Emma Swan showing up at her door has never been a good thing. The first time it happened, Emma had shown up to take her son away from her. And the last time it happened, Emma had again shown up to take her son away from her. Since she didn't have her son any more, Regina had no guess as to what Emma had shown up to take from her this time.

Regina glared at Emma expectantly, waiting for the blonde to spit out why she had shown up in the middle of the night. There were so many ways this conversation could go, but it all hinged on what Emma was here for. Emma for her part seemed at a complete loss for words, mouth intermittently opening as if to start speaking only to close as if to decide against it. Finally, after minutes of torturous silence, Emma gestured to the smashed cell phone and asked, "That was Linda, right?"

Why, after all these years, would that be the first- "Wait, how do you know Linda? How do you know that was Linda?"

Emma shifted uncomfortably. "Well, it's a really, really, really long story, but the short version is that the hitman Linda was telling you about is going to kill you. We have to get out of here now."

Regina snorted. "So you mean to tell me that you knew the contents of a phone call that happened not ten minutes ago, and you know without a shred of doubt that poor, defenseless me is going to get offed by some two bit assassin?" Emma merely nodded in response.

"Something is definitely happening right now, and I don't think it's what you say it is. There's no good reason for you to know who was on the phone- we both know Rumpelstiltskin's gift of foresight is not so precise, and he definitely wouldn't waste any of it looking at my future. So you'll have to excuse my skepticism if I'm a tad suspicious of you. Heck, we both remember the last time you used your magic when I was involved."

"This isn't a joke, Regina! Look, I have to get you to Storybrooke for your safety. The hitman is going to be here any minute now!"

The sheer gall the blonde had at proclaiming herself a Savior combined with the complete absurdity of the situation had Regina doubling over in laughter. "After everything you have done to me, you actually think I would go anywhere with you? For all I know, your parents are just waiting for me to come over the town line so they can stick my head on a pike. Hmm, now that I think about it, you probably roped Linda into setting me up- how else would your timing be this good?"

Emma shook her head is denial. "Regina, we've known that you didn't kill Archie since the day you left! Archie told us it was your mother who framed you!"

"Oh really," Regina snarled. "And I assume by the fact that you appear very much alive means you took care of her?"

Emma nodded in confirmation. "Her last words were that you would have been enough, and that she was sorry for everything she did to you."

Regina stood numbly for a few moments, before sighing. "I suppose you had better come inside." Emma, despite clearly appearing like she was in a rush, took the offer.

…

"Look, I was devastated when I found out what happened," Emma began, glass of apple cider clutched between her fingers. "We all were. They never found a body, but magic-"

"Why do you keep talking like it's past tense?" Regina interrupted. "Last time I checked, I'm not dead yet. What haven't you told me?"

"You have to believe me when I tell you I can't explain it right now," Emma said slowly. "If you would just-"

"No," Regina countered. "I really do believe I deserve an explanation."

"There's no time to explain!" Emma shouted. "If you would stop being so stubborn and just come with me, I promise I will explain everything-"

"And why the hell would I go with you anywhere?" Regina shot back, matching the blonde in volume. "All you have told me is some story about how I'm going to die if I don't come with you, and even if I believed you about my life being in danger, it doesn't tell me why it has to be you I go with!"

"Because of our son!" Emma shouted even louder than before. "He misses you so much. We all see the effect it has on him. He doesn't laugh, he doesn't smile. He beats himself for accusing you of killing Archie and for not finding you quickly enough."

The mention of Henry did not have the desired effect on Regina; if anything, it only seemed to turn Regina more emotionless. Regina seemed to guess at the cause for Emma's confusion. "I saw a therapist when I was in Boston," she explained. "I told her all about my life- minus the fairytale parts, of course. I told her about my mother abused me, how my husband neglected me, how my son hated me. He told me that the clean break I just did was healthy, that it was okay to cut myself off from family if they were so toxic for my mental health."

"It was hard, very hard, for the first year," she continued. "I found a... coping mechanism, so to speak. Each time I thought about how much I missed Henry, I reminded myself of the last words he said to me- how he didn't want anything to do with me."

Emma nodded. "Hence the audio recorder."

Regina's glass abruptly shattered, and dead silence fell between the two. Emma immediately knew that she had said the wrong thing, as Regina was positively fuming in anger (and not noticing the glass embedded in her hand). "How dare you?" she seethed. "How dare you touch that? What kind of game is this? Did you break into my apartment already today? Did you snoop around, prepare yourself to con me by pretending to know everything about my new life?"

"Regina, I only came in after-" Emma suddenly felt a tug in her stomach, and she instinctively knew that her time in the past was about to come to an end. "Okay look, time's pretty much run out. I'm sorry for what I said, Henry's sorry for what he said, we're all sorry for accusing you, time to go."

Emma reached to grab Regina's arm, but the brunette recoiled. "No, you don't get to pull that line with me. I think that I, of all people, would know that just saying sorry does absolve you of-"

Regina dropped her jaw in shock as a portal began to form right in her living room. "Emma, what is happening?"

"That's my ride home."

A gust was starting to pick up in the living room, and loose bits of paper were beginning to flap around. The fact that magic taking place right here, outside of Storybrooke, was lending some much needed credence to Emma's story.

"Please Regina," Emma begged, holding out her hand, "Let me save you. Come back with me."

The two women locked eyes from across the room. Behind Emma's wind-tousled hair, Regina saw the earnestness in the blonde's teary eyes, and finally found it in herself to believe that Emma was here to save her. Regina gave Emma her good hand, gripped it firmly, and the two jumped into the portal, which promptly closed behind them.

…

Emma had been in the past for around nine hours; nine hours had passed in her present (Regina's future). Rumpelstiltskin had teleported Zelena to a magical cell (although such measures were not strictly necessary due to her magic being trapped in her pendant), then conjured some seats at the farmhouse. With time travel being a completely new concept even for Rumpelstiltskin, they simply had no idea when Emma would return, so they just waited.

It was nearly midnight, and the exhaustion from defeating Zelena earlier that day had taken its toll. Henry was nodding off, Belle had returned back to town for rest, and David left to put the baby in a proper bed for the night.

A flash of light erupted from the previously inert symbol on the ground, and Emma and Regina were unceremoniously ejected from a portal which quickly closed behind them. Emma, now with access to magic, healed Regina's hand, yielding a small gasp of surprise.

"Mom!"

There was the voice that had haunted Regina for years, but this time it was backed by pure enthusiasm and relief (and it was deeper). Regina was tackled by Henry, who buried his head in her shoulder and muttered, "I'm so sorry I'm so sorry..."

All the walls that Regina had attempted to place around her heart crumbled at that moment, and the love she still felt for her son burst through. "Shhhh," she whispered, "It's alright. I'm back."

"I missed you so much," Henry cried.

"I know... I missed you too..."

…

"So time travel is possible?"

Emma nodded.

"And I went missing, presumed dead, almost a year ago, which for me was yesterday?"

"Yup."

"Except the reason for my disappearance was that you traveled back in time, thinking I was murdered, and brought me into the future?"

"And you didn't believe me when I said it would be hard to explain."

Both women laughed as Ruby came over to refill their coffee. They had decided last night that everyone involved needed some rest to clear their mind, and that they should convene at Granny's the next morning.

"Soooo, about accusing you of murder..." Emma began nervously.

"Emma, I've done many things that I'm sorry for," Regina responded. "And if I ever expect all of you to be able too look past those, then I also need to be able to forgive. I acknowledge that my... grudge against Snow may have been excessive, and I can't exactly blame you for thinking I killed Archie."

Emma grinned. "Fresh start?"

Regina tilted her head in agreement and extended her hand. With fake ignorance, she asked, "So, Miss Swan, you're Henry birth mother?"

Emma chucked and shook Regina's hand. "Hi."