Trigger Warning: Attempted rape/sexual assault
Emma placed the cup of coffee the sheriff had brought over for her on the kitchen counter and quickly made her way into Henry's room. She found him sitting up on his mattress, the bed yet to be put together, and he was smiling sleepily up at her while chewing on the end of his blanket.
"Good morning," Emma smiled as she sat down on the edge of the thin mattress. "How did my baby boy sleep last night?"
"Not baby, Mama."
"Okay," Emma laughed. "How did my big boy sleep last night?"
Henry shrugged and rubbed at his eyes tiredly. Emma kissed him on the top of his head and tried to fight the hundreds of butterflies that had taken flight in her stomach. From the very moment the night before that she had seen the woman next door looking at her, those nervous butterflies hadn't stopped fluttering inside of her. After meeting the woman, she could barely stand to face Gold and had retreated inside while the movers continued to unload the boxes. She and Henry were dancing in the kitchen and she'd felt like she was being watched and she found out that sure enough, the dark haired beauty had been watching her through the window.
It was the nervous fluttering in her stomach that had prompted her to go over later that even after she noticed she was sitting alone on her back porch, glass of wine in hand and her eyes on the sky as the sun began to set. She fumbled with an excuse just to see her again, to talk to her, and in her mind, asking for a cup of sugar was the easiest excuse in the book.
The way Regina had spoken to her, smiled at her, and the way her voice purred when she offered a glass of wine caused that fluttering to intensify tenfold. There was no denying that her neighbor and the town's sheriff was a very attractive woman and there was definitely no denying that just thinking about her had a warmth flowing throughout her body like nothing she'd ever felt before.
When she opened the back door barely five minutes before, that feeling had returned the moment her eyes had fallen upon Regina's smiling face and her offer of a much needed cup of coffee. She had felt flustered and nervous, not to mention embarrassed when she started blushing profusely in front of her. With a shake of her head, she roused Henry out of bed.
"Hey, how would you like to go out for breakfast, Hen?"
"Hungry."
"I know, baby, me too," Emma smiled and ruffled his hair before grabbing the bag she'd packed with a few clothes until she got the rest of them unpacked. "Let's go potty first and get washed up and then we can get dressed okay?"
"Okay, Mama."
Emma tried to get the task at hand done quickly and thankfully Henry didn't put up much of a fuss. She had him dressed and out the door in no less than ten minutes, barely pausing to check her hair on the way out. Regina was waiting by her Mustang, leaning up against the passenger door with her arms crossed and her silver aviators catching the slightest reflection of the rising sun. Emma inhaled sharply and tugged on Henry's hand, encouraging him to keep up as she walked across the front lawn to the neighboring driveway.
How that woman could look so effortlessly breathtaking in just a pair of tight jeans and a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows was beyond her and she felt her cheeks grow hot when she caught herself noticeably checking her out, her eyes lingering on the curves and the way her clothes just hugged them. She shook her head and bent down to pick up Henry, placing him on her hip as she tried not to make it so obvious that she was capitated by the stunning brunette that was currently smiling at her.
"Hi," Emma said softly. "Sorry it took us so long."
"It wasn't long at all, Emma," Regina replied. "Are you ready, then?"
"Yes."
Regina grinned before she used the tip of her tongue to move the toothpick she had between her lips from one corner of her mouth to the other. The way her name had rolled off that very same tongue had Emma wishing she had more self-control over her thoughts and her body. Regina opened the passenger door and pulled the seat forward.
"It's not a far drive, but maybe you should sit in the back with him?" Regina said and Emma blinked, breaking out of her trance in an instant. "Or we could always walk."
"He'll be fine," Emma replied and she moved to put Henry into the spacious back seat, swallowing hard as she did up the seatbelt for him. She climbed out of the car and smoothed out her soft yellow sundress she'd chosen to wear that morning. "Thank you again for this, Regina."
"It's only breakfast."
It is so much more than breakfast, Emma thought and she smiled again at Regina, unable to not, and once the front seat was pulled back, she slipped in and Regina shut the door for her.
Emma fumbled with the seatbelt, unable to get it clipped in before Regina got into the car and she groaned in annoyance when the buckle refused to clip. Regina slipped in a moment later and raised her aviators away from her eyes.
"Let me," she said softly, reaching over to take the buckle from Emma's hands and promptly clicked it in place. "It's a tricky one."
"I see that. Thank you."
Regina laughed and Emma willed her body to stop reacting to every single thing that this woman said or did, but her body betrayed her and the flood of arousal coursed through her body at an alarming rate. She had never been so attracted to a complete stranger, not on this level and definitely not even close.
Her body betrayed her on a whole other level as her stomach growled embarrassingly loud and it caused Regina to cast a glance in her direction before backing out of the driveway slowly. Emma placed a hand over her abdomen in an attempt to calm her hungry stomach, but it was futile as it growled again just thinking of being able to eat for the first time since the other night.
Henry babbled joyfully in the back seat and Emma stole a glance over at Regina, watching her as she readjusted the review mirror and smiled to herself. Her eyes drank in the sight of her, her eyes drawn to her lips and the prominent scar on the right side of her upper lip. She wet her lips and quickly turned away the moment that Regina turned to look right back at her. She almost trembled when she felt the brunette's eyes wander over her body and she reached to grab at the seatbelt just as Regina made a hard right turn.
Emma was sure she had imagined that look she faintly saw on Regina's face in the split second their eyes had met just before she made that turn. She turned in her seat to look back at her son and the smile on his face was all that suddenly mattered. She reached back and clutched at his leg and he smiled at her before continuing his babbling to his blanket that held his sole interest.
"How old is he?" Regina asked and Emma settled back into her seat.
"He's two. Two and a half, actually."
"He's a sweet and smart boy," Regina smiled. "I would've thought that he was already three."
Emma chuckled and glanced back at him for a moment. "He's always been a little ahead of other children. His father—he—he said Henry was a little genius."
"Oh? I can see where his father got that idea from."
"Right," Emma nodded and she fumbled with her seatbelt for the second time in the last five minutes. She found herself blushing as Regina reached over and undid it for her. "Thanks."
Regina just smiled at her before exiting the Mustang and Emma swallowed hard in an attempt to calm the fluttering in the pit of her stomach. She managed to distract herself with the task of getting her son out of the back seat and Henry was not cooperating, wanting to go for a drive that lasted longer than a handful of minutes. Once she had him out, he squirmed frantically in her arms until she let him down on his feet while keeping a firm grip on his little hand.
Emma glanced up at the small building they'd parked in front of the small sign that said "Granny's Diner" looming just over the entrance. The smell of bacon, sausages, eggs and freshly brewed coffee caused her stomach to growl louder than the last few times and she placed a firm palm against her abdomen, thinking of how in less than half an hour she would be full of good food, of a breakfast promised as the best in town.
"Good morning, Sheriff," a man greeted Regina as they approached the entrance to the diner together. She caught the smile Regina sent his way and she lowered her eyes.
"Good morning, John. How are you?"
"As good as can be expected. How are things down at the station?"
"Good," Regina replied with a nod and she moved to open the door and motioned for Emma to enter first. "Do you want to sit at a booth or a table?"
"It doesn't matter, really."
"Come," Regina said under her breath just as she reached for the hand not holding Henry to her hip and led the way to a booth near the back. "Order whatever you'd like. Breakfast is on me."
Emma hesitantly let go of the sheriff's hand once they reached the booth she led them to and after seating Henry on the bench, she sat down next to him and reached for the menu. Her hungriness nearly got to the better of her for a moment since she envisioned eating everything offered on the menu. She ordered sensibly when the waitress arrived to take their order, not wanting to come across as greedy as she wanted to be.
Emma ordered the breakfast special and asked Henry what he wanted. His response was one she had anticipated, pancakes, and the way he had said it drew a laugh from the sheriff that overheard his whispered response. Emma placed an arm over her son, holding him as he slid forward on the bench seat and reached for the sugar jar that she promptly moved away from his curious hands.
"Ashley, do you have any paper and crayons?" Regina asked the waitress that finished scribbling up their order. Upon her nod, Regina smiled. "Bring them at once. It seems there is a little boy who is more than bored and bound to wreak havoc if that boredom isn't cured."
"Of course, Sheriff Mills. Would you two like some coffee?"
"Please."
"Ma'am?" The waitresses looked at Emma and she nodded. "I'll be right back."
Emma watched as Regina removed her aviators she'd slid from over her eyes to the top of her head and placed them on the table just off to her left side. Henry promptly reached for them, falling short and suddenly on the verge of tears. Regina just smiled and handed the sunglasses to him and he barely managed to place them on his face, the aviators much too big for his small, chubby face.
Regina's laughter was like a breath of fresh air and she soon joined in as Henry struggled to keep the sunglasses from falling off, his small hands putting fingerprints all over the lenses in a matter of minutes in his attempt to keep them on. Her apology fell dead on her lips when her eyes met the brown ones locked on her in an intense gaze. She blushed and tucked her hair behind her ears and shifted her gaze back on her son.
"Here you go, kiddo," the waitress said as she placed a piece of blank paper and a handful of crayons down in front of her. "Your breakfast will be ready shortly, ladies."
"Thank you, Ashley."
"Absolutely, Sheriff."
Ashley filled both mugs with freshly brewed coffee and walked away with a smile and a wink. Emma reached for the small jug of milk just as Regina did, their fingers brushing slightly before Regina pulled back and allowed her to take the milk first. Emma bit her bottom lip, fighting off the blush as she poured a small amount of milk in her coffee and slid the jug across the table towards the sheriff.
Henry continuously pushed the aviators back in place every time they slipped down his nose and his attention was now cast solely on drawing, his babbling coming out in random bursts. His blanket was firmly clutched in his left hand and after a few minutes, the edge of the blanket found its way to his mouth as it normally did.
Henry was proving to be an ample distraction, one she needed as the way Regina continued to look at her caused her thoughts to stray. She had never met someone like Regina before, not since before Henry was born and she confessed to Neal how she felt sexually when it came to women. He had been ultimately supportive, taking her to a bar that was notoriously known hotspot for the gays in the city. The women there had been rather butch, but their confidence was high and Regina reminded her of those women in some ways. They had left the bar before she could meet anyone, but that night remained ingrained in her memories.
She felt stupid for assuming that Regina was like those women as she was never one to jump to conclusions or to judge others before she knew them. Yet there was just something about her, something that drew her in, and she couldn't ignore that feeling of her feet being swept from beneath her every time she so much got lost looking into her soulful brown eyes.
"You didn't put any milk in your coffee," Emma murmured.
"Hmm?"
"The milk?" Emma blanked as she stared at the small jug they'd both just reached for moments before. "You didn't—"
"I normally drink my coffee black," Regina said softly. "Occasionally I enjoy a little milk, sometimes a teaspoon of sugar. It all depends on my mood and personal taste."
She was rather surprised Regina hadn't questioned why she brought up the issue of milk or rather the lack of after the slight moment they'd had moments before. She sipped her coffee, turning her attention to Henry and the scribbles he was drawing on the paper in front of him. The din in the diner filled her ears yet did nothing to derail the thoughts swarming her mind.
Her life had just been turned upside down, more so in the last twenty-four hours than it had been since the moment she found out Neal had been killed. That little sense of security she had with him had been ripped from her and the struggle to keep life as normal as possible for Henry had been harder than anything she'd ever faced in her life. Yet, nothing could've prepared her for what she was experiencing in that very moment, and nothing could have prepared her for the intense feelings she was having for the complete stranger that sat in front of her.
"How did he lose his two front teeth?" Regina asked and Emma blinked as she helped Henry with the too big aviators. "An accident?"
"Yes, an unfortunate one involving a tricycle," Emma replied and just for a moment Henry's attention was pulled from his coloring, but he went back to it quickly as Emma ran her fingers through his hair. "His father brought it home one day and I'm pretty sure he was more excited than Henry was. I told—I told him Henry was still too small for it, but…like father like son."
That specific day began to replay in her mind, from the delight and worry to the sheer panic from the moment Henry had hit the gap in the sidewalk and flung over the handlebars, to the shrill cries that erupted seconds later and the mouthful of pouring blood that caused her to go into a panic that he was hurt far worse than he'd appeared to be. There was the trip to the emergency room, one taken because both had worried that the injuries were far worse than two knocked out teeth. The relief she'd felt once knowing that was all it was had been overwhelming, but not as much as the bill for that trip to the emergency room had been.
She recalled the story to Regina, pausing only for a few moments when the waitress finally placed their plates in front of them. From there, the conversation flowed rather easily when it came to talking about Henry. It helped her from scarfing down her breakfast to sate her hunger and for that she was grateful for as she didn't want Regina to know the severity of her and Henry's situation or the reason why they had moved to Storybrooke.
After Henry had finished his breakfast, he went back to coloring and Emma found it hard in those prolonged moments of silence not to lose herself just from looking at the beautiful woman across the table from her. She knew then in that very moment she needed to take a giant step backwards and let go of everything she was feeling because there was no way that this woman seated across from her would ever reciprocate the feelings she was currently experiencing.
"Sheriff Mills?" A tall brunette called out as she entered the diner. "Sheriff, there's a situation over on Crawford."
"What kind of a situation?" Regina asked, rising from the booth immediately. "Ruby?"
"Deputy Gold just called in a 10-16."
"Emma, I need to go," Regina said quickly and she fished out her walled from her back pocket and placed some bills on the table. "Thank you for joining me for breakfast."
Emma just nodded and watched her rush out of the diner with the brunette following close behind her. She finished up with her coffee quickly and asked the waitress for the check. The bills Regina left to pay for breakfast ended up being too much and Emma tucked the twenty into the small pocket in her dress and picked Henry up.
It wasn't a long walk back to Mifflin Street and it gave Emma a chance to explore the town a little bit. It felt like she had stepped into a whole other world and she might as well have. The small mom and pop stores that lined Main Street were nothing like the stores in the city and the people that she passed on the street were friendly and waved hello, some even saying good morning to her and Henry. She felt perplexed and in awe of it all and tried not to let it show so plainly on her face. Henry on the other hand was enjoying every minute of it, suddenly starting to say hello to the strangers on the street before they did.
Just as she reached the corner on Mifflin Street, a siren squawked and she stopped and looked over at the cruiser that had pulled over beside her. "Hello, Bobby."
"Hey," he smirked as he leaned out the window. "Where are you and the little man headed to?"
"Home."
"Get in, I'll give you a lift," he said and she shook her head no.
"I'm fine," Emma said evenly. "It's a nice morning. We'll walk."
"Come on, get in the car."
She walked faster, holding Henry closer to her. "No, Bobby," she said without looking at him.
"Get in the fucking car," he growled and slammed his hand against the door. "Now."
Emma started walking even faster, panic creeping up quickly as she knew she wasn't safe from Bobby anywhere. Tears welled up in her eyes and she fought them off as best as she could, only wanting to make it home and lock herself and Henry in the house, away from the clearly insane, deranged man.
She broke out into a run and held Henry close to her, the tears streaming down her cheeks before she even reached the front door. She got inside the house as quickly as she could, slamming the door shut behind her but not before she saw Bobby storming up the front walkway. She shakily locked the door and placed Henry down on his feet.
"Go into your room and close the door okay? Don't come out until Mama tells you it's okay."
She watched Henry walk off to his room and she jumped when Bobby slammed his fists against the locked door. She shook as she ran into the kitchen and picked up the phone, her fingers almost unmoving for a moment before she called 911. The line rang three times and each time it rang, Bobby slammed his fists against the front door harder.
"Sheriff's station, what is your emergency?"
"I—I have a man after me," Emma responded tearfully.
"Ma'am?" The dispatcher asked. "Ma'am, who is after you?"
"It—it is Bobby Gold. He's trying to get into the house."
"Ma'am, did you just say that Deputy Gold is trying to get into your house?"
"Please," she whimpered.
"What is your address, ma'am?"
"I'm on Mifflin Street," she replied and gasped as the front door rattled harder. "120 Mifflin Street."
Emma listened as the dispatcher called the sheriff and she trembled as she slipped down the wall and on to the floor, the front door breaking open after a few more loud pounds. The heavy footsteps reverberated throughout the house and Emma gripped on to the receiver tightly.
"Ma'am?" The dispatcher said and she sniffled as the tears fell harder and the footsteps grew closer. "Ma'am, are you there? The sheriff is on her way. She should be arriving within two minutes. Ma'am?"
"Please…"
"Where are you, you little bitch?" Bobby called out. "Huh? Where you at?"
"Please," Emma pleaded into the phone and gasped when Bobby stormed into the kitchen.
"What the hell is your problem, whore?" Bobby growled, his face red, his eyes angry. "Get up," he shouted, grabbing on to her arm and forcing her up from the floor. She dropped the receiver and it clunked against the wall. Bobby looked at her and then at the phone before he ripped it clean off the wall with one hard pull. "Who you calling, huh?"
"Stop it, Bobby."
Bobby shook his head and pushed her against the wall face first. The force of the impact stunned her and for a few very long seconds she couldn't fight him off as he pressed his larger body into her backside. Her fear gave way to a rush of adrenaline and with strength she didn't know she had, she pushed him off of her and made a run for the front door.
Unfortunately he was right behind her and she suppressed a cry as he slammed into her, not wanting Henry to know what was happening or come out of his room. They grappled, Bobby quickly gaining the upper hand and he forced her down to the floor, pinning her with his body. He looked as insane as he was acting and Emma struggled to get out from underneath him. He weighed twice as much as she did and it was an impossible feat, the adrenaline she'd had back in the kitchen disappearing along with what was left of her strength.
"Show me what my big brother had," he snarled. "Show me those pretty little tits of yours. Did he like to suck on them, hmm?"
"Stop it…"
She whimpered when he roughly grabbed at her right breast before pulling at the top of her dress, ripping the thin material to expose her to his greedy, hungry eyes. She heard sirens, but they were far and she tried to regain her focus and brought a knee between his legs, hard. She shoved him over, scrambling away from him as he cried out in pain, his hands grabbing his crotch while he lay on the floor just a few feet from her and the front door.
Emma's tears burned in her eyes and she held up her ripped dress, struggling to make it out of the house and away from him. The sirens grew closer and she stumbled down the front steps and fell on to her hands and knees on the front lawn just to the right of the stone walkway. Relief was still far off even when she saw the sheriff's cruiser pull up into the driveway and saw the sheriff herself come out of her car with her gun drawn.
"Emma? What is happening?"
"Bobby he—he—"
"Stay here," Regina ordered. "Where is he?"
"He—he's in the house."
Regina entered the house quickly, her gun drawn with both hands and Emma gasped as she sat up and heard the sounds of a struggle inside. She barely could stand on both feet, but she made it back into the house just in time to see Regina pin the deputy down and cuff his hands behind his back. Regina was breathing heavily as she disarmed the deputy of his gun and took a few steps back.
"Where is Henry?" Regina asked before she gently placed her hands on Emma's shoulders and took a good long, hard look at her. "Emma?"
"He came after me," she said tearfully. "I told Henry to stay in his room until I said it was okay to come out. Bobby he—he just came after me and he tried to—he tried to—"
"Did he touch you?" Regina asked lowly, her eyes taking on a dangerous glint. "Emma, did he touch you?"
"Yes."
"Are you hurt?" Regina asked and Emma shook her head no. Regina just stared into her eyes for a moment before she turned and hauled Bobby up off the floor. "Don't make this difficult, Bobby."
"Why they hell did you arrest me?"
"You're out," Regina snapped. "You hear me? You're no longer a deputy and yes, I am arresting you for domestic violence and attempted rape."
"What? You didn't see shit, bitch! I didn't attempt to rape her!" Bobby screamed and struggled, but Regina had the upper hand and was clearly stronger than he was in the moment. "The moment my father finds out about this, you're gone, bitch. You're fucking gone!"
"Emma, go get changed and get Henry. Meet us down at the station when you are able to," Regina said when she passed her in the doorway. "Keep struggling, Bobby, and I'll add another charge that'll secure your fate in the prison in the next county over for the next six months."
Emma shakily made her way to the bedroom and she stared at herself in the mirror on top of the dresser with burning hot tears sliding down her cheeks. Where he had grabbed her, her skin was red and bruising and her dress, although ripped, she knew she could mend it. She wiped at her tears and stripped out of her dress, finding another and pulled it on. She made a quick trip into the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face and she breathed heavily, trying to calm herself down before she went to Henry's room.
"Mama?" Henry whimpered from where he lay curled up on his bed with the blankets around him.
"Mama is here baby," she murmured as she pulled back the blankets and gathered him into her arms. "Mama is here."
[X]
Regina slammed the cell door shut, her whole body shaking in rage. When she had gotten the call over the radio from Ruby, she had been on the other side of town after responding to a domestic disturbance that turned out to be a false call. When Ruby radioed her a second time, she told her what she'd overheard before the line had gone dead and Regina drove as fast as she could manage to her neighbor's house.
The sight of Emma on the front lawn, the way she was holding up her torn dress, it caused undiluted rage to rise up from deep inside of her. From the call she got from Ruby and seeing Emma in the state that she'd been in, she didn't need to guess what had happened.
"You can't do this," Bobby snarled as he pounded on the cell door. "As soon as my father finds out—"
"He'll what? Tell me to let you go?" Regina snapped. "What do you think he's going to do when I tell him what you did?"
"I didn't do nothing, you stupid bitch."
Regina gritted her teeth, refraining from saying anything more and she turned to look over at Ruby with a sigh. "If Mayor Gold shows up, call me and I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to check on Emma and Henry," Regina replied and she grabbed the keys to the cruiser. "Whatever you do, Ruby, don't let him out of there."
"What if the mayor—"
"No, Bobby Gold is under arrest and not even his father can get him out of this," Regina said and she walked over to where the keys to the cell were hanging on the wall and placed them in her back pocket. "Call me when and if he shows up."
Regina didn't even bother looking over at the angry former deputy that banged on the cell bars over and over again. She just headed right back outside to the cruiser and drove back to Mifflin Street. Her only priority now was to make sure that Emma and Henry were safe and nothing else mattered, not the man she'd arrested and not the mayor who would more than likely catch wind that she'd arrested his only living son.
The front door was still wide open when she pulled the cruiser up into Emma's driveway and she knocked tentatively on the door, noticing that it had been kicked in and was broken. With another knock, she stepped inside with one hand on her gun.
"Emma?"
"Regina?" Emma replied a moment later, appearing in the doorway to what looked like Henry's bedroom. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm checking up on you and Henry," she replied and she noticed that the blonde had changed and her eyes, while red, were dry. "Are you okay, Emma?"
"I will be," she murmured softly and Regina had to fight the urge just to wrap her arms around her.
"And Henry?"
"He heard everything. He—he's too scared to leave his bed."
"Can I talk to him?" Regina asked and after Emma hesitated in responding, she slowly nodded her head yes. "Henry?" Regina said and she walked into the bedroom slowly. "Hey, Henry, it's Regina. Where are you hiding?"
She could clearly see his tiny body under the mess of blankets on the small bed and she glanced back at Emma before walking over to the bed. She knelt down and reached out to pull the blankets back. Henry looked up at her with wide, scared eyes and she frowned when he pulled the blankets back over his head.
"Henry, it's okay," she said softly. "That man that was here? He's gone."
"He is?"
"You know that I'm the sheriff, right?" Regina continued and when Henry didn't respond, she sighed and glanced over at Emma who was watching from the doorway. "I arrested him, Henry. He is locked up in a cell down at the station. He can't hurt your mama or you."
"He can't?"
"No, he can't," Regina said and she smiled when Henry poked his head out from under the blankets. "Are you scared that he's going to come back?"
Henry nodded tearfully. Between him and his mother, Regina was feeling a sense of urgency to protect them both at all costs. She couldn't and wouldn't let Bobby Gold come anywhere near either of them and she would do absolutely everything in her power to make sure that he was shipped off to the county jail and formally charged. Bobby Gold would never set foot in this house as long as she was around, that much she was certain of.
"Hey, I'm going to go talk to your mama for a little while. Do you want to stay here?" She asked and Henry nodded his head. "Okay, Henry. We won't be very far, okay? You don't have to be scared, but you can stay here until you feel safe, okay?"
"Okay."
Regina rose from the bed and motioned for Emma to follow her and when they reached the kitchen, she glanced at the phone that had been ripped away from the wall and another surge or rage bubbled up from deep inside of her. Emma was trembling, she could see it as she walked over to the table and sat down. Regina knelt down in front of her and pulled her trembling hands into her own.
"Emma, it's okay," Regina whispered. "You're safe. You're okay. I need you to tell me what happened. I know it's hard, but I need to know what happened. All of it."
"Henry and I, we were just walking home and he—he pulled up beside us and told me to get in the car. He—"
Emma fell forward as the tears streamed down her cheeks and Regina wrapped her arms around the shaken, terrified woman, not caring how unprofessional it was to comfort her by holding her. She felt the hot, wet tears against her neck and she inhaled sharply, her fingers moving to stroke over soft blonde curls that fell along her back. Emma clutched on to her tightly and Regina barely moved, she just held on to her and let her cry into her neck and shoulder. When she felt the press of warm lips to her neck just below her ear, she pulled back and gently cupped Emma's face with both hands.
"Regina, I—"
Regina's lips pressed against hers softly and lingered only for a brief moment before she pulled back. "It's okay, Emma. Everything is going to be okay. I promise."