CHAPTER 5! It took some time because I kept losing my momentum, but it's here and hopefully the next chapter will be completed more timely.

My writing for this chapter seems a bit fragmented, but I think it's still understandable.

Who's excited to see the Dark Swan in the premiere tomorrow night? It looks like it will be so good! I've been trying to avoid too many spoilers...

Regina and Henry continue to talk about the curse on the couch in her office. Regina fielded more questions from Henry as he revealed a little bit more information about some things that will happen, but not everything. He didn't want to disrupt anything too much too quickly. He mentions to his mom that the first time around, Mary Margaret took Emma into her apartment when she could no longer stay at Granny's Inn.

Regina tilts her head curiously to the side, "Did I, in this former future of yours, have anything to do that?"

Henry smirks. "Yeah, you had her arrested. I… can't remember what for though." Henry scrunches his face, thinking hard through his memories but some things were missing and fuzzy. Why can't I remember why Emma was arrested? I know mom orchestrated it, but… what was it? Why are those details getting fuzzy? Is it because things are changing?

"Henry, what is it?" Regina asks, noticing the perplexing look on her son's face. "What's wrong?"

"I think my memories are changing. I can't remember the details of Emma's arrest anymore. Do you think it's because that event won't happen anymore? Is this a good thing?" Henry relaxes his face and looks intently at his mom, hope shining in his eyes.

"I'm not sure. It certainly seems probable."

They sit in silence for a moment, mulling over this new development. Regina turns her head to glance at the clock. She widens her eyes slightly, realizing it's nearly five and Emma is due to arrive any moment. She slowly stands up from the couch and stretches her arms up and out before looking back at Henry.

"Emma should be here soon. I don't know how interesting our discussion will be for you, Henry, but you're welcome to stay," Regina explains as she begins to walk back over to her desk, papers still stacked together on one corner. "In fact, you'll probably keep us from killing each other. That woman is so frustrating."

She laughs quietly to herself, though loud enough that Henry heard her and smirks at how different she is from the first time after just a few simple conversations.

"That's ok, mom," Henry says, getting up from the couch as well. "I can wait for you in the other room until your done. I need to go to the bathroom right now though!"

Henry quickly sprints away, acting very much like the kid he now is again. Regina laughs quietly, pulling her lips in and shaking her head slightly. She turns to her desk and organizes the papers into prioritized piles to tackle tomorrow. She sighs, still doubtful over the change in Henry despite knowing the reasons. She doesn't want to hope everything goes well, things never do. I just need to take this one step at a time. Henry loves me. He does. He said so. He knows I'm the evil queen and still says he loves me. Okay, you can do this, Regina.

She sighs again before hearing the office door open. Thinking that it's Henry she doesn't turn around until the person who entered addresses her.

"Regina-uh, Madam Mayor. I'm ready to sit and discuss things with you."

Emma shuffles her feet back and forth as Regina turns around. Even though she knows she can deal with anything the mayor can throw her way, Regina still scares her and she wants to do this right.

"Right," Regina answers, wiping her hands together of invisible dirt. She motions to the couch and they both take steps over to sit, "I'd like to start by apologizing, Miss Swan."

"What?" Emma asks. They both sit down.

Regina sighs. Henry wants her to make this work. He's not distancing himself from her anymore and she wants to keep it that way. She's a part of Operation Cobra and she will not let him down or push him away. Although, how can I be certain that Emma won't take my son from me? What if Henry realizes he likes being with her more?

"I just have to accept the reality that you want to be here," she says after a beat.

"That's right. I do," Emma says defiantly.

"And that you're here to take my son from me." Regina doesn't waste a beat to respond. She schools her features to hide her true intent with the question.

Emma sighs. She looks intently at the mayor to convince her of her innocence. "Okay, let's be clear. I have no intention of taking him from anyone."

"Well, then what are you doing here?" Can I trust you, Miss Swan? How can I be sure Henry won't go running to you again and again?

"As I told you earlier, I know I'm not a mother. I've been in the system my whole life, I don't really know what a good mother is, only what I don't want to do to my own kid-your kid."

Emma coughs a little at Regina's slightly pointed stare.

"I did have him, though. Henry. And I can't help that he got in my head and I want to make sure he's okay. The more I learn about his life, the more I want to be here for the rest of it. Especially after seeing how troubled he is."

"You think he's troubled?" Regina tilts her head slightly to the side.

"Well, he's in therapy -was in therapy," Emma amends remembering the situation earlier at Dr. Hopper's office. "But putting that aside. He thinks everyone in this town is a fairy tale character."

Regina raises her eyebrows and looks at Emma curiously. "And you don't?"

"How can I?" Emma questions, letting out a sigh, "The poor kid can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality and it's only getting worse. It's crazy."

As Regina raises her eyebrows, Henry appears in the doorway from the hall. After he had gone to the bathroom, he made his way back down the hall to his mom's office. He overheard the voices of his moms as he neared the door and knew that Emma had arrived.

Thinking back to when this happened the first time, Henry is glad that those details have not gone fuzzy yet. He remembers getting upset after hearing Emma call him, crazy, and is determined to react differently this time. Being older, at least mentally at this point, has put many things that he has done and how he reacted to certain things in context. He knows he can do better. I'll start with questioning Emma's statement. I'll make sure to look at mom though so she knows I'm not actually upset.

Henry stops after taking one step into the room, still in the doorway. He glances at Regina briefly before focusing on Emma and schooling his expression in an act of distrust.

"You think I'm crazy?" he asks quietly.

Emma sits up straighter, startled at Henry's appearance.

"Henry…"

Glancing at his mom, he notices that Regina doesn't catch on to his act, but he continues anyway. She'll figure it out eventually. Or I'll just tell her later.

Knowing that he ran out of the room the last time, Henry forces himself to stay where he is, molding his expression to one of hurt. He tries to think of losing his moms and his family in an effort to make his eyes teary. It's surprisingly easy to make the tears flow. I guess I really am ten years old again. Just thinking about something sad at eighteen wouldn't make me this upset. Man, I really feel awful. Now the tears won't stop…

"How long—how much did you hear?" Emma asks hesitantly, her chest constricting as she sees tears falling down Henry's face. She only just met the son she had given up. She does not want to lose him again, especially from her own actions… again.

Henry, continuing to battle with his ten-year-old emotional ability, doesn't respond, but Regina slowly gets up, concerned, and takes steps towards him.

"Henry," Regina says softly placing her hand gently on his shoulder. She bends down to be eye level with him, placing her other hand under his chin and lifting up slightly. She needs to show him she's still on board with his operation. The conversation she just had with him before will not be for naught.

She gives him a small smile and softens her expression further, "You are not crazy. We just need to figure out another way."

Regina looks pointedly at Henry so he understands. After a moment of contemplation, he nods, wiping his cheeks of his tears with the back of his hand.

Regina squeezes Henry's shoulder gently before moving her hand to his back and rubbing in circular motions. She stands up again and turns to Emma who is still sitting on the couch. Emma holds her hands in her lap, anxiously gripping and releasing her thighs above her knees, watching Regina carefully.

"Miss Swan, would you care to say anything?"

Emma looks up at the mayor and places her hands on either side of her, ready to stand up. Taking in a breath, she slowly answers.

"I don't think Henry's crazy," she starts. Henry looks at her, opening his mouth to say something before Emma cuts him off and continues, "I think the curse is crazy. And it is. But, that doesn't mean that isn't true. It is a lot to ask anyone to believe in, but there are a lot of crazy things in this world. So what do I know? Maybe it is true."

Regina tilts her head to the side curiously. Henry's eyes widen and he can't hold back a small smile as he looks on.

"So you believe me?" he asks, hopefully.

Emma falters for a moment, but quickly recovers, sighing as she stands up slowly. She makes her way the few steps over to Henry and bends down on her knee so she's at his eye level.

"What I do know, is that if the curse is real, the only way to break it is to take a look at all of evidence and not jump to any conclusions too early," she answers steadily, "We have to work together, right?"

Emma looks intently at Henry before glancing up at Regina. As she studies her face, Emma sees the smallest hint of an accord from Regina and lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Henry has a really good thing going for him living with Regina, more than she ever got growing up and she doesn't want to ruin anything for him.

"Right! In order for Operation Cobra to work, we all need to be on the same page," Henry exclaims, pulling Emma back to the present. Henry looks determinately back and forth between his two moms, "This means we need to trust each other. All of us."

Henry pauses. He needs to make sure he's understood. He will not make the same mistakes as last time and his mom and Emma will not be on opposite ends of the fight. Not this time.

He stares confidently up at Regina and continues.

"You, me, and Emma need to work together. You need to trust me. You are the Evil Queen, but you're also my mom."

He looks between the two of them again.

"Together, the Evil Queen and the Savior can break the curse. I know we can do this."

Emma and Regina take deep breaths, each concealing decades worth of pain and damage that influence how they take on the world, though they both had the same simultaneous thought. They would do this, for Henry.

A few seconds pass of silence before Emma turns to Henry again. She doesn't quite believe everyone, and herself, are fairytale characters cursed to this world, but she will play along with Henry's theory to gain more evidence. If he can show her further proof… She gives a sideways glance to Regina to see what his mother thinks, but can't get a reading on her expression. Does she always look so calm and collected and… regal?

"Now we have the advantage. We're all in this together." Emma says, finally standing up again. She wipes her hands on the sides of her legs.

"I knew you were here to help me," Henry responds, his smile growing as he looks up at her.

"That's right, kid. I am. And nothing, not even a curse is going to stop that."

Later, after Emma left the mayor's office, Regina and Henry headed home and had a quick dinner before Henry rushed upstairs with his storybook and backpack to do his homework. He had planning to do.

After collecting the dirty plates and putting them in the dishwasher, Regina heads outside to relax in her yard and observe the stars, a favorite past time of hers since she was a child. She sits on the edge of her patio, her feet stretched out on the grass in front of her and leans on her hands behind her back.

After a few minutes, she closes her eyes and takes calming breaths. She tries to think through everything that has happened from Emma arriving and finding out she is the savior of her curse to Henry talking about being from future and agreeing, actually agreeing to work with the savior a few hours ago. It was a lot to process.

She hears distant footsteps coming closer to her position, but ignores them in hopes that whoever it is will go away. Her eyes pop open when she hears their voice.

"Tiring day?"

It's Mr. Gold. He's mocking in his tone, causing her to be extra attentive. Rumpelstiltskin, as he was known in the Enchanted Forest, can't be awake, can he?

Regina doesn't waste a beat. "Not for long. What can I do for you, Mr. Gold?"

"I was just in the neighborhood. Thought I'd pop by," he says, too casually to Regina's ears. She narrows her eyes at him as he continues, slowly. "Lovely to see you so relaxed, considering our new guest in town."

"It's been a good day. I just had a lovely dinner with my son, and the new guest should not be a problem," Regina says, convincing herself as much as Mr. Gold.

"Oh, yes. Emma Swan. The boy's mother."

"Biologically. I am his mother. I have nothing to worry about," Regina counters as confidently as she could. He always has a way of getting to her and under her skin.

"Oh, I wouldn't bet on that. I saw her earlier today strolling down Main Street with your boy. Thick as thieves, they looked."

Regina narrows her eyes at Gold further. She knows that Henry talked to Emma earlier. What is he getting at?

Mr. Gold continues, thinking he's getting to her, "Perhaps you should have come to me. If Miss Swan is a problem you can't fix I'm only too happy to help. For a price of course."

Regina stands up from her position and turns away from him slightly.

"I'm not in the business of making deals with you anymore."

"To which deal are you referring?" Mr. Gold asks. To anyone else, he had asked a normal question, but Regina was already doubtful of him when he started speaking. She noticed the slight hesitation before his words. She lifts her chin towards him.

"You know what deal."

"Oh, right. Yeah. The boy I procured for you. Henry. Did I ever tell you what a lovely name that was? However did you pick it?"

Regina catches her eyes from widening further and schools her expression once again. She knows he knows now. How to proceed? Should she let him know that she knows that he knows who he is?

Regina takes a step forward back to her house before turning her head to Mr. Gold and smirking.

"You wanted her to come to town. You wanted all of this to happen, didn't you? Where did you find Henry?"

"I have no idea what you're implying."

"I think you do. You know Emma Swan. You knew when you got Henry for me." Regina turns back around so she's facing Mr. Gold fully again. "Admit it. Admit everything."

Mr. Gold opens his mouth for a split second then closes it again, regaining his composure as if it was never lost.

"I'll admit nothing. I really must be going." He starts walking away to the way he came. Regina runs ahead and stands in front of him. She moves her head up then tilts her chin down, looking at him in the eyes.

"Tell me who you are."

There's a twinkle in his eye. Mr. Gold smirks at Regina, "I'm not going to answer you, dear. So I suggest you excuse me. Please."

As he leaves her yard, Regina remains standing in her position, momentarily paralyzed before she smirks, her own eyes twinkling, scheming. Oh, this is interesting.