Author's Notes: This was sparked by a dream I had last week (I have far too many vivid dreams for my own good lol). The chapters will be long (close to or just past 6,000 words) and just to let you readers know in advance, there will be several chapters that will have a trigger warning in place. This is not a fluffy story about love and life and things will get rough before they do get better.

I don't own OUAT or the characters, but I do own the plot of this story and any original characters that appear along the way. I haven't seen a story like this yet and I wanted to write it because first and foremost, my biggest passion in life is writing and nothing anyone says or does can strip me from that. If you hate the story, that's cool, but there's a difference between being constructive and full out attacking in reviews (as it has happened in past stories, here's looking at you anonymous reviewer). Please refrain from being a hateful person and keep those kind of thoughts to yourself or send me a PM if you want me to know how much you hate the way I write the characters or how pathetic I've made them act ;)

That being said, as soon as the perfect title came to me, I couldn't wait to start sharing it. Don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you think about the first chapter! Enjoy :)

It was another warm summer day, the late August sun high in the sky and the fans in the Brooklyn station did nothing more than move the hot, stale air around. Officer Regina Mills leaned back in her hard office chair as she placed her booted feet on top of the desk and laced her fingers behind her head. Things had been slow all morning and she had yet to be called out on patrol, but that didn't stop her from watching the clock as the lunch hour drew near.

She sighed in annoyance as her phone began to ran and she dropped her feet to the floor and picked it up hastily. "Officer Mills speaking."

"Hello Officer Mills, I'm calling you about the sheriff's position in Storybrooke that you applied for a few weeks ago," a woman with a soft voice said over the line. "I'm pleased to pass on the news that you have been selected for an interview with Mayor Robert Gold."

"Oh?" Regina sat forward in her chair, pleasantly surprised and perplexed. She cleared her throat as she looked around at the other officers seated at their desks nearby and a small smile quickly curled over her lips. "That is wonderful news. When will I be expected for the interview?"

"Mayor Gold is on his way to New York City as we speak. He's arranged for a suite at the Hilton to conduct the interview. I have you slotted into his schedule for noon tomorrow."

"Okay, that's great," Regina said, the small smile growing into a grin. "Can I get the address, ma'am? There are quite a few Hilton hotel's here in the city."

The woman on the other end of the line laughed and Regina quickly reached for her pad of paper and a pen, scratching out the address as the woman gave it. She thanked her and hung up the phone, rising from her chair quickly as the clock turned to twelve-thirty. She pulled at her stiff blue uniform on the way to the break room on the second floor, ignoring some of the other officers who called out friendly greetings her way.

She spotted the police chief seated at his usual table already, a ham sandwich on a plate in front of him as he read through a newspaper that seemed to have him quite intrigued. With a deep intake of breath, Regina approached the table and sat down across from him.

"Mills," he said gruffly once he noticed her. "What can I do for you?"

"Do you remember when I asked you for that letter of recommendation for that job in Maine?"

"You cut to the chase quickly, don't you?"

"Chief Kramer, you've known me for ten years, you know I always cut to the chase and skip the bullshit pleasantries."

Joe Kramer, a tall and big man, laughed loudly as he folded the newspaper and placed it on the table beside his lunch. "Of course, of course. What of that letter? Have you heard back yet?"

"Just a few minutes ago I received a call. The mayor is coming to the city tomorrow to conduct an interview."

"I see," the chief said with a nod of his head. "Do you want the day off, Mills?"

"Yes."

"Done," he smiled. "Is that all?"

"Yes, thank you. Don't let me keep you from your sandwich, Chief."

"Oh and Mills?" The chief called out before she could walk away from the table. "I want you out on the beat this afternoon."

"Sure thing, Chief," Regina smiled and she headed to the refrigerator to retrieve her own lunch, excitement building as well as nerves for the hopefully life-changing interview she had tomorrow.

The rest of her day was uneventful save for the two young punks she caught smoking dope on the steps of a brownstone in her own neighborhood. By the time she got home to her small studio apartment, she was dead tired, sweaty from the unrelenting heat that had plagued the city and in a desperate need for a nice cold shower.

When word had been spread throughout the police departments around the entire state of New York and others about the town of Storybrooke, Maine needing a new sheriff, Regina jumped at the chance, knowing that her chances were slim to none as being a woman had its disadvantages. She knew she was lucky to have a career in the field, one her mother hated from the very day that she was accepted into the academy, but being an officer was very different than being a sheriff. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for a fresh new start, a challenge and one she knew she so desperately needed in her life.

She was thirty-five years old, single, and trapped in a life she had envisioned long ago would be far different than it actually was. Her life outside of work was unfortunately vanilla, her time off spent at her apartment alone, reading or listening to the radio while enjoying a glass or two of wine. Dating had never been an option for her as being a gay woman was more than just frowned upon in the city and everywhere else. She had a few encounters with women over the years, but they were nothing more than drunken one night stands.

She needed change in her life and the job opportunity in Storybrooke, Maine was her only chance at getting that change. New York City, specifically Brooklyn, no longer provided her with opportunities. A promotion was out of the question, at least there in the city, and even Chief Kramer supported her decision to apply for the sheriff's position, writing her an outstanding letter of recommendation she sent along with her résumé. When she had sent it off by courier, she knew better than to get her hopes up. The chances of her actually securing an interview with the mayor himself were one in a million and up until that phone call, she hadn't paid it much thought.

The night was a restless one and by morning, her nerves were on edge. She had never missed a day of work in the ten years she'd been on the force and not going in to the precinct was throwing her off her usual routine. By ten-thirty she was growing even more restless and she carefully selected her interview outfit, black slacks paired with a matching blazer and a crisp white button down shirt, and a pair of sensible black heels. Her short hair was styled in a professional manner and not a single hair out of place and her makeup was subtle despite the fact she normally went without. She was in her car by eleven, a black 1967 Mustang she paid in full for two years prior, and headed through the busy streets to the hotel where Mayor Gold was waiting for her.

Regina arrived at the hotel with fifteen minutes to spare and after being informed that Mr. Gold was waiting for her in suite 1108, she was escorted there and instructed to wait just outside the door in the wide hallway. She nervously chewed on her bottom lip and while the nerves fluttered through her, her fingers itched for a cigarette. She had quit just barely a month before and the cravings were still almost impossible to get through.

"Mrs. Mills?" A smooth, deep voice said from behind her and she spun around to face a man about the same height as her dressed in a sharp, charcoal colored suit and a cane gripped in his right hand.

"Ms. Mills," Regina politely informed him with a smile. "Are you Mr. Gold?"

"I am indeed," he replied smoothly and indicated for her to enter the suite. "You are not at all what I expected, Ms. Mills."

Regina bit her tongue, knowing how unprofessional she would come across if she indulged in small talk with the older man. She walked over to the couch and sat down while he took a seat in the armchair to her right. The nerves were increasing by the second and she tried to remain calm and in control as she slowly crossed her legs and folded her hands in her lap.

"Would you like something to drink, Ms. Mills?"

"No thank you, Mr. Gold."

"The we'll skip the pleasantries and get right down to business," he said with a thin smile and cleared his throat. "Tell me, what interested you in applying for the sheriff's position?"

"I'm looking for a challenge, a change in my life. I am very passionate about my career and would love the opportunity to take it one step further," Regina replied with blunt honesty. "I do realize that there are not many women who are given a position such as a sheriff, but I would like to be the first of many to break the social norms and prove that I am fully capable of policing a small town such as yours, Mr. Gold."

"Interesting. I have a few other questions for you," he said and he reached for the cup of tea sitting on the table beside the chair, pausing to take a sip. "Are you married?"

"No, I'm not and never have been."

"Any children?"

"No," she replied. "No children."

"That is quite uncommon for women of your age, isn't it not? To be unwed and without children?"

"You'll find, Mr. Gold, that I am not like other women," she said tightly.

"I'm looking forward to finding that out for myself," he chuckled quietly. "My wife, my dear Belle, she says the same of herself as well." Regina just smiled out of politeness and waited for him to continue. After taking another sip of his tea, he cocked his head to the side and stared at her long and hard. "I shall be honest with you, Ms. Mills, I didn't come here to conduct an interview with you. I came here with a proposition."

"Yes?"

"A rather generous proposition," he said as he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a check. "I want to offer you the job. Simple as that. This here will cover your moving expenses and then some. Consider it the first of many."

Regina took the offered check from his hand and gasped when she saw that the check was for five thousand dollars. "I—I cannot accept this."

"So, you do not accept the job?"

"Of course I do, I just—this is a lot of money, Mr. Gold."

"The position also comes with a house to live in while you are in Storybrooke, so you can be rest assured that you won't need to worry about arranging a place to live. It comes fully furnished as well and belonged to Sheriff Graham who had quite the unfortunate accident while hunting last month."

Regina felt as if the room had started to spin around her as this seemed like a dream come true. She could hardly believe it was happening and as she glanced down at the check in her hand, made out to her, she swallowed thickly and worried her bottom lip. It seemed to good to be true.

"There is one condition," Gold said after a moment. "I need for you to start immediately. Is that possible, Ms. Mills?"

"Yes, of course. Chief Kramer is aware that I've applied for this position and has granted me termination without notice when needed."

"Perfect," he said with a smile. "How soon can you come to Storybrooke?"

"I can leave tonight."

"Even better, dearie," Gold chuckled and he reached into his pocket once more and pulled out a key ring with several keys. "I look forward to having you as sheriff as I am certain so will the great citizens of Storybrooke. I am pleased you have accepted the offer and expect more of that," he said as he pointed to the check in her hand, "to come."

"Thank you, Mr. Gold," Regina said and she reached over to shake his hand before taking the keys from him. "You will not be disappointed in choosing me to be Storybrooke's new sheriff."

"After reading that glowing letter of recommendation from Chief Kramer, I know I will most definitely not be disappointed with you, Sheriff Mills."

A warm feeling flooded through her at the title and it was hard for her to contain her happiness. He walked her out of the suite, but not before handing her an envelope that contained full directions on how to get to Storybrooke and her new address. Regina bid him goodbye and saved the joyful laughter until she was in her car ten minutes later.

Change was in the air and she couldn't wait to start the newest chapter of her life.

[X]

Emma Swan picked up the mail from the floor by the door and groaned internally at the several bills that had "final notice" stamped on them. Adding to her growing headache was her two-year-old son Henry who sat in the middle of the kitchen floor banging wooden spoons on pots he'd dragged out of the cupboard beside the stove.

"Henry, please be quiet," Emma groaned as she tossed the bills onto the kitchen table and knelt down in front of him. "Mama has a headache."

"Kiss better?" He asked with a toothy smile, showing the missing two front teeth that had been knocked out after a fall from his tricycle two months prior. "Henry kisses better?"

Smiling as she leaned forward and received a wet, sloppy kiss to her forehead, she ran her hand over his head, his hair longer than she normally allowed it to be and messy, parts of it clinging to his forehead in the sweltering heat inside of the apartment. She took the spoons away from him and fought off the impending tantrum by grabbing his most precious possession, Blankie, and handing it to him immediately.

"Thank you," she smiled at him. "All better," she said, finding it all too easy to lie rather than to try and have him understand what a headache actually was. "Mama has some things to do, so I need you to be very quiet and be a very good boy for a little while, okay?"

"Okay, Mama."

Emma stood up and straightened out her white sundress before walking over to where the phone hung on the wall. She picked up her personal phone book and flipped through the pages until she found the number she was looking for. She had to swallow her pride because she needed help and there was only one person in the entire world that could help her.

The debt was just becoming worse and there was no money left to pay the bills, much less keep food on the table for Henry. Their lives had been thrown upside down when her husband had been deployed to Vietnam in June. She still remembered the day two uniformed officers had knocked on the door to deliver the devastating news that Neal Cassidy had died in battle. It had only been a month and in that month the bills didn't stop coming and the money ran dry quickly. She had never envisioned that she would become a widow with a two-year-old son, alone in the world and without a dime to her name.

She clutched the small book to her chest and looked down at her son who was babbling to his faded blue blanket. He was still too young to realize that his father was dead and he asked every night before bed if he was coming home. It broke her heart to know that Henry would grow up without a father and she feared losing him because she couldn't find work and was on the verge of being thrown out onto the streets if she couldn't find a way to pay the rent by the end of the month.

She had nobody to turn to, no family to fall back upon as she had grown up an orphan. Neal Cassidy had been her ticket off the streets and the married as soon as they were both of legal age. In the ten years they were married, they only had Henry and it was a surprise in itself as neither of them planned on having children. Henry became her top priority the moment he was born and between the two of them, the first two years of his life were filled with nothing but love.

But Neal was gone and she was left with memories of a broken, unhappy marriage and debt. The money she received from the military after his death had gone so quickly in her quick attempt to clear up the debt she and Neal already had piled up for years on an end. Over the years, they'd had many arguments about money and about reaching out to his father for help as Neal was a proud yet stubborn man determined to provide for his family on his own.

Emma silently convinced herself that she needed to do this, not for herself, but for Henry, and reaching out to Neal's father, Robert Gold, was the very last thing she wanted to do. She was left with no choice. She couldn't risk having her son taken from her because she couldn't provide for him and she certainly didn't want to go back to living on the streets as she had been when she first met Neal.

She wasn't looking forward to talking to Robert Gold as she barely knew the man, only having spoken with him a handful of times over the last decade. She feared his reaction, not just to the amount of debt Neal had left her in, but over the fact that she had taken her maiden name and changed Henry's from Cassidy to Swan as well. The news wouldn't go over well with the man, she knew that much was true, but she couldn't put off reaching out for his help any longer.

She dialed the number and waited for the line to click through, repeating her son's name over and over in her head to remind herself why she was doing this. A lump formed in her throat by the third ring and she almost hung up before Robert's secretary answered.

"Good afternoon, Mayor Gold's office, how may I help you?"

"I'd like to speak with Mr. Gold please."

"May I ask whom is calling?"

"Emma Sw—Cassidy," she said, quickly correcting herself. Robert Gold wouldn't speak with her if she didn't address herself as Neal's wife. "Could I speak with him, please?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cassidy, Mayor Gold is unfortunately not in town right now. He is in New York City on urgent business. Can I take a message for you to give to him upon his return?"

"No I—I will call back. When are you expecting him back?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Great, thank you," Emma replied quickly and hung up with a defeated feeling flooding through her body. "Just fucking perfect," she muttered quietly under her breath. She looked around the kitchen, noticing that in just a handful of minutes that Henry had wandered off. "Henry?"

While the apartment was small, there were plenty of places to hide and one of Henry's favorite games as of late was nearly giving her a heart attack by finding the best hiding spots he could and having her search frantically until she found him.

"Henry Swan!" Emma called out firmly, trying to hide the shakiness in her voice. She was in no mood to deal with his antics today of all days. "Henry, you will come out from wherever you are hiding right this instant or you will be in so much trouble!"

She heard him giggling and rolled her eyes as she stormed to the closet by the door and yanked it open. On the floor, beneath the pile of jackets he'd managed to pull from every hanger, Henry sat there with a toothy grin and his blanket firmly clutched with both hands.

"Henry—"

She was cut off by a sharp knock on the door. With a furrowed brow, she pulled Henry out of the closet and forced it shut before glancing through the peephole to see who was on the other side. Another knock sounded before she could look through and her eyes went wide in shock.

"Mr. Gold, what are you doing here?"

"Hello, dearie," he smiled thinly. "I'm in town on business and I thought I'd stop by to visit with my grandson before I return to Storybrooke."

"I uh—come in," Emma stammered and she held the door open for him as he walked in slowly, his bad leg worse than she remembered as he walked with more of a limp and slowly. "This is a strange coincidence. I actually just called you."

"I see," Robert said, keeping his tone light and friendly for Henry's sake. "Whatever for, dear?"

"Let me just get Henry preoccupied and maybe we could talk in the kitchen?" Emma asked and he answered only with a slight shake of his head, heading towards the kitchen while Emma took Henry into his small bedroom. "Henry, I need you to stay in here while Mama talks to your grandfather about something very, very important, okay?"

"Okay."

"Do not come out of your room until Mama says it's okay. Do you understand?"

Henry nodded and Emma set him down on the floor, pulling down a few books from the shelf over the bed and placed them on the floor. She waited for a moment before she walked out of the bedroom and joined Robert Gold in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, the apartment is a bit of a mess right now. Things have been…difficult," Emma said quickly when she walked in on him glancing in disgust around the cluttered kitchen. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No," he said, the friendly tone he adopted earlier slipping away in an instant. "I'm curious as to why you would call me seeing how you've failed to keep in touch since Neal's funeral."

Emma frowned and she knew this wasn't going to be any easier than it would've been over the phone. She took a seat at the kitchen table and waited for him to sit down before she carefully explained the situation at hand to him. He said nothing while she spoke and voiced her concerns over losing Henry because she was incapable of paying the bills. She knew he was silently judging her, thinking her of nothing more than a poor mother, an orphan who was not worthy of ever being married to his oldest son.

She apologized and the room fell into silence as Robert Gold stared long and hard at her, his fingers stroking over the gold handle on his cane slowly. She swallowed thickly, the lump in her throat growing bigger with every passing second and she was almost on the verge of tears, ready to beg him for help if she needed to. For Henry's sake.

"I find it quite curious that you would only just now come to me for help," he said quietly. "I have been well aware of the debt you and my son collected long before he was deported to fight in that senseless war that killed him."

"Neal didn't want to reach out to you, Robert. You know how he was, too proud a man to ask for any kind of help even though we've been struggling for years now."

"Of course," he chuckled dryly. "He's much like his mother. Always too proud of himself, holding on to what little pride he had in regard to himself and his little family. Regardless of his stubborn pride, I cannot lose my grandson and will make sure that does not happen at any cost."

"You'll help us?"

"Yes, dearie, I'll help you, but it is only because of dear sweet little Henry. You see he is the only thing I have left of Neal. I cannot bear to think of never seeing him again because you have proven to be incapable of providing for him. Another thing, which I find to be a strange coincidence in itself, I came here not only to visit my grandson, but to offer you a proposition."

"Oh?" Emma's mouth suddenly felt dry and the worst of her fears surfaced. "You're not going to take him from me in exchange of clearing up our debt, are you?"

"I wouldn't dream of separating the boy from his mother if it can be helped and I believe I have the perfect opportunity for you, Emma. I will clear up your debts and in return you will come to live in Storybrooke where I can see my grandson on a regular basis. I can provide for you a home to live in, a home for Henry to grow up in and he will never know what its is like to live off of scraps or what it is like to struggle day to day, year in and year out."

"You want us to move to Storybrooke? But I—"

"Are you declining the offer?"

"No!" Emma said quickly. "I'm not, no. I want to do what's best for my son. I'm willing to do whatever it takes even if that means we move to Storybrooke. I do not want to lose him and I may not be able to provide for him as a mother should, but that does not make me a bad mother."

"Did I say you were one?" He asked and Emma clamped her mouth shut. "Do you accept my proposition?"

"Yes."

"Wonderful," he grinned and he rose from the chair slowly, gripping on to his cane tightly. "I will arrange to have your debt cleared up within two weeks time. That being said, you will have exactly two weeks to pack up your life here and move to Storybrooke. I'll be sending a moving truck down for you two Wednesdays from now, nine in the morning sharp."

"Thank you, Robert, you have no idea—"

"Enough. I'm doing this for Henry and for Neal."

"Thank you."

Robert Gold strolled over to Emma when she rose to her feet and he smirked. "And do not think I haven't been made aware that you went back to your maiden name and took my son's legacy away from Henry. Do tread carefully upon your arrival in my town, Ms. Swan, and if I find you to be a bad mother, as you so labeled yourself, I will do everything in my power to take my grandson away from you. Are we clear?"

"Y—yes. Crystal."

"I'll be seeing you in two weeks, dearie."

Emma was shaking slightly as she walked him to the door and she held back the frustrated scream and the tears as she all but slammed the door behind him. She broke down minutes later, unable to stop the tears from escaping and it was the small creak in the wooden floorboards behind her that made her turn around.

"Mama?" Henry whispered as he tugged on her dress. "Mama okay?"

"No, Henry, Mama isn't okay, but we will be. Come on, let's go get something cold to drink, yeah?" She smiled down at him and took his chubby little hand in hers. "I have something I need to tell you and I need you to listen very carefully, okay?"

"Okay, Mama."

Emma inhaled sharply, unsure of how Henry would react when she told him they'd be moving far, far away in just a few weeks. The apartment was the only home Henry had ever known and she wasn't sure if he was still to young to understand that this was the only way they could stay a family. She was trembling still at Gold's last words to her and she knew he would not hesitate to find a reason, any reason, to take her son away from her if she didn't follow any of his demands. She couldn't bear to think of what her life would be like if Henry was taken from her, but she knew she would fall apart to pieces and left with a severely broken heart if that ever happened.

And she would make sure that would never happen. She'd do anything to keep her son.

[X]

Regina loaded the last of her bags into the back seat of her Mustang and exhaled sharply. In the span of four hours, she had packed up her life, returned her badge and gun down at the precinct, and was about to embark on the long drive up to Maine. Her stomach fluttered with nerves, not nervous ones, but ones that stemmed from the unknown of the change her life was about to take.

She was leaving her whole life behind and she couldn't wait to drive off and never look back, but it wouldn't be that simple. Her family was in Brooklyn and her sister would be taking over her lease, at least temporarily until her landlord found someone else to rent the apartment she lived in for nearly twelve years alone. She had one stop to make before she left the city and that was to drop the keys off with Zelena and said goodbye to her parents. She had already informed them of the job in Storybrooke and while her mother told her she was making a horrible mistake, her father was nothing but supportive over their brief conversation on the phone.

The drive to the duplex, while easily a ten minute walk, took nearly forty minutes as she contended with the worst of the traffic. She parked in the reserved spot in front of the house where her mother's car once parked before the engine stalled and died out just a few weeks prior. Regina took a few deep breaths before slipping out of the car and climbed the dozen steps and let herself in the front door of the old brownstone where she had grown up and the only home her parents ever lived in since they married almost fifty years ago.

"Regina, dear, is that you?" Cora Mills called out from the sitting room and Regina sighed, slipping off her aviators as she shut the door behind her. "Regina?"

"Yes it's me, Mother."

Regina strolled into the sitting room, not surprised to find both her parents seated in their rocking chairs. Her father smoked out of his pipe while her mother already had a glass of wine in her hand. Regina smiled at both of them and moved to give her mother a hug first, subtly rolling her eyes in her father's direction when Cora barely moved from the chair.

"Are you truly certain you want to do this, Regina?" Cora asked and Regina nodded, stepping over towards her father to hug him as well. "You are seriously considering moving to Maine?"

"I am, Mother. This is a perfect opportunity for me. You know I cannot advance in my career if I stay here and I need a big change. This is giving me a chance to—"

"To what, dear?" Cora sniped. "To fulfill your dirty, lesbian tendencies with some small town, clueless and oblivious woman?"

"Mother, that's enough," Zelena snapped as she strolled into the sitting room and hugged Regina tightly. "I thought you promised that you would try to be accepting of Regina's lifestyle choices?"

Cora muttered under her breath as the two sisters ignored her rude commentary. Zelena took Regina by the hand and dragged her into the kitchen where she was just beginning to cook dinner for herself and their parents.

"Mother is never going to change how she feels and what she thinks, is she?" Regina asked and she slumped against the counter while Zelena checked on the sauce bubbling on the stove.

"She'll change her mind about you being a lesbian when she changes my mind about dating black men," Zelena chuckled and Regina shook her head with a laugh. "You are truly doing this, aren't you? Uprooting your entire life to be a small town sheriff?"

"Yes, I am. I need the change and the challenge. I honestly thought I'd looked over or laughed at while the position went to some male chauvinist pig."

"Perhaps the times are finally changing."

"Don't get your hopes up, Zee."

While Regina never had a fairly close relationship with her older sister while they were growing up, as adults that had changed and they had grown exceptionally close after Zelena had accidentally walked in on her and a woman seven years prior in a rather intimate moment. From the day forward they forged a sisterly bond they hadn't been able to in all the years before that very moment and Regina found Zelena to be the only one she could confide in, count on even.

Regina dug out the keys to her apartment, already on a separate key right, and with a slight whistle, she tossed them at Zelena with a small smile. "You can stay as long as you want."

"It gets me out of here at least, so it'll probably be forever or until you figure out that small town living isn't up your alley, Gina."

"I'll help you out for a while until you get back on your feet and that is a promise I intend to keep."

"I'll come up and visit as soon as Mother gets the car fixed."

Regina laughed and moved to hug her tightly. "You better come and visit me, Zee. I think I'll miss you too much."

"Will you call as soon as you're there?"

"Of course, it'll be late, but I'll call. Just make sure to pick up the phone on the first ring. Mother gets rather testy when her precious beauty sleep has been interrupted."

"Then I'll just have to make sure she finishes off the bottle of wine she opened when she found out you had suddenly decided to uproot your life and move two states away," Zelena chuckled dryly and Regina found herself laughing with her. "Drive safe, Regina."

"I will," she promised. "I love you."

"I love you too. Now go before Mother tries to stop you from leaving. Who knows what she'll try to say or do if you hang around a second longer," Zelena said as she gave Regina a gentle shove towards the hallway. "Don't forget to call me later!"

Regina nodded and briskly made her way out of the house and out to her car without saying goodbye to her parents. As soon as she gunned the engine, she turned on the radio and cranked the volume. With a smile dancing over her lips, she pulled her aviators over her eyes and merged into traffic.

Her whole life was packed up into her car and while it didn't seem like much, it'd be enough until she settled down in Storybrooke and started the next chapter of her life. It was that driving need for change that kept her awake and aware during the very long nine hour drive up to Storybrooke, Maine and when she passed the welcome sign along the narrow, two-lane road at two in the morning, a sense of relief filled her and the exhaustion of such a long drive finally began to hit her as she searched for Mifflin Street.

The town was small, but it was dark and streetlights were far and few in between. After driving around for a short while, she finally caught glimpse of the street sign and made the turn. She drove slowly down the street, slowing down just a little as she passed the biggest house on the street, sighing in slight disappointment to find it wasn't the address she was seeking. Five houses down, she spotted the gold lettering on the front door, 118, and pulled into the long and narrow driveway, the small house becoming visible under the glow of the headlights.

It wasn't much, but it would be enough, she decided and with a tired smile, she took a look in the rearview mirror at herself. "Welcome home, Regina. Home, sweet, home…"