I hardly slept at all after my nightmare. I was tossing and turning all night. When I finally did sleep, I was plagued by fragments of nightmares that I couldn't piece together. However, when I woke up I felt terrified. Finally, at about 5:00 AM I decided that enough was enough and forced myself to get out of bed. I couldn't shower and start getting ready for work yet because I didn't want to wake Emma, who was still sleeping soundly. I took a moment to admire her, to watch her chest gently rise and fall with each breath. A couple of strands of her hair had drifted in front of her face, and stretched outwards with every exhale. I couldn't help but smile at how peaceful she looked.

I grabbed my robe on my way out of the room and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. Then I filled the coffee maker with water and turned it on, waiting for the water to heat up. It seemed to take an agonizingly long time. Finally, the machine indicated that the water was ready, and started to brew the coffee.

A chill started to creep up my spine, and goosebumps began to form on my arms. I had the sudden feeling that I was not alone. I turned and looked around me, but there was nobody there.

You're being ridiculous, I told myself. All you need is a cup of coffee, and you'll be fine. I turned again to face the coffee maker, which was almost done brewing. It made a long sputtering sound before it spit out the last of the coffee. I sighed gratefully, and pulled a mug from the cabinet in front of me. As I poured the coffee in my mug, the aroma wafted up towards my face and I smiled. Nothing like a good cup of coffee in the morning. I'd started putting in my cream and sugar when I happened to look up, and saw a dark figure in the reflection of the glass cabinet. I whirled around to face the intruder and demand to know who they were...but then I recognized them and I stopped short.

"Mother," I breathed.

"Hello, Regina."

I reflexively tensed, ready to defend myself. "But...how? You're dead; I watched you die!"

"It doesn't matter," she replied, stepping closer to me. "What matters is I'm here now." She kept walking closer until she was only a a couple of feet away.

"But why?" I asked.

"I had to see you again," she said. "And I needed to tell you...how sorry I am."

"What?" I said.

"I'm sorry for...well, everything. I was so fixated on ensuring your happiness through power, I didn't stop to see how unhappy you were. If I had taken the time to listen and get to know you as my daughter, perhaps things could have been different between us." She sighed. "I was a fool, and you paid the price. And for that I'm sorry."

She reached towards me and gently put her hand on my arm. I flinched instinctively. She pretended not to notice. "But now," she said, "I have my heart again, and we can be the family we always should have been." She paused. "If you want to, of course."

Tears began selling in my eyes as she spoke. I tried to blink through them, but as soon as I did more tears replaced them. "Of course I want to!" I exclaimed. "That's all I ever wanted!" I started to lean forward to embrace her, but stopped quickly.

"No."

"What?" she asked, her forehead wrinkling in confused concern.

"No," I repeated. "I want to trust you. I want to have that relationship with you, but I can't. Every time I gave you a chance you lied to me and manipulated me, and I just can't do it again. I'm sorry, Mother."

She nodded. "I understand," she said. "I know I don't deserve a chance after what I did...but I'm asking you, as your mother to give me a week. Just a week, and I'll show you. Please."

I hesitated. Was it worth it? Would I finally have my mother like I'd always wanted...or would she betray me again?

"Okay, Mother. One week."

She beamed-it was the first time I'd ever seen her truly smile like that-and embraced me. It took me a moment to comprehend what was happening, but I quickly leaned in and returned the hug.

"Oh, Regina," she said, "this is a new start for us. Just you wait."

Although I was hesitant to trust her, I was overjoyed, because she finally wanted me, not as her tool to gain status and live through vicariously, but as her daughter.

As we let each other go and pulled away, she smiled. "I suppose you've gotten along well without me, though."

I tilted my head in confusion. "What?" Then I saw that she was looking at the golden band on my finger.

"Oh, don't leave me in the dark! Who's the lucky man?"

"Oh! Well..." I wasn't sure how I was going to explain this to her.

"Is it that thief that you were so adamant about in the Enchanted Forest?" she asked. "I was hoping for a bit nobler of blood for you, but I'm sure I'll grow to like him."

"No, it's not him."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure you did much better." Then she turned and noticed the pictures hanging in the hall. "Are those your wedding portraits?" She began wandering down the hall, scrutinizing each snapshot. She stopped first at the picture of me alone in my wedding dress. "How beautiful," she said. "Simple, but elegant." I rolled my eyes. My mother's definition of "simple" was skewed my a mile.

She continued to the next picture, which featured Emma in her wedding dress. "How sweet," she said, "although her dress is a little too plain for my taste. Did you have a double wedding?" I didn't answer. I couldn't think of what to say. She continued once more, reaching the last picture, and froze where she stood. It was a black and white closeup of me and Emma in front of the altar, kissing.

"Regina, what is this?" she asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here? Where's your husband?"

"Mother," I said carefully, "I don't have a husband."

"I don't understand..."

"Emma is my wife." I stopped, trying to gauge her reaction.

She was frozen, like a statue, and didn't speak for what seemed like eternity. "You...you married...a woman?"

"Yes."

She pressed her lips together and shook her head. "This is far worse than I could have ever imagined."

My heart dropped at her words; this was exactly what I was afraid of. "But mother, why does it matter?"

"Why does it matter?!" She repeated. "It matters because it's an abomination! It's disgusting! My own daughter...You have to undo this now."

"No, Mother, I love her!"

"Regina," she pleaded, "it's not real love. It can't be! It's not possible."

Her words enraged me. "Of course it's real! I know what love is, and I'm in love with Emma Swan!"

"Emma Swan...I knew I recognized that face." She shook her head, looking at Emma's picture on the wall. "You and your family will never stop trying to destroy mine, will you?" she muttered. "Well, since you won't listen to sense, I might just have to knock it into you."

"What?" Then I realized what she was implying. "No!" I exclaimed, putting myself between her and the stairs. "Don't you dare touch her! What happened to 'I just want you to be happy?'"

"I do," she replied, "and I'm going to help you."

"No." I stood firm. "If you want to get to her, you'll have to go through me first."

She stopped and looked at me with sad eyes. "You would go against your own mother to protect this...seductress?"

"I would go against you to protect my true love and my wife."

"So be it," she said. She raised her arm threateningly. Suddenly, we could hear creaking upstairs. Someone was awake.

"Mom?" We heard Henry calling down the hall.

Cora glared at me, and lowered her arm. "Maybe not now," she said, "but you can't protect her forever." Then, with a flick of her wrist, she vanished in a cloud of purple smoke.