Regina stepped into the diner, ignoring the glances she received. They were pitying stares now. She'd planned on getting a coffee and leaving as soon as possible until she laid eyes on her friend. Ruby turned from the counter, slowly sitting down her coffee, and offered a sheepish smile. Her facial muscles were desperately trying to morph into something that would better convey her emotional pain but it wasn't like Arthur was going to allow her façade to slip for even a moment.

"Look who dropped back into my town and didn't even bother to come say hi." Regina smirked, feeling a bit relieved of the pressure on her from the mess of her marriage. The younger woman managed another more genuine grin. As Regina came up to her, she pulled the woman in for a hug knowing they both needed one.

She hugged her tight because she felt she'd only returned to town to make things ten times worse than they already were. All she wanted to do was scream that there was another villain in Storybrooke and she had no doubt that would be enough for Emma and Regina to forget about their problems, especially to protect Henry and Tamsin from a madman.

Regina pulled away, smiling lightly to show her appreciation for the moment to forget her problems. "You're the worse friend ever."

"I know, I know. I missed you though."

"I missed you, too, wolf." Ruby rolled her eyes but didn't say anything in response. "Granny didn't give you your job back?" She asked as she slipped onto the stool next to the younger woman.

Ruby just shrugged. "Got a lot on my mind. It's probably best she not hire me back or I'd be spilling your food all over you."

"Wouldn't want that."

"You need to talk." Ruby stated looking down into her drink. She knew this was something Arthur wouldn't let her get out of. He'd probably benefit from whatever they talked about and she'd feel guilty about it but there was nothing she could do.

"It's about…Emma." Regina averted her eyes at using her wife's name. It stung for reasons she was all too aware of but didn't want to think about. She missed her wife more than she ever thought she'd have to. Emma was never supposed to be too far away for so long. She swallowed her sorrow despite it being obvious on her face. "I asked her on a date."

Ruby screamed in her head. Arthur was going to ruin this whole thing for them. Regina looked a little hopeful when she said that but a lot of sadness clouded her hope. "That's good." She forced out, face refusing to convey any of her true emotions. Especially, the one that wanted to tell Regina she couldn't be trusted, that she'd hurt them with the trust she had in her.

"I thought so at first but I'm not sure she'll she be there."

"She'll be there. She loves you."

"Our marriage is falling apart. I'm not too sure about anything anymore but I want our date to work. I want our marriage to work, like it was before all of this."

"Where are you having this date?" Ruby asked, sensing Arthur was listening in to their conversation.

"In the forest, by the well." Regina smiled lightly at the memory that flashed in her mind. "I want it to be perfect."

Ruby put her hand over her friend's. "I'll help you." Regina nodded solemnly. "We'll make sure everything is right so you can have your wife back."

"Thank you, Ruby."

"So what did you have in mind?"

"A picnic. Like before."

Emma tapped the table and stared disbelievingly at her phone.

"You're acting as though this is not exactly what you want," a voice glowered from behind her.

The blonde clenched her jaw but refused to look over her shoulder at the man behind her. She knew that there was no point trying to ignore him, since it was impossible to ignore her own thoughts, but that didn't mean that she had to engage.

"Emma?" A different voice asked from over by the stairs.

The former savior blinked and looked over in the direction. Her mother stood there holding Neal in her arms and it occurred to her that the woman must have been in the bathroom giving her younger brother a bath. When she had walked in to find an empty apartment, she had assumed that Snow had taken Neal to some kind of baby class.

"Hi," Emma finally said when her surprise wore off, "I didn't think anyone else was here."

Snow nodded as she made her way over to the table, quickly falling into the chair opposite her daughter as she placed her son safely on her lap.

"Neal made a big mess with his dinner…It seemed like it would be better to just skip going to the park when he's being this fussy."

Emma nodded her agreement and smiled fondly at her brother, though it didn't escape her mother's notice that she didn't smile quite as broadly as she used to.

"Is there something wrong?" Snow asked rather pathetically. She knew that there was probably a long list of things that were currently bothering the sheriff, but she could tell that there was something in particular bothering her now.

The blonde bit the inside of her cheek and tried to push aside the thoughts that she shouldn't tell people how she was feeling. She knew that thoughts like that were just another way that the darkness was isolating her from her family. The more she felt like she was apart from them, the more that Rumple would be right and that was something that she was determined to never allow to happen…even if she hadn't quite gotten around to actually telling anyone about the spirit that had been tormenting her for months.

"I got a message from Regina…" she admitted, looking back down to the screen of her phone. "She asked me to meet her so that we can talk…"

Snow frowned, "That's a good thing…right?"

"I…guess…I just…." Emma began, but she quickly stopped when it occurred to her that she had no idea how to articulate her thoughts well. It should be a simple enough task to just reply to her wife, she could have done it weeks ago, and she might even be back home right now. She was being given another chance now and she was still not able to simply reply, which was not something she really even had to do this time. Regina had just asked her to meet her by the well the next day at five, all she had to do was go and then maybe they would be able to work through all of their issues.

"If she can't even talk to you properly in front of a therapist, what makes you think that she will see you as any less of a monster in the woods?" Rumple chimed in as if he realized that he hadn't said anything for a couple of minutes. "If she wanted to work things out, then why has she still not realized that you have her wedding ring?"

Emma visibly flinched, as the necklace under her shirt suddenly felt ten times heavier, but she quickly realized that her mother was looking at her with genuine concern. The brunette had obviously not heard the voice and she was probably thinking that her daughter was going insane.

"I…" the Dark One began. For a brief moment, she considered telling her mother that she had flinched because of Rumple's words, but the words died on her tongue as if there was a force stopping her from telling someone the inner workings of the darkest energy across all of the realms. "I was just thinking of the last time that I actually talked to Regina…it always ended in an argument…I just don't know if I can handle it again…"

Snow's frown deepened, she had the distinct feeling that there was something that the blonde was choosing not to tell her but she decided to put it aside for now.

"Would you rather never be able to talk to her again?" She asked after a moment of contemplation. She honestly had no idea what kind of advice she should be giving to Emma right now. Sure, she'd had fights with David over the years, but they had never really lasted longer than a week at most and they certainly never involved one of them being consumed by an ancient darkness. But she did know that Emma was looking for some kind of help in this moment and she figured that she could at least try and offer something, even if it did feel as though she was oversimplifying the whole issue.

"You argue every time you see each other, would it not be better for your sweet, innocent children if the two of you just stopped trying?" Rumple asked.

Emma clenched her fist under the table at the mere thought of never interacting with her wife again, especially since her definition of 'never again' would now mean for the rest of time, as long as she remained in Storybrooke anyway.

"I…guess you're right," the blonde finally said when it occurred to her that her mother was still waiting for a reply. "I just wish that we could actually have a civil conversation…I have no idea why she's even so angry with me…I haven't done anything wrong."

Snow furrowed her brow and adjusted her body slightly so that Neal could sit more comfortably on her lap.

"Maybe it isn't you that she has the issue with?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" the Dark One asked with a tilted head. She had the feeling that her mother could actually be on to something that Archie might not have thought of. As weird as it seemed, Snow was probably the person who had known Regina the longest, which meant that she knew a lot more about the woman than either of them would probably care to admit.

"The arguments started when you became…the Dark One. Perhaps…it is the mantle that angers her and not you? Rumple was the one who taught Regina to be the Evil Queen…"

Emma looked over her shoulder with narrowed eyes at the apparition, which earned her a curious look from her mother.

"Emma?" Snow asked cautiously.

The blonde's eyes shot back to her mother and she pushed herself up from her chair, "You just gave me an idea…I gotta go," she rushed out.

The brunette nodded, confusion playing across her features as she watched her daughter wave her hands and disappear in a cloud of black-ish smoke.

"Mom?" Henry asked cautiously while knocking on the door.

"Come in," Regina called.

The teen paused before he pushed his way into his mother's study. He felt a pang in his stomach when he took in just how much sadness there was in her voice and he wondered whether she had felt the same way during the time that he was acting like a complete asshole to her. He chose not to think about that time too much since he couldn't even imagine treating her that way now, but when it did pop into his mind, he felt guilt seep through his system. He was sure that was how Regina was feeling right about now. There was no rational reason for her to treat Emma the way that she was, but it was common knowledge that the former queen wasn't too good with her feelings.

Finally, he pushed his way into the room and smiled over at the woman sitting behind the desk. It was obvious that she was throwing herself into her work in order to ignore the fact that she hadn't talked to Emma in weeks. He imagined that was why she had left her phone in the kitchen, since that would stop her from checking every five seconds whether her wife had replied or not. Emma was still her best friend too and that only made the pain worse.

"Tamsin's hungry…" He announced, choosing to leave out the fact that he was too.

Regina blinked a few times before her eyes shot to the clock and she let out an exasperated sigh. It had been one o'clock when she came in here to read some proposals and now it was six. There was no way that she would be able to make dinner in time for her youngest to be in bed on time now.

"I didn't realize what time it was," she sighed as she rubbed her temples, "You can take Tamsin to Granny's for dinner…"

"You're not coming?" Henry frowned as he walked over to the table.

"I'm not hungry," She said quietly. The teen slipped into the chair opposite her and tilted his head at her. He could tell that she was lying and he had a feeling that he knew what the truth was.

"You don't want Ma to see us and think that we're happy without her?" Regina just looked down at the table by way of admitting that he was right and Henry blew out a breath of frustration. "You could invite her, you know?"

"I could, but it isn't as if she would reply to my message," Regina admitted with a touch of frustration in her voice.

Henry reached forward and closed the lid on her laptop so that he could be sure that he had her full attention.

"What was the last message that you sent her?" He asked.

His mother looked up at him with a quirked eyebrow. She considered that she could just tell him to forget about it and go and take his sister to dinner, but she had vowed a long time ago that she would always tell Henry what he wanted to know. She didn't want to risk losing him and she had been genuinely shocked that he had decided to stick with her through all of this, since even she knew that she had been acting irrationally in almost all of her altercations with Emma.

"I invited her to meet me tomorrow at the wishing well for a picnic…" She admitted.

"She'll be there," Henry said instantly, "She might not be willing to reply, but I know for a fact that she will be there."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Because actions speak louder than words," Henry replied firmly, "Whatever is going on in her mind is stopping her from replying, but there is nothing in the world that can stop her from wanting to spend time with you…especially when you're making the effort…"

Regina bit the inside of her cheek and tried to think of an argument. As much as she agreed with her son, she couldn't help the thought that perhaps they were no longer talking about the same Emma anymore. The Emma that she had married would have never spent months away from her family. The Emma that she knew didn't have ancient darkness coursing through her veins that could endanger anyone in Storybrooke at any given moment.

The older of the pair smiled up at him, though it was rather obvious that the smile was rather strained and she nodded.

"I'm sure that she will be there, I just wish that I didn't have to worry about being stood up by my own wife," She admitted.

Henry nodded his understanding and the two of them fell into a silence as neither of them really knew what to say. The situation was difficult enough as it was and they both knew that Regina would only begin to feel less anxious after the picnic had already happened.

"Mommy?" Someone whined from over by the door, "I'm hungry…"

Henry and Regina both looked over to Tamsin who was standing by the threshold with her arms crossed over her chest. Both of the brunettes smiled at the child and Henry slid from his chair to go over to her.

"Mom has a lot of work to do, but we're gonna go to Granny's for dinner," he explained.

Tamsin frowned deeply. She couldn't really remember a time when she hadn't had dinner with at least one of her parents there, but she quickly shrugged it off as her stomach grumbled to remind her just how hungry she was.

"You can take the money out of my purse," Regina announced and offered her youngest child a reassuring smile. Tamsin shot back with a toothy grin and the older woman almost convinced herself that she should just go with them. But then she imagined Emma's face if she saw the 'happy' family and quickly decided against it.

"I'll see you later," she said instead of raising from her chair.

Henry smiled at her sympathetically and turned on his heels in search of her purse. He couldn't wait for things to finally go back to normal.

"That was rude," Rumple giggled.

"Shut up," Emma said instantly just as the smoke completely disappeared in the air of the forest clearing. If she was going to be talking to herself, she would much rather be doing it somewhere no one would be able to see or hear her apparent descent into insanity.

Rumple raised his eyebrow at her and crossed his arms over his chest with a smirk forming across his face, "What exactly was this great idea that your dear mother gave you?"

Emma clenched her fists at her side and stared at the man for a moment. She had no idea if her idea could possibly be right, but she knew that if she was right, it would give her the opportunity to possibly understand more about how her wife was feeling.

"You…represent every Dark One that has ever existed, right?" She asked after a moment of contemplation.

"Indeed, and you're asking questions that I have already answered," He shot back.

Emma swallowed hard and hardened her resolve, "Does that mean that the darkness gives me access to all of the memories of any of the Dark Ones?"

The spirit didn't reply and that gave Emma the answer that she wanted. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and started to think exactly what she wanted.

"What are you doing?" Rumple asked and Emma could swear that he was clenching his teeth in frustration.

"I'm testing a theory," She replied without opening her eyes.

Before the man could say another word, images began to flash through the Dark One's mind and her face instantly began to scrunch up at the sheer volume.

"There are thousands of years of memories stored within your body, do you honestly believe that you are capable of drawing out what you seek?"

"Shut…up…" the blonde ground out as she stumbled back against a tree, but still refused to open her eyes to see the amused expression of the spirit across from her. The images continued to flash and her stomach twisted at some of them. She knew that the Dark One was infamous for doing terrible things, but hearing about it and seeing it were two completely different things.

"They will always hate you."

"The Queen is dead, long live the Evil Queen."

Emma's eyes flew open and she stared at the man for a few moments, "You're the reason that she hates me," she exploded. Rumple tilted his head and stared back with a questioning gaze as the blonde pushed herself from the tree and stalked towards him. "I haven't done anything wrong, but you are the reason that she became the Evil Queen. You're the reason that she spent so long seeking revenge and the reason that Henry hated her for so long. You're the reason that Daniel died and now it's your fault that her marriage is falling apart! She sees you whenever we talk…You're the reason I'm a monster to her."

As she ranted, her hand came up to her neck to clasp around Regina's wedding ring. Once her fingers made contact with it, her eyes widened as another memory flashed before her eyes.

She was sitting at the counter in her kitchen as silence reigned over the room while Regina chopped vegetables for dinner. It was painfully obvious that neither of them had anything to talk about that wouldn't end in a very loud argument.

Unbeknownst to Regina, Rumple was standing behind Emma listing all of the reasons that she should just give up on her marriage. The blonde clenched her jaw and tried desperately to ignore him.

It was for that reason, that she didn't quite notice him waving his hand as she loosened her own fists. A grey shimmer flickered around the ring on the mayor's finger.

Emma blinked out of the memory and narrowed her eyes at the spirit.

"It was you." She growled. "That's why she hasn't notice it's gone...you cast a spell on her."

"We've been through this, Swan, I am you," he replied, "You may not consciously have cast the spell to make her not realize she wasn't wearing the ring, but that doesn't mean that you didn't cast the spell. It's not my fault that in an attempt to ignore your own mind, you didn't register what you were doing."

The blonde clenched her fist and desperately tried to remind herself that there was absolutely nothing she could actually do to hurt him, but then a thought occurred to her. She considered that she could just go to Regina right now and tell her that she understands, but she realized that Regina probably had some big plan for tomorrow and she didn't want to talk to her before she was ready. However, there was one thing that she could do to prove to him that he wasn't completely in control of her.

In one swift motion, she pulled out her phone and unlocked it.

"What are you doing?" Rumple demanded.

Emma didn't even bother to reply as she typed out her message and defiantly pressed send before her sub-conscious could even try and cause any hesitation.

I'll see you then. I love you.