Summary: A rewrite of sorts. Things are a bit different but it's mostly the same.

While learning magic from Regina, Emma gets distracted and touches something that she wasn't supposed to touch. She gets sent on an eye-opening adventure of sorts. The past doesn't seem to be what she thought it was and a surprised and confused Emma learns that everything is not what it seems as a somewhat kind and very intricate Queen joins her on this adventure through time and space.

(Regina's Vault)

*Third Person P.o.v.*

Characters: Emma Swan, Regina Mills, and Henry Mills.

Brief appearances: Archie, Graham, and Killian.

"Do not touch anything," Regina says, moving around in the small area of her vault. It sounds more like a threat, to Emma than a regular statement. The brunette of the two had decided to teach the blonde magic. Even though it would have benefited her greatly, Emma refused to listen when Regina told her not to touch anything. She stares at a small vial of red liquid wondering what it does. She knows that mostly everything in this vault contained magic and that made it hard to resist touching things when you had no idea what it would do but really wanted to know. Emma's curiosity got the better of her and she started to walk in the direction of the wall of potions.

Halfway to her destination, Emma accidentally bumped a box causing it to topple over and a small scroll to roll out. Ignoring Regina's earlier warnings to not touch anything, no matter what, Emma picks up the scroll and opens it. As the scroll starts to light up, Emma hears Regina yell her name. She sees a flash of white light before everything goes black.

Emma opens her eyes to find a cupcake with a blue candle sitting on a countertop in front of her. What the hell? This isn't right, Emma's mind reeled as she took in her surroundings. This is my old apartment. Her mind supplies as she realizes: I haven't been here since my 28th birthday.

Emma stares at the flickering flame on the candle before she blows it out, shaking her head as she started to become more confused. Before Emma could dwell on the very alarming thoughts that were coming to mind, there was a sharp knock sounded from the front of her apartment. Emma walks to the front door and opens it only to become confused when she sees no one there. Hearing a throat being cleared, Emma looks down eyes bugging out at what she sees.

In her doorway is a very short Henry who looks like he is only ten but that cant be right. Her Henry is twelve and much taller, probably just as scrawny though.

Emma's thought process becomes halted as Henry speaks.

"Are you Emma Swan," He asks and Emma can't help but wonder if he had been this timid before. Was he this small when they had first met. She couldn't recall much from then, she realizes now. As soon as he said he was her son she had pretty much blacked out. She had only come to and started paying attention to what was going on at, "You're Henry's birth mother?" She had been so lost in her thought that after "Hi" she had pretty much blacked out again, only remembering bits and pieces from their conversation.

Emma continues to stare at him as her brain processes what exactly was happening... again.

"Uh... Yeah." Emma is barely able to stutter out those words as Henry continues with his "revelation" that he probably practiced a thousand times in front of his mirror.

"My name's Henry... I'm your son." He lets a smile form on his face and Emma can only focus on the fact that his hair is really long because she really doesn't want this to be real. This has to be a dream. Maybe I've been put under a spell or a sleeping curse. Because she can't start over. She was just getting used to having parents. To having a family. And Regina. She was finally making some progress with the stubborn brunette. She cant lose all of that because she was being stupid and decided not to listen to Regina's warning.

As if just remembering the thing that brought her here in the first place, Emma turned to look at the scroll that lay peacefully on the floor next to one of her stools. Henry, taking that as an invitation in, ducked under Emma's arm that held the door open, and walked into the apartment.

"Hey, Kid," Emma calls out of habit instead of saying his name. "Kid!" Emma repeats, raising her voice a bit and trailing after him, not forgetting to close the door first, when Henry does not respond. He continues to completely ignore Emma as he walks into the kitchen and opens the fridge, yelling: "Do you have any juice," not realizing that Emma was right behind him. He pulls the lone jug of orange juice out of the mostly empty fridge and twists the cap off.

"Never mind. I found some," He says before he puts the carton to his mouth and starts to drink straight from the container. I know Regina taught you better than that kid, Emma thinks but refrains from saying, considering her current predicament. She stands there quietly, thinking about what to do next while waiting for Henry to remove the carton from his lips.

"We should get going," Is the first thing he says when he stops chugging Emma's only juice. Emma squats down and retrieves the scroll playing dumb when saying:

"Going where?" Even though she knows exactly where.

"Storybrooke... Maine." Emma is torn between wanting to laugh because of the irony of the situation and wanting to run to her room and cry while screaming her heart out. She decides to choose the second option. Well, part of it.

"Give me a minute." The words are hardly out of her mouth as she closes her bedroom door and leans against it. She groans before crossing the distance to her bed and taking a seat. She slips her sore feet out of the annoying red heels that she, at that moment, swears to never wear again. She starts to think over a plan and decides that, for now, the best thing would be to try to do things exactly the same. I hope to whatever higher power there is, if your listening, that I don't fuck shit up if this is time travel, She thinks, slipping out of her tight, pink dress and changing into a white tee-shirt. She slides into a pair of jeans and sits back down to put on her socks and brown boots. Emma stands back up and walks to her closet, pulling out her red leather jacket. Putting on the jacket, Emma gently pulls her hair from out of it and lets blonde curls fall haphazardly over her shoulders.

"Kid," Emma calls stepping out of her room and turning off the light. Henry hums, acknowledging Emma's summons as he walks up to her with some pep in his step.

"Yeah?" He asks tilting his head to the side with an adorable look on his face. Emma can't help it and ruffles his hair.

"Emmmaaaaaa," He whines half surprised by the simple yet affectionate action. Emma, not fazed by the gesture done out of habit, doesn't miss a beat and simply responds.

"Let's get you back to Storybrooke." Henry nods before basically skipping to the door. Emma walks through the apartment, turning off lights and grabbing her baby blanket, not want to part with it again, before joining Henry by the door. She grabs the ring of keys that sat on the table by the door and flicks off the light after Henry opens the door and exits. They make their way to the parked yellow bug and Emma unlocks the passenger door before doing the same for the drivers. She slides into the seat and turns to look at Henry, who smiles at her, before starting the car and driving off.

They had been driving for about thirty minutes when Henry's stomach grumbled.

"I'm hungry. Can we stop somewhere for food?" He asks placing his had on his stomach. Emma's motherly instincts and common sense overpower the previous decision to not do anything differently and she ends up responding with.

"Sure. Where do you wanna get food at, kid?" I am kinda hungry too so why not, She things while waiting for a reply.

Henry hums in thought before saying: "Subway?" which sounds more like a question than an answer. A small smile forms on Emma's face as she decides.

"To Subway it is."

After eating Emma and Henry got back on the road and continue their drive to Storybrooke. Henry pulled his storybook out of the backpack that Emma hadn't noticed he had. She then made a note to pay more attention to the finer details of the past. Well, present, She comments in her head.

"What's that, kid?" She asks for the sake of keeping things on the same track that they were before.

"You know I have a name?" He says not looking up from the book while sounding mildly annoyed. "It's Henry." Emma chuckles in her head.

"Okay, Henry, what's the book about," She said looking out of her side view mirror as switched lanes.

"I'm not sure you're ready," He responds and Emma has to think, really think, cause she doesn't really remember what she had said after that. Guess I gotta play by ear and wing it.

"Not ready for some fairy tales?" Yeah. That sounds about right.

"They're not fairy tales. They're true. Every story in this book actually happened." Emma sort of remembers what happens next and honestly doesn't wanna listen to that again. Even if she doesn't remember most of it.

"Okay," She responds simply.

"Seriously. Just like that. You believe me." He looks skeptical. Emma hums as if thinking about it, Not like he'll believe me, before responding.

"Yeah, why not."

"You're pulling my leg." He narrows his eyes at her like he's looking for something, anything, that says she's lying to him.

"Nope." She smiles, suspecting that she knows what he's gonna say next.

"You're in this book y'know." She smiles. Yeah Yeah. I know.

"You got problems kid."

"And you're gonna fix 'em." The smile doesn't leave Emma's face until a long while after that. Even while she thinks of the troubles this adventure might cause. At least I'll get to see Regina again soon. Even if it's the younger, mean, Mayor Mills version of her. It's better than nothing.

Emma feels a familiar feeling wash over her as she passes the "Welcome to Storybrooke" sign and acknowledges it as the giddies of being home. And it makes her smile more because this is home. Regina is home, She can't help but think. Even if she feels like she's rushing things a bit.

She glances at the sign and thinks: Welcome to storybrooke where time stands still, and chuckles. Good to be home.

She starts to drive down the main street and decides that going straight to Regina's house is a very bad idea.

"Okay, kid. How about an address?" She asks, hoping it's the right thing to say.

"Forty-four Not Telling You street." He says and Emma remembers that smart little mark as she stops the car in the middle of the road. She gets out and remembers to slam the door behind her for effect. Henry gets out as well but doesn't close the door.

"Look, Kid, it's been a long night." She says running her hands through her hair through. "It's almost." She looks at the clock tower and says: "8:15?"

"That clock hasn't moved my whole life. Time's frozen here. The Evil Queen did it with her curse. She sent everyone from the Enchanted Forest here," He responds instantly.

"Excuse me?" She says, caught off guard. Play by ear, She reminds herself as she tries to recall what happened before yet only drawing a blank. Just gotta act like I don't believe.

"She cursed all of the Enchanted forests because she's evil," He says crossing his arms over his chest.

"The Evil Queen, as in Snow White and the seven dwarves," She pauses as he nods. "She sent a bunch of fairy tale characters here."

"Yeah, and now they're trapped, " He says sounding completely sure of himself.

"Frozen in time, stuck in Storybrooke, Maine. That's what you're going with?" She tries to as unbelieving as she can.

"It's true!" He raises his voice causing Emma to wince.

"Then why doesn't everybody just leave?" She hadn't understood this part of the curse even when Regina explained it to her. She doubted even Henry understood.

"They can't. If they try, bad things happen." Their conversation comes to an end as Archie shows up, just like before, calling Henry's name, with Pongo by his side.

"Henry! What are you doing here?" He glances at Emma. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine, Archie." Henry grins.

"Who's this?" Archie turns to her.

"Just someone trying to give him a ride home." She responds with a small smile.

"She's my mom, Archie," Henry says right after.

"Oh. I see." Arche nods and continues to eye Emma wryly

"You know where he lives?" Archie looks around and nods.

"Yeah, sure. Just, ah, right up on Mifflin street. The Mayor's house is the biggest one on the block." Emma gives Henry a disbelieving look.

"You're the Mayor's kid?" She hopes that her acting is believable enough.

"Uh, maybe," He responds scratching the back of his head.

"Hey, where were you today, Henry? Because you missed your session."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I went on a field trip." He says, lying through his teeth. Archie glances at Emma before he kneels down to Henry's level.

"Henry. What did I tell you about lying? Giving into one's dark side never accomplishes anything." We soooo don't have time for this.

"Oookay. Well, I really should be getting him home." She says, cutting that off before it can even begin.

"Yeah, sure. Well, listen. Um. Have a good night and uh, you be good, Henry." Archie stands and he and pongo walk away.

"Alright, I'll play. Who's he supposed to be?" I think I asked this before.

"Jiminy Cricket." He doesn't miss a beat with his response.

"Right, the lying thing. Thought your nose grew a little bit," She jokes.

"I'm not Pinocchio!" She says sounding a bit annoyed with Emma. She smiles as she walks back to the driver's door.

"Course you're not. Because that would be ridiculous." And I've already met him. They get back in the car and Emma starts on the road to the mansion.

Emma stops the car in front of the mansion that she knows so well and takes a breath before turning off the ignition and getting out.

"Please don't take me back there." He says suddenly.

"I have to. I'm sure your mom is worried sick about you." Emma says without thinking

"How did you know I only have a mom." He stops and looks at Emma with a raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't but, uh, I do now. I only meant that moms usually freak out more than dad when it comes to their cubs. Usually," She says hoping that it doesn't sound like too much of a lie. He didn't pursue the topic further but Emma doubts that he completely believes her.

"She's evil." He sounds distraught as he gets back on topic

"Evil? That's a bit extreme, isn't it?" She says thinking about the Regina that she knows.

"She is. She doesn't love me. She only pretends to." Well, that sure as hell isn't true. Emma once again refrains from saying whats on her mind from fear of changing things. She clenches her teeth and tries her hardest not to yell at him for all the trouble he caused is will cause for Regina. She doesn't deserve it. Not from him. Not after everything she has done for him. Emma sighs and says:

"Kid… I'm sure that's not true."

The door to the mansion is thrown open and Emma is frozen to the spot as Regina rushes towards Henry not noticing her.

"Henry! Henry… Oh god. Are you okay? Where have you been? What happened?" SHe pulls him into a hug and Emma's mind has basically given up on her.

"I found my real mom." Henry pulls away and runs into the house. Regina stands and straights out her clothes. Her faces become neutral as she finally notices Emma but Emma knows. She sees the pain in her eyes and the slight puffiness under them because of the hours of crying. The worry in her whole stance and Emma decides that this is one of the few time that she has ever seen Regina so vulnerable.

"Y-you're Henry's birth mother?" She looks a bit surprised and Emma was a bit more focused on the fact that Graham is alive and standing behind her. The only thing she's able to say is:

"Hi…"

"I'll just go…check on the lad. Make sure he's alright." Graham says looking very tense and uncomfortable. Regina doesn't even acknowledge him.

"How would like a glass of the best apple cider you've ever tasted?" And the smile she gives Emma is like a predator that has trapped its prey.

"Got anything stronger?" Cause I'm gonna need it.

Regina walks back into the house followed by Emma. She goes off to the kitchen leaving Emma all alone in the hallway. After a few seconds, she comes back with two glasses and pours the cider into the glasses.

"How did he find you? When I adopted him, he was only three weeks old. Records were sealed. I was told the birth mother didn't want to have any contact," She says getting right to the point.

"You were told right," Emma tries to say but the words catch uncomfortably in her throat. She felt that way before and she knows it was true then but now... now she knows and loves him. That no longer applies to her.

She forces the words out.

"And the father?" She asks taking a sip.

"There was one." She doesn't want to think about Neal right now. Honestly, she just wants to go home.

"Do I need to be worried about him?"

"Nope. He doesn't even know." At least not yet, Her brain supplies.

"Do I need to be worried about you, Miss Swan?" Emma chuckles in her head.

"It's Emma and no." Regina nods and they both go silent as Graham's heavy footsteps sound through the house as he comes downstairs.

"Madam Mayor, you can relax. Other than being a tired little boy, Henry's fine." And he sounds like a robot with no emotion.

"Thank you, Sheriff." Graham takes his leave and Regina beckons for Emma to follow her into the study. Regina takes a seat on the couch and Emma follows.

"I'm sorry he dragged you out of your life. I really don't know what's gotten into him." Emma realizes that this is probably the start of a long conversation full of small talk and decides that she would rather skip it.

"Look Regina I'm just gonna cut to the chase. I need your help." She says hoping that Regina won't call her crazy and kick her to the curb.

"Miss Swan, what are you talking about." Regina sits down her glass and gives Emma her attention.

"I did some stupid shit and now I'm in trouble. I don't know what to do to fix this." Regina's face scrunches adorably at Emma's poor choice of language.

"I don't understand. Are you in trouble with the law." She looks like she's ready to start jotting down all of Emma's wrongdoings before she turns her in.

"Nothing like that. I just... Um," She stops to think about what she's going to say next. "Before you call me crazy and kick me out, please just listen to what I have to say." Regina doesn't respond she just raises an eyebrow. Emma takes a deep breath and downs the rest of her cider before starting with the retelling of her afternoon and night. She stands and starts to pace as she speaks, starting with the tale of their magic lessons.

"So you, well the future you, was teaching me magic because I have magic, obviously, and I usually cause a lot of problems with my lack of control. Anyways you were teaching me magic and had warned me not to touch anything. Me being the stupid idiot that I am decided to not listen. I knocked over a box and out rolled a weird looking scroll. Ignoring your warning I picked it up and then everything went black. When I opened my eyes I was in my apartment and I haven't been there since before the curse broke. Henry showed up at my door and brought me here. And I know I sound crazy, like mental hospital crazy, but I really need your help to get back to my time because if I don't then I'll probably fuck everything up and change the future which is a really bad thing." Emma finally stops to take a breath. Once she finishes her story she turns to Regina to gauge her reaction.

"You think that you're from the future?" Regina asks and Emma nods.

"I am from the future," Emma all but whines. Regina laughs in a demeaning way that causes Emma to shrink a bit.

"Miss Swan, I think a few of your screws are loose. You should see a psychologist or just check yourself into a mental institute. Both are fine with me," She says standing up.

"I'm telling the truth. I even have proof," She says as she starts to search her pockets for the scroll only to come up empty-handed. Regina places her right hand on her hip and raises an eyebrow.

"I swear I had it a moment ago. I just need to retrace my steps," She says as she starts to search the area around her.

"Miss Swan, I think you need to leave. Now." Emma stops her frantic searching and turns to look at Regina.

"Do you need me to show you the door." Becoming pissed Emma says.

"This must be how Henry felt. It's no wonder he ran away from you." It doesn't register in her head that she's been slapped until she feels the stinging sensation on her cheek. Her eyes widen and Emma rushes to say:

"Shit. Regina, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I-"

"Get out of my house before I call the sheriff and have him force you out," She all but yells, crossing her arms over her chest. Emma decides that she has done enough damage and turns to leave, almost bumping into Henry who had been eavesdropping on their entire conversation.

"Henry, go back upstairs," Regina says walking up next to Emma.

"You're from the future," He asks, ignoring Regina's order.

"Henry," Regina said in a reprimanding tone. Henry shrugged and continued to wait for Emma's answer.

"You've been standing there eavesdropping since Graham left. I'm sure you already know the answer." She crosses her hands over her chest. "You gonna return what you took from me." A look of guilt crosses over Henry's face and he apologizes.

"Sorry. I wanted to know what it was." He turns and runs upstairs to retrieve the scroll. Emma turns to Regina and says:

"As soon as I get my stuff I'll be out of your hair. You won't see me again." She doesn't notice that Henry had already returned and is frowning in response to what she just said.

"You're going to leave," He says suddenly. Emma and Regina jumps, surprised a by the sudden voice. She turns to Henry and nods.

"I can't stay here. I need to find a way home." She holds out her hand. "Give me the scroll, Henry."

He shakes his hands and says: "No way. I just found you. I can't let you leave."

"Henry," She says once again not knowing what to say.

"You need to go back to the future, right? Then you need magic. If we break the curse then magic will come back, right? That means you gotta stay if you wanna go home," He tries to reason.

"Henry, Enough," Regina says startling them both. Henry looks like he is about to cry as he drops the scroll and runs upstairs. Regina leans down and picks up the scroll and looks at Emma quizzically.

"Where did you get this," She questions.

"Your vault," Emma responds smugly. "But I already told you that story and now I gotta go." She takes the scroll from Regina and starts to walk toward the door.

"Wait!" Regina says stopping Emma in her tracks. Emma turns around to see Regina staring at the floor with an unreadable expression on her face.

"What is it now?" Emma crosses her arms over her chest.

"Thank you for bringing him home," She mimics Emma's action and says: "Goodbye Miss Swan."

Emma stares at Regina for a few seconds before she dips her head and turns in the direction of the door.

"No problem," She says as she walks to the door and lets herself out closing the door behind her. Emma walks back to her car and gets in. She sits there for about five minutes just staring at the scroll and deciding what to do next. Regina wasn't much help, She thinks, turning the scroll over in her hands. I probably shouldn't use this again until I know for sure what it does. I don't wanna end up in a whole other universe. She places the scroll in the glove box before putting the keys in the ignition and driving off in the direction of Granny's Diner. Once there she drives around to the bed and breakfast and parks the car. Everybody in town is probably sleeping so I'll probably have to sleep in the car, She thinks as she reclines the seat. Won't be the first time, Is the last thought Emma has before she yawns as drifts off to sleep.

Tomorrow's gonna be a long day.

The first time I wrote this I think it was at like 5 am without me having slept for days. I might have been drunk too. (That's a joke.) This time it was written from like 1 to 3 and I napped through the day a bit. Some of it might not make sense and sorry if I ended up repeating things over and over. Also, I was really tempted to let Henry join on the adventure that was supposed to take place in this chapter but decided against it. I kinda wanna rewrite the other two but, eh, who knows. TBC... maybe.