It hadn't been Regina's idea to take the yellow Bug, that's for certain. That's what Regina mutters under her breath every time Emma's old, rattling, stolen car sputters or picks up a particularly large bump under its wheels. However, Emma had pleaded and pleaded that they take her beloved car--saying it's highly reliable for road trips (though Regina has yet to see how that is as she hears the engine rev every time it struggles to change gears)--and Regina had caved under those infamous Swan puppy dog eyes. Regina agreed on one condition: that she would be the one to drive. She worries about Emma being the one behind the wheel when she sees a town spring out of nowhere after they cross the town line.

Henry, on the other hand, had offered no opinion and hardly said a word throughout the entire drive other than to complain that he's hungry as all hell or that he has to pee. Otherwise, he kept his mouth shut and shoved his earphones in with rock music spilling from their small speakers. Regina had worried that he didn't want to come along due to his attitude, but Emma had assured her that he always acts like this on every road trip. Regina didn't say that it's probably because the Bug's tiny backseat cramps his long legs, and that she can actually feel his knees poking into the back of her seat.

Despite minimal arguments about where to eat or which music to play, they arrived within a few minutes from their destination in one piece. Regina feels a twinge of excitement but also a sickness in her stomach when she sees the "Welcome to Storybrooke" sign looming into view. She fights the churning within her when she realizes that she's about to gain a relationship long lost with her son, but lose one completely with the woman she loves. She shoves the thoughts away from her mind and forces a smile onto her face as she glances at Emma. "Welcome to Storybrooke..!"

Emma sits up from her reclining position in her seat and looks on with excitement. As she does so, she extends her arm and catches Regina's hand in hers. Just then, the Bug's large wheels glide over the paint of the town line.

Regina hadn't meant to swerve the car. She also hadn't meant to squeeze Emma's hand as hard as she would if she were suffering through childbirth. All she can feel is the intoxicating sensation of her magic returning to her being, the magic thicker than the blood in her veins as it courses through her. She quickly recovers herself, however, and though her head is still spinning she corrects the steering wheel and releases her hand from Emma's pained one. "Sorry," she apologizes softly, not able to meet Emma's eyes. "Um, cramp." She offers up lamely, and shakes her hand at the wrist to prove the point.

Emma, however, has her own idea of what had just happened, and rubs her hand up and down Regina's rigid back. "I know you're nervous to come back," she coos, and Regina is torn between being touched by Emma's compassion and wanting to cry about how much the blonde doesn't know about what's really happening. "It's not my place to know what's going on with your family, but I know that you can get through it. Plus, I'm excited that you want me to meet them." She says the last part with an adorably dorky smile, and Regina feels her shoulders relax, if only slightly.

Regina had been fighting the urge for over five minutes as she drives to her mansion, but she finally caves and looks behind her at Henry. She hadn't known what she'd been expecting, but she's met with disappointment as she sees him leaning uncomfortably against the window, with a half-bored, half-intrigued expression on his face as he looks at the contents of the small town out his window. For some reason, she'd had a tiny blossom of hope in her heart that after being emerged in the magic of Storybrooke, Henry would feel some sort of sense of deja vu towards the town, or old recognition towards her, but his memories remain painfully tainted. Her sweaty hands slip slightly on the wheel, and she turns her head back towards the road with a heavy heart.

She finally pulls up next to the curb of her mansion, and after she puts the car in park, she gratefully rubs her palms on her slacks. Her calm doesn't last long, as Emma and Henry show identical surprise and leave identical nose marks on their windows.

"Holy shit! What's this place?" Emma exclaims, then instinctively pats her hair and checks her mascara in the side mirror, as if they were about to walk into the lordly house and meet the president.

Not for the first time, Regina rolls her eyes at herself for picking such a large estate, and wishes fervently that she'd lived in a much more normal townhouse. She's stalled for too long though, so she sighs as she turns off the ignition. "My house."

If Regina hadn't been going through so much inward turmoil, she would have found the similar gaping expressions brought to her by mother and son rather hilarious. However, she's too busy thinking for a plausible excuse as to why she lives here. "I received a large inheritance from my parents when they died." She lies partially. Her parents had been rich after all; they'd been royalty.

Regina doesn't get a chance to celebrate her quick-thinking skills for long though, as she realizes what she'd just let on. Emma's overwhelmingly shocked and pitying expression makes Regina want to throw up, and she could punch herself in the teeth for being so thoughtless. She hadn't even told the blonde before that her parents are deceased, and Emma had certainly been expecting to meet her parents when Regina had told her she was about to introduce her to her family.

There's a silence a mile thick, and Regina finally shatters it by uncharacteristically clapping her hands together. "Well! Why don't you two unpack the car while I go in and chase away the moths that have no doubt moved in since I left?"

It works, and Emma and Henry make themselves busy, no doubt welcoming the mood change. For her part, Regina makes her way up the steps and unlocks the door as fast as she can, then collapses gratefully on the other side, allowing her heart to slow for a few seconds before setting to work. The first thing she does is run up to Henry's old room and slam the door shut, then she sets her attention to the more pressing matter. She first ignites a fireball in her palm to briefly practice her magic, then puts it out and squeezes the hotness away. She calls upon a spell she'd only practiced a couple times, and pulls all her concentration toward it--In her mind's eye, she pictures each and every photo of Henry in her house. As soon as she collects them there, she whispers the incantation under her breath. Slowly, every picture frame with her little prince in it melts away their pictures, leaving nothing but the smudged glass behind and a dull grayness where her precious memories of a past life lay before.

Regina stands alone in her foyer, twisting her fingers together nervously and fighting away tears when the door opens. Henry enters, arms laden with most of the cargo from the vehicle, and when he sees her disapproving look, he attempts to shrug despite the amount of bags weighing down his shoulders. "What? Didn't want to make another trip. Ma has the rest."

Regina scoffs a laugh and looks away. Henry drops the bags and slides the straps off his shoulders before walking up to his mother's girlfriend. "Hey, you okay?" He queries worriedly, noticing the extra glaze to her eyes.

"Of course," she fibs, sniffing only once and turning to face him again, meeting his eyes to appear sure. Henry's only response is an unconvinced quirk of his right eyebrow, and Regina feels her throat close when she sees so much of herself in his face just then. "Fine. It just feels strange to be back here, and I apparently have a lot to deal with here."

Henry nods as if he begins to understand, and turns to open the door after Emma kicks it loudly with her foot. Regina tries not to think about the dark scuff Emma's boot no doubt left on her expensive, white painted door. Emma barges in and dumps the rest of the bags on the pile Henry created, and leans back and stretches. Her back pops twice and if Regina wasn't wearing a sleek button-down blouse and pants, she would feel more tempted to join her in working out the kinks made in the time spent in the cramped Bug.

They all stand in the echoing foyer for a few seconds, unsure of what to do next until Regina spins around and gives Emma what she hopes is an easy smile. "Well, we may as well cut to the chase and get going then."

Emma nods and turns to Henry, reaching up and giving him a firm pat on the shoulder. "I'm sure you're not upset, but you're gonna have to sit this one out, Kid."

Henry gives a lazy shrug, and punctuates his indifference with a yawn. Regina's muscles loosen with relief, and she touches his arm briefly. "Feel free to make yourself at home in here. Emma and I will be back tonight, and there's a diner nearby called 'Granny's' if you get hungry. Okay?" She hadn't meant to sound and act so maternal, and nearly blushes when she realizes the extent of it; but neither Henry or Emma seem to notice.

She brushes down the creases in her shirt, then takes Emma by the hand, and together they leave the house and make the nearly silent trip to Mary Margaret and David's loft. The quiet is broken by Emma, when she no longer can stop herself from asking what's been eating her. "Wait, so if I'm not about to see your parents....who am I meeting?" She asks almost meekly, then instantly hides behind her wavy hair, as if scared of the response.

Regina's breath catches on her throat as she switches on her left turn signal. She hadn't thought about what she would tell Emma; saying how she and Snow were actually related would be much too complicated. She settles on a white lie; that she and Mary Margaret are step-sisters. "Quite honestly, there's not much of a family to meet. Just my step-sister and her husband," she fibs as easily as if it were the truth. "Oh--and their son, Charlie, as well."

"They have a son?" Emma brightens, brushing her hair away from her eyes and straightening up in her seat. She's no doubt thinking with relief that there's someone for Henry to spend time with, but Regina quickly shoots down that idea.

"He's four."

"Oh."

Regina pulls up to their destination, but shifts in her seat towards Emma before even unfastening her seat belt. "Listen, I haven't exactly told them that I'm dating you, so don't be offended if they act a little shocked." It's the easiest thing to say; shocked will no doubt be the understatement of the century when Emma's parents find out that she's dating the Evil Queen while under fake memories. Regina's slightly worried that they won't be able to keep their cool, but the larger portion of her is much too excited to see their dumbstruck faces. She almost cackles at the mere thought of it.

Emma laughs easily, and hops out of her side of the car. "Don't worry, I totally get it. I've seen my fair share of the 'holy shit, that's gay' expression."

Regina cracks up without even meaning to, and together they start up the stairs to the loft that belongs to Emma's unknowing parents. Regina wipes her sweaty hands on her pants again (why does this keep happening today?) and raps quickly on the chipped paint covering their door.

Regina's hand hasn't even relaxed to her side before Snow yanks the door open, breathing as though she'd ran all the way from the other side of the small living space. Snow's eyes travel quickly from Regina to the woman standing beside the brunette--her daughter she'd been torn from for over six years. Green eyes sitting below a pixie hairline turn to glaze, and her mouth opens with only a squeak making its way out.

Regina inhales sharply, and makes quick work of the one-sided introduction. "Mary Margaret, meet Emma. Emma, this is my step sister." She rattles off, moving her arm between the two women.

Emma smiles brightly, rosy cheeks raising towards her identical green eyes. "Nice to meet you, Mary Margaret!" She extends her hand towards her same-aged mother, and they share a firm handshake. "I'm Regina's girlfriend."

Snow's already limp hand drops away from the shake to her side, and moves her gaping expression towards Regina. "Regina--" she stammers out, voice nothing short of a breathy whisper, with teary eyes that are dangerously close to spilling their contents.

Emma nudges Regina roughly with a poorly disguised chuckle, as if to say "I told you so," and Regina bites the inside of her cheek to keep a straight face. Her mood sobers, though, when she recalls how she felt when she first saw Henry, how she still feels sometimes when she looks at him. Something close to pity settles into her heart, and she closes her hand over Snow's forearm, boring her eyes into the younger woman's eyes, attempting to convey to trust her without the words.

Snow recovers herself quicker than Regina expected her to, and she moves out of the doorways gesturing for them to enter the loft. "Well, congratulations, you two! Come on in."

Regina walks in a few paces with Emma, then turns around to Snow and gives her a meaningful nod. Snow would no doubt be wanting a long explanation later, and Regina feels sick at the thought of it. She has no idea what to say, and finds herself wishing fervently that she was still only pretending to love Emma. It would make things about a hundred times more simple, and she could restore Emma's memories without even a second thought, and Emma's parents would understand why she even dated her. It was far too late for that sort of detachment now though; even so, Regina resolves just to lie to everyone, even herself, saying that it was all an act to bring their family back to Storybrooke. She wonders if she can love again--as dramatic as it sounds, she's been realizing how very long she's been burying her love for the blonde, even from the beginning.

But--Henry's enough. She can only hope that Henry won't abandon her along with his blonde mother, because he's enough. Henry has always been enough.

David's heavy footsteps on the stairs signals his approach before he even makes his appearance, and a childish titter confirms Charlie's coming as well. David reaches the foot of the stairs despite the small child on his back, kicking him with his flailing limbs every once in awhile. The child is laughing, begging his father to give him a proper piggyback ride (which includes loping and plenty of spinning around) but David stays rooted to the spot, eyes locked on his beautiful long-lost daughter.

"Em---" he starts out in a whisper before he can even stop himself, but regains his composure by disguising it as a cough. "Ah-hem," he clears his throat before lowering his son onto the ground, despite his struggles to stay on his back. "Who's this?" He directs his useless question towards Regina, stuffing his large, shaking hands into his pockets: a gesture Emma is familiar with herself.

"Hi--I'm Emma," Emma beats Regina to it, and steps forward with an extended hand. David almost reluctantly moves his unsure hand from its pocket to his daughter's waiting one.

Regina recognizes her cue, and she steps up beside Emma for the introduction that will no doubt just hurt David more. "Emma, meet David, David, this is my girlfriend." Emma beams at the latter part of the brunette's statement, and uses her free hand to clasp Regina's hand, giving it a loving squeeze.

David's eyes widen, but he stays silent with his sandpaper-dry mouth closed, and moves away from the handshake first. Emma hardly notices, though, as she directs her attention to Charlie clinging to his father's pant leg.

"And who's this?" Emma almost coos, dropping to a squat to meet her brother's level. Regina is almost as shocked as her parents' when she sees Emma's newfound ability with kids. The previous Emma had shied away from kids, and barely could figure out how to parent her own ten-year-old son.

"I'm Charlie," the boy introduces himself proudly, slowly releases the fabric in his hands and approaches the blonde.

Emma glances up from her interaction with the child long enough to grin at his parents. "He's adorable! God, he reminds me of Henry at this age," she reminisces wistfully, touching Charlie's curls with the tips of her fingers.

"Henry..?" Snow asks it first, never mind the fact that it was entirely unnecessary, but she's no doubt overly curious of her grandson.

Emma drops from her squat to fully sitting on the wooden slats making up the floor. "I have a son, too," she tells them, trying to break up the tension radiating off of Snow and David by talking about something they have in common. If anything though, it almost further dampens the mood, as the other two parents think about the little boy they missed, but Emma hardly notices as she's knee-deep into a serious conversation about dump trucks with Charlie.

"Well, didya bring him with you guys on this trip? We could use a babysitter with everything that's been going on," David jokes stiffly, using the only way he can think of to see his grandson without sounding like a creep.

Emma laughs, and looks up to meet David's eyes. "How'd you know he's old enough to babysit? Well, he is, but I haven't had much of a chance to see how he acts around kids. Of course, he'd have to take his eyes off of his damn phone long enough to watch one," Emma quips about her son, and she and Regina share a laugh, them being the only ones who have had a chance to see Henry act that way.

David puts his hands out in front of him, pink creeping onto the tips of his ears. "I was only kidding, it would be rude of me to ask for a babysitter like that."

Emma scoffs her indifference as she stands. "Ah, don't worry about it--we might actually take you up on that. He'll need something to do around here, anyway." Charlie lets out a small whine and extends his chubby arm towards his playmate whose attention is no longer centered him.

David's features relax into a smile at the implication of Henry being in town, but it falters as he watches Emma give Regina a quick peck on the cheek. Regina has some explaining to do.

Snow turns around from facing the stove in the kitchenette, her smudged makeup giving away her failed attempt of keeping her emotions behind the surface. "Well!--who's hungry?"

AN: I'm starting off by apologizing profusely for such a late update! I'm ashamed of myself, honestly. However I have a good excuse: I took a break of writing over spring break cause I was on vacation, and then I got a nasty cold.

However, I'm compensating by giving you a longer-than-normal chapter where the story moves along quite a bit! Next chapter will show what happens when Henry's left to his own devices in this town. Plus, Mysterious Girl from the Outside World will be addressed.

I worked my ass off on this, so don't forget to vote! And comments will really brighten my day.:)