Regina held the wooden box containing Mary Margaret's heart in her left hand as she opened her closet with her right. She would have put the heart with the others in her family's mausoleum, but that would both take too much time and be too obvious.

Instead, she plopped the box next to her various shoe boxes, amused that Snow White's heart was residing beside a designer pair of heels.

"Probably the closest to stylish she'll ever come," Regina mused to herself as she shut her closet door and headed to her next destination in her home.


"Ma?" Henry looked up from where he'd fallen back onto the mossy ground. "Where are we? What happened?"

Emma pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger as she took in a deep breath. "I don't know, Henry, but I have an idea." She groaned.

"Okay," he drew the word out as he stood up and brushed off the back of his clothing. "So where do you think we are?"

Letting her hand drop to her side, she took another look around them. Seeing where the thicket of trees gave way to a clearing, she started to head in that direction as she answered his question. "We're either somewhere in the woods around town, or," again she groaned, "we're in the Enchanted Forest."

Henry stopped walking and stared at her. "You think we're in the Enchanted Forest?" He voice was both hopeful and terrified.

"Maybe," she answered with a shrug. "The only way to find out is for us to look around." She glanced in the general direction of the sun. "If we're outside of town, then the town should be this way," she gestured in the appropriate direction. "If we're in the Enchanted Forest, then we need to start looking for a safe place to be before it gets dark. Ogres are not the friendliest guys to run into."

They began to walk again, staying in step with each other. Henry thought over what she'd told him and finally asked, "Why do you think we're in the Enchanted Forest?"

"Because my life sucks," she grumbled under her breath. A bit louder, she answered, "Because the Enchanted Forest gave me a really specific kind of feeling in my gut, and that's the feeling I have right now. I've never felt that in the woods around town or anywhere else for that matter, and whatever that bright light was that got us here was probably some kind of magic portal."

Stopping at the edge of the clearing, they looked out across the landscape. The only visible thing in the distance was what looked to be a building, possibly stables. Across the vast green landscape, there were a few fenced in areas, but mostly the land simply rolled out toward the horizon until it landed against a lush backdrop of more trees.

"Let's head toward whatever that is. If we're lucky, somebody there can tell us where we are," she said as they started the long walk.

"Ma," Henry's voice sounded small. "If we are in the Enchanted Forest, how do we get home?"

Emma's face grew grim but determined. "I don't know, but we'll figure it out," she said as she stared ahead.


Regina stepped into Henry's room and looked around at the familiar items she associated with her son. Inhaling deeply, she took in his familiar scent, and her eyes glossed over from the emotions the sensation elicited.

Shaking it off, she began to walk around the room looking for just the right item to use in her spell. Her eyes traveled over his bed with its rumpled covers, his desk with the piles of books and papers he never seemed to have organized, and then to his closet. She frowned. His closet was always the most disastrous area of his room, but it stood to reason the item she needed would most likely be in there.

Stepping to the closed closet door, she opened it with a tug and rolled her eyes at the messy piles and halfway hung clothing she saw. Her hand hovered above various items until she felt a pull from a small box tucked away on a shelf. Pulling it out and removing the lid, she smiled. It was Henry's Hulk action figure he'd wanted for Christmas three Christmases past.

He'd taken it everywhere with him when he first received it, even sleeping and bathing with it. When it was time for a meal, Henry insisted Hulk had a place setting, too, and, when it was time to be tucked in, Hulk had to be tucked in, too. It had taken almost a year for him to become un-enamored with the toy, but, when Henry felt scared or sick, Hulk would reappear next to him in his bed or at the dining table.

It made sense that this toy would have the strongest connection to him. It was the equivalent of a security blanket.

Carefully lifting the action figure from the precious bed in the box in which he resided, she held it gently in her hand as she returned the box and headed to the guest room.


By the time Emma and Henry arrived at the building, the sun was beginning to set. She was wary, and Henry was clearly scared but trying not to show it.

Pulling in her last reserves of energy, she stepped inside what was, in fact, stables and called out.

"Hello? Anyone in here?" She held her breath and reached out to place a hand on Henry's shoulder.

"Hello?" A male voice called out from somewhere. "Who are you?"

They turned to see a stunning looking young man dressed in what was, without question, clothing straight from a fairytale book. His short, thick, dark hair had a few pieces of straw stuck in it, and his bright blue eyes shown with curiosity and warmth.

She gave her best smile. "Hi there."

Henry gulped and whispered to his mother, "Emma," he breathed, "Emma, that's Daniel." The blood drained from his face and his breathing quickened.

She glanced down at him. "What?"

His eyes grew wider. "That's… that's Daniel, Mom's…"

Emma clapped a hand over Henry's mouth and gave the man in front of her an apologetic look. In turn, the young man gave them both a curious look. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Uh," the blonde gulped air, "No." She slowly slid her hand away from Henry's face but kept a tight grip on the boy's shoulder. "No, I don't think so. We, uh, we got lost in the… the forest back there." She pointed vaguely back behind her. "We were hoping to find a place to sleep tonight before we found our way back home."

"Oh," the man gave them a sympathetic look. "Those woods can be very dangerous, especially at night. Where do you come from? Perhaps I can help you get home? I could ask the mistress for the day off tomorrow after I give her daughter a riding lesson. If you don't mind waiting in the stables until then, I'd be more than happy to escort you."

"Uh," Emma panicked. "That's really nice of you, but we only need a place to sleep tonight."

"Well you can stay here. I'll happily share my place in the loft with you." His smile remained warm. "I'm Daniel."

"See?" Henry whispered. "I told you."

She nudged her son to keep him quiet. "I'm Emma and this is my son, Henry." She gave an awkward wave. "It's nice to meet you."

Daniel nodded. "And the same to you. Have you eaten yet?"

"I'm starving," Henry answered loudly.

Daniel chuckled. "Well then, let's get you fed." He motioned toward a ladder that led up to the second story of the stables. "I don't have much, but I'm happy to share it."

"Thanks," Emma said quietly as she passed by him and followed Henry up to the stables' loft.


Regina carefully placed Henry's action figure on the dresser in the guest bedroom and glanced around. The rumpled bed and messy area where Emma's suitcase was placed made her smirk. Clearly, being unorganized was a hereditary trait.

She began the same search she had done in Henry's room but stopped short when her eyes fell upon a very familiar leather jacket. Despite herself, Regina felt a prickling in her eyes. It was ridiculous, of course, to be so emotional. Emma Swan really meant nothing to her, but she was with Henry, and they had to return together because Henry would be devastated if Emma didn't come home with him.

She had to bring Emma back for Henry's sake. That much was clear. With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, she went straight to the red leather jacket that was haphazardly tossed across the chair in the room. She grasped it between two fingers and held it up to get a good look at it. Her mind ran over the first few days Emma Swan had been in Storybrooke and the beginning of their interactions together. As she held the jacket, Regina's body hummed with the same energy that had shot through her when she located Henry's action figure.

Idly, she wondered how long Emma had owned the jacket and why it was so important to her, but the answers didn't really matter. What mattered was that it was something important to the sheriff, which meant it would work for the spell.

Laying the jacket over her arm, she walked out of the room, making sure to pluck the Hulk up from his resting place on the dresser.

The hour was late, and she needed to rest before she attempted to do anything more. Taking the items to her bedroom, she carefully laid the red leather jacket down across her chaise and then placed the action figure on top of it so that it nestled within the collar of the garment.

She looked down at the items and wiped at her eyes. She only had one chance to find them, and, if she didn't, they might be lost forever. Just once, she thought, it would be nice if something worked in her favor.


See what I mean about it is but isn't what you think?