Emma forced her eyes open to see she was in a hospital bed. The bright lights overhead caused her head to ache and she moaned out loud. "Emma?" The blonde cracked an eye open to see Regina sitting by her side. "You stayed." Emma croaked, her throat on fire.

Luckily, Regina saw right through her and held a cup to her lips. Emma gulped the cool liquid gratefully, feeling a little better. "Of course I did." Regina answered her as if her comment was ridiculous. Emma managed to sit up in the bed, frowning at the scratches and bruises on her body.

"How's Henry?" The blonde asked. Regina smiled and shook her head. "He is just fine. He's with Mother Superior at the moment." The older woman's smile faded as both of them remembered the situation that put Emma here in the first place. "So how bad is the damage?" Emma asked, touching the bandage covering her throat.

"Well, you have a couple broken ribs, a concussion, a small knife wound on your throat, sprained wrist, and cuts and bruises." Regina answered.

Emma immediately felt relieved. She had been through this before with some of the foster homes she was in. She still had the scar above her left eye where a liquor bottle was smashed against her head by an angry foster dad. Not to mention the countless times the guys in the households overstepped boundaries. Abuse wasn't an uncommon thing for her.

"The doctors also say that you were… raped." Regina avoided her eyes, almost embarrassed at having to bring the matter up. "I remember that part." Emma muttered sullenly. She remembered the certain blonde doctor that had done it too. And boy was he gonna pay for what he did.

"Do you know who attacked you?" Regina asked. "Yes." Emma said. The brunette reached over and grabbed her hand. "Who did this?"

Emma looked up at her, surprised at the angry tone coming from the older woman. When she had tearfully told the social workers what abuse she and the other kids had gone through, they had merely looked bored and jotted down notes on their clipboard. No sympathy whatsoever. To them she was just a number, another lost cause.

So she stayed silent. "Emma, you don't have to protect whoever did this. I have the power to get them locked away for a long time. If you're scared- "

"I'm not scared!" Emma wrenched her hand away from Regina. Quite the opposite, in fact. She was pissed, and hurt, and felt as if she had lost what shred of innocence she had left. She didn't care if she went to jail. She was going to make Victor Whale's life a living hell for the rest of the time she remained in Storybrooke.

And she knew he wouldn't do a damn thing about it. Not unless he wanted to get caught. "Emma, I know you're angry. But if you don't tell me or someone else who did this, then this person is going to roam free on the streets to find some other innocent girl. And if you're planning on revenge, that's not the way to go either. Just think about your son. Henry will grow up alone in this world if you end up doing something you regret."

Regina had a point. Emma had seen the way Whale had looked at those other girls. If she could help save just one person, then it would be worth it. If Henry can grow up with at least one good parent, then she would swallow her pride.

"Emma Swan." Sheriff Graham entered the room. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Emma nodded and he took a seat on the other side of her. "If you could tell me with the best of your ability what happened after you left Regina's then I will be able to help you. These kinds of things don't go lightly here in our town, and I promise you whoever did this won't get away with it."

Emma grasped Regina's hand, taking comfort in her presence. "I was walking down the main street and I stopped at the White Rabbit to see Ruby. I ordered a drink without any alcohol when I was approached by a man. He was drunk, and he made crude remarks to me and Ruby. I left and he followed me. He dragged me into an alley and held a knife to my throat. He- "

Emma cut herself off as a lump formed in her throat. The flashbacks of what happened burned into her mind. Regina squeezed her hand lightly. "He said if I screamed, I would die. He started kissing me and touching me and the knife cut into my skin. So I scratched his face. This made him angry, and he threw me to the ground and then he- well, you know. Then he started punching and kicking me. Then I was saved by this woman. I think she said her name was Mary Margaret."

"Who attacked you?" Graham questioned. Emma glanced over at Regina, taking a deep breath. "Victor Whale."

Regina immediately let go of her hand and slammed open the door of her hospital room before storming out just as another woman was coming in. Graham quickly got up to follow her. "Hi, Emma. I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Mary Margaret. I found you last night." The woman said, setting a vase of pink roses on the windowsill.

Emma smiled at the kind gesture. Pink roses happened to be her favorite. "Yeah, I remember you. Thank you, for helping me out."

"You're very welcome. I just came by to see how you were doing." Mary Margaret said. "Better." Emma answered. The woman handed her a card. "The kids in my class made you this get well soon card. They spent all morning making it."

The blonde smiled at the card adorned with glued on macaroni and beads with crayon-drawn smiley faces and sloppy signatures. She'd never even gotten a card for her birthday, yet she was in this town for three days and she already had people caring about her. It was a new feeling, and she liked it.

"I teach at the elementary school here in town. I should let you rest, but here's my number if you'd like to meet up sometime for lunch or coffee."

"That would be great. I'd love for you to meet my son." Emma smiled at the woman. "It's a date then." Mary Margaret said, leaving her. In front of the glass windows and door, Emma saw Whale get thrown back onto the floor. She also saw a very pissed Regina go after him. "You are going to pay for what you did! Taking advantage of a young woman like that is your idea of fun?!" The brunette screeched.

Graham and another orderly managed to pull the woman off of the doctor. Emma jumped out of bed and went to the door. The man was bleeding onto the floor, and he was curled up in an attempt to protect himself. "You son of a bitch. You don't deserve to even be alive. And showing up to work after that? Just another normal night for you I bet."

Emma noticed the scratches she had inflicted on him were quite deep, and she smiled inside. "Regina." Graham said quietly. The brunette finally noticed Emma standing in the doorway. She immediately rushed to her side and helped her back to bed. "I'm sorry you had to see that." She apologized, moving her hair back out of her face.

"It's okay. I've just never had anyone put me first before." Emma said. Regina glowered at the injured man being helped up. "Well, you're mine now. I will always put you first."

Emma's heart thudded against her chest. Was she hearing things? Or did Regina Mills actually say that Emma was hers?

Regina broke down in tears, hiding her face in her hands. "Emma, I am so sorry. I should have gone with you last night. It's a new town for you. I just thought you would be safe. I thought I knew everyone well enough."

Emma pulled the older woman onto her bed. "Hey, it's okay. You kicked Whales' ass. You stood up for me, even at the adoption agency. You have taken care of me and I couldn't be more grateful." She told her. Regina wiped her eyes, then looked up at her. "Here I am, sobbing like a child. I should be the one comforting you."

"Could we maybe get out of this hospital? Pick up Henry and go home?" Emma asked. "Of course." Regina went to the nurse's station to discharge her.


Soon the two women were picking up Henry. Emma hugged him tightly, trying to contain her happiness at seeing her son again. Last night was the first night they had spent away from each other, and she hadn't realized how much she had missed him until he was in her arms.

Henry nuzzled her neck and Emma kissed his forehead. "I think he missed you." Regina observed. It took more than 5 minutes for Emma to set Henry down in his car seat so they could leave. When Emma finally took her eyes off of her son, she noticed they were parked at the sheriff's station.

"What are we doing here?" She asked. Regina silently led her inside. Graham was filling out paperwork and casually sipping his coffee as if he had been there for hours. "I have all the information I need to charge Whale. You are in good hands, Emma." He said.

"That's not the only reason we're here." Regina added. Graham handed Emma a cell phone. "This is yours now. Keep it on you at all times, especially when you're out alone. My contact information is already programmed, along with Regina's." The sheriff explained.

"I can't accept this." Emma tried to hand the phone back, but Graham merely crossed his arms over his chest in silent defiance. "This isn't a choice, Emma." Regina said sternly. "I need to know you are safe when I'm not with you. I will be paying the bill monthly, and I expect you to use it. Besides, it's a great way to keep updated on Henry."

"I'll pay you back." Emma assured her. "No need. You can simply take the job as Sheriff Graham's deputy and we'll call it even. That is what you wanted to do, right?"

"Uh, yeah." The blonde stammered, taken aback by the older woman's authoritative tone. "Great. As soon as you have time to re-cooperate, I'll be in touch with you." Graham handed her a stack of paperwork. "Read these before your first day. It's just some rules and regulations for the station."

Emma rocked a pouting Henry in his car seat. "Oh, and one more thing." Regina said, handing her a set of car keys. The young woman stared at the shiny metal in her hand. She followed the two outside to see a bright yellow VW bug parked in the back parking lot.

"That's mine?" Emma asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's all yours. Consider it an early birthday present." Regina smiled at the look on her face. The mayor must have done her research on Emma. "I know your birthday is still a month away yet, but I wanted you to have something reliable to get you around town instead of walking."

Emma stepped forward, running her hand along the smooth metal. Despite the car being old, it looked brand new. It must have been refurbished. The tan vinyl seats complimented the yellow perfectly, and there was even a new stereo added into it. "Now you can't give me any excuses on why you were late to work." Graham teased. "David and I were up all night restoring everything. It'll run good for at least 20 years or more."

Emma turned to hug Regina tightly. The brunette was caught off guard, however she welcomed the embrace. "This is amazing. I love it." Emma said. "I'm glad you like it. Now, let's get Henry strapped into your new car and head home."

Emma managed to get Henry strapped in the car all on her own for the first time. On the way back to Regina's she gripped the wheel tightly until her knuckles were white. She hadn't driven in over a year, and with precious cargo in the vehicle she was even more nervous. She quickly got used to the feeling, and found herself enjoying the drive.


A week passed without any hiccups. Not any that Regina found out about, anyways. Despite the marks having mostly faded away, many times during the night Emma would wake up in a cold sweat, tears running down her face from the night terrors that ruined her dreams. Oddly enough, every time she woke Henry would be awake as well, calmly waiting for her to pick him up.

The blonde would hold the baby close, her stress melting away as they both would fall asleep once more. Whale was now sitting in jail, awaiting to be transferred outside of Storybrooke. That was a relief to both her and Regina.

Emma woke feeling nauseous as she had been feeling for the past few days. She shrugged it off and got dressed for her first day as the official deputy of Storybrooke. Graham greeted her with a cup of coffee and a badge. "Ready for your first assignment, Deputy Swan?"

Emma grinned at him. "Oh yeah." She said excitedly, practically jumping up and down. "Great. First assignment: Go patrol main street and the perimeter of the town. When you're done with that head back up here. Call me if you need anything."

Emma nodded in understanding and headed to her car. All was well on the perimeter of town. The blonde was listening to music and humming along happily until she reached main street. She had taken the long way just to get to work this morning to avoid going past the White Rabbit. But now there was no avoiding it; she was going to do her job well.

As she glanced out the window at the building, she noticed someone had broken a window. She reluctantly pulled the car over and approached the scene. As soon as she pulled her phone out to call Graham, she saw a man approaching her. It was Whale.

Emma's fight or flight instincts went into overdrive, as well as her anxiety. "Run, you idiot! You are not going to let him attack you again!" Her brain screamed at her. But her body was paralyzed. She couldn't stop staring at him. As he got closer, she finally came to her senses.

Dropping her phone and her car keys, she booked it into the alley where she was attacked. Bile rose in her throat and she spun around and threw up, leaning against the wall to stay upright. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed out loud.

She didn't realize how long she had been sitting in the alley until she heard voices calling her name. She hugged her knees and cried, ignoring the calls. "Emma!" Regina ran into the alley with Graham behind her. The brunette kneeled beside her worriedly. "We saw the broken window. Are you okay? What happened?"

Emma tried and failed to answer her. "Hey. Breathe, Emma. Talk to me." Regina rubbed her back soothingly. The blonde finally felt able to speak. "I saw Whale." She choked out before breaking down again. Regina and Graham exchanged a worried glance. The sheriff kneeled down beside her. "Whale is in jail. He couldn't have gotten out, Emma. Not on my watch." He reassured her.

"I- I saw the broken window and I stopped to check it out. Then I saw him and I panicked." Emma cried, throwing up again. "Come on. Let's go to the hospital and get you checked out." Regina helped her up and to the squad car.


20 minutes later, a doctor joined the two women in the waiting room. "Your vitals look good, you seemed to have a panic attack. Unfortunately, I have some other news." The doctor informed her, shifting from foot to foot nervously.

Everyone in town had heard of the attack by now and they respectfully kept their distance from Emma, knowing Regina was taking care of her. "Miss Mills, perhaps we should speak in the hall- "

"Just tell me." Emma cut the doctor off with the wave of her hand. She was tired of people tiptoeing around her as if she were going to break any second. "You're pregnant." The doctor answered. Emma's eyes widened and the room spun for an instant. She couldn't be pregnant. Not again.

But she was. Even after she tried to move on and make the best of things, Whale had won. She would forever be connected with him through the little being growing in her stomach. And for the first time in years, Emma Swan wished she were dead.