Hey there lovely people. Sorry it's been so long since I updated! I've been so busy with my new job and school, I haven't had much time to write. This one's a bit short, but hopefully it will make you all happy. This chapter is dedicated to the review I got yesterday begging me to update "FFS". :)

**TRIGGER WARNING** Mild descriptions of physical abuse.


I've spent so long firmly looking outside me
I've spent so much time living in survival mode


As soon as the door was open, Emma was pushed back against the wall in the entry way. She barely had time to register the green shirt and foresty smell of Robin Hood as he barged into her apartment. In the few seconds it took Emma to recover from the violent shove, Robin had already started toward Regina on the couch.

"Robin? Is everything okay?" Regina asked, ignoring the way he'd entered the residence.

"No. Everything is not okay," Robin replied.

"Is it Roland? Is he hurt?"

"Roland is fine, safe in the care of my men. Your son, however, is an entirely different matter."

"Henry? Henry's hurt?" Regina asked.

"You wouldn't know, would you? Which is interesting, because I believe this was supposed to be a family dinner. I don't see much family present, Regina."

The panic left Regina's face and was quickly replaced with anger. Emma was unsure of whether she should intervene or not.

"Are you spying on me?" Regina asked angrily.

"Yes. And clearly it was the right decision since you've been lying to me and playing house with this tramp."

Regina was too shocked to even respond, at least until Robin grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the door.

"Unhand me!"

But Regina's pleas didn't matter because Emma had already closed the distance between them and grabbed Robin by his shirt collar. He let go of Regina's wrist in surprise as Emma hauled him toward the door as though he weighed nothing.

"Look pal, I don't know who you think you are, but nobody barges into my apartment like a wild animal and lays hands on a woman. I don't give two shits if she told you elephants were purple and laid gold eggs, you do not have the right to follow her around and burst in here like you own her," Emma said calmly as she shoved Robin toward the door, "Now, if you leave immediately, I'll consider not having you arrested for assault."

Regina could see Robin considering his options for a moment, she knew this wasn't over, he was sure to be waiting at the mansion when she left the safety of Emma's apartment. But Robin decided it wasn't worth it to press his luck at the moment. He glared at Emma for another moment before turn and disappearing from their view.

Emma shoved the door shut and locked the door and the deadbolt this time. She was sure Robin wouldn't come back, but she didn't want to take any chances. After securing the door, she turned back toward Regina, who was still planted in the same spot Robin had left her. Emma walked cautiously toward the brunette and carefully guided her back toward the couch.

"I'll make some tea," Emma offered.

Regina nodded.


Emma was grateful that Henry was spending the night with her parents because she didn't know how to explain any of this to her son. Where was the handbook for this mother/son chat? Regina sat silently for nearly an hour while the tea Emma made went cold. Finally Emma couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"Regina, we need to talk about this."

"I really don't think we do," Regina replied.

"Yes we do. I've been giving you time, hoping you'd open up to me on your own, but I can't just ignore this any longer. Especially not when it's putting Henry in danger."

"Robin has never laid a finger on Henry. He certainly wouldn't be walking around town if he had," Regina scoffed.

"Maybe he hasn't hurt Henry yet. But trust me, it's only a matter of time before Henry does something that sets him off. And it doesn't matter how quickly you vaporize him, he'll have already hurt our son. And hell, even if he never touches Henry, allowing Robin to continue hurting you hurts Henry. He loves you," Emma explained.

"He's my soul mate, what the hell am I supposed to do?" Regina asked.

"Ugh, soul mates? Really?"

"You live in a town full of fairy tale characters, created by an evil curse, you're the product of true love and you're sitting on a couch with the evil queen, but you have trouble believing in soul mates?" Regina asked.

"Yeah, I do. Because soul mates is such bullshit. As if you can be destined for one person."

"Says the woman with true love's magic running through her veins."

"True love is different. You're not guaranteed true love. A million different things could have kept my parents apart. And things weren't always easy for them, as you well know. They had to fight to be together. Soul mates though, that's as though nothing you do or are matters, and that's bullshit, because who you are always matters."

"I suppose that's one way to look at the situation," Regina conceded.

"Maybe things would have worked out between the two of you if you'd met back when you were younger. Maybe they wouldn't have. But the only thing that matters is now, and what's happening now isn't okay."

"I keep thinking that this is my punishment for all the wrong I've done, that my soul mate would be someone who…treats me this way," Regina offered.

"Someone who abuses you, Regina," Emma corrected.

"Someone who…abuses me," Regina laughed dryly, "It's funny almost, I swore I'd never let anyone else treat me this way after…Leopold."

"Did he…?" Emma started.

"Oh, nothing too horrible dear. Most of the time I was just around for show. He hit me a few times, but it was the law of the land. I was little more than property," Regina answered Emma's unasked question.

Emma was unsure of how to respond. She'd gotten herself into a lot of shitty situations over the years. But she'd never been the friend that someone went to when they needed help. She was more of a loner most of the time. She wasn't used to having many friends at all, let alone a friend who told her to sort of things Regina had lately. The silence was broken by a small laugh from Regina. Emma turned toward her, confusion on her face.

"Sorry. It's just, me, the Evil Queen, being used and abused by a thief who smells like the forest. If only my mother could see me now," Regina said.

Emma smiled, "Really? Inappropriate humor? That's kind of my thing. Yours is supposed to be fireballs and poofing away in a cloud of purple smoke."

"Apparently you're rubbing off on me dear."

Emma felt a sudden need to distance herself from the beautiful brunette on the couch.

"Uh, I need a drink, how about you? This tea just isn't cutting it," Emma stammered.

"A drink would be nice," Regina agreed.

Emma quickly made her way to the kitchen and retrieved two brightly colored cups and a bottle of brown liquor from a top cabinet. Regina watched as she carefully poured the alcohol into the cups and retrieved a bottle of pop from the fridge.

"You never answered my question, dear."

"What question was that?" Emma asked absent mindedly.

"Whether you have feelings for me or not."

Emma sighed and picked up a cup. Regina watched as she drained the alcohol straight before replacing it and pouring some pop on top. She returned to the living room, liquor tucked under her arm. Regina accepted the neon green cup Emma held out for her and watched as the blonde settled into the couch again.

"Okay, I'm not trying to avoid answering you, but I feel like I could use a little more alcohol before we get into this discussion."

"I would be amenable to that," Regina agreed.

So the pair drank in silence. After finishing her second drink, Emma decided she couldn't put it off any longer.

"Okay, so, before I answer your question, I just want to say that this is not some messed up attempt to make the perfect, happy little family because things didn't work out with Neal. And I'm not trying to pull you away from Robin just to try and get into your pants. You're one of my best friends, which I couldn't imagine saying three years ago, but it's true. So no matter what happens tonight, no matter what feelings we have or don't have, we have to promise that we can work through it and still be friends. Because we can't go back to the way we used to be, for Henry's sake." Emma said in one long breath.

Regina smiled, "I promise, we will still be friends."

"Okay. Good. Then I guess I can answer your question now…"

"Yes. You can."

Emma swallowed, "Okay, yeah. I have feelings for you. I'm not really sure how it started or when, but I know that I really care about you. And whether that's as friends or something else, I'll be okay with it. I just want you to be happy."

Regina smiled, "I am happy when I'm with you and Henry. The two of you, you've shown me what a family can really be like. My mother, she loved me, but she certainly didn't show it like most people. And my father, he was a great man, but he was weak compared to my mother. He couldn't fight her. But I loved him so much. Henry is named after him, actually. I never wanted for material possessions, but I didn't really understand family until Henry drug you back to town and onto my doorstep."

"It's really hard to believe that was almost four years ago," Emma interjected.

"To be quite honest, Emma, I've been aware of your feelings for quite some time. But I chose to ignore them, because acknowledging your feelings meant I'd have to examine my own, and I wasn't ready to admit that I was unhappy with my situation."

Emma's eyes were wide, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, dear, that I have feelings for you as well."

"Whoa."

"Indeed."

"Sorry. I was just really sure that this was going to be a hopelessly one-sided crush or that you'd laugh in my face," Emma said.

"Well, I may still laugh in your face. The night is young dear."

"Well, I'll do my best to not let that happen. Though if we continue drinking, I'll probably give you several reasons to laugh at me."

"Well, by all means, have another drink," Regina smiled.

Emma laughed and picked up her drink, "So, what do we do now? Should I like, ask you out on a date or something?"

"I think we should take a bit of time before we do anything, Emma. I need to sort out some things on my own," Regina said.

"Oh, okay," Emma said.

"We've been through a lot today, and regardless of our feelings, I think we need to take a bit of time and just be friends. First, I need to explain to Henry why I will no longer be seeing Robin. And I need to deal with that on my own. I don't want you to be a…rebound."

"I understand, Regina. You can have as much time as you need. This stuff with Robin, it's hard. And if you need any help at all, I'm here for you," Emma smiled.

"Thank you. Now, I believe we had some drinking to do."