Chapter Sixteen: No Place Like Home

The headache was growing.

Regina leaned against the counter and closed her eyes, feeling the throbbing pain that had started on the docks and only grown worse in the intervening hours. She needed to sleep. She needed more than that – she needed to get away from all of this, from the tension and the rivalries, from the constant suspicion, from the flaring emotions around her.

She needed to get away from the looming presence of her mother.

Dawn was breaking over the horizon, casting bright rays of light through the unusually cloudless sky. She stared out of the window and watched the shadows slowly retreat across her perfectly manicured lawn.

She sighed.

The potion in front of her was glowing, a vibrant light and dark blue mixing together. All she needed to do was add the few strands of short brown hair on the counter to the liquid, and Mary Margaret would have free reign over her house. She'd even had the foresight to pluck a few of David's hairs as well, or else he would not have been able to leave upon awakening.

But now it was done – the complicated magic made, the solution lying right in front of her.

So why was she hesitating?

She didn't want Mary Margaret to be happy. She didn't want to watch true love's kiss bring David back, didn't want to watch the two melt into each other with their sickeningly sweet looks and their promises of always find you. She didn't want that anger, that hatred, that hurt to flare in her chest again, didn't want the viciously cruel reminder of everything Mary Margaret had, everything she didn't have.

Except…

Mary Margaret wasn't happy, and bringing David back wouldn't change that. Emma was gone, trapped in a world that would likely kill her; or worse, turn her into something unrecognizable. And when David awoke and Mary Margaret told him everything, they would march off hand in hand, believing that they could save their daughter, only to be sorely disappointed.

They would crumble, their happiness destroyed, and wasn't that what Regina wanted?

So why was she hesitating?

The sound of footsteps on the stairs pulled her attention away from her gloomy thoughts, and a shiver ran down her spine. This confrontation, she knew, would be far harder than any conversation she had ever had with her numerous enemies. It would be harder, even, then interactions with her own mother.

She had long since learned that those she loved could hurt her the most, and the one with the strongest grip on her heart was Henry.

He appeared in the kitchen, with his hair mused and sleep clinging to his eyes, still in his pajamas which she noticed with a start were too small for him. He'd grown a few inches since the curse had broken, and apparently David hadn't thought to buy him new clothes.

Sooner or later, she would need to remedy that.

He'd fallen back asleep while she'd been at the docks, lured into it by Granny's promises – lies – that everything was alright and he didn't need to worry. Regina had felt relief upon returning home to see him curled up in the bed next to David. It had been a momentary delay of the conversation she dreaded, the one that would have to happen now.

Henry's eyes darted past her to the potion vial on the counter. "Are you doing magic?" he asked, surprised. Worry clouded his expression. "Did something happen? Did… did your mother get through the barrier around the house?"

Regina shook her head, again struck by the fact that instead of jumping to the conclusion that she was plotting something nefarious, his first assumption was that she was trying to protect them. So much had changed since the conversation about Daniel, about Cora, about how much of the story was left out of Henry's precious book.

She really needed to figure out who had written that book – and why.

She forced a smile that did not reach her eyes. "Come here," she said, gesturing to him.

He did, steps slow and deliberate, his eyes never leaving her face. He was a perceptive boy, and he knew something was wrong.

She bent over so that she could look him in the eye. "Henry," she said softly, "I need to tell you something."

"Something happened!" Henry demanded, fear and anger warring for control of his voice. "I knew it. Granny said that everything was alright, but she was lying to me, wasn't she? Wasn't she?"

People lie, she thought.

Aloud, she said, "Henry, a portal opened last night."

"Emma's back!" Henry exclaimed, joy lighting up his features in a way she hadn't seen in years. Something clenched painfully in her chest, momentarily taking her breath away. The reminder was too stark, too painful – no matter how much Henry might trust her now, he still loved Emma more.

"Henry… she's not here," Regina said gently, wishing there was some way to soften the blow. "Miss Blanchard made it through the portal, but something happened and Miss Swan was left behind."

He took a step back. "What… what do you mean? How could she… what… no, that's not…" he stammered, shaking his head, refusing to believe. "No. No." Eyes narrowing, his snapped, "Snow White would never abandon her daughter."

"She didn't do it on purpose," Regina said. "It was an accident."

Henry took another step backwards, further away from her. "No," he said, "no. That can't… you're wrong." Tears pricked at his eyes, and Regina realized with a pang that she didn't need to tell him the worst of it – that Emma was alone in a world she had no idea how to navigate, that the chances of her making it out unscathed were slim at best.

He'd already figured that out.

"Henry…"

"What do you mean something happened? What happened? Why would Mary Margaret…" He stopped, took a breath, changed the question. "How did Mary Margaret and Emma get separated?"

"I don't know," Regina answered honestly. The previous conversation on the docks had not touched on that point, and Regina had not had long enough to think through the possibilities…

But she was fairly certain Cora was somehow behind it.

Perhaps it was paranoia, but she was not going to underestimate her mother.

"How can you not know?" Henry shouted at her. "How can you… you were supposed to bring them both back! You promised me!"

"I know, and I…"

"NO!"

He turned and darted out of the kitchen towards the front door of the house. She wasn't sure if he was running away from her or towards something else, but either way it didn't matter. She knew she couldn't let him wander blindly through the town.

She caught up to him at the front door and grabbed both his arms, stopping him. He struggled against her, tears in his eyes and a look of desperation on his face, and she was reminded abruptly of Mary Margaret struggling in Leroy's arms, trying desperately to find a way back to her daughter.

Bitter jealousy flared in her chest. Emma Swan had no idea how loved she was, and didn't properly appreciate it.

"Henry, listen to me," she begged. "Please."

"You did this, didn't you?" Henry spat at her, his fear and grief turning to anger that was directed entirely towards her. "You separated them. You found a way to make sure Emma would stay behind. This is all your fault!"

"Henry, no!"

When would people stop heaping ridiculous accusations on her?

"Henry, listen to me," she said again, her grip tightening on his arms, refusing to let him pull away. "I had nothing to do with any of this. I swear to you."

He frowned, refusing to believe her. "Then why were you doing magic last night?" he asked suspiciously, eyes moving past her towards the kitchen.

"It's a modification to the barrier spell around the house," she explained patiently. "So that Miss Blanchard can come in to wake David, and so that the two of them can leave."

Henry stilled, his suspicion tempered slightly. She could see the truth in his eyes – that he wanted to believe her, but didn't know how. Didn't know if he could. Didn't know if she was trustworthy, or if this was all some elaborate trick, a way to separate him from everyone he loved.

"Can you take me to see Mary Margaret?" he asked finally.

"How about I call Miss Blanchard and have her come here?" Regina suggested. "As soon as I cast the modification spell, she'll be able to enter the house, and I know she wants to see David."

He nodded silently, and slipping out of her grasp, turned and fled back up the stairs and into David's room.

Regina sighed and walked back into the kitchen.

The vial was still sitting on the counter, the two shades of blue wrapping slowly around each other. She contemplated it for a long moment, watching the light cast by the potion, the faint glow that seemed to illuminate the entire bottle.

She bit her lip.

The spell was ready. All she had to do was cast it, and then…

Then Mary Margaret and David would have complete access to her house, to her life, to Henry. Once it was done, she wouldn't be able to lock them out again without incurring their suspicion, and all they had to do was say a few words and Henry would be lost to her for good. She was under no delusions – her relationship with Henry might be getting better, but he would still choose the side of Good over her.

How could she let them into her life when they still had so much power over her happiness? How could she let them past the barriers around her only sanctuary, how could she give them full access to Henry when they could so easily take him away from her?

For three days, she had lived with the constant of her mother's presence, the suspicion of the townspeople, and the realization that everything might fall to pieces before her very eyes…

But for three days, Henry had been completely and only hers.

That, she knew, was the true reason she was hesitating.

But if she didn't cast the spell, Henry would turn all his grief into anger and hatred and suspicion… against her. She had to do this to prove to him that she loved him, that she was trying to be better. She had to take the chance that David would snatch Henry away as he had done before, or Henry would simply leave on his own.

"Damned if you do," she murmured, lifting the vial, "and damned if you don't."

Mary Margaret stalked from town hall still shaking with rage and some other less identifiable emotion. The conversation with Leah had not gone as she had hoped, and some part of her did not understand how everything had fallen apart so quickly. Leroy had told her last night how George had framed Ruby for murder once, but David had been able to prove her innocence. Were people really so blind that they would fall for the same trick twice?

She started walking instead, paying little attention to where she was going. Her feet moved briskly, choosing the way of their own accord, and her thoughts drifted back to Aurora and Mulan.

Guilt twisted in her stomach.

They could have gone back for their two friends. That had always been a possibility, even if it hadn't seemed like it at the time. The threat Cora posed was enough to cloud their thoughts, to force all their attention and all their planning on defeating her, and had left little room to consider the princess and her warrior friend, but…

They could have gone back for them. It would have been possible. They could have retraced their steps back to the palace, back to Rumpelstiltskin's cell. Aurora and Mulan probably would not have been there, however, because as soon as Mulan made it back and returned the princess' heart, the two of them would have left. Why stick around in a dungeon cell if they thought no one was coming for them?

How long would it have taken to find their friends? How much of a delay would it have been, how many extra days would Cora have had in this town?

Cora had only been here three days, and already things were so much different.

What would the town look like, Mary Margaret wondered, if I had arrived even a few days later?

Was that a justification for their actions, or just an excuse to make herself feel better about leaving Aurora and Mulan behind?

She sighed, and rubbed at her eyes.

And then she caught sight of the bulletin board.

It was covered with the faces of the missing, of friends and family who hadn't found each other yet. She frowned as she stepped closer, wondering at that. She'd been gone for a few weeks – how could people still be missing? How long did it take to find someone in a town that no one could leave without losing their memories?

She studied the sketches papered over one another, and wondered if perhaps those who had found their loved ones simply hadn't taken the pictures down. But there were so many of them.

Frowning, she reached up to trace her finger over the name below one drawing. She didn't recognize most of these people. And while it was true that she had not known every single person in her kingdom – that would have been impossible – she had known a lot of them. Her responsibilities as their leader had led her to interact with the townsfolk quite frequently, and her days as a fugitive hiding among the peasants had introduced her to even more.

She chewed her lip as her brows furrowed together in confusion and then horrified realization.

Regina had cursed far more than just her kingdom.

But… why?

Regina's anger had always been directed solely towards Snow White. Why would she bother taking people from kingdoms she'd never been to, places she'd never visited?

Had she snatched people from other worlds as well?

Mary Margaret spun around, her gaze sweeping over the few people on the sidewalk. Most of them paid no attention to her – they didn't know her, didn't recognize her. She was just another lost soul standing at the bulletin board looking for her family. She was nothing to them…

And they had no reason to follow her.

Mary Margaret exhaled slowly. She hadn't thought about this while trapped in her now-destroyed homeland, too preoccupied by questions of survival. Some part of her had assumed she would be returning to a town filled her friends, her family, her people, her allies. But that was obviously not the case.

So what now?

She did not have the advantage that she had expected, but she still had allies. Friends. And one of them was currently locked away in jail.

She needed to speak to Ruby, needed to makes sure the other woman was alright.

With that thought in mind, she started towards the sheriff's station.

She hadn't expected the flood of memories to hit her quite so hard.

Mary Margaret paused outside the station, staring up at the building. It had meant little to her for the first twenty-eight years of the curse, but then it had been her own prison during Katherine's murder investigation, and Emma's office during the last several months.

Emma.

The fear that washed over her – fear that she would never see her daughter again, that their brief reconciliation was all she would ever get – was nearly paralyzing. She needed Emma back.

She closed her eyes, and a memory swam up from the depths of her mind. She was locked in prison, trapped in a cell, investigated for a murder she did not commit, but Emma was standing before her promising that everything was going to be alright, that she would figure this out, that Mary Margaret just needed to trust her, to give her time.

She opened her eyes.

"Everything's going to be okay, Emma," she murmured, wishing her daughter was standing before her, wishing that somehow Emma could hear her words, "I'm going to find you. I promise."

Then she squared her shoulders and marched into the building.

And nearly ran straight into Charles Herman.

He froze, gaping at her in complete surprise, but then a genuine smile graced his features and he dragged her into a hug that was out of character for his usually more reserved self.

"Snow. You're back."

"It's good to see you, too," she said, returning the hug with a smile of her own. "How are Ella and Thomas?"

"They insist on going by Ashley and Sean," Charles replied, a hint of displeasure creeping into his voice, "but other than that they are doing fine."

Mary Margaret nodded her head. She could perfectly understand why the two did not want to revert back to their old names – like Mary Margaret, they were young enough to have spent as much time under the curse as before it, and they were different people now than they had been before Regina's revenge. Far too much had changed, and they simply couldn't go back to the way it had been before.

Mary Margaret wondered vaguely if Charles accepted that.

"What are you doing here?" Charles asked finally. A smile played around the corners of his lips, "Shouldn't you be reuniting with James?"

David, Mary Margaret corrected silently, but aloud she said, "I'm working on it," and didn't offer any more explanation. Instead, she asked, "What are you doing here?"

Charles grimaced. "Leah, Stefan, and I have had a disagreement over Miss Lucas' trial," he said sourly, "and I am trying to… straighten it out."

Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Sir Maurice was a noble in my land," Charles explained. "I would like to oversee the trial as is the custom in my kingdom."

"You can't possibly believe that Ruby murdered someone," Mary Margaret protested.

"The evidence certainly suggests that she did," Charles replied grimly. "However, I have no intention of passing judgment without allowing her to speak in her defense first. If she is innocent, it will come to light at the trial."

He said it with such confidence, as though it was inconceivable that Ruby could be wrongly convicted.

Mary Margaret gritted her teeth. "I need to talk to Ruby," she said.

Charles shook his head. "Snow, please don't do this," he said quietly, sympathetically. She gave him a quizzical stare, and he pressed on, "Don't try to push through your own agenda. I know you believe the best of Miss Lucas because she is your friend. But this is a murder investigation, and we must follow the law."

"I don't have time for this," Mary Margaret retorted angrily, ignoring the logic in his words. "Emma doesn't have time for this. I need my entire council together if I am to find a way back to her."

"What happened to Sheriff Swan?" Charles questioned immediately, surprise and concern mixing in his tone.

"She didn't make it back," Mary Margaret answered, fighting back the swell of emotion brought on by those five words. "She's stuck in our world, Charles, and it isn't the same as it used to be. The ogres are back and everything has been destroyed. She's alone, and she just… she doesn't know that place."

"The ogres are back?"

Mary Margaret nodded curtly, and bit back the groan of frustration that threatened to break loose. Her daughter was trapped in a destroyed land and yet it was the return of the ogres that caught Charles attention, as though that was somehow more important.

Of course, realistically Charles barely knew Emma, and yet had seen first had how much devastation the ogres could cause. They had all lost people they cared about in the most recent ogre war, which had been a brutal and hard-fought campaign during her father's reign. To have all those sacrifices go to waste now was unthinkable.

"I need to talk to Ruby," Mary Margaret said again.

"Snow… I know you mean well, but you aren't thinking clearly right now," Charles protested, his tone slightly patronizing.

Mary Margaret stiffened. "What do you mean?" she challenged, raising her chin.

"Miss Lucas has been accused of murder. You need to understand that, need to accept it." He glanced behind him towards the main office, towards the cells where Ruby was no doubt be kept prisoner. "We can't let her go simply because she is your friend."

"She's being framed. Again."

"If that is the case, then I have no doubt that she will be cleared. Again."

Mary Margaret let out a breath, feeling the situation slipping away from her. Charles wouldn't listen to her, wouldn't listen to reason – she could see that by the tension in his jaw and the firm set of his shoulders. He was polite, sympathetic, even genuinely warm at times… but he would not cave on this.

She looked away, gathering her thoughts.

"Then I should be the one in charge of overseeing the trial," she said finally.

Charles gave her a skeptical look.

"Ruby was a member of my kingdom," Mary Margaret pressed onwards. "It is my responsibility to uphold law and order in my kingdom, and to punish those who break the laws."

"Sir Maurice was a member of my kingdom," Charles replied softly, but in a tone underlined with steel.

"Did you know him?" Mary Margaret demanded.

"Not well, no," Charles admitted, looking slightly ashamed at having to say that. Sir Maurice had been a noble in his kingdom, and the fact that Charles had not known him well could only mean that he had never bothered to invite the other man to court.

"Well, I know Ruby, and…"

"And that is exactly why you should not be overseeing the trial," Charles interrupted. "You will be biased in her favor. Whoever oversees this needs to be completely impartial – and I am." Mary Margaret opened her mouth to argue the point, but he held up his hand to quickly forestall her protest and said, "If the ogres have really moved back into our lands, then that is all the more reason that you cannot be a part of this."

"I… what?" Mary Margaret demanded, baffled. How did that make sense? How were the two events even remotely related?

"It seems unlikely that we will be able to return home any time soon," Charles said, and Mary Margaret could not argue with that statement. Even if they had the magic required to go back there, what would they be returning to? There was nothing left for them anymore.

Her heart clenched at the thought. She had been Mary Margaret for a long time – but she'd been Snow White, too, and the Enchanted Forest and the Summer Palace were her home just as much as Storybrooke was. But Regina's curse had destroyed all that, had not only separated her from her loved ones, but also cost her the place she had been born, the place she had lived as a child, the place she had met her true love and been married and had a child of her own.

Charles continued, "We can't leave Storybrooke, either. And in that case, we need to learn how to live together in this town. All of us, all of our separate kingdoms. It is going to be complicated and challenging, and the only way we can possibly hope to build something stable and long-lasting is if we do it together. We have to put the needs of the many above the desires of the one."

"Sacrificing Ruby isn't the right thing to do," Mary Margaret argued passionately, unable to believe what Charles was suggesting. "How can we hope to build anything good if we build it on innocent lives?"

Charles heaved a sigh and shook his head. "That is not what I am saying. Of course we should not sacrifice Miss Lucas if she is innocent. But we have to have a fair and unbiased trial. No matter what we personally believe, or what we want to happen. We are royalty, Snow, and we need to set an example for everyone else. Our grasp on order in this town is too tenuous to risk any show of favoritism. People must be able to have faith in us."

Mary Margaret chewed her lip, then nodded reluctantly. "I agree with that," she said hesitantly, "but why do you think my overseeing the trial would be a problem?"

"If Miss Lucas is found innocent, you would be accused of bias in her favor," Charles replied. "People might claim that you refused to admit all the evidence into the trial, or put some other stumbling block before the prosecution. You are too close to this case, Snow. You are too close to the defendant."

"But that's ridiculous!" Mary Margaret practically cried, throwing her hands into the air. "How could anyone think that?"

"Well… isn't that what Prince James has been doing for the past weeks?"

Mary Margaret narrowed her eyes at the insult against her true love. "What do you mean?" she growled, her voice low and dangerous. Whatever lies had been spread about David, she would not stand for them. And she certainly would not accept them from an ally, from the father of a beloved friend.

Charles gazed at her for a long moment, scrutinizing her expression. "You don't even see it, do you?" he scoffed. "Perhaps Leah and Stefan were right."

"Right about what?" Mary Margaret demanded, irritated. She didn't bother to hide the scorn or the accusation in her tone - if Charles was going to insult her, she was going to drop all pretense of civility as well.

"Rumpelstiltskin and the Evil Queen!" Charles shot back, eyes narrowing in response to her tone. "They wander around freely, as though they don't deserve to be punished for what they have done. Why is Regina allowed her freedom after she cursed all of us, after she stole our memories and our identities? How many lives has Rumpelstiltskin ruined, how many people has he harmed – including my own son – and yet he doesn't deserve the consequences of that?"

"I…"

Charles continued, cutting over her, "James held this town together – but only barely. He made a great speech at the town line about why we should all stay in Storybrooke, and people were willing to follow him. People who had never met him, people who didn't have any idea who he was now or who he had been before. He had a chance to lead, to give us strength and peace, but instead of actually leading, he worked with our enemies and spent all his time focused on you. He even went so far as to put himself into an enchanted sleep making him physically incapable of helping any of us in order to get to you."

"I'm his wife," Mary Margaret argued. "You can't have expected him to just abandon me?"

"Of course not," Charles replied coolly. "But he could have tried to do both. He didn't. The only time he bothered to focus on anything besides you was when he was helping Miss Lucas. He had the opportunity to help the rest of the town – and he didn't take it! But now that Miss Lucas is in trouble you want to help again? How do you think that is going to look to everyone else?"

"I… that's not… Charles, you're twisting everything," Mary Margaret countered weakly, shaking her head.

"I'm not," Charles answered flatly, "and even if I was, it wouldn't matter. Because this is how it is going to be viewed; this is what everyone is going to think."

"But… Emma…"

Charles hesitated, then said quietly, "Snow, I will help you get your daughter back in any way I can – except this. I need to do what is right for the town and the people who live here. I'm sorry… but Miss Lucas has been accused of murder, and I intend for the trial to be fair and just and completely free of any bias, perceived or real."

It was an olive branch, and far more than Mary Margaret would get from Leah or Stefan, but it wasn't enough for her. Charles might be an ally, Ashley might be a close friend, and they both deserved her patience and her understanding… but it couldn't be enough for her, not with Emma still trapped in another world.

She turned and stormed out of the sheriff's station.

On the sidewalk, she got Regina's call.

Mary Margaret passed through the barrier without any trouble. The front door to the mayor's mansion was already open, and she rushed up the walk and into the house without pause.

Henry was waiting for her.

She stopped, the breath catching in her throat. His eyes were bright, and a tentative smile played across his features when he saw her, but underneath it all was a sadness, a pain. A loss.

She wrapped her arms around him without hesitation. "I'm so sorry, Henry," she whispered. "But we're going to get Emma back. I promise."

"I know," he sniffled, but she heard the shakiness in his voice. His usual firm belief in good always defeating evil – the belief that he had clung to throughout the curse when no one actually believed him – was gone, replaced by doubt. That loss had changed him somehow, and just hugging him felt different.

She looked up as Regina entered the hallway.

Really looked.

She'd missed it on the dock. Perhaps it had been lost in the chaos, or perhaps hidden by the darkness of the night. Or maybe she had seen it and simply hadn't paid attention, too worried about Emma to notice anything else.

Regina looked beaten, frayed. As though she was slowly coming apart around the edges.

Her skin was pale, bloodless, and there were dark shadows underneath her eyes. She rested one hand against the wall, and though it was done casually, Mary Margaret could tell by the slight tremor of the other woman's shoulders that Regina needed the support to stay upright.

If Regina noticed Mary Margaret's scrutiny, she did not comment on it. Instead, she said flatly, unemotionally, "Henry, why don't you take Miss Blanchard upstairs?"

Henry nodded, and pulled Mary Margaret towards the stairs. He took them two at a time, nearly tripping over himself in his haste. Mary Margaret half-expected Regina to admonish him, remind him not to run indoors, but she didn't.

At the top of the stairs, Mary Margaret paused and looked down at Regina. Regina wasn't looking at her, but was instead leaning against the wall with her eyes closed and her shoulders hunched. It was a posture of resignation, and Mary Margaret could not remember ever seeing that on her step-mother in the past.

"Come on," Henry said eagerly, pushing open the door to the guest bedroom.

Mary Margaret turned away from Regina and walked into the room.

David was lying on the bed.

Thoughts of Regina and Charles and Leah and Ruby and even Emma fled from her mind as she dropped to her knees at his side. He looked so peaceful, as though he was merely sleeping, but she knew behind his closed lids he was trapped in that nightmare.

"I found you," she whispered. "I'll always find you."

Storybrooke might no longer be the place she thought it was, and their previous land might now be nothing more than ruins, but in that moment it didn't really matter, because David was her home.

She leaned over and pressed her lips against his.

The warmth rushed through her, the familiar thrill of magic and love that made her stomach flip and her heart leap into her throat, and then David was kissing her back, his arms wrapped around her shoulders as he pulled her onto the bed towards him. They stayed that way, locked in an embrace and a kiss, taking solace in the fact that they were finally reconciled once more.

After a moment, David pushed back and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and reaching out to ruffle Henry's hair. Then he turned back to Mary Margaret. "You… you did it."

Mary Margaret smiled. "Did you ever doubt I would?"

David shook his head. "No… though, the burning red room did give me pause."

Mary Margaret laughed softly as David hugged her tightly again, but the laughter died abruptly when David released her, looked around, and asked, "Where's Emma?"