Emma Swan had a super power; it had helped her well over her lifetime, and never failed. She had known when her last foster family told her that they were going to keep her that it was a lie. She had known that the last chick she interrogated really did know where her husband was but just wasn't spilling. And now? Now she knew that the brunette in front of her wasn't lying when she said she wasn't a murderer.

Brown eyes stared at her fiercely from across the table, allowing no room for the blonde to break eye contact. The lady may have been a bitch, she may be incredibly snarky, and she certainly knew how to emotional tear someone down from the inside out, but she wasn't a murderer. Oh she definitely had secrets, but they didn't pertain to Emma's case, so she really didn't care, all she cared about was that the woman told the truth.

"I did not kill Archibald Hopper; he was my counselor that was all!"

"Ms. Mills, the evidence is damning. We have you on the security tape leaving the office within an hour of his estimated time of death. His secretary said that you threatened him on multiple occasions. You don't have a solid alibi. Not to mention, it is your fingerprints and hair we found on his body!"

Brown eyes darkened with rage, and Emma could have sworn that if the woman had magic she would have caused the blonde's partner David Nolan to spontaneously combust from the inside by now. Perfectly manicured fingertips dug into the desk, and pearly white teeth ground together. Just as she was about to respond, and possibly rip David a new one, Emma decided to step in.

"I believe you."

"I will have you know that- what?"

"I said I believe you."

David turned his head in astonishment towards his partner, confusion clouding his ocean-blue eyes.

"Why should I believe you? How do I know this isn't some twisted way to get me to say that I actually committed the murder due to some stupid harebrained idea that first pops into your head?"

"You don't have to believe me, but I have a built in lie detector, and you lady, are not lying. I can help you, but you have to tell me the whole truth. Why is your hair and fingerprints on Dr. Hopper, why have you threatened him, and why don't you have a solid alibi?"

A breath of air puffed from between a set of deep red lips, brown eyes flickering towards Officer Nolan. A manicured hand flicked dark sable hair back behind a slender shoulder, before settling more comfortably into the seat. She hadn't been booked yet, but if their Lieutenant had anything to say about it, soon her nails would be chipped and she'd be hanging out in a tacky jumper, and crocks. Not her fashionable black stiletto's, pinstriped-pencil skirt, and dark blue blouse.

Emma cocked her head to the side, watching the woman carefully before turning to Nolan.

"Give us a few minutes?"

"Emma, I-"

"Please David? I've got this, go get some coffee or something, you've earned it." A bright smile lit up the blonde's face, emphasizing her persuasion to get him to go.

"Fine… I'll be back in half an hour."

Green and brown eyes both watched the older man leave before turning towards each other.

"Now… how about you tell me all of it?"

Slim, olive-toned shoulders visibly relaxed, before a breath was sucked in, causing the woman's chest to rise slightly. Green eyes flicked to the woman's chest, watching momentarily before jerking back up to make eye contact. An amused expression over took the other woman's face before she spoke.

"Now were you being honest? Or am I just a nice piece of tail that you wish to bait?"

"What?"

"I know you cop types, all high and mighty, using your power to flaunt in front of poor damsels. Well I'm not a damsel, and I will not be treated as such!"

An amused look now crossed the blonde's face, an eyebrow raised as if to say, 'Really?'

"Ms. Mills, I assure you, that is not my intention. While I do believe you to be attractive… it is not my goal in any way to make you a damsel, all I want to know is the truth, and to find out who really killed your counselor. That is all I want."

Chocolate brown narrowed, staring unblinkingly into green, almost as if they looked into her very soul. Glancing away momentarily, she looked back to see that Regina had clearly come to a decision.

"Very well… My fingerprints and hair are on him because I hugged him goodbye after a rather… excruciating session. It was impromptu which is why I was there so late and I wasn't scheduled in. Yes, there have been threats, but they are due to my anger, and Archie knew they were empty, his secretary Mary Margaret on the other hand is terrified of me and wouldn't know that. My alibi is not going to get any better, I was alone all night, where I had a glass of wine and watched the price is right until midnight, just as I do every night, before going to bed."

"You have absolutely no one who can account for that?"

"No Officer Swan, my father is dead, I am not married, I have no children, I haven't seen my mother in years, and I do not socialize outside of work, so while I have plenty of coworkers and subordinates, I do not have friends."

The last part was spoken rather quietly, dark eyes downcast, while the lighter pair of eyes winced at the comment. This woman truly had no one, and Emma would be willing to bet it was a lonely existence. Sure, she had her best friend Ruby, and she even had her daughter Lily, but sometimes it still got a little lonely. She couldn't imagine what the brunette felt like, after all, even in the foster system she had been able to write Ruby every week, the girl who had known her since they were five.

"I can feel your judgment Ms. Swan, it isn't appreciated."

"I'm not judging you Ms. Mills; I'm just trying to figure out how best to approach the situation."

Emma winced at the lie, she had been judging the woman, not necessarily in a bad way, but it was judgment nonetheless. The brunette seemed to pick up on it too, for she cocked her head to one side and studied the officer quietly.

"Any big ideas?"

"No, we'll just have to speak with your lawyer."

"of course… May I call her?"

"Certainly, in just a moment we'll go get that done."

"Thank you…"

"No problem. And for the record, I really don't think you did it."

Regina studied the blonde woman in front of her and took in everything she could. She didn't believe the woman to be lying, and she wished that she could trust her, but life had taught her to only trust herself. She scanned the woman's attire, noting that it seemed to be your average police uniform, except there were a few extra badges than normal. This woman did her job, and she did it well.

"Will I be going home tonight?"

There it was, the visible wince, and with that Regina already knew that she wouldn't be going home tonight. Her hair was going to suffer, and she really didn't want to think of the unhealthy food, or the disgusting clothes she was going to have to contend with.

"Unfortunately you probably won't be going home tonight…"

"When can I hope for?"

"Honestly?"

The woman only stared, and Emma knew she had asked a stupid question.

"Your best bet would be to hope for by next week. I'll speak to your lawyer personally if you'd like."

A gentle smile formed on the woman's lips, a thank you almost passing through them again, when she tightened her shoulders and her lips thinned out as Officer Nolan inexplicably made his way back in. The comment died on her lips, and she decided she was grateful because Regina Mills never said Thank you to anyone, and she certainly never said it twice. A grimace formed when she realized that not only had she said thank you, but she had momentarily trusted the woman, and that was dangerous.

"May I go speak with my lawyer now? I believe we are done here."

Officer Nolan seemed surprised by the sudden change, but said nothing. Obviously Swan had what she wanted because she said nothing and escorted the woman out. David just shook his head and left the room himself, he'd finish his coffee and doughnut at his desk.

As they walked side by side, Emma periodically shot glances at the smaller woman. She hadn't noticed it previously, but even with the woman's heels on she was just barely taller than the blonde. Her entire body seemed incredibly small in every way, very slender waist, small hands, if the blonde were to guess she'd say that she probably was barely a size 2. This woman who seemed so in control, exuded so much power and determination, she was very petite and if Emma were to guess, again, she was probably actually quite fragile. Not necessarily in the physical sense, but if one were to look at her heart, it was probably held together carefully and with quite a bit of 'glue'.

Glancing at the woman again, and noting the scowl it caused, Emma decided she'd stop looking at the brunette so much and think things through a little more. This woman was petite, and Dr. Hopper, well he wasn't a heavy man, he was actually quite thin, but he was a tall man, and he had been stabbed to death with a letter opener repeatedly in such a vicious manner. Did this woman even have the strength to pull of that level of gruesomeness? Sure they had hair, and fingerprints, but that truly meant little in the grand scheme of things. Fifteen times Archibald Hopper was stabbed, a crime of passion some would say, and the wounds were rather deep. Doubt started to truly cloud Emma's mind, could this woman pull it off?

"Ms. Mills-"

"If I'm going to be here for a bit I suppose you ought to call me Regina."

"Alright, well than please, call me Emma."

"Okay… Emma."

"How tall are you?"

Confusion marred the chocolate brown eyes, she clearly didn't see the point in the question, but still her mouth parted to respond.

"Five foot Four…"

"And weight?"

"Officer Swan, it is rude to ask a lady her weight."

"Come on, Regina, it's important, and I'm only asking out of politeness, I could easily pull up your records."

"Fine… I'm a hundred and twenty pounds."

"Is that what your license says, or the truth?"

A pout on the brunette's face caused a slight smile to form on the blonde's, the light teasing something she enjoyed.

Regina mumbled in response.

"I'm sorry what was that?"

"It's what the license says."

"So…?"

"I'm a hundred and twenty-five."

"Five pounds Regina, really?"

"Yes, really, I've been trying to lose those five pounds!"

Emma just shook her head, blonde curls bouncing every which way in her laughter.

"Care to tell me why that's so important?"

"I'll tell you when I think on it more… Do you play any sports? Work out? Lift weights?"

"I run, I used to play softball but I quit, as it's not very lady like. My workout is just running, and no I don't lift weights. Why?"

"Just speak with your lawyer alright? I gotta go figure some stuff out. Hey! Ramirez! Take care of the pretty lady while she's on the phone, I'll be back!"

Brown eyes tracked the blonde's moves until she left completely, leaving Regina completely confused. What did this have to do with anything? Still she called her lawyer, amusement lacing her tone as she spoke with the old family friend. She would figure out what was going on with Officer Swan soon enough.

…

A week had passed of Emma trying to pull together more information on Regina, and talking to various friends in the different agencies and departments. She spoke to forensic specialists, other officers, some of her friends down in the lab, the medical examiner on the case, she even spoke to a judge to allow her to get Regina's counseling session's looked at so that she could see what they talked about. Directly after that she got one of Hopper's colleagues to view the files and see if they saw anything that could make Regina wish to commit murder.

There was nothing to say that she even had the frame of mind to commit murder, not that brutally, and not towards Dr. Hopper anyways. The woman was dangerous, that much she was sure of, but she didn't have a reason to go after Archie. Even more into the woman's favor, was the fact that the medical examiner said that it would have taken far more brute strength than Regina had to commit such a passionate crime. Something here didn't make sense, all the evidence was of course, circumstantial at that point though, and Emma's hope was that the woman would be found not guilty should she even make it to trial.

Approaching the interrogation room, Emma was happy to note that Officer Nolan had left the Mills woman in the room like asked, and was nowhere to be found. Happy she had the foresight to ask Mary Margaret to drop off some Jack-in-the-box. The brunette didn't look like the type to enjoy a hamburger, but Emma would be damned if she hadn't at least tried. Walking in, she noticed the surprised then narrowed gaze of the other woman, who looked distastefully at the fast food back.

"What is that?"

"Jack-in-the-box."

"And you decided to what? Use it as a form of torture to get me to confess to something I didn't do?"

"Uh... no. I thought you might be hungry after a week of eating jailbird food."

"Okay... well what is it?"

"I didn't know if you would eat a hamburger or not... but I got an ultimate cheeseburger for you anyways, fries and a drink too."

"What kind of drink?"

"Chocolate milkshake."

"Mmm.. While I normally don't indulge in such novelties... I suppose that I deserve it after being accused of such heinous crimes."

"Yeah... sure."

Passing over the food, Emma was surprised to watch Regina eye the food carefully before digging in with such fierceness she thought a finger might accidentally be bit off. When she noticed the quiet, Regina looked up and blushed in embarrassment before taking a more dainty bite and continuing slowly.

"You don't have to eat like that around me, I get it alright? I've been where you are."

"I sincerely doubt that Officer Swan."

"No, really. When I was 17 I was charged with theft on some watches that my boyfriend at the time had stolen. Got put in jail, and waited out my sentence. The food is mediocre to say the least, and I ate out as much as I could for quite some time after that."

"How are you an officer then?"

"Juvenile record, so it got wiped when I turned 18. I got lucky."

"Yes, well this will not be wiped from my record, so I must say I won't be as lucky."

"I don't think you did it."

"You... don't?"

"No, I don't."

"Is that what asking me about sports and weight lifting was all about?"

"yes, and that is all I can say on the matter."

"alright..."

….

Days once again passed slowly, and the evidence continued to mount in Regina's favor. Still, the blonde couldn't stop thinking of the gorgeous brunette, and the way her brown eyes sparkled when they talked. How perfect her hair was, even as she remained in jail for days on end, it seemed nothing could fluster the woman truly.

Happily, and sadly, all at the same time, Regina was released soon enough, her lawyer present and ready. Soon enough they would have a trial, for some people still seemed to believe her guilty, but Emma knew the truth, Regina would be set free...

…...

"Regina! Regina wait up!"

The trial had just ended, and Emma had happily watched as they found Regina not guilty. Now as she raced after the brunette, she could only hope that she could tell her of her feelings, and that all would be well. The brunette turned when she heard the blonde calling after her, and Emma was graced with a beautiful smile in response. When she finally caught up, she was happily surprised with a tight hug, and after only a moments hesitation she hugged back just as tightly.

"You're a free woman now, and hey not guilty is always nice."

"Yes, I do believe so. Thank you... by the way."

"For what?"

"Believing me to be innocent. It was a nice change from everyone else."

"I can't help it if I'm right."

An amused smile was given, and they only then let go of each other.

"What will you do now?"

"I am going to go back home, watch ridiculous and degrading 'chic-flicks' and drink wine straight from the bottle. Then tomorrow I shall continue my life as if nothing has happened."

"Oh."

"And you?"

"I'll... keep doing what I always do, help people receive true justice."

"I do hope that you find who really killed Archie, he was a kind man."

"I hope so too... erm, I wanted to know if... well... I don't know if you will, but I hoped"

"Yes."

"Yes? You don't even know what i'm going to ask."

"Yes, I will go out with you."

"That's awfully presumptuous of you, Regina. Are you sure that's what I was going to ask?"

"I am certain it was, will you take the yes or not?"

"Oh I'll take it. What do you say if I actually pick you up in a few hours, we go to the movies to see a horrible chic-flick, and I'll take you to dinner where you can drink wine classy-like from a glass?"

Regina smiled gently, clearly thinking about it momentarily before giving her answer.

"You know... What do you have going on right now?"

"Uh.. Nothing actually, I took the day off to see your trial."

"Well then, we should both go to my house now, and while I get ready to go with you, we can spend the time together talking and getting to know one another. What do you say about that?"

"I say that I would have to agree with that, since that seems to be the best idea ever."

"Really?"

"Yes, because Regina Mills, I want to get to know you."

And so they left together in Emma's car, a silent promise to get to know each other in all the ways that they could.