I hope you all enjoy this one. It's the start of more swan queen centered chapters. As always please review. I look forward to seeing how you all like what I am doing here. My goal is to get atleast 10 reviews on this chapter. Lets see if ya'll can make that happen for me! Enjoy!

**Song that came to mind after writing this chapter: Sparks by Coldplay

...

This is seriously becoming ridiculous.

I do not know how much longer I can stand this back and forth.

I don't know what is up from down, real from unreal.

What Henry just said to me has completely thrown me. How is it possible that he could have a memory that was in a dream of mine? I would think him a telepath of some sort, but I have never heard of any in these lands. And I would know if my own son was able to poses magic.

The only conclusion I have is that I was talking in my sleep. He was right by my bed when I awoke in the hospital, so maybe I was speaking and he heard me.

That or this is really not a dream. The second thought scares me more because it means that my actions do have consequences. And that whatever I do here is affecting our future somehow.

If I am to continue building this friendship with Emma, how will it affect thing when I wake up yet again. Will the curse have been broken?

Oh it's just too much to think about, and I am tired of watching my every move. Of being so calculated, I actually felt free here. I felt as though I could just be, without judgment, without persecution.

I must seek out some help. Do my own type of research. Perhaps I will have to ask Belle about it.

But Belle is still in the asylum.

Oh what a terrible time I have been sent back to.

Although it has been going rather well so far.

I think I will just have to see how things go. I am actually starting to feel happy here, and that can only help the terrible future that awaits us.

….

"Should we wake her yet? She's been sleeping for a while. Can I nudge her or something?" I hear Henry's adorable young voice very close to my face.

"No kid, maybe just give her a few minutes. I think that door really hit her hard. How about you and I go downstairs and clean up the house. That way when she does get up she doesn't have to do anything. Plus it's getting late. Maybe we could just let her sleep through the night." Emma says to Henry.

I couldn't understand why she was being so kind towards me. especially after all that I have put her through since she came to town.

"But if she stays sleeping then who will take care of me? What about when you leave? What if something happens to her Emma? No one really likes my mom, they are all scared of her, well… because you know.. she's the Evil Queen. But she hasn't been that mean to me lately… maybe she's changing because you are here." He is still close to my face and I almost picture his face as he says these things.

"Henry please stop with the Evil Queen stuff. She's your mother and it probably hurts her when you say these things. I mean yeah she was kind of mean to me too when I got here, but you have to see things from her point of view. You ran away, you literally left town and went somewhere completely new to you, all alone. How do you think that made her feel? She was probably worried sick. And you know she has actually been pretty cool with me lately so I think you should give her another chance." I can already hear the parenting tone in Emma's voice. I never thought she would defend me to him, especially this early.

"Yah I guess she was worried about me. But what about you, how can you leave?" I hear his voice crack, and I want to comfort Henry but I do not want to interrupt their conversation now.

"I told you that I don't want to go, but I have to. Look if your mom doesn't get up tonight then I will stay with you until she does. I wouldn't just leave you alone. Maybe I can just sleep on the couch for the night, and leave tomorrow." I hear Emma comfort Henry.

"Why don't you just live with us Emma? We have lots of guest rooms." I hear him trying to convince her.

"Henry please stop, and lets head downstairs so your mom can rest in silence." She must have guided him out the door because I hear the click of the lock.

I hear their voices outside of the room and they sound like they are ascending the stairs.

I slowly peak my eyes open. I am back in my bedroom. They have draped a blanket over me and I still have the washcloth on my forehead.

I quickly discard the washcloth and stand up and pace the room quietly.

I just don't know what to do. I was enjoying myself with them earlier in the day, and I would like that to continue.

Wherever this may be, I am stuck here indefinitely and I may as well make the most of it.

But what should I do about Emma? I obviously do not want her to leave, for Henrys sake, but how can I get her to stay.

Would it be too bold to ask her to stay here? Would I even want her to stay here, or feel comfortable with another woman living under my roof? Also offer her money perhaps, maybe a loan until she is able to pay herself.

Or better yet, I can offer her the position of deputy that Graham had originally given her. Then after a few weeks she would be able to find her own place.

Yes that's what I will do.

….

I waited another 30 minutes before I decide to head downstairs.

I walk into the kitchen to see Emma wiping the dishes and Henry putting them away.

I clear my throat and see them both turn towards me.

"Mom! Look we cleaned up everything. We didn't want to wake you so we were really quiet too" He's so proud of himself, so I smile at him.

"Thank you dear. I'm sorry about earlier, I don't exactly know what happened. I must have been tired." I say to them as I take a seat on a stool.

"It's okay, do you think Emma and I can watch a movie now?" Henry asks, and I have to remind myself that he is still young and not the older more caring young man that he has become. "Maybe you could watch with us too…" That surprises me though because he hasn't wanted to do anything with me in a long time.

"Yes dear, that's fine, why don't you go and set it up for us while I speak to Ms. Swan." I tell him and I gesture towards Emma.

He happily runs out of the room, to the living room to presumably go through his very large collection of movies.

Emma puts down the dishrag and comes to tentatively sit next to me. She seems nervous and I still am not used to this more timid version of her. I wonder if she would have shown this side if I had not pushed her so hard. I now know that she had to be touch growing up on the streets, but I guess all it took was for me to be nice to see this other person.

"Regina, are you sure you are okay? I've been calling your name…" I look over and she's closer now, almost invading my personal space. She's staring at me and reaches out a hand. "May I?" I am not sure what she wants to do with her hand but I slowly nod a yes.

She gently tucks my hair back behind both ears with both of her hands. Then she very delicately places each back of her hand on my cheeks, and then one on my forehead.

"Hmm… Well you don't feel warm but you are acting a little strange. Can I get you something?" She's still looking at me intently.

I find myself pulling a little closer to the soft hand on my cheek. I feel a little tingle, almost like a spark and it's addicting. I must be losing it. I quickly pull back and clear my throat.

"I'm sorry Ms. Swan but I don't think that was very appropriate, and no thank you I am fine. I just wanted to speak to you about your living arrangements." I say and I try to get back on track. I am beginning to understand the fascination with this woman.

No wonder Hook, Neal and even Graham were so enamored with her. It feels like she's using magic on me without even realizing it. Or maybe it is because she is the product of True Love, maybe that gives her the ability to lure people in without even knowing what or how she is doing it.

I wonder why it has never been a problem before now. Is it because we are alone together? Now that I think back I can't remember too many times that we have just been together where there wasn't some threat we were trying to handle, or some life we were trying to save.

I need to keep my mind straight. But I know at the same time that I cannot let her leave. If what happens here has any bearing on the future then it is imperative that she not leave.

"Well you know it's like I told Henry, it's not that I don't want to stay…" She looks down then, and I realize she's still too close to me. But there is a want in me to comfort her, to make her feel better. It's innate, almost like I cannot help myself.

"Then why don't you do as Henry suggested and just stay here?" I'm still looking straight at her and I say the words before my brain has time to catch up with what I've just said.

She looks up at me shocked but I don't look away. I don't think I could if I wanted to.

"What? You heard? Are you sure? You don't even like me, you barely tolerate me." She kind of laughs the last part to herself. She has so many questions in her eyes.

"I may have woken up while you two were speaking but I did not want to interrupt. I heard what you said to Henry. Ms. Swan you could have kicked me while I was down, you could have badmouthed me to my son. Especially with the way he speaks about me to you, don't think I do not know what he says. But instead you defended me and you tried to look from my perspective. I appreciate that more than you could know and now I would like to help you in return." I feel so tense and vulnerable at that moment.

This is so unlike me. I do not give people chances like this, especially the Savior. She is annoying especially in the time that we are right now but I know the woman she becomes and maybe this time around I can help her to get there instead of pushing her to the breaking points. Maybe I can be the one to help her embrace who she is.

I know I pushed for so long, but as fate has it, our lives will always be intertwined because of Henry, and maybe we can start now to make it better for the three of us.

"I have thought it through Ms. Swan and maybe this is the best place for you to be. Atleast until you are able to get a job as you said, and just until you can get back on your feet and get your own place." I encourage her.

She is still looking at me, speechless I presume since she has yet to say anything. The shock on her face would be considered kind of adorable were it not for the seriousness of the conversation.

I think if I were in her place I would be wondering if my words were genuine. We didn't exactly have the best start and she is almost as guarded as I am.

When I think back to the way she grew up I am amazed that Henry was even able to get through to her when he convinced her to come to Storybrooke. But then again, any woman with sense would bring a young boy back. But she didn't have to stay.

I smile to myself, but then again who could say no to Henry? I certainly never could. He is the only one that tethers us all together. So maybe I will have to use Henry to convince her. I will pull out all stops if I have to, in order to keep her here.

I tentatively put my hand over hers on the table, I don't know what I'm doing but I can't question myself now. "Ms. Swan think about Henry here, and let go of your pride for a minute." She smiles a bit and rolls her eyes. "I know it wasn't easy for you to admit what you did earlier in the livingroom. I know we got off to a rough start, but I have realized that Henry needs you in his life, no matter how much I loathe admitting it."

"And I need you to understand that he will always be my number one priority. If having you in his life is this important then who am I to deny him of that?" I question her, and slowly begin to pull my hand away when she turns her hand over and grabs onto mine.

"Are you sure about this? I have had people invite me to stay before, only to change their minds and kick me out. I couldn't handle that again…" she stops then and I see the frustration and hurt in her eyes. "And I do not want to be treated like a charity case, I swear to you that if you are serious then I will be here and I will help out as much as I can, I am not going to take advantage of such an offer to spend time with my son." I see fierce determination in her eyes. I don't know how she switches her emotions so quickly, but I will admit that a spark shot through me when I saw that determination.

"Yes I am completely serious Ms. Swan. I do not make such decisions just off the top of my head." I scoff, and push away her hand eventhough I know I'm lying. Well I normally do not, but I did in this case.

"Okay okay, calm down, first off, yes I will accept your offer on two conditions." She's smiling now and it's so damn infectious.

"What conditions?" I look at her feigning annoyance.

"First of all you seriously need to stop calling me Ms. Swan. It drives me crazy. I am in your home and we are just hanging out so you do not need to be so damn formal with me. And second, I want to help out as much as possible. We can divide up the work, or I can take on more responsibilities since I don't have a job and you do. I could make Henrys lunches and take him to school or whatever else." She seems almost eager and I am surprised that she wants to help out. I never thought she would be willing to take on so much. But then I guess I really didn't know her very well.

"Alright I will address you as Emma in this house, but outside you are still Ms. Swan. I do not need the people of my town to think I have gone soft. Speaking of which, it is no one's business what goes on in this home so I would appreciate you not rattling anything off to Ms. Lucas. She is the town's biggest gossip. And second, I have always done everything on my own, and I quite enjoy doing things for my son, so we will have to see about that." I can tell she's thinking everything over.

"Who is Ms. Lucas? And why would they gossip?" she asks, and I have to remind myself that she did just arrive to this town recently.

"Ms. Lucas is the woman at the diner, the one who flirts with anything that moves. She may start to say things about us, and our situation and I do not need anything getting back to my inquisitive son." I say annoyed.

"Well I am bisexual, and she knows about it. But I will reassure her that there is nothing going on between us. Thanks again Regina, I will go and tell Henry the good news." She hops off the stool and walks into the other room, and as soon as she does I rest my head in my hands.

What have I just done? I was in no way referring to Ms. Swans- Emma's sexuality when I suggested that rumors would be spread. I don't exactly know what I meant but it wasn't that.

And since when was she bisexual? How has this never come up before? I try to think back to all of the conversations we have ever had and none of them have ever suggested that she was interested in anything other than men. Has she ever dated any women in Storybrooke? Oh no, she did mention that Ms. Lucas was aware of her sexuality. How else would she know other than that they had already started some twisted affair together? How could she? She is supposed to be here for Henry, not get involved with some floosy; someone who has already had everyone in town, and now Emma too. It must have happened while Emma was staying at the B&B, now I am glad I put a stop to that when I had gotten her kicked out.

I can feel my breathing quicken as I imagine that Ms. Lucas would probably sneak into her room late at night and do whatever it is that women do. Well this certainly cannot continue under my roof. No way, and especially not in front of Henry.

I am not suggesting that I have anything against homosexuals, I do have the Internet and of course I try to keep up with all the current events in this world so I have seen their struggle to be treated as equals. But I just don't think it would be good for Henry to be confused about Ms. Lucas's role in his life if they do end up together. Yes I do not want Henry to be confused that's why I am so worked up about this. I will have to speak to Emma about it.

"Mom, Emma told me she's staying here! Isn't that awesome? Thank you." He hugs me tightly and I revel in the feeling of having his tiny little body so close to mine.

I lift him up to sit in my lap as I speak to him, "Now Henry she will be staying with us until she can find a place of her own. But she is our guest so you still have to treat her as such okay? I need you to help her find things, and also listen to her if she asks you to do anything. And if you feel uncomfortable or if anything bothers you then I want you to always come speak to me okay?" He nods eagerly and kisses my cheek.

"I will mom, see she is changing things for us mom, she's going to bring back all the happy endings. Now c'mon, we are ready to watch the movie!" he jumps off of my lap and runs into the living room.

…

As I lay in bed I think about how the night progressed after our talk in the kitchen.

I had proceeded to the livingroom where Henry had already set up Iron Man, which was also matching his pajamas with the same character.

It all felt a little too domestic how the three of us sat together to watch the movie. Henry in the middle, of course, and us on either side of him.

I can't say that I watched a single scene of the movie as I was distracted with what all had transpired in such a short period of time.

How had I gone from thinking that I would finally have a chance at happiness with Robin, to being stuck in some alternate universe with no other than Emma.

Now that I think about it, I really hadn't seen much of anyone else other than Henry and Emma. Why was I continuously brought back to this time in our lives? It was such a bad time for all of us.

Is there something I need to fix? Did Emma open up some kind of portal to the past that I unfortunately have to endure?

I was so used to being alone, and doing things alone before she came along and took that away from me.

I was so angry for so long, but then something changed. I stopped fighting it and I could see that Henry was happy to have us both; as long as we got along he was fine.

But that didn't start until there was mutual trust, and that mutual trust stemmed from all that had happened. It was as though we could only trust one another after I had proven myself.

How can I make things different this time? Would I even wake up in this same place next time?

I guess I will have to just wait and see.

And if I do return to this time I will definitely be speaking to Emma about Ruby Lucas!

….