Not much movement in this chapter, but we do find out what happened in Storybrooke while Regina has been in the enchanted forest. Chapter 10 will have some more action and interaction between characters :)

Chapter 9

"How is this possible? Please tell me I'm not hallucinating or in some drug-induced coma." Regina begs, clinging to her son. She has not released her hold on him since the fog of magic evaporated around them. She is not sure whether she'll ever release him from her embrace again.

"You never showed up," Robin states from beside her, her gaze finding him, dismay consuming his eyes while he stares at her, memorizing her features. "We planned on meeting after the party at the diner." he elaborates, "After putting Roland down for bed, leaving him with my men, I went to your home and awaited your arrival. I started to feel uneasy. You should have been there, so I let myself into your house,"

"You broke in." Regina interrupts with a smirk and raise of her eyebrows.

"I was worried." Robin responds with a serious tone, and Regina smiles her apology, nods for him to continue speaking.

"Your home was empty, with no sign that you had come and gone. I decided to head back to the diner thinking perhaps you had been detained in conversation, but when I arrived you were not there…" Robin says, drawing the events from his memory.

Emma takes over his train of thought, "When Robin came back to Granny's looking for you, we were all concerned. You had left about an hour earlier, told Henry you were headed home." Regina doubts whether they were all concerned, but she says nothing, only listens, and glances toward Robin, pained by the disturbed look on his face. He seems tense, and if she is honest his attitude frightens her, he is not being affectionate, has not laid a hand on her, and she longs for his touch, the strength it provides her, but she won't push for it.

"That's where I come in deary. These...very concerned citizens," Gold states gesturing around the group, "found me after they had no luck locating you on their own. They said you had gone missing. I performed a locator spell, which brought us to the barn where Zelena had been defeated, your last location. It was not hard to sense the magic in the air, but it was hard to find you. Returning to my shop, I had to use some very rare ingredients," Gold says while looking at Regina, trying to determine if the loss of his precious magical specimens is worth saving her, "but I was able to see what happened. Once I realized the time portal had opened, and pulled you through, it was not hard to find you. I simply used the black fairy's wand to reopen the portal, in conjunction with another locator spell to bring us to the right time."

Regina absorbs the tale, imagines these people coming together to find her, somewhat stunned by the effort put forth to rescue her. She is grateful, thankful that they have come for her, but she won't admit just how much. Still, no matter how grateful she feels, she is not happy that Henry is here. Jumping through a time portal is risky. How could they bring him along? Her eyes search his face while she voices her concern.

"How could you bring Henry?" She questions looking at the faces of each adult in front of her. "Who's bright idea was it to bring my son into this very dangerous situation?" She raises her voice, because she is angry, she is peeved. As much comfort she finds in holding her son, she does not appreciate him being in harms way, and she would gladly return him to safety even if it meant releasing him from her arms. The response is not what she expected, but she probably should have though, knowing her son.

"It was my idea, Mom," he states calmly from her embrace, "they told me no, that I would stay behind with Grandma, and the new baby, but I couldn't! I'm not a little boy anymore! I just got you back. I had to come for you!" His eyes water, and hers burn with unshed tears. He has grown so much, but he is still her son, and he can argue, but he is not an adult, not yet, and he should have listened to them and stayed safe in Storybrooke.

"Henry," her voice comes out quiet, "you are not a child, but you are also not an adult, and you should have stayed in Storybrooke. The enchanted forest is a dangerous place." Sadness fills her heart at the disappointment she sees in his face, but this is not the time, they will discuss this later, when he is safe, when they are all home. She sighs and turns her eyes back to Robin, who gives her a reassuring smile. He still seems off, but his smile gives her enough comfort for the moment, and she looks toward the others, silently asking them to continue.

Emma starts speaking, flitting her eyes to Henry and back to Regina, "After Gold told us how we could get to you, we left Henry at Granny's and headed back to the barn."

"Snow insisted on joining, but I convinced her that she needed to stay with our newborn. I came in her stead. She would have it no other way." David says, the first words he has uttered, and she is not surprised by Snow's show of stubbornness, can't help the smile it brings to her lips.

Emma's voice finds her ears again, "Gold opened the portal and stepped through while performing the locator spell. We were supposed to follow him immediately afterward, and that," Emma's eyes find Henry, "is when Henry made himself known, and jumped into the portal along with us." The stern look passing from Emma to Henry startles Regina, yet alleviates concern that Emma and her were on different pages regarding Henry's actions. She takes solace in knowing that when they do talk about his poor choices, Emma and her will be in agreement.

"It was quite shocking when we arrived," Robin finally speaks again, his voice soothing to her soul, "to find you in the company of...myself." The look he sends her is one of confusion and dismay. He is trying to grasp how all of this can be happening, she understands his distress, she feels the same way. "I tracked you from where the portal brought us, to my old camp, then followed the path left by your trek northward."

David steps forward continuing the tale, "We had only just located the camp when we saw who you were with," he looks down contemplating how to continue, "when we saw Snow and myself." he loses himself in nostalgia for a moment, no doubt tracing in his mind what he remembers, and how it differs from what he witnessed in the camp. "Gold said he could move us all away from the camp as long as we were able to move you within range of his magic. Robin was going to be a distraction while Emma led you closer to us, but then you were screaming and…" David's eyes fall to Henry, who looks down in shame, but then lifts his chin in defiance.

"It was the right thing to do. I had to go to her." Henry declares leaving no room for argument, and no one does argue, no one is eager to dishearten the boy, and Regina will give him this, for now.

"And that is how we all ended up here." Rumple finishes the story of their adventure, and she looks around, then down. They must still be close to the camp. Rumple is powerful, but he would not have been able to move all of them a great distance.

"We are still close to the camp?" She questions him.

"Yes, they are located less than a mile in that direction." He points, sighs, and looks at her, worry and disapproval etched into his expression. "I wonder if you have any solution to our predicament, dear? You have interacted with several people who were not meant to meet you. People who were never meant to meet each other, at least not yet, have crossed paths because of you."

Regina ponders what Rumple says, gnawing at the inside of her lower lip. "I had a plan." She says in defense. "I certainly did not intend to be captured by Robin and his men, and I definitely did not plan on running into Charming and Snow." Literally running into them, she thinks with a cringe. "My intended course of action was going to be finding you," she gestures toward Rumple before continuing, "concocting a memory potion for Robin and his men, then, hoping that you could help me return to the proper time, in exchange for something I'm sure." She knew help would not be freely offered by the dark one, she would have to make a deal, and she was prepared for that.

"Perhaps that would have worked, but too much has been altered now, too much time has passed. We will have to find another way." Rumple contemplates, pacing back and forth through the weeds growing from the forest floor.

Regina takes a moment to survey her current situation. Henry has remained silent throughout most of the conversation. He is pensive, engrossed in his thoughts, and Regina's brow furrows noticing the anxiety on his face. A sigh escapes her lips, turning to look at Robin, only a few feet away from her, but he feels so distant, as if he were still back in Storybrooke. Uncertainty blankets every face that surrounds her. She finds it disconcerting how one moment these people can fill her with hope, hope that seems to vanish, overcome by misery, with one look at the worry on their faces.

A horse's gallop drags her from her thoughts. Eyes meet eyes, silently asking if everyone hears the same thing. Regina peers through the trees, moving herself in front of Henry once again, it is instinctual, her need to protect him. A horse appears on a path several yards from them, followed by a second, a third, and this is bad. She squints her eyes to be sure, to focus, but she recognizes those horses, those knights, and she knows this is very bad. The knights do not see their group, it is unlikely they will, being well hidden by trees, fallen branches, and shrubs, but Regina can make out their uniforms.

Her head turns roughly toward Rumple, then to David, and she does not even try to conceal the fear she feels. The same emotion is reflected back by David's eyes, and her eyes find their way back to the horses. There must be at least a dozen, which seems odd to her. Her knights did not typically inspect the woods in such large numbers, not unless, and a gasp leaves her mouth. Blood is racing through her veins, her mind feels hazy, and then she spots her, she spots herself, the evil queen, and misery floods her head when she realizes that they are heading straight for the camp she just escaped.

Thanks for reading, reviewing, and following! It is seriously the reason I keep writing.

One reviewer was hoping for some interaction between past and present Snow. I really wanted Snow to come back and help rescue Regina, but since I am writing this in continuation of the show's storyline I didn't think it made sense for Snow to leave her newborn son. Oh well. We will get to see more interaction with past Snow though :)