So this turned out a little different than I had planned but I like it all the same :) thank you guys so much for your reviews! I love reading them and they are so helpful! I have been getting a loooooooooot of questions about pregnancy and it is most definitely coming I promise you that! Timeline wise our Regina is already pregnant she is just unaware ;) Why it took so long will also be explained, all I need is some patience :) Please review! I want to know what you think!

"Regina you don't have to do this."

"Yes as a matter of fact I do."

"I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it."

"Why are you taking her side?!"

"I'm not picking anyone's side I'm just trying to get you to see other motives," he reasoned as they approached the house. She didn't reply and instead continued storming on ahead of him, "come on let's just go back out again, take a walk or something-"

She ripped her arm away from him and kept walking without looking at him when he tried to gently bring her to a halt, "I'm not going anywhere, I am furious with her!"

"I know that."

"And the people in this town! I am so tired of them staring at us like we are disgusting! At least before they looked me with respect! Now they look at me like I'm some raging whore who is playing with you until I find a new boy toy! And they look at you no different!"

"Okay stop," he reached for her again but she jerked away so he grabbed her in a tighter grip and pulled her to a halt, "stop for just a second okay? If I can't get you to not blow your mother's head off then just stop and listen to me right now," he nodded and she watched him with sharp eyes and a clenched jaw. Gently he lifted his hands to hold her head and moved them soothingly down the sides of her head and then lifted them and put them back on her and moved his thumbs over her cheeks.

"I am going to take you out more often," he started and she grimaced and tried to step away but he kept her from getting away, "no more hiding away in this big house. I am going to take you out because I am proud of you and I love you. They haven't seen you for you yet and I'm going to show them who you are. If they don't like it that's their problem. But I am going to show you off and you are going to rub it in their faces when you prove them wrong. You will put them back in their place as you have done to me and make them see that there is more than just one side to a person. There is more to a person than merely evil or merely good; it is not black and white as they believe right now."

He nodded softly once as he looked back and forth between her steady dark eyes, "we are fairy tale characters, my queen, and you have exceeded us all and evolved out of such simplicity. Your mind works at a different capacity than the rest of us because of it. You just have to give those beneath you a chance to catch up. Things will change, I know that because you have changed me. You have already shown me what can happen when I open my mind and everyday I find myself wondering what more there is in the people around me. Are they truly who they appear to be and who I know them to be? Or are they hiding their true desires just as you had? It is a beautiful way to look at the world and the people in it. It is fascinating and confusing, and challenging, and I love it."

He smiled a tender smile and her anger crumbled away just a little in response. Once again his hands moved down the sides of her face in a petting motion and then returned to their place holding her head still. His voice was gentle and quiet and filled with adoration as he spoke again, "and that is because of you. You changed me for the better and I believe with all of my heart that you will do the same for everyone else around you. You're better than all of us and you are going to show them."

Regina lifted an eyebrow at him and tilted her head just a little while he kept it in his gentle hold, "the Evil Queen is better than all of you?"

"Mhm," David replied easily as his eyes moved over her features and her doubtful expression softened in to a smile. Her eyes squinted with it and he could feel the pride in herself flow from that small but bright smile. Not an arrogant pride. A pride that she had pleased him and earned his approval. It only had him smiling in return and humming happily down at her.

She felt her heart swell in her chest at the way he was looking at her with such adoration. "How am I supposed to go in there angry now?" She whispered her question through a smile as she looked down and reached forward so she could straighten his open black leather jacket.

David hummed again as his smile grew and he moved one thumb softly over her temple, "you can wait until later if you'd like. I can take you for a walk around the town first," he concluded and then let go of her head and offered her his arm. He waited with a smile as she huffed out an amused breath and took a step closer as she hooked her arm in his. He pivoted on the path and as he led her down it she slid her hand down so she could entwine her fingers with his as she rested her head against his arm and lifted her other hand to hold his bicep.

He couldn't help but smile down at her as she nuzzled the side of her head a little deeper in to his arm. It was truly fascinating how the malicious queen who was feared and hated by all used the same heart as the tender loving woman hanging off his arm now.

...

She had lost track of how long they had been there for but she didn't mind. The sun was warm but not too hot and there was a soft warm breeze rustling the leaves on the trees above and around her. She sat on a bench in the park with David's head in her lap while he laid on his back with his knees bent and his hands over his stomach. Whether or not he was actually asleep she didn't know but she continued running her fingers slowly through his hair all the same and his eyes remained closed.

It seemed she had a permanent smile on her face as she watched him relax. They had been talking for a good long while before they had fallen in to comfortable silence. There were not as many people in the park as there were downtown and for that she was grateful. It was easier for her to let herself fall back in to the person she had been when she and David were back in the Enchanted Forest together. Surrounded by trees and secluded from the rest of society even if it was still only a short ways away.

She found it easier to relax there. She let her guard down and she let her heart out of its cage and off its leash to run rampant with David's. She hoped that one day she could love as easily and as freely as this all the time. "Hey," she whispered and grinned when David lifted an eyebrow in reply, "I've missed this."

David smiled with a quiet hum and replied quietly, "I have too."

"We should come out here more often..."

David opened his eyes and looked up at her with a smile and lifted a hand to hold the side of her face, "we can come out here whenever you wish," he whispered and she smiled down at him. Her fingers were incredibly soothing as they continued to move slowly through his hair and the corners of his eyes creased with delight as she moved one hand down along his jaw and slowly lowered her head and kissed him.

It was a single kiss that was soft and lingered on his lips before she pulled back but didn't go far. She stayed bent over so she was close to him but far enough away for their eyes to focus on one another as her thumb moved over his cheekbone. "You are good to me," she whispered softly and felt her slight vulnerability dissipate into confidence when he smiled up at her and tucked her hair behind her ear, "thank you."

"You don't deserve any less, my love."

...

"Is mum home?"

Cora jumped at the sound of his voice and slapped the book of interesting images shut as she twisted on the couch to look at the boy, "pardon?"

"My mum," Henry chuckled as Cora looked at him with wide caught eyes, "is she home?"

"No. No she had to go in to town and has yet to return."

"Alright," he nodded and when Cora continued to stare he took a step forward and she pulled the book closer to her, "whatcha lookin' at?"

"I don't know what it is...a book of some sort."

"May I see?"

"I am quite certain I am not supposed to be looking at it. I believe Regina would not approve."

Henry took a few more steps toward her and studied the book for a couple seconds before he smiled in recognition, "that's a photo album."

"A photo album?"

"Yeah. It's a book that you put your pictures in," he explained but she still looked at him as though he was speaking a different language. He supposed in a way he was. With a smile he continued to explain further and used his hands as he spoke, "there's a...device in this world called a camera and you push a button on it and it takes a picture and then you can print off that picture and put it in a frame if you want or in an album like that one or just carry it around with you."

Cora looked at the boy curiously and then down at the book in her arms, "this world has many fascinating things in it."

"Yup! And they're always making new and cooler things here!"

"And these photos...they are...frozen moments in time?"

"Yeah pretty much," he nodded and Cora let her gaze fall back to the book. So he walked over and dropped down on to the couch next to her with a small bounce and silently asked for the book.

Cora obliged and released it carefully in to his hands only to have the boy get comfortable next to her. Not touching her but very close to it. "I don't believe Regina wants us spending time together."

"Well there's no one else in the house to talk to."

"Do you not have schoolwork?"

"Yeah but I'll do that later. I have the whole weekend," he shrugged as he opened the album and began looking at the photographs.

Cora frowned at him and shook her head, "I have found it makes Regina very upset when you talk to me."

"Why?"

"I feel free to assume it to be jealousy."

"...oh..." He frowned and then looked up at Cora and held her gaze for a little while. "She'll come around you know. She's just really stubborn and doesn't like change. Even if she really wants something to change. It can't be too much longer until she caves."

Cora let out a single quiet humourless laugh and shook her head, "I believe both you and David have underestimated Regina's determination and overestimated my patience."

Henry shook his head with a smile, "she's getting really frustrated with you. You're doing a really good job."

"Your logic is questionable."

Henry chuckled quietly and flipped to the next page, "well she's going to be angry with you no matter what you do but being frustrated with you because you're being better is more favourable than being frustrated with you because you're exactly the same and refuse to change for her. That's what I think anyway," he shrugged his shoulders and Cora remained quiet.

"Her brain doesn't work like everyone else's. It's probably why she was and still is so great. From what I understand you gave her more of a complex than Rumplestiltskin. She has a hard time believing she is worthy of anything good. So you trying to be better for her doesn't make sense to her. Doesn't matter how much she wants to believe it, it doesn't make any sense in her brain. You just have to be patient."

"You speak as though you are older than you are."

"Well then you should listen to me," he teased with a grin and she rooked down at him with a disapproving scowl that was practically identical to his mother's and he couldn't help but laugh just a little.

At the sound of the front door opening and closing followed by the voices of both David and Regina, Henry and Cora both shot they're eyes to the photo album and much to Cora's relief Henry jumped up off the couch and ran across the room as he closed it and slid it back in to its empty slot on the shelf before Regina came in. She nodded her thanks and included a small smile as the boy quickly made his way back to her on the couch.

"Henry what have I told you about leaving your backpack in the middle of the foyer?"

"Whoops," Henry whispered and leapt off the couch again with a quiet laugh, "coming! Sorry!" He hurried out of the living room and grinned at his mother in greeting as she smiled at him and hung his backpack off two of her fingers while her other hand rested on her hip.

"Mhm," Regina raised an eyebrow but couldn't keep the smile from curling her mouth.

When David saw Cora emerge from the living room he watched Regina become subtly more irritated and he quickly accepted the fact that there was going to be no stopping her this round. "Henry," he called and the boy looked his way while Regina's deadly eyes daydreamed of throttling her mother, "how about the two of us go down to Granny's and see how much ice cream we can eat?"

"Your parenting sucks, David," Henry laughed but skipped up to him anyway, taking the hint that it was best they left the house for a bit, "bye mum, bye Cora," he called over his shoulder but missed the furious and subtle twitch of his mother's head at the fact he had addressed Cora. He also managed to miss the smile on David's face because of the simplicity and absentmindedness he had used in his word choice in his reply to stuffing his face with ice cream

When the door shut behind them, the two women were left in deafening silence as they stared at one another. After a painfully long time, Regina took a few steps closer so she was well within arms reach of Cora. Her expression was hard and her jaw was tight and while Cora stood her ground, it was only that. No defensiveness, no aggression, she simply stood there holding her sharp eye, "I seem to recall telling you to stay away from my son."

"He was looking for you when he came back from school and came across me in the process."

"Doesn't matter, you walk away, you go somewhere else, I do not want you in the same room with him unless I am present!"

"It won't happen again," Cora nodded simply and then stepped past her.

Regina stared furiously at the empty space Cora had just been occupying and then turned her head to watch where she was going, her neck tense with rage. "Where are you going?!" She growled as she turned and stalked after her.

Cora stopped with a deep breath and turned around, mustering up what little patience she had left, "I got the impression that that topic of conversation was over."

"But to bow your head?! To me?!" She yelled and pushed her fingertips to her chest and Cora raised an eyebrow as though nothing was out of the ordinary, "you don't bow your head to me! You don't walk away from me!"

"Regina-"

"What the hell is that?!"

"You are upset because I won't fight back?"

"I am furious that you won't fight back!" She yelled and Cora laughed under her breath and shook her head.

She was riding on her very last nerve and her tight voice portrayed such, "I don't want to fight with you, Regina, I am trying to do better for you."

"I don't believe that for one second!" She hissed and leaned in closer to Cora.

"You are," she gave a breathy and irritated laugh as she shook her head, "infuriating."

"Why did you bring Anton here?"

"Who?"

"The giant you shrunk and stuck in a cage!"

"Oh him. I forgot about him. I left him with Hook. I suppose the pirate grew tired of caring for him."

"The pirate has been in Storybrooke this whole time?!"

"Well how else was I supposed to get here? Walk? I left him at the harbour with his cloaked ship."

"What the hell has he been doing?!"

"Trying to find a way to kill Rumplestiltskin I suppose. I didn't imagine you'd care too much."

"I do care! I care a whole lot about what happens to Rumplestiltskin! And I care even more about the giant you displaced from his home! Why did you even bring him here?!"

"I didn't want to leave him up there only to need him again."

"Why in the hell would you need a giant?!"

"Stop yelling at me! I was desperate and he knew more about you than I did!"

"That is a horrid excuse! And does nothing to negate the fact that you locked a man in a cage and took him to an entirely different world!"

"Well clearly he's perfectly fine because you've found him and you aren't screaming at me because of a dead giant," she spoke sharply and then turned again and walked away.

"Stop walking away from me!" Regina shouted and stormed after her again.

"I don't want to fight with you Regina."

"That's bullshit and you and I both know it! You are right ready to snap," she snarled as she followed Cora in to the kitchen, "you are just as furious as I am. The only difference is that my anger has been building and building and building for years," she hissed next to Cora's ear when she stopped at the counter and kept her back to her. "Everyday of my life my loathing of you has grown stronger and rooted deeper. And now you're here and I have to look at you, I have to see you every day, I have to share my home with you, I can't put you anywhere else because if you do something wrong it will be on my head."

Her snarl kept her top lip curled back and she stayed close when Cora stepped away from her and tried to busy herself with other things. "You ruined me. You absolutely ruined me! You crushed me. You broke me and found delight in tying rope to my mangled limbs so you could play puppeteer with your own personalized marionette."

Cora barely managed to suppress a shiver at Regina's cold harsh voice hissed against her ear. It felt like a punch in the gut. Her breath was stolen from her lungs and she pressed her eyes shut in an attempt to ward off the burning self hatred that hit her with the image. Because that is exactly what she had done. And what became of it? A twisted woman whom people titled evil. A match so close to the Dark One himself that if it weren't for her stunning beauty, she would have been mistaken with that title herself.

"Did you have fun, mother? Was it worth it? Am I all you hoped I'd become? Did Rumplestiltskin succeed in finishing your little project?" She pushed as she walked around the the other side of her, feeling the rage of the dark queen burning deep inside her, thrilled to come out and play with words and power. "Love is weakness," she whispered slowly as she leaned in closer with a small cold small turning up the corners of her mouth ever so slightly before her top lip curled back, "isn't that what you always told me? What you drilled in to my head since the day I was born? And yet I had still hoped that my own mother could find it in her to love me."

"You have every right to be angry-"

"Thank you for that valuable insight!"

"But I will not stand here and let this continue! You think I don't know what I have done?! You think I am unaware?!"

"You don't know half of what you caused! And what you believe you know, you can't help but feel good about it! You can't help but feel pride for the monster you helped create!"

"That is not true!"

"Stop lying to me!"

"I am not lying to you!"

"So you feel no pride in me whatsoever?!"

"Stop twisting my words!" Cora snarled viciously as she stepped in to Regina's space, finally breaking. She was absolutely bristling with rage.

"There is nothing to twist. You either are or you are not," she whispered through a snarl of her own. "Now what does mother dearest need to manipulate her pretty little monster in to do this time? Hmmm?" She raised an eyebrow and then glanced down at her mother's chest as she leaned in closer. It was rising and falling with short and quick angered breaths and Regina felt a rush of excitement at that fact. When her lips were next to her ear she whispered sweetly with a cruel smile, "tell me you love me and I'm sure I can find it in me to kill for you."

The hairs raised on the back of her neck and sharp shivers shot down her spine but she only laughed lowly through her teeth in response to the sensation of Cora's dark magic coming to the surface. She pulled her head back slowly but stayed close enough for their bodies to almost be touching. "That's right," she egged her on when she met Cora's burning eyes and felt her magic threaten to let loose, "put me in my place. Stop hiding behind falsities and let's see who you really are."

Cora felt her magic cracking in her tensed hand between her flexed fingers. She wanted almost nothing more than to do just that. Put her back in her place. However she didn't believe she would find any satisfaction in wiping that sneer off Regina's face. As a matter of fact she wasn't all that certain any action made by her would do anything except make that cruel grin grow. And if David and Henry were correct then giving in to Regina's anger now would result in Regina proving her thoughts correct.

With what minuscule amount of strength she had left, Cora flexed her fingers free of magic and bit down on her tongue and swallowed her pride as she tried to let her own rage dissipate. She took a step backward and Regina's eyes watched her with anger and distaste. As she continued walking backwards away from Regina, Regina's fury only grew but Cora turned when she could and left the kitchen without a word and at an easy and steady pace.

Regina watched her leave and when she was out of sight she spun around and slammed her hand down on the counter with her teeth bared. She wanted to scream. But she couldn't give Cora the satisfaction. If she would even find any satisfaction in it. She didn't know that woman anymore and it was infuriating. She had tried everything under the sun and still nothing. The sudden patience and tolerance Cora had found was thoroughly confusing and pissing Regina off beyond all words.