Well she was having a good time. She was, until she began to make her way from the ladies' room, through the crowded bar, and back to her table where the rest of her "girl pack" waited. As Emma began to part through the sea of people, that's when she spotted Regina at the bar.

Regina sat primly on a barstool, clutching her purse. She appeared far more withdrawn than usual. She didn't exactly seem like her usual self. Her usual self (which Emma had come to know well) was bold, confident, queenly - even if sometimes that was all just a front. Regina was big. Not in the sense of size, of course, but when it came to personality, Regina was big.

Not tonight though. Tonight, at least in Emma's slightly more than tipsy opinion, the brunette seemed rather small. Walking closer to the bar, Emma maneuvered through the party people, making sure to remain unseen - at least for now. And yeah, she was right. There was an unsettling shyness about Regina. All the fire which was native to cognac eyes was doused and replaced with uncertainty, awkwardness and a desperate need for approval. She was seeking approval. This thought made Emma's face twist into a grimace. Her Regina Mills sought approval from no one. Yet, there she was, plain as day seeking it. But from who?

As the uncharacteristically shy woman dragged her gaze up from her hands (which were twisting in her lap with nervous energy), Emma followed that gaze to the man sitting next to Regina. Robin Hood.

And just like that, Emma's buzz was totally gone. It was replaced almost instantly with feelings of rejection and self-loathing. It's not like there was actually anything between Regina and her - at least not anything official. Or hell, not even anything that was ever spoken of between the two. But there was stuff. At least for her, there was stuff. But this - seeing them together - was like losing a fight she knew she would never win. Yeah, her buzz was definitely gone and Emma wanted nothing more than to drown in booze just so she wouldn't have to feel the weightiness of the anvil lying at the bottom of her heart.

Despite wanting to run like the dickens from this train wreck she was witnessing, Emma's curiosity won her over. Regina certainly did not appear to be having a good time. Robin didn't even appear to be paying much attention to the woman. 'Hell, if it were me,' Emma thought, 'I'd be all freaking over her.'

But anyway, curiosity getting the best of her and all, the blonde decided to try out a bit of magic.

It was a sound enhancing spell she'd taught herself. Figuring it might be useful for the town Sheriff to have Superman hearing, she'd taught herself how to quiet the background noise and focus in on a particular subject.

She brought up the image of a mixing board in her mind's eye (because that's how she did shit), using one fader to lower the "background track" and another fader to bring up the "Regina/Robin track." Sure she looked like a total drunk asshole playing with an invisible sound mixer in the middle of a bar, but whatever. Her method worked. Her method worked quite well, and what she heard from the pair was nothing short of heartbreaking.

Robin and his boys shared a hearty laugh at some dumb joke or another and Regina joined in awkwardly, not even really understanding the joke. He glanced at her, then back at the guys, and shrugged almost as if embarrassed by her presence.

"Robin," she leaned close to him to keep their conversation somewhat quiet. "When do you think we can get out of here?"

As if he were being suffocated, the scruffy man shrugged off the delicate hands that massaged his shoulder and spoke more loudly than what could be considered discreet. "My God, Regina, give a man a little space!" His friends sniggered behind him. "I think I saw some of your girlfriends earlier; why don't you go mingle, hmm?" he basically shooed her off.

'Do not apologize, Regina...' Emma whispered to herself because she could see the apology forming on the brunette's lips. And for all Regina's fierceness, there will always be a part of her that's timid.

"I-I'm sorry." She did apologize as she looked down, fidgeting with her hands. "I just thought - you invited me out and -"

"I just need a little breathing room," the man huffed out, still more worried about saving face in front of his "boys."

"Alright." Quietly, the small woman walked in the direction of the bathroom.

Emma ducked her head down to remain inconspicuous and as she peered up again, she could see that Robin Hood at least had enough sense to look guilty as Regina walked away. It didn't last long though, his guilt. His friends jeered and mocked the scene that had just played out.

Emma's mind reeled. With her focus lost, her magic subsided and she could no longer hear the far away scene. But she didn't need to hear to know the moment Regina's heart broke.

There was a bit of a crowd gathered near the exit of the ladies' room and the brunette struggled to get through it. This truly had not been the night she'd thought it would be. She collected herself and thought to just call it quits and go home. Alone. Again.

"I mean honestly Robin, with your wife back, why even keep her around?" Allan questioned.

"Because," Little John supplied, "there are just some things a wife will not do..."

The men barked out their laughter. Robin, who didn't necessarily join in, didn't really do much to quiet their scoffing either. It was cowardly of him, he knew. But then again, his sense of honor had become quite muddled these days.

Little John pressed for more, "Tell me Robbie, how does the Evil Queen handle your precious jewels?"

He regarded the men with slight embarrassment then, "Well there are certain things she does better than others... But overall, I've had better."

As they erupted into laughter, Robin looked out into the crowd and panic flooded his face because of course, that would be the moment Regina chose to rejoin them.

Whatever the hell had been said, Emma had no idea, but she didn't even try to hide anymore and she watched helplessly as Regina's face fell to pieces. Tears welled up in those once fiery, brown eyes and the older woman turned quickly to exit the bar.

Robin sprang into action and followed her toward the exit. But he would have no such opportunity to comfort, not if Emma had any say in the matter. So she tripped him. He went down with a terribly loud thud, and it even startled Regina so much that she halted her dramatic exit to turn around and see what'd happened.

She saw her "soul mate" laid out face down on the beer-sticky floor and the other mother of her son standing over him. Once her eyes met Emma's, she felt too ashamed to stick around and proceeded out to the street.

"Wow, uh Robin..." Emma didn't even try to help him up, but bent down and patted him on the back. "Nasty fall; stay off the hard liquor."

With that, she turned on her heels and bolted out after Regina.

"Regina! Regina!" the blonde ran down the sidewalk just as the other woman began to pull off in her Mercedes. Emma grabbed a hold of the passenger side door handle and slapped her hand against the window. "Regina, stop!"

The brunette stopped immediately when she saw Emma run up to her car and bang on the window. She looked out at the blonde peering in asking to be let in. So she leaned over and unlocked the door.

Once Emma got in the car and buckled up, Regina wordlessly drove off in the direction of the mansion.