Author's Notes: This is a bit different than what I usually write and it is told entirely from Regina's side. There is hard drug usage in this story along with two failed suicide attempts, so if any of that triggers you, I'm warning you now. Very, very brief mentions of the two Beards in the very beginning (only to pave way to a bit of background to how they got to where they are now). This is slow-burn Swan Queen, focusing on their friendship first as it develops into more. This is a story I've been wanting to read and have yet to see one in this fandom as of yet, so I started writing it as per my own enjoyment and I'm sharing it because I hope others can enjoy the story, even in the hardest moments, as much as I have, and if you don't then that's okay too.

TL;DR: see sentences two and three for warnings/triggers/etc.

Every day turned out to be another ordinary day, no more threats, no more magical beasts or villains to fight and defeat. It was a refreshing change after four years without so much as a break since the Dark Curse had been broken—and many others after that. Every day was so ordinary that everyone had fallen into an entirely different pace of life in their small, beloved seaside town in Maine.

The faint ticking of the clock out in the hallway made her left eye twitch and Regina Mills could begin to feel the weight of the long, busy day resting heavily on her shoulders. She tapped the tip of her pen along the dotted line of the work order that had sat on her desks for weeks for approval of some major road maintenance around the town. Her left eye began to twitch a little harder than before and she placed her pen down with a heavy sigh. She reached for the glass of water on the far right side of her desk and took a few sips before conjuring up some aspirin to dull the headache that was beginning to form at the base of her neck.

It had been six months since they had returned from the Underworld, a time in her life she found too hard to think back on because of the sacrifices that had been made there. They had all been given difficult choices and went through many trials, and it had all been for naught. Not everyone came back the night they found a way to escape from the Underworld within an each of their lives and nothing was ever going to be the same.

Regina had gone through her grief over Robin's sacrifice, his soul for hers, when a form of her mother had tried to tether her to that realm, to punish her for all the wrong and evil things she'd done in her life despite the very fact she had been on the road to redemption since the Dark Curse had been broken. She wasn't raising the child he had with Zelena as Robin had asked of her in the moments before his soul was tethered to that realm for all of eternity. She couldn't bear to look at the young girl long enough to care for her upon their return to their world.

Most days she found it easier to not think of him, for the pain he caused her and not just with his so-called noble sacrifice. She wasn't the only one who lost someone that night before they returned home. Emma couldn't save the man she'd fallen in love with and believed to be her soul mate, her true love, but their time in the Underworld have proven that was not the case, that Killian Jones was not her soul mate nor was he her true love.

Regina knew how devastated Emma had been to learn that, but she had also sensed there was a bit of relief their too, knowing for certain and not just on speculation or hope that it was true. Regina also knew that Emma had swallowed her grief in stride, showing the strong woman she had grown into being, the strong woman everyone knew her as in her time before becoming the Dark One. Emma never spoke of their time in the Underworld or even her time spent as the Dark One, and Regina never brought it up whenever they did speak.

Which wasn't often anymore, something Regina had only just realized as the throbbing in the back of her head grew worse and her mind filled with thoughts of all the times she and Emma had spoken in the last six months.

There were those twice a week dinner's at Granny's where she, Emma, and their son would sit in their usual booth and listen to Henry talk about school and his friends, especially the girl from Camelot who he had become completely enamored with, more so since their return from the Underworld and learning that this girl was his soul mate. It bothered Regina since he was still young, too young to have found the one he was meant to be with, and she knew it bothered Emma too, but Emma was all smiles whenever Henry spoke of Violet and she even teased him to the point where he'd be so embarrassed that he did anything he could to get away from them both.

There were the occasional lunch meetings, but those had become few and far in between as the months wore on. Regina figured after a few of those lunch meetings had been cancelled or simply forgotten about, that Emma was either busy with work or she just wanted some time to herself.

They occasionally passed one another in the streets, which too had become moments that were few and far in between ever since Emma took on the night shift at the station to give her father more time to be at home with the baby and his wife. While she worked throughout the night, she still made time for Henry whenever she could, but that also meant that their regular family dinner's at Granny's too had stopped completely.

Regina rubbed at the back of her neck, willing the pain away. A quick glance at her watch and after deeming it acceptable to call it a day with just ten minutes before five, she signed along the dotted line on the work order before packing up her things. She grabbed her purse and pulled out her keys as she strolled over to her closed office door, letting out a startled gasp when she nearly ran straight into her fourteen-year-old son.

"Henry, what are you doing here?" Regina asked him as she placed a hand over her chest for a second. "You scared me."

"Sorry Mom, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just on my way home from Nicholas' house and I thought maybe we could go home together?"

"Of course," Regina smiled and she led the way towards the stairs, pausing to lock her office door and then the outer office door a moment later. "Is there something on your mind, dear?"

Henry always had a telltale quirk when he wanted to talk, but wasn't sure how to bring it up. He'd nervously scratch at his arm or at the back of his neck, sometimes even looking slightly guilty or concerned, it all depended on the nature of what he wanted or needed to talk about.

"It's probably nothing," Henry shrugged. "I stopped at Ma's on the way and I know she was home since she doesn't go to work until seven. I forgot my key but she usually leaves the back door open. It was locked. I knocked on the door for ten minutes, Mom, and she never answered."

"I am sure she was just sleeping, dear," Regina said quietly and she led the way down the stairs. "Did you try to call her?"

"She keeps her phone off when she's sleeping, you know that."

Regina sighed and pushed open the door, allowing her son who was now taller than her to walk outside first. "I'm sure you are right, it is probably nothing," she said as they walked across the nearly empty parking lot to where she'd parked her car that morning.

"I hope so," he said with a slight frown. "Mom?"

"Yes?"

Henry shook his head. "You haven't noticed anything off about her, have you?" He asked and Regina paused before she unlocked the door. "I mean, she's been acting pretty strange ever since we got back and I thought at first it was because of what happened there, but I don't think that's it anymore."

"Acting strange?" Regina asked as they got into the car. "What do you mean by that, Henry?"

"I don't know, just not like herself, I guess. Sometimes when I'm over at the house, she'll be grouchy and tired, then she'll go upstairs for a little while and come back down acting completely different."

"How so?"

"Kind of hyper?" Henry shrugged. "I don't know, Mom, it's just weird. When she gets like that, she talks really fast and she gets really excited over the littlest things. There was one time she started acting like that, I woke up in the middle of the night, and she was vacuuming the rug in the living room, the same spot. The exact same spot over and over again."

Regina had to admit that it did sound strange and not like Emma at all. She turned in her seat and placed a hand on Henry's shoulder. "I know it's been six months since we've returned, but perhaps your mother is still grieving? Everyone goes through the stages of grief in their own way."

"I don't know, Mom. It doesn't seem like that. She's either tired and grouchy all the time or she like…that."

"Is there anything else I need to be aware of, dear?"

Henry shrugged and Regina sighed as she gave his shoulder a small squeeze, trying to encourage him to speak. "She got really mad the other night because I was there when she woke up for work. She—she yelled at me, told me to go home and give her some space. Mom, that's my house too, but she was acting like it wasn't and she was so angry. I've never seen her like that before. She's scarier than you when you get angry at me for not cleaning my room."

"I see," Regina replied and she clenched her jaw, feeling the anger stirring deep inside her core. "I will speak to her about—"

"No," Henry said quickly. "Please don't, Mom. I think it's going to make everything worse."

"This is unacceptable, Henry. She is your mother and you have every right to want to be there with her as it is your home too. I will speak to her, not about the way she's been acting as you've told me, but of other arrangements regarding the time you spend with myself and with her."

"Grandpa said he's been trying to convince her to stop working nights," Henry said after a moment. "She told him to go fu—"

"Henry! Language!" Regina snapped before he could finish that sentence. "I think that perhaps your mother is going through something at the moment, something she believes she can deal with on her own. You know as well as I do that she is a very private person and ridiculously stubborn. This too, as with everything else we've all been through together, will pass in time."

"I hope so," he frowned as he exhaled sharply. "What are we having for dinner tonight, Mom?"

"We can stop at the diner and you can get your usual to bring home."

"And you?"

"I have a headache, dear. I am not hungry nor am I in the mood to cook. What I would like is to just go home and soak in the bath for a little while. It has been a very long, tiring day."

Regina drove the half a block to the diner, idling at the curb while Henry ran in to order himself a burger and fries to go. She picked up her Blackberry from inside her purse and turned it on, groaning when she found she had several missed calls from Mary Margaret. Her head was pounding and she didn't even bother to listen to the messages that were left on her voicemail, definitely not in the mood to hear Mary Margaret's voice and the excessive way the woman managed to babble on and on even just leaving what should be a simple message.

She placed her phone back in her purse and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel while she waited for Henry. She started to think about the way Emma had been acting since their return and while nothing was too out of the ordinary, she realized that she simply hadn't noticed just how much she had changed and just how much she had closed herself off from everyone, even their son.

For Emma to close herself off from Henry, it was indeed strange and not at all like herself. Henry was the most important person in Emma's life and Emma always made time for him, always. But as she thought more of it, she noticed a pattern she should've seen before. On the days that Henry was supposed to see her before she started her shift at the station for the night, he always ended up with his friends instead of with his mother.

"Ruby gave me an extra order of fries on the house," Henry grinned as he hopped into the Benz and slammed the door loud enough to cause Regina's head to start pounding even harder. "Sorry," he winced. "I didn't mean to slam the door that hard, Mom."

"Henry," Regina started as she turned to look at him. "When is the last time you actually spent any time with Emma?"

"Aside from the night I spent there two weeks ago and when I saw her when she yelled at me the other day?" Henry asked and he rolled his eyes. "I—I don't really know, Mom. She's always making excuses these days and I'm sick of it."

"This has been going on for quite some time now, hasn't it?" She asked quietly and he nodded before opening the paper bag to pluck out a few of the french fries. "How long has this been going on, Henry?"

"I don't know. Since we got back?"

"And you're only raising this issue with me now?"

"I'm sure it's nothing, Mom. Maybe she's just tired working nights. I mean there really can't be a whole lot for her to do all night, right? Especially now since Leroy stopped drinking too much and she doesn't have to deal with him and the brawls he started at the Rabbit Hole."

"Henry, why didn't you say something before?"

"I don't know. I keep thinking it's nothing, that maybe she is just grieving or whatever and needs some personal space."

"Perhaps."

"Come on, let's go home, Mom. I'm starving and my food is going to get cold before we get home at this rate."

[X]

By Friday morning, just two days after Henry raised the issue with Emma acting out of sorts, Regina had spoken with Mary Margaret who raised the very same issue as it had been almost two weeks since she had seen or heard from Emma at all. It was troubling to Regina because she felt that it was something she should have noticed long before now, because she and Emma had become friends and that friendship had been strong, even throughout the trials and tribulations they faced in the Underworld and in the short time after their return.

The more she tried to piece it all together for herself, the more frustrated she became. Her phone calls to Emma, even at the station in the middle of the night, were being ignored. She left only two messages for her, the last one giving her an ultimatum concerning Henry. She regretted it almost the instant she had hung up, the ultimatum threatening to keep her from seeing Henry if she did not return the phone calls.

Regina had only been in her office for just shy of an hour when her phone began to ring. She glanced at the caller ID and frowned. It wasn't Emma. It was David calling from the station. She cleared her throat before she picked up the receiver.

"Hello David," she said easily as she leaned back in her leather chair.

"Hello Regina," he replied. "I don't want to concern you, but I have reason to believe that Emma didn't come in to the station for work last night."

"Oh?" Regina leaned forward in her chair. "Why is that?"

"There is some paperwork I left for her and she was supposed to follow up on a call that came in the other night. I left her a fresh pot of coffee that hasn't been touched."

"Are you surprised that she hasn't done the paperwork, David? It would not be the first time she's refused to do her job properly."

"I'm not surprised," he replied and he didn't sound amused. "It's the follow up call she was supposed to make. I have Brent Woods in custody and his wife is in the hospital. It was a domestic violence dispute, an allegation actually, and if she had followed up on that call like she said she was going to, I'm absolutely certain that Mrs. Woods would not have been beaten within an inch of her life last night."

Regina pinched at the bridge of her nose, and while the news was concerning, she was more concerned about Emma in that moment. "Is Mrs. Woods going to be all right, David?"

"She should be. Brent turned himself in after I received a call early this morning from Dr. Whale about his wife," David replied and she heard him sigh heavily. "I am worried about her."

"His wife?"

"Emma," David said quietly. "This isn't the first time she hasn't shown up for her shift. I thought before it was just because she was too tired and hadn't been sleeping, but it keeps happening."

"How many times has she declined to show up for her shift, David?"

"This past month? Six times. I was going to talk to you about it, but I wanted to try and talk to her first, find out why she didn't show up or why she didn't call me to tell me she wasn't coming in. Snow is concerned about her too."

"I talked to her the other morning, I know," Regina said and she leaned back in her chair and switched the receiver to her left ear. "Henry raised the same concerns the other day."

"Something is going on, Regina. I don't know what, but she's definitely not acting like herself. I know that you told us when we got home that she probably won't be the same after everything she had been through, but this is different, isn't it?"

"I am not sure, I haven't spoken with her myself in weeks, actually."

"Weeks? That's unusual, even for you two."

"Yes, but unfortunately I hadn't noticed until Henry spoke to me about her recent behavior. I've been busy. Too busy, it seems, to notice the changes Emma has been going through as of late."

"I'm worried about her, Regina."

"I know, David, as am I. I will try to speak with her today, but seeing how she's avoiding all of our phone calls, I may have to make a visit over to the house."

"She won't answer the door."

"She won't for Henry either," Regina replied and she looked up at her closed office door as a knock sounded. "I need to go. I have an unannounced visitor that just showed up."

"All right. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before that Emma hasn't been showing up for some of her shifts."

"It's all right, David. No need to apologize. I will speak with you later," she said and she quickly ended the call before waving a hand towards the door to unlock it. "Come in," she called out and she folded her hands on top of her desk as the door opened and Henry tentatively came inside. "Henry, what are you doing here? You should be in school."

"I know."

"This better be important," Regina said firmly and she pointed to the seat in front of her desk. "What is going on? Why are you here and not in school? You have one week left before summer vacation starts and—"

"She changed the locks," Henry muttered as he sat down heavily in the chair. "I saw her drive by on the way to school, so I got off the bus at the next stop and went to see her. When she didn't answer the door, I tried my key. It didn't work."

"Henry—"

"She changed the locks, Mom," he said firmly, his eyes filling with angry tears as his voice cracked. "Why would she do that?"

"I'm not sure, dear, but I promise you that I will pay her a visit this afternoon and find out for myself just what the hell is going on."

"You will?"

"Yes," Regina nodded and she glanced at the watch on her wrist. "And you, young man, need to get to school. I'll write you a note, but this is the last time something like this happens, do you understand me?"

"Yes Mom."

Regina quickly scribbled him a note to give to the office when he arrived at school and after he left, she got back to the mountain of paperwork that just seemed to be growing with each day that passed. Several ordinances needed to be signed by the lunch hour, she had a meeting itinerary to finish by the end of the day, and she could already feel a stress headache coming on, nagging at the back of her neck and moving down her shoulders.

Like most of the week, it was a long day filled with paperwork in between some scheduled appointments she had with some of the maintenance workers to go over their work order one last time before they were due to start the work on repairing some of the potholes and cracks on the main roads around town. She ordered in from Granny's for lunch, her mind reeling back to Emma for the first time in hours when she remembered all the times that Emma was the one who brought her lunch from Granny's instead of having Granny send one of the bus boys to deliver it to her.

She missed those lunches they'd have, the light and playful banter that broke up a long day for them both. She missed the corny jokes that Emma would tell her just to make her roll her eyes and laugh. She even missed talking about Henry's sort of girlfriend and hearing Emma come up with new and creative ways to prevent the two of them from spending too much time alone.

By three that afternoon, and with her headache lingering, but not as intense as it had been that morning, she packed up her things for the weekend and headed down to her car. She turned on her Blackberry once she was inside and was not surprised to find a text waiting for her from Henry, one that reminded her to go and check on Emma before she came home.

The drive to Emma's house was a little longer than it took her to drive to her own home and she pulled up behind Emma's Volkswagen and shifted the gear into park. She had spent the drive there convincing herself that it was nothing, that Emma was just having a rough couple of weeks and that it would pass in due time. She convinced herself that Emma was just tired, for whatever reason, and that it would justify her recent strange and out of character behavior.

As Henry had mentioned the other day, all the blinds and drapes were drawn shut, and as Regina walked up to the front porch, she could feel lingering traces of Emma's magic. She pulled out her keys and located the one that Emma had given to her the very same day she had given Henry his own key.

Regina knocked on the door first and took a step back, waiting for a few minutes before she knocked again, a little louder than the first time. After another few minutes passed, she tried the key, but she knew from the shiny new deadbolt that was on the front door that the key she had wasn't going to work. Henry had been right. Emma had changed the locks and the thought of Emma doing something like that infuriated her.

Regina pocketed her keys in her blazer pocket and waved a hand over the lock, but her magic wasn't working as it was being blocked by a spell, a powerful one at that and one she knew she wouldn't be able to break through easily. She walked around the house and into the backyard. She walked up to the back door that led to the kitchen and tried the handle. She didn't bother with her key since she saw another shiny new deadbolt on the door and again she tried magic, coming into contact with the very same, strong spell.

Growling in frustration, Regina tried to transport herself inside the house, but there was another spell in place and all she managed to do was transport herself to the front porch. She clenched her hands into fists and started pounding on the door to no avail, stopping herself when she felt the skin on her knuckles becoming a little raw.

"I know you're in there, Swan! Our son is worried about you and you owe him an explanation as to why you've locked him out of his own house!"

There was still nothing, no answer and no obvious sign of Emma. With no way to gain entry inside the house, Regina simply had to give up, but she would try again in the morning, first thing.

She called Emma once she was back in the car, but the call went straight to her voicemail where an automatic voice informed her that the inbox was full. With a low growl, Regina tossed her phone onto the passenger seat and drove home, not looking forward to the look of disappointment she knew she was going to receive when she told Henry that she had been unable to get into the house to speak with his other mother.

Henry was understandably upset and they cooked dinner together in silence. She allowed him to eat in the den in front of the TV while she stayed in the kitchen, eating her rather bland piece of chicken and pasta at the island countertop while her mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of what could possibly be going on with Emma.

Regina made arrangements that night for Henry to spend the day with his grandparents and bright and early the next morning, after some protest from her teenaged son about it being too early to be awake on a Saturday morning, she dropped him off at his grandparents' loft and drove straight to Emma's house.

She didn't even bother with the front door, walking around into the backyard where she was surprised to see the back door had been propped open and she could see Emma sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee with the Storybrooke Mirror open on the table in front of her.

"Regina, hey—"

"Don't," Regina snapped as she strolled right in and stopped just a foot away from her with her hands on her hips. "You owe our son an explanation, Swan."

"For what?"

Regina scoffed. "You've changed the locks," she pointed out. "I recall you telling me that this house is as much as Henry's home too. I'm absolutely certain that means he should never be denied entry to his own home."

"Yeah, I forgot to give him a key. I've been busy, work and all. When I'm not working, I'm sleeping and he's been in school or hanging out with his friends—"

"Cut the bullshit, Emma," Regina snapped and she had to take a few deep breaths to remain calm. "You have been ignoring not just our son, but everyone else, and I want to know why."

"I told you, I've been busy," Emma shrugged nonchalantly. She took a sip of her coffee before pointing to a small envelope on the counter by the refrigerator. "There is a copy of the new key in there. One for you and one for Henry. I just haven't had the chance to give them to you guys, that's all."

"That doesn't explain why, when I came here yesterday afternoon, that you have put a barrier spell not just on the locks but the house as well."

"Can't I have some peace and quiet sometimes, Regina?" Emma asked and her voice was oddly calm. Too calm. "I think it's better if you leave, Regina. You're clearly pissed off about me changing the locks—"

"You've been avoiding your son," she snapped. "There is no viable excuse for avoiding your own son."

"I was sleeping," Emma shrugged. "I didn't hear him. I would've answered the door and let him in if I heard him. I am a pretty heavy sleeper. Nothing can wake me up when I get into a state like that."

"You may have forgotten that not only are we raising and co-parenting Henry together, but we are also friends now, Emma. We've been friends for quiet some time, have we not?" Regina sighed when Emma just shrugged again and it took a lot of self-control not to throttle her for acting the way she was. "Our son is worried about you. I am worried about you. Something is going on with you, Emma, and I swear to you that I am going to figure out what it is—"

"There is nothing going on with me," Emma replied defensively. "I work nights. I sleep during the day. What more do you want me to say?"

Regina clenched her jaw and fought to keep the words she wanted to say from slipping out. She stared at Emma for a long, hard moment, noticing how dark the circles were under her eyes, how her hair looked a little limp and disheveled. She even looked thinner than she remembered seeing her the last time, her skin almost too pale as well.

Regina turned on her heels and left, not exiting the way she came, but towards the front of the house and out the front door. She had to resist the urge to slam the door shut behind her. Just because Emma was acting like a selfish child doesn't mean she had to pull the same act as well.

She returned later that day, determined to get some answers out of Emma, answers for Henry if not for any other reason. But like the day before, the house was locked and sealed up tight. It was her determination for answers that wouldn't let her give up. She couldn't just give up and admit defeat when she knew now for certain that there was definitely something going on with Emma and it was not good at all.

Regina walked along the other side of the house and located the old cellar door. She waved a hand over the broken lock and didn't detect any magic. She took a deep breath and pulled it open, gasping in surprise that it actually opened at all. It was dark, but with a flick of her fingers, a small orb of light led the way across the dirt and stone floor to the stairs.

She kept quiet, taking the old, creaky stairs one at a time until she reached the door, the same door Emma had once enchanted with the very same spell she had used to secure her house—to secure every door and every window aside from the old cellar door she had more than likely forgotten was even there. She winced at the way the door creaked as she opened it, but when she heard a soft cry and a thump coming from upstairs, she no longer cared about being quiet and she ran up the stairs as quickly as she could.

She followed the soft sounds of whimpers and moans to Emma's bedroom and she gasped in surprise, not at the messy state that her room was in, but at the woman on the floor by the foot of the bed, laying in a rather uncomfortable looking position with a needle in her left arm.

"Emma?" Regina called out as she stepped over a pile of clothes on the floor and inched her way over to her. "Emma?"

Emma moaned quietly, but she didn't move and she didn't open her eyes. Regina knelt down in front of her and eased her up into a sitting position, wincing at the way her head lolled to the side. She could feel her skin burning up from where she was holding firm on to her shoulders and she gently pulled the needle out of Emma's arm before giving her a shake in an attempt to wake her up.

"Emma, open your eyes," Regina demanded. "Emma?"

Panic flooded her all at once. She tried to get Emma up from the floor, but her body was like deadweight, unmovable in her current state. Somehow, without magic because it hadn't crossed her mind until after she had dragged Emma out into the hallway, and after she got Emma into the bathroom and into the tub. She turned on the cold water and pulled the nozzle upwards to turn on the overhead spray. Regina held her breath as Emma just laid there for a moment before her eyes opened in shock and surprise as the cold water rained down hard on her whole body.

"Regina?" Emma gasped. "What the hell?"

"Saving your life, apparently," she snapped. "What the hell is wrong with you? What do you think you are doing, Emma?"

"Regina—"

"Are you doing drugs?" Regina demanded. "Emma?"

Emma frowned as she shivered and moved out from under the spray of the water. Her head clunked against the tiled wall as she leaned back and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering.

"What do you think?" Emma muttered, her words slightly slurred. She could barely even open her eyes and when she did, she avoided Regina's intense gaze and reached out for the tap in an attempt to turn the water off. She fell short and gave up, her arm falling limply to her side. "It makes everything go away."

"What?"

"The guilt," Emma whispered. "The pain. The emptiness. It makes it go away. Nothing else works."

"What is it?" Regina asked just as quietly and she turned off the water before sitting down on the edge of the tub. "What are you using, Emma?"

"It doesn't matter," she muttered. "I'm going to stop. I swear. I'm going to."

"What are you using?" Regina tried again. "Emma? Emma, tell me, please?"

Emma just shook her head and closed her eyes again, her teeth chattering as she shivered uncontrollably and tried to weakly fight the chill that wracked her weak body, tried and failed. Regina stood up and grabbed the fluffy white towel off the hook on the back of the door and after several attempts to wake Emma up, she tried to wrap her up in the towel as she sat awkwardly in the tub, her clothes soaked through and her head lolled to the left side.

Regina reluctantly walked out of the bathroom and back into Emma's bedroom. Disaster wasn't the word she'd use for the state that it was in. Clothes were everywhere along with some empty liquor bottles and take-out cartons near the bed. It even faintly smelled of stale cigarette smoke and Regina spotted the overflowing ashtray on the nightstand that sat beside an opened and nearly empty pack of cigarettes.

She bent down to pick up the needle where she'd tossed it on the floor where she had found Emma and her eyes roamed over the room until they landed on the dresser, more specifically to what was laying on top. There was a lighter, a bent spoon with residue lining it, and beside that was a crumpled piece of tinfoil with black, almost tar-like substance in the middle. She shakily placed the used needle down beside the paraphernalia and reached into her blazer pocket for her phone while her whole body filled with dread.

"David, it's me. I'm at Emma's right now and there is something—something that you need to know. Can you meet me outside? Five minutes? See you then."

She didn't know what Emma was on, but she knew enough to know that whatever she had put into her body, it wasn't the first time and it likely wouldn't be the last. Taking a little of what was on the foil, she headed downstairs and waited for Emma's father to show up. The dread that filled her body weighed her down completely and the last thing she wanted was for David to find out his own daughter was pumping herself full of drugs.

Whatever Emma was going through, whatever was going through her mind, it was beyond anything Regina could relate to. This was a different kind of darkness, that she knew, one far darker that giving into dark magic and evil impulses.

But she knew then that she wasn't about to give up on Emma. She couldn't give up on Emma. Not when they had come so far, not when they had gone through all that they had together. Emma was strong, one of the strongest women that she had even known, and even at her weakest, Regina knew she could find a way to bring back the Emma that she knew was still there.