The next morning, we were woken up a loud knock on the door. Regina and I looked at each other. It was not awkward or anything. It was natural. Nothing really happened between us last night, but we felt closer.

"I will go get the door," I whispered to Regina. I climbed out of bed, "Coming!"

"Oh, hey, Beef Jerky!" I opened the door and there was Ruby from the Granny's dinner, "You are so early. What's up?"

"It's not early, it's eleven," She asked, "And why do you always call me Beef Jerky?"

"Cause you are salty and... nevermind." She wouldn't understand. I tried to block the sun with my left hand, but it started turning red, "You want to come in?"

"No, I will be quick. Town meeting at noon in town hall," Ruby said, "Mandatory."

"Okay," I was about to close the door.

"Millie, do you smell barbeque?" Ruby asked.

"Ya, that's my hand," It was starting to turn brown.

She started smelling around, "You smell nice. You smell like..." She paused, "Regina!" She raised her guard and looked at me, "What did you do to Millie?"

I begged she must have missed out what happened in the past few days, "No, I am just plain Millie, not someone the Mayor pretended to be. I can prove to you." I recalled some memory with Ruby, "Two weeks ago, you had a fight with Dr. Whale. Then you regretted it and came to The Rabbit Hole. You got drunk and I drove you home. Also, you told me if I needed any magical help, I could go walk to Mr. Gold."

"Okay, you are Millie all right. Now, explain to me why you smell like the Evil Queen," She insisted.

"I am just trying out a new perfume. And don't you have other doors to knock?" I reminded her. She finally let me out of this jam and I walked back to the living room. Regina was folding the bed back into a couch and failed miserably.

"Regina, there is a town meeting at noon. Ruby said it's mandatory," She looked at the clock and I walked to her side, trying to help her with the bed, "Damn, it hurts." I looked at my cooked hand.

"What happened?" Regina held my hand.

"I didn't put on sunscreen, but don't worry. It will heal," I said, "And don't worry about the bed. I need to fold it out again anyway. Go take a shower. I will cook you something to eat. I have good food this time."

After a while, Regina came out from the bathroom. I lay the brunch on the table. She sat down and picked up the fork. I stared at her.

"Why are you staring? Do I have something on my face?" She asked.

"I am just wondering... How is my cooking?" I missed eating.

She put some food in her mouth and started chewing. She slowly swallowed and smiled. What a lady. Never eat with her mouth open and never talk when she eats. "It's really good. You should open your own café."

"Thanks," It felt good to know Regina liked my food.

"Now, go do something else and stop staring at me," She bossed me.

"All right, I will go take a shower. Are you going to the town meeting?" I asked. She didn't reply.

I took a nice hot shower. The sunburn wound had already turned pink. When I got out of the bathroom, my eyes surprised me. There was a strawberry blond in the room.

"Laura!" I shouted. I wrapped my one arm around her waist and put my other hand behind her head. I knew it wasn't her, but I didn't care, "I miss you." She didn't push me away. I held that position with her for five minutes, "Thank you, Regina. I know it is you." I kissed her cheek.

Regina lightly touched her cheek, where I kissed.

"So, why did you pretend to be Laura?" I asked.

"Well, I want to go to the town meeting, but I know I will cause a riot. So, I figure I can pretend to be your dead girlfriend. You don't mind, do you?" Regina asked.

"Of course, I won't mind," I released Regina, "But I want you to know that if I fall in love with you, I love you for you. You are not a substitute of Laura." She nodded. "Com'on, let's go to the town hall. We will take my bike."

"Your bike? Can't we take my car?" She asked.

"You are Laura now, you can't drive the Mayor's car," I smiled. We got out of the house and I made her sit on the bike backseat. She wrapped her arms around my waist and she pulled her body closed to my back.

It felt so good to be needed.

Biking to town hall didn't take very long. By the time we got there, people were lining up to enter. I hopped off my bike. I offered my hand to help Regina get off the backseat. I held her hand. She tried to shake my hand off, but I gave her a teasing smile, "I have your hand now, and I am not going to let go."

I walked her into the town hall and we sat on the back row. Soon, everybody has entered. There were a lot less people than I expected. I guessed the meeting was not as mandatory as Ruby said. Regina looked around, but Henry, Emma, Neal and Mr. Gold were not in the room. Ruby and Granny closed the doors and took the seats next to me.

"Hey Millie," Ruby said, "Who is your friend here?"

I was still holding Regina's hand, "Am I rude or not?" I laughed, "Laura, this is Ruby. Ruby, this is Laura, my girlfriend." Regina squeezed my hand lightly and gave me a "who is your girlfriend" stare. I buried my head by her neck and whispered into her ears, "Play along, girlfriend." I stole a kiss from her.

Ruby sniffed the air, "So, it was her I smelled this morning." Regina's cheeks turned red and rested her head on my shoulder.

The meeting started late, around half past twelve.

David and SnowWhite held the meeting. David announced, "The trigger to destroy Storybrooke has been stolen by some outsiders, with whom Greg Mendell and Tamara are working. We don't know who they are or what they will do with it. There is a chance that they might never use it. Unfortunately, Greg Mendell and Tamara are now dead and we lost all our hints. But fear not, we now have the magic beans to transport everyone back to the Enchanted Forest before it happens."

"We are giving you guys three options. First, return to the Enchanted Forest. Second, stay in Storybrooke and be at risk for the total destruction of Storybrooke. Third, leave Storybrooke and start a new life," SnowWhite added.

"I know not everyone can make it to the meeting today, so, please tell your friends, family, co-worker, neighbor. Just spread the words," David said.

Someone raised his hand. SnowWhite pointed to him and he spoke, "What if I am not from the Enchanted Forest?" It was Dr. Whale, Victor Frankenstein.

"We will be taking names of the returning people after the meeting. We will keep a list at Granny's, the convent and the town hall. Just remind us to add a note next to your name. We will open separate portals for different lands," David said, "Can I have a show of hands? Who is not from the Enchanted Forest?"

Just Frankenstein and I raised our hand. I wasn't sure if they were all from the Enchanted Forest or like me, they didn't want to return to their old lives.

"Where are you from, Millie?" David pointed at me.

"Land Without Colour," I said, "Same for little Victor here." Dr. Whale turned around and looked at me, puzzled.

Someone else had another question, "Who created the device?"

"Regina," David's answer was short but harsh. Regina held my hand even tighter.

"But she created it when she created the curse. She didn't mean to destroy everybody's life," SnowWhite said, but I believed in most people's mind, their lives were already destroyed when the curse was casted.

That person continued his question, "Are we going to leave Regina behind?"

People started whispering loudly and looked around the hall to see if Regina was here. David said, "We are offering her a choice, return and live out her day in Rumpel's cell, or stay here." The whispering got louder.

Regina looked away, but I turned her face with my empty hand, "Don't worry. If you want, I will take you to my land."

"Any more questions?" David asked. People's hands started going up in the air. I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around; it was Mother Superior.

"Can I have a moment with you outside the hall?" She whispered. I nodded.

I squeezed Regina's hand and whispered to her, "I have to talk to the Blue Fairy. If the meeting is over before I come back, meet me outside, okay?"

Regina gave me a "don't leave me behind" look.

= End of Chapter 5 =

If you read nine chapters of this dumb story, I think I deserve a review.