48

The Evil Queen's Undoing

Whale led about sixty-five of Storybrooke's citizens down the street towards Regina's house. He had been stewing over doing so since he had gotten his memories back a few days ago, and it had taken him this long to gather enough people willing to brave the wicked witch in her lair, as he reminded them just who it was who had persecuted them for so long back in the Enchanted Forest, burning their homes, killing anyone suspected of treason, her soldiers coming and beating up their husbands and sons, and having their wicked way with their daughters. All in the name of the Queen. And then she had cast the Dark Curse, and caused them to lose their homes, their memories, any sense of self for twenty-eight years, they had lived a lie. And it was all so she could have company in her misery, and finally win against Snow White and Prince Charming.

But now the curse was broken, thanks to Emma Swan Gold, and her family. She had been the magic against the magic, and finally the curse was over with. Yet still they were trapped here, in this distant land, and they had only one person to blame for it all, one person who was responsible for the destruction of everything they held dear.

Mayor Regina Mills. The Evil Queen.

Emma and the Golds had proven she could beaten at her own game. That she was vulnerable without her guards and her palace full of torture implements. Here she was an ordinary citizen, without even her powers, for Whale had heard from Rumplestiltskin himself that magic in this world was difficult to master, and it took some doing to call upon it. He could do so, as could Emma, but Regina might not be able to yet.

That was why Whale had hurried to gather together all those who were willing to rise up against the wicked queen, because without her magic she was just a woman. A woman who had terrorized and degraded them long enough. And now they could make her pay for her crimes.

They'd have old fashioned mob justice, and string the queen up in her own apple tree.

As the mob moved down the street, Archie Hopper raced over to the station, where Emma had just finished processing the paperwork for Mr. Smee and Moe French and gasped out that there was a mob led by Whale heading over to the mayor's house to string up Regina.

"You have to stop them, Emma!" Archie panted. "Yes, she deserves to be punished, but not like that. And if the mob succeeds, we'll be ruled by them. You can't let that happen. You stand for law and order in this town."

Emma knew the psychiatrist was right, much as she hated to admit it. She knew what came of allowing mob rule to run rampant. The riots in California and New York long ago proved that. And the last thing they needed was the National Guard coming here to restore the peace.

Emma contacted all her officers and put out an APB for them to all head on over to the mayor's residence. But she doubted that would be enough to deter a mob bent on rough justice. She would need more firepower. She called Bae, finding he was just picking up Alina, Grace, and Henry from school. "On my way, babe," he said, his voice calming her racing heart.

She hesitated over the next number to call, then dialed it. "David, I need you and Mary Margaret to get over to 108 Mifflin Street immediately," she told her father. "There's a mob headed that way, and we need to do damage control."

"Not a problem, Emma. Snow and I will be there. We used to rule these people once, hopefully they'll listen to us and calm down."

"I'll be there as soon as I can. I just have to call one more person. See you soon!"

"Will do, Emma."

Emma pressed number 2 on her cell. There was one other person in this town who could talk these people out of their frenzy with simply his presence. And she knew she would need him. If she could persuade him to act on her behalf.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

"Off with her head!"

"String her up by the sour apple tree!"

"Down with the Evil Queen!"

The crowd chanted various things as they marched behind Whale down the street, carrying hoe, rakes, even a coil of rope. They gathered on the lawn of 108 Mifflin and Whale bounded up the stairs and knocked hard on the door. "Mayor Mills! Come out and face those you've ruined! Come and face the citizens of Storybrooke, you wretched witch!"

He pounded the door again and again, while on the lawn people yelled and shook their homemade weapons.

Regina heard the mob long before they had arrived, and she sneered as they finally reached her house. Were they so stupid as to forget she had ruled over them? That they had lived and died on her command? That with a flick of her finger she could burn them to ash?

Obviously so.

She supposed she would have remind them of just who they were dealing with.

Starting with that idiot Whale.

She yanked open her front door, and snarled, "What seems to be the problem, Whale? Not enough dead people to keep you experimenting?"

Whale gave ground slightly before her, an instinctive reaction.

Regina marched out on the porch, jabbing him in the chest with a finger.

"We're here to make you pay for your crimes, you wicked bitch!" Whale shouted, his face twisted with hate.

"Yeah! You're the reason we're all trapped here!" chorused the mob.

"Really? And you're going to put me on trial?" Regina sneered.

"No! We're going to string you up on your own apple tree!"

"Yeah!"

"Like you did my brother!"

"And my wife!"

Regina eyed the frenzied gathering. A small frisson of fear crawled down her spine. She had never faced such opposition back in the Enchanted Forest. People cowered at the mere mention of her name and the sight of her black guards. Then she snorted. None of these here could harm her. After all, she had the power.

"All right, people! You wanted to stage a rally! You've done so! Now get the hell off my property. Or else!"

"You don't give the orders around here anymore, Regina!" Whale yelled. "We're not your subjects any longer."

"Aren't you?" Regina cackled. She pushed Whale almost off the stairs and raised her hands, calling on her magic. "You want to string up your rightful queen? Depose your reigning monarch?" She laughed softly. "You forget who you're dealing with!" She glared at Whale and pointed an index finger at him. "How about a few new patients in your burn ward, doctor?"

Whale lifted a hand, backing away down the steps.

Half the bold people behind him cringed, expecting a fiery ball of death to come flying at them.

Regina summoned her magic.

Only to find that it wouldn't respond to her call.

Her hand glowed with eldritch light, and fire blossomed in her palm for an instant.

But then it was as if someone had doused her with water or turned off a light switch.

The fireball fizzled and died.

She gasped and tried to call it back, to call on any magic at all. She could feel it in the earth and the air, it was all around her, but it ignored her summons. It was if she were a new apprentice all over again, learning to concentrate and touch the arcane web.

Quick as a blink, Whale realized what had happened. "She's powerless! Get her!"

The mob suddenly surged to life, and moved towards her, a hungry beast intent upon devouring her.

For the first time in a long time, she knew fear from her supposed inferior subjects. "Leave me alone!" she shouted, trying desperately to reconnect with the arcane web. What had happened to her magic? She should have been able to use it now that the curse was broken.

Sirens blared and three police cars pulled up. Emma and her three officers got out, holding tranquilizer guns at the ready. "Stand down, people! There's not going to be any lynching here today," Emma ordered, coming to stand in front of the cowering Regina on the porch. Her officers spread out to cover her.

"Sheriff, why are you defending her? She deserves to die!"

"I'm not defending her, I'm defending the way things are done here in America. We stand for justice, and as satisfying as it would be to kill Mayor Mills, that's not how things are done in this country."

The crowd pressed up against the porch, still yelling threats.

The yellow Bug pulled up at the curb, and Bae turned to his three passengers and said, "Kids, stay in the car. I mean it—do not get out. Stay here while I help Sheriff Gold." He gave them all a Look.

Henry, Alina, and Grace nodded, then they pressed their noses up against the Bug's windshield and watched what was going on.

Then he grabbed his bo-staff out of the backseat, he'd used it as a demonstration at the school for Martial Arts Awareness Day today, and jumped out of the car.

He ran around the mob and vaulted over the railing to land next to his wife in a cat-like maneuver that left some of those watching breathless. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he twirled his staff lazily, eyeing the crowd with a sharp glance. "Anybody who tries to mess with my wife will go through me first."

"Hey, Gold! Why're you helping the Evil Queen, huh? She hurt your little sister!"

A huge man about seven feet tall pushed his way through to the forefront. "Let us at the Queen! Before I rip your head off, missy!"

Bae bared his teeth at the man, who looked like he was part giant or something. "Bring it!" he growled, spinning his staff faster. "Nobody threatens my wife!"

"Better think about this, people!" Emma yelled. "You really don't want to do this. He fought a dragon and killed it three days ago, you sure you want to tangle with him?" She jerked a thumb back at Bae.

That gave some of them pause, as most of them knew Bae's reputation as a martial arts instructor and were reluctant to push the issue.

"I'll fight him!" snarled the half-giant, smashing a fist into his other hand. "Then I'll rip apart the queen!"

Bae half-crouched. "Bring it, Gigantor!"

"Stop! This isn't the way to settle this!" Snow yelled, rushing up with David.

"Who says? She took everything from us!" Whale cried.

"Yeah! She has to suffer for what she's done!"

"But Regina's death won't solve anything!" Snow protested.

"Guys, listen! We all have a lot of issues to work out, but murdering people isn't going to get it done!"

"You're not my prince! And we're not from this world," Whale challenged.

"Well, you're here now and stringing up Regina isn't a solution for what she's done," Charming argued.

"Like hell it isn't!" several members of the crowd continued pushing forward, not minded to listen to reason.

"Get out of the way! Before I crush you all!" bellowed the half-giant, lunging at Bae.

Suddenly a purple streak of light slammed into the half-giant, picking him up and suddenly the huge humanoid was shrunk down to the size of a small child.

"Huh?" the former giant stared down at his now child-sized body in confusion.

Rumple appeared upon the stairs, and a purple shield flared into life and surrounded Emma, Bae, himself, and the Charmings. "Enough! Calm down, because if any of you harms my family, you deal with me."

The crowd froze and started to back away. No one wanted to go one on one, or even twenty to one, with the Enchanted Forest's most powerful sorcerer.

Whale turned and snapped, "Rumple, how can you defend this witch?"

"Victor, I'm not defending her, I'm defending my family. Now back off! Or else someone's going to get hurt."

"All right," Victor sighed and went down the stairs.

"About time you showed up," Emma said, somewhat reprovingly, then she came up to the shield and called, "Okay, people! Here's how this works. I'm going to lock up Regina, for the safety of all concerned. And then we'll decide what to do with her . . . in a civilized fashion. We all understand how you feel, but the mob doesn't rule in Storybrooke."

"Now you all can go home and wait for updates on the hearing," Bae ordered.

"What hearing?" Whale demanded.

"The one we're going to hold once you all get your asses home!" Emma snapped. "We'll pick several influential people from among you and have a hearing to decide Regina's fate."

"Will execution be among the options?" someone asked.

"It could," Emma nodded. "Right now, though, she's coming downtown with me. Now everybody move along! And don't try anything."

"I'd listen to her if I were you," Rumple warned. "Because anyone who attacks my daughter-in-law attacks me. And that's not a good thing . . . for you, dearies."

Emma turned and walked over to Regina. "Okay. Hands behind your back, Mills."

"You're not serious? You're really going to cuff me?"

"Yup. Do it."

"I'm the mayor! I run this town!"

"Not anymore, dearie. Now do what she says. Or I have some cuffs you can wear, and they're not as nice as those the sheriff has," Rumple drawled. His eyes hardened. "Don't test me, Regina. You won't like the consequences. Right now, we're the only thing standing between you and a noose. So decide which you'd rather have. It shouldn't be too hard."

"Damn you, Gold! And your whole family!" Regina swore, then she let Emma cuff her.

"Now there's gratitude for you," Charming muttered.

"We could always change our minds," Bae declared icily.

"Come on," Emma said, and shoved Regina before her down the stairs.

Her officers, Charming, Bae, and Snow moved to surround her and the captive queen, while Rumple brought up the rear, his hands still glowing with magical power.

The crowd gave ground before them, shooting fearful glances at Rumple.

Emma got Regina into the back of the squad car and shut the door. Then she realized she had another problem and muttered, "Great! I've got French and Smee already in my holding cells. Now where the hell do I put her?"

"I've got it covered, Emma," Rumple said softly.

"You do?"

"Yes. Just go down to the station. I'll meet you there."

"Okay, whatever," the sheriff said, then watched as he vanished in purple smoke.

She got into the car and prepared to drive off, when Regina snarled, "How come he has magic and I don't?"

"Maybe because he's better than you at it," Emma shot back. "How the hell should I know?"

"Oh, just shut up and drive!"

"In a hurry to get into a jail cell?" Emma asked. Then she pulled away from 108 Mifflin Street and headed down to the police station.

The crowd started to disperse now that they no longer had Regina to entertain them, and soon the lawn was empty of all visitors.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

When Emma got Regina to the station, and she walked into the small building, she discovered Bae, her parents, and Rumple standing there waiting for her.

"Welcoming committee, sheriff?" Regina sneered.

"Yeah, it's a housewarming party, lady. Hope you like your new apartment," Bae snapped, and then gestured to the glowing cell behind him.

It just fit into the opposite corner of the room, and had a pullout bed and all the bars glowed with a blue light.

"Home sweet home, dearie," Rumple purred. "At least for now." He gestured, and the door swung open.

Emma put Regina inside and removed the cuffs, then shut the door.

"And look, you've got company," Charming said, and gestured to where Moe and Smee were locked up in the other cells.

"It's like villain's old home week," Bae said. "Now you can all discuss the best way to set someone on fire or whatever."

"Shut your trap, abomination!" Moe yelled.

Bae turned and sneered, "Up yours, old man!"

"How dare you even speak to me?" French growled.

"You want somebody to kiss your ass, French, ask him," Bae growled, and pointed at Smee. "Because where you're going, you're going to be the lowest scum in the pond. Criminals who hurt children always are."

Regina sniffed. "I haven't been convicted of anything yet."

"That won't take long," Charming said. "Where are we holding this meeting or whatever?"

"Down at the courthouse," Emma replied. "Rumple, can you get a hold of Judge Moore?"

"Give me a minute, dearie," Rumple said, and pulled out his cell and punched in some numbers.

Then he muttered, "He's not there, but I'll leave a message."

He did so, telling the judge to call him back ASAP. Then he looked at Emma, "There's no need why we can't start discussing this matter right away, even without Moore there. I assume all of us here are going to be on this panel. I'm calling Belle, she ought to be on it also."

"How about Granny?" Snow suggested.

"And Grumpy," Charming added.

"Call 'em," Emma said. "We'll figure out the others later. Let's go."

As they were heading out the door, Bae said, "Shoot! I still have the kids in the car. Maybe I should drop them off at your house, Papa—no, Belle won't be home. Now what should I do?"

"Just take them with you, Bae. They can do their homework in one of the offices while we have the meeting in another room," Emma said.

"I'll tell Belle to call Alice and let her know where Grace is," Rumple said and called his wife.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

After settling the kids in another room in the courthouse, Emma, the Charmings, Bae, and Rumple found a large conference room and commandeered it. As they sat around a long table in comfy chairs covered in brown faux suede, Emma said, "Okay. I think we should . . . umm . . . take notes . . . you know, write down what we know are Regina's crimes and what sort of punishment she deserves because of it. Anybody got a pen and a piece of paper?"

Rumple waved a hand and a pad and a pen appeared on the table. "Here you go, dearie. Since you called this meeting, you go first. Write away." He pushed the paper and the pen at her.

Emma began to write, saying as she did so, "Okay. So, number one thing Regina did wrong—she cast the Dark Curse over everybody here, except for me, my husband, my son, Alina, and August. Umm . . . Rumple, Belle wasn't really cursed either, right?"

"No, not in the sense you mean, thanks to Rhea's rose necklace," he replied. He expected Belle any minute, and Alice also.

"Yeah, but she was locked away in an asylum for twenty-eight years and however long before that in Regina's castle," Emma recalled, scribbling rapidly.

The door opened and Belle came in, along with Alice, Jefferson, Marco, Archie, Grumpy, Granny, and Blue.

"Oh, good! We're all here!" Snow said, smiling at her friends.

Rumple stiffened when he caught sight of Blue, but Belle came and hugged him and then sat next to him with her hand on his arm, easing the tension somewhat between the two old adversaries.

"Rumplestiltskin," the Blue Fairy said evenly.

"Blue," Rumple replied. He gave her a sharp glance, but otherwise said nothing.

Emma handed the pad to Snow, who began writing along with Charming.

After a few minutes, Snow passed the tablet to Rumple, who handed it to Belle and said, "Just to clarify why we're all here, Emma called this meeting to decide what we ought to do about Regina. Because of her numerous crimes against us, Emma thought it best if we all wrote our grievances down and then decided based upon them a course of action."

"But does this . . . course of action include voting to . . . execute her?" asked Archie.

"It may," Rumple said gravely. "And while I'll admit that I wouldn't mourn her if that came to pass, I'll allow that an alternative might be sought. But this is something that all of us must agree upon."

He took the pen and added something to the list begun by Emma.

Then he passed the paper to Bae, who took it and wrote down a single thing and handed the pad to Marco.

When the pad had made its way around the table and back to Emma, she began to read aloud all the grievances against the Evil Queen. Most of them were related to the curse, but some were more personal, like Rumple's and Bae's which pointed out that Regina had cursed both Henry and Alina, nearly killing them, and Rumple had also pointed out that she had given Belle claustrophobia and ran over his cat. Bae also wrote down the times she had left Henry alone and unsupervised, causing the boy to seek sanctuary over Gold's house. Snow and Charming had written of several atrocities she had committed while trying to hunt Snow down, like massacring an entire village and shooting people who had hidden Snow, and of course Charming stated that she had tried to kill both Snow and himself on numerous occasions. Blue had stated that she had killed numerous fairies and Grumpy had said she had tried to kill his dwarf brothers various times in addition to casting the Dark Curse.

"Okay. So now we have everything out in the open," Emma said. "That being so . . . let's discuss punishment options. I want each of you to think about what you would do if you had the option of sentencing Regina, and write it down. Then we'll take the two options that seem to be the most agreed upon and present them to Judge Moore. He'll review all the evidence here and help us decide a verdict."

"But Emma, shouldn't Regina be allowed to tell her side of the story?" asked Archie.

"Well . . . I suppose yes, but what can she say in her own defense? That she hated Snow and Charming so much she wanted to get revenge on them anyway she could? That she couldn't stand me for breaking the curse and taking Henry from her? That she stole Belle for revenge on Rumple, and did her damndest to hurt him too by cursing his bloodline and all?"

"I think that's a waste of breath," Grumpy put in. "I don't believe there is any justification for what she did to any of us, except her own black hatred. So we should skip that part."

"All in favor, raise your right hand," Emma said.

Grumpy, Granny, Alice, Jeff, Rumple, Charming, and Bae raised their hands. Snow, Blue, Marco, Archie, Belle, and Emma kept theirs down.

"All right. Now let's write down our solutions to this problem. I'll go first," Emma said.

She tore off a piece of paper and wrote—life imprisonment in a magical cell.

Bae took the paper next and wrote—stripped of powers and imprisoned for twenty-eight years.

He handed the paper to Jeff, who wrote, the only sure solution is execution.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

Meanwhile, Alina, Henry, and Grace were inside a smaller conference room, supposedly doing their homework and waiting for the meeting to be over. But after trying to do history and English for almost half an hour, they decided to put their homework aside for now and have a conclave of their own.

"You know what they're talking about in there, right?" Henry said.

Alina and Grace nodded. "They're talking about what to do with Regina, since your mom arrested her," Grace said solemnly.

"And she's done some pretty awful things, not even counting the curse," Alina said calmly.

"I know. And I don't think she's really sorry about any of them," Henry sighed. "But . . . I don't think killing her's a good solution."

"Hmmm . . . you may be right. If she's dead, she can't do anything to fix her mistakes," Alina mused.

"She tried to kill you and Henry!" Grace exclaimed. "And you don't hate her for that?"

"Umm . . . kind of . . . but . . . it's complicated," Henry said. "See, I think she should be made to pay for her crimes, but it has to be in a way that she can . . ."

"Redeem herself," said Alina. "My mama believes that everyone deserves a second chance, but the problem is that I don't think Regina can have a good second chance the way she is now."

"Or that she even wants one the way she is now," Henry added. "But . . . what if we gave her a second chance that was different from all the others."

"Like what, Henry?" asked Grace.

"Umm . . . how about . . ."

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

Judge Moore had finally received Rumple's message on his cell and come over, and they gave him the paper with all the grievances upon it as well as the paper with the possible sentencing.

Moore studied the papers, noting that life imprisonment in a magical cell and stripped of her powers and imprisoned for twenty-eight years seemed to be the top choices.

As the judge considered carefully the two choices and the list of crimes, there came a knock at the door.

"Come in," Emma called.

The door opened and there stood Henry, Alina, and Grace.

"Something wrong, tiger?" asked Bae.

"Uh, not really, Dad. Except . . . we were discussing the same thing you guys were—what should be done with Regina—and we came up with something you might not have thought of."

"Oh? And what would that be?" asked Snow.

"Snow, they're children," Charming protested.

"What could they come up with?" Grumpy asked. "No dessert for a year? A spanking with a hairbrush?"

Alina rolled her eyes. "That's already been tried. Mama did that with a book."

"And while it sort of worked, it wasn't enough," Henry added.

"We know that, lad," Rumple said softly. "That's why we called this meeting."

"We think a good solution would be to imprison her forever in Rumple's cell," Snow said.

"Or strip her of her powers and then imprison her," Emma said.

"What if there was a third solution?" Henry said. "One that wasn't so . . .final? Well, it was, but . . . it also allowed for her to be redeemed?"

"And what way would that be, Henry?" asked Archie.

"Well . . . Grace and Alina and I got to thinking . . . isn't the whole point of punishing somebody to get them to see what they did was wrong and to try and do better next time?"

All the adults nodded.

"So, we decided that the best way for Regina to do that wasn't to lock her up forever, but to give her a second chance to redeem herself . . . to live her life over and learn how to love and to respect people . . ." Henry said.

"We think a lot of her problem was because she was raised a royal, with royal parents who gave her the idea that she was better than everybody else, that she had rights over people, and that their feelings and wants didn't matter," Alina said.

"Yeah, and she shouldn't consider anything but her own desire and power," Grace said.

"So, in order to give her a second chance to become a good person, without killing her, we decided she should be made to forget who she was and be turned into a toddler again," Henry finished. "That way she could be raised by somebody who'd teach her right from wrong and she would grow up to be a different person . . . and yet she'd pay for her crimes too. Because it would be like she died, only she was just changed into a little kid again, without her old memories. And that way it would be like she was under the same curse you all were for twenty-eight years, only this would be forever."

"And she could make different choices and be just Regina, and not the Evil Queen," Alina added. "I learned right and wrong from my parents, but I don't think Regina did from hers. But this time it would be different."

"What do you think?"

"I think that it's crazy," Grumpy said.

"But it might work," mused Blue.

"It's certainly more . . . challenging than just locking her up." Archie said.

"Who would take the responsibility of raising a toddler Regina?" queried Marco.

Rumple shook his head. "Don't look at me. I already have a child to raise, and if I'm lucky, maybe a few more coming along at a later date. And besides, I don't know if I could truly be objective if I had the raising of her."

"I don't think I could do it either," Bae said.

"No way," Emma shook her head. "I don't need to be raising a toddler right now."

"Count us out too," Jefferson said.

Snow was giving David a speculative glance. "Charming . . . would you be willing to do that, instead of putting her in a cell to rot?"

"Snow, I . . . well . . . I need to think about it," David began.

"I think that it would be the best solution, all things considered," Snow said eagerly. "I mean, Henry's right. It would give her a chance at redemption and a way to punish her for her crimes without killing her or being inhumane. And we're not the kind of people to hold a grudge—sorry Rumple—and it would be like I got a second chance with her myself, with our roles reversed."

Charming thought about it for a while, then said, "Snow, if you really think this is a good solution . . . you're the one who's been hurt the most by her actions . . . you and Henry . . ."

"Uh, Gramps, I'm only ten, that's too young to be a dad," Henry protested.

That got a laugh from most of the adults at the table.

"I didn't mean it that way, Henry," Charming said, fighting not to start grinning like a fool when he heard Henry refer to him as his grandfather. "I just meant . . . if you two are willing to do this then the rest of shouldn't have an objection."

"Charming . . . do you want to do this?" his wife queried. "Because we do this together or not at all. Can you be a good father to Regina?"

"Considering she'll be a baby with no memories of her past . . . then yes," Charming agreed. Then he looked at Rumple. "Rumple, can you do this thing? Can you . . . er . . . take her memories away and uh . . . de-age her?"

Rumple nodded slowly. "Yes. The enchantment to spin the clock back automatically regresses the person to the mind of a child . . . and I can modify her memories while casting it so she forgets totally who she was and recalls only that she's your daughter."

"Okay. And what about her magic? I don't think she ought to have it. It'd be like giving drugs to a crack baby," Charming said.

"That too would regress and I could . . . make sure it stayed latent. But . . . any kids she might have . . . would have the power," Rumple stated.

"Okay. So we'll have magical grandkids," Snow said. "It's not like we don't already," she smiled at Henry.

"All in favor, say aye," Judge Moore said.

"Aye!"

It was unanimous around the table.

"Rumple, how long will it take you to prepare the spell and cast it?" asked Charming.

"I can do it whenever you wish," replied the sorcerer. "It's not difficult."

"For you, maybe," Emma said. "You're the master."

"Are we gonna tell Regina?" asked Henry then.

"I think we should," Snow said.

"What if she refuses?" asked Belle.

"She won't have a choice, dearie," Rumple said bluntly. "It's this or being thrown into a hole for the rest of her life. And since she's a magician, that could be a very long time."

"Who's going to tell her?" asked Grumpy.

"I will," said Snow immediately.

"Then let's get it done, dearie," Gold said, and rose to his feet. He looked at Snow. "Will you allow me to transport us there? It's quicker than walking."

Snow nodded. "Okay. Will it hurt?"

"Not a bit. Come stand next to me, Snow. And I'm going to put my arm around you," Gold warned.

Snow came and stood next to the former Dark One.

Gold put an arm about her waist and drew her next to him. "Ready? It might help if you closed your eyes."

Snow did.

Then Gold concentrated, and a purple mist swirled about him and Snow White.

When it cleared, Snow and Rumple were gone.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

Regina sat on the bed inside the glowing blue cell, glaring at the glowing bars and the other two men inside their own cells. Smee had fallen asleep and was snoring loud enough to cut wood. Regina longed to smother him with his pillow. Moe was sitting on his bunk, muttering something that sounded like curse words, probably dreaming about cursing Rumple. Regina could sympathize, for she had dreamed the same thing many times, but she also thought Moe was ten kinds of an idiot, for she had warned him that vengeance against the Dark One was never what it seemed. As she knew only too well.

She wondered idly when they would come and tell her their sentence. She fully expected to die. She knew quite well there were many in Storybrooke who couldn't wait to throw grenades at her funeral or light her coffin on fire. She didn't regret what she had done, for she had done what she thought was best, except for one thing.

She regretted Henry thinking she didn't love him, when she had loved him as much as she was capable of.

She knew that there was something . . . twisted inside of her . . . something that prevented her from showing or even giving love to someone . . . that it had started long before, when her mother had killed Daniel in front of her, and that twisted seed had taken root and grown within her, fed by her hatred, her revenge, and her need for dark magic.

Until now it had raged out of control and what little feeling she was capable of was tainted and dark.

Perhaps, when they came for her, she could make a last request, and say goodbye to her son.

Suddenly there came a purple flare of magic and then Snow and Rumple were standing inside the station.

"Evil beast!" Moe snarled as he caught sight of Rumple.

"Shut up!" ordered Snow.

"Make me, you filthy whore!"

Rumple snapped his fingers and Moe went silent, unable to talk because there was an invisible gag in his mouth. "That's better. If I had to listen to any more of his mouth I was going to be sick."

"Or I was going to punch him out," Snow said. Then she walked over to Regina. "Regina."

"Snow. Come to gloat that the end is near?" she gave her stepdaughter a cold look.

"No. Actually I came to tell you that we . . . decided your sentence, and it's not what you think at all."

"You mean you don't have the guts to kill me?"

"We decided against execution in favor of . . . another solution. Actually this was a solution Henry came up with."

Regina stared at her. "You actually . . . listened to Henry?"

"Yes. My grandson actually has some very good ideas."

"Very innovative ones," Rumple acknowledged.

"So . . . what is it?"

"We decided to . . . give you a second chance to live your life over," Snow said. She explained what Henry had come up with. "Once Rumple casts the spell, you'll be spun back to say . . . three years old, Rumple?"

"If that's the age you wish, Snow."

"Yes. That would be a good age. Not quite an infant and not yet a child. So once you were a toddler again, with no memory of your past, you could have a second chance . . . as my child and grow up differently . . ."

Regina was silent for several minutes. Then she said, "I don't suppose I really have a choice?"

"You could choose to live out the rest of your days in the cell they held me in," Rumple said.

"No way. A prisoner for the rest of my life? I'd rather die. The other way . . . at least I have a chance to . . . do things over. And if you have me . . . at least I know you won't treat me horribly . . . like my mother did."

"No. I'd never do that," Snow said softly.

"Then you're willing to accept this solution, Regina Mills?" queried Rumple.

Regina looked at him. "I am. One question. Will it hurt?"

Rumple crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Like taking a heart, the spell only hurts as much as the caster wills it to. I can make it painless."

"But . . . will you?"

"Once . . . I would have said no. I would have said you deserve every moment of agony I could conjure," Rumple began.

Snow gasped. "Rumplestiltskin!"

He held up a hand. "I said . . . once I would have. When I was the Dark One. But I'm not the Dark One any longer. The dagger curse has been shattered and now I'm myself once again. And though I'm still angry at you for what you've done to my family, Regina, I have no desire to make you suffer any longer."

"You have changed," Snow murmured.

"I said so, didn't I?" Rumple said calmly. "So, Regina, to answer your question, it won't hurt at all. And afterwards all you'll remember is that Snow here is your mommy and Charming is daddy. And you have a big sister Emma and a very large extended family."

"And you? What would you be to me?"

"He'll be your uncle, of course," Snow replied. "And Belle your aunt, as we are related by marriage."

"Fine. When were you planning to do this?" Regina asked.

"Now," answered Gold. He indicated she should stand up.

Regina rose to her feet. "Wait. Before you do it, I want you to tell Henry something. Tell him . . . I loved him as best I could. And I'm . . . sorry I wasn't a better mother to him and I'm glad Emma and Neal have this chance with him." Then she folded her hands in front of her. "All right. I'm ready, Rumple."

Rumplestiltskin twirled his hand around in a counterclockwise gesture and chanted softly, "Time in its course, I bid thee unravel, turn back the clock, through years travel, round and round, in an enchanted spiral," as he spoke purple smoke began to swirl about Regina, and spun her about in a circle, faster and faster, like a top. "Innocence lost, now regained, to carefree days of youth I return thee, be thou as thy was long ago, by my will and power, I bid thee change!"

That last word echoed in the station, filled with power, and Snow felt herself tremble as it washed over her.

Then the purple smoke cleared, and a small girl dressed in a white frilly dress wearing pink shoes and lacy socks stood in the glowing cell. She was dark haired and rosy cheeked, with big dark eyes that stared up at Snow from a cherubic face.

"Mommy?" she called to Snow.

Rumple gestured and the glowing cell opened and Regina walked out.

The little girl looked at him and said, "I got locked inside, Unca Rumple."

Rumple cleared his throat and said, in a much softer voice than he normally used, "That's because little girls shouldn't play in jail cells, Regina Nolan."

She gave him an impish grin. "I'll 'member next time."

"You do that, little imp," he told her.

Then she ran over to Snow and hugged her about the knees. "Mommy, I'm hungry."

Snow knelt and picked her up. "Okay. Let's get some . . . uh . . ." she floundered, trying to remember what children this age liked to eat.

"Peanut butter and jelly," Rumple supplied.

"Yes! An' milk an' cookies," the toddler crowed. Then she reached out to Rumple and said, rather imperiously, "'Mere! I's gonna give you a kiss!"

For a instant, Rumple looked horrified. Then he recalled that this was a little child, and no longer his nemesis, and heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Regina . . ."

"Mere! Kiss you, Unca Rumple!"

"I don't believe this!" the old sorcerer groaned. But then he held out his arms and the intrepid child wound her arms about his neck and planted a smacking kiss on his cheek.

"Aww! How cute!" Snow giggled.

Rumple raised his eyes heavenward. "Why me?"

He made as if to hand the little girl back to Snow, but Regina clung stubbornly to him and cried, "No! Carry me!"

"Your mommy can carry you much better," Rumple persuaded.

Regina shook her head. "No! Don' want Mommy! Want you, Unca Rumple!"

Rumple rolled his eyes. "Why me?" he muttered again.

Snow was nearly convulsed with laughter. "That's Regina all right." Then she said to her new daughter. "Let's go to Granny's diner and get something to eat, okay? We'll find Daddy along the way."

"Cause you always find each other!" Regina sang, one arm clinging to Rumple's neck as he carried her out the door into the bright light of a sunny afternoon.

Snow beamed. "That's my girl!"

"And may God help us all," Rumple said.

A/N: Okay, so maybe that wasn't the way you expected things to work out, but . . . I thought it was apretty interesting solution. And guess what? I've finished this just in time to watch season 3! Yay! Hope you all enjoyed this fic and who wants to see a sequel, maybe a vacation in the Big Apple, with the Golds, the Charmings, and Regina? Could you see Regina driving Rumple crazy in FAO Schwartz? And Bae and Henry would finally get to eat their New York pizza and they could do the Museum of Natural History and Belle and Rumple could take a carriage ride through Central Park and yeah . . . you get the picture. So, what d'ya say, dearies?