Regina flinched at the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Not again. She curled tighter against the wall, unable to see, hardly able to move between the restraints and the pain. The door opened and the tears welled up behind her blindfold again. If only someone would let her speak she'd tell them how sorry she was.

"Oh my god." Whoever was at the door stopped short, and Regina let herself hope for a moment that she'd be left alone. Instead the footsteps raced towards her. "Oh no. Regina?"

She knew it was Emma as soon as she heard the way the blonde said her name. Regina blinked as the blindfold came off, eyes bleary and red.

"No," Emma whispered, horrified. She untied the gag and Regina coughed. "Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay."

Regina's throat and mouth were so dry that she couldn't seem to form words. She tried to force herself to smile, to give anything that would smooth Emma's brow, but she couldn't manage.

Now Emma was crying, swiping away her tears so that she could concentrate on untying Regina's hands. After releasing her, she took off her jacket and tucked it gently around Regina's shoulders. "I'll be right back, okay?"

"Don't," Regina rasped. "Em. Please."

Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and held her painfully tight. "I know. I don't want to leave you but I've got to get you some help."

Regina shook her head emphatically, leaning into Emma despite the pain. Anyone who could possibly help had already shown her they didn't want to. "Don't leave me."

"I won't." Emma looked down the length of Regina's body, and Regina looked too, both shocked by all of the bruises and blood. "Who did this?"

Regina didn't answer, aside from a soft cry when Emma let go and stood up. But the blonde didn't go far, just going to a cabinet of hospital gowns and bringing one back. She guided Regina's limp arms into the holes and used the jacket to cover the back.

The hospital was thankfully quiet, and Regina hid her face in Emma's neck as the blonde carried her out, just in case anyone else was around to see. When Emma gently laid her on the back seat of her Beetle, Regina finally allowed herself to open her eyes.

"I'm going to take you to your house," Emma said as she climbed in the driver's seat. "No one's going to see you." She picked up a bottle of water from the floor on the passenger side and handed it to Regina. It was warm from hours in the sun, but the brunette didn't hesitate to drink it as fast as she could. By the time Emma parked in the driveway and broke into a window to enter without keys she could speak again, if nothing else.

"Thank you," she said when Emma picked her up once more and carried her inside. "I've never been so happy to see anyone in my life."

Emma set her on the couch. "You don't have to thank me. It's what any decent person would do."

Regina listened to Emma crash around the house, in the kitchen, in the bathroom, in the bedroom. She couldn't help crying again as soon as she was left alone. It wasn't true. All of the people Emma might call decent had felt free to abuse her.

Emma returned with more water and a sandwich, most of the contents of Regina's medicine cabinet, and a blanket that she tucked around the mayor for both modesty and comfort. While Regina did her best to eat, Emma began to tend to the injuries on her face with such gentleness that Regina found herself smiling.

"I don't know how to thank you," Regina whispered.

"How did this happen?" Emma began to inspect the rest of Regina, wincing when she got to the dried blood trailing down her legs.

"They were angry," Regina said vaguely.

"Who?"

"Everyone."

Emma looked up into Regina's eyes, one pained expression meeting the other. "I don't care what you've done. This is not right."

For the first time in her life, Regina said the words out loud. "I'm evil." She felt Emma's hand on hers and squeezed it. "I've done unspeakable things."

Emma moved to join Regina on the couch, and the mayor rolled on her side to open up more space. Lined up together, facing each other, they couldn't avoid each other's eyes.

Regina shook her head. "You shouldn't be here with me."

"This is exactly where I should be. Not with people who claim they're good and do this much harm." Emma leaned in and gave Regina a tentative kiss, light and brief. "I'm going to protect you, Regina."

Later Emma would bathe Regina, bandage her, and put her to bed. But right now they stayed on the couch, Emma holding Regina, Regina letting herself cry.