As Cora and Hook arrived in Storybrooke to spread their reign of terror, there was celebration at Granny's. A welcome back party for Emma and Mary Margaret. They were cheering and clinking their glasses, but the happy mood was soon over by the arrival of Regina. Of course, Grumpy reacted.. well, grumpily. Snow and Charming take Emma apart and their daughter explains why she invited Henry's second mother there.

Regina was really trying her best to be her better self, to change, for Henry, but it was hard. Especially when she was left alone for most of the evening to her own wicked, sad thoughts. She decides to leave, with Emma following right after her. The former Evil Queen snaps at the blonde, but it was truly only to reflect her frustration on something else, which is what she's good at.

Regina leaves, but was unknowingly watched by Captain Hook through his spyglass with Cora by his side. They watch her strut in the dark, but didn't pay attention to where she was going.

Gold's house.

With a flick of her wrist, she magics the front door open. The Evil Queen was certain that Rumplestiltskin and Belle weren't home, as they were at their shop which she crossed on her way here. With no hesitance she walks upstairs and goes to the third bedroom on the left. She peeps the door open, taking a peek around the corner. In the bed was Winter, laying soundly with her eyes closed.

Almost like she was really asleep, the woman thinks. She slowly walks inside and sits down at her side with a sigh. "It seems like the only people I can tall to in confidentially are people I killed right after or people who are asleep. Not even the damned cricket could shut his mouth, can you believe it?"

Can you believe it, Regina, talking to someone who can not hear you? Her own mind snaps at her. Well, shut up, I'm the one talking here, she responds. Regina looks at Winter's sleeping face. "Henry always spoke so fondly of you. He still does, actually. About how you always see the good in people. But, Winter, is it possible.. that you see good in me?"

The black haired woman sighs. "Or am I still that Evil Queen everyone holds me for? Am I still wicked to the core and try to mask it up with my kindness? I am so conflicted, Winter." The queen sighs one last time. What was the use? It's not like the girl could answer back to her and reveal her the solution to all her problems. It simply doesn't work that way.

As nothing in her world would ever work in a way in favor of her.

A day later Regina confronted Doctor Hopper at the docks when he was walking his dog about what he told to Emma. Ruby saw it all happen on her run and walks up to them, asking if everything is alright. She was quickly asked to leave, which left a feeling of uncertainty in the pit of her stomach. Regina wouldn't.. hurt Archie, would she?

She soon forgot about it with the business of Granny's that day, but when it was about time for the diner to close, she sees the Evil Queen again. She was about to enter the office of Doctor Hopper. Soon after, as she cleans dishes and glasses for tomorrow, she catches sight of the same woman leaving the office and walking around the corner. Strange.. what business could she have with Hopper so late in the evening?

The next day Red was serving tables and Emma and Henry were having a peaceful breakfast together, discussing her time in the Enchanted Forest and the fact if Henry could walk to the busstop alone. The mother and son start to leave the diner when a certain dalmation runs up to them, barking his lungs out. He seems upset.

Ruby runs outside and does her.. wolf-communication-thing and Pongo runs off, followed by Emma and Ruby. He leads them to Archie's office. As Emma opens the door, she feels something off. It didn't feel right, which was in fact true.. as Doctor Hopper was lying on the floor. Dead. "Who would do this," Emma questions, feeling in shock over the loss of their conscience.

Pongo was softly whining, mourning the loss of his owner as Ruby scratches him over the head. "I think I know." "You do, who," Emma questions her. The brunette bites her lip. "Yesterday morning I caught Archie in confrontation.. with Regina. I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but it seemed like she was threatening him. On the same day I saw her entering his office during work hours and return later. It seemed over all just suspicious," she explains.

Emma stands up and Ruby follows her example. The blonde runs a hand over her face. "Just when you think you can trust her.. Well, I'll call her in to the sheriff station. Can you make sure Pongo stays somewhere until we figure out what to do with him," the woman says, taking on her sheriff mode. Red nods, her brown hair bouncing up and down.

"I can ask if Belle is interested? She seems to like Pongo and the dog adores her and Winter. It seems.. best for him," she says, glancing shortly over the man's dead body. Her voice starts to become shaky and her eyes begin to water with the grief of losing a friend. "Sounds like a plan. Call Belle and see what she thinks of it. I have to go now," Emma says, quickly texting David to come to the station and call Regina in.

The Mayor was called and she was ordered to come to the sheriff station. Though Regina does not do well with orders, she did as was asked of her and sits patiently in the interrogation room, waiting for Mr and Miss Charming to arrive.

When they told Regina why she was there, she seemed shocked and genuinely sorry for Archie's fate in Emma's view. They retreat to the other room, in which Snow was watching them through the one-sided glass. The youngest Charming tells them their opinion, but they bud heads quite quickly. In the end, as the sheriff, Emma makes the decision to let the woman go, to much disagreement from her parents.

They go to Doctor Hopper's office to search it through. Once again, evidence was found to plead Regina guilty. As Snow and Charming are even more convinced she did it, doubt started to rise in Emma. Usually it's hard to find evidence, but in this case? It was almost falling right into their laps. It was too easy and as Regina had said earlier: if she wanted to hurt him, they wouldn't have known that she'd done it.

That leads to one conclusion: she was being framed, and whoever did that was not afraid to kill innocent human, well, sort of human beings to reach that goal. And there was one person to find in town who really fits that description best.

The Charmings go straight to Mr Gold's shop, where Belle had presented Rumplestiltskin with a basket, full of delicious things. They confront Mr Gold, who is his usual self. Belle reacts shocked to the fact that Doctor Hopper is dead. "So that's why his dog is staying over at our house? Ruby didn't really explain what happened and everything-" the woman says, slowly drifting off.

Mr Gold tells them to simply prove his innocence by asking the witness. Emma responds that there was none, to which the fairytale character responds that there was and requests Prince Charming to get Pongo with Belle, as he rather did not have him wandering around his house without supervision. The two left and arrived shortly after at the house. Charming and Belle found the dog laying on Winter's bed and coax him by tugs on his red leash to come with them.

Once back in the shop, Mr Gold tells them about a way to extract the memories from Pongo without hurting him. When Emma comments on how he could be deceitful with the magic, he tells her that she was the one to perform the spell. "You have it within you, told me so yourself."

He shows the blonde a dreamcatcher and drags it softly over Pongo's head. It starts glowing. Belle asks what the glowing was and Rumple tells her that they are the dog's memories. He hands the dreamcatcher to Emma. To the blonde's shock, they see Regina actually perform the murder.

She was angry for having her special 'superpower' deceived and plans to go after her. Her parents disagree that that was a good idea, but she did anyway. Her parents follow her and they confront her. The plan was to make her magic powerless by using fairy dust, but that goes horribly wrong and Regina escapes in smoke.

As Emma tells Henry, right when he came back from the schoolbus, Regina watches them and starts to cry as the two hug each other.