Cora is Company

-I do not own Once Upon A Time or any of the characters found therein. If I did, we would have seen a lot of more of Cora with her heart. She would be a pretty cool grandmother to Henry.

Characters:

Regina Mills

Cora Mills

Killian Jones

Regina Mills stepped out of her car and moved quickly into her house, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes. Storybrooke had become a dangerous place for her after Emma broke the curse, but tonight of all nights, she had cause for caution.

She unlocked her white front door and crossed the pristine threshold. And her mother followed her. Cora, still in her jeweled blue gown that she had worn in the post-curse Enchanted Forest, glided queen-like into Regina's abode.

The two women were experiencing the awkward silence that often follows a deeply emotional moment between two people. Regina had cried in Cora's arms not fifteen minutes ago, expressing her longing to be reunited with her son. Cora had not shed a single tear since one starlit night long ago, and even those were crocodile tears to ward off her spurned true love. But even without a heart, Cora felt a motherly duty to her daughter that had driven her actions ever since she held her daughter in her arms. She had to help Regina reunite with… her grandson.

This boggled Cora, as she had only planned Regina's life up to becoming Queen. She had not once thought of what kind of grandparent she would be. For the cold and calculating sorceress, it was unnerving to look towards uncharted territory, when she always knew the score, no matter whether in the Enchanted Forest, Wonderland, or Storybrooke.

Regina broke the silence: "I assume you'll be staying here, Mother?"

Cora pondered her lodging situation for a moment. It would be nice to stay in a warm home with good food and her beloved daughter, nicer than Hook's ship, rocking to and fro in the January brine.

"Yes, I will stay here," Cora smiled. "We'll be like a family again."

Regina smiled at the thought. Wanting to think of the best outcome in the situation, Regina envisioned a scenario in which her mother became a productive member of society, and someone to help build the functioning family that Henry needed.

"I'll go retrieve my luggage from Hook's ship," Cora said.

"Hook?" Regina asked with a note of surprise. "Hook is here too?"

"Yes. Hook and I travelled together. He wants revenge on Rumplestiltskin for some past misfortune."

Regina said nothing, but thought much. Hook? Hook must have been an accomplice of Cora's since before the curse if the corpse that she cried over wasn't truly a corpse. Perhaps Hook wouldn't be someone she'd consult for help in the future.

"I can drive you," offered Regina.

"No, thank you, dear," Cora asserted, with a little laugh. "I may need time to get used to your strange carriage. I'll go myself.

With that, Cora teleported to Hook's ship, leaving a contemplative Regina.

Captain Killian Jones sat polishing his titular hook. His friend (if he could call her that) Cora was out traipsing about impersonating who knows who or what. It had been a quick and painless journey to Storybrooke, but Hook was still adjusting to the culture shock of it all. Neither Neverland nor the Enchanted Forest had prepared him for this unusual land. But he did have Cora.

Hook was unsure about his feelings for the Queen of Hearts. They had an unusual relationship from the time he attempted to plunge his hook into her bosom in Wonderland. They had bickered and fought, but something kept him coming back to her. He set Aurora free with the intent of showing Cora that while she may be the magical mastermind, he was capable on his own. He loved surprising her.

Cora wasn't Milah. He didn't love her with a passionate abandon. There was an attractive quality that could be attributed to the older woman. Her sultry, flirtatious manner often encouraged his advances, but she was just as capable of swatting him away, as "his pretty face bought many things, but not her time." Hook lived for adventure, and being a companion to a woman who would as soon kill him as kiss him was very exciting.

Wondering when the beautiful megalomaniac would return became waiting impatiently, as he sat on the deck of the Jolly Roger.

In a cloud of purple smoke, Cora materialized onto the vessel.

She greeted him with the same playful tone that she knew made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up: "Hello, Hook."

"My lady," Hook responded, bowing sarcastically.

"I've made peace with Regina, Hook. We're mother and daughter again."

"I hope you didn't break her too savagely," Hook shot back in a droll voice.

"Oh, Hook," chuckled Cora. "Sometimes we have to undergo a little pain to achieve satisfaction." She walked towards the pirate as she said it, brushing his cheek with her gloved hand.

Hook felt chills run down his spine and convinced himself that the winter weather was taking its toll on him.

"It's colder than a Narnian winter, Cora. Shall we go inside?"

"Yes. But I'm not staying. I'm taking my things and going to stay with my daughter."

Hook looked sharply down at his compatriot. He was under the impression that the Jolly Roger would serve as Cora's base of operations. He followed her down the stairs into the hold of the ship.

Cora was many things, but blind wasn't one of them. Her lack of a heart didn't prevent her from seeing the emotions of others. She knew that Hook had a subtle attraction to her, which she exploited at times to bend him to her will. Even so, there was something intensely intriguing about the younger man, who didn't fear her when Rumplestiltskin himself seemed intimidated upon her arrival in Storybrooke.

But Cora wasn't planning on giving Hook a chance to argue. She quickly stepped towards her luggage and waved her hand dismissively, knowing that her vast collection of interesting objects would be waiting for her in Regina's vault.

"Goodnight, Hook. Do come visit my daughter and me."

Cora slowly advanced on the pouting pilferer and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, her red lips bringing a chill to Hook's stubbly face.

She turned around without a backwards glance and disappeared in the customary blast of smoke.

Cora showed up in her daughter's living room, rousing Regina from her thoughts.

"I invited our dear Captain to come visit sometime."

"Lovely, mother," Regina responded, thinking nothing of it.

"My things are in your vault. I'll retrieve my clothes in the morning."

Regina nodded with a tired expression. She knew that it was time to sleep.

"Mother, I'm exhausted, and you've had a long journey," the Evil Queen reasoned. "But before bed, would you care for a glass of my famous hot apple cider? It's to die for. Just ask Snow White."

Cora laughed at her daughter's joke. She had heard of the sleeping curse that Regina placed on Snow White, even in Wonderland. Regina laughed with her. It was not a heartfelt moment, but the first truly pleasant one since King Leopold had first entered the House and Stables.

"A glass of cider would be perfect, Regina," Cora replied. "You've offered me a drink like a good hostess. Maybe you did learn something useful from me during your childhood after all."

Regina smiled weakly. She wanted to appease her mother's sense of humor, but she didn't feel inclined to delve any deeper on the subject of her childhood this night.

The women enjoyed their cider together in silence, basking in the afterglow of their reunion. Then, Regina took her mother upstairs, offering her a black, flannel nightgown to sleep in, and bidding her a good night's sleep.

After closing the door, Cora released her bun, letting her dark red locks fall around her shoulders. She smiled into the mirror in her guest room and changed into the nightgown. She lay on her new bed under the down comforter that her daughter had furnished her with. With a deep breath, she turned out the light.

Somewhere in the dead of night, Regina, unable to sleep, came to her mother's room and climbed under the sheets next to her. Cora, gently roused from hearing Regina's approaching footsteps, nestled her precious daughter in her arms.

Cora Mills had come home.