As you know this year has been hectic for everyone. I was labeled essential personnel, plus my work was short of staff at the start of all this. I found myself too tired to write, and could only get bits of chapters done in small bursts. I had two or three finished chapters for a while now, but if you know me, I like to do a big update with all my stories, and today I finally managed to finish Shattered, which was one of the two taking the longest as it requires a lot of my attention to getting the feel just right. Happy reading Enjoy!

Chapter Three

"Great just fax it over and I'll get it signed," Regina said as she paced her office. Ruby waited patiently as she played a game on her phone with Ajani. Regina got the fax and signed the documents after checking them. "I'm sending them back now Kate, get them off as soon as you can." Regina paused in hanging up. "Um…all right you can pass on my number to him although I don't know what his lawyer would need to speak to me about." Regina hung up and sat back down.

"Everything okay?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, just silly little law firms I own under my larger firm being stupid. I'm opening a law office in Africa, and I've sent lawyers there to train."

"Oh, that's really cool of you," Ruby said as she let Ajani play alone. "Where's Cyann?"

"Having quiet time," Regina told her. "Well nap time, he claims he's too old for a nap, but somehow he always falls asleep." They chuckled.

"And this one won't nap?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, she's not napping at the moment, unfortunately, she stopped last month, but she at least knows it's quiet time."

"Maybe she'll start taking them again," Ruby replied. Regina crossed her fingers making her chuckle.

"So, catch me up Ruby, what is going on with all this rain and why is everyone suddenly living below the poverty line." Ruby let out a long breath.

"Honestly, a few reasons, the charmings for one, and unknown magic for the other. So, after you left naturally David and Snow declared themselves the rulers or whatever. They said we were going back to the Enchanted Forest whenever they found away. No not all of us are juiced with that idea, I mean here I have my curse under control. So, at first, everything was fine Snow gave out money from the town budget like it was candy, but that kind of thing only lasts so long. So, she taxed more, but than taxes went unpaid. Within three months the town hall was closed. she couldn't pay wages not that it mattered as she never went into the office. People had to pay out of pocket for trash collection. The school wasn't funded by the government it became private to keep the standards you set, so only the rich kids were going to school in the beginning. Now no one goes to school for more than two hours, because anything longer would take too many resources. So, everyone that works at the school is out of work for the most part."

"Wow, it took her less than six months to screw up the town." Ruby nodded.

"Yep and then the giant appeared, the rain started and doesn't really let up, we flood every fourteen days, so you need to get sandbags." Regina nodded. "The fire demon only started last week, once a day, since you've been back everything's been better except the rain and the money situation."

"Probably why Marco was so grateful for my business then," Regina muttered as she sipped her tea.

"He would have been incredibly grateful indeed and that guy you had in here earlier fixing your dishwasher. They'll have to ration what they have, but it will get their families by."

"Tell me more about this unknown magic, David came in accusing me of being the problem." Ruby rolled her eyes.

"God, I love them, but they're a fucking two for one idiot sandwich," Ruby grumbled making Regina chuckle under her breath.

"Remember Ajani," Regina reminded. Ruby nodded.

"Sorry, you should take Henry back, they're turning him into the biggest idiot of all plus a brat."

"The time for him and I is over, he's Emma's responsibility now."

"That may be, but she's doing a crap job alone with plenty of thanks to her parents," Ruby let a large sigh. "But the magic appeared after you left too and Gold. Well, no one is sure when Gold left with Belle, but it must have been six months after you were gone. Emma left once with Henry to go find you I presume. They came back without you and the giant appeared, then there was a Chimera believe it or not. They went to Gold for magical protection against it, but he was long gone. The dwarves insisted my sense of smell was off and he was at the town line according to the note left for Belle's father. He was not there; the barrier was discovered said dwarf lost memory and was thrown back."

"Anymore idiotness going on, have they figured out why the barrier formed in the first place?" Regina asked.

"Nope, they said it didn't matter if it kept you out, and that we would leave soon. Except we haven't left, and we haven't aged either. Which became highly evident when infants stopped growing. You know Jill from Jack and Jill, her baby's been in the Nicu for the last five years can you imagine?"

"No, I can't, but that's a long time for that kind of heartache." Ruby nodded.

"So, you think you're up for it?" Ruby asked sipping her own tea.

"Up for what?" Regina asked.

"Saving the town, and you may not want to hear this or maybe you do, but you're a better mother than Emma, and she really needs help from someone with experience who is not a total idiot. I know Henry hurt you, really, I do, but please just listen to her and help her if you can. You know I love you both, and I love Henry. I watched him all the time for you, and if there was ever a time that Henry needed you Regina Mills his mother, this was the time." Regina let out a long breath.

"Ruby you're asking me to undo all the good I've done for myself; you're asking me to hurt myself. I have to think about Cyann and Ajani now."

"I know, believe me I know, I was there for that last one, I saw the hurt and pain. But Henry is a dumb kid who pushed and pushed you away because of the influence of others. I know for a fact that Snow and David still do not help the situation, but really Emma is a lot more amendable especially since they pulled the same crap, they did with you. They convinced Henry that Emma didn't know better, doesn't know better. That they in all their wisdom are right and Emma has had too fucked up a life to know ultimately what he needs. Why do you think she ended up in your house?"

"Because Snow can't stop acting like a rabbit?" Regina asked.

"That's a small part, Emma could care less about living with her siblings, she loves them. What she doesn't love is being unable to become a parent. Unfortunately moving here meant giving back into Henry's whims. She told me he had a tantrum here earlier this week, that's a common response to when Emma pushes her authority."

"Oh, and I suppose you think he'll just magically listen to me again?" Regina asked her.

"Honestly yeah, you're stronger willed then Emma, and you have a pre-established pattern of getting what you want out of him even when he doesn't want to."

"Except when I want him to stay in the house and be grounded."

"And you'll go after him, unlike Emma now where he stays in the company of her parents who just tell her he's just being a boy and to let him be. Are you willing to sit by and let Snow White ruin your son, time's frozen you've got time, hell, take back the town if you see fit, you won't even find opposition." Regina raised an eyebrow.

"I don't hate Snow, I could care less about her these days," Regina told her feeling no rage towards Snow. "The best thing I ever did was leave this town, and honestly, I will leave again as soon as I conclude my personal business."

"Oh God no, please stay and save us from the idiocy or at least find a way for some of us to leave and go out into the world too. I don't think I can keep living like this."

"I'll look into the free movement thing," Regina told her. Ruby nodded. Regina's house phone rang, and it was Granny asking if Ruby could come back to the diner already, people were early for lunch.

"Awe Granny I've only managed one cup of tea and we haven't even gossiped about you yet," Ruby whined. Regina couldn't help but chuckle as she traded Ruby's phone for her own from Ajani, who had apparently dismissed several calls from Granny to her amusement.

"You know you're supposed to tell mommy when someone calls," Regina lightly scolded. Ajani mildly pouted but got back to her game. Regina paused it though. "Tell Aunty Ruby sorry for getting her in trouble, the call was important." Ajani frowned, but Regina gave her a stern look.

"Sawree Rubee," Ajani told her. Ruby gave her a hug.

"No problem munchkin problem is all resolved now." Regina walked Ruby to the door then took Ajani into the kitchen to make sandwiches for lunch. The doorbell rang.

"You stay here sweetheart," Regina told her kissing her forehead, but Ajani wasn't moving as she played a game where she fed pancakes to a bunny and milkshakes to a kitty. She was obsessed with the damn thing and it kept her occupied for hours. Regina headed for the door as the doorbell rang again. She opened the door and was met by Emma holding a year old, both in burned sooty clothing.

"Um…is this a bad news visit?" Regina asked wondering if she was about to tell her Henry was dead.

"Depends on how you look at it," Emma replied sounding exhausted. "Another fire demon showed up it uh hit most of Granny's inn just now and the loft. The only reason I'm standing here is that the downpour started, and I guess it had no protection, so it retreated. Anyway, the loft has got a major hole in it not suitable for babies or little boys. The inn is out, what's left of it is occupied by other families because Snow has sent me up here to talk to you."

"Oh, I see so it is bad news."

"It's horrible news. Granny was letting me stay for a reduced price, I just couldn't stay with them, and now she wants me to play referee." Regina leaned against the doorway as Emma just stood there in the rain with the kid. Well, she at least took the kid, who was clearly used to being handed off to someone other than her family.

"So, let me save you the trouble, no she can't move in here," Regina told her. "I'm sure one of her supporters can put her up." Emma nodded with a sigh. She took back her sister.

"Come on Emma let's go talk to Mommy," Emma said.

"Wow that's cold even for her, not like I renamed Cyann, Henry Daniel, Gees," Regina said. Emma nodded.

"Yup just knifed me right in the back. She actually calls her Good Emma; you know inferring that I am the bad one. It's legal and everything." Regina shook her head. Emma was barely down the drive when David pulled up in his truck and a pregnant Snow got out immediately looking as if Regina had said yes.

"She said no," Emma told her pausing.

"What do you mean she said no, this is your place we've taken it over, she doesn't live here anymore she can't just kick you out," Snow said angrily.

"I've told you many times the deed is still in her name, the property taxes were still paid on time, there is absolutely no reason I can legally seize her house from her."

"How about her past crimes?" Snow asked. "She murdered so many people."

"Hearsay at best these days, it's been like twenty years get over it already, now come on, let's go ask your friends to take you in." Emma hoped Granny would find a place for her on her floor. Snow growled.

"I knew I wasted my time sending you, you don't try these days Emma."

"Maybe because I'm bad Emma," Emma grumbled under her breath as she hurried after Snow who was now stomping up the walkway to Regina.

"Listen here Regina we are staying here and that's final, you don't own this house anymore it is under the control of the crown, understand," Snow told her. Regina sighed.

"How many kids do you have again?" Regina asked as Snow looked smug and Emma looked on in disbelief.

"Six, but they can share a room, they're all babies, the nanny will need space on the floor at least," Snow started. "And David and I of course need our own proper separate rooms, so one of us, and one for the kids to invade." Regina nodded as she looked out and saw the other kids in the bug with Henry.

"Hey yeah so Emma, you can stay, I'll get your room unpacked, and you Snow can fuck off, this house belongs to me and my crown, and I didn't abdicate." Regina flicked her wrist and Snow disappeared back to her leaky loft with all her children except a growling baby in Emma's arms. David and his truck went too.

"She's got magic like me, the only one to show signs this early, and she's very insistent about the times she stays with me," Emma told her.

"Hmph, I see that fine Gemma, you can stay for now," Regina told her.

"Gemma?"

"Good Emma, I turned it to Gemma, better than calling her Emma all the time. Anyway, I'm still pissed, but I'm petty and I'd rather spite Snow more when she talks to me like that so get your shit and get out of the rain." Emma nodded. She went to the car to get Henry who sulked when he came in.

"Emma your room's the same for now, Henry you can take the guest room farthest down the hall, Cyann has the bedroom now we're remodeling." Henry looked upset, but Emma reminded him of the hot shower with his name on it. It didn't stop him slamming the bathroom door though. Regina unpacked Emma's room for her.

"Oh, uh did you unstop the drain in here, Henry put cement in it once?" Regina frowned.

"You can use my bathroom, I'll call someone," Regina grumbled. She walked out, and Cyann wandered out rubbing his eyes.

"Come on baby let's go finish making lunch you're just in time." He nodded and followed her sleepily wandering why Emma was back. She explained that there was a fire, so they were taking them in. Meanwhile, Ajani hadn't moved just like she knew she wouldn't. She got back to making the sandwiches now including some for Henry, Emma, and Gemma. She couldn't believe that Snow had named the poor kid Good Emma.

"Wow you never struck me as someone who let their kid have screens at the dinner table," Emma commented. She came down looking refreshed and clean as well as her sister, although her sister was still wrapped in a towel. "Could you conjure her some clothes, you transported all their stuff." Regina waved her hand and Gemma was fully dressed in warm footie pajamas as Emma sat down.

"The phone keeps her distracted while we wait for Henry to come down for lunch," Regina told her with a shrug. "Her name is Ajani, and since I know you please don't let her nickname be Jan." Emma nodded. It had been her go too.

"What's her full name?" Emma asked. Regina rolled her eyes.

"Ajani Jacqueline Mills," Regina said. Ajani looked up hearing her full name. Regina just gave her a smile and rubbed her head to let her know she was fine.

"I'm Cyann!" Cyann happily announced since he was already friendly. He held his hand out for her to shake. "I'm four how old are you?"

"Cyann, I told you that's not a polite first question to ask an adult," Regina told him groaning in embarrassment.

"But I wanna know if Ms. Emma is as old as you Mommy," Cyann said. He turned back to Emma. "Are you super old like mommy?" Regina put her face in her hands.

"That depends on how old is mommy?" Emma asked conspiratorially in a whisper. Cyann looked thoughtful.

"I think twenty-five," he said shrugging. Emma looked like she wanted to cry at that moment. Regina snickered.

"Yes, I am definitely super old like mommy," Emma told him. "So, what's Cyann short for, kid?"

"I'm not a baby goat Ms. Emma," Cyann told her. "And I dunno." Emma had to chuckle, Cyann was every bit as smart-mouthed and smart as Henry had been if not politer. They both looked at Regina.

"It's not a nickname, Cyann is your first name," Regina told her. "You know your full name." Cyann nodded.

"Oh yeah," He giggled. Regina stroked his head.

"So, what's your full name?" Emma asked him.

"Cyann Theodore Henry Mills, but mommy Laura always says I'm Claude Theodore," He laughed.

"You are definitely not, nor have you ever been a Claude," Regina told him. He nodded.

"Mommy Laura?" Emma asked raising an eyebrow. "I didn't know you were a lesbian." Regina shrugged as they heard Henry stomping down the stairs.

"Cyann go take your seat, so we can have lunch," Regina told him. He took his seat and Regina turned her attention to Ajani.

"All right sweetheart, game time is over, you need to eat your lunch, and then afterward you can play again if you eat a good amount for mommy." Ajani frowned. "Ajani no crying you know we don't play on our phone at mealtimes." Regina took the phone away and paused the game as she saved Ajani's level before she took a sandwich and began to cut it up into triangles for her without the crusts.

"Henry come eat," Emma told him.

"I don't want sandwiches," Henry grumbled.

"Henry please don't be rude; Regina was very nice to allow us to stay here after what happened at the inn and loft."

"But not grandma and grandpa and the kids," Henry pointed out glaring at Regina.

"There's not enough room here for all her demands," Regina responded without looking up.

"That's true, she wanted two separate rooms for her and David, plus a room for the nanny and kids, there's not enough room for that, where would you have slept?"

"In my bedroom, but apparently someone completely destroyed it and threw out all my things."

"Your things are in a box upstairs, I haven't thrown anything out," Regina told him. He crossed his arms. Regina cut up Cyann's sandwich next but into two halves with crusts. Emma just bit into her own sandwich then let Gemma bite as well. Regina distributed vegetables to her kids, and then she started on her own lunch.

"Are you married do I have to deal with a stupid stepfather?" Henry asked Regina.

"Daddy's dead," Cyann told him a matter of fact.

"Who the hell are you?" Henry asked him.

"No bad words Henry," Cyann told him. "Or you gots to put a quarter in the jar."

"Yeah Henry, as a matter of fact, go put a quarter in the jar wherever that is."

"Well you may as well just empty your wallet," Henry snarked.

"So, a few rules about living here in my house that isn't up for debate. No bad language, no yelling through the house, clean up after yourself, be respectful to one another, and do as your told. So, Henry, I am going to only tell you once." She looked at him directly in the eyes. "It's time to grow up I'm not doing this whole I'm angry and you lied to me crap anymore. It does not give you license to speak to me or my children anyway you please or do what you please in my house. You are a child, and you will be treated like one."

"So now I'm not allowed to feel anything?" Henry asked already sounding angry.

"No, I didn't say that you can feel any way you want, what you are not allowed to do is handle that with violence and disrespect. If you feel angry you can take yourself for a time out and you can talk about it later with your mother, Emma when you're calm. But destroying things around here like putting cement in the shower or throwing lamps, that stuff stops now. Understand?"

"Yeah," He grumbled after they had an intense glare off.

"Oh, and one last thing, what the Charmings say does not go in this house, what they might let you do and get away with, will not ever fly here again." Regina went back to her food and Emma just stared at her with tears in her eyes as she had just saved her life.

"Thank…"

"I'm not doing it for you," Regina told her. "I don't want that kind of behavior around Cyann and Ajani." Lunch was silent except Cyann expressing a wish to go to the park even in the rain.

"I don't recommend it, the floods will be here soon, plus unsavory people kind of hang out there now, since there's nothing to do but drugs, I bust it up at least once a day, but they go back," Emma told her.

"You can play in the backyard," Regina told him. He took off running. "Cyann, coat, boots, and hat on mister."

"But I wanna go out naked," He cried. Regina sighed.

"All right," Regina told him while she stood up and collected warm clothes and a towel for his return. He was back not even one minute later crying that it was too cold out and howling until Regina and reentered the dining room.

"Mommy you no say it's cold," Cyann cried.

"Yeah, but my little prince didn't want to listen to Mommy," Regina told him as she dried him off with the towel. Henry gave a cry of outrage and stomped off. Emma was just grateful it wasn't a tantrum. Regina ignored him as she redressed Cyann in warm clothes. "Do you still want to go out?" He shook his head.

"Okay well you go pick up your old clothes and put them in the laundry and we'll go sit by the fire to get warm all right?" He nodded.

"Mommy phone," Ajani said taking Cyann's place in her arms.

"Did you finish all your vegetables m'ija?" Ajani nodded. Regina lifted her up and checked, and they were all gone. Regina rewarded her with the phone. Ajani walked out of the dining room.

"Where is she headed?" Emma asked as Gemma struggled to get down and toddled after Ajani.

"Ajani, look after Gemma," Regina called.

"I hope the Den, if not into a wall most likely," Regina said just as you heard a thump and crying. "See." Regina didn't go comfort Ajani though, she knew she was fine, and she had to learn to soothe herself. Regina began to clear up the dishes. Emma immediately moved to help her as they wiped down the table and Gus took care of any stray crumbs of food.

"Why do you have a service dog?" Emma asked.

"Because we need one," Regina answered.

"Obviously, but why do you need one?" Emma asked. Regina didn't want to admit that partly because of her depression or her heart problems, but also because of Ajani and her seizures.

"Ajani has seizures, there's a magical lock now on her medication, so you can grab it if for whatever reason I'm not there, you can give it to her." Regina opened the cabinet and showed her. "Only use it if it's going longer than five minutes, and it's a rectal gel so I'll explain that more thoroughly later." Emma cringed.

"Poor kid," Emma said.

"Yes, well Gus is usually quite good at warnings." Regina put the medication back on the second shelf and pushed it to the back. She closed the cabinet and continued loading the dishwasher. Once finished, she cleaned up around the kitchen and put things away before she followed a waiting Cyann to the den. She got a fire started by hand with his help. Well, his help was passing her the wood and grabbing a hand full of leaves as fodder. Emma raised an eyebrow at her when she lit it with a match.

"What?" Regina asked.

"You have magic, your signature is fire," Emma said.

"All magic comes with a price Ms. Swan," Regina said before she dropped the match. The fire slowly built up. Regina put the gate back in front and secured it with a lock on both sides so neither Cyann nor Ajani could move it. She had learned her lesson with Henry who almost caught fire as a toddler.

"You know you let me live here, I think you can call me Emma even Cyann calls me Emma."

"Cyann must not know your last name is Swan," Regina shrugged.

"Which must mean you called me Emma in front of him," Emma shot back. Regina shrugged again as if she would never really know.

"Mommy, do I call Ms. Emma, Mommy Emma because Henry is my broder?" Cyann asked. Emma blushed slightly.

"No, and Henry's not your brother anymore, because I am not his mommy too. Henry is Ms. Swan's son and you call her Ms. Emma or Ms. Swan because it's respectful." He nodded.

"Oh, Regina, don't say that he's still your son whatever happened to love him unconditionally?" Emma asked frowning.

"It has so little to do with love Ms. Swan, I will always love Henry no matter how many times he tells me he hates me, I cannot help that. But, no matter how much love I have for him, he has not been my son in years, my Henry is dead, but your Henry is very much alive." Regina stood up and left the room. She went to her study so she could still hear if her children needed her. She let a few tears fall as she rubbed her chest. She knew she would regret letting them back into the house, but no way she would leave Henry out on the street. He could have come to her at Seventeen telling her how he had been homeless, and she would have still helped him.

The doorbell rang and Regina quickly composed herself, no doubt it was time for round two with Snow and of course Gemma was still here. When she got to the door, Emma was already there telling her to calm down that Gemma was all right.

"Gemma?" Snow asked.

"Yeah Good Emma, I made it Gemma now, makes it easier," Emma replied.

"Emma this is ridiculous let us in the house, so we can take Regina into custody, I'm sure you can find the real birth parents of those children."

"You have some nerve," Regina told her, her voice low and deadly. "If you want to take Gemma home that's fine, but don't think you're going to come into my house and arrest me for no reason or take my children."

"Mommy?" Cyann asked.

"Honey go sit with your sister and Gemma please," Regina told him. Cyann was looking worried though as he hugged his stuffed bear. Ajani was right behind him and Gemma, coming too, not wanting to be left alone as she followed the others.

"No, you have some nerve you are a murderer why should you get the only intact house in Storybrooke?"

"I'm sorry I had the money to pay someone to take care of the roof, it's not my fault you've driven this town into the ground," Regina told her trying to stay calm in front of Cyann and Ajani. She was done with this, she had made her peace so why was it so easy to argue? Snow was about to argue when thunder boomed, lightning flashed, and a huge downpour started.

"The floods!" Emma exclaimed. "David the garage!"

"David the babies!" Snow yelled pointing to the truck.

"Sorry Snow!" Leroy said before he ran off with his brothers. Emma ran to the garage and started hauling out sandbags.

"Stay in," Regina ordered Cyann and Ajani as she went out and helped Emma move the sandbags physically and magically. David got five children into the house before he helped them as well. Henry eventually made his way out as the fourth pair of hands. They had just set the last sandbag in place when the water came down the street. Regina also made sure most of the town was protected too wherever there were people living. David's truck was swept down the street.

"Great," He said. They went back inside soaking wet and covered in mud.

"Are you sure time is stopped?" Regina asked looking at the four infants who were still newborns, and Gemma's twin, a boy they had of course named Leopold.

"Yeah, why?" Emma asked.

"It's just that, why is she able to get pregnant and continue to pop out kids?" Regina asked.

"Beats me, I sprained my Ankle I thought all right this is going to stay awhile, but it healed in time. People still get sick and then recover."

"That makes no sense, so if you stop time, she shouldn't be getting pregnant, and I know infants are ambiguous a bit, but this is like the same kid. Are they the same sex?"

"All girls yeah, Leopold's the only boy," Snow told her.

"I think you have a problem, what's the date on your phone?" Regina asked Emma. Emma pulled her phone out of her wet pocket.

"Oh, that's weird it still says it's like two thousand and eleven," Emma said.

"When did you actually sprain your ankle, or do you just sprain it a lot now that you think about it."

"Oh, I do," Emma said. "After it floods."

"The floods are like clockwork yes?" Regina asked. "So why are the sandbags in the garage, why don't they stay out?"

"Cause Henry always jerkily puts them away," Emma replied, but she sounded unsure.

"No, because there was a flood before that I put them away because you told me too," Henry told her annoyed. You couldn't get the bug out." Emma frowned.

"All right so whatever magic has you repeating certain actions," Regina murmured. "Tell me what's their name?"

"Um…well that's uh….uh Carrie, no um… maybe that's Carrie?" Snow asked not being able to decide. Regina rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to get changed you all figure out what else you repeat." Regina went upstairs with Cyann and Ajani. She got changed and in warm clothes again.

"How did you curse us?" David asked. "Are my kids even real?"

"I haven't had magic since I left Storybrooke, so I really couldn't tell you," Regina told him.

"You had magic before you left," He snapped.

"And I didn't use it to curse you, I was a little busy thinking about myself for once," Regina told him annoyed. "I'd appreciated it if you didn't talk to me like that in front of my kids." Gus barked to reinforce her words.

"Look let's just get out of these wet clothes, Regina what room can I give them?"

"The one next to Henry if you're all trapped here," Regina grumbled she could feel her magic was low and it was going to hit her hard tomorrow, she wasn't supposed to overexert herself. She had been so stupid. She went into the Den. She sat near the fire on a pillow and checked her phone that Ajani finally let go of in favor of playing with a shapes toy with Gemma. Cyann sat in her lap cuddled up, but he didn't seem to be in a talking mood, so they sat in silence.

"Tomorrow we'll have a quiet day in bed with movies and snacks okay?" Regina asked Cyann. Cyann nodded. He knew that meant his mommy wasn't feeling very well. She kissed his forehead. "Thank you, my little prince, you're very understanding and that's a good quality to have." He hugged her tight and she hugged him tight back.

"Mom, can you buy me this new comic, Emma always says no," Henry said coming in.

"Henry, I'm not your mom, Ms. Swan is, she buys you comics now," Regina told him.

"You are my mom," He said.

"Not anymore, I signed the paper I gave Ms. Swan full custody of you, years ago, you don't just get to choose to come back just because you suddenly don't like her authority, or she can't buy you everything that I can. You've made your bed and you've expressed that you did not want me as your mother that I was not your real mother."

"I was wrong," Henry said. "You are a much better mother. It's all Emma's fault."

"Ms. Swan didn't run away from me multiple times, Ms. Swan never actually called me Evil, Ms. Swan didn't tell me how much she hated me daily, Ms. Swan didn't deliberately ignore me, stop talking to me in Spanish, and Ms. Swan never told me I wasn't your real mom. You did all those things Henry, and this is the consequence. I love you I do, and I can admit that I'm the adult. And I want you to be happy, but you expressed to me that your future happiness didn't involve me and was never supposed to involve me. We had nine years, and I was glad to be your mom those nine years, but that person who you were is dead and I mourn that, you were my son then. But you are not my son now, you are Ms. Swan's son now."

"You said you'd love me forever," He whispered.

"And I will truly, nothing you have done has diminished the love, but I know you still are suspicious of me, and you have lied too many times to me and played on that love. Fool me once shame on you, and fool me twice, well that's a shame on me. Atlanta was too much for me Henry, it was too much, so I had to learn to let you go even if I couldn't stop loving you." Henry ran out of the room and shoved past Emma who was about to yell at him, but Regina just motion for her to let it go.

"He's feeling all types of things right now, although I'm not sure what exactly and why," Regina told her. Emma nodded.

"I hope he calms down; I don't want another tantrum. Sometimes it's immediate and sometimes he just keeps working himself up."

"Is he in therapy?" Regina asked. "Or do you just talk to Archie about his behavior and he speculates."

"Speculates, I always want him to go, but he never goes. If that's because of the curse or him I dunno anymore." Regina nodded.

"Well he needs to go, he is formally diagnosed with Depression, that wasn't a lie, and it didn't disappear just because the delusional part did."

"Oh," Emma said with a frown. "He told me it was all a lie."

"Not all of it, Henry didn't start therapy because of finding out about the curse. He started therapy because he was depressed, and I didn't know how to help him. He wouldn't talk to me, so I thought he would talk with Archie. Eventually, it was all a lie to him." Emma let out a long breath.

"Regina, I don't know shi…anything about this kid, I don't know what's true, and what's a lie."

"Well it's your job as his mother to figure it all out," Regina said.

"Well if you don't mind…" Emma started.

"I mind," Regina interrupted.

"I could really use your help?" Emma finished. "And I know and I'm sorry you left and I'm constantly begging you to come back. I am in over my head and the kid knows it. I just think if he had you again, he would straighten himself out. That I could learn to be more like you responsible and firm when I need to be." Regina snorted.

"Even if he were normal and we had a normal relationship you would still try to be the fun parent." Emma barely cracked a smile.

"Maybe in another life, but I want firm and responsible, so far I can only manage myself, with him everything is a battle."

"And maybe you should consider speaking with Archie about yourself," Regina put in. Emma just nodded as she stared at the fire. Snow came in and sat down with a slight groan.

"Ugh Regina go handle the babies will you, their crying is annoying me," Snow told her. Regina raised an eyebrow to look at her. Emma who had snapped out of her stupor for the moment to become present long enough to take stock of her surroundings widened her eyes at her mother.

"Oh, I'm sorry I think your pregnancy brain must have you thinking of someone else. I am not your nanny."

"Well, you are now if you are to stay here without being arrested. This is our place now."

"No, it's not, and it never will be you take care of your own children," Regina told her.

"Then magic the nanny here, she was supposed to bring our things over anyway."

"Well she's not coming now, and I'm not making her. You bred those little hellions, so you deal with them." Regina rolled her eyes and went back to her phone. Snow was super offended and angry that she wouldn't act like her servant. Regina went as far as to not make them dinner to prove a point but regretted the mess in the kitchen later. Emma was the one that cleaned it up though knowing her parents had done it on purpose just as Regina hadn't made them dinner.

"Come on into bed, mommy will join you," Regina told Cyann and Ajani. Regina read them a bedtime story, but no one ever actually slept as Snow's children were crying. It seemed they had no idea how to calm their children, at one-point Regina heard her trying to get the nanny to swim over. Emma tried to help, but only managed to take Gemma with her. Eventually, a little sleep was had out of pure exhaustion.

"Mommy, you okay?" Cyann asked. Regina nodded as she just gathered enough strength to stumble to the bathroom. On the toilet she saw her legs were swollen, they were always a bit slight because of her condition these days, but it was obvious today.

"Where's Gus?" Regina asked when she made it back to bed. She handed Cyann the remote control to the television. She pulled out her medications and Ajani's, but she was out of the water from last night. She checked the time; it was still seven-thirty in the morning.

"I dunno he went pee-pee and no comeback," Cyann replied as he found his morning cartoons. Regina sighed. She slowly got out of bed and put her robe on. She closed the door and just managed to get to the stairs. On her way, she saw Henry had made a pallet in what used to be his room. She made her way downstairs only to stop at the bottom because she was short of breath and feeling weak.

"Hey, are you, all right?" Emma asked coming downstairs. She looked exhausted with Gemma in her arms who also looked exhausted.

"I'm fine Ms. Swan, have you seen Gus?"

"No, I just woke up again to change Gemma, thought I'd get some coffee or something I don't know. Hopefully, go back to sleep." Regina only nodded as she pulled herself up and tried not to look ill, but from the look on Emma's face, she was failing. She made her way to the kitchen.

"Finally, you're up I am starving," Snow said. Regina noted that Snow had already pilfered most of the kitchen, and the rope she had attached to the refrigerator for Gus to use to open it had been thrown on the floor. Gus barked from outside.

"Why the hell is Gus stuck outside?" Regina asked as she let him back in. He came in and shook the water off everywhere to her annoyance, but not at him with Snow for forcing him out for so long he was soaked.

"That stupid dog tried to get into the fridge and eat everything. I don't even know why you had ropes on your refrigerator it just made it easier."

"God, you are so stupid. He's a service dog, he's trained to get things from the refrigerator. You are so lucky Ajani didn't have a seizure and he wasn't around to help her."

"What can a dumb dog do anyway?"

"More than you," Regina growled as her magic flared despite her fatigue. The only baby left was Gemma again as she held onto Emma.

"Where did you send her?" Emma asked completely unconcerned, but she was left without an answer as Regina passed out. Gus kept her from hitting her head.

"Regina!" Emma hurried to her side as Gus barked in alarm before he ran and came back with the phone for Emma. Emma felt for a pulse and sobbed out loud when she felt one.

"Henry!" Emma yelled. "Henry!" Gus ran out and came back dragging Henry by the cuff of his pajamas as Emma tried to wake Regina.

"Mom!" Henry cried hurrying over.

"Grab Gemma, I wanna take her back to bed, she's alive she just fainted I think, I hope."

"Where's Grandma and Grandpa?" Henry asked. Emma just shook her head as she lifted Regina. They hurried back to her bedroom where Cyann and Ajani were awake and startled when Emma brought in a passed-out Regina.

"What you do to mommy?" Cyann asked upset as he hugged Ajani protectively.

"Fuck, I didn't think, shit she's going to kill me when she wakes up."

"Ooh you said lots of bad words," Cyann told her.

"Cyann not now, and mommy will be fine, she's just sick, she did too much magic I think," Emma told him as she settled Regina. Regina groaned.

"Mommy!" Cyann called. He hugged her tightly and Ajani followed suit.

"Mommy!" Ajani called as well not understanding. Emma got a wet cloth and pressed it to Regina's face hoping to bring her back to consciousness. Slowly very slowly to everyone's distress, she woke up.

"Regina, what's wrong, tell me what to do," Emma said. Regina tried to reach for her bedside drawer, but her hand just fell uselessly next to it. Emma got the message and opened it. She saw a vile there as well as a drawer full of pill bottles. She ignored them for now and took the vile this was magic related to some degree. She gave Regina one drop at first seeing it was a dropper. Regina opened her mouth again to take a second, so Emma delivered. When Regina didn't do anything to indicate more. She closed it and set it aside out of reach of the children.

"Emma this is a lot of drugs," Henry said looking into the drawer.

"Henry put it back we don't go through things uninvited," Emma scolded.

"I just want to know what she has." Emma shut the drawer.

"Those are questions we can ask later without further snooping," She snapped. Ten minutes later Regina was fully conscious enough to speak but too weak to get back out of bed. Emma helped her sit up and she checked her head. Regina grimaced.

"It's just a bruise Ms. Swan I will live, thank you for your help, but you can return to your day now." Emma frowned.

"Yeah no, I think you owe me an explanation because I seriously thought you were going to die just now and…"

"Mommy, you're going to die?" Cyann asked concerned.

"No sweetie, Mommy is not going to die," Regina told him gently. "I just used too much magic that's all. I told you to remember all magic comes with a price and sometimes it costs you energy." Cyann nodded as he like Ajani settled to cuddle into her arms. "Why don't you go downstairs with Henry and get some breakfast." Cyann frowned but saw it wasn't up for discussion. Regina looked at Henry. "Can I trust you to look after them?" He frowned looking between both of his mother's and he so desperately wanted Regina to love him again, maybe she'd get rid of Cyann and Ajani if he could prove he would be her obediently little prince again.

"Yes," he answered. "I can make eggs and toast." Regina nodded.

"Good, I trust you haven't picked up Emma's habit of burning down houses."

"This house is still standing," Emma grumbled as she watched the exchange before Henry led out Cyann and Ajani. Gus went with them trailing behind them

"So, they're gone, will you tell me?" Emma asked her. Regina sighed as she took the rest of her medication with the bottle of water Gus had brought in as a reminder for Ajani and her. Ajani had, had her pill at least when Cyann told Emma. Plus, the pillboxes were clearly labeled for the right pill. Regina squeezed her eyes shut for a moment she didn't want to confide in Emma fucking Swan, but Snow was going to continue to be a problem, and if she figured out, she had really bad days and wouldn't risk her magic she would be unprotected and who knew what would happen to Cyann and Ajani if she were gone.

"Promise me you won't tell Henry or your Mother." Emma nodded.

"It might be best to tell Henry though," Emma told her.

"I barely trust him, I'm only not freaking out about him being with the kids, is because Gus is down there and I'm sure he's going to come back to eavesdrop as soon as he can. I just can't have this getting back to your parents." Emma sighed and nodded.

"All right this stays between us," Emma said as she opened the drawer. "Now tell me what all this is."

"It's the medication for my heart," Regina replied. Emma looked as if she were about to start having a major panic attack at that moment as she clutched her own chest.

"Okay, I'm accepting that, how, why, what happened?" Emma asked.

"Henry," Regina whispered. "When I took him away to Atlanta it was my last hope of getting what I thought was my happy ending, which for me was just my son's love. Everywhere I turned here in Storybrooke it seemed I was falling on my sword. So, I left the place where I was surrounded by things that hurt me, but I forgot Henry was the sharpest sword of all, the one that mattered. Or the dullest however you look at it, he hurt me the most. I put so much into Atlanta that when he rejected me there, he no longer rejected the Evil Queen. I had left her behind, did my best to lighten up a little and relax. And I let myself get played hard by a ten-year-old who just bided his time to get to you, and you came for him understandably. But when I followed you back here, I honestly believed that he loved me again, and this was all you. I thought he would choose me, for the first time I believed that with all my heart, and I was even prepared to offer you visitation just as long as Henry and I's relationship was saved, and we were out of Storybrooke. But after that last I hate you and seeing it in his eyes, well that was too much. It was the one I hate you too much so now my heart is quite literally broken."

"Oh Regina," Emma said sadly. Regina shrugged.

"I put myself there, I believed too much in love with someone who did not love me at all. Love is a weakness and I accept that, but all I ever wanted to be was a mom, a good mom. Children are just what I am good at who I connect with. And my heart just never thought we'd be where we were, but we were. And I've done a lot of work to get to the place where I can raise Cyann and Ajani without all the baggage Henry alone left me with among the shit, I was already carrying. So please save your pity, I have bad days where the fatigue is a bit much, but that's why we have Gus, I will recover."

"But will you heal?" Emma asked. "If you were happier away from here why, did you come back, why are you staying?" Regina sighed.

"To prolong my life. Cyann and Ajani's father died, we weren't really together anymore don't worry, but still, he was my best friend."

"Wait what happened to your girlfriend what was the name he said, Carol…Lena."

"Claire, and Vivien, and Laura mostly. They were all inside of Jack, he had multiple personality disorder. I had myself committed for a while. I needed to not worry about preparing myself meals or anything external. We met there, and we were friends first, my first friend in my entire life. They meant a lot to me because of that and they gave me Cyann and I won't forget that. Naturally, that traumatized Cyann to be so close to where they died when it happened. He knows I have heart issues, and he worried for me, so I told him magic could fix it."

"But magic won't," Emma whispered.

"No, it won't, but it will prolong it. I didn't want them growing up in the foster system like you did as Henry could have. Like Ajani almost did in a one-room orphanage. So, I finally bit the bullet and prepared for my return to a place where people hate me, will probably hate my kids just for being my kid, and where people refuse to move on."

"I've moved on, I have more respect for you now than I did when I first came here. And yes to some degree I respected you then. I resented you so much, but the truth is you had every legal right to keep me from Henry. If I wanted to be in his life, I should have respectfully approached you for visitation through the system. I knew what I was doing when the adoption closed and if I'm honest with you for the first time, there was nothing technically wrong with his life except for the curse. But he was a well-loved little boy, and now that he's with me I find myself struggling to love him through the bad times, I've even struggled with just running away as I have always done."

"Ms. Swan I really…" Regina started.

"No, not just because you came back. I mean I could do worse than leaving him with a mother who loves him, but that worse is my parents. They aren't good parents; they've never been parents. If you hadn't noticed life with Snow White is absolute hell, I often find myself wondering where Snow my roommate went. Snow is a hard pill to swallow. She never knew any discipline, so she thinks that I shouldn't say no to Henry and she makes it known. When she says he's a little prince I wanna punch her in the face and scream he's not. When you call him a little prince, I got nothing but warm feelings inside." Regina let out a long breath.

"Well, Ms. Swan I've been more than generous so fix what you let her mess up." Emma nodded.

"Where did you send them by the way?" Emma asked. "Surprised she's not blowing up my phone in anger."

"Loft, I think I even managed to fix it, so she wouldn't try to get back here, at least I hope so, you generally can't cast magic on things you don't see. So, whatever I did it's a patchwork job." Regina shrugged because she didn't care.

"As long as it stops her from trying to get back here," Emma shrugged at the same time. They shared a small smile as they hoped for the same thing for once.

"I'll take this fatigue from magic use any day if you don't run away," Regina said. Emma started to chuckle realizing what she was offering.

"Done deal," Emma replied.

"You want to leave me too?" Henry asked opening the door. He was carrying a tray piled high with eggs and toast. Cyann was right behind him with plates and forks and a butter knife.

"What no kid you misheard…" Emma started. Henry screwed up his face and threw down the tray hard. Regina startled a bit; she had expected a yell but not the crashing of dishes.

"Henry what the hell," Emma cried standing up. "You need to clean that up right now."

"No, you're lying to me you're going to leave me just like mom did!" Henry yelled. "Are you going to leave for five years and come back with new kids too you love more than me!"

"Henry I'm not going anywhere," Emma told him.

"Liar!"

"Henry you dropped mommy's breekfest," Cyann told him upset.

"Shut up!" Henry turned and shoved Cyann hard. The plates fell around him and broke on the floor as Henry ran to where he left his backpack in Cyann's room and then out of the house.

"Henry!" Emma yelled chasing him. He climbed over the sandbags knocking one down and letting water in.

"Henry no!" Regina yelled from the door. She had a hand on a crying Cyann as she leaned against the door. Henry was swept off by the current. It was only then that his mistake seemed to register on his face.

"Mom!" Henry yelled. "Mommy, help me!" He disappeared around a corner.

"Fuck Regina I can't swim!" Emma yelled. Regina's eyes went wider. Her baby boy was going to drown and the so-called savior couldn't do shit. She magicked the vile from upstairs and it cost her little bit this whole thing was going to cost her she realized if she wanted to save Henry. She drank the entire bottle and a boat appeared. She couldn't manage a large one, but it would fit her, the kids, and Emma. Gemma started crying because she was outside cold and now wet like the rest of them and Ajani wasn't happy. Regina flicked her wrist and ropes connected them to Emma.

"HENRY!" They yelled out. Cyann was upset, but he called as well.

"HEMRY!" Cyann yelled.

"HENRY!" Emma and Regina yelled at the same time. He was clinging to David's overturned truck. Well, a wheel and his hands were slipping as he shivered in the cold waters of the flood. Regina took a calming breath before she carefully got out of the boat and into the waters.

"Regina!" Emma cried.

"Emma just keep the boat here!" Regina yelled at her. She kicked and fought to get to her son. His fingers slipped off.

"Mommy!" Henry cried just missing grabbing for her. Regina felt her temporary strength leaving but she pushed on. He went under and didn't come back up. She dove under to get him. Emma screamed both of their names for five minutes it seemed, and Cyann was just as frantic when they didn't see Regina anymore. Ajani and Gemma were screaming when finally, Regina popped up pulling a passed-out Henry with her.

"Regina!" Emma cried out in relief. She maneuvered the boat to stay in place as Regina pulled their son to the boat. When she made it Emma pulled Henry up? Regina was shivering violently by now as she tried to pull herself up as well. She nearly tipped the boat and sent the smaller children into the water, so she stayed hanging onto the side.

"Regina get your ass in this boat," Emma told her once she was sure that Henry was breathing.

"Can't, not enough room, and I will tip the boat," Regina told her.

"Regina this isn't the fucking door from titanic you can fit I promise you." Regina shook her head.

"Just get us to safety Emma," Regina told her. "I'll hang on here."

"Mommy," Cyann cried. "Get in."

"I can't honey, but I'm okay, mommy will stay right here until we are home, all right," Regina told him as she held onto the side of the boat. Emma tried her best to keep clear of any stray tree branches, although Regina still got thumped by a few or cars as she navigated back home. A current forced them into a side neighborhood and they would have to come around and approach the house from the other end of the neighborhood.

"Do you hear that?" Regina asked as the wind picked up. Emma listened.

"It's a cry," Emma said. They didn't have to look far to see a house whose barricade had failed. The tarp had ripped off the roof of the house and there was a giant piece of wall that had failed.

"Mommy, Daddy!" A child cried. Emma grimaced as she navigated them closer, they could see the two bloated bodies of the parents. The child was on a floating piece of furniture.

"Cyann, Ajani, close your eyes," Regina ordered immediately. They did as they were told. Emma made them lay down next to Henry to be sure as she covered Gemma's eyes herself. Regina released the boat when they were in the yard. She hoped the child's parents had been facing down the entire time. She couldn't imagine being around five or six it looked like and staring at the face of your drowned parents.

"Come here darling," Regina said reaching out for her.

"Mommy and Daddy," She said her voice, so small as she shivered on the furniture.

"They're in a safe place now sweetheart, I know that's hard to believe, but they spoke to me through my magic and told me where to find you."

"How?" She asked.

"I heard you crying," Regina told her. "Come on darling they would want me to take you from here, you can't stay here anymore." The little girl sobbed as well.

"My brother, he stopped crying last night," She said. She pointed to another room. Regina nodded.

"I'll go get him." She took her back to the boat and lifted her up out of the water to Emma.

"Where are you going?" Emma asked.

"She said her brother is in another room." Emma looked alarmed and Regina swam back in pushing items out of the way. She found a plastic box floating in the middle. She shook as she approached the box. She took a deep breath and looked in. The poor baby was swaddled and staring up at her through water that just covered his nose and mouth. He never had a chance. "Oh, sweet boy, you didn't deserve this at all." She fished him out not wanting him to stay underwater. She retrieved the parents and returned the boy to his mother's arms before she secured their bodies against being swept away in any current. Emma looked at her when she came back, and she just shook her head.

"My brother dead too?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm sorry sweetie, come on let's get you to safety." Regina hung the boat again. They continued home, most of the rest of Storybrooke they passed seemed to be intact. They made it home, and Regina climbed over the barrier first. Her legs threatened to sag under her. Gus barked at the door happy to see them and worried for sure. She pulled the boat closer but then kept it from coming over as Emma deposited the older children onto the ground. Henry was the hardest as They transferred him between them Regina couldn't hold him long as she put him down then got a hold of the boat again as Emma moved it back.

"Here anchor it to something," Emma said. Regina frowned and looked around there was nothing.

"We'll have to pull it over." Emma just got out of the boat. Once they made the children go back towards the house dragging Gemma. And Emma had moved Henry to the porch they both pulled it over the barrier. It knocked down a bit, so they piled on the sandbags against the rush of water. When they were done the water was just over their ankles in the yard. They headed inside with Emma carrying Henry.

"Come on out of these wet clothes," Regina told them. She stripped them down and got them upstairs carrying them over the broken plates and cold eggs and toast. Well, now that the family was safe Gus wasted no time in taking care of the eggs on her room floor. She got them dried off and in their pajamas in her kids' case and Gemma, but for the little girl they had found she pulled a large shirt, she lounged in sometimes out of her drawer. She tucked them all into her bed.

"Stay here." She got changed and made her way downstairs where she had several hot water bottles just in case, she had guests that she would never have. She filled them and tucked them into the bed with the children, and then tucked them into bed with Henry as he shivered in bed.

"Are the others all right?" Emma asked as she sat by his bedside in wet clothes.

"For now, you should get changed, I'm the only sick adult around here remember," Regina tried to joke.

"Will you be all right?" Emma asked.

"My strength will leave again as the magic wears off, best to let it then keep going with another potion. I will be bed bound for probably a few days; all magic comes with a price Ms. Swan." Regina left out as she managed to make soup for everyone as well as tea. They needed something to warm them. By the time Emma was out of her shower where she had spent the majority of the time under the hot water staring at the wall wondering what the hell was happening to her life, and changed into something warm, Regina had cleaned up the hallway and left a tray outside of Emma's door. She took the tray and ate quickly. Regina had Gemma and if anyone was not her responsibility it was her. She took the tray back downstairs and saw that Regina had already loaded the dishwasher with five bowls.

"Henry," Emma whispered. She hurried back upstairs and to Henry's room. He was all tucked in securely with a water bottle held close and half a cup of tea still on his bedside. She gave a sigh of relief, so she went to Regina's room and knocked lightly, but got no answer.

"Regina?" Emma called. "Regina I can take Gemma back from you." She opened the door and Gus pushed past her and went downstairs. Emma watched him go before she turned back and looked in the room. Regina was curled up on the bed asleep Gemma was on her chest with her head resting in the crook of her neck, Ajani draped herself across her stomach, while Cyann and the child they had saved were tucked as far into her sides as was humanly possible. Emma couldn't help but smile as she fished out her phone, she was grateful it had been in her room and not ruined. She snapped a photo before quietly closing the door. She did one last check on Henry before she went to her own bed to get some rest without her screaming identical versions of her sister. They really ought to figure out this magic soon, because after today she was over the floods.

"How are you feeling?" Emma asked Regina as she came downstairs three days later. Regina had slept for most of that time. Emma bore it all though, taking care of meals as best she could, and looking after the children who all refused, Gemma included, to sleep anywhere than tucked up against her. And when Henry was up and about after a day or two, he had draped himself across the edge of the bed. So, Emma had set up a pallet on the floor to look after Ajani and Gemma. And the kid they had saved refused to utter a single word to her or take comfort from her. Henry also ignored her except to take food.

"Better," Regina answered wrapping her sweater around herself.

"Yeah, I know it's cold, I was just getting the heat turned back up in the rest of the house no one would leave your room."

"I noticed," Regina replied. "Are the floods gone?"

"Uh almost the water's going down to walking level by this afternoon, I think, and I'll start driving around seeing about the damage."

"When the water recedes how long before you sprain your ankle, do you already know what houses you will go too? Maybe the girl's parents will be alive again." Emma frowned as she followed Regina first into the front living room where she lit one fire and then into the den where she lit a second.

"I well... actually come to think of it, there have never been any deaths after the flood, but I've never gone out in the flood before, so maybe they've always died?"

"As Rumple once told me, dead is dead. What else happens after the floods?"

"Baby, Snow has her baby, they never age, and then she's pregnant again suddenly and It starts all over I think."

"The clock tower, it was covered when I arrived is it actually working?" Regina asked.

"I don't know to be honest. Mom had it covered when it was broken, just a hole so I don't know if I ever saw the clock tower stop." Regina nodded. She looked at her phone.

"What does the date on your phone say?" Regina asked.

"Monday, November two thousand and sixteen…wait Regina is that the right date?" Emma asked.

"Time is moving again, but why?" Regina asked.

"Maybe because you're back, when I decided to stay time started moving, but you started making changes. I forgot that Snow and David always end up here in a flood with the nanny. But the Nanny never came, and she never attracts the giant that put the hole in your roof. Instead she went home and was with her family for the first time in months, and yes, she was trying to kill my mother before you ask. The same with Henry getting upset he never got upset before and ran out into the flood. Sorry to say it but you helped cause that, and we met the kid, I've never seen her before. I didn't find foster home for her after the flood." Regina looked thoughtful as she wrapped herself in the couch blanket.

"Anyone new in town you don't know?" Regina asked. Emma shook her head.

"If they're here, I don't remember seeing them," Emma replied. "They've stayed off my radar, but then again I honestly don't sleep much between Henry, demons, the giant, and the floods, and then twisting my ankle and staying with Snow and David with the babies during that time. I'm just failing." Regina remained silent. "What no snappy comeback?"

"No, not this time Ms. Swan, I'm sarcastic, but I'm not here to kick you when you're really down. Since I got here you've been looking at me like someone kicked your puppy and stole it and then I brought it back, and I may have even been responsible for all three things, but you're just so happy I had a change of heart. Besides, I of all people know what it's like to be treated like shit when you're depressed."

"Hey, I'm not depre…." Emma started. Regina shut her up with a raised eyebrow. "Okay so maybe I've been lying to myself a little."

"A lot and that's fine, it's the way of things, what's important is that you are aware of it. Seriously when the floods are gone, go see Archie before you start working on the town. I'll even distract Henry. It seems he won't be letting me out of his sights, and honestly, after the other day, I'm scared to let any of the children out of my sight. Although I'm honestly surprised your mother isn't blowing up your phone about Gemma."

"Snow doesn't take care of her children, of course, she's not blowing up my phone. The only thing she believes one hundred percent is that you're just being contrary and that you will eventually take care of all her children." Regina rolled her eyes.

"I'm not even caring for Gemma," Regina reminded. Emma nodded.

"Well only the people in this house know it," Emma told her. "Oh, I have an idea, why don't you, Henry, and I go to therapy. You said family therapy did you good right."

"No, I thought it did, Henry just lied to me," Regina reminded her as she stared into the fire trying not to dwell on that heartache, she'd had enough of that in her dreams.

"I don't think he did, I don't think he knows much about what he wants or what's best for him. I just think particularly after the curse broke that my parents dictated a lot of what was best for him when it wasn't. Things I didn't know were said to him, I always told him it was okay to still love you, to want me to protect you from the mobs. He isn't their kid, and they think of your raising of him was just simply as you holding him prisoner. They told him he wasn't supposed to love you it was trick, but somewhere in Atlanta you proved to him anyway that shuts their voices out that you did love him."

"And yet he still left and told me that he hated me," Regina muttered. Emma frowned.

"That part always confused me," Emma replied.

"What do you mean?" Regina asked. "It was standard Henry behavior."

"When I took him from Atlanta, I was furious at you for just taking him for tearing us apart, but I understood why you did it. Because hadn't I ended up doing the same thing in Storybrooke just closer?" Regina didn't answer as she watched Emma. "Anyway, I took him mainly just to force your hand, allow me back into his life. To be honest I never thought Henry was staying, didn't intend for it. I was so sick of my parents and I didn't want him anywhere near them I knew that in the back of my mind. Hell, I was prepared to move to Atlanta just as you were prepared to work out visitation with me. I mean could you imagine how much happier we'd all be right now?"

"I could, but I won't regret that I got Cyann and Ajani out of all this heartbreak or the healing I did manage to do in all this time." Emma nodded. "But I still don't see your need for confusion, Ms. Swan."

"Emma, we've been through a lot, you can call me by my first name." Regina remained silent. Emma sighed, one day she thought. "As I said I was confused when Henry called me, he wasn't frantic or desperate to get away from you. He just wanted me, and maybe he's not all wrong when he says it's my fault. I took him to Storybrooke intending to force your hand. He didn't necessarily ask me to do that. The kid wanted for absolutely nothing, and he really didn't have a bad word to say about your time in Atlanta except he missed me. Maybe even missed Storybrooke. He thought you would stay."

"So why the I hate yous then?" Regina asked fiddling with the edge of a blanket. Emma shrugged.

"I don't know we were maybe back a couple of hours before you, he was normal, and then he was angry and upset. He wouldn't talk to me about me. Then when you came I was honestly as shocked as you at the exchange, but I thought everyone needs to cool down, that I would talk to you first thing in the morning about Henry and that I was willing to move to Atlanta if you would just let me visit, and we could put Storybrooke behind us for the most part."

"But I wasn't here," Regina said knowing she had left immediately.

"No, you weren't, and Henry withdrew, even more, I thought you would be back later, that you were hiding, that you just needed a minute. I told him as much. Except a minute turned to months. A search through the whole town revealed you weren't here. So, Henry dragged me back to Atlanta demanded it even, and when you weren't even there well, he withdrew further. His behavior started to change towards me, he spent more time with my parents, they decided that I knew nothing, well they had already been doing that, but it seemed to get worse to me then. Maybe because by that time, things were starting to repeat themselves and that time was an intense two weeks for me. I looked as much as I could for you, but it was like you never existed. My parents were convinced you went back to the Enchanted Forest." Regina rolled her eyes.

"What and give up modern hygiene practices or my Gucci and Chanel they must be out of their minds. This world is for me." Regina looked away from Emma.

"I agree, same for me too, I'm sure there will be talk of forcing you to take us back now that time is moving." Regina shrugged. "Look I know it's hard, and your heart is broken, but Henry is a kid, and maybe just maybe we can heal your heart, and I will leave Storybrooke with you, Cyann, Ajani, and Henry. Maybe you don't have to ever have to have custody with him again, but I really do think you're both hurting over this. I won't say you abandoned him I will never say that, in this case, I always thought it was Henry who abandoned you. But he's ten and you're the only true mother he's ever known, he won't say but I know when it finally became clear that you had left it devastated him." Regina frowned as she fought her own tears and spotted a few photos that Henry had put back into their spots, covering up Cyann. She hadn't seen those photos in years, hadn't wanted to see those photos, see her sweet boy. The little boy that brought so much life and light into her heart again, into her life. She reached into her chest though not being able to take the pain.

"Stop Ms. Swan stop trying to give me hope," Regina told her. "This is what hope that he'll be my son again does to me it kills me. That hope is nothing more than a malignant black tumor in the break-in my heart." Regina showed Emma her heart. It had changed over the years. The darkness was a little less and places shown bright red from the love of Cyann and Ajani, she knew that. But then in the break, there was a black mass in the crack that instead of binding the wound back together was pushing it apart." Emma was honestly horrified. "He did that to me, Ms. Swan!"

"Oh Regina," Emma sobbed.

"I did that?" Henry asked his voice was broken as he looked at the heart pulsating in Regina's hands. He let Gemma slide down his body and sit on the floor as he was fixated on the heart. She quickly retreated it back to her chest, he wasn't supposed to know about this at all. She looked away from him.

"You were bad Hemry, you broked Mommy's heart," Cyann said from behind him.

"Cyann sweetie don't," Regina told him as he hurried over along with Ajani. The girl they had saved tentatively joined in on the hug needing the comfort from the person she trusted most in the house.

"What do you say we get some breakfast together?" Emma asked needing a distraction.

"No!" Henry yelled grabbing his head. "You never tell me anything, what did I do to mom's heart!?" Emma was about to try and soothe him, but he clutched his own chest and fell to his knees.

"Henry!" They shouted.

"I knew it you managed to give him a heart attack at ten from those burgers!" Regina cried as he lay on the floor crying and holding his heart.

"Mom take it out, it's not right, it stopped being right," Henry cried.

"What, what does he mean by that?" Emma asked confused. Regina frowned as she reached into his chest. She pulled gently, but he was in so much pain it hardly mattered at all.

"Whoa!" Cyann gasped. The girl gasped as well and hid under a side table.

"It's broken," Regina said with a frown as she looked at the small heart in her hands and the mass that was identical to her own pushing apart at the rip. She pulled out her own heart again and looking at the identical tares and masses. Henry sat up now his emotions dulled as well as the pain.

"You left me," Henry cried. "You said you would never leave me."

"You left me, Henry, I just couldn't stay and watch you grow up without me," Regina told him.

"You left each other," Emma told them. "You two need to make up now, what kind of life have you ensured you both will live, trapped here in Storybrooke because if you leave again those breaks will eventually kill one of you."

"It's not that simple Emma, how can I trust that he won't hate me again."

"I don't hate you, mom I swear it, I just didn't know that everything isn't so black and white until we left. I don't know I don't like Storybrooke anymore, grandma and grandpa always said you tricked me, that you confused me, you did magic, and I didn't know what to believe anymore. I thought I had to hate you, to make you stay long enough to talk with Emma. I didn't wanna stay here anymore. Emma just said you needed to cool down." Regina was inclined to not believe him, but when he said he loved her his heart pulsed in her hands a bright red. Her heart couldn't help but pulse back it always did, because she would always love her son. She let out a long breath shaking her head trying to gauge if she should listen to her heart or her head about Henry.

"Regina look, that pulse it turned the mass to gold here at the edges." Emma pointed to the tiny gold threads.

"You really want to be with me and not just because you don't like Emma as your authority figure or she's poor?"

"Not by choice!" Emma cried. Henry nodded his head vigorously and a little more gold appeared on their hearts.

"Then prove it to me, it isn't enough to say it anymore, your actions count for more," Regina told him. "I tried to do better for you, so you have to do better for me. You will go back to therapy, you were suffering from depression long before the curse was a thing, and you will actually follow through with Archie's instructions so that you can be better. Too many things changed while you were fighting his treatment of your depression."

"Yes ma'am."

"And we'll go as a family as well!" Emma quickly interjected. Henry nodded.

"I'd like that mom; it was better in Atlanta just focusing on us." Regina nodded as she just stared at the gold strands in her heart now. She never thought that this would ever be a possibility. For the first time in five years where Henry was concerned, there was hope, good hope.

"And I want you to apologize for pushing Cyann, you could have really hurt him the other day," Regina told him. Henry nodded.

"I'm really sorry, sometimes I get so angry I can't control it anymore, no matter what I want," Henry told her.

"I get it, but you aren't me, we'll find you another outlet for your anger," Regina told him as she pressed her own heart back into her chest, she would need to dwell on that more later. She motioned for Henry to come closer again, and she gently returned his heart to his chest. He immediately grabbed her in the hug he hadn't felt welcome to give before now. She hugged him back just as tightly as she sniffled. She wasn't surprised when Cyann cheered and hugged them both too.

"Ajani, hug time, we gots a broder now," Cyann told her. Ajani got in on the family hug too reluctantly. She didn't like to be hugged by other people. Cyann got out of the hug and ran over to the little girl and dragged her out. She was fearful, but now that the hearts were back in their chests, she allowed them to pull her into a hug.

"You don't have to be scared of us," Regina told the girl when the hug had broken up a little. "I know magic can seem a bit scary, but we won't use it for anything bad in this house okay?" She nodded. "Now that we've got some rest, maybe you can tell me what your name is?"

"Kallo," She answered.

"Kallo, I don't think I know of a girl named Kallo in any story," Emma said. "Henry?" He shrugged.

"She's not in the book."

"No, she's not; not everyone's stories are in the book, and Storybrooke is bigger than you think. Tell me Kallo, do you know how you got to Storybrooke?" She nodded.

"Dark Curse, the goblins were really mad they couldn't have me, so they came to my house, their magic sent me, my big sister Marbo, and Mama to the Enchanted Forest. Mama met my Papa and they got married, but Marbo didn't like that. She left. She took all the pretty things I got from the Goblin and sold it for money."

"Gees who steals from a six-year-old," Emma muttered. Louder she said, "Wait but still what's the fairytale."

"It's a Greek fairytale, I remember it from one of the books I read when Henry was a baby, naturally having a child introduces you to this world's fairytales, and I was curious to what else was out there," Regina said.

"All right well what was the sister's name, I'll find her in Storybrooke," Emma said.

"Marbo doesn't want me," Kallo told her. "She hates me."

"I'm sure that's not…" Emma started.

"No, it is if you read the story, the only thing they got right in my story is my hate for Snow, but not my reasoning. I don't know what Marbo's problem is, but I doubt her dislike of Kallo is wrong." Regina turned to Kallo. "Still Kallo I think it's best we get in touch with your sister, formally she'll have to refuse to look after you before we can officially do anything."

"Can't I stay with you?" Kallo asked.

"You know let's not worry about that, for now, this is where you belong all right?" Regina asked. Kallo nodded. Regina didn't want to make any premature promises before she knew if Emma's phone was showing the right date was a fluke and they'd still be stuck in two thousand eleven and Kallo would need to be home with her parents and brother. And if they were dead, and time wouldn't reverse itself, she needed to talk to Cyann and Ajani, and maybe perhaps even Henry. Kallo nodded. A loud growl from Kallo's stomach and Emma's filled the air. They all had a laugh as Emma blushed the most.

"I was serious about that breakfast though guys," Emma murmured. Chuckling they all stood up and Emma gathered up her sister and Regina picked up Ajani. They all went into the kitchen where Regina made beans on toast. They would need to go shopping today for fresh food. They all ate before Regina led the charge in cleaning up her house again. By noon, the water was low, so everyone dressed in their rainboots except Emma and Kallo who had none.

"We'll pick you up some boots," Regina told Kallo. She was dressed in Cyann's clothes which Regina had managed to resize with magic. Regina gathered up two baskets she used for shopping. They created an opening in their barrier and stepped over it. Regina kept Ajani on her hip though just as Emma carried Gemma. Henry offered Kallo a ride on his back to avoid having wet socks. She took it. They like everyone else had ventured out.

"I think this is the first time I've seen the sun in five years," Henry murmured. It was by no means a warm day, but the lack of cloud cover was well something the residents of Storybrooke hadn't seen in a long time.

"Something has changed around here, that's for sure," Emma said. "I wonder if the barrier is up, I'm sure I can get one of the dwarves to sacrifice themselves to find out."

"I don't even think you'll need to bother trying," Regina told her as she nodded her head to the dwarves frantically driving up the main intersection they had reached. Most people were out on foot not wanting to chance tearing down their entire barrier just yet.

"Oh, great my parents won't be long now," Emma grumbled. She was right as the idiot dwarves hydroplaned through the intersection eventually crashing into a pole and making Emma groan. Her parents came out of the shabbily put together loft with Leopold in their stroller. David was carrying four babies in a sling, two on his front, and two on his back. Snow was no longer pregnant but carrying the latest newborn in a sling as well.

"Good god, they're going to suffocate your siblings," Regina pointed out. Emma groaned as they approached them.

"You've put them in all wrong, they're suffocating," Emma got out just as her mother was obviously preparing to yell at her. David fixed the situation as much as possible. Regina sighed and the stroller expanded.

"I hate you, but they're innocent at least." Once the children were safe Regina resumed ignoring them by taking the children into Granny's for a hot chocolate and to give Henry's back a rest from carrying her.

"Hey Regina, what can I get you all before the rush starts?" Ruby asked. "Thankfully, most of the stock's been safe and locked up for the floods as usual."

"Five hot chocolates please, two with cinnamon, all in to-go cups, and coffee black, medium." Ruby nodded.

"You all sit here and wait for your hot chocolate; I'm going to pop over to the store for Kallo's rainboots." They nodded. Ajani was not feeling it though and demanded Regina take her with her by grabbing onto her tightly. "All right well Ajani and I will be back." Regina left the diner with a nod to Ruby. The shop with rainboots wasn't far off and thankfully the shop owner was there to check on the business. She got the right-sized boots and a new pair for Henry, his had been getting tight the last time they were together. And she saw they had not been replaced since she sent him all his stuff. She also got Kallo a proper raincoat. They, unfortunately, didn't have much in the way of clothes though. She headed back to the diner where the dwarves were being tended too by Granny for minor injuries, people were cueing up for food and demanding to know what the Charmings were doing about the water damage.

"People, people, it will all be fine as soon as the waters are gone, there's never been any water damage before," Snow told them. "Your worries are misplaced." Regina rolled her eyes, only Emma and her children even noticed her entrance. She quietly gave Kallo her new boots and a rain jacket. Henry also took his new boots. They would donate the old ones to a child in need.

"Are you kidding, did you see my house the children and I have been stuck on the second story all crammed in," said an old woman. She was surrounded by at least twenty children. There were lots of yells of the Charmings being ineffective. The grocer brought news of a food shortage as it was, that there was no fresh food left after the flood.

"Old woman in a shoe?" Emma asked in a whisper to Henry. He nodded solemnly.

"People the farmers will bring in fresh food, look the barrier is still up and time is a standstill we won't perish."

"This is stupid!" Ruby yelled over the den that came in response to Snow. "REGINA what do you think!" When Ruby called out her name the entire diner became uncharacteristically quiet and for the first time Regina was noticed again and there was a noticeable shift in the room. The people were tired of Snow and David.

"I think the people have spoken your majesty," Emma whispered as she nudged her a little. Regina took a deep breath and readjusted Ajani on her hip.

"Fine all right if you must hear from me, you will have all noticed that things are starting to change. While yes, the barrier is apparently still up, I plan on breaking it as I'd like to come and go as I please. Time however is no longer standing still which you will figure out by date now displayed on your phones, and the apparently now uncharacteristic clear day we are experiencing." The people did check their phones if they still had one.

"What about food?" They asked.

"About half of all Storybrooke food used to come from our local farmers, the floods will have likely destroyed the fields for now or killed off a lot of livestock." A couple of farmers nodded that this was true. "Right well that means we shouldn't starve; we should get delivery from out of town. The magic of the curse usually explains how it gets here."

"Yes, well David and I ensured the town became completely self-sufficient after the evil queen was cast out," Snow told them as she yanked the nanny out of the crowd and motioned for her to take the children away. The girl glared at Snow but moved them away to a back corner, she wasn't missing any of this.

"What do you mean by that?" Regina asked.

"We stopped paying for those deliveries to save money and paid the farmers instead."

"Not much more," Someone grunted from the crowd.

"Its true canned goods are almost all out of stock," the grocer said. "We'd just got the last shipment before there weren't anymore." Regina sighed.

"So, time is moving again, and the non-perishable food is in short supply awesome," Regina muttered. There was a panic of course when that all set in and Granny blocked her freezers with a crossbow while everyone else went to destroy the grocery store.

"So now what?" Emma asked. "Do we rob every citizen of Storybrooke until we have collected all canned goods and then redistribute them?" Regina shook her head.

"No, whatever they have they'll hide it immediately and I don't want to use magic to find it," Regina replied.

"Emma don't listen to her, it's exactly what we'll have to do, I can't starve because they're being selfish, another baby will arrive soon," Snow told her.

"You need to focus on kids you have which are all infants and thankfully for your poor nanny will grow," Regina said. "Not get pregnant again and be an unnecessary drain on the few resources you've left this town with."

"Shut up you're the one who brought in two extra mouths that don't belong here, just like you."

"You're the only one that doesn't belong here, torturing these poor people with your lack of intelligence and inability to rule. Even your selfish and monster of a father did a better job than you."

"My father was not a monster; he was a beloved King!" Snow yelled.

"He will only be beloved now because his precious Snow was such a failure of a ruler but trust me when I say I was not the only one glad the King was dead," Regina told her. "Did you know they held parties, and only because my father was compassionate, he went out and he begged the people not to at least set off fireworks for your benefit."

"Mommy," Cyann said pulling on her hand. "You have to play nice, you said you'd be better here." Regina frowned as she looked at Cyann before she nodded.

"Mommy's sorry you're right, I promised this was behind me."

"You're a liar," Snow told her.

"No, I was many things to you, but not a liar," Regina told her now with less anger in her voice. Emma was amazed at the change. Regina had been serious about trying to not fight with Snow even though the woman was just quite frankly infuriating these days and not for anything that happened in the past, but the present. Regina walked away from her just like that.

"Emma give Good Emma to the nanny, I don't want her around that woman, and you will return to the loft immediately with Henry."

"Her name is Gemma, and no I won't return to the loft and honestly, you can try to take Gemma with you, but she won't go she hates it at your house."

"My daughter doesn't hate being with me," Snow snapped. Emma scoffed.

"You're right because she's never with you, but the nanny cannot give her the attention she needs with five newborns in the house," Emma told her.

"Then I will hire a new nanny?" She told her.

"With what money!" The nanny yelled. "The money you owe me?"

"Ugh, Emma give her something from the pay packets."

"I don't have anything to give her, and what's the point, no one is going to accept currency now, only food, now that food is in the hands of a few individuals." Emma's phone rang.

"Yes, I'll be right there." She hung up. "Great someone has just robbed a poor old lady of all the food she had left." Emma handed Gemma over to Regina in full view of her parents before she left the diner.

"Give me Emma," David said reaching out for her, but Gemma turned away from him and clung to Regina. He took her anyway and handed her to the upset nanny. Gemma threw a tantrum and transported herself back across the room to Regina's arms. Regina couldn't help but smirk a bit.

"You're taking my Emma again!" Snow yelled.

"First of all, you made the choice to put your actual Emma in the wardrobe not me, and secondly, I'm not taking her, she's choosing to sit by me, until further notice this is the gathering spot since the town hall is wrecked I presume as our most of the government buildings.

"I think maybe most of the waters have receded from there by now," Ruby said.

"Then could you check that for me, if it's inhabitable, we'll call a town meeting there, we have a crisis after all," Regina told her.

"I'll, unfortunately, be here, guarding the diner."

"Oh, don't worry Granny no one is getting out of this meeting," Regina told her. "Especially not thieves looking for an opportunity." Granny nodded. Ruby left out.

"Mom, are we going to starve?" Henry asked.

"No, I have some fast-growing plants, that should be fine for when our canned goods are fully run out," Regina told him. He nodded. She readjusted Gemma while Snow and David glared at her. It was an hour before Emma came back to the staring match or rather her parents were trying to start one, but Regina's attention was on all the children and keeping them calm.

"I passed Ruby, she told me to tell you the hall is passable for a meeting. It's not great, but it will fit everyone and allow you to address everyone as needed," Emma told her. "I also spoke to the coroner. Kallo's parents and brother were the only casualties, unfortunately." Regina frowned but nodded.

"Any sign of Marbo?" Regina asked. Emma shook her head.

"Was hoping to see about her at the meeting," Emma replied.

"You're not taking over this town," David told her. "We'll accept your help with the food crisis but that is all."

"Oh, thank you, you're so generous," Regina told them rolling her eyes as she got the jackets and hats back onto her children. "Leroy if you would announce the meeting it is what you're good at isn't it?" Leroy glared, but he did go around announcing the mandatory meeting. By the time Regina was at the meeting hall, she could see how abandoned the town hall had been to begin with, and the actual hall was passable, but she suspected they would be combatting mold in the future, maybe through the entire building.

"Henry keep the children with you please." She sat them down in chairs just off to the side where they could make a quick exit, and she had a good view of them. Regina worked her magic ensuring that every citizen in town was dragged into the hall whether they wanted to be there or not. Which meant it was the possible thieves that arrived last. Emma committed their faces to memory.

"As most of you are aware of now, there is a food shortage," Regina announced.

"That's because the town is one hundred percent self-efficient and there will soon be food as soon as the farmers get back to work."

"The winter harvests will have been ruined ages ago; time has started to move again which means the restart the Charmings are talking about will not be happening. You've been re-experiencing at least a period of two weeks from two thousand and eleven, it is now two thousand and sixteen, in November. There are a number of fast-growing vegetables we could try to plant to have by December but this will all have to be done indoors. The ground is too wet from the floods and constant rain from the last five years. You can't plant in that so late in the season."

"So, we're at the mercy of those who have stolen all the canned goods?" The grocer asked.

"No, it's come to my attention that I can't, not return to the position of mayor in this town if we are all to survive the Charmings," Regina said.

"How do we know you didn't have anything to do with us not again anyway?" David snapped.

"I didn't I left of my own free will and lived my best life, I came back for my own personal reasons, but it wasn't to be mayor again, I assure you that by taking on being mayor here, I am stretching myself thin as I do have a thriving business outside of Storybrooke. I don't need to be mayor, but I did create this town, and to see it in such disrepair is hard. When have I ever done anything less than perfect?" The crowd nodded.

"Mayor Mills has a point, even under the curse when did we ever starve like this, struggle like this in our daily existence in this world," the nanny shouted. "I'll tell you when, back in the Enchanted Forest under their rule, I was happy when the Evil Queen ruled us, I was fed, and I was clean. Not to mention paid for my services as a nanny and given proper time off to be with my family, and my children allowed to play with the children I was watching. Now they wait at home for me, hoping I bring food."

"We will pay you as soon as we fix the food situation," David told her.

"You won't, you owe me so much there's no way you'd ever amass that much money now that you are no longer mayor."

"We are your sovereign King and Queen," Snow told them.

"Not here you aren't, here we vote on who's the mayor," Granny told them. "All in favor of reinstating mayor Mills raise your hands." The entire room raised their hands, including the guilty-looking thieves in their cuffs. Everyone except the dwarves. Well two whose memory was still gone voted for her, they didn't know her as anything but a mayor who ran the town well if not a bitch.

"Good, now that, that is settled, you two may exit the stage, and no one in this town will be forced into the employment of another if they cannot pay them." The nanny looked relieved as she left them their children. She went to her own, who was with her mother.

"Now the plan for helping us survive while I figure out what went on with the town budget and getting deliveries back from the outside to get us to the next planting season, and start to account again for fifty percent of our food supply, is Marco will provide wood, and here in the town hall, we'll set up a temporary greenhouse. I have seeds from my gardening days leftover of spinach and turnips, if any farmers have some fast-growing plants, I ask that you donate it to the community greenhouse or any heating lamps. During this time, no animals will be killed, we need to focus on raising our stock. Except for tonight if each farmer donates a sheep, we should be able to feed the town for dinner at least." It was agreed upon the hall was thoroughly cleaned, lamps were set up for the heat, sandbags were set up to protect the building from any more floods until they were sure they were in the clear on that. Soon they had boxes of soil that were loosely compacted and draining well into buckets. They went back home for the moment while farmers prepared their sheep for the evening meal.

"Emma, have you actually tried to leave Storybrooke?" Regina asked her as they walked back home.

"No, Leroy said they got thrown back, I wasn't about to risk the bug," Emma told her.

"I'm not so sure that you, I, Cyann, Henry or Ajani are trapped. Maybe even Gemma." Emma looked surprised. "I mean it was hard to get through, but we got through none the less."

"Does that mean you want to just leave, because I am okay with that, I'll even raise Gemma, she deserves better than to be known as good Emma."

"That's true, but no you know I can't leave yet at least for good and neither can Henry," Regina said.

"Will I die if I cross the line?" Henry asked.

"No, but time will take hold of your heart," Regina told him. "Eventually our lives will be shortened, we need the magic of love to physically heal." He nodded.

"So, what do you suggest?" Emma asked.

"There are too many people without food at all except what they will get tonight, we leave town buy a truck and go to Costco in the nearest town.

"And the money?" Emma asked.

"We'll see about that now." She pointed to her own secretary with a wagon full of files waiting at her door. Soon they were all inside, the secretary explaining how most of the money had ended up in the Charmings personal account.

"Since everyone stopped paying taxes, long before the repeat, we've got maybe one hundred thousand dollars in the town budget left," She told Regina.

"Wow, all right, so that stays there then, um…let me check my Storybrooke bank, some people still pay me, rent." Regina had a decent stash, but rent hadn't been paid in months, and what was there would have to go towards house repair.

"Well fuck we're screwed," Emma muttered.

"No, I'll pay for it, nothing else will improve if there is no food," Regina told her. "Where's that nanny the Charmings had, I can pay her, tell her she can bring her children and mother in here if she watches Kallo and Gemma. I don't want to risk leaving Kallo and Gemma on the road." Emma nodded. She found the nanny who agreed to help if it meant food in the town.

"I'll stay here as well if you don't mind, I want to try to help you get this town back on track." Regina nodded to her old secretary and told her to move it all into the study.

"Did you find Marbo?" Kallo asked.

"Not yet, she didn't make herself known at the meeting, but let us handle the food crisis first, and then we'll handle Marbo, like I said this is your home right now, worry about nothing else." Kallo nodded. She played with Gemma who wasn't happy to be left with the nanny until she said she wasn't there to take her to the Charmings. They took Regina's car because it held more room and Gus could easily sit in the back. They stopped by Ruby and Granny who immediately agreed to look over things, Granny in Regina's place, and Ruby manning the Sheriff's station.

"All right here goes nothing," Regina said. She drove over the town line slowly and they pushed through the barrier, it was suffocating really, especially as her magic left her again, but she was right, they were on the other side, it couldn't keep them in.

"Gees that was suffocating," Emma said.

"I didn't feel anything," Henry said. Like Ajani, he passed through unnoticed, but Regina, Cyann, and Emma looked as if they had been deprived of air.

"Emma, I think you have magic," Regina said. Emma looked confused.

"What no, Good Emma does, not surprising she is the good one," Emma said.

"Well so do you," Regina said. "Ajani and Henry aren't bothered because they don't have magic. Cyann has magic." Emma looked shocked.

"I can't handle that right now," Emma said. Regina nodded. Regina put Costco into the GPS and they found themselves going nearly out of Maine. They stayed in a hotel for the night while Regina found a place where she could buy a large truck. Emma checked in with Granny and Ruby, the feast had gone well with not even the Charmings making trouble thankfully. Although they had noted their absence so ideally, they should get back as soon as possible. Particularly for Gemma's sake.

"We should get two trucks. We can put the Mercedes in one fill it to the brim for space it will take up, and then the rest of the truck." Regina nodded. The next day she simply overpaid for the pain to give up two large trucks and the trailer attached. He showed them how it all worked before Henry and Cyann drove with Emma. Regina secured the children's booster seats in the cab of the trucks. The man even helped them load the Mercedes. Costco was a little trickier, but Regina showed the manager she had the cash, they were more than happy to have workers load their trucks full of canned goods from the stock so that the floor store stayed fully stocked. Once the trucks were full Regina paid in cash in full at the register. Driving back to Storybrooke was a long way and Cyann didn't like sitting with Emma and Henry, and so stayed on the phone the entire time with her. Ajani wasn't pleased with that as his talking was interrupting her favorite songs on repeat

"Mommy I miss you," Cyann said on the phone. Clearly pouting.

"I'm right behind you my little prince, you don't have to miss me," Regina reassured him.

"Still," He huffed.

"Just another hour and we'll be back home, and I can give you all the hugs and kisses you want all right?"

"Mommy, Ms. Emma I gotta pee-pee," He told them. Emma began to signal that she was pulling over and Regina followed. Regina hung up and got Ajani and Gus out of the cab. Cyann hopped out and ran to her. He hugged her tightly.

"I thought you had to pee," Regina told him. He shook his head.

"I just wanted you, mommy," Cyann told him. Regina sighed.

"Cyann Theodore Henry Mills, what do I tell you about lying?" Regina asked.

"That it's bad and unbecoming of a prince," Cyann pouted.

"That's right and it breaks the trust of the people we love the most," Regina told him. "Now you go try to pee none the less, and get back into the car, as punishment no more staying on the phone the entire time." He pouted. "I will call you in an hour for twenty minutes and then off again, that's your punishment. I know you want me, but I told you we really need to get this food back to the people of Storybrooke, and if you do anything else to deliberately prevent us from getting them the food, I will ground you understand?" Cyann nodded. "You have to be patient, mommy is sorry there isn't enough room for both you and Gus, but Gus has to stay by Ajani's side especially when mommy needs to concentrate more on the road in such a big car." Cyann now looked properly ashamed. Gus barked and whined as he indicated Ajani. Regina went to her bag and gave her some medication which she fought against.

"Ajani Teresa Isabella, stop right now, you need to take your medication," Regina told her firmly. Ajani cried but took it.

"Is she going to be okay?" Emma asked.

"She's going to have a seizure; you all take a break while I watch if it's the next few minutes or maybe it's in a few hours." Henry and Cyann were frowning at her. She'd hardly given Henry any attention at all, Regina was still wary of him. And Cyann wanted her attention period. "Cyann go pee behind the tree there." Cyann did as he was told, he did manage to go as well as Henry.

"God, sometimes I just wanna be a guy," Emma sighed. She had to pee, but she didn't fancy squatting in the grass and accidentally pissing her pants so she was going to hold it to Storybrooke for as long as she could manage.

"That's what you'd do if you were a guy pee on a tree?" Regina asked.

"Yep and a wall or just wherever," Emma told her. "Why what would you do?"

"What else is there to do with a penis, Ms. Swan, and here we go." Ajani started to convulse in her arms, but thanks to the medication they were only for two minutes as she lay her on the seat of the truck and kept her from hurting herself or swallowing her tongue. Emma was behind her concerned until Regina assured her, she was just sleeping. They got the boys back in the truck after Regina did give Cyann lots of hugs and kisses to tie him over the last few hours of the drive. Henry snuck in on the hug as well, but they both felt the awkwardness and the distance.

True to her word Regina called Cyann after an hour, gave him twenty minutes of her time before he had to hang up again to his displeasure. The last bit of the drive was uneventful to their relief and crossing the town line was horrifying really, with Cyann needing a few minutes to adjust in Regina's arms. Soon they pulled up at the grocery store where they unloaded the food. Ruby had already chosen guards, and they were able to distribute food accordingly for no money until such times as steady work was resumed for most of the population. The Charmings were furious as they had been shouting all day that Regina had simply lured them into a false sense of security and abandoned them. Now they were screaming she stole from the town until Emma let them know that there was no money to take from the town as her parents had most of what was left. They were chased back to their loft which was falling apart.

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