Chapter Text
The potluck at Granny's / modern day version of the coronation ceremony was in full swing and everybody was having a good time. Henry, Ruby and Mary Margaret were seated in a booth, the newborn prince held in his mother's loving arms while David, Hook and Emma were crowding around the table. Henry was reading his grandparents' story to his uncle from the fairytale book and the couple in question jumped in to tell the group about their first meeting and how they fell in love, which inevitably led to the confession that the Prince had previously been betrothed.
'What can I say, my heart was destined for another,' David told them warmly.
'You just had to find her first,' Ruby teased. 'She ran away and was living on a farm,' she explained, smiling at the memory.
'Oh, it sounded like such a peaceful life at the time, leave everyone and everything behind,' Mary Margaret reminisced with a smile.
'Mmph, like mother like daughter,' Hook commented.
'Hook,' Emma warned, her arms crossed defensively over her chest.
'What is he talking about?' Henry asked curiously and that was when Hook seemed to realise his misstep.
'Uh, should we read more stories?' His grandfather suggested quickly, noticing the blond woman struggle with what to say.
A voice cut in before they had a chance to carry on. 'Actually, I'd like to know what the pirate is talking about,' Regina wondered as she joined the group.
'It's nothing,' Emma dismissed, fully aware that the mayor wouldn't approve of her decision of taking their son back to New York.
'Are you planning on going back to New York?' The mayor questioned as if she had read her mind.
'Why would we go back to New York?' Henry asked.
Regina smiled at him reassuringly. 'You're not. Right, Miss Swan?'
The Saviour couldn't look her in the eye when she answered, 'actually, it's complicated.'
'Why would we leave? This is our home,' their son argued.
'Henry, this isn't the time or place,' his biological mother told him, putting the conversation off until a later time.
'I think it is,' Regina objected.
This time Emma met the other woman's gaze before she firmly said, 'no, it's not.' She put an end to the discussion by leaving the diner, seven pairs of eyes watching her as the bells by the door jingled.
'I'll talk to her,' Hook told them as he set his beer down on the table.
'No, I'll go,' Regina opposed, her gaze remaining on the entrance through which the blonde had exited.
'Wait, take this.' Her son handed her the fairytale book. 'It might help her remember where she belongs.'
His mother smiled at him. 'Thank you, Henry.'
* * *
Regina found Emma on a park bench, her legs crossed as she faced the pond.
'You're making a mistake,' she spoke as she approached the blonde.
'I don't want to talk to you about this.'
Regina huffed at her words, after all, they were talking about their son. 'Don't listen to me, listen to our son.' She pulled the book out from her purse. 'He thought this might remind you of what you're leaving behind - your family.'
Emma stared at the older woman. 'Henry is my family and I am taking him where he is safe.'
The mayor shook her head. 'No, Miss Swan. The safety-first nonsense is just that. You defeated Pan, you broke the curse, and yet, you keep running.' She studied the blonde carefully before taking a seat beside her. 'What are you looking for, Miss Swan?'
'Home,' the other woman replied simply.
Regina pursed her lips at the unexpected honesty. 'And that's in New York?' She challenged. 'I have to say I did a great job in creating those memories if you consider it home, but none of that was real.'
'The last year was,' Emma insisted.
'They were false memories, it was based on magical nonsense,' the brunette pointed out.
'Now we have our memories back, now we can make it real,' the blonde countered.
'Why can't you do that here, with your entire family?'
Emma grabbed the book that was resting on Regina's lap. 'Because of this.' She opened it and stared at the pages. 'I don't see my family here. I see... fairytales, I see stories of princes and princesses. It's-, it's not me,' she stammered. 'I was never a part of any of this,' she reminded as she turned her gaze to the woman next to her.
'Then what are you a part of, Miss Swan?' Regina questioned.
The Saviour thought about it. 'Besides being with Henry, I don't think I've ever been a part of anything.'
That was a feeling Regina could relate to all too well. She looked into the green eyes as she spoke, 'but you could be.'
Emma's breath hitched at the prospect of being a part of something, a part of a family. She wondered if the mayor was talking about Mary Margaret, David and their newborn son or if she was talking about Henry and herself. Somehow the second option seemed more attractive considering the fact that for one, their son was a part of that equation and two, babies cry a lot. She sighed before closing the book and facing the other woman. 'Look, when I was a kid, I ran away. It's just what I did. But the first time I did it, I had the same exact thought. I wondered, "what if I'm making a mistake? What if I miss this place?".'
'Did you?'
The sheriff looked away. 'Not the first time. Not anytime.'
'So you just keep running,' Regina concluded, looking unimpressed.
There was a soft yet broken look in Emma's eyes when she returned her gaze to the mayor's face. 'I learned something a long time ago, Regina. Home is the place when you leave you just miss it. So yeah, I'm going to keep running until I feel that.'
'Let me ask you something, Miss Swan,' Regina started. 'How do you plan on finding a home if you never stay long enough in one place to build one? Something I've learned over the years is that home is not necessarily a place, but it is the people you love. Even if I could go back to my castle or to the house I grew up in as a child, neither of those will feel like home unless I have Henry by my side. The only reason I am able to call Storybrooke my home is because of the countless memories I made with my-, with our son here. It wasn't always easy raising a child on my own, but we made it work. We built our home, our family, here and that was only possible because we stayed.'
There were unshed tears in Emma's eyes and she marvelled at the passion, the love, with which Regina spoke of their son. 'You're a good mother, Regina.'
The brunette was obviously caught off guard by the compliment. 'Thank you.'
'But we're still going back to New York,' the blonde continued. 'You should know emotional pep talks don't work on me.'
'Miss Swan-'
'I have to do what's right for Henry and me,' she interrupted.
'Miss Swan,' Regina called out tightly. The woman in question shut her mouth and faced the former Evil Queen. 'Didn't your fiancé, Warren? Walsh?' She shook her head dismissively. 'Did he or did he not turn into a flying monkey back in New York?'
'He did,' Emma answered quietly.
The mayor nodded decisively as if she had just made her case. 'No matter where you go, danger will always follow you. Wouldn't it be better to stay in Storybrooke where you would at least have magic to protect Henry and yourself? Where I would be to protect both of you?'
She does have a point, Emma thought to herself. If she couldn't escape her destiny and all the magical things that came with it, wasn't Storybrooke essentially the safest place for them to be?
At the lack of response, Regina figured the co-parent was considering her words so she went on. Who knows, maybe in a twist of fate, she might be the one to convince the Saviour to stick around for a while longer. 'And do you really think Henry will want to move to New York with you? You saw him back there, enthusiastic is not the word I would use to describe his reaction to your plan, Miss Swan.'
'I'm his mother and I'm doing what's best for him,' Emma retorted confidently.
The brunette raised an eyebrow. 'You seem to have forgotten who raised him during his first ten years after you gave him up,' she noted, a touch of coldness present in her voice. 'He remembers everything. Do you really believe he would be willing to leave his family, his mother, behind just because you're too scared to admit you might've found everything you've been looking for?'
'He'll manage just fine,' the sheriff bit back. The mayor had unintentionally, but successfully hit a sensitive nerve.
Regina scoffed. 'I'd be offended had I not been aware of your complicated past. Needless to say, a child grows attached to its parent during the first years of its life, Miss Swan. If a child is securely attached to its parent, which is the case with Henry and me, then said child will use that parent as a secure base in times of distress,' she explained shortly. 'Henry needs me as much as he needs you.'
Emma wore a confused expression. 'Where did you learn that, 'Psychology For Dummies'?'
Displeasure at the subtle jab was written all over the mayor's face. 'I read that when I was taking care of a baby Henry, dear. I've changed every diaper, soothed every fever, endured every tantrum. You may have given birth to him, but he is my son just as well as he is yours. You do not get to make the decision to take him away from me.'
The Saviour didn't offer a verbal response. Instead her mind flashed back to a conversation she had had with the same mayor a few years ago where she specifically mentioned she had no intention of taking Henry away from anyone. Suddenly she felt guilty because Regina was right, again. Most of the memories she had of Henry growing up were fake, she hadn't been around when he was a toddler but Regina had. She knew him better than anyone else and most certainly better than she did. She heard the brunette sigh beside her and she turned her head to watch her speak.
'I didn't come here to fight, Miss Swan,' Regina started, although it sounded like she was also trying to convince herself of the fact. 'You're his biological mother and obviously I will never be able to fill your shoes. That means our son needs us both. You grew up without both your parents and it was out of your control. This time you do get to have a say in it, don't let him grow up without one of his parents. Of course, if you insist on going to New York and taking him with you, by all means, I won't stop you but only if Henry decides to do so on his own accord. Although I must advise you, Miss Swan, don't make him choose.'
'Why? Because he'll choose to stay here instead?' Emma asked almost hostilely.
'No, because he'll pick you and he will have to live with that guilt for the rest of his life,' the other mother answered with a sad smile.
'I'll think about it,' the blonde promised when something caught her eye. 'What the hell is that?' She asked, her attention was now on the light beam coming from somewhere behind the forest.
Regina followed her gaze. 'I have no idea,' she admitted.
'I'm checking it out,' Emma decided as she stood up from the bench.
The brunette closed her eyes and huffed in annoyance at the woman's instinct to dive headfirst into danger. 'Miss Swan,' she called out as she hurried after the blonde and stuffed the storybook back into her purse. 'Whatever's going in on there, it can't be good,' she observed once they had reached the source of the beam.
'It's Zelena's time portal, David left a message,' the sheriff updated. 'Somehow she died and triggered it.'
Regina paused her steps as they approached the barn and Emma looked back at her before remembering who she was talking about. 'I'm sorry, Regina.'
The other woman glanced at her. 'What for? I barely knew the woman except for the fact that she wanted to rip my heart out. She may be my half-sister but it's unlikely that I'm going to miss her. No, I was thinking that when she died, the magic in her pendant had no tether, it was set free - her last wish fulfilled.'
Emma groaned. 'Why couldn't her last wish have been that everyone in Storybrooke gets a happy ending? That would've made our lives so much easier.'
Regina raised an amused eyebrow at the blonde before it quickly turned into a frown. 'What are you doing?' She questioned, grabbing the other woman's arm as she started to walk towards the wooden door.
'We have to stop this thing,' the sheriff replied, feeling confused as to why Regina of all people was stopping her.
'Do you have your magic back? Because mine alone won't be enough to close the portal,' the brunette argued.
'No,' Emma admitted.
'There's your answer. We should head back to safety before it sucks us in,' Regina advised, ready to turn around and head back to the sheriff's station.
'And leave a giant time portal in the middle of Storybrooke?'
'How do you propose we handle this, Miss Swan? I'm open to suggestions. There isn't much we can do at this moment, dear,' Regina pointed out.
Emma nodded reluctantly and took a step to join the other woman's side when the barn door flew open and both ladies were sucked into the magical portal.
'Hold on!' Regina yelled as she used her magic to keep them from falling off the edge.
Emma felt her hand slip in Regina's. 'I can't!'
By the time the mayor turned her gaze to the blonde, Emma was already falling through the portal. Without giving it a second thought, she let go of the last tether keeping her from tumbling into the portal and braced herself for the hard landing.