AN: I posted the first chapter of this fic on AO3 before season 4 started airing, so it's a bit different from the show... This was meant to be a one-shot, but I'm still writing it after 10 chapters, so I'll be posting more here soon as well.

I don't own OUAT (unfortunately). I'm just playing with their characters and giving them some happiness.

Emma knocked on the door of 108 Mifflin Street for the third time that night. She had come to the mansion more than once during the past two weeks to apologize to Regina and to see if the woman was ready to talk, which she evidently wasn't. The brunette had chosen to ignore her attempts completely, saying nothing more than "Go away, Miss Swan."

This was why Emma's eyes widened when the door actually opened and she found herself face to face with the former Queen. Regina didn't look like her usual self when opening the door. The normally well put together Mayor seemed to be wearing nothing but socks and a t-shirt that was too big for her. Her hair wasn't done and the expression on her makeupless face was annoyed.

"What do you think you're doing?" Regina asked her, and Emma felt incredibly dumbstruck. "I know you don't care much for the rules a Sheriff should comply, but you must know that banging on someone's door in the middle of the night when there's no real reason for it isn't exactly..." She slurred the last two words, and Emma's gaze fell from Regina's face to the hand which wasn't keeping the door open but holding a glass of alcohol.

"Are you drunk?" Emma asked. Regina rolled her eyes.

"Well, you certainly do take after your parents, Miss Swan. Yes, as you may have noticed, I may be in a slightly inebriated state, and I would very much prefer to enjoy this evening without your questions." Regina avoided looking Emma in the eye and shifted. Emma sighed.

"Regina… Look, please, hear me out, okay?" She stopped talking, expecting Regina to interrupt her, but instead the brunette turned to face Emma.

"Well?" Regina said impatiently. "If you think I've got all night to wait for whatever it is you have to say, you're wrong." She made a small pause. "I'm not having a cold on top of everything else, so you might as well come in, so I can close the door."

Emma took a deep breath and entered the mansion. Regina closed the door and looked at the nearly empty glass in her hand. "I'm going to need something stronger for this."

Emma seemed to have frozen for a moment, and soon Regina was walking, with not as much grace as usually, towards her study. After a few seconds, Emma snapped out of it, though, and followed Regina to the room where she found the former Queen pouring herself a new drink.

Regina sat on the couch, and Emma was suddenly reminded of the first time they had talked in this room. They had come so far, and then she had ruined it. Emma twitched her hands and didn't know what to do with them.

"Regina… I don't know where to start. But I need you to know that I'm sorry…" The worst part was that she couldn't say she was sincerely sorry for everything. She took another breath. "I am so sorry I've caused you this kind of unhappiness. You have changed, and you deserve to be happy, and I made everyone's lives more difficult by bringing Marian back here… But I just couldn't leave her there, so I'm not going to be sorry for that, sorry for saving her life." She couldn't look Regina in the eye anymore, so she was just looking at her hands. "That just wasn't right. But I'm so sorry for making you feel this way. I'm sorry I broke your trust, and I really want to help make it up to you just any way I can. I just want to see you happy again and for Henry to be able to be here with you. He misses his mom. And I know you miss him, too." Emma raised her gaze, uncertain what she would find.

Regina seemed to have frozen. She was holding the (yet again empty) glass and staring at Emma.

"Um, Regina?" Emma asked carefully.

Regina put the glass down on the table in front of her. She put her head in her hands and sighed. Emma was still awkwardly standing in the middle of the room.

After what must've felt like hours for Emma, Regina lowered her hands and spoke. "You think I feel bad that you saved a woman's life, kept someone from dying in the name of my vengeance? You… you think that I'm not happy that Roland got his mother back?" Regina seemed to struggle to get the next words out and lay on the couch, letting out a frustrated sigh. When she continued, her voice was barely audible. "I just wished that I could've been happy again, too."

Emma could almost hear her own heart breaking, watching Regina there so hopeless and vulnerable. She moved towards the couch, giving the brunette a chance to tell her off if she so wished, but when Regina said nothing, she sat next to her.

"The fact that you can think like that shows how much you've grown and how much you deserve to be happy…" Emma started, but she was cut short.

"But I don't! Haven't you been paying attention and seen what I've done? They all call me the Evil Queen, and who can blame them? I cursed them all, and thought of no one but myself. I deserve this. You bringing Marian back reminded me of all the things I did. I… I…" Emma looked at Regina. Frustrated tears were streaming down the woman's face, and Emma was at a loss of words.

Regina stopped crying for a moment. "I don't deserve a happy ending, and I know that. I took theirs away. I don't deserve Henry."

That made Emma react. "Regina! Are you hearing yourself right now? You have been a wonderful mother to Henry all these years. He loves you. He couldn't have had better. I really did give him his best chance when he ended up being raised by you. Remember what you said before? In Neverland? All of it is worth it because of Henry." The sobs stopped, and Regina rose to sit, but Emma continued. "And as for taking people's happy endings away, I know everything can't be fixed, but you gave me all those happy memories, years with Henry I could've never otherwise had."

Regina was about to say something, but Emma beat her to it again because she wasn't finished yet. "And don't say that it's all your fault I didn't have a happy life with him in the first place. We both know it's much more complicated than that." Emma took Regina's hand in hers and gave it a light squeeze. The brunette seemed to have something to say, but her lower lip was quivering, and Emma thought Regina would probably start crying again if either of them tried to say anything right now.

That is why Emma did the next best thing she could think of and put one of her arms over Regina. Regina hesitated for a short moment and rested her head on Emma's shoulder. The former Mayor let out a sigh much calmer than the previous ones.

AN: Thanks to my awesome beta reader, Jess. If anyone sees something out of place in any chapter, feel free to tell me so I can fix it, though, since English isn't my first language (or my beta's). Reviews are always more than welcome x