As soon as Regina got back home with Emma in her arms she looked down and found that her swan princess had fallen asleep.
Henry opened the door and Regina got Emma settled in the nest made out of blankets that Henry had set up.
"Mom why is Emma asleep it's still daytime?"
"After everything that's happened today I guess she's just tired out."
When it was time for bed that night Henry decided to sleep in the lounge next to Emma.
Deciding not to tell anyone just in case it didn't work Regina cast an unbecoming spell and waited with baited breath to see if it worked the light that had surrounded Emma faded and there lay Emma with the tiara on her head the tiara had gotten bigger to fit Emma's now human head to match her human body which was healed with the exception of a few scars.
Smiling Regina magicked Emma and Henry upstairs then went to join Emma.
The next day Emma woke and went to stretch her wings when she realised that she no longer had wings but arms, she looked up and down herself and found she was back to human form, so she decided to have a shower.
Regina hearing the shower running decided to join Emma but when she opened the door Emma was a swan again Regina realising that she had stopped Emma from being a swan when dry recast the spell and Emma was standing there dripping from head to toe with a necklace around her neck that held a silver gem in the shape of a feather.
"I was not able to remove the spell just bend it so instead of being stuck in swan form you can change at will."
"It's better than only being able to honk all the time instead of forming actual words."
Emma went to work after seeing her parents who apologised for the way they reacted yesterday, but for some reason Ruby was still snarling every time Emma went near her.
What no one knew that only Ruby could sense was that Emma was carrying Rothbart's child and Ruby could tell that the child would be a great force of evil if it wasn't disposed of before it was born.
"Granny I'm taking a break."
Without waiting for an answer Ruby left the diner and ran straight to the hospital to talk to Whale.
"Ruby what can I do for you?"
"I need you to do an abortion."
"I'm guessing it's not for you?"
"No it's for Emma have you heard of Rothbart?"
"They say he has an obsession with swans. What's he got to do with it?"
"Emma is carrying his child only she doesn't know it."
So Ruby and Whale planned to set up an abortion for Emma without telling her.
Ruby called Emma and said she needed her help and where to meet her.
Once Emma reached the place Ruby said to meet her Ruby was no where in sight.
"Ruby are you there?"
There was a growl and Ruby leapt onto Emma causing her to hit her head on the pavement then Ruby picked up Emma and took her to Whale who put her under heavy sedation so she wouldn't be any the wiser about 20 minutes later the abomination was removed and Ruby put Emma back on the pavement where she had landed beforehand and Emma started to wake up.
When her eyes opened the blonde saw Ruby watching her.
"I am so sorry Emma I didn't mean to hurt you I saw someone coming up behind you and because I wasn't in my wolf form I didn't leap high enough and I crashed into you I'm so very sorry."
"It's ok Ruby I forgive you but why did you start snarling at me every time I went near you even when I was a swan?"
"I could smell something on you a scent of evil."
"It was probably Rothbart he kidnapped me, tortured and raped me then later at Regina's he turned me into a swan."
"Where is he I'll rip him apart?"
"I kind of beat you to the killing when I was stuck as a swan I flew at him forcing him to fall out the window."
"Are you sure he's dead? When your parents and I were there I didn't smell any death."
"So you think he could still be alive?"
"I'm not certain but it is possible."
Suddenly there was a clap of thunder and there stood Rothbart.
"How did you break my spell? It's unbreakable by anyone but me."
"Well like you said it can't be broken but it can be bent. I can change into a swan whenever I want to."
"You're too much trouble for me to bother with."
Rothbart went to disappear but Emma stopped him by using her magic.
"You're not going anywhere until you undo this."
"Quite demanding aren't we?"
"Undo it now or I let my friend here rip you limb from limb."
When Rothbart made no indication that he would remove the spell on Emma.
"Ruby I think a cat's got his tongue."
Ruby stepped forward bearing her teeth.
"Alright I'll reverse the spell."
Rothbart didn't reverse the spell he merely transferred it to the necklace Emma was wearing.
Emma concentrated on changing form but nothing happened then Rothbart activated the spell on the necklace.
"Just so you know I only transferred the spell to the necklace you're wearing and the necklace can't be removed and I re-activated the spell."
"Why you little worm you're worse than Gold I have half a mind to let Ruby eat you remove the spell from the necklace I mean it. I don't want to be a swan any day of the week it's already my name for crying outloud I don't need a physical reminder."
"Ok, ok calm down, for a swan you're awfully loud."
Rothbart removed the spell and Emma ripped the necklace from her neck and destroyed it.
"Now listen carefully, I never want to see you or your magic around here again got it?"
"Yes."
"Good now get out of town and never come back."
Rothbart left town and Emma settled into what passed for a normal life in a town filled with fairytale characters.
Just when Regina thought that maybe Emma wasn't going to have any nightmares about the rape an ear splitting scream came from Emma and a crash of glass Regina ran to Emma's room and woke her up.
"Emma wake up dear your having a nightmare."
Emma's eyes shot open and her breathing coming fast and heavy.
"You're ok Emma I've got you it was just a dream."
Emma calmed down as she felt the steady beat of Regina's heart.
"I'm ok?"
"You're going to be just fine I promise."
"How do you know?"
"Because I've been where you are. I know what it's like to be violated."
"Will you help me?"
"Of course I will."
And true to her word Regina worked with Emma everyday to help the blonde overcome her nightmares it wasn't easy for Emma felt guilty and every time she woke Regina up she was convinced that Regina would throw her out but about an hour and 12 hot chocolates with cinnamon on top later Emma would be convinced that she was not going to be abandoned then the next night another nightmare and the whole ritual would start again.
Regina decided that the only way to help Emma was to erase the horrific event from the blonde's mind just as she was about to cast the spell Cora came in.
"Dear what are you doing?"
"I'm going to remove the memory of the rape from Emma's mind I don't see any other way she's not getting better if anything her nightmares are getting worse to the point she's starting to develope insomnia so I have to do something."
"Regina you know that a memory erasing spell is dangerous who knows what else you could be erasing."
"I don't know what else to do mother."
"Would talking to the cricket help her."
"No Emma doesn't trust "that type of mumbo jumbo" her words. She says that it would bring more nightmares. You see when she was younger one of her foster family's sent her to a shrink for some reason and he suggested that she be put into a psychiatric facility the one she was sent to still practiced electro shock therapy they nearly fried her brain and the shrink had chosen that one."
"Why did the shrink choose that one?"
"Because he got paid for ever bed he filled."
"Ok so no shrinks, how about hypnosis?"
"I don't know I never suggested it, I'll talk to Emma and see if she agrees."
Regina went to Emma who was in the kitchen struggling to stay awake while she was standing over a hot stove then her eyes closed and her hand went down on the hot plate and Emma was so tired she didn't feel her hand burning Regina rushed forward and yanked Emma away from the stove using her magic to turn it off.
"Mother!"
Cora came in quickly down by the urgency in her daughter's voice.
"Regina what's the matter and why does it smell like burnt flesh in here?"
"Because Emma is so tired she fell asleep at the stove and her hand landed on the hot plate and because she's so tired the pain didn't wake her so I had to yank her away."
Cora got the first aid kit and handed it to her daughter who took Emma's right hand and inspected the burn it wasn't just blistered, the skin was coming off.
"Mother it's worse then I thought I'll have to remove the flesh that's coming off. Am I a bad person for hoping the pain wakes her?"
"No dear it doesn't make you a bad person in a way if the pain wakes her up well know that the nerves aren't damaged."
Regina got to work on removing the dead burnt skin suddenly Emma started screaming the pain had woke her and she tried to pull away but Regina gripped her hand tighter and Cora went behind Emma and wrapped her arms around the blonde's middle pinning her left arm at her side and held her tightly while she whispered soothingly into the younger woman's ear.
Soon Emma's hand was free from all the dead burnt skin, Regina spread a healing balm onto the burn and wrapped Emma's hand in a special gauze used for burns.
"Regina what's going on why does my hand hurt?"
"You fell asleep at the stove and burnt your hand."
"Oh. Sorry."
"It's fine Emma don't worry about it. I was wondering how you'd feel about trying hypnosis to help you. Would you be willing to give it a try?"
"Yeah I guess."
Regina put Emma under hypnosis but it failed, Regina knew it failed because Emma started screaming.
"Mother hypnosis didn't work I have to cast the spell."
"Not that one you won't I found a different one, it does the same thing except you can go through her memories and remove the one you're looking for and it won't erase any others unless you choose to."
"Thank you mother."
Regina placed Emma under magical sedation and cast the spell she watched her girlfriends life play in front of her from her birth through her childhood, her teen years to adulthood the memories were on the magical equivalent of fast forward till she got closer to the event she was looking for when she found it Regina pulled the memory from Emma's mind and destroyed it.
When Emma woke from her sedation she felt better and went downstairs.
"Morning dear."
"Morning Cora."
"You seem to be well rested."
"I feel it."
"Good dreams I take it?"
"I didn't dream last night."
Cora hid a knowing smile behind the newspaper she was reading while Emma went into the kitchen to greet Regina.
"Morning Regina."
"Good morning my love I trust you slept well?"
"Yeah better than I have in a while I guess now with the threat of Rothbart gone I'm able to relax a bit more the only thing I have to worry about now is chasing down a drunk Leroy when it's happy hour at The Rabbit Hole."
Regina chuckled not knowing that even though she destroyed the memory of Emma's rape the memory could return all it would take was for something linked to the memory to bring it back.
