Regina met Snow by her locker that afternoon. Emma and Tink joined moments later and they set off to Emma's car.

As soon as they got in the car, Snow turned to Regina.

"Robin's coming over too. My dad is fine with it and we're gonna all sit out at the lake (behind her house is a small lake) and we'll have the privacy to just talk about everything."

Regina just nodded, knowing there was nothing she could do nothing to stop Snow.

"When did you talk to my mom? And how did you get her to say yes?"

Snow smirked.

"I was a total kiss ass. I was extremely nice and sweet and batted my eyelashes. I asked her if you could come over, told her it was just going to be the four of us, and that I wanted to have a girls afternoon. She doesn't know about Robin. I feel like if she did, you wouldn't have been allowed to come. So none of us can breathe a word about Robin coming over. And I know our parents don't talk like we do, but no one can breathe a word. Clear?" She looked at everyone in the car. They all nodded and Emma drove to Snow's. As soon as they got there, they peeked in to say hello to Snow's dad and went out back to sit by the lake. They weren't out there long before Robin came out, being sent by Snow's dad and Regina just took a deep breath. She looked around at her friends and felt very vulnerable. She hated this feeling but she should have known she was going to have to face it eventually. She took one last deep breath before speaking.

"So, what was the purpose of this meeting. I know you said you wanted to talk but that was pretty vague, Snow. Like am I doing all of the talking or..." Regina's voice trailed off.

"Well, I want you to tell us what you can to help you, Gina. You're not in this alone anymore..." Snow spoke softly, placing her hand on Regina's knee.

Regina nodded slowly, trying to figure out how this afternoon would go.

"Where do you want me to start?"

"Maybe from the beginning of when this all started?" Tink spoke up.

Regina ran her hands through her hair and nodded.

"Okay, well it really started at 6 years old. She's been hard on me for as long as I can remember, but the physical stuff happened when I was 6. I had an accident one night and tried to hide it from her. It obviously didn't work, she found me trying to get clean sheets from the closet, and she yelled at me, scolded me, and dragged me into the bathroom where she cut off all of my hair. After that, it got worse. Remember when I broke my arm in 4th grade? Yea, she caused that. She was angry with me and yelled at me. Shes the reason I fell down the stairs. Had that cast on for the whole summer. And since I wasn't able to swim because of it, she was able to make me her punching bag even more. She normally only did physical damage in the colder months, when I had to bundle up and cover up. But I wasn't able to do anything that would show more skin than necessary that summer and so it continued. It kinda died off a little in middle school. She was only really emotionally abusive, but it got worse again once high school started. I mean, look at me. Nothing like this has ever happened before. She's the reason I cake makeup on everyday. She's the reason all I wear are long sleeve shirts and pants. She's the reason my hair is a short mess. And she's the reason I have nightmares every single night." At the end of her re-telling, Regina was shaking, holding in her tears.

"Oh, Regina..." Snow whispered.

Robin placed an arm around Regina's shoulders and held her close. Emma placed a hand on Regina's knee and Tink grabbed one of Regina's hands and held it tightly in her own.

"There has to be something that we can do about this..." Robin spoke his thought aloud.

"There isn't." Regina sighed.

"What about your father?" Emma asked.

"He's always away on business. And before you ask, yes he does know everything that is going on. But my mother isn just abusive to me. She hurts Daddy too, but only emotionally. She's only hit him once, and that was a few years ago. She punched him because he tried to protect me. He was trying to take me with him, but she caught us before we even got to the door. So now he just stays away as much as he can." Regina replies sadly.

"Why hasn't anyone reported her, Regina?" Emma asks, trying to hold back her anger.

"Because my mother has power. She may only be the principal, but she somehow has a lot of power. So there's no point. No one would believe me, or daddy."

They all sat quietly for a moment before Robin spoke up.

"What if one of us said something? What if 'something happens' and one of us sees your bruises?"

"Well she thinks you and I are sleeping together, Robin, so I assume she thinks you know. Or rather, she assumes you've seen the bruises and assumes I made up a story that I bruise easily or I am extremely clumsy. So you saying something might make it worse."

"I'll say something then." Emma raised her hand.

"Emm-"

"No, Regina. Do not tell me not to do it. You are being abused. Someone needs to do something. I want to help you. We all do. We all love you and don't want anything to happen to you. I will go to the authorities and report your mother, or I will say that you are being abused and they will look into it. Something needs to change, and fast."

Tears slowly made their way down Regina's face. While she felt so vulnerable, she felt so loved right now.

"Guys..." Regina sniffed and gave them a watery smile.

Snow got up from her spot across from Regina and sat directly in front of her and wrapped her arms around her. Tink, Emma, and Robin joined in with the hug and Regina started crying again.

"Thank you, guys. I love you all so much."

"We love you too, Gina." Tink sniffed, crying a little too.

They all stayed in the hug for a short while longer before pulling apart.

"Hey guys, do you mind if Regina and I go on a short walk? I just wanna talk to her alone for a few minutes." Robin smiled and looked over at Regina.

"Yea, of course." Snow smiled. "There's a trail over there, and if you walk the entire thing, and stay on it, it takes 20 minutes, there and coming back."

"Great, thanks." Robin smiled and stood up. He reached for Regina's hand and pulled her up. They started walking towards the trail and Robin didn't really start talking until they were more than earshot away. He looked around to see if Snow, Tink, or Emma was watching and he walked a little off of the trail.

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know." Robin smirked and just kept walking. He walked until they reached a clearing. There were a few trees lining the clearing and Robin sat them down, his back to the tree and Regina's back to his chest. He kissed the top of her head and held her close.

"Not that I'm not grateful for the quiet escape, but was there a point of this?" Regina broke the silence.

"I just saw you were getting more and more overwhelmed, so I wanted to take you somewhere to relax."

"Thank you..." Regina turned to gave him a small smile.

Robin leaned in and laid his forehead against Regina's.

"Anything for you, my love." He leaned in and kissed her softly.

Regina melted into the kiss. She suddenly forgot all of her stress and was, thankfully, able to put all of her focus on Robin.

Regina turned around in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Robin placed his arms around Regina's waist. She pressed herself closer to Robin, never wanting to leave his embrace. Robin held her loosely in his arms. He was so afraid to hurt her. He obviously knew where the majority of her bruises are, but he knew there were some that he couldn't see, and he was so afraid he would hurt her. Regina pulled back from the kiss and looked at him.

"What is it?"

Robin shook his head and leaned into to kiss her again, but Regina backed away.

"Tell me. I can see it in your eyes. There's something wrong."

Robin sighed and laid his head in the crook of her neck.

"I just don't want to hurt you. I've seen all of the bruises that are visible when you're in shorts and a t-shirt. I don't know if there are others...your mother already hurts you, I cannot hurt you."

Regina looked at him with a small smile before she leaned in and kissed him again.

Robin smiled into the kiss. He sat there for a minute before throwing all caution in the wind and deepened the kiss. Regina gasped a little, I mean her first kiss was only yesterday. Robin smirked and kissed her harder. Regina tightened her hold on Robin and opened her mouth against his. They stayed like this for what felt like hours, and only broke apart when they both needed air.

"Well..." Regina smirked and placed her hand over her mouth.

Robin returned the smirk.

"Sorry about that." He grinned.

"No you're not." Regina laughed.

Robin was so happy to hear her laugh again. And this wasn't a fake laugh, this laugh was genuine and it made him so happy.

"Can we just stay here forever?" Regina mused.

"Anything you want, my love." Robin kissed her cheek and rubbed a hand along the expanse of her back.

Regina laid her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"That feels good."

Robin chuckled and continued the rub her back, thinking of ways for them to escape this crazy life.

"You know, we need to get back soon." Regina interrupted his thoughts.

"I don't want to. I want to stay here, with you in my arms, for the rest of my life."

Regina moved back to smile at him.

"You know the girls will come looking for us eventually."

"Doesn't mean they'll find us." Robin smirked.

Regina laughed a little before getting up, despite Robins attempts to hold her down. She reached her hand out to him and smiled.

"Come on."

Robin groaned and got up and they set off, back to the lake and their friends.

Authors Note:
Sorry it's taken so long, guys! I've been super busy with school and you would think that I would have updated over spring break, but I actually worked the majority of my break so that didn't really work out. And I also apologize for the kinda awkward ending. I had absolutely no idea how to end this chapter, or even what. I really wanted to happen throughout the chapter. This chapter really kicked my ass and I am surprised it ended up as long as it did. But I hope you all enjoy it and thank you so so much for reading, and reviewing. The reviews I get always make me smile!
Xoxoxo
-Sam