"You stole my son away from me and turned the whole of Storybrooke against me, Miss Swan," Regina said coldly to her as Emma stood boldly on her front steps, hands in her pockets like she didn't have a care in the world. Probably because she didn't. She had Henry, her perfect parents back and a whole small town of friends and people who cared for her. "And yet, you have the nerve to show up at my door as if you could take something else from me. I have nothing left to give."

"I'm not here to take anything from you, Regina," Emma shrugged, pulling her hands out of her pockets to raise them in a truce, a show of vulnerability. How vulnerable could 'The Savior' be?

"What are you here for then?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips and grounding her stance to show this so-called 'savior' that she wasn't afraid.

"Your help," she said with a heavy sigh, that, against all indications, wasn't one of resignation. Emma was not there because she had no one else to turn to, she was there because, against all logic, she trusted Regina. To Emma, Regina was not a last resort. She was not someone to be avoided at all costs or to be constantly ignored and labeled. To Emma, Regina was her equal; someone who's opinions mattered and was valued at every choice, just as much as Emma's opinions mattered.

And now, Emma needed the same from her. Her opinion and her help. Dropping her arms with a sigh, she looked at Emma and asked, "What do you need?" It wasn't until later that Regina realized that letting Emma into her life with that one simple question was the first step to breaking the armor that guarded her heart so fiercely.