*I do not own Once Upon a Time or the characters. I am simply using them for fun.*
So I wrote this in bed last night on my iphone after watching that ridiculously horrible episode and dying inside after the engagement. This is what I predict would happen in the future should Emma stay with Hook. So yes there is CS in this story but if you like Hook I would not suggest reading this because he is not depicted in a good way. Also there is definitely violence in it which I did tag incase anyone doesn't want to read it. This story is about abuse so trigger warning there. Anyways, through the darkness there is some fluff, as always.
The amber liquid touched her lips, slid down her throat and warmed her from the inside out. A barely audible knock notified her of a visitor. It was after eleven, who could possibly be visiting at this time of the night? Turning on the porch light, Regina opened the front door, curiosity written across her face. The back of a blonde woman she knew well stood hunched in the shadows of the awning.
"Emma?" Regina asked. The blonde trembled, letting out a choked sob before turning towards her best friend. Her eyes stayed on the ground as the light streamed across her face. "Omg Emma! What happened to you?!" Regina walked Emma inside, closing and the locking the front door behind her. When they reached the study, Regina guided Emma to the couch where the blonde laid down, resting her head in Regina's lap. Emma's left eye was swollen shut, purple and blue hues staining the skin on her face. Tears were streaming down her face and she continued to cry, leaving a wet spot on the stomach of Regina's sleep shirt. "Shh, it's ok, I'm here," Regina repeated again and again in attempts to calm the younger woman down. Several minutes later, Emma turned to face Regina, one green eye focusing on brown orbs.
"It was my fault," Emma said. She gripped Regina's hand in hers, nodding to herself. "I shouldn't have made him so mad. I should have been better, this is my fault, not his." Tears started to stream down Regina's face and she took in the sight of a woman she couldn't recognize at the moment. Emma sat up and removed her jacket and boots, leaving herself in her standard white tank and blue jeans. Bruises littered her arms, scattered across her collarbones and wrapped around her wrist. A puddle of blood on her abdomen went unnoticed by the blonde and she tried to sit back down.
"No Emma, we need to get you cleaned up," Regina choked grabbing Emma gently by the hand and walking her upstairs to the master bath. She sat Emma down on the toilet seat and grabbed the first aid kit from under the sink. "Oh Emma, how could he do this to you?" Both women cried as cuts were cleaned and bandaged, the wound on her stomach obviously needing stitches. "Emma, you need to go to the doctors."
"No! Please," Emma cried out. "Please, I don't want anyone to see me like this! Please!" She was gripping Regina's shoulders like she was holding onto her life.
"Ok but let me try to seal this with magic then," Regina suggested with a bit of a question at the end. At Emma's tiny nod, Regina placed her palm over the wound, concentrating hard on closing the skin. She hadn't fully recovered all of her magic from the last town incident, making it more exhausting for her to use white magic. The skin glistened as the wound closed and Regina wiped away the rest of the blood. She moved on to placing a cold washcloth over Emma's swollen eye, hoping it might open so she can assess the damage to her eye. Rage was boiling in her blood but Regina tried to keep a neutral face in front of Emma. He was going to pay for this. She was going to make sure that scum felt the pain of every mark on Emma's skin. After a few minutes, Emma's eye opened enough for them to determine that her sight was fine. Regina ran a warm bath and helped Emma into the tub, still wearing her tank, bra and undies.
Emma let her head rest on the back of the tub, closing her eyes and trying to forget what happened.
"Emma this is the last straw!" Hook screamed. "You keep ditching me to spend time with her! Do you even want to be with me? You're never home! And the bloody house is always a disaster." A bottle of Captain, almost empty, swung haphazardly in his hand. He was drunk again, he always was. Emma tried to get him to quit drinking; he kept telling her he didn't have a problem.
"Killian please, you're drunk. Can we talk about this in the morning?" Emma begged, fear dancing in her eyes. She hated when he got like this, like a constant reminder of the years she lived in less than great foster homes.
"What so you can be gone when I wake up? Off on another adventure with that bitch?!" Hook grabbed Emma's wrist tightly and dragged her closer. She could smell the alcohol seeping from his breath, overwhelming and terrifying. "No, we're going to talk about this now, and you're going to listen to me. You're my fiancé and you belong to me. You sleep with me! You worship me!" His grip on her arm got tighter and tighter as his words turned into screams of anger. Tears began to pour out of Emma's eyes.
"Ow, Killian, you're hurting me!" Her words came out as a cry of help. Emma could feel that scared little girl coming to the surface. When Killian threw her onto the ground, Emma coward behind her hands.
"You don't know what you have in this relationship Swan. You'll never find anyone like me again! You think she could ever love an orphan like you?! She'll never love you like I love you!" The first blow calm down on her collarbone, causing Emma to reel back in pain.
"Killian please! Please stop, I'm- you're hurting me! I'm so sorry, I'll stay here all day tomorrow, I won't leave! Please don't hit me," Emma's voice dropped to a whisper and she kept her eyes on the ground holding her collarbone where he hit her.
"You're going to learn that I'm the only person who will ever love you!" Another blow, this time to the shoulder. Emma cried out each time his hand connected with her body. "You're my bitch!" This time his hook came out and sliced across her ribcage. Emma's cries we're catching in her throat, the excruciating pain making it harder for her to breathe. "If I ever see you with that witch again-." His words were forgotten as his fist connected with Emma's eye and Emma swam into a sea of black before the world went silent.
When Emma woke up, there was no sign of Hook in the house. Every step she took caused a pain so blinding, she vomited twice on the way to Mifflin Street. She didn't know where she was walking until she reached the door, the only barrier from her and the only safe place she's ever known, Regina. Emma allowed the tears to keep coming as Regina washed blood from her hair and her body, slowly removing the wet clothing. Emma wasn't even embarrassed to be naked in front of Regina. She trusted her more than she trusted anyone in her life. Regina loved her, this she was sure of. And she loved her back, probably more than 'friends' should love each other. But the growing bond between the two women was greater than either of them had imagined. Neither could count the number of times they saved each other over the last seven years.
After Regina determined Emma clean, she dried her off and helped her change into the softest cotton pajamas she could find, sans bra and underwear. She ran downstairs quickly to fetch the ice pack from the kitchen, checking to make sure all her doors were locked before heading back upstairs. Regina's anger had faded a bit as heartbreak took over. She was hopelessly in love with the broken woman lying in her bed. She couldn't imagine anyone harming Emma, one of the sweetest people she knows with her infectious smile and her giant heart. Regina gently placed the ice pack over Emma's swollen eye and sat down on the edge of the bed. She placed a glass of water and an aspirin on the nightstand for Emma to take. After Emma took her medicine, she sank back into the plush mattress and covered her battered body in blankets with a little help from Regina.
"Get some sleep my love," Regina said, standing to leave the room.
"No!" Emma cried. "Please, don't leave me! Please!" A new set of tears threatened to fall from those dulling green eyes.
"Ok, ok, I'm right here," Regina walked to the other side of the bed and slid under the covers. Emma immediately rolled over, laying her head on Regina's chest and wrapping her arms around her waist. Regina's heart swelled at the feeling of having Emma wrapped around her body, allowing her to care for her. As Emma's breathing slowed and evened out, Regina ran her fingers gently through her hair, careful not to pull on any tangles. When she was sure Emma was sleeping, Regina sighed heavily. She looked down at Emma's marred face and placed a kiss softly on her forehead. "Oh my dearest Emma, I will protect you. I will never let him touch you again," she whispered into the dark room. "I will show you how you should be treated, I love you Emma Swan."
Emma fought to hide the hitch in her breath. She hadn't fallen asleep yet but now she knew she'd sleep soundly.
The next morning, Emma woke up still holding onto Regina. Her hand had slid under Regina's shirt and her palm splayed flat across her warm stomach. Regina was playing with Emma's hair again, having been awake for a while. She didn't want to let go of the stunning woman that laid with her so she stayed as quiet as she could and watched the steady rise and fall of Emma's chest. Emma hummed contently.
"That feels really nice," she said quietly, leaving her eyes shut and snuggling tighter into Regina. The hand resting on Regina's stomach drew slow circles along the skin. Regina sighed trying to remember a time when she had felt this content. "Good morning," Emma said and she looked up at Regina's face and matched her smile with a swollen grin.
"Good morning Emma. Would you like some pancakes? I have chocolate chips." Emma nodded slowly before gripping Regina tighter.
"Can we stay here a little longer?" She asked, trepidation evident in her voice. Regina's heart broke noticing the way Emma was almost scared to ask for something. Not bothering to hide her affection, Regina kissed the top of Emma's head again.
"Of course dear, we can stay here as long as you want." Regina wanted to talk about what happened and then proceed to murder that pathetic eyeliner-wearing pirate but she knew Emma needed her here more. She would do whatever Emma needed her do to for as long as she needed her.
Not too much later, Regina fed Emma chocolate chip pancakes with fresh strawberries and syrup, another aspirin and a cup of coffee. Emma borrowed clothes from her and they stayed in lounge clothes for the day. Regina let Emma pick out what movies to watch and Emma forced Regina to watch her saved DVR episodes of Grey's Anatomy. (Even though Regina actually loved the show.) She changed Emma's bandages and continued to ice her swollen eye while Emma clung to her side. Regina held Emma in her arms the whole day, deciding she could do this every day easily. She cooked lunch and dinner and Emma tried to eat as much as she could, the pain causing her to be nauseous.
Regina had texted her secretary that morning telling her that she would not be in, that the sheriff would not be there that day and if anyone asked, they were simply out of the office on official work business. Jamie, her secretary, was more than loyal to Regina and perfectly capable of deterring unwanted visitors from the office. She had even successfully turned Snow away several times when Regina simply couldn't deal with her. Emma had left her phone at her house the night before so Regina kept hers on the side table just in case. Snow had texted her asking if she knew where Emma was. David had texted her to inform her of Hook's current location, in a holding cell at the station. He had apparently started a bar fight and broke several chairs in his rage the night before. David didn't know about what happened to his daughter. Regina would leave that up to her if she wanted to tell her parents. Regina was praying that Emma would press charges on the bastard.
Halfway through Finding Nemo, Emma lifted her head from Regina's shoulder and looked at her inquisitively. "Regina?" she asked.
"Yes Emma?" Regina turned towards Emma, inhaling sharply when she noticed their sudden proximity.
"Did you mean what you said last night?" Emma asked, suddenly shy. Regina's cheek grew a deep shade of red as she realized Emma had indeed not been sleeping last night. "Because it's ok if you didn't, I'm a pretty hard person to love. I understand." Emma's words of self-hatred cut through Regina like the sharp edge of the pirate's hook.
"Emma Swan, you look at me," Regina said, lifting Emma's chin gently up to match hers. "You are not hard to love. You are so smart, and so beautiful. You're witty and funny. You're sexy and so so strong. There is not a single thing on you that is unlovable and there is not part inside of you that is unlovable." Tears we're leaking from Emma's eyes and Regina continued to list off the things she loved about Emma. "I love your hair, I'll die if you ever cut if off. Those sea green eyes pierce my very soul every time you look at me. I love how your jeans are practically painted on and I love that atrocious red leather jacket you insist on wearing. I love you with every bit of my heart Emma, and not in a platonic way. I am in love with you. And I will protect you from that scum bastard for the rest of our lives." She wiped away the tears on Emma's face. "We're going to make him pay, don't you worry." She dropped a tiny kiss onto the tip of Emma's nose being careful not to touch the swollen bruised tissue around her eye.
"It wasn't my fault right? I was good wasn't I?" Emma voice was broken as she was reminded of how she got here in the first place. Emma tugged the ring off her left hand and threw it onto the coffee table. "I was good but I wasn't good enough for him." Her head hung towards her chest.
"Oh Emma, you are good, you were always good and you will always be good. Never let anyone tell you otherwise," Emma's body heaved with a dry sob.
"Regina?"
"Yes Emma?"
"I love you too." Emma grinned as widely as she could with her stiff and swollen face. "I've always loved you." Emma leaned in, locking her lips with Regina's ignoring the pain she felt in her whole body. Emma knew she had come to Regina because she was the only one who really understood her. She was the only one that knew Emma better than Emma knew herself. She felt safe in the mansion with Regina and Henry, which is why she had been spending more and more time with them and less with her fiancé. She was suffocating in that house with him. She loved him, she did, but not the way she loved Regina. She could live without him but she couldn't live without Regina.
Regina texted David asking him to come to the mansion alone. When he got there, he listened to his daughter tell him what happened, tears of his own slipping out the corners of his eyes. He had already arrested Hook the night before so he decided to leave him in the cell until they could come up with a better form of punishment. If it were up to David, he would beat the shit out of him until both his eyes were swollen shut and he was nearly unconscious. But, Emma asked him not to resort to violence. David agreed to keep the story to himself, Snow and Henry. They decided both Emma and Regina came down with a terrible flu, which allowed Emma time to heal before heading back out into the world. David and Henry went to the house and brought back all of Emma's possessions, the pile of boxes relatively small. They cleaned up the mess that the incident had left behind so if Emma chose to return, she wouldn't have to relive the moment again. Emma agreed to see Archie about the mental abuse she had been put through over the last few years.
A few nights later, Emma and Regina were sitting in front of the fireplace after Henry had gone to bed, sipping on glasses of red wine. Emma set her glass on to table and took Regina's to do the same. She slid up next to Regina, tucking herself under the brunette's arm. She wanted to feel that sense of security.
"I want to talk about it now," Emma said. Regina understood what she meant immediately. She tensed up just a bit thinking of how broken the blonde had looked standing on her front porch beaten and bruised.
"Ok," Regina whispered. She grabbed Emma's hands in her own and looked her directly in the eyes, proving to Emma that she was there for her no matter what. Emma took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before she started to talk. She took Regina through the whole terrifying mess. Regina's eyes were filled with unshed tears. She wanted to be strong for Emma. She was so angry and so heartbroken for her. Emma had been through so much in her life and there was nothing more that Regina wanted than to show this girl a wonderful life.
"I was so scared Regina," Emma confessed. "When he hit my face, I blacked out and as I was passing out all I could think was that I was going to die. I thought about Henry and I mostly thought about you and everything I had yet to tell you. I wanted more time and I was so scared. When I woke up and he was gone, I didn't think, I just got up and walked to you. You are my safe place and my mind knew that. My body led me here and I've only felt safer in your arms." Regina held Emma as Emma let her tears fall. She wanted Regina to know everything. "He's hit me before. I didn't tell anyone and he always apologizes the next day. He kept promising me that he wouldn't do it again, obviously that was a lie. I was stupid for staying with him, I know that now. But I honestly didn't think anyone would love me besides him." Emma's head hung in shame.
"It's ok Emma," Regina replied. "I'm here and I love you. I would never hurt you and I am going to spend however much time you'll give me, showing you what love really is." Emma's teary smile filled her vision.
"Can I have you forever?" Emma asked. Regina's mouth gaped open then shut, opened again and shut again. "I'm serious Regina, I've wasted so much time because I was scared you wouldn't love me back. I don't want to lose this. I want to be here in this house with you and Henry forever." Regina's tears finally fell and she nodded her head.
"Forever," Regina whispered. She kissed Emma with so much love and adoration that they both struggled to breathe. Emma was home with her. Emma was right where she was supposed to be and Regina was so happy. Her chest panged at the guilty feeling that Emma had to suffer for her to find her way to Regina but in the end is worked out and Regina was here to fix it. "I love you Emma Swan."
"I love you Regina Mills."