Regina knew when she opened the door that the Charmings would be on the other side. It had been a week since Cora had put her heart back in and Regina couldn't have been happier with the results. It turned out she and Emma were enough for Cora. With her heart in her evil and power hungry ways evaporated and were replaced with something much stronger; love. But of course Snow and David weren't going to see things that way. They weren't going to believe that the queen of hearts was an amazing grandmother and was making up for her past the same way Regina was.
"I was wondering when you'd show up." Regina smirks opening the door and letting in Emma's birth parents. "What can I do for you?"
"We're here for Emma." Snow says without much emotion. Regina could tell the princess was one snide comment away from snapping.
"You obviously haven't kept your word and protected her. Ruby saw you and our daughter with Cora." David adds, he isn't hiding his anger at all.
"Emma is perfectly safe, as a matter of fact she loves having Cora here. My mother put her heart in and I think you'd be surprised by her transformation." Regina calmly replies just as Emma and Cora enter from the kitchen.
"Mom, can we make some popcorn?" the always hungry teen asks hopefully.
"Sure honey." Regina smiles.
"You can make it at home." Snow tells Emma. "Grab your coat and let's go."
"You aren't really going to try that again are you?" Emma asks with the most Regina voice Snow had ever heard. Sometimes she forgot that Emma wasn't actually Regina's daughter and that scared the Hell out of her.
"Emma." David warns. "Listen to your mother." Emma turns to Regina with pleading eyes, begging her mother to fight for her. Regina won't make the same mistake twice, she'd already let Emma go once and it only left them both heartbroken.
"Snow, David, Emma isn't going anywhere." Regina firmly states while placing an arm around Emma.
"We won't let our daughter around her." Snow sneers. "How can YOU let her around Emma? After Daniel?"
"I'm not going to hurt Emma." Cora speaks up for the first time.
"You won't have a chance." David says reaching for Emma. Emma pulls away so fast she nearly hits David in the process. "Emma!"
"Do not touch my daughter." Regina warns.
"She's mine!" Snow exclaims. "You took her from me!"
"No. I did not." Regina growls. "You sent an innocent baby into a world you knew NOTHING about! And yes I was the one who sent you there but you had the chance to keep Emma. You were just so focused on the curse breaking you were willing let your only child grow up all alone. If I hadn't adopted her I'm sure another couple would have. So tell me, Snow, what's the difference?" Emma looks at her mother with such admiration that David finally gets it. Emma was Regina's daughter and even if he hated to admit, Regina was a good mother. They had done this to themselves, they had sent Emma here, they had let her go once and now they had to do it again. They had to give her her best chance, and once again it would not be with them.
"She's right." David finally says. Regina and Emma look at him in shock. "Snow, we can't take her. It wouldn't be right."
"But she's our daughter." Snow whispers tearfully even though deep down she knows its true.
"She's her daughter too." David replies softly. "And if we keep taking her away from the only happiness she's ever know we'll never have the chance to be part of her life. We have to let her come to us and we have to understand that she's Regina's daughter. As much as it hurts we have to put Emma's feelings first, the way Regina has been doing for thirteen years."
"David…" Regina begins tearfully. "Thank you."
"Just...take care of her." Snow says, agreeing with her husband. "And, Emma, our door is always open."
"I know." Emma smiles stepping away from Regina to hug her birth parents. "And just because I don't want to live with you doesn't mean I don't want to get to know. Even if at first I didn't want you in my life, I think I was just afraid. But if you guys are willing to let me be with my mom, maybe this won't be so bad. Maybe we can do dinner at Granny's or go to the movies once in a while." Snow and Charming nod.
"We'd like that." David smiles.
Later that night, Emma comes down stairs to hear her mother and Cora talking about Robin Hood. Cora was apologizing for convincing a man to impersonate him back in the Enchanted Forest. To her surprise, it made Regina laugh. It was a nice sound to hear. Emma sits on the steps for a few more minutes before she finally joins her family in the living area. Her grandmother slides over so that Emma can sit between them.
"So, Emma, help me convince your mother that we should find her soulmate." Cora says. Regina laughs lightly.
"Don't turn my daughter against me." She jokes.
"Mom, grandma is right." Emma replies. Regina shakes her head, knowing deep down she wanted to find him as well.
"What if he's not in Storybrooke?" Regina asks them. Emma and Cora share a smile and Regina knows this isn't the first time they thought of this.
"We may or may not have a way to the Enchanted Forest." Emma grins mischievously. Regina groans. It shouldn't surprise her that they had thought this all through.
"What am I supposed to say!? 'Hey I'm the Evil Queen and your soulmate please return home to a completely different realm with me?!'" Regina asks causing her mother and daughter to laugh. After a moment Cora grows serious.
"You'll know what to say when you see him." She insists. Regina looks at her daughter who's pouty lip always won her over, and her mother who looked so desperate to make things right.
"I suppose we should search Storybrooke first." Regina gives in causing Emma and Cora to cheer. "But for tonight let's just appreciate that we're all together and that it isn't going to change."
"Yes, I agree." Cora grins. They decide to watch a movie. Emma snuggles into her mother's side. The movie is only halfway over when Regina looks down to see that Emma is asleep. For a moment she looks just like she did as a toddler, minus the thumb sucking. She smiles at her daughter and is met with a bittersweet feeling. Emma was such an amazing child and Regina was so proud of who she was growing up to be, but that also meant that Emma was growing up. She'd always be Regina's little princess but Regina wasn't ready for her to get older and to have a life of her own. She wishes she could freeze time, again and stop Emma from growing. But that was out of the question and Emma deserved more than that.
"I'm proud of you." Cora whispers as not to disturb Emma. "You are an amazing mother, I'm sorry you didn't have a very good precedent to follow."
"Mother," Regina quietly sighs. "I wish we could go back too, but things work out for a reason. As much as it hurt me when you used magic on me and as heartbroken as I was when Daniel died...if those things hadn't happened I wouldn't have my daughter."
"She loves you so much." Cora smiles. "I envy your relationship with her." Regina gives her mother a sad smile. There's nothing she can say to fix things, the best they can do it live for the future and move on from their tragic past.
A/N: Not sure how much longer this will be, but there's at least three more chapters coming! Also I hope you're all okay with Cora turning good in this. In the next chapter we meet Robin Hood :D I'm sorry for those who don't like him, and I thought about writing Graham in, but I've never written him and I was afraid to mess this up. Plus Emma was with Graham on the show and it would have felt weird in this, with her being Regina's daughter. But perhaps I could write a separate Graham/Regina story? -Kaila