FINALLY. This is a long ass chapter, and kind of redundant, but necessary. I don't know how to feel about it, but the next chapter is definitely the one you've all been waiting for, so keep checking back, and hopefully I'll stop being so busy and be able to update sooner than a month...


Chapter 11 - New Information

"Lily!?" Zelena gapes in disbelief as she stares at her ex. She closes the door behind her as she steps out of the house. "What are you doing here?"

"Last I checked, I still technically own half of this house. You know, the one we bought together?" Lily scoffs, crossing her arms. "Or did you really forget?"

"You fucking left! You can't just show up whenever." Zelena argues.

"Oh, for god's sake, Z. Get over it." Lily rolls her eyes. "I needed some stuff that I left, but there's something a little more interesting that I found."

Lily points to a car in the driveway, glaring at Zelena. "What the fuck is Emma doing here?"

"That's none of your business." Zelena shakes her head.

"Oh, so you guys just decide to be friends? Or more than that? Is this to get back at me?" Lily interrogates. "Or are you guys just like starting some League of Evil Exes like in that Scott Pilgrim movie?"

"I don't owe you anything."

"You can tell me what the fuck Emma Swan is doing at my fucking house." Lily growls, but Zelena stands her ground, blocking the door. "I deserve to know why she's here."

"No."

Lily roughly shoves Zelena to the side and opens the door, hearing chatter coming from the dining room. She runs through the house until she reaches the closed doors of the dining room, looking through the glass panes to see Regina, Cora, and Emma talking away. None of them have noticed her and she can hear the door slam behind her, the angry footsteps of Zelena growing closer.

Lily busts into the room, everyone at the table's attention immediately on her.

"Oh, that's fucking rich." Lily chuckles. "You really had to go for Zelena's sister, didn't you, Emma?"

Emma's eyes are wide in shock as her heart races in her chest. She can't produce words, she can't look away. In front of her stood the one person who completely ruined her, her feeling of self-worth. And Emma's now officially terrified of Lily opening her big mouth.

"How does it feel to have my sloppy seconds, Gina?" Lily states, the sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"What?" Regina plays dumb, holding onto Emma's hand tightly. Zelena is behind Lily, the same terrified look on her face that Emma has.

"I mean, she's a good fuck, yeah?" Lily glares between the two of them. Zelena grabs Lily's arm and starts trying to drag her ex away from the dining room, but Lily keeps provoking them. "I bet she fucks you so well with that huge cock of hers!"

"Enough!" Zelena yells as she finally gets the higher ground and pulls a screaming Lily away from the dining room.

Emma looks like she's about to throw up and Cora looks between Regina and Emma, a confused expression on her face.

"Regina..." Cora starts out.

"Shit." Regina mutters out. She can feel Emma pull her hand away from Regina, the dishes on the table clatter as she pushes her chair out and runs from the table. "Emma, wait!"

Regina gets up to go get her girlfriend who had just been outed and humiliated, but her mom stops her. "Wait, Regina. What is she talking about?"

"Emma has a condition, okay? We were going to tell you, but on her own time and terms. It's caused her a lot of problems in the past... starting with Lily." Regina tries to explain.

"And you're okay with that?" Cora asks. "Her being... different?"

"Yes, I am."

"I just- I'm trying to understand here. I got it when you turned out to be gay, but now you're telling me that your girlfriend has a male body part and I- I just don't get it." Cora says.

"There's nothing to get, mother." Regina states harshly. "Just because Emma has a penis doesn't mean she's any less of a woman."

"I just- I'm not following." Cora stutters out. "I'm trying to be understanding of this, Regina."

"Understand this, okay? I love her, mother. I am so madly in love with Emma Swan and just because she was born differently does not mean that she isn't the purest, most amazing soul I've ever met." Regina admits, standing halfway in the kitchen. "And I'm not letting that fucking bitch ruin our relationship."


"What the fuck was that!?" Zelena yells as she drags an angry Lily out of her house. "You don't just get to decide to show up and barge in, and fucking ruin things!"

"And you don't get to just invite my ex girlfriend into OUR house. I don't give a fuck if I don't live here anymore or not, I don't want her here." Lily argues back. "And why do you even care so much? YOU helped me leave her. YOU are as much of the bad guy as I am."

"You lied to me, Lily! You kept her a secret for months. We were both your secret." Zelena scoffs, crossing her arms.

"It didn't fucking stop you from screwing her over!"

"I was blind and in love!" Zelena screams. "You took advantage of that and you know it."

"Whatever." Lily rolls her eyes.

"You played both of us." Zelena states sternly. "And Emma has moved on from you and is dating my sister, and you're going to respect that and get the fuck off of my property."

"Fuck you, Zelena." Lily spits, eyes glaring daggers at the redhead. The door opens and Regina's standing outside, frantically looking for Emma when she spots Lily and Zelena. "Have fun with that emotional, alcoholic train wreck, Regina."

Regina stomps over to Lily as soon as the words leave her mouth. She grabs the collar of Lily's shirts and pulls her close. She can feel that heat of Lily's breath on her face as she narrows her eyes.

"Say one more hurtful thing about Emma, I fucking dare you." Regina growls as her grip tightens.

"What are you going to do, Regina? Hurt me?" Lily sarcastically pouts her lower lip.

"Watch me." Regina says seriously.

"How can you even stand up for her?" Lily questions. "You'll understand in time how a person like Emma Swan can wear you down. Just you wait..."

Regina roughly shoves Lily, letting go of the collar of her shirt as she stumbles backwards. She's ready to swing, but an arm moves in front of her chest and pulls her back.

"Regina..." Zelena says. "She's not worth it."

"You're a fucking monster, Lily." Regina glares, doing her best not to break free of her sister's hold and strangle the brunette in front of her. "Stay the fuck away from Emma and my sister."

Lily scoffs, turning to walk away when she stops dead in her tracks and turns back around. "Why don't you ask Emma about her drinking problem." Lily yells before getting in her car and driving off.

"Drinking problem?" Zelena asks, turning to look at her sister who was still angrily glaring at the street. "Regina?"

"I don't know." Regina sighs, removing herself from Zelena's grip. "I need to find Emma."


"The fuck do I do?" Emma slurs into the phone as she takes another swig of the whiskey she found in Zelena's kitchen.

'Maybe stop drinking, first.' Ruby replies. 'Emma, don't fall back into destructive behavior because Lily showed up.'

"No. Fuck that, you can't tell me wha-what to do." Emma hiccups. "She fucking told my secret to Regina's mom and I dunno what to- Imma just go sit outside."

'Do NOT get into your car.' Ruby warns as she hears Emma shuffling around and a door closing. 'I swear to god, Emma. Do not drive anywhere.'

"I'm not gonna do that, silly." Emma drunkenly laughs. "I jus- I need to get outta here. Regina's mom probs hates me so like I need to go."

Emma stands on the back porch as she watches the scenery around her grow blurry. "Dude, I'm dizzy."

'THEN STOP DRINKING, EMMA.' Ruby yells. 'I love you to death, dude. But you need to put the bottle down and sober the fuck up. Do NOT become the person you hate.'

"But when I'm drunk, I'm like totes cool."

'No, you're not. Babes, seriously... Remember the last time you got super drunk?'

"Pfft no." Emma shakes her head.

'You literally almost punched a hole in the wall because you got mad over nothing. You don't need to do anything you'll regret.'

"Ha!" Emma laughs, taking a swig of the whiskey. "My relationship is already ruined. What am I going to do that I'll- that I'll regret? I'd rather just sit here than deal with that shiiit."

'Emma, don't say that. You have no idea what's going on inside because you've probably slammed a fourth of a bottle of whiskey in the last ten minutes.'

"Mm half." Emma slurs as she sits on a step on the porch. "My head feels funny."

'Put. Down. The. Bottle. Emma. Swan.' Ruby demands punctually.

"I'm just not meant to be happy." Emma poorly argues.

'Yes, you are. You just need to get through this. I know you're upset because Lily showed up, but fuck that bitch.' Ruby says before hearing a bunch of clattering and Emma yelling 'hey, that's mine' to someone.

"Ruby?"

'Regina?'

"Yeah." Regina sighs. "Look, I'm going to get Emma home, okay?"

'Thank you.'

"Of course, see you in a couple of hours." Regina hangs up before glancing at Emma who's pouting at her. "As for you, I'll be taking that."

Regina grabs the bottle of whiskey from Emma's hands.

"What? No, give it back." Emma drunkenly pleads.

"No." Regina states sternly, grabbing a hold of Emma's arm. "We're going home."

"Ruby told me not to drive soooo." Emma slurs.

"Which is why I'm driving your car back to LA." Regina rolls her eyes at her drunk girlfriend. Emma just shrugs her shoulders and follows Regina into the house and out the front door. Regina gets Emma situated in the car before kneeling down in front of her. "I'm taking the bottle inside, telling my mom and Zelena we're leaving, and we're going home, okay?"

"Mmph." Emma grunts before slumping over in her passenger seat.

"Dear lord." Regina whispers to herself as she closes the car door. She groans loudly as she enters the house and sets the bottle down on the entry way table. "Z? Mom?"

"Dining room!" Cora calls out. Regina heads toward the dining room and sees Cora sitting with Zelena at the table.

"I think it's best if I take Emma home, like now." Regina rushes out. "She's in a bad place right now and I just need to get her home safely."

"I understand." Cora nods before getting up and hugging her daughter. "I'm sorry I had a poor first reaction to the news… It just caught me off guard, and I'm really trying to be supportive of you. If Emma makes you happy, then I'm happy for you."

"Thank you, mom. That means a lot to me, and I'm sure it will to Emma." Regina nods as she hugs her mom back.

"Mind if I talk to Emma before you guys leave, Gina?" Zelena speaks up and Regina nods her head towards the door.

"Yeah, she's in the car."

"I'll be right back." Zelena says, heading towards the front door. She descends the stairs and sees Emma sitting in the passenger's seat, buckled up and staring blankly out the window.

Zelena opens the car door and Emma turns, shocked.

"Whaaa?" Emma stutters out.

"Hello, Emma." Zelena states sternly.

"Allo Gov'na!" Emma laughs hysterically, causing the redhead to roll her eyes.

"Drinking problem, explain now." Zelena demands, not wanting to waste time with a drunk Emma. The blonde stops laughing and stares at Zelena with wide eyes. "Well?"

"I jusss- okay. So I have a drink-drinking problem." Emma admits.

"Because of Lily?" Zelena questions.

"Yep." Emma pops the 'p'. "She fucking ruined me."

"You're not ruined, dude."

"Nah I'm damaged goods." Emma slurs, her hands making random gestures as her gaze averts back to the dashboard. "I don't deserve to be happy."

"Emma, yes you do. Fuck Lily, okay? My sister is in there worried about you because she doesn't know this side of you. And it needs to stop." Zelena states. "Regina almost beat the shit out of Lily because of what she did to you. And you repay her by what? Getting plastered off your ass?"

Emma opens her mouth to respond, but Zelena shuts her up. "No, I know what she did was horrible and wrong, but you need to be better than this. Drinking is only going to make things worse. Do you understand?"

"She stood up for me?"

"Yeah, she did. She stood up for you with our mother and she stood up for you with Lily. You mean a lot to her, Emma. Ruin it, and I'll fucking murder you. I will smash a bottle over your head and then stab you with the glass while the alcohol burns your wounds." Zelena outlandishly threatens. "Got it?"

"Yes." Emma gulps loudly.

"I like you, Emma. You're good for Regina when you're not being a destructive asshole. I know your past hurts but fucking move on, dude. Build your future, okay?"

"Okay." Emma agrees before glancing out of the corner of her eye. "Thanks."

"Look, I completely understand where you're coming from. Lily is a piece of shit, and I almost took some bad paths trying to come back from it." Zelena admits. "You just got to stay strong, all right? And stop drinking so much. Stop assuming that one bad thing is going to ruin your relationship with my sister because if you act like this every time one bad thing happens, it will shatter it."

"Mhmm." Emma replies, her mind still cloudy and drunk. "Good talk."

"Dear Jesus, I really hope you remember this when you're sober." Zelena mutters.

"I will though because like she means the world to me, you know? Like- WOW." Emma opens her eyes wide as she over exaggerates her words.

"She does?" Zelena raises an eyebrow.

"Mhmm. But like don't tell her cause it's like suuuuper soon. I don't want her to freak out."

"Why would she freak out?" Zelena presses.

"Because liiike, I dunno. What if she doesn't feel the same way, yet?" Emma asks sadly.

"You are the most oblivious drunk I've ever met." Zelena groans.

"What's that sup-supposed to mean?"

"She really cares about you, you do know that right? Regina really, really cares about you, Emma." Zelena explains.

"But she doesn't love me and I- whoa." Emma says as she gets another bout of dizziness and slumps over in the seat.

"And you what?" Zelena asks, but Emma is just mumbling nonsense. She shakes the blonde's shoulder a few times, but nothing.

"God damn it." Zelena mutters loudly. "Go to sleep, Swan. We'll finish this conversation another day."

"Mm." Emma grumbles in response before closing her eyes. Zelena rolls her eyes and shakes her head, closing the car door just in time for Regina to leave the house.

"She passed out." Zelena mentions to Regina as she walks up to her porch.

"Of course, she did." Regina sighs loudly, hugging her sister. "Thank you for making sure she was okay. And for trying to get Lily out of here as fast as humanly possible."

"You're welcome." Zelena smiles. "Also, I talked to Emma about her... drinking issue."

"You did? What did she say?" Regina asks curiously.

"She admitted she had one. That it started because of Lily. I know that seeing her was hard on Emma, but just be careful, okay? There's something that happened in her past that she's not completely over and I don't want anything bad to happen to either of you." Zelena replies.

"I'm just hoping that she freaked out because she was humiliated in front of our mother, and that's why she got drunk. But I'll keep an eye on her. This can't be a daily occurrence."

"I just want you to be cautious. If she really is an alcoholic, then you have no idea what she'd do in the long run. They're unpredictable in behavior." Zelena says.

"I know, Z." Regina nods. "If it continues, though, I'll either get her help or leave. I know when too much is too much."

"Okay, baby sis. Well, get her home safely." Zelena smiles as she opens the front door.

"I will."


"Hey, I need to talk to you." Emma says as she pokes her head in the office.

"Of course. Come in."

Emma nods and fully opens the door, walking into the office. She sits on a chair and starts twiddling her thumbs.

"You know, I've missed you the past few months, at our meetings." Dr. Hopper says as he sits across from Emma. "May I inquire why you haven't attended?"

"I, uh, I haven't been drinking as much anymore, you know? It's become a social thing, now. I only drink when I go out and that's not often." Emma admits.

"Why the sudden change? When you started AA, you were still kind of struggling with heavy drinking." Archie asks, leaning in with his hand under his chin.

"I met someone." Emma smiles. "And she cares about me, you know?"

"I see. And this woman, she makes you happy?" Archie questions.

"Yeah, so happy. I think I love her." Emma says out loud for the first time ever. "No, I know-"


"-I love her." Emma mumbles in her sleep.

It's the first thing Regina has heard from her girlfriend since she started driving back to LA from her sister's house. She wonders what Emma is potentially dreaming of and who she was talking about. Regina lifts an eyebrow as she carefully reaches across the console to tap Emma on the thigh.

"Emma?" Regina calls out as the blonde shifts in the passenger seat. "You awake?"

"-has a big heart." Emma says while still sleeping. "I feel like I can-"

"Emma?" Regina repeats, once again tapping the blonde against her thigh. She watches out of the corner of her eye as Emma groggily wakes up and looks at her, smiling. "Hey, who were you talking to?"

"Mm, my therapist." Emma replies while yawning, still not fully awake.

"Therapist?"

"Mmhmmm." Emma hums, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the window. "I was telling him about you."

"Oh, really?" Regina asks, amused.

"Yeah." Emma nods. "I was telling him that I love you."

Regina eyes widen as her left hand grips the steering wheel tightly. She has to make sure she doesn't avert her eyes from the road, but she really wants to look at her girlfriend. She wants to see some kind of reassurance of Emma's sudden confession, but the blonde was still drunk and Regina was unsure if she had actually meant what she said, or if it was the alcohol talking.

And she really hopes Emma means it because she's known for the last month that she's in love with Emma. She felt it the minute that Emma left for that two week tour. How empty and hollow she felt without seeing her girlfriend for that long. How she got a twinkle in her eye and her heart nearly beat out of her chest whenever Emma would send her cute texts or call her simply to ask how her day was. It made her so weak in the knees, the feeling that Emma gave her. But she had always been unsure of how Emma felt towards her, especially when Emma wouldn't be intimate with her.

And while she knows that Emma says it's because she felt inadequate, it still made Regina wonder if Emma refused it because she didn't feel the same way. And she knew she would have to ask the blonde about it when she's sober, but her main priority at the moment was getting Emma home safely.

She pushes it to the back of her mind when she notices Emma was asleep again. She parks the car in front of Emma's condo and gently wakes her girlfriend.

"Babe, we're here. Let's get you upstairs." Regina says as Emma opens her eyes.

"Mhmm." Emma nods as she tiredly unbuckles herself and opens the car door, holding onto it to keep her balance. Regina exits the car and walks around, supporting Emma as they start walking into the building. "Are you staying?"

"Do you want me to?" Regina asks. They had actually never spent the night together since they started dating and Regina was just planning on going home after Emma was safely in her apartment and under Ruby's supervision.

"Yes." Emma nods as they get to her front door. "I wanna cuddle with you."

"Oh, do you?" Regina asks as she uses Emma's keys to unlock her door and leads her into the condo.

"I like cuddling with you."

"I like cuddling with you, too, Emma." Regina opens Emma's bedroom door and plops her girlfriend down on the bed. "I'll be right back."

Emma clicks her tongue in understanding and Regina walks out of the room and into the kitchen. She grabs a glass of water before heading towards Ruby's bedroom. She knocks gently and waits for the brunette to open the door.

"Hey Regina." Ruby yawns. "What's up?"

"Where's your aspirin? I'm going to make Emma hydrate and take some so she doesn't wake up with a hangover." Regina says motioning to the glass.

"Emma has some in her nightstand." Ruby smiles. "Thanks for getting her home safely."

"Of course. Sorry for waking you." Regina apologizes as they say goodnight. She heads back to Emma's bedroom and surprised to see that the blonde had already managed to get her clothes off as she lay facedown in her bra and boxers.

She shakes her head and chuckles lightly as she sets the glass of water on the nightstand next to Emma's bed. She opens the drawer and starts rifling through the contents in an attempt to find the aspirin when her hand lands on something that catches her attention: a box of condoms. What catches her attention even more is the fact that it's opened, and she can tell that one's been ripped off of the strip. She pauses for a minute and raises her eyebrow at it. She remembers Emma saying something about her sleeping with someone else who wasn't Lily, but she didn't know how recently it was.

And it almost made her heart sink. What if Emma had slept with this girl not long ago and it was the reason she didn't want to sleep with Regina?

Regina shakes her head and drops them back into the nightstand when she spots the aspirin, trying not to think too hard about finding the condoms. Maybe they were from before they had even met. At least that's what she's hoping. She pushes it to the back of her mind, not wanting to freak out over what could potentially be nothing. Instead, she pours a few aspirin into her hand and goes to wake up Emma.

"Emma, hey." Regina gently shakes Emma's shoulder. Emma groggily looks up from her pillow, eyes shut.

"Mm?"

"Sit up." Regina commands and Emma pushes herself into a sitting position, still not fully awake, but conscious enough for Regina to hand her the aspirin and for her to take them along with the glass of water.

"Thank you." Emma nods before she lays back down. "You're the best."

Regina halfheartedly smiles at her girlfriend as she falls back asleep. She turns off the lights, strips down and climbs into bed next to Emma, cuddling into the sleeping blonde's side. She tries to keep her mind off of everything that had happened in the last few hours, knowing they'll probably talk about it in the morning. She couldn't let it get to her, not without a sober Emma there to give her answers. She knew she would have to let it go, for now.

She leans over and places a kiss on Emma's cheek before snuggling her face into her neck.

"Goodnight, Emma."


Things happened. That's all I have to say. Even more things will happen next chapter.