"Emma Swan came to see me today," Regina pulled one of her legs underneath her as she settled into the couch in Doctor Hopper's office.
"Oh really?" Archie raised an eyebrow, trying to hide his surprise. "How was the visit?"
She sighed heavily as she patted the cushion next to her to let Pongo know he was welcome. The dog quickly stood from his bed and hopped up next to her, placing his head on her lap and giving a happy little noise as she began to gently scratch him behind the ear. "Tense and unwelcome, though Ms. Swan has a habit of weaseling her way into places she's not welcome, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to find her jumping my fence this morning." She rolled her eyes.
"Why would she do that?" The doctor tilted his head to the side in genuine curiosity.
Regina kept her eyes on the dog. "She said she was concerned for my wellbeing after I didn't answer the door. Something about my safety being in jeopardy after… everything." She waved a hand dismissively in the air. "She also said she wanted to help me." With that, she looked the man across from her in the eye. "She said she understood what it meant to battle an addiction, and she offered herself as another person I could confide in."
At this, Archie did show his surprise. "What do you think about that?"
"I think she's foolish." Her tone was even, and it reminded Archie of the Evil Queen from the Enchanted Forrest. "She can't be everyone's Savior. She certainly isn't mine."
He studied her for a moment as she scowled and turned her attentions back to giving Pongo belly rubs. "Do you think she's trying to save you from something?"
"I think she's being a Charming," Regina shot back, her eyes again making contact with Archie's. "They all want to gallivant around trying to save everyone they think is in danger. It's a foolish enterprise. Not everyone and everything can be saved."
"Do you think you can't be saved, Regina?"
The office was quiet. She sat stoically, her face a mask of calm control as she stared down the doctor. "I didn't say that."
"Well," he nodded, writing down a notation as he spoke, "why do you think Emma is foolish to offer you what she has?"
Regina shook her head. "She doesn't understand. The things that make me," she searched for the right words, but nothing seemed to fit. "The events that led to where we all are now happened in a land with a people and in a time that Emma Swan will never understand. How can she be of use to me if she has no understanding of who or what she is, let alone who I am?"
Doctor Hopper gave her a thoughtful look. "What did you two discuss today to make you consider this particular issue regarding Emma?"
"I gave her a very brief synopsis of what my life was like prior to the curse, and the only thing she could comment on was how her grandfather had died." Regina took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure she was ready to discuss her late husband.
Archie didn't push. Instead, he glanced over his notes from the session so far to decide where best he could help Regina with what she was ready to discuss. Finding something of note, he gave a little nod of his head. "And that is when you learned she was unaware of our actual history in the other world?"
Regina opened her eyes and glared at him. "Yes."
He ignored the glare. "Which led you to assume she wouldn't make a good person to talk to because she has no understanding?"
She rolled her eyes. "Didn't I just say that?"
"Regina, I'd like for you to consider something, if you will." He shifted in his seat. "Sometimes, the best people to confide in are the ones who are so far removed from the situation that you must explain everything so they understand. It helps you to find perspective as you explain the details, and it helps them so they are able to better understand from where you're coming." He leaned forward slightly in his chair. "I think it might be helpful to talk to Emma, if you're comfortable doing so."
"And give her more information to use against me later? No, I don't think so." She shook her head in the negative.
"You're afraid of being judged?" Again, he nodded to himself and wrote something down in his notes.
"No, of course not. I don't care what that vagrant and her two idiotic parents think about me." She snorted in disgust.
Archie gave an unassuming smile. "Then what's the harm in talking to her if she's offered and you…"
"I don't trust her," Regina snapped. "And why should I? She's taken my son from me, and she's the daughter of my two worst enemies. Why would I trust a thing she has to tell me? And do not tell me I should trust her simply because she's Emma Swan - the Savior and White Knight."
"No, of course not." Carefully, Doctor Hopper set his notes aside and crossed his legs as he thought of how best to answer her question. "Has she ever lied to you?"
"What?" Regina's face flashed between confused and annoyed.
"Has Emma ever lied to you?" He steepled his fingers and waited for her to answer.
She blinked at him, but she considered the question. "Yes. She said she would leave town, and she never did."
He tilted his head as if to say 'fair enough' but continued to ask his questions. "And after that?"
She groaned. "The times she contacted Henry when I explicitly forbade it come immediately to mind." Her hand stopped petting Pongo, who whined in disapproval. "Why are you so insistent that I take Ms. Swan up on her offer?"
He gave her a gentle but sad smile. "I'm glad you speak with me, Regina, and I feel we've made great progress, but there's something to be said for having a network of people to help you along the way."
"Addicts don't shake their addictions alone. They do it with the support of their friends and family to help them when they have moments of weakness," she said mostly to herself.
"Well, I wouldn't put it in exactly those terms, but…"
Again, she waved a hand in the air, this time to cut him off. "No, that's what Emma Swan told me today." She narrowed her eyes at him. "And you agree with her?"
"Regina, a person is not an island." He frowned. "We need others to help us when we have moments where we're not the exact people we'd like to be."
She began to scratch Pongo behind the ear again as she sat quietly, thinking. Finally, she stopped and stood up, carefully picking up her purse as she did so. "I'll consider it."
"That's all I ask," he answered as he walked her to the door, not bothering to mention they had another 15 minutes until the session was over.
