A/N: This was a prompt fill for someone on Tumblr, enjoy :)

It had been a difficult session; thinking about her past was always painful for Regina, especially when she focused on her mother. This time was worse. Despite her uncertainty at first of Dr. Hopper's methods, he was actually proving to be helpful and genuine, something she found surprisingly endearing.

According to Dr. Hopper, in order to fully come to terms with past actions, she needed to understand the underlying reasons surrounding them. Unsurprisingly, Cora was at the centre of her issues. Considering her mothers' manipulation and controlling attitude, it only made sense that she adopted the same type of behaviour. She had lost so much already, and the one thing she simply could not lose was Henry. If suffering through these sessions with the Cricket would help rebuild her relationship with her son, that's exactly what she was going to do. Discovering Dr. Hopper's own complicated past with his parents had been unexpected, and for the most part, an accident. She had mentioned that part of her resistance in opening up about her upbringing, was because she thought no one could relate or understand. To which he quickly, and without thinking, responded with a "That's not true at all."

There was really no way to get around his comment, so he had told her about his childhood and being forced by his parents to steal from people and scam. She had never thought of Dr. Hopper as one who could be so easily shaken by a conversation, but it was obvious by the end of the session that his mind was elsewhere. He had distractedly told her to write down some of the things she regretted, and that they would discuss what she came up with during their next session. She left feeling lighter, but also with a nagging feeling that she couldn't quite place.

Not for the first time in the past 2 weeks, Regina found herself unable to sleep. Since it was well past midnight and most of the residents of Storybrooke would be in their houses, she figured it would be safe enough to go for a walk without getting stares from people. The night air was cold and crisp, but not unpleasantly so; a light coat should be warm enough, she thought to herself as she made her way out the door. Just as she thought, there was absolutely no one in sight as she made her way down to the main road. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, that she almost missed the figure sitting on a bench in the local park. Her first instinct was to walk away as quickly as possible, but there was something… familiar about whoever it was sitting there. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard the unmistakable bark of a dog, and saw him trot over to his owner and lie down at his feet. Taking a deep breath, Regina made her way over to Dr. Hopper, it was obviously him, before she could change her mind. On getting closer, she realized that she had no idea what she was going to say to him. That is until…

"Are you going to stand there behind me, or would you like to sit Regina?"

Startled and at a momentary loss for words, she moved to stand in front of him. Never before had she seen him look so hurt and guilt-ridden before; she found that oddly comforting for some reason. Not that she enjoyed seeing him upset, but because this was actual proof that he was damaged too. Hesitating a moment, she sat down beside him on the bench and looked up at the night sky.

"You're a good guy you know. Not many people would want to be associated with someone like me, much less want to help me," she said, choosing her words carefully. No response, other than a deep sigh.

"Do you… Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

She paused, looked quickly at him and then turned her attention to her folded hands in her lap.

"Do you want me to leave?"

She was met again with silence. It was so quietly said that she could have almost imagined it, but the word was unmistakable.

"No."

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