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I'm learning that.

[What else do you say to the woman who shouldn't remember you?

She'd kept silent for Henry's sake, because it was Henry but this is entirely different. Neverland had forced Regina to look at her in a different light, to see her as something other than the woman who was going to take her son away. Somewhere along the way he'd become their son, and Regina found she had less of a problem with that than she thought she would.

Of course, their triumphant return from Neverland had been marred by Pan, and Regina's own attitude when Emma had concerns about Henry. Looking back, she felt so incredibly foolish.

And then came Pan's Curse.

And the fact that neither Emma or Henry should remember her. If they did, did that mean she failed? That everybody in Storybrooke would be cursed to live their lives in an unbreakable curse, cast by a smug little fool who wouldn't even be there to enjoy it?

She'd watched Emma and Henry drive out of Storybrooke, out of her life forever. She gave up everything to save everyone, and now it looks like she's failed? The look of pain and confusion on her face is more than enough to show Emma that something isn't right.]

Emma. You shouldn't remember me. Neither of you should.

[She frowns, pursing her lips slightly. None of that strikes her as particularly out of place, just confused. Shouldn't remember her? Wonderland liked to play with memories, but not that way.]

That's not how it works. It's the other way around. If you leave Wonderland, you don't get to remember what happened here.

[They were working on that. It was a long, slow process, but they were working on it. Most of them wanted to get home with their memories intact, to be able to hold onto the things they'd learned as well as memories of the people they'd come to care about in this place. A little too mushy for her to ever admit out loud, but it was what it was. She wasn't Wonderland's biggest fan, but she had friends here. There had even been second chances with old friends - though that had been snatched away.

She should have expected that, in hindsight. She was used to losing.]

Kind of a major figure, Regina. I don't think either one of us is going to be forgetting you anytime soon.

[Emma Swan you are the most infuriating person in the world. She mirrors Emma's frown with one of her own.]

This has nothing to do with... Wonderland. I watched the two of you drive away, it should've worked.

[Emma, why are you doing this. It wasn't enough that she had to say goodbye to Henry forever, now you're telling her it didn't work? She lets out a frustrated sigh, fixing Emma with a stare.]

If you remember me, it can only mean that I failed and Pan's curse tore Storybrooke apart.

[Casually drops that bomb, nbd.]

[Sorry, Regina, the jury's still out on who wins that title. She's pretty damn sure it's you, but now isn't the time.]

I have no idea what you're talking about.

[Something she hates that she has no choice but to admit; her frown remains and pulls her brows together, confused.]

Pan's curse? Did you--

[She suddenly drops her voice, lowering it as though suddenly worried they might be overheard. Like it matters here. She's always figured the network is monitored, anyway.]

Did you get to Neverland?

[Someone's a little behind.]

[Someone ought to catch Regina up on the whole 'earlier in the timeline' thing because right now? She's as confused as Emma.]

Ms. Swan, this isn't the time for jokes. [And they're back to that.] You know as well as I do that we made it to Neverland.

[Of course if she truly doesn't know what she's talking about, then this isn't a conversation they should be having over the phone. Eventually she relents, Emma clearly doesn't know what she's talking about, and they're both clearly missing something.]

Perhaps we should be having this conversation in person.

I agree.

[Which may very well sound like foreign words to Regina coming from her, but she's been in Wonderland long enough to know that nothing around them is to be trusted. She has a pretty good guess as to why their memories don't match up, assuming Regina is being serious, which means it's up to her to fill Regina in.

Six months ago, she would have hated being saddled with that particular job. Now, it only seem appropriate.]

Where are you? If you can make your way to the eighth floor, there's a diner there. It's as safe a place as any. Run by friends. We can talk there without worrying about being overheard.

[It's probably telling that Regina doesn't react weirdly to being agreed with.]

I'm in what appears to be an entrance hall. I'll meet you there.

[She cuts the feed without a response. With the complete and utter chaos of the upcoming conversation swirling in her mind, she begins the trek to the diner.

She's dreading this conversation, for so many reasons. Where does she start? Henry? Neal? Is that even hers to tell?

Despite how long it takes, walking is deemed the best method of transport, at least until she has a decent grasp on how magic works in this particular Wonderland.

It takes her longer than she'd ever admit, but eventually she finds the diner. And with the diner, comes Emma. Seeing her, so soon after seeing her leave forever is strange. She'd expected the next time she saw the Savior to be in the Enchanted Forest, a small part, some tiny sliver, holding out hope that they'd remember, somehow and come charging in with a rescue.]

[Emma tenses when she sees Regina come through that door, a response that's second-nature by now, bracing herself as though preparing for battle every time she sees the other woman turn the corner -- but their conversation over the network, however brief, was enough to tell her that it was probably safe to relax this time around, if only a little.

There was a lot to be explained. On both sides, she figures. Regina's clearly ahead of her, and Emma has eight months in Wonderland under her belt, a veritable veteran compared to some of the people here. She's learned a lot of this places lessons the hard way, and whether or not she and Regina are friends, she at least owes it to her to pass some of that on.

For Henry. Everything is for Henry's sake. Every overture of peace, every temporary truce, each a little more lasting than the one before.

Who knows where things stand from Regina's point of view by now.

She's seated on one of the booths near the back of the diner, the far corner offering them a cushion of silence as most other patrons gather near the lunch bar. She gestures to the seat across from her, offering a grim smile that's as much a sign of peace, however tense, as it is a greeting.]

Hey. Make yourself comfortable. Sounds like we have a lot to talk about.

[She made no progress on the 'where do I start' front on the walk to the diner. There's so many things they need to talk about, choosing one to start with when they're all so important is an incredibly difficult task.

When she takes a seat in the booth, the look on her face probably isn't what Emma's come to expect. She's not angry, or ready to strike, she's just. Tired. She's grateful for the relative privacy of the booth, but it doesn't show.

Eventually she decides to start with the one thing they both care about.]

Henry is safe. Despite Pan's best efforts, we returned from Neverland with everybody safe. As well as a few extra passengers.

[The only one of those she even remotely likes is Tinker Bell, and well, we'll keep that revelation for later. She already explained the situation to Emma once, she doesn't want to go over it again.

She hesitates. Honestly hesitates before she continues.]

One of those extra passengers was Neal.

[Henry is safe. She's so relieved to hear it that the rest takes a moment to sink in, so grateful to know that the wild goose chase they'd set off on right before she came here paid off. Henry had vanished from this place twice, and both times she'd been panic-stricken, wondering what would happen to him while he was in the wrong hands without her to come after him.

But he's safe. Nothing matters more than that, but that moment of hesitation is enough to grab her. She's so numb when the news first hits that she says nothing, only frowns and lets it draw her eyebrows together as she leans back in her seat. Dubious, skeptical, but--

She's seen Regina lie, and she's never managed to look this earnest in doing so. Every fiber of her being tells her that Regina is telling the truth.]

How is that even possible?

[She saw him get shot.]

How could anyone have survived that?

[She'd kinda feel bad about dropping the news that way, but that's not a thing she does. But it's the truth, and she has no reason to lie about this. In fact, she has more reason to lie about Neal being dead.

She glances away, before looking back at Emma.]

I don't know the details, you were reunited while I was taking my leave from your little group.

[The implication there is worse than the actual truth, but she makes no attempt to explain it.

She actually looks uneasy about this next part. It's not something she ever wanted to relive, and despite Henry's claims otherwise, it's going to hurt for a long time.]

Pan wanted Henry's heart, and when I made it so nobody could take Henry's heart ever again, [I think you skipped something, Regina.] he stole Henry's body. We returned to Storybrooke with Pan in Henry's body, and Henry in Pan's body. [And no, she does not look happy about it.]

Mr. Gold managed to undo the spell, but not before Pan recast the Dark Curse.

You went off on your own in Neverland?

[As if Regina weren't capable. Of course she is, but it's so much easier for Emma to focus on something other than Neal as she lets the news sink in. Reunited? That was a potentially loaded word, but--

Busy looking for Henry, she wouldn't have had time to do anything more than make sure Neal was safe. Romance wasn't high on her list, and a part of her felt momentarily panicked that she was even considering that as a possibility at all.

No. Of course it wasn't. No matter how relieved she was to hear that he was alive.]

Wait, wait--

[Too much, too soon.]

Ever again? Did Pan get Henry's heart? There's no way either one of us would have ever let that happen if we could stop it. Regina, what the hell happened?

[And what about that curse? She would get to that.]

Between your parents' constant optimism and a pirate who never learned the concept of basic hygiene, can you blame me? I wasn't happy with how things were progressing, so I decided my talents were best used elsewhere. With Mr. Gold.

[Note the lack of anything disparaging said about Emma. Until Emma got derailed by what Regina had thought were Pan's lies, they'd actually worked well together. But maybe we should keep the 'Regina taught Emma magic' bomb for a little while later.

But oh. Yes. Emma wasn't there, she can't skip over important details. She looks uncomfortable, like it's reflecting her failure as a parent that she couldn't stop Henry from willingly giving over his heart.]

Henry's heart is special. 'The Heart of the Truest Believer.' On Neverland, it allowed him to literally believe things into existence. [Is that a fond look on her face?] But Pan wanted it, to save himself. He tricked Henry into believing that by handing over his heart, he'd be saving magic. Pan managed to slow us down, and when we got there Henry hadn't done it yet.

He just wanted to be a hero.

[A part of her wants to argue that Hook wasn't that bad, but this wasn't the time or place. She couldn't say anything about her parents -- she had only ever expected the barest level of tolerance between them and Regina, working together for a common goal, but when it came to the optimism, Emma might have been on Regina's side.

It wasn't anything that they had done wrong. It worked for them. It fell in line with their past experience, motivated them to carry on, but it just didn't work that way for her. Her life had never given her much reason to be optimistic. She was practical, and any optimism was strictly cautious.

Her frown shifts as Regina explains, softening slightly as she lets the pieces fall into place. As bad as it was-- she couldn't blame Henry for making the choice he had. She wouldn't have expected anything less from him, not if that was what he truly believed.]

So he took advantage of Henry. Preyed on the fact that he believes in everyone and everything.

[She sighs slowly, folding her arms over her chest.]

He was doing what he thought was the right thing. But we got him back, right? You said he hadn't done it yet, but-- we fixed it. We have to have fixed it.

[It's a remarkable show of restraint that she doesn't immediately snap at Emma. Of course she fixed it, she's his mother. But snapping at her, falling into the old routine, wouldn't help. Not now.

It's a sign of how much Neverland changed them. Her. Maybe it'll show to Emma, help convince her that Regina is changing.

Her fingers strum lightly on the table.]

Henry wouldn't listen to us, any of us. He gave Pan his heart, and almost died. But yes, Emma. I fixed it. [She's taking pride in this, that it was her who ultimately saved Henry.] I tore Henry's heart from Pan's chest, and saved our son's life.

[And recovered Pandora's Box and freed Mr. Gold, but he's not the important person here.]

After I enchanted Henry so nobody, not even himself, could remove his heart, Pan struck again. We managed to trap him in Pandora's Box, but the damage had been done. During the struggle, Pan stole Henry's body. We didn't know until it was too late.

[An Emma from the not-so-distant past might have challenged that claim, insisted that there was no way she hadn't played a part in that rescue -- she knows she was there, knows that there was nothing that could have kept her from doing whatever it took to save Henry.

Except for the fact that it required ripping out a heart. Something she would have failed at in both ability and deed. That power wasn't available to her, and even if it was--

She's not sure she could do it.

But Regina could. Regina could do what was necessary. That was worth remembering.

Even at the worst of times, Emma tried her damndest to think of Regina as a person rather than the 'Evil Queen,' even if she wasn't a person Emma particularly liked. Still. Sitting here now, watching Regina gloss over countless openings for an argument-- either she's changed, or she's trying, and that's worth noting, too. Emma knows a hell of a lot about how hard it is to change.]

So he was running around inside of Henry. Not a bad plan, if he thought we would go after him on sight. [She frowns. That's worrying. Henry must have been okay, Regina would have said otherwise, but she hates to think what might have happened if they'd been a little too quick on the draw.] I take it they got switched back. No way either one of us was letting that go on any longer than it had to.

[Come on, she's not going to let Regina take all the credit.]

You mentioned a curse. Tell me about that. That's the reason you thought I shouldn't remember you?

[Neverland taught her that Emma and Snow White need someone around to do the things they can't. It's not a role she particularly wants to play, playing it for too long would lead her down a dark path again.

(Part of her is disappointed that she doesn't know if it worked, if they made it to the Enchanted Forest. Everything was always so black and white there.)

Her fingers continue to strum on the table, as she goes over what to tell Emma next.

(None of this shades of grey business that started with a hole in her heart and a child that nobody wanted.)

Her fingers stop. She's been dreading this moment, despite the few times she's brought it up herself. She already said goodbye to her son--and Emma--, gave up everything for them. She doesn't regret it. (Doesn't regret anything.) But it's not something she wants to talk about.

(Maybe it started with Emma, too.)]

Don't say anything until I'm finished. Please? It was hard enough the first time.

[Can you at least give her that, Emma?]

Mr. Gold managed to undo the spell, after you realised something was wrong.

[It's frankly a huge step in their relationship that she's willing to emphasise who caught on to Pan's game. She doesn't look happy about it, but she's not angry with Emma either. Not anymore. (Part of her knew Emma was right that day. The small part that's still under her mother's influence.) But if Emma hadn't realised, Regina wouldn't be here. Not like this. Instead she'd be a victim of Pan's curse.

Or dead.]

Pan used Henry against me. To keep him safe I took him to my vault. [The same one Graham's heart was in. The same one that all the evidence of Regina's crimes is kept in. Sealed away so people can't use it against her.

(Sealed away to keep Henry safe.)]

You released Pan's body from Pandora's Box and realised the truth. Unfortunately you arrived at my vault too late, Henry--Pan had drugged me with one of the potions and stolen the scroll containing the Dark Curse. The curse that created Storybrooke and tore an entire world apart.

[Don't Emma. Just. Don't.

She's been punished enough for keeping the scroll where someone could get it. Saying goodbye to Henry, giving Emma the life she always wanted.

(Is that really a punishment?)

She can't deal with being punished even more.]

The only way to undo Pan's curse was for me to undo mine. The very curse that created Storybrooke, that warped everyone's lives for 28 years. [That was supposed to be her happy ending. That was her happy ending.

(For about three days.)] Gold gave up his life to kill Pan, so we could recover the scroll.

[She's so incredibly obviously upset by that, despite not saying anything. They were enemies. (Friends.) Teacher and student. Regina knew him for so many years.]

The price for undoing the curse was the same as when I cast it. The Thing I Love Most. I could never see Henry again. [She goes silent for several minutes, letting that sink in.] Undoing the curse would make it so Storybrooke never existed and send everyone back to where they came from. All of us, including you, would go back to the Enchanted Forest. But because Henry wasn't born there, he'd be all alone in a Land Without Magic.

[Their son, alone in a dark, cold world. Regina couldn't--wouldn't-- let that happen. For the first time, she's thankful that Emma is the Savior.

(Despite everything that statement implies.)]

You were written into the curse to destroy it, and only you could escape it. [She takes a deep breath.

(If anybody asks, no, there's no tears threatening to spill forth.)]

Because Storybrooke would never have existed, the two of you would be together but you wouldn't remember it. Any of it. So I did what I did to everyone else the first time I cast the curse. I gave you new memories.

[Her fingers strum on the table again. The repetitive motion keeping her from doing anything else.]

Wonderland pulled me in before I found out if it worked. But I watched you drive away, into the life you always wanted. We go back to being stories, and you escaped it to raise your son. You would never have given him up, never been dragged to Storybrooke. It might've been a fake past, but I had to do it. To give Henry a future.

[To give Emma a future.

Maybe she is taking credit for it. She's owed that, at least.]

[Telling Emma not to interrupt was almost asking the impossible, but given the situation, she found it within herself to behave. To listen, to take things in and file them away, organize her thoughts as best she could as Regina explained.

It wasn't the first time she'd been behind. When she'd first come to Wonderland, just about everyone else had been well ahead of her, including Henry. There had been so many varying stories from different points on the timeline that she'd been forced to keep a notebook to keep track of it all.

This was different. This was big. She wasn't going to forget a word of it. It was too important. She'd even caught the way Regina referred to the others, the way she referred to her, and it confirmed that something had changed. All of this, and whatever else might have happened that Regina might have left out--

It was too much for someone to go through and not be forced to change. It made Emma wonder what might have become of her after all this.

She gives it time to sink in, but after a moment, she looks straight across the table to lock eyes with Regina, eyebrows furrowed slightly as the weight of all that's happened settles across her shoulders.]

... you gave him up.

[She knew enough to know that it was the hardest possible path for Regina to take. It was more remarkable than most people might have given her credit for.]

To stop everything, you really gave up what you love most.

[She shakes her head, almost disbelieving -- a year ago, she never would have imagined Regina would be able to make a choice like that.]

I hope people appreciate what you did. [Like or dislike, it doesn't matter. What Regina did deserves respect.] I'd say you proved a whole lot of people wrong about you. You're different than I remember.

[She doesn't know what kind of answer she's expecting when she finally finishes. Anger, disbelief, anything but the silent acceptance of the events she explained.]

I had to. If you thought my curse was bad? You wouldn't be able to imagine how terrifying Pan's would be.

[She knows what Emma is thinking, about how the Regina she remembers would never have done this.]

I wouldn't know. Wonderland decided to tear me away before I saw if it worked. [And the lack of confirmation scares her more than she'd dare admit.] I don't care what they think, all that matters is that Henry had a future with someone he loved, and that he wasn't alone. [Even if it wasn't her who got to keep him, who won in the end. She doesn't voice that thought, trying to turn it into a competition isn't something Regina does anymore.] I would do it a thousand times over if it meant keeping Henry safe.

So you don't even know if your solution took.

[Regina may not want to say it out loud, but Emma has no problem doing so -- it would bother her, too, to lay all of that on the line and have know what of knowing if it was worth it or not.

She exhales slowly. She's said a lot of things about Regina over the past couple of years, formed a lot of opinions, fought countless battles with her and even defended her on occasion-- but she's never believed Regina so completely as she does right now.

Becoming a mother changed her, and it changed her enough that she and Regina can finally understand each other on some level.]

That's all I want, too. To keep Henry safe.

No, I don't. I have no doubts that it worked, but until we get confirmation all we can do is wonder.

[If there's one thing she knows, it's magic. She paid her price, said goodbye to her son forever. It has to work, otherwise it will have been for nothing and when (if) they return to their homes permanently, she'll be alone.

But if she even entertains those thoughts, Pan wins.]

I never doubted that, Ms. Swan. [And it's true, she didn't. Oh she thought Emma would eventually move on and abandon him again, but it quickly became abundantly clear that Emma would never intentionally hurt Henry.] So, now what?

[So all they can do is assume that it worked the way it was supposed to. Emma may not know magic the way Regina does, but she's heard enough about it backfiring. If Regina gave up Henry, then that-- it should have been enough. She can't think of a higher price for Regina to have paid.

It changes things, and does so in a way she's not entirely comfortable with.]

Now what.

[She smiles grimly, faintly as she echoes her. She has no idea, either.]

I guess, for now, we just... do what we can. Adapt. Be civil. [Maybe not friends, but almost there.] Try to do what's best for Henry as long as we're trapped here, keep working at finding a way out.

[There isn't a higher price for Regina, and there most likely never will be. That one fact is the only thing that keeps Regina believing it worked. Magic might be mysterious and cruel, but the price is always of equal weight to the task.]

Is that going to be a problem for you, Emma? [It certainly isn't for her, at least unless Emma refuses to let her see her son.] And if I don't want to go back?

[It's certainly nothing she'd ever expect to say. But going back means going back. To the Enchanted Forest, most likely.

To a life without Henry.]

No.

[She leans back in her seat again, arms folded.]

Even if we're not on the same page as far as what's happened back home, I have more than just your word about how things have changed. [Things have been changing ever since the curse broke. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not.] We haven't been enemies for a long time.

[She pauses.]

You wouldn't be the only one. There are others who don't want to go back. That would mean finding a way to make Wonderland safe. Livable.

[And there it is: confirmation that Emma didn't quite trust her. It stings a little more than she thought it would, but she quickly pushes those thoughts out of the way.]

No, we haven't. And for Henry's sake, I hope we aren't ever again. [She doesn't want to be friends with Emma. Part of her is always going to resent the other woman, she won't deny that. But Emma is also the one person who keeps giving her more chances, and for that she owes it to her to at least be civil. If not just for Henry.] It's quite a big 'if', Ms. Swan. But if it's a choice between staying in Wonderland with Henry, and going... back, we both know what I'll choose.

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[Action] also wow Season 3 midseason finale spoilers out the wazoo nobody look

[Action] This is the best thing to come off hiatus to, honestly.

[Action] w h o o p s @ how late this is

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