AN: Happy Christmas, the clocks finally turned past midnight here! (and seasons greetings if you don't celebrate that holiday)

Miss Blanchard was in the middle of her lesson when, suddenly, she knew her name was Snow White. The children in the classroom all began talking at once, recognising old friends. Everyone except for Henry, who looked around, smiling when he realised the curse was broken.

In all the confusion, no-one noticed when he grabbed his backpack and snuck out of the classroom. He made his way through the town, seeing the way people reunited with old friends and avoided their once-enemies. No-one stopped him to ask why he wasn't in school, too busy thinking about their own memories.

He passed the mansion, but his mother's car wasn't in the driveway. At the auto repair shop he spotted Emma's one and smiled in relief. She was still here. He just had to find her and save her before something bad happened.

When his mom finally agreed to get him a mobile – just a basic one for emergency calls with a limited text plan – he knew she placed a small tracking device inside the cover, in case he tried to run away again. What she didn't know – because she rarely used it - was that he had installed a tracking app on her phone. Going straight to his room, he switched on the computer to try and locate it.

He frowned when he saw how far it was from the town. Not impossible to get to, but even if he borrowed a bike it would take a while to get there. Printing a copy of the map, he emptied out his school books and filled his bag with a few more essential items.

Regina was sitting on the grass, ignoring the fact that doing so would ruin her clothes. Well, technically the jeans belonged to Emma so her main concern would be having other people see her in grass-and-mud-stained jeans. She was sitting alone, because ten seconds after the curse was broken and Emma remembered everything, the blonde had run away. Watching Emma turn her back and leave, the fight had gone out of Regina's body and she had sat down – if only to have a more graceful descent than falling. Emma would have taken the car and driven back to town, so there was no point trying to escape that way. Her magic wasn't working so she couldn't protect herself if anyone found her and she didn't have the strength to move.

She brought her knees up to her chest, resting her head in her arms on top of them, refusing to cry. She just needed a moment, she told herself, just a little time to adjust now that the curse was broken. She'd known this day would come for nearly thirty years and yet she'd never believed it enough to make a real plan. Well, except for one, and destroying the town would mean losing Henry. Again.

Closing her eyes, she imagined how she wanted the reunion to go. Emma would have stayed, they would have lain back on the grass together looking up at the sky, arms around each other…

Of course that was all foolish nonsense. She knew that. Emma was going to run back to town, to find her parents and her son. Regina could picture the family reunion, the three adults hugging, the tears and forgiveness. Emma telling them she understood why they sent her away, that it had been the right decision. Then Henry joining them, getting to meet his grandparents with their memories returned. Emma would want to take Henry with her, out of town, away from the Evil Queen.

Despite her greatest efforts, the tears began to fall then. Slow at first, then as though a build-up from a great dam they burst forth and she sobbed aloud. She didn't hear the footsteps approach, the soft crunch of the grass under their shoes.

A hand came to rest on her shoulder and she looked up, bleary-eyed, no thought for her defence. The Queen would have been on her feet in an instant, fireball at the ready. Regina, broken-hearted once again, didn't care enough to try. She could barely make out the face framed by blonde hair.

"E-Emma?" she gulped back the next sob, wiping at her eyes to clear them.

"Yeah," Emma remained standing, one toe of her shoes digging into the ground.

"You came back."

Emma nodded, her breathing heavy from where she had been running. She wasn't sure how far she had gone, or how long it had taken, all she knew was that at some point something inside of her had made her stop. Then she had turned around, determined to face Regina and get some answers. The run back had cleared some of the initial anger, but hadn't really helped her come up with any questions.

"I'm sorry."

Regina's words sounded hollow, almost automatic, and Emma didn't believe them. She found her anger again.

"Dammit Regina, I stuck around this time. I missed out on jobs, gave up my apartment to stay here and used all my savings to fix my car. Don't you understand, I did all of that just to be with you?"

Regina apologised again, but Emma needed to vent her feelings.

"What are you sorry for Regina? For the curse? For making me forget Storybrooke? For breaking my heart? For…"

"Yes, all of it. I'm so sorry, Emma."

"I can't believe you did that. I told you I loved you for goodness sake. Twice."

"And this time it was enough to break the curse," Regina tried to explain. "I had no memory of your first visit to Storybrooke, I made myself forget you and I fell in love with you again."

That admission gave Emma pause. She looked down into Regina's eyes, her heart weighing up whether to believe her.

Eventually she held out a hand to help Regina to her feet, "so I'm really Snow White's daughter, and you're the Ev… the Queen?"

Regina paled, "Henry could be wrong about that. Snow sent her child away using magic, she could have ended up anywhere. Just because you share the same name…"

"I have the blanket from Henry's book, the one they wrapped her… me, in."

"I guess you'll want to go and find your parents then?"

"Are you trying to send me away again?"

"No."

"Because people seem to do that to me a lot. First my birth parents, then my adoptive parents, foster parents, you the first time we met…"

"I thought you were blackmailing me!"

"I wasn't."

Regina looked down at the ground, "I know, Ruby confessed."

"Ruby! Why?"

"She thought our relationship would be accepted, that we didn't have to hide it. Now that the curse is broken, I'm sure she's relieved her plan failed… she is Snow's best friend after all."

"We'll show them you've changed. You've had all these years to kill anyone you wanted, but they're all still alive."

"They'll come for me nonetheless."

"If they want to hurt you, they'll have to go through me first," Emma felt warmed through when Regina smiled at her then.

"Still my brave, darling Emma."

"I don't know about brave, I recall you using some other names for me the last time I was here."

"My feelings for you surprised me. You're so different from anyone I met in the other world."

"Is that a good thing?"

"I'm in love with you."

Emma smiled, "say it again."

"I love you."

Emma leaned in and kissed her. Regina had never felt happier.