**Update** I was reading through this and found a whole section was missing. I don't know how that happened, but I've redone it and included it in here. If you've read it before, just go to the part where David picked Emma up from the forest ground. I'm sorry about that.

SURPRISE! Okay, so I know I said I wasn't going to write more before the Holidays, but this idea came to me and I just had to write it. Now, warning. It's VERY ANTI KILLIAN. So, if you like Killian, don't read this. If you like CS, don't read this. I'm not sure if this will be long or short, but it will be SQ in the end and I'm sorry, but will be anti Killian throughout, and later, anti Robin. If you don't like that, don't read this. Don't sit here and review on how mean I am or any of that because I'm warning you now that this is how the story is.

***Trigger warning***

Mentions of miscarriages

Abuse is mentioned throughout as well.

Emma sat in her car, her head back against the headset and tears streaming down her face. She was hiding from anyone and everyone at this point. The blonde had tried to talk to her mother, but Snow had turned her away claiming Neal was contagious. To Emma, however, it just proved everything Killian had been telling her; she was worthless and even her family no longer wanted her.

Emma thought she was happy that day she walked down to her pirate with her parents. Sure, she had doubts, fears, but everyone was so sure, so happy for her, that she figured she was being silly. How wrong she was. It started out slow with little things really. He'd get an attitude if Emma worked late, get drunk more often and say snarky things to hurt Emma. Then, he'd started making Emma feel guilty for spending time with anyone that wasn't him. Henry stopped coming as often as he hated the way Killian put Emma down and how Emma would just laugh it off as if it was nothing. Then, once she was really separated from her family, he started with the real abuse. He forced her to wear a magic proof cuff and broke her down. It was all verbal and mental at first, but soon it became physical. When Emma refused to quit her job, he broke three of her fingers without flinching. The next day, Emma turned in her two weeks' notice.

Today had been bad and Emma still didn't know how she got out. Killian had been drinking and came home to find Emma napping on the sofa. The blonde never slept well at night since she had woken to Killian choking her because she had let out a snore, so she'd get sleep when Killian was out of the house.

"You lazy little whore!" He had yelled at her. "This house is a disaster and you're sleeping?! You really are that stupid, aren't you? You need to be looked after like a damn child!" He had rushed to her and lifted her by her hair. Emma turned to get away, but she had grown weak thanks to Killian not letting her work out and her not having an appetite lately. "You are mine, Swan. Mine! You are to do as I say and while I'm gone, I expect you to be doing your chores, not being lazy." His spit was hitting her face and mixing with her tears.

"Please stop." She let out. "I did all my chores and dinner is in the oven. I just needed to rest."

"Aww, boo hoo. You're such a baby. No wonder no one else wants anything to do with you anymore. I'm all you have, and you can't even do the little I ask of you to do!" He grabbed tighter to her hair before letting go long enough to full out punch her in the face. "That's for talking back to me." He let her go and she fell to the ground, holding her face. He then sneered at her and kicked her. "You're pathetic!" He spat at her.

Emma painfully clenched her jaw. "Then why don't you leave?"

Big mistake.

Killian grabbed her arms and pulled her up, pinning her to the wall as his hook dug into her arm, making her bleed. She had lost track of how many scars his hook alone had given her. "You still talking back to me? If I left you, you'd have no one. Is that what you want?"

Call it courage or call it stupidity, but whatever it was rushed over Emma. "Yes! Yes, that's exactly what I want! You won't leave because you'll lose my money and you'll have nothing!"

"He glared at her, holding her tighter, her arm bleeding more. "I can leave anytime I want. I have my ship and my crew, and I can find plenty of whores to keep me company. I don't need you, Swan, don't fool yourself into thinking that."

She looked at him through tears, her arm and head throbbing. "Then leave. If there's nothing keeping you here, just go. I don't love you anymore; I honestly don't know that I ever did."

Killian smirked at her and pressed himself against her. "You're still good for one thing." He stated, kicking her legs apart.

Emma shook her head, but he turned her so that she was pushed against the wall. She hated this, she didn't want it, but he didn't care – he never did. He took it whenever he wanted. Emma pushed back against him, trying to get away. Killian, however, took that as a sign that she wanted him.

"See? I know you like this. You're such a trashy little slut."

Emma closed her eyes tight and used all her strength to push Killian away. He wasn't expecting that, and the surprise worked in Emma's favor as he fell back over himself. "You'll pay for that." He growled, but Emma used this as her chance to run.

The blonde grabbed her keys and phone, which Killian usually kept with him, but he had put on the table when he got home. She ran for the door, expecting to be grabbed at any moment. Killian, however, was slow getting up due to his intoxication level and Emma was outside before he registered what was going on. Her hands were shaking, but Emma got the car started and was pulling out as Killian got to the door.

"Shit. Now what?" Emma asked herself as she drove down the road.

That was when Emma decided to call her mother to see if she could come over. She hadn't seen her for a long time and honestly, just wanted to feel her arms around her.

"I'm sorry, Em. It's not a good time. Neal is sick and crabby, and I don't want him getting you sick." Besides, Snow was tired from being up with Neal all night and wasn't thinking straight.

Emma hung up the phone and tried calling her dad, but it just went to voicemail. The same was true when she tried Henry's cell phone. Emma ended the call and threw her phone down on the seat before hitting her steering wheel. "Fuck!" She felt her tears coming as she heard Killian's voice in the back of her head.

"They don't love you anymore, Emma. They don't need you. You've done your job as Savior and now, you just an annoyance to everyone. Henry loves Regina more than you because you're a shit mother who gave him up. Your parents have Neal now and don't need you. You've been a disappointment anyway. They all know it; they all talk about you when you're not there. Oh, and Regina? Your best friend Can't stand you. She knows it's your fault her Robin died, and she hates you for it. She just puts up with you because of Henry, but now that he hates you, she doesn't have to pretend anymore. Zelena hates you too. She gave her magic up to help you and now she regrets it and resents you. You have no one."

Emma had driven off the road and into the woods, her small car letting her go further in than other cars could go. She parked and just broke down, her heart hurt, her body hurt, her soul hurt. How was she so weak? She hadn't felt like this since she was a foster kid and had no control. How had she let it come to this? What did she do now? What was left for her? Emma looked at her phone, seeing that no one had tried calling her, she shook her head. "Nothing. I have nothing."
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"Mom, please let me go! Something is wrong, I just now it." Henry stated as he tried again to call Emma. "She called, but I just missed it and now, her phone just keeps ringing. I think that asshole did something to her phone and probably to her as well."

"Henry, language." Regina sighed. She hated seeing Henry like this, but unfortunately, this wasn't new. This was how the married Emma was. "Henry, you know how your mother is now. We've talked about this. If you go there, either she or Killian will tell you that everything is fine, even if it's not; that's the choice she made. Snow and I have tried, Henry. She says everything is fine. That's all she says."

Henry looked at her, desperation in his eyes. "Please mom. This is different, I can feel it."

Regina chewed her lip as she thought. Of course, she was worried; she'd been worried ever since Emma started dating Killian, but she tried. Oh, she tried so hard. She talked to Emma in the Underworld about him, tried when he had vanished before they got married. She really didn't get why Emma was so hung up on the jerk, or how he had fooled everyone to believe he had changed. She wanted to be there for Emma, they had come a long way and she missed her best friend.

"Have you tried calling your grandparents? Maybe one of them is talking to her now."

"Grandma said Ma called her about the same time she called me, but she told Emma it wasn't a good time since Neal is sick. Grandpa just missed her call and has tried calling her back, but he isn't getting through either. No voice mail either, Mom."

Regina couldn't help but roll her eyes at that. "So, she doesn't hear from Emma for months and once she finally reaches out, she turns her away." She sighed as she got her phone out. As she was about to try Emma for herself, her phone rang. Regina sighed when she saw Killian's name. "Hello?"

"Is she with you?" He growled, causing Regina to grit her teeth.

"Is who with me?" Regina kept her voice casual.

"You know who! My whore of a wife, that's who! Are you keeping her from me? Whatever she told you is a lie! She hurt herself for attention; I never touched her."

Regina stood straight at those words. "What are you talking about, Pirate? What did you do to her?"

"So, she's not there. Well, at least she's not as dumb as I thought she was. Arg, she's so worthless."

"You shut your mouth! Do not talk about her like that! She's worth more than you know, and I swear if you hurt her, you're…"

"She's mine, Regina! I can do what I want to her. Have you forgotten what it means to be married? I own her."

Furious, Regina ended the call and dialed Emma's number. Now she was worried. "Pick up, idiot."

After the tenth ring, she hung up looking at Henry. "We have to find her. Call your grandfather and tell him we will be at the station in five minutes."

While Henry did that, Regina called Maleficent. Ever since she had Lily back and the realms were united, Mal became another resident of Storybrooke. She was also someone Emma could call a friend.

"Hello, Regina." Maleficent said by way of answering.

"Maleficent, I need your help. Remember our conversation about Emma? I fear we were right, and we waited too long." She told her the situation and the conversation with Killian. "I'm meeting David at the station. You and I can find her with magic, but she may not want to see us, she may want her father."

"She may not want any of us, but we've let this go too long. I swear, I'll rip him apart if he hurt her. I'll meet you at the station."

Five minutes later, the four of them were at the station. Regina didn't want Henry to come, but since he was almost an adult and he insisted, there wasn't much she could do. Regina relayed her conversation with Killian to David, so he'd understand why she found this to be so serious.

"We've been worried but wanted to give her space. We thought she knew she could come to us if she needed us."

Maleficent sighed. "He probably has her so brainwashed to believe she's alone and no one wants her."

Henry clenched his jaw. "We should have talked to her before. We all waited too long."

"You're right, Henry. We just didn't want her to think we didn't trust her." Regina stated with a sigh. "Now, I wonder how much damage has been done both physically and emotionally."

David sighed. "Let's go find out."

"Regina, you're probably closer to her than me. You focus on her and I'll take us where you lead." Mal stated, taking Regina's and Henry's hand. They formed a circle and were soon gone in a puff of smoke.

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Cold. Emma felt cold. Her shirt was ripped from Killian's hook, her blood now dried on her arm. Her face, arm, stomach, and back all hurt, but the cold at least made the pain more of a numbness. She had tried calling her family again along with Regina, Zelena, Lilly, Maleficent, even Granny, but the phone just kept ringing with no one answering. Each time was like another rejection and in the end, Emma just threw her phone out the window. Emma then got out of her car and walked for a while, blind from tears. The blonde felt so alone, tired and just done with everything.

The sun was setting, and she was in a clearing in the woods as she laid back and looked up at the sky. Silent tears slid down the sides of her face as she prepared to give up. "I came to this world alone and I'm leaving it alone." She closed her eyes. "I love you, Henry. I hope you know and believe that, even if you don't love me back. I get it. I'm nothing, but you…you are everything. Mom and dad, I'm sorry I'm not enough. I really did try. I tried so hard." She sniffed as her tears fell harder. "It always ends the same. I try, I think it's good, but I do something to mess it up. Most of the time, I don't even know what I did wrong. This time, I know it's because I'm not good enough to be a Charming. I always knew and was just waiting for the other foot to fall. Now it has and I'm so sorry." Emma turned on her side and curled up, the cold starting to make her shake. "Regina. Oh Regina." She let out a gut-wrenching sob. "I'm so sorry for everything. I'm sorry for what my grandfather did and for what I did. I'm sorry for everything with Henry, with Robin. I never wanted to hurt you, Regina. Never. You're the last person I ever wanted to hurt. I…I love…"

"Mom! Mom, are you okay?" Henry saw Emma the moment the smoke cleared. He rushed to her and knelt, gasping when he saw her face. "Oh mom. What did he do?"

Emma closed her eyes, feeling embarrassed. "Go home, Henry. I love you, I love you so much, but leave me be. It's for the best."

Henry shook his head. "No. If I go, you're coming with me."

Emma was shaking, and David came over and put his jacket over her. "You're freezing Emma. How hurt are you?"

Emma looked at her dad, but her eyes were blank. "I'm numb, but soon I won't feel anything. Just let me go."

Regina watched this, feeling more empathy than she ever expected. "No." She said, surprising even herself. She waked over and knelt by Emma. "You will not let him do this to you, Emma. Do not let him take you from us. We need you, we want you, and we love you. Whatever he has told you is a lie." She stated in a caring but firm way. Regina saw the bruises and gently stroked Emma's face. "You need a doctor. Please let us take you; we can use my magic to get you there."

"I can't." Emma stated, holding up her wrist to show the cuff. "Any magic will hurt me."

Regina saw the cuff, but her eyes went to Emma's scrapped upper arm. Before she could say anything, however, Maleficent came over and took Emma's wrist. "Almost any magic." She looked at the blonde. "I'm sorry if there's any paint, but this is the only way." Regina took hold of Emma's other hand and looked into those now dull green eyes that once held so much hope and happiness. Even when Emma first came, even when she had taken in the darkness, her eyes were never this dull and dead.

Mal took Emma's wrist and brought it close to her mouth. Very carefully, she breathed a steady stream of fire on it, burning it in half. Emma gasped and gripped Regina's hand, but as soon as the cuff was off, Maleficent was soothing her wrist. She kissed it softly as she looked at Emma. "You'll start to feel better soon, my child. I want to just heal you, but your injuries need to be documented. Some go beneath the surface." She held the now broken cuff. "This did more than stop your magic, Emma. It drained your magic, drained you."

Emma let out a breath. "Is that why I've been so tired?"

Mal smiled sadly. "Partly. You're also depressed, and something tells me that you don't let yourself fully sleep."

Emma just looked away. "I'm so tired."

"Come on mom. Let us take care of you, please." Henry stated, and David came over to lift Emma in his arms as if she weighed nothing. In fact, he was worried at how light she was.

"We're not letting you go, Em. You can be mad at me, baby girl, but I cannot lose you again."

Emma curled more into her father. "I'm sorry, Dad. I'm sorry I haven't been good enough."

David closed his eyes, his heart breaking. "Em, you could never not be good enough and I'm so sorry I ever made you feel that way. Just rest, Emma. There will be time to talk later." He looked at Regina and the group all stood together before they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Snow rushed into the waiting room, worry written all over her face. "Is she okay? I need to see her. Oh, I shouldn't have turned her away. I wasn't thinking."

David put his arm around his wife. "You can tell her that later, love. The doctors are looking her over now."

"What about Killian? Where is that bastard?"

David sighed. "Leroy went to arrest him, but he's not home nor at his ship. He and Ruby are tracking him. I want to arrest him myself, but I don't trust myself not to kill him."

Henry grit his teeth. "Death is too good for him. Someone needs to break him like he broke her."

Regina put her hand over Henry's. "You're right, Henry, but we can't lower ourselves to his level." She looked at him and added. "No matter how badly we want to."

Henry let out a breath. "I know, mom. I just…I should have seen this. I should have stopped it." He angrily brushed tears from his eyes. "I should have known something was off."

Regina put an arm around her son. "We did know, Henry. We all suspected, but we were all too scared to talk to Emma. We all thought she'd tell us if she couldn't handle it and needed help. We were all wrong, but don't beat yourself up about it. One of us should have done something, not you."

"Why? Just because you're adults?"

"Because we're not her children." Maleficent answered softly. "We're her friends and family and we shouldn't have let it go this far. Personally, Henry, I'm sorry that I let it get to this point."

Henry sat back, trying to calm down. "Thanks. But honestly, Ma doesn't make it easy. She's stubborn and never admits when she needs help. She thinks it makes her look weak."

Just then, Dr. Whale came out looking for them. He looked at Snow and David. "As her parents and emergency contacts, I can talk to you. Regina, you're also in her file as someone I can talk to. It's up to you all if you want Maleficent and Henry – as a minor – to hear."

Regina, who was surprised she was on the list, looked at Snow and David. "As her parents, I'll leave it up to you if you even want me to hear."

"Emma listed you for a reason." Snow stated and then looked at Whale. "What about Killian?"

He looked at the charts again, though he'd already looked before. "There's no mention of him anywhere. Being they are married, under normal circumstances, that wouldn't matter as we'd automatically go right to the spouse. However, these aren't normal circumstances and if he were to show his face here, I'll end up in jail after what I've just seen." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Let's go to a more private room."

Snow, David, and Regina went to follow, but henry and Maleficent weren't sure they were able to. Snow looked back at them and gave a nod. "Come with. She won't care if you know."

Maleficent linked her arm with Henry's and they followed the others to a smaller room. They all sat down and looked to Dr. Whale.

"I'm not sure where to start." He stated, looking at the charts and pictures. "She's underweight, malnourished, and dehydrated. Not to mention exhausted." He added. "She has scars, and bruises, both old and new. There's evidence of broken fingers that weren't set properly, sprains and a break in her right ankle, both wrists, and left elbow that didn't set right or get treatment for so they all healed a bit…wonky." He put up various x-rays and pictures and David couldn't help but be reminded of crime shows where they'd put pictures of victims and crime scenes up. "David, I have a copy of these for the sheriff's office. I'm assuming Killian will be charged for all this."

All David could do was nod. He was scared that if he opened his mouth, he'd either start cursing, crying or he'd get sick. This was his daughter, his baby and this pathetic excuse for a man completely broke her. David couldn't protect her when she was a child in foster care, but he could now, and he failed. He utterly and completely failed, and he was filled with anger, sadness, and regret. He failed her as a father, and he didn't know if he could make it up to Emma.

"Can you tell how long this has been happening?" Henry asked with tears in his own eyes. He also felt as if he failed his mother. He knew things were going on, but he'd only see the verbal aspect. However, he felt like he should have stopped this, he should have stood up for his mother. He should have stood up TO his mother and not let her just tell him she was fine.

Dr. Whale looked at the charges. "My best guess is at least seven months, which is about three months after they were married." He swallowed. "There's also evidence that she had a miscarriage about three months ago. Either she didn't know, or as I suspect, she wasn't allowed to get medical help for it as that's also around the time she would have broken her ankle. She has a small infection from that, which she's lucky it's not worse, that we are treating with antibiotics."

Snow silently wept as David stood and went to the window. He couldn't stop feeling like such a failure.

Regina blinked away her own tears and cleared her throat. "When can we see her? How is she now? I mean, is she stable? Is she of sound mind? Is she still talking of dying?"

"She's…" Dr. Whale sighed. "She's depressed. Severely and utterly depressed, but she did say she's glad she didn't die. That's a good sign. You have to remember, she's been being beaten down for months now and she's probably tired of feeling like the lowest of the low. We've got an IV to get her rehydrated and for the antibiotics and I'm hoping that will make her less lethargic. We can fix her body, but it's up to her to seek help for her mind." He looked at them seriously. "She is mentally broken. He damaged her…her very essence. I'm sorry if this sounds dire or dramatic, but it's true. She's a shell of herself, guys. She needs support, needs to be built up, but also needs patience and understanding. You all need to realize this won't be fixed overnight. They say it takes one thousand positive comments to make up for one negative. We need to give her time, but we also can't let her give up or feel like she has no one again. It's a hard balancing act, because she's an adult and she can fight back. I'm not a therapist, but I do recommend she stay with someone while she recovers from both the mental and physical pain she's in. I also recommend setting something up with Archie; have him come here if need be."

Regina gave a nod and put a note in her phone. "I'll take care of that, Snow. You focus on Emma."

"Thank you, Regina." Snow, who looked so exhausted after hearing all this, looked to Whale. "When can we bring her home?"

"Hopefully tomorrow. None of her injuries are cause for her to stay here too long. She's got a few stitches in her arm and she's in pain, but by tomorrow, she should be hydrated enough to go home…well wherever she can go where she's not alone. I really do not want her alone and if that's an issue with her, I'll be more than happy to tell her that I will not release her unless she swears someone will be there with her."

There was a knock at the door and a nurse peaked in. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, Dr. Whale, but there's a problem."

"She's my wife! She belongs to me and you will let me see her!"

Everyone froze except for Henry, who stood with his hands balled into fists. David put a hand on his shoulder. "Stay here. Please, Henry."

"David wait!" Snow called, but it was too late. David was out of the room in a flash. He saw Killian and grit his teeth. "You shouldn't be here."

Killian gave a cocky grin. "Hello, daddy. I'm surprised you're here. I thought you and Mommy Dearest forgot all about your worthless daughter."

"Killian Jones. You are under arrest." Ruby said as she had just come through the doors. Since Emma had resigned and the town grew, She and Leroy were both deputies at the station. She went to cuff Killian who laughed.

"Arrested? For what?"

"Assault for one. More charges will be brought as we learn more." Ruby went to cuff him, but he pulled back.

"I know my rights. I didn't do anything. The bitch did it to herself. Ask her. You can't arrest me because she won't press charges – not if she knows what's good for her."

Ruby bit her lip and looked at David. Killian had a point. Dr. Whale came over and glared at the pirate. "She is pressing charges and with all the medical evidence I already have, I'd say they can charge you with assault, attempted murder, torture, false imprisonment and more. You're going down, Pirate."

David looked at Whale. "She's really pressing charges?"

He nodded. "I asked her just now. She's sick of this and done with him."

"Good." David said with a nod. "Ruby, if you please?"

"With pleasure." Ruby handcuffed Killian, removing his hook, and lead him out to the car where Leroy was waiting.

Everyone was watching, so no one noticed Emma come out with a nurse. "He's going to kill me." She said quietly before turning back towards her room.

"Emma…" Snow gasped, and the blonde paused.

"If you're not too busy, you can come to my room." Emma looked at the others. "Any of you can but know that I'm not in the mood for a lot of talking."

The group followed, everyone feeling subdued but glad to see Emma wake. Emma got back into her bed and avoided eye contact as the nurse checked her IV.

Henry came over and took Emma's hand, leaning down to look into her eyes. "I love you, mom. We all tried calling you. He did something to your phone, all it would do is ring and ring."

Emma looked at him and then the others. "You did? Really?"

They nodded, Regina taking a step closer. "We all did, Emma. We were all worried."

Snow came to Emma's other side and sat down, taking her free hand. "I'm so sorry, Em. I didn't mean to turn you away. I swear, I was just thinking of keeping you from getting sick. I was so wrong and I'm so sorry."

Emma looked down, too exhausted to even cry. "It's my fault. I'm the one who allowed myself to grow weak and be taken over by him. I let him do this to me. I'm the one who's sorry." She looked at her mother. "I'm sorry. I tried to be good; I really did."

Snow cupped Emma's cheek. "Hush, my love. Don't you dare apologize for him. You are good, Princess, you're so good. You're too good for him. He saw that and used it." She ran her thumb along Emma's cheek. "Baby girl, you rest, okay? Don't sit here and worry and feel guilty. No one is mad at you. We all love you and we're all here for you."

David came over by Snow. "Your mom is right, honey. You just need to rest."

Emma looked at David, suddenly feeling everything hit her. "Daddy, if he gets out, he'll kill me." Her voice was so small and broke David's heart. He didn't deserve to be called Daddy right now.

David kissed her forehead. "We won't let that happen."

"How? He has money…my money. He has total access to my bank account and he made it so I can't take any money without him there. Smee will post his bail." As a town, the residents of Storybrooke had been handling most things the way this world did. Sure, Regina was mayor and Queen over all the realms that resided there, but they also had a court system and their own laws to follow.

Regina wasn't the only one who had been redeemed, Rumple had been voted to be Storybrooke's DA (defense attorney). There were lawyers from all realms along with judges. For the most part, each realm had their own police force with David being head sheriff over all of it. All in all, it had been working quite well.

"Baby, bail won't be set until his first trial. Rumple has 48 hours to formally present the charges and discuss bail and all that with the judge. I'll go to the bank tonight and fix your account. If they can't I'll ask them to at least freeze it. It's your money, not his. Right now, you only need to worry about resting."

Maleficent cleared her throat. She had been standing back to give the family time. "If it makes you feel more at ease, I can put up a protection spell."

Regina gave a nod. "Let's do that."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

Maleficent and Regina stood back to back and performed the protection spells.

"Mmm. Smell that magic in the air." They all turned to see Rumple. He had sacrificed his darkness to help defeat his mother, so now he was mortal, and he was much easier to get along with. He now had a heart.

"Rumple. I didn't expect to see you so soon." David stated, shaking his hand.

"Please, I prefer Mr. Gold now. Also, I won't stay long as I understand Ms. Swan needs her rest." He looked at Emma with a bit of a frown. "My sincerest apologies, dearie. I wanted to personally assure you that Killian will remain behind bars for the next couple days at the very least." He brought out some forms. "If you could sign these, I'll have access to your medical records and I can start building a case."

Emma took the forms and tried focusing on them. She closed her eyes for a moment and then looked at Regina. "Can you read these and tell me if you'd sign them? It's still him, after all…no offense, Mr. Gold."

"None taken, my dear. I'm glad you still have your wits about you."

Regina carefully read through the papers. "Mr. Gold, if she signs this, her records are available to any legal office. Is that a must?"

Mr. Gold nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. Medical records would be available to whomever he gets to represent him, should he choose to fight this. If I get access, so do they. However, it won't help his case."

Regina nodded and handed the forms to Emma along with a pen. "If it were me, I'd sign. There's no mention of returning a favor or anything like that. It's perfectly legit."

Emma gave a nod and signed the forms. She handed them back to Mr. Gold and laid her head back. "I'm really sore. If you need anything else today, please just ask my parents or Regina. I give them full permission to do anything on my behalf."

"I understand, Emma. I'll come by tomorrow and see how you feel. I want to keep you up to date with everything and I want you to be a part of it and have your say. I also have to know the full story and I know that won't be easy, but it must be done at some point."

Emma nodded and gave a small smile. "Thank you. I do understand, and I just need to rest before I can go into the details."

Maleficent came over and put her hand on Emma's. "I'm going home, dear. I'm so glad you're okay. Please call me any time you want or need to talk. I'm here for you, dear. You're not alone."

Emma smiled softly at her. "Thank you. I'll remember that. Tell Lilly I said hi."

"I will if you promise you'll call her as soon as you're up to it. She misses you."

"I will. I promise."

Maleficent and gold both left, and Regina suddenly felt like she should go too, though she really didn't want to. She had so much she wanted to say to Emma. "I guess should…"

"Do you have to go?" Emma asked, sitting up a bit. "I mean…I…yeah, I suppose you have to go."

"No, I don't have to go. I just thought you'd want to be with your family."
Emma shrugged. "I'm sure they have to get Neal from wherever he is." She felt tears in her eyes. "I don't want to be alone." She said quietly. "Can you and Henry stay until I fall asleep?"

Regina looked at Snow and David as if for permission. "I would be glad to, if it's okay with you two."

Snow looked at Emma, an internal battle in her head. "Are you sure? Ella has Neal and can keep him overnight if you want us to stay with you."

Henry knew that Emma thought of Regina as a friend, maybe even more, and didn't want anyone controlling her anymore – even if it wasn't their intention. "It's up to you, mom. You can decide who you want to stay with you."

Emma bit her lip. "I don't want to hurt or upset anyone."

"You won't, baby girl." Snow assured her. "I promise you won't."

Emma nodded. "Can Henry and Regina stay? Just until I fall asleep?"

Regina smiled softly. "Of course we can. However, we'll stay all night. If you don't want to be alone, you won't be."

Emma was too tired to argue. "Thank you." She looked at her parents. "Thank you for being here, but please go get Neal and be with him. He's a child and needs you more."

Regina and Henry stepped away so David and Snow could come closer to the bed. David put his hand over Emma's. "Are you sure? Emma, we can stay too. You need us just as much, if not more than Neal right now, and we don't mind. We love you."

Emma took a deep breath. "I know, but there's not enough room and there's no need for you not to sleep." The full truth was that she was starting to hurt again all over and she didn't want her parents to see that. "Come back in the morning?"

Snow nodded and kissed Emma's forehead. "We'll be back first thing. I love you, Emma. I love you so much." Tears filled her eyes and Emma reached to wipe them away.

I love you too, mom." She then looked at David. "I love you too, dad. I'm sorry it's come to this and that I've been so weak."

He kissed her forehead. "I want you to stop apologizing. None of this is your fault. I love you so much. I can see you're tired, so we'll talk more tomorrow, but I want you to know that you are more than good enough for all of us. Now res, Emma, and know that we've got you. You're not alone."

Snow and David each kissed Emma once more before hesitantly leaving. "Oh David. All I wanted to do was get in that bed and hold her. I don't want to leave her."

David put his arm around his wife. "I know, hone. But, she's in good hands. I trust Regina far more than I ever trusted Killian."

"Why did we let her marry him? Neither of us trusted him or even liked him."

David sighed. "We trusted Emma. We wanted her to finally be happy and we thought she was. Maybe we were wrong to hold back, but neither of us wanted to take her happiness away."

"Ether way, we'd have lost. If we talked to her about how we felt, she'd have been mad and cut us out. Either way, this was the end result."

"She comes first now, Snow. She was acting strong, but we need to be there to build her up. I'm tired of failing her."

Snow nodded her agreement. "I know, me too. She comes first."

They went and got Neal and made arrangements for them to drop him off with Ella the next morning. Ella offered to keep him over night, but Snow and David wanted him home that night. "Maybe in a few days when we know more. We want to have at least a couple days to focus on Emma, but it depends on her too."

"Tell Emma I send my love and that I'm here for her."

"I will. She needs to hear that people love here."

Even though Emma had been yearning to be with her parents, she felt a bit relieved when they left. No matter what they said, she still felt not good enough, guilty, and like a burden to them. She had never felt like that before Killian got to her…well, at least not as strongly.

Regina looked at Emma and sat down, flicking her wrist to make the bed a little bigger so Henry could lay by his mother. "Do you need anything, Emma? Water or something to eat?"

Emma winced as she shifted. "Any chance you have a healing potion in your back pocket?"

"I wish. But once all the evidence is taken, I will heal what I can, Emma. I swear I will. Until then, you'll have to push that button there to get some relief from the pain." She said, pointing to the button the nurse had pointed out would give Emma some pain medication.

"They took so many pictures." Emma said quietly, pushing the button. "All of me is on film. Every bruise, mark, scar, they saw it all. With every picture I felt more and more shame." Tears filled Emma's eyes. "How did I let this happen?" She whispered to no one in particular.

Regina wiped her own brown eyes. It saddened her to see Emma like this. "Henry? Can I have a moment with your mom?"

Henry sniffed and nodded. "I'll go home and pack us an overnight bag."

Regina handed him her keys. "Be careful."

He kissed Emma's cheek. "I love you, Ma. I'll be back."

"I love you too." She said, wiping her eyes.

Henry hugged Regina and headed out.

Regina closed the door behind him and came over to Emma, sitting on the side of the bed. She took Emma's hand and kissed it. "You should not feel ashamed, Emma Swan. Your marks, bruises, and scars do not show weakness, they show strength."

Emma scoffed and looked away, but Regina cupped her cheek and locked eyes with her. "For the second time in your life you survived abuse. This time, however, you fought back. This time, you will see justice and it will be on your side, unlike when you were a child." Regina shifted and took Emma's hands. "This time, you're not alone. You'll never be alone again, Emma."

"Why are you being so nice to me? I'm the reason Robin is dead. You're supposed to hate me."

Regina sighed. "That was not your fault and it was so long ago. Honestly, Emma, I'm sad he's dead, but we wouldn't have lasted. I can look back and see that now."

"Why not? He made you happy. I could see that when I came back from New York. It's why…" Emma stopped and looked way, not finishing her sentence.

"I thought I was happy; maybe in some ways I was. However, I still had feelings for someone else and I think even he knew that wouldn't change."

Emma looked at her. "Regina, I get that Daniel was your true love and I can't imagine the loss you felt, but…"

"It's not him, Emma. It was hard, but I've let him go." Regina interrupted.

"Then who?" Emma asked, utterly confused.

Regina looked at the blonde and smiled softly. "You, you idiot." She said in her affectionate way. "Before you and henry left for New York, before that curse, I wanted to tell you but I knew you'd lose the memory. In the Enchanted Forest, I never forgot you, but I admit, I saw how Killian felt and heard you had kissed him and I told myself to get over you. Easier said than done."

Emma was quiet and listened to this surprising confession. If Regina could be so honest, couldn't she? "Regina, I…"

"I know. I'm sorry. This isn't the time."

"No, Regina it's not that. Yes, I kissed Killian when we were in Neverland but…but it was you I wanted to kiss. You were just so…"

"Unapproachable? I know. It was so hard there because obviously we wanted to get Henry, but also my feelings for you were growing and I didn't know how to deal with that."

"I get it. I regretted kissing him the minute I did it. When he came to New York, it was the potion that made me remember, not his kiss. I was going to come back here and tell you how I felt, how I dreamt about you even when I couldn't remember who you were. How I…but you were with Robin and you were happy and I loved seeing you happy. I didn't want to take that away from you." Emma sighed and closed her eyes as her head pounded and the medication started making her tired.

"Emma, we can talk later." Regina stated, gently laying her hand on Emma's arm.

Emma let out a sigh as the medication made her head go fuzzy. "I know this isn't the right time, but Regina, I wanted and needed you to know that I love you. I always have."

Regina watched as Emma fell into a medicated sleep. She wondered how much the blonde would remember when she woke. It didn't matter though, for Regina would remember. Regina would be by Emma's side through everything to come.