Present Day

Storybrooke, Maine

It had been a long day for Regina which was then followed by an even longer night. After Ms. Swan had left, Cora had taken the opportunity to scream herself hoarse at her daughter. Cora felt that Regina should have quashed any desire in Henry to learn about his birth mother or she should have treated her more kindly to encourage her fast exit. Their family would be tarnished by any drama that arose from this. They didn't need people looking into their family or their past.

Following that most enjoyable shouting match, Regina had struggled for hours to fall asleep. Of course, it was her luck that just as she was drifting off to sleep in the early hours of the morning, her cell phone rang. It was Graham calling to inform her that Ms. Swan had crashed into the Storybrooke sign, smelling like alcohol behind the wheel of her car and had therefore been taken into Storybrooke police custody.

Great, Regina thought, Ms. Swan will be staying in Storybrooke even longer. And after this thought had occurred to Regina, she had been unable to find any rest that night. If Ms. Swan stayed, she would grow attached to Henry and she would want to challenge Regina for custody. In previous years, Regina had imagined a future where Henry's birth parents may arrive in Storybrooke to steal her son away from her. However, in these previously imagined scenarios his biological parents had not been bail bonds people. Ms. Swan was uniquely capable of destroying Regina because she knew how to dig into people's histories and find their vulnerabilities, the chink in their armor. Tomorrow, Regina decided, she would find a way to keep Ms. Swan away from Henry.

As she lay in bed considering the many ways that Ms. Swan could try to take her son away from her, she also became increasingly aware of the physical ways her insomnia would manifest the following day. She was sure that her mother would have some comment about the bags that would form under her eyes which would lead to comments about her weight or the way she carried herself. Afterall, a mayor should never look tired. It is a privilege to be Mayor and Regina would do well to remember that.

Many years ago

The Enchanted Forest- Mills' Family Estate

"Regina!" Cora snapped at her ten year-old daughter from across the dining table. "You are slouching! Queens never slouch!"

"But, Mother, I'm not a queen. Daddy's only a prince," the young Regina whined at her mother.

"You are not Queen yet. That will change some day and when that day comes you will need to have these habits established," Cora bit back at Regina. "We must already work on slimming your figure and correcting your posture, I cannot do everything for you, Regina."

Regina's father, Henry, lifted his head like he wished to say something, but remained silent as he watched his wife admonish their daughter. This was their typical breakfast routine. Cora found something in Regina's appearance or attitude that was dissatisfactory and breakfast would transform into a lesson on "How to be Queen…. Someday."

"Yes, Mother, I understand," Regina said submissively to her mother. Henry did hate to see his daughter so glum but Cora only had her best interests at heart.

"You must remember, Regina," Cora continued her lesson. "It is a privilege to be royalty and you will do well to remember this. The only way to keep power is to continue to gain power."

Present Day

Storybrooke, Maine

As it happened, Regina had not been the only Mills woman to receive a phone call when Emma Swan was discovered in her car and taken to the local jail. Cora Mills had also received a call from Sheriff Graham and had woken early in the morning to make her way down to the Storybrooke police department to visit their most recent occupant. When Cora arrived, Emma was sitting behind the bars of one of the two cells with her head bowed, resting in her hands.

"Good morning, Emma," Cora said with false cheer in her voice. The blonde woman started, clearly not having heard Cora walk into the room. "It seems you, like many people before you, have underestimated the strength of Regina's cider."

"God, do you have to be so… loud?" Emma asked groggily, rubbing the palms of her hands against her eyes to shake off the last remnants of sleep. "And, no, I wasn't drunk. There was a wolf on the road. I swerved and hit the sign. The damn airbag must have knocked me out."

"Yes, of course," Cora smiled sweetly at the other woman. "Regardless, Graham called me to inform me that you would be spending the night in Storybrooke or longer if no one was able to bail you out. I have posted the bail as I felt responsible for not warning you about that cider."

"I wasn't drunk!" Emma replied indignantly. "And I'll pay you back for the bail."

"There's no rush, dear. Take a few days, enjoy Storybrooke, Granny's is an excellent inn if you're looking for loading. Then, once you've seen what our charming town has to offer, be on your merry way back to Boston."

"You're not worried that I'll get attached to Henry and try to steal him from Regina?" Emma asked, remembering how Regina had basically told her to get the hell out of dodge last night.

Cora laughed slightly then replied. "No, I'm not worried. You seem like an honorable person. Regina's insecurities may have blinded her to that fact, but you've given no indications of wanting Henry. I don't anticipate that changing over the course of three days."

There it was again, Emma thought. Cora had a way of insulting her daughter while feigning kindness. But, Emma decided, there were plenty of people who were critical of their own children but were decent enough to get along with. Afterall, she wasn't talking to Emma in the same threatening tone that Regina had. But, then again, Regina's approach had seemed more honest than whatever sugary fakeness Cora was using. While nothing she said stood out to Emma as a clear lie, there seemed to be undertones and unsaid implications to everything she said.

"Well, then," Cora said after several moments of silence. "Graham will be here shortly to do your paperwork and release you. I have a very busy morning, but I'm sure I'll see you around. Goodbye."

And with that, Cora turned around and left the building. Emma shook her head, it was too early and her head hurt too much to be doing this much thinking. She needed a cup of coffee and several bear claws before she began to process everything that was happening to her.

"I see our jail bird has finally woken up," Graham's voice alerted Emma to his presence. He stood in the doorway with two cups of coffee in his hands. Walking over to the cell, he passed one coffee through the bars and then set about unlocking the door to the cell. "Sorry about the formality, you did technically damage property and Regina was trying to make a case for your intoxication. But, your bloodwork cleared this morning and you were well below the legal limit, so we'll just charge you for damage to the sign and set you up with a pamphlet on safe driving."

"Regina said I was drunk?" Emma asked, trying to process the words Graham had just said but she was still only a few sips into her coffee.

"Well, she just informed us that you had some of her cider before leaving the manor last night. And, from experience, I know that stuff is stronger than it seems," Graham explained.

Emma took another long sip from the cup of coffee. Slowly, it felt like her brain was unfogging enough to understand what was happening. She had crashed into the sign, Regina had said she was drunk so she had been brought here for the night, Cora had paid her bail, but her blood work had come back clear so she was free to go. That also meant that the bail would be reimbursed to Cora without issue, so that solved one problem.

"I know, it's a lot to process," Graham said kindly.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Emma asked the sheriff who had opened the door of the cell and indicated Emma should sit in a chair on one side of a wooden desk—which hosted a computer Emma thought would've been cutting edge technology in the 1990s.

"What do you mean? I'm nice to all the people I falsely arrest for drinking and driving," Graham said, giving Emma a toothy smile.

"Even when your girlfriend is the one accusing them of drinking and driving?" Emma asked, watching Graham's reaction carefully. She noticed his eyebrows raise slightly which was then quickly followed by him looking at his shoes and avoiding her gaze.

"Regina's not my girlfriend," Graham denied, but his eyes didn't quite meet Emma's and he didn't regain the snarky confidence he had had just moments before.

"Could've fooled me," Emma sighed and then took a long sip of coffee. "Am I free to go?"

"Are you planning to stay in town for the day?" Graham asked. "I can have your paperwork for the sign payment ready by lunch."

"Great, Cora mentioned something about an inn in town. What is that?" Emma asked checking her watch to see the time. If she was going to stay until lunch, she would wait another day before she left for Boston. Plus, something about the Mills family wasn't sitting well with her.

"Oh, Granny's? That's a local bed and breakfast. It's excellent. Just down Main Street, actually," Graham told Emma, regaining some of his previous swagger from before Emma had mentioned Regina. "If you're heading over there, I can meet you at 1:00 with the papers. I usually grab lunch there anyway."

"Great," Emma said again and then headed right out of the front doors. She needed some space to clear her head but more importantly, she needed some kind of food. The last meal she had eaten had been her birthday dinner the previous day, and even that had been interrupted. So she headed down the road towards a building that looked like the diner Graham had described.

"Hey Emma! Emma!" Henry's voice was suddenly yelling from down the street and when she turned around Emma saw the young boy running towards her with a backpack bouncing on his back.

"Hey kid! Shouldn't you be in school?" Emma asked, glancing at the backpack.

"No, it's a professional development day. I just have my backpack to carry my book, I can't leave that at home with the Evil Queen!" Henry explained like it was obvious.

"Right, well, does your mom know where you are?" Emma asked, she was uneasy with Henry tracking her down without any adult supervision… again.

"Yeah, I told her I was going to Granny's! That's where you're heading isn't it?" Henry had so much enthusiasm, it made Emma smile. It had been a long time since anyone had been this excited to spend time with her. In fact, Neal was probably the last person who had enjoyed her company at all.

"It is, I'm guessing you need some breakfast too?" Emma asked, and laughed when Henry nodded his head furiously. "Well, kid, I guess you can join me if your mom knows where you are."

And the two of them headed down Main Street towards the diner together.