A/N: Please read This Ain't Love first if you haven't already. Reviews are always welcome.
Emma's VW Bug idled as she sat in front of Regina's house.
"Okay kid, I'll see you in a couple days." Emma said to Henry who was sitting in the passenger seat.
He grabbed his backpack but before he opened the door he stopped and looked at her. "Did something happen between you and Mom while I was gone?" He asked.
"Why would you ask that?"
"Well, it's been 3 weeks since I got back from camp and you and Mom are barely speaking to each other. You don't come in the house or meet us at the diner for dinner anymore." Henry said, "Mom seems sad and you seem really pissed off."
"Don't worry about us Henry." Emma told him.
He looked at her and she could see the pity he felt for her.
"You better get going so she doesn't wonder where you are." Emma told her.
He opened the door, got out and shut the door behind him.
He leaned into the open window, "I'm always going to worry about you guys." He told her before he turned around and went up the walkway.
Regina always waited for Emma to drive off before she opened the door to greet Henry.
The less she saw of Emma the better. To say she was bitter and hurt even now was an understatement. She had been rejected, cast aside like nothing.
After that Regina didn't want to deal with anyone. All she did was go to work when she absolutely had to then return home. When she worked in her office at home, the door was always closed. She knew Henry was worried about her but she didn't know how to explain to a 14 year old what had happened between her and Emma.
She couldn't explain to him that what started out as a string of one night stands with the same person for over two months ended with her falling in love and Emma walking away.
Emma drove back to her apartment. Yes, finally after living in Storybrooke on and off for 4 years she finally had her own place. It wasn't much but she had her privacy and she wasn't bothered by her parents asking her 'What's Wrong?' every 5 minutes like she was a sulking teenager. Even though that's how she seemed to be acting.
She tried her best to avoid Regina which meant minimizing her chances of running into her.
She rarely went into the diner and even then she was very short with whoever approached her. Couldn't people see that she wanted to be left alone and to eat in peace?
Sometimes she really hated living in fairy-tale town. Everyone was too god damn happy, even Grumpy.
She started going to a bar just on the outskirts of town. She wouldn't get completely shit-faced because that seemed a little pathetic even for her but she'd stay long enough to drink and wash away the memories of her and Regina together.
Together. They weren't a couple, they were just sleeping together right?
So why did she feel bad? And why was she still avoiding Regina?
Emma knew why. She knew it was because Regina had feelings for her and out of fear, Emma rejected her.
At home she opened the fridge and swore under her breath as she forgot yet again to go grocery shopping.
She contemplated what she should do. Go shopping, order a pizza or head over to the diner.
She weighed the pros and cons then decided meatloaf night at the diner won out. She grabbed her jacket and headed out.
"Hey Emma." Rudy said to her as she greeted her with a smile.
"Hey." Emma said quietly with a nod of the head as she sat down at the counter.
"What can I get you?" Ruby asked.
"Meatloaf special and a root beer." Emma told her.
"We've got hot pastrami sandwich on rye that's just to die for." Ruby told her.
"Nah, just the special." Emma told her.
"How about a nice juicy hamburger?"
"Are you deaf? I just want the god damn special!" Emma said raising her voice.
Ruby looked at her, "You know Emma, if you weren't my friend I'd kick you out of here."
Emma stared at her.
"I'm not sure what you're problem is but you've been a royal bitch these last few weeks and that's saying something since we actually have a royal here who's a freaking nightmare." Ruby told her.
"You know what, spare me the lecture." Emma said as she stood up and turned to leave. She got to the door and turned around, "Your meatloaf's dry anyways."
"I guess pizza it is." Emma said to herself as she walked down the street and back to her apartment.
Two days later, on a boring Sunday morning Emma was sitting at her desk at the sheriff's station when the phone rang.
"Hello, Sheriff Swan speaking." She said.
"I need to report a break in."
"Regina?" Emma asked surprised to hear her voice on the line.
"My office at the Town Hall was broken into some time last night. I think the alarm may have been tampered with as well." Regina said, "Can you send someone over?"
"Yes." Emma said and hung up.
Moments later she pulled up in front of the Town Hall and went inside. She found Regina standing out in the hall just outside her office.
"Has anyone besides you been inside?" Emma asked as she walked up to her.
"I asked you to send someone." Regina said to her.
"David's on another call so I'm all you've got." Emma told her as she pushed the door open and went into the office.
Regina followed her.
"Is there anything missing?" Emma asked as she looked around the trashed office. Paperwork was scattered everywhere. File drawers were left open and everything that had been on Regina's desk was now on the floor.
"I don't know." Regina said as she looked around.
Emma looked at her. She looked scared and confused as she played with the pendant on her necklace.
"Hey." Emma said getting her attention.
Regina looked at her, really looked at her.
"Are you okay?" Emma asked.
Something changed in Regina's eyes, "I'm fine Sheriff Swan."
Emma should have expected the coldness that Regina gave her and she knew that she deserved it too.
"You said the alarm was tampered with?" Emma asked getting back to business.
"The alarm company should have been notified that someone broke in but it never went off." Regina told her.
"Okay. I'll be right back." Emma said as she left the office.
15 minutes later she came back and found Regina out in the hall again.
"The wires to the alarm box were cut." Emma told her, "And that's why the alarm company wasn't notified."
"Who would do something like this?" Regina asked.
Emma gave her a look, "Make any new enemies lately?"
"Just you." Regina said as she turned to go back into the office.
"Hey, I'm not your enemy." Emma said following her.
"Well you certainly aren't my friend." Regina said.
Emma sighed, "Look why don't you go home and let me do my job and I'll let you know what I find."
"Why don't you just do your job and not worry about me?" Regina said to her.
"What's your problem?" Emma asked her, "I'm trying to …"
"Trying to what Ms. Swan?" Regina asked cutting her off and getting in her face.
"I really don't need this shit right now." Emma said, "I'm trying to help you."
"Walk away." Regina told her, "It's what you're good at."
Emma clenched her jaw. She was about to say something when Henry called out for Regina as he came up the hall.
Emma stepped back and Regina smiled a small victory in her book.
Henry came into the office, "Whoa, what happened?" He asked.
"I need you guys to clear out and let me process the crime scene." Emma told them.
Regina looked at Emma then she and Henry finally left the office.
It took two hours for Emma to go over Regina's office before she went back to the Sheriff's office and started her paperwork.
"Anything interesting come up while I was gone?" David asked as he came in.
"Regina's office got broke into last night." Emma told him, "I was just over there this morning to see the aftermath and take a report."
"Any suspects?" He asked.
"I might have someone in mind." Emma told him.
Emma worked through the morning on the reports before she decided to get some lunch and go home.
She sat on the couch and opened every carton she bought and dug in with her chopsticks one carton at a time.
A knock at the door got Emma up off the couch and she opened the door to see Henry.
"Hey." Emma said to him, "What's going on?"
"We need to talk." Henry told her as he walked into her apartment.
"Does your mom know you're here?" Emma asked
"No." Henry told her as he sat down on the couch.
"Call her and tell her where you are." Emma told him as she shut the door.
"You call her." Henry told her.
"Hey buddy, I'm not really liking your attitude right now." Emma said to him.
"Well I don't like what's going on between you and Mom." Henry told her.
"And I told you that was none of your business." Emma told him.
"It is my business when I'm stuck between the two of you." Henry told her.
"Yeah and what's your mom going to say when she finds out you're the one that broke in and trashed her office?" Emma asked him.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Henry said.
"Don't lie to me." Emma told him.
"Stop acting like an asshole and fix whatever you did before it gets worse." Henry told her then turned and left, slamming the door behind him.
Emma stood in her living room amazed that her son just spoke to her that way. He was right though and she hated when the kid was right.
Emma had been acting like an asshole and not just to Regina but almost everyone she ran into.
She didn't have many friends in town, in fact she could count them all on one hand.
Emma didn't want to think about all the people she angered or hurt so instead of doing that she headed to her favorite bar.
After Mulan left the Merry Men she took a job bartending and she was one of the few people that Emma hadn't quite pissed off yet.
She sat on a bar stool and order a drink. As she waited she did something she was hoping to avoid and that was think about Regina.
No strings, no feelings, no commitment. That's what they had said, that's what they agreed on. Emma had tried her hardest to keep it that way. There was no cuddling, no pillow talk and she never stayed over.
If it had been anyone else, then maybe it would have been just that, but this was Regina fucking Mills. Damn her, just damn her.
Emma knew when things started to get complicated. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she started to feel something for Regina.
As soon as it happened she should have stopped what was going on between them. Told Regina it had been great but it was time to move on and go back to their boring lives. But she didn't, she let it continue and it only got worse.
She could tell Regina had feelings for her as well and then Regina asked her to stay.
Emma wanted to, God she wanted to but she was afraid. She spoke the truth when she told Regina they'd only end up hurting each other.
What if they didn't work out? What if something happened between them and they went back to hating each other more than ever?
Where would that leave Henry? He'd be once again torn between his two mothers, forced to choose one over the other.
Regina didn't know how hard it was for Emma to walk away from her that night. To close the door on something that she wanted.
When the whole thing started with her and Regina she hadn't expected much. But soon it got harder and harder to leave.
But if it was so hard to leave then why did she?
She knew she had to because every moment she stayed in bed with her, every minute she found herself getting comfortable lying beside Regina it frightened her.
She didn't want to have feelings for Regina. Feelings only complicated things and their relationship was already more than complicated on its own without adding feelings into the mix.
So she thought if she broke it off now, before it got too serious that they'd hurt for a little while, the feelings would fade and they'd go back to normal.
A few weeks had passed and nothing helped because she still thought about Regina and she missed her too.
Some shots and a few beers later Emma sat hunched over the bar slightly drunk.
"Something on your mind?" Mulan asked.
"Huh?" Emma asked her, "Nothing. Don't talk. Just pour me another."
"I don't know if you need another."
"Are you a bartender or my mother?" Emma asked, "Come on Mulan I don't need to talk, I just want another drink."
"It seems you only come here and drink this way when something's bothering you." Mulan said to her.
"What do you do when you've hurt someone?" Emma asked.
"Usually I use some kind of make-shift bandage and patch up the wound."
Even drunk Emma had to smile at how Mulan didn't get what she was saying.
"Patch things up huh?" Emma asked, "Does that usually work?"
"Depends on how deep the wound is." Mulan told her.
Emma knew it was probably too late to fix anything, to try to repair what damage she caused. She knew even if she went to Regina and told her that she had feelings for her and that she was sorry that Regina more than likely wouldn't listen to her.
But she had to try. She knew she had to humble herself and be honest with her. She knew that if they were ever going to work things out that she was going to have to be the one to make things right.
"Can you call me a cab?" Emma asked.
"I'm not sure how that would help but you're a cab." Mulan said completely serious.
Emma sighed, "I meant can you call a cab for me."
"Oh yes that I can do." Mulan told her.
Emma had the cabbie pull over so she could throw up before she finally made it into town and the cabbie dropped her off in front of Regina's house.