When Emma walked in the next morning, Regina was thrashing on the cot. The guards were trying to hold her down to prevent injury. Her knuckles were bleeding because she got her hand caught in the wiring of the cot several times. She may have broken her wrist from hitting the wall so many times. "What the hell is going on?" Emma dropped her bag on the desk and ran into the cell to calm her down.
"I can't… I can't… he's gone… he's never coming back. I..I don't want to … be like this. But I never win. Even… when I was good, I never won. That's why I did what I did." Regina silently screamed in whimpers. This was the reason Emma was waiting for. Or was this a trap?
"I… I tried so hard not to be my mother. But I'm exactly like her. Everyone hates me. Everyone hates me. No on loves me. Not even Henry. Henry hates me. He hurt me so much. I just want him to love me. Being feared was lonely." She ranted really fast, and it was obvious that this was coming from deep down. She started thrashing more violently. Emma took her hand, and Regina jumped at the touch. It was the first compassionate physical gesture she had had in a long time.
"I know you love Henry. You risked breaking the curse for him without giving it a second thought. Okay? But you need to cooperate. Answer questions." Emma brought her to the interrogation room. "Why did Rumpelstiltskin make the curse?" "The same reason I enacted it. To start fresh and in control. It's hard to do that when everyone hates you." Regina's eyes wandered the room. "There's more. Isn't there?"
Regina hesitated to tell Emma about the leverage she has on him. "To find his son." "And let me guess, you know where he is?" "yes" Emma pierced Regina's eyes and said, "Tell me." Regina thought about it. That calculating face was back. The gears were moving inside her head. "I can't do that." Emma looked aggravated which just made Regina feel more in control. "Because that's all you want from me. If I give it to you, you'll kill me."
Emma was taken aback. The thought process on this woman was morbid. "No I won't. I said if you cooperate, I'll help you." Regina shook her head. "The whole town wants me dead. They always have. I didn't survive this long by giving away my leverage." They stared at each other until Emma realized she wasn't going to crack. This was her insurance, and she wasn't going to cash it in anytime soon. Emma left the room frustrated and ran into her mother.
"How is she?" Snow asked. "She's Regina." "So, she's responsive?" "For now. This morning she was a nightmare. Took me and two guards to calm her down." Emma drank some coffee out of her sheriff's mug. "What was wrong?" Snow asked, genuinely concerned. "I think she had a bit of a mental breakdown. I seriously think she's a sociopath. One minutes she'll be crying, spilling her secrets and the next she's withholding information because it's her leverage."
They watched her though the one way mirror. She was pacing the floor for the longest time and then settled by the window. "Can I talk to her?" Snow asked. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Last time she tried to strangle you." "I need to." Emma looked a little surprised. "Okay, but I'm coming. The second she lays a hand on you, I'm intervening" Snow nodded and opened the door.
"Regina?" She asked softly. "How are you?" She slowly walked to the motionless woman staring out of the window. Regina's face was damp with sweat. Her arms were folded tightly as she clenched her jaw, deep in thought. Snow put her hand gently on Regina's shoulder. "Is there anything you need?" Silence. "Please talk to me," she pleaded. Silence. Snow sighed and turned to walk away until something grabbed her wrist. Emma stepped forward, ready to defend. Snow saw Regina's hand wrapped around her wrist. She looked up at Regina whose face turned away from the window. Their eyes were locked on each other, but neither moved a muscle.
"I'm sorry." The phrase fell out of Regina's mouth. She started to shake again, but her hand was still clinging to Snow's wrist for support. Snow place her other hand on top of Regina's. "It's going to be okay." Regina shook her head, holding back the waterworks. "No, everyone hates me. I can't… I can't." "Ssh, ssh. Regina calm down. We'll figure it out. Are you willing to change?" Regina nodded her head. Snow pulled her into a hug where Regina sobbed on her shoulder. Snow cried as well.