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Lost daughter part II:

"So I guess you're not just here to try our sugar-free cookies?" Lily says, and her dark eyes widens as she looks at Regina.

And Regina can't blame her for that. The similarity between them is so striking it's almost ridiculous.

For a moment mother and daughter just looks at each other. Lily seems at loss for words, and Regina's mouth has suddenly gone rather dry.

Emma doesn't interfere. She just sits patiently and waits as the silence grows between Regina and Lily.

I should say something. I shouldn't just sit here like an idiot. Oh, she's beautiful. So beautiful. She looks exactly like me. But Emma wasn't completely right. Regina can definitely see some similarities between Lily and Maleficent. Lily looks like a perfect mixture of both of them.

"My name is Regina," Regina finally says and congratulates herself with keeping her emotions at bay.

"Lily." Lily says and surprises Regina by outstretching a hand towards her.

"N-nice to meet you, Lily," Regina half-stutters and shakes the young brunette's hand.

Lily seems oddly calm and her dark eyes darts from Regina to Emma. Then her jaw drops slightly again. "Emma? Emma Swan?"

"You remember me," Emma says as she half stands from the chair and outstretches her hand toward Lily.

"Yeah. I remember you." Lily says, and her dark eyes narrows slightly.

"Anyway, I'm gonna pop out for a while. I'm sure you two have plenty of things to talk about." Emma says and grabs her jacket as she leaves the diner.

"Won't you sit down?" Regina asks as the door closes behind Emma.

Lily takes her apron of and chugs it on one of the nearby chairs. Then she sits down on the chair across Regina.

Regina's throat feels oddly tight. She knows that this is the part where she explains everything to Lily, but how the hell is she supposed to share her tale without Lily thinks she's insane?

"So, you're my mother," Lily says plainly.

"I am," Regina confirms and sucks in a breath. Here it comes. "But…"

"Would you like to go for a drive?" Lily interrupts. "My shift is nearly over, and I would prefer to talk in private."

"Yes, of course. I understand."

So Regina waits until Lily is finished with her shift and then she follows the young brunette outside and into her car.

"I don't live very far from here," Lily tells her. "I figured we could talk at my place, if that's alright with you?"

"Of course. That's fine."

Regina quickly texts Emma about the slight change of plans.

Lily was right, it is a short drive, and it doesn't take long before they arrive outside a block of apartments. Regina follows Lily as she exits the car and walks toward one of the buildings.

Regina cringes a little. This place is filthy. Well, okay, maybe not filthy-filthy, but definitely not clean. Lily lives here because of me. Because I cursed her mother to be trapped underneath the clock tower for thirty years. Regina's heart contracts painfully at that admittance.

"Welcome," Lily says sardonically as she opens the apartment door and they step inside.

Regina looks around in the apartment. It's actually not that bad. The outside of the building definitely looked worse.

But the state of the apartment isn't what strikes her. It's what on her wall. At first sight, it looks very much like one of those boards the police use when they investigate a case.

But this is no ordinary case. It's Regina's turn to gape when she looks at all the little written-down names on the board: Regina Mills/The Evil Queen. Maleficent/The Mistress of all Evil. Snow White/ Mary Margaret Blanchard. Prince Charming/ David Nolan. Emma Swan/ The Savior.

"As you can see, I've done my homework," Lily says nonchalantly as she gestures towards the two lines connecting Regina Mills and Maleficent. Underneath the two names there's a thin line, and underneath that line, Lily has written her own name.

"You… You know?"

"That I'm the daughter of the Evil Queen and The Mistress of all Evil? Yeah, I know," Lily says coldly.

"How did you…?"

"I ran into someone who knew more than he appeared to," Lily waves her off. "And I also happen to know that I was kidnapped at birth and shoved through a portal. By Snow White and Prince Charming." She almost spits the last part out, and Regina feels shocked. It's like hearing herself.

"That's true." Regina confirms quietly.

"But what I don't know is why you're here." Lily says and folds her arms. "It's a bit late to play my mother."

"I know," Regina acknowledges. "But it would appear that you don't know the full story. I didn't know of your existence until two days ago."

"And my other mother?" Lily sneers. "Why isn't she here?"

"She couldn't. She can't leave town. It's a bit complicated…"

"Oh, I bet it is," Lily says and rolls her dark eyes. "Do you know what the so-called heroes did to me?! They filled me with darkness just to save their precious daughter! They snuck into my mother's cave and took me while she was at her most vulnerable and unable to fight back!"

"I already know all of this," Regina says quietly. "Your mother told me."

"And what, you're just fine with that?" Lily sneers. "They don't deserve to be punished?! They made my life a living hell. You of all people should relate to that!"

"And I do," Regina says and takes a step closer to Lily. "Believe me, I do. What they did to you is awful, but…"

"But what?" Lily says and steps backwards like a frightened animal. "Are you gonna tell me that they're not those people anymore? That they've changed? That they're sorry for what they did?!"

Regina ignores that. "Punishing them for what they didn't isn't gonna solve anything. It won't help the matter. You may think it will feel satisfying, but believe me, it won't. It'll just leave you empty."

"Like you?" Lily spats.

Regina takes that blow. "I know they've wronged you terribly, and I know that me showing up here comes about thirty years too late, but…"

"But what?"

"Your mother has dreamed about this for thirty years," Regina says sincerely. "She never stopped thinking about you. Not for a second. And the moment I found out about you… I was ready to drive to New York that same night."

Lily's anger seems to teether a little at that, but her voice is still angry when she says: "I'm filled with darkness. Because of them. That's hardly the daughter you want."

"Believe me," Regina says and dares to take a step closer to Lily. "You are exactly what we want. "And as for your darkness… That won't be a problem. We happen to be quite the experts in darkness."

"So, what do you suggest?" Lily asks, and her shoulder drops from the defensive posture.

"Come back to Storybrooke with me," Regina says gently. "Meet your mother. Neither one of us is gonna try and make you stay if you don't want to. But at least drive back with me and meet her."

Lily chews on her bottom lip and meets Regina's eyes for the first time. "And I'm free to go whenever I want to? Neither one of you will try and convince me to stay?"

"No." Regina says, even though it hurts her heart a little. "You can leave whenever you want. After five minutes or five days. It's entirely up to you."

Lily goes quiet for a while and she wanders up and down the hardwood floor as she considers it. Even in that little gesture, Regina sees fragments of herself. She sees herself, twenty years old walking up and down the castle floor like a trapped cat.

Regina wisely keeps her mouth shut as Lily considers the offer. But she can't help but to silently beg. Please say yes, please say yes. Please say you'll come with me. I can't just let you go now when I've finally met you. And Maleficent… What am I supposed to tell her if you say no? She'll be devastated. We both will. Please say ye…

"Okay." Lily says and shrugs.

Regina blinks. "O-okay?" she repeats a bit dumbly. It's not often she's caught off guard.

"I'll come back to… Storybrooke with you and meet my… mother. But that's it. If I don't like it there…"

"Of course," Regina says. "You'll be free to go."

But determined to leave at once or not, Lily does in fact pack a back with a few of her belongings, and Regina immediately clings to the hope. Hope. She's turning into fucking Snow White.

"Coming?" Lily asks and slings the back over her shoulder.

"Yes." Regina says quickly and follows her… her daughter out of the depressing apartment.

Emma waits in front of the bug outside the block of apartments. She raises an eyebrow when she spots Lily with the bag.

"We're gonna be one more in the car," Regina says.

"Great." Emma replies and smiles a little.

"And…" Regina adds and stops Emma by gripping her elbow lightly. "She knows everything." She quietly says through gritted teeth.

Emma's brow raises. "Everything?"

"Everything," Regina confirms and puts ever so slightly pressure on the word to make sure Emma understands what she's getting at.

And Emma does. "Oh."

"I don't think neither you or your parents ranks very highly on her list right now," Regina whispers quietly.

Emma's green eyes darkens a little. "I can't blame her. I mean, she basically got the wrong end of the deal."

"Basically, yes," Regina says and her own irrational anger towards Snow and David stirs inside her.

"And exactly how angry is she with my parents?" Emma inquires as Lily stuffs her bag into the yellow bug. "Is she angry enough to try and…"

"I don't know," Regina says truthfully. "I mean, with Maleficent and myself as her mother's…. I wouldn't brush her anger off."

"God, they really screwed that one up badly," Emma mutters.

"They did what they thought was best for you." Regina says automatically.

"Yeah, but they basically sold your daughter to the darkness in the process."

"I'm aware." Regina says grimly. "But there's little to be done about that now, so I suggest we get back on the road."

"Yeah, great idea."

None of them say much as they reach the main road again. Lily's eyes are dark again and she keeps clenching and unclenching her hand.

Emma keeps her eyes fixated on the road, and Regina feels more and more unnerved with each passing moment. This situation is fragile to put it lightly. She can sense Lily's anger. It fills the backseat and makes the air thick.

Then she remembers what she promised on the journey here. She promised to call Maleficent the moment she found Lily.

But she isn't too sure of that. She might have found their daughter and succeeded in bringing her home, but what's gonna happen when they arrive in Storybrooke and Lily comes face to face with the people who send her through that damned portal?

But still, a promise is a promise, right?

Regina finds her phone in her pocket and turns to Lily. "I promised to call your... Maleficent when I found you. Would it be alright if I did that, or would you rather I didn't?"

"Call her," Lily shrugs. "But don't give her the impression I'm gonna stick around."

"Alright." Regina quickly taps in Maleficent's… phone number and waits for a moment. A familiar beeping sound. Static noise. And then…

"Regina?"

"It's me," Regina confirms quietly.

Maleficent's voice comes out breathy: "Have you found her?"

"I have," Regina says and steals another glance at Lily. Her heart swells and she already loves her beautiful, angry daughter so much.

"And?" Maleficent sounds guarded but also filled with vague hope.

"And she's here. In the car. With me. We're on our way back to Storybrooke."

A loud clattering sound makes her wince and remove the phone from her ear. Did Maleficent drop the phone or set it alight by accident?

"Is she…?"

"I suggest you wait and ask her yourself," Regina says. She can't very well sit and feed Maleficent with information about their daughter whilst said daughter is fuming with rage for the people who wronged her.

"Of course, of course. Can I just ask… who does she look like?"

"Me," Regina says truthfully. "Quite a bit, actually."

Maleficent makes a little strangled sound at that. "And is she… alright?"

"Well…" Regina wheedles. She isn't sure how to answer that. Because physically, Lily is fine. Fine as a fiddle. It's the turmoil in her head that makes the answer to that question inconclusive.

"She's angry, isn't she?" Maleficent asks, and once again demonstrates her ability to read Regina like an open book.

"Absolutely," Regina says. Now they're talking in code.

"As expected then. Hurry back."

"We will. See you later." Regina says and ends the call. Her head is swimming with all the new information she has been given today, and she almost doesn't hear that Lily is asking her something.

"Pardon? What did you say?" she asks carefully.

"Are you still together?"

"Who?" Regina asks and frowns in confusion.

"You and… my other mother," Lily says sarcastically.

"Oh..." Regina feels an unexpected blush rise in her cheeks. "No, we're not together."

"I see. Just good friends then," Lily says and grimaces.

Emma gives Regina a look in the rear-view mirror. A look Regina refuses to return. She can already hear the question the Savior doesn't dare asking her, and Regina of course has the perfect answer ready.

She and Maleficent are connected because of Lily. They will always be, but that's it. They have a daughter together, but that's all there is to it.

A moments nostalgia doesn't change that.