A/N: sorry for the long wait, like I said my week was hell. I'm trying to get my other story updated by the end of the night too, but I just don't feel like it's quite ready yet. I'll keep working though...maybe I can even get another chapter up by tomorrow night! Hopefully you'll enjoy this enough not to be mad at me for the wait.

Oh and to the anon that asked for a scene where Emma tells MM that Henry died, I'll get to that in the next chapter.

Disclaimer in Chapter 1

Chapter 4

Emma opened the front door and looked around cautiously, hoping she could sneak past Mary Margaret and go lay down for a while. After basically spilling her soul to Archie, she was exhausted, and the lash thing she wanted to do right now was think any more about what had happened over the past two months.

Removing her boots quietly, the blonde tiptoed as carefully as she could towards her bedroom door. As she went past the stairs, Mary Margaret's voice floated down to her, and Emma stopped, curious.

"Listen, Regina, I know you hate Emma and all, and you blame her for what happened, but we need you. Emma needs you."

Emma stood frozen to the spot, shocked by what she was hearing, not to mention hurt. Why would Mary Margaret do that? Why would she call the one person in this town that's hurt me more than anyone else and ask her to help me?"

Furious, Emma stormed towards her bedroom and went inside, flinging her shoes into the wall and slamming the door closed to announce her arrival. Letting out a frustrated sigh, the blonde fell back on the bed, closing her eyes, and allowed the soft sheets to absorb all the tension from her trying day.

"Oh shit, Emma's home. Can I call you back later and we'll discuss a plan?"

The disappointment in Regina's voice was painstakingly evident. "Oh...ok sure. That's fine. I'll be by the phone all day."

Hanging up, Mary Margaret walked downstairs, nervously wringing her hands. "Emma?" she called softly as she headed towards the blonde's closed door. "Are you alright? How was your session with Archie." Maybe she didn't hear me. I'll just play dumb and pretend I don't know anything. That should work.

"Go away" came the weary voice from inside. "I'm done talking. I just need to sleep."

Worried, the brunette shook her head. "Can I come in for a minute?"

"Noooo" came Emma's whine through the door. "I'm tired, MM, I just need to sleep for a while."

"That's not good enough. I'm coming in, make sure you have some pants on."

When she walked in, the brunette found Emma lying on the bed, facing away from the door, but even then she could see that her roommate was crying. The silent sobs that now wracked her body were unmistakeable.

"Emma." Mary Margaret sat down on the bed, placing her hand on the blonde's shoulder. Emma tensed, moving away from her roommates' touch. Before she could wriggle out of the smaller woman's grasp, Mary Margaret turned her just enough to look into those tired, bloodshot green eyes. "What happened today?"

Emma rolled over to face her roommate, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I told him everything" she whispered softly. "I told him what happened, I told him about the conversation with Regina, I told him I was sorry for what I did, and he just- it's not helping me to go see him" she told the brunette sadly. "No one can really help me. Let's just face the facts, it's all my fault, Henry's dead, and there's no way to bring him back. I've fucked up everything in my life. Henry was the one thing that I actually did right in this world, and now he's dead, and it's because of me."

Mary Margaret sat for a moment, running her fingers through the blonde's hair in an attempt to comfort her. Finally, she sat up straight and said, "I think I know what might help. Give me the keys to your bug and give me a minute to make a phone call. Be ready in 5 minutes, and we're going out."

The excited look on her roommate's face told Emma everything she needed to know. Oh god, she's dragging me to see Regina. "No." Emma said forcefully as the small woman moved to exit the room. "I'm not going anywhere. Stop trying to help me. I don't want help."

"Yes, but Emma, you need help. Now get your lazy ass off that bed and let's go, or we'll be late. With that, her roommate exited, leaving Emma to groan and roll off the bed, heading for the bathroom to freshen up before going out.

Mary Margaret ran upstairs and grabbed her phone. Redialing the last number, she waited impatiently as the phone rang twice before a voice on the other end picked up. "Hello?"

"Regina? It's Mary Margaret. Can we meet now? At Granny's diner in, say...10 minutes? I managed to get Emma moving so please be there waiting for us."

Regina nodded, moving quickly to grab her keys. "I'll be there waiting."

Exactly 10 minutes later, Emma and Mary Margaret walked into the small diner to find it almost completely empty. Looking around, the brunette scanned the booths for the mayor until she found her tucked away in the corner, facing away from the door.

"Go sit over there, Emma." Mary Margaret said, pointing to the booth. "I'll be over in a minute."

She waited until Emma had made her way partly over to the table before turning quickly and running out, leaving the blonde to fend for herself.

Emma walked over to the booth and sat down, pausing only when she realized who was sitting across from her. "Regina?" she asked nervously.

"Emma." The mayor smiled, looking - relieved, what what the hell is going on here? - to see her. "Um, how are you doing?" she asked timidly. Emma just shook her head and stood up, ready to leave.

"Wait!" Regina called quickly. "Can you just stay for a minute? I need to talk to you."

Emma hesitantly nodded, sitting back down, curious to hear what the woman across from her had to say.

Regina sat, looking down at her napkin. The silence that filled the booth was countered only by the noises of the kitchen. After sitting awkwardly for about 10 minutes before Emma finally broke the silence. "So, why Granny's?" she asked, looking around suspiciously. The little diner wasn't very crowded, but it was still public, and apart from going to her sessions with Archie, Emma had avoided going out in public as much as possible since the accident.

"Honestly, I don't know." Regina replied with a hint of nervousness in her voice. "Mary Margaret thought it would be a good idea, I guess."

"Hmm" Emma mused, looking down at her menu to avoid having to make eye contact. The awkward silence hung thick in the air like smoke between the two women, and was only momentarily broken when Ruby came bounding over to take their order. "Emma!"

"Hey Rubes." Emma said with a small sad smile. Regina glanced up at the waitress, who took the hint and collected their orders quickly, leaving with a small comforting squeeze to Emma's shoulder.

The silence returned, and the pair played with their drinks and the edges of the table cloth for a moment before Emma finally broke it. "Can I ask you something?"

Regina nodded, unable to fully form the words necessary for her to express what she was feeling.

"Why would you help me?"

Regina coughed. "Why wouldn't I help you?"

"Because Mary Margaret called you, and you don't like her. We're talking about me, so you automatically wouldn't want anything to do with it. So why did you agree to help me? And what exactly do they expect you to do for me that some drugs can't?" At this point, Emma was sneering, her words digging into Regina like needles.

"I- I actually called her. She just brought it up. Emma, I- I want to forgive you."

"Forgive me? Ha!" The brunette flinched at Emma's tone, instantly regretting ever opening her mouth. "You are going to forgive me? Oh that's funny, Regina, that's really funny. Maybe you were a little confused, but you were the one who broke me. You were the one who blamed me for Henry's death, so much that I actually started believing it. You're the reason I'm on these meds, the reason I spend an hour every other day in a therapist's office to try and fix whatever the hell is wrong with me. And it's all thanks to you."

"...I never meant to hurt you, Emma. I was- angry at you for letting Henry die, and I blamed you because you were the one who was there. You were with him when it happened. I never meant what I said about me never wanting to see you again. I just needed time to heal."

"Yeah this is bullshit. I'm out of here." Emma stood up and walked out, and Regina followed, desperate to catch up and explain. Once they were outside, the mayor grabbed Emma's wrist, forcing her to stop. "Emma, just wait for a second."

Emma ripped her arm and away but stood where she was, eyebrows raised expectantly. "I really do want to help you. I do, I'm just trying to figure out what the best way to do that is right now. And I- I'm sorry, Emma. I'm so sorry for making you like this. I wish you would tell me how I could help so I can fix this mess I've made."

Emma shook her head. "You can't help me anymore. No one can. I'm beyond saving." With that, the blonde turned on her heel and walked towards her car, but stopped and turned back around to say, "I didn't let him die. I just couldn't save him."

Regina stood on the sidewalk, speechless, her mouth open in shock and was surprised to find tears running down her face. That hadn't gone at all like she'd expected. Emma was much worse than she thought, and it was apparent to her now that it was all her fault.