Just around 6 o'clock, the towns people started to gather at the Granny's. The diner was decorated with blue streamers, red and blue balloons, and Welcome Baby signs. In one corner, Regina is deep in conversation with Granny, one with coffee, one with a beer. At the counter, Hook is hitting on a waitress.
Over at one of the booths, near the door, sits Mary-Margaret, holding the baby with Henry next to her, David just standing behind his grandson. Ruby is across the table, with Emma, who is wearing a gray turtleneck knit shirt, black jeans and brown leather jacket, standing next to her, smiling at her son, as he reads from the storybook.
"and that's when the bandit leaps on top of the carriage and stole the Prince's bag of jewels." Henry, in a red flannel shirt, with black and red stripes, turns the page and continues "as the Prince chased the thief on horseback, through the treacherous forest..."
"Really?" interrupts Emma, looking at her parents, sighing. "I can't hear the kids name yet, but I have to hear this story again?
"I just think my son should know where he came from." David replies, smiling as he touches his son's face.
Emma, her green eyes sparkling, "Are you sure you want the first words he knows, are how his parents fell in love during an armed robbery?"
Mary-Margaret whips up her head, interjecting. "I wasn't armed!"
"Except with a rock," points out Ruby.
"I still have the scar to prove it" grins David.
"Which healed" As Mary-Margaret bends her head to talk low to her son. "That's just how we met. It's not how we fell in love." She coos to the baby.
David laughs, "Yea, that was a bit..more complicated." He turns the page in the book, and points to the picture. "See, there are the Black Knights, when I saved your mother's life."
The pixie haired mother, turns to the next page. "Oh..and the attack at the troll bridge, when I saved his." She laughs.
In the meantime, David has once again, turned to another page. "But it wasn't till I saw my mother's ring on her finger, that I knew, in my heart, there was no other woman I would ever love." He looks lovingly at his wife, before looking at the others.
"I wished you would of told me then, it would of saved us a lot of time..and heart ache." His wife responds.
Grinning, David says, "How could I? I had my wedding I had to get too," The others laugh with him. "But deep down, I knew my heart was destined for another."
Ruby looks up at David. "You just had to find her first." She then looks up at Emma. "She ran away and was living on a farm."
"Ah...it sounded like a peaceful life at the time, with everyone and everything left behind." Snow smiles fondly.
Hook saunters up to the group, a half full beer in his hand, having just taken a sip, states, "Ah...Like mother, like daughter."
Everyone looks at him, as Emma warns. "Hook..."
"What's he talking about?" Henry queries as he looks at his mom.
David, trying to diffuse the situation, tried to turn the page in the book. "Should we get back to the stories?"
By this time, Regina, wearing a charcoal gray blouse, with black pant suit, black jacket, with a maroon scarf around her neck, has finished up with Granny, and is moving toward the group, over hearing this last part.
"Actually..." As she looks at Emma. "I like to know what the pirate is talking about myself."
"It's nothing." Emma dejects, as she starts getting nervous.
"Are you planning on going back to New York?" Regina questions the blonde.
"Why would we be going back to New York?" Henry asks in alarm.
"You're not." The Mayor looks kindly on her son, then quickly her eyes drill into the Sheriff's eyes. "Right Miss Swan?"
Shrugging, Emma sighs, as she withers under Regina's glare. "Actually it's complicated."
Henry looks at Emma, with concern, "Why would we leave? This is our home!."
"Henry, this isn't the time or place." His mom responds, fidgeting even more.
"I think it is." Regina scowls, again, glaring at Emma.
"No...IT's not!" Emma turns, and leaves the diner, slamming the door behind her.
"I will go have a talk with her." Hook puts down his glass.
"Hook, no...no...I think Regina needs to go talk with her." Mary-Margaret looks at Regina, saying, "Remember what I said earlier?"
"Before it's too late, this is what you were referring to." Regina nods in understanding.
Turning to her former step-mother, Mary-Margaret pleads. "Please, talk to her...she will listen to you. We have tried to convince her to stay here, but she has put those walls up again. I think you are the only one who can get through to her. Please?" Mary-Margaret, her eyes brimming with tears.
"I .. alright...I will attempt to sway her mind, but I am not sure she will listen to me either." Regina starts to turn.
"Wait..." Henry stops his mother, putting the storybook in his canvas backpack then hands it to his mother. "Take this, it might help her remember where she came from."
Looking at her son, seeing how much he looks like Emma right then, she smiles, takes the book. "I will try my best." She then leaves, heading out the door. As she hits the first step down, the door opens and David steps out.
"Regina, wait." He moves up close to her, looking around, "I know we have had our problems in the past, but I know you and Snow have been working on letting the past go, and moving on. I just wanted to tell you, that we both value you as a friend. When Emma first came back from New York, she kept asking about you. How you were doing. She really does care for you. Not sure what changed, with in a week, she had started putting up those walls, then talked about her going back to New York, that she was happy there, but I really don't think she was. Please, do what ever you have to, to convince Emma she belongs here, with us, all of us, her family, which includes you." David sincerely looks into Regina's eyes, letting her know, he is telling the truth.
Regina at first, is a bit taken back, but then, gives a small smile, touches his arm. "I will talk with her, and David...thank you."
Turning, she heads down the steps. At first she is wondering which way the blonde Sheriff went, but as she is thinking about what David said, an image of Emma, sitting on a bench in the park hits her mind for a split second, then it's gone. "What in the hell was that? That's not the first time I have been trying look for her, when an image reveals her location." Then in her mind she hears..'I will always find you'. "No...noo...that can not be..." Shaking her head, trying to dispel what she really does not want to believe she is hearing, Regina heads down the street to the park.
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Mean while back inside the diner. David rejoins his family. "Don't worry, I am sure Regina can talk some sense in Emma. Even if she is stubborn like her..." He looks at Snow, who glares at him. "Ah...like the rest of our family." He smirks.
Just then, as Henry looks up, he stares out the window, then slowly lifts his finger, pointing. "Grandpa, what's that?"
What he is pointing at is a fire like column, shooting skyward.
As David goes to the window to get a closer look, Mr Gold and Belle come in.
"That is a problem." Gold states, "That light is from Zelena's time portal. Some how, it's open.
The group rushes out, and over to the Sheriff's station. As they come around the corner of the jail, they see that the cell holding Zelena, is now empty. After some heated discussion as to what happen, David suggest looking at the security tape to see what happened.
As the group gathers around the monitor, Gold stands back, waves his finger. The tape jumps and sputters, then the snow clears, showing what appears to be Zelena, turning herself into some kind of clay or porcelain and then just crumbles to dust, then the dust just disappears. Gold suggests that possibly when Zelena, did herself in like that, that her power that was contained in the pendant that is locked up in Regina's vault, some how released her magic and that is what opened the portal. He warns that nobody should get near it. If anyone was to go back in time, the repercussions would be catastrophic.
David pulls out his phone to try and get a hold of Emma to tell her what is going on, and to stay away from the portal.
=============SQ==================SQ==================SQ=======
Emma is sitting on a bench, watching the ducks on the lake. Her cell phone vibrates, she looks at it, sees it's David, but just ignores it and puts it back in her pocket. She is wringing her hands, trying to calm her self, when she hears familiar foot steps approach.
"Miss Swan, so you're running away again." Regina slowly walks up to the bench. She stands, with her arms crossed, holding the book, looking sternly at Emma.
"I was planning on telling you, I just...hadn't figured out the right time..I guess." Emma slowly looks up at the brunette.
"Well, now the cat's out of the bag, thanks to your pirate. You are making a big mistake." Regina moves to the other side of Emma, and sits next to her, putting the book down on the other side of her.
"I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to listen to anything you or my parents have to say. I've made up my mind." Emma's jaw is ridged as she controls her emotions.
Well if you won't listen to me, then listen to our son." Regina pulls the book out and hands it to Emma. "He thought this might remind you what you are leaving behind. Your family." 'And me' Regina thinks to herself. "I thought that's why you came back, to help your family?"
"I thought I did too, but after a while, I realized, that I just still felt like someone on the outside always looking in. I don't know. Just hearing my parents back there, telling about their story, and David saying he wanted his son to know where he came from. I came from there also..but I don't feel any connection!" Emma puts her head in her hands, then pulls up, looking at Regina. "When I first remembered, I felt the pull to come here. But then, after a while, I just...I don't know." The blonde puffs out a breath, while thinking 'till I saw how happy you were with Robin.'
"Emma, you broke my curse, we defeated Pan, we defeated my sister, but you keep running away." The brunette turns to get face Emma. "What are you looking for?"
Emma hesitates, then looks up at Regina. "Hope, and home."
"And you think you will find that in New York?" Regina is trying to understand what is going on in this woman's head.
"I was happy there, for the first time, I felt like I could just be me."
"So you just keep running." Shaking her head, Regina looks out wards, trying to keep her anger in check.
"Look when I was a kid, I was a runaway. It's just what I did. I learned a long time ago, that home is the place that when you leave, you just miss it. So yea I'm gonna keep running till I feel that."
Emma opens the storybook. "I don't see my family here. I see fairy tales that I grew up on. I see stories of Prince and Princess's. It's not me. I was never part of this."
Regina grabs Emma's hand. "Then what are you part of?"
"Besides being with Henry, I don't think I ever been part of anything." Emma is trying to ignore the warm, tingling sensation from where Regina holds her hand.
Looking at Emma, into those green eyes, 'but you could be with me' thinks Regina, but instead says, "You are part of this town, you belong here, just as much as the rest of us."
Emma just looks at her hands. "I am not happy though."
"Happy?! You know how much I missed Henry, how much it hurt when he didn't know who I was? How can I be happy, when you let him get his memory back, only to take him away from me! I thought we were friends Emma! And here you are, planning to take one of the things that means the most to me and leave again!" By this time Regina has stood up, is pacing back and forth as she continues to rant.
"Regina..I...I am not taking Henry with me." Emma tells the angry brunette.
Regina stops, blinking several times, before speaking. "Wha...what?"
"I am not taking him with me. Henry is happy here. Once he retained his lost memory, I saw how he looked when he recognized you, and your returned look. I knew there was no way in hell I would ever, ever, see that lost look in your eyes. I realized, when I had those memories you gave me, that you were a GOOD mother Regina. Way better than I could ever be."
"So..you're abandoning him again." Regina spits out, "Running away again.., you do know I have no legal rights to him now. When I sent you over that line, you had the papers to prove you were his birth mother."
"I am not abandoning him. I just think he is better off here with you. With my parents, this town. He grew up here, he has the heart of the truest believer. These people mean so much to him. I can't take that away from him. As for rights, there will be some papers delivered to you in the next few days." Putting her hand on Regina's, "It's the least I can do." Emma gives Regina a small smile.
"You're..giving him back to me? I...but.." Regina speechless, sits back down.
"Yea, can we drop this discussion please?" Feeling vulnerable speaking about Henry, Emma just wanted to cut off the overwhelming emotions that were starting to surface.
After a moment of silence, "So, when do you plan to leave?" Regina holds her breath, not really wanting to here the answer.
"By the end of this week, it's not like I have much to pack. You know me, one-box Swan." Emma shrugs her shoulders.
"So..I suppose the hand-less wonder will be heading out with you." Regina lashes out, a bit more harsh then she intended but Regina dreads even thinking of them living together.
Emma looks at Regina with a quizzical look. "Huh..what? Hook? No...he's not..." Emma looks over the back of the bench, her eyes going wide... "What in the hell?"
The Mayor turns to see what cause the Sheriff's outburst. Her eyes also go wide in shock.
"Regina? Is that...? Emma starts to ask.
"The portal. Yes, some how, it has opened, though that should be impossible." Regina looks back at Emma, sees that look in her eyes.
"Emmma...don't even think about it," Regina warns.
"I'm checking this out." Emma stands, runs toward the squad car.
"Wha...What...wait! SWAN!" The Mayor yells, grabbing the book, shoving it in the pack, as she runs after the idiot Sheriff.
Emma jumps in the cruiser, starts the engine, just as Regina gets in the passenger side. She barely has time to buckle her seat beat before the Sheriff turns on the siren, lights and peels out of the parking lot.
By the time they get to Zelena's farm house, it's nearly dark. Emma pulls up near the barn and both women exit and approach the barn. The portal has blown through the roof and seems to go on forever into the night sky.
"What ever is going on in there, can't be good," commented the Mayor.
Emma has her phone out, listening, then hangs up. "It's Zelena's time portal, David just left a message saying some how she died, and it triggered it. Regina, I'm sorry."
"What?" Regina is a bit shocked at the news, but recovers quickly. "I will worry about that later, it's not like we were close, she did try to kill me a few times, threatened Henry, and your baby brother."
Emma moves toward the barn. Regina grabs her arm. "Emma, wait. We need to get out of here."
"Not till we find a way to close it." Emma looks at the barn, but again Regina tugs on her arm.
"Do you have your magic back?"
Emma shakes her head, "Nope. You have magic though."
The noise from the barn is getting louder. "I'm not dealing with this till we find out more. My magic may not be enough."
Just then the barn doors crash open inward. A powerful suction hits Emma first, knocking her down, causing her to drop her phone, and starts to pull her inside, feet first. A split second later, Regina is also on the ground, being pulled in.
As Regina passes a support pole, she latches on to it, wrapping arms around it. Emma as grabbed on to the brunette's legs, but is slipping further into the swirling abyss.
"REGINA! I can't hold on."
Just as Emma slips off, "EMMA!" Regina cries out, then rolling her eyes, "Damn idiot! Why do I keep going after this woman!" Regina releases her hold on the post, and follows Emma through the portal.
Once both women gone, the portal closes. The night is silent except for the buzzing of Emma's cell phone, laying in the dirt. An incoming call from David goes unanswered.