent itch for the four of us...

You saved my life a few times and I did the same for you. I swallowed a death spell so you and Mary Margaret could go back to Storybrooke. I protected you from a few foes, some of your own and some of mine, so they could not hurt you. I did it because I had this idea about no one ever hurting you unless it was me. Sorry for that by the way Ms Swam. A year is long enough to pay attention to small details... I did many things in the name of my son. This is what Henry wants. I can't kill her because of Henry, that was the apple tree day by the way. It was easy to believe I was doing things for him but I was lying to myself, Daniel was right all I needed to change and not being evil was to love again. Small details... your red jacket, the way you always seem to show up uninvited, how you raise your eyebrow, I even miss how you pretend to listen to the council meetings when your head is no closer than the moon is. I did what I did because if felt right even when I had no idea about it."

Emma sat closer to the evil queen and smiled "In Henry's name is a good excuse. You know, being there, done that, got the shirt and all that. I fought harder to make sure you were ok that it was really necessary. I smiled at the way you said Ms Swam. I giggled like a teenager every time I heard your heels coming into the station... Sorry about the meetings, but Archie and Gold could kill anyone just by listening to them talk for an hour. It was you most of the time but it was easier to use Henry as the reason to throw myself in a portal to who knows where after sending the wraith away that saying I wanted you alive.

So then, Henry is clearly out of the equation if we look at it from a serious point of view. You started caring about me because he wanted to and then it was your own will. I started because of him and then I just couldn't handle the idea of you being hurt. Earlier David was staring at us with a funny look, he was looking at each other and grinning like silly. He probably knew what we were thinking."

Emma got closer and whispered "I came to find you. I need you. I love you Regina" and kissed the brunette softly on the lips. Not wasting a second the former queen started kissing Emma back but broke the kiss after a few seconds "Do you remember when you said earlier you wanted to say or do something that would take the pain from me? The pain from watching you and our son leave?" Emma nodded not sure about what Regina was thinking about "This is it. You came back and found me. You need me but I need you. You took all the pain the second you whispered my name over that cake, that was the second when I knew you were coming back home to me and bringing our child with you. I love you too... Ms Swam. We will have to figure things out slowly between us and we will all have to think if we want to stay here or back home but you are not leaving my sight ever again dear". The blonde caressed Regina's face "home is anywhere with you and the kid, though the fact that you say home when talking about Storybrooke it says a lot..."

Regina nodded and kissed Emma again "I agree Ms Swam, home is you and Henry with me. Now now Storybrooke ... I miss my oven..."