A/N: Now you guys didn't think I would leave you on a cliffhanger like that, did you? Here's the next chapter and resolution to the SnowQueen saga. I hope you enjoy!

It was long past eleven by the time Regina finally got home. Her no longer soaking wet dress still clung to her like saran wrap as she walked up the steps to her door half-dragging Snow behind her. She was still a bit loopy from her night of pill-popping but after a quick, subtle stop at the emergency room the doctors had said that she would be alright. She would, however, require supervision over the next twelve hours as the drugs left her system. Just someone to make sure that she woke up when she went to sleep. Given that Snow didn't seem too particularly good at making responsible friends Regina opted to take her back to the townhome.

As they walked, or in Snow's case stumbled, inside the house Regina sighed at the comforting feeling of the heated air on her skin. She couldn't wait to peel off her dress and climb into some warm sweatpants and a t-shirt. Their bare feet hardly made a made a sound as Regina tried to usher Snow into her room as quietly as she could. All the lights in the house were off and Regina knew both Henry and Emma were likely to be sleeping. At least she hoped so but like all her hopes that night it would go unfulfilled.

Regina nearly jumped out of her skin when lights flickered on and she saw Emma staring curiously at her from the pullout couch in the living room. She tilted her head and squinted at them before quickly putting on her glasses. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of her boss's ruined dress, bare feet and stumbling accomplice. "Okay… what the hell?"

Regina let out a defeated breath before addressing Emma. "It's a long story but this is Mary. She'll be staying with us for the night."

Emma eyed Snow warily as she stood from the couch. Her pink cocktail dress was just as ruined as Regina's and the confused look in her eye hardly seemed like a good sign. It didn't take Emma long to figure out that something wasn't quite right with her. "Is she drunk or something?"

"Or something," answered Regina softly. She looked down at her toes with a sigh. "I'll explain later but I couldn't let her go home alone. She shouldn't be by herself."

"Alright," said Emma, nodding her head in understanding. She knew enough to know that nothing good could happen to a girl in Snow's state if they were left alone. Her blonde hair flipped over her shoulder as she looked over at her pullout bed and back at Regina. "She can take my spot on the pullout couch. I'll just take one of the extra blankets and sleep on Henry's floor."

"Emma… you don't have to give up your bed," said Regina shaking her head. "She can sleep in my room. I brought her home anyway."

Emma just shrugged her shoulders. "It's fine. It won't be the first night I've slept on a floor and if you're going to watch her all night you'll want to be close to the coffee maker."

Regina smiled at her apologetically. "Thank you."

"Anytime," said Emma nonchalantly. "Now get out of that dress before you freeze."

A warm shower and a wardrobe change later Regina could say that she felt marginally better. She was still worried about Snow and fretting over the future of her job but at least she was warm. Her hands ran over her scalp as she pulled her hair back into a low ponytail and stared into her bathroom mirror. She'd traded in her now ruined dress for a pair of plain grey yoga pants and an old white t-shirt. Back into a pumpkin I guess, she thought sullenly.

She snuck a peek out into the living room and saw Snow bundled up under blankets on the pullout couch. Her pink cocktail dress now hung lifelessly over the back of a table chair and Emma had helped her change into an old Mets t-shirt Regina had once borrowed Killian and forgotten to return. The sight of her with her eyes closed still made Regina's heart race but the steady rising and falling of her chest was proof enough that she was alright.

Regina tore her eyes away from Snow when she heard her cell phone buzz against her nightstand. She quickly pressed answer and brought it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Have you turned back into a pumpkin yet?"

A smile grew on her face, the first genuine one of the night, as she recognized Robin's voice. "What are you doing up so late? It's past midnight."

"For you maybe," he said nonchalantly. "You keep forgetting I'm three hours behind you now. It's barely nine here and wanted to check on how the charity thing went for you. You know, see if some delightful prince came and swept you off your feet?"

A soft laugh flew from her throat at the image of some fancy prince whisking her away in a horse-drawn carriage. If only that was what happened tonight.

"No there wasn't any prince," she sighed. She bit her lip before adding softly, "I did bring home a princess though."

She could hear Robin go still through the phone before replying, "Really? I didn't know you swung that way but I'm sure Lani will be thrilled."

"Not like that!" Regina quickly clarified. "She's a girl from my job. She got high on these pills she took and I brought her home with me so she wouldn't get into more trouble."

"Jesus, what'd she take?" asked Robin, his voice dripping with concern.

"A handful of sedatives," answered Regina sullenly. "I found her halfway gone in the pool on the roof. The ER doctors said she'll be fine though. I got to her in time."

"Thank god," breathed Robin in relief. "Who knows what would've happened if you weren't there."

Regina pinched the bridge of her nose as the image of Snow floating lifelessly in that pool flashed through her head. "Robin… I knew her."

"You knew her? You mean from outside of work?"

"Yes. I knew her from years ago, before I even met you."

"Really?" asked Robin curiously. "You never told me you ran into any old friends in New York."

"She's not a friend," whispered Regina as she sat down on her bed. "She's more like a… ghost."

"Why didn't you tell me about her?"

"Because the history I have with her… it's not something I'm proud of," she said softly. "I think I… really hurt her and she didn't take it well."

"What happened?"

Those two words made Regina bite into her lip so hard she was sure she could draw blood. For a moment she considered telling him everything. Everything about her past, about Snow, about Leopold and her mother. But it only took her two seconds before she knew that wouldn't be happening. As much as she wanted to she couldn't tell Robin these things. Not like this. Not over the phone in an effort to seek comfort. He deserved better than that. So she choked down the truth and cleared her throat before saying, "It's complicated."

"Try to make it as simple as you can and I promise I can follow," said Robin, encouraging her to open up.

Regina sighed trying to find a way to answer him. "A long time ago the two of us used to be close. So close in fact that for a while it looked like we were going to be family. I was a few years older than her and I think she sort of looked up to me. She relied on me for a lot, probably more than I realized at the time. And when I went through everything with Daniel and Henry… I left her behind. I… abandoned her without a goodbye or a thought on how it might hurt her. And it appears that since I've been gone she's been on this dark path. She's been angry, doing pills and surrounding herself with bad people who don't care about her. It's like she's trying to destroy herself. And I don't have… a clue on how to stop her or save her. I don't even know if it's my job to do so. She certainly doesn't want me to try, she's said so but every time I see her get into trouble… I keep finding it difficult to walk away from her. And now I might lose my job because of it."

"You might lose your job?"

"My boss saw us together in the elevator after everything. We were both dripping wet from the pool and she was clearly still suffering from the drugs. Mal was… displeased to say the least. Said she'll deal with me later."

Robin sighed sympathetically. "I'm sorry Regina. I know how much you enjoy your work."

"I do," said Regina, nodding her head with tearful eyes. "I love my job and I love my life and I just don't understand why I keep feeling the need to put it at risk for this girl."

She felt her voice began to crack as all the stress of the night began to seep out of her. She'd never felt so confused and terrified in her life. And Robin could tell… even all the way in California.

"Regina did Marian ever tell you about my past?" he asked softly. "What I was doing when I first met her, I mean?"

Regina tried to swallow down her feelings as she answered Robin. "If you mean stealing to survive then yes."

"Well the thing is… I wasn't alone when I did it," he continued. "I had two friends who always went along with me, John and Will. We would always have each other's backs when we went on job. Looked out for one another. I cared for them like they were my brothers. Still do in fact. But… when I met Marian things changed. I had something I didn't want to lose so I told them I wanted out. Now John had gotten a scholarship to a school out a state so he wasn't too upset but Will… he took it hard. Didn't speak to me for a long time after that."

"What happened to him?" asked Regina softly.

"After months of radio silence he contacted me at the bar. Said he'd scoped out this job that could be a big score but to pull it off he needed me. And I told him that I'd changed. That I didn't want to be a part of that life and he refused to hear it. He said that if I didn't come he'd go through with it on his own. I didn't want him to go alone but…"

"… you didn't go with him," finished Regina in whisper.

Robin let out a guilty breath. "I had Marian. I had a job that I liked. I had a life… and I didn't want to ruin it. So when the night of the job came I didn't show up. Will went alone and he got caught. He did six years in jail for breaking and entering."

"Wow," breathed Regina. "Do you regret it? Not showing up?"

Robin hesitated before answering her. "For the longest time I did but in the past few years I've realized that I can't blame myself for the actions and choices people make in my absence. And neither can you. If this girl made any bad decisions while you weren't a part of her life… none of them were your fault."

Regina let out a shuddering breath as she leaned back against her headboard with closed eyes. "I just can't help thinking that maybe if I had at least said goodbye to her then maybe things would've turned out differently."

"And maybe if I'd shown up that night Will wouldn't have gotten arrested," reasoned Robin. "Or maybe we both would've. There are dozens of scenarios that could've happened but none of them are worth thinking about because they're not going to happen anymore. We can't change the past Regina. All we can do is try to make better choices in our future."

"What if I don't know what a better choice is?" argued Regina.

Robin scoffed at her. "Now I don't believe that for one second Regina. You know what the better choice is. You always do. You knew it with Emma and you know it with this girl. It's why you chose to look after her tonight. You don't want to give up on her. Not yet."

Regina licked her lips nervously. She could feel the truth in Robin's words. She didn't feel ready to give up on Snow. To accept that this angry, destructive person was all that was left of her. The thought of that broke her heart.

"She doesn't want my help," she whispered brokenly.

"Neither did I," pointed out Robin. "You saw how I was after Marian's death. I wasn't even a person anymore. I didn't want to be. But you forced me out of that headspace. You gave me the wakeup call that I needed. It wasn't pleasant. And it wasn't easy to accept but I needed to hear it all the same. I know that wasn't easy for you."

"No it wasn't," admitted Regina.

"But you still did it for me. And now you need to do it for this girl. If she's anything like I was a gentle suggestion isn't going to help her. You can't tiptoe around the issue anymore. Let her know that she's destroying herself and tell her she can fix it. If it's coming from you she'll have to listen."

A small smile grew on Regina's face. "You make me sound like some force of nature."

"Who says you're not?" replied Robin, cheekily. She could imagine him now grinning like a fool as he delivered advice from living room couch.

"Thanks for calling me tonight Robin," said gratefully. "Hearing from you always helps things."

"Yes well I'll always pick up for you if want to give me a ring back," he said, with sincerity in his voice. "Anytime. You know that right?"

"Of course," said Regina. "Now enough about me. Tell me how my godson's doing."

She stayed on the phone with Robin for a little while after that, listening to stories of Roland's hijinks and shenanigans at the bar. Each story he told her chipped away at her anxiety and once again she wished to be back at the place she called home.

By the time morning rolled around Regina felt truly exhausted. She sat behind the kitchen table solemnly sipping on her third cup of coffee relishing the taste of hazelnut on her tongue. Sadly, the taste was all she could enjoy as the caffeine had lost its effect hours ago. She'd been up all night watching over Snow, making sure she was still breathing. The entire time the conversation she'd had with Robin played in her head like record. Remembering his faith and encouragement steeled her resolve when it came to Snow. The young girl she once knew was going to destroy herself and she couldn't let that happen without knowing she did all she could do to stop it.

Regina perked up when she heard Snow begin to moan in her sleep. Her eyes began to flutter and she scrunched them closed against the harsh light of the morning. She tiredly stretched out against the blankets around her and her eyebrows knitted in confusion when she didn't feel the 500 thread count Egyptian cotton that she had become so accustomed to. Her eyes popped open and she suddenly sat up as she realized she wasn't in her bed in her Manhattan penthouse.

"Don't sit up so fast," said Regina dryly as she set down her coffee mug. "You'll give yourself a headache."

Snow groaned as she turned to send Regina a venomous glare. "You…"

"Yes me," replied Regina.

"Why am I in your house?"

"Because it was the safest place for you after last night."

Snow moaned under her breath as she brought a hand to her forehead trying to dull the pain that was growing behind her skull.

"How's your head?" asked Regina, her voice harsher than the winter wind. "Doctors said it might be painful but that tends to happen when you swallow sedatives like M&Ms."

"Ugh." Snow rolled her eyes as she gently stumbled off the pullout couch. "Don't."

"Don't what?" gritted out Regina through clenched teeth. "Don't reference your drug problem?"

Snow raised a finger at her warningly. "I do not have a drug problem. Last night… was not a big deal."

She swiftly turned on her heel and made her way into Regina's bedroom as she stared after her in shock.

"Not a big deal?" she seethed, angrily following Snow into her room. She found the younger girl on her knees rifling through the bottom drawer of her dresser. "Not a big deal?! You might want to check your priorities Snow because me finding you half dead in a swimming pool is a big deal!"

Snow slammed the dresser drawer shut, nearly knocking it back an inch with rage-fueled force. She stood to her feet with a pair of Regina's jeans in hand. "Not it wasn't. It was an accident, it's over now and I don't need a lecture from you about it!"

"Oh yes you do," said Regina in a low voice. She stared down Snow with rage burning behind her eyes as she hastily stepped into the jeans. "If you keep going the way you're going you are going to end up dead. You almost did last night."

"You're overreacting."

"I am not overreacting!" yelled Regina, her voice bouncing off the walls and through the apartment. "The doctors said if I'd have found you ten minutes later you would've been dead! That is not a joke!"

"What do you want from me Regina? A medal?" she sniped, venomously as she buttoned up the jeans.

Regina took a deep breath as she tried to swallow her anger at Snow's flippancy. "I want you to say that you're going to at least try and stop destroying yourself."

"I am not destroying myself," Snow hissed as she invaded Regina's space. "And if I were I don't see how it's any of your business. You are not my mother. You are not my anything. Now I let you live this sad existence you call a life in peace. I suggest you do the same for me."

She headed out of the bedroom with Regina fast on her heels. "I'm going home."

"And just how are you going to get there? It's not like you have any cash on you!" Regina angrily pointed.

"Well then it looks like I'm walking!" sneered Snow. "I'll take foot blisters over your presence any day!"

She angrily stomped her way towards the front door.

"Thanks for the jeans!" she said sarcastically, before slamming the door behind her.

A frustrated groan ripped from Regina's throat as she banged her fist against the kitchen counter in anger. She leaned her elbows against the counter as she ran her hands over her face. She'd given it her all and it still looked like Snow hadn't heard a word she'd said. Her heart rapidly beat against her chest as she took a deep breath trying to calm herself. She shouldn't have lost control like that.

"Rough morning?"

She lifted her head to see Emma standing in front of Henry's door nervously, her blond hair still messed up from sleeping on his floor. She wrung her hands anxiously as she approached Regina at the counter. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help but overhear."

Regina's breath caught in her throat as she realized just how loud her confrontation with Snow had been. "Henry? Did he-?"

"No," said Emma quickly. "That kid could sleep through an earthquake. He didn't hear a thing, I promise."

Regina let out a relieved breath at her answer as tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm sorry Emma. You shouldn't have to listen to… that. She just… frustrates me so much."

Emma nodded at her understandingly. She'd had more than a few friends who'd been just as difficult with their issues as Snow.

"Look you've been up all night. Your nerves are shot," she said comfortingly putting a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you go and get some sleep? I'll go out and get us some bagels for breakfast and we can talk more when I get back. If you're up to it?"

"Sure," said Regina forcing a smile to her lips. "An everything bagel certainly couldn't hurt."

She shuffled off for bed with all the stress of the past twelve hours visibly pressing down on her shoulders. Emma watched her go with concern in her eyes. In the four months that she'd worked for her she'd never seen Regina so broken before. It was upsetting to say the least.

The cold concrete of the New York sidewalk nearly froze Snow's feet as she ambled down the block in the direction of her penthouse. She silently cursed Regina for choosing to live in Brooklyn. God, it would be hours before she got home.

She hadn't even made it down two blocks before she heard the sound of rapid footsteps approach her from behind.

"Hey you!"

She turned around with a bewildered look on her face to see a blonde girl with glass marching toward her with a scowl on her face. She stopped in front her with her arms folded across her chest.

"What the hell is your problem?" she seethed in hushed voice.

Snow stared her with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sorry do I know you?"

Suddenly an image flashed in her mind of the girl in front of her helping her into the oversized Met's shirt she was currently swimming in. "Oh god you live with Regina don't you? What did she send you after me?"

"Oh she has no idea I'm here," replied Emma. "But if you had a shred of decency left in you, you would march back yourself and apologize to her."

When Emma left the house to head for the bakery she had no idea that she would run into the girl who had treated Regina so callously. But when she turned the corner and saw her walking down the street without a care in the world she knew she wouldn't be leaving without saying her piece. It had always been one of Emma's worst qualities, the inability to turn down a fight. And after hearing this girl treat the woman who had done so much to help her with so little respect she was certainly itching for one.

"I'm not going to apologize to that woman!" sneered Snow, unapologetically. "I don't owe her anything!"

"She saved your life!" Emma spat angrily. "If you weren't such an ungrateful little brat maybe you would give her the respect she deserves for it."

Snow scoffed at her before turning away. "I am not going to stand here and take advice from Regina's latest charity case."

Emma gripped her hand around Snow's elbow refusing to let her walk away. "You think I'm her charity case? Well I've got news for you princess. You're the charity case here, not me!"

"Really?" snapped Snow, wrenching her arm from Emma's grasp. "Because those clothes say differently."

"Well clothes aside I'm not the one who got so hopped up on drugs last night that I was abandoned by my friend and left to drown," pointed out Emma. "I am not the one who had to be babysat last night so I wouldn't suffocate in my own vomit. And I am not the girl the one who keeps walking away from the one person who actually appears to give a damn about her! Make no mistake here. I might not have all your money or your fancy clothes but I am not her charity case. You are! And now because of you she might just lose her job."

Snow clenched her fists in anger as Emma went through her rant. "That's not my fault! I never asked her to take care of me!"

"You didn't have to!" retorted Emma. "When people really care about you they don't ask for permission before they help."

"She doesn't care about me," hissed Snow.

"After all that she did last night how can you even say that?" asked Emma incredulously. She shook her head at Snow pityingly.

"You know what?" she said reaching into her pocket. "I'm not even going to waste any more time talking to you."

She grabbed Snow's wrist and slapped a twenty-dollar bill into her hand. Snow looked down at it with disdain. "What's this for?"

"For you to grab the next train to wherever you call home," spat Emma with a hard glare. "And while you sit alone in your big, fancy house I want you think about all that she did. And I want you to really ask yourself if you think that anyone else in your life would've done the same for you because my guess is probably not."

Emma gave her one last look of disdain before heading away from her. Snow watched her go as she crumpled the bill in her hand, anger radiating off her with every breath. Stupid girl. She knew nothing about who Regina really was. What she'd put her through. She had no right to judge her. Neither of them did.

Snow angrily stuffed the crumpled bill in her pocket before heading to the nearest subway station. She just wanted to get home.

The earliest memories Snow has of home are from when she was no more than five years old. It was a warm bed and two arms that belonged to her mother, wrapped around her tight. It was the scent of her vanilla perfume and the soft crooning of her voice- a voice that she could no longer remember- singing her a lullaby to chase away the nightmares.

Snow hadn't had a home in years.

Instead she has had houses. And penthouses. And high rises. All bought by her father in an attempt manufacture that feeling of home. He had never been successful- not that she'd ever let him know that.

Snow stretched out her neck as she entered the apartment, her bare feet padding across the hardwood floor. The look on the doorman's face when she'd walked in the building with no shoes, no purse, clearly wearing a man's t-shirt had been one of pure sullen superiority. Luckily her face was well-known enough to convince the building manager to give her the spare key to her apartment. She currently lived in an expansive apartment right on Fifth Avenue of the Upper East Side. Three bedrooms with a view that half this city would kill for, Snow couldn't say that she hated it. It was comfortable and it was beautiful… but it wasn't a home.

She shuffled over to the kitchen and grabbed a bottled water from her near empty refrigerator. The apartment's kitchen was gorgeous with a stylish modern oven and wooden kitchen island but Snow never used it. Cooking wasn't really a skill she had and to be honest she didn't like spending a lot of time in the apartment.

It was always empty.

She quickly downed the water bottle in effort to cure herself of the cotton mouth she'd had since she'd left Regina's apartment. As she threw her now empty water bottle into the trash the deafening silence in the apartment began to weigh on her. She swiftly walked into the living room and headed straight for her entertainment system. She ran her fingers over her collection CDs before choosing an old Metric album to shove into her player.

As the near deafening sounds of modern rock filled the apartment Snow headed to the nearest bathroom and began drawing herself a bath. As the tub filled with water she stripped out of the clothes she'd taken from Regina's house and took a look at herself in the mirror. The face that looked back at her was the stuff of nightmares. Her once precise eyeliner had melted overnight giving her the appearance of a ghost or a raccoon. Her green eyes were streaked with lines of red and her hair hung limply against her face. It wasn't a pleasant sight but it was one she'd woken up to more often than she was proud of.

She turned away from the mirror and slipped into the bathtub, letting out a gentle moan as the warm water came in contact with her skin. Her bones ached and her head was still pounding but soaking in her tub was certainly helping. Despite the music blaring from beyond the door she felt her mind wander back to the night before. The feeling of being in the water triggered memories of the pool and just what she'd done. And what Regina had done.

Snow's mind flashed back to moment she'd waken up in her arms. She couldn't remember much about the night before but she did remember the gentle way Regina had brushed her hair from her face and carried her to the elevator. Why she would do any of those things, Snow didn't know. It almost reminded her of years ago when they'd first met. When she'd looked up to her. Until it all came crashing down.

Emma's words still haunted her just as they had all the way home and Snow was forced to mull them over. Would anyone do for her what Regina had done the night before? Risking their job to make sure she got home safe? Keeping watch over her at night to make sure she got up in the morning? Snow felt her chin begin to tremble as she realized the answer wouldn't be yes. Ana had ditched her as soon as she'd become inconvenient and her father had never been capable of putting her before his work. She began to sob as the weight of her loneliness began to crush her from the inside out.

She didn't want to feel like this anymore…

The following Monday Regina rode the elevator up to work with a brick sitting in her stomach. All weekend she'd felt like she was sitting on a ticking time bomb, with Mal's words echoing through her head. She was going to lose her job. She could feel it in her bones. Her time at Volante had been short but Regina felt truly miserable at the thought of leaving it this way. She'd loved her work and she'd been good at it. Leaving it because of an incident like the one at the charity ball hadn't been the way she wanted to go out.

She and Robin had talked all weekend. He'd said that if things didn't work out in New York she was always welcome to go back to California. She and Henry could stay with him and Roland for a while they got back on their feet. While the prospect of returning back to everyone in California wasn't a horrible one she couldn't think of a worse circumstance for it happen under.

The doors to elevator opened and Regina forced herself to begin her death march to the office. As she passed the various open doors to her design space she could whispers go silent and see people turn to stare as she walked past. She lightly groaned under her breath as she realized that word had gotten around about her escapade with Snow. It was humiliating.

She miserably approached her desk to seem her teammates waiting for her with "I-told-you-so" clearly spelled out in all their eyes. As she got closer she could see Carlotta smugly start to open her mouth.

"Just don't," she warned, cutting her off before she could speak. It might be her last day here. She wasn't going to spend it getting chastised by her teammates.

Carlotta raised a sharp eyebrow at her but remained silent. Regina felt herself sigh in relief as she moved to sit down in her usual chair. The back of her thighs barely touched the seat before she heard Mal's voice ring through the design room.

"Regina," she called from her office, her voice equal parts calm and tremble-inducing. "Step into my office please."

Goosebumps rose on her skin as she turned to Jefferson with a helpless look on her face. He could only shrug at her in response as she got up and walked over to the office. With every step she took closer she felt the brick in her gut double in size. The door to Mal's private office was almost never open and she rarely invited anyone inside. She valued her privacy and believed that her closed-door policy led her employees to examine their problems from every angle before choosing to knock on her door asking for an obvious solution. When she got inside she wasn't surprised to see that it was just as stylish as the rest of the firm's room. Black and white seemed to be the theme with accents of purple, such as the flowers on her clear desk and the throw pillows on her white couch, thrown in for good measure.

Mal sat behind her desk staring down Regina with hard eyes as she shuffled into the office.

"Be sure to close the door behind you," she instructed in an even tone.

Regina quickly complied with her request. As much as being alone in a room with Mal terrified her she certainly didn't want the rest of the office listening in as she was fired.

"Have a seat," said Mal, coolly gesturing toward one of the luxurious chairs in front of her desk.

Regina swallowed hard as she did as she told. If she wasn't so afraid of what was coming next she might've remarked on how soft and comfortable the fabric of the chair felt against her back. Instead she just wrung her hands and crossed her ankles nervously. "Mal I can-"

"Regina what about this moment says you should be speaking?" snapped Mal, in a clipped tone.

A squeak escaped Regina's throat as she tried to search for the right answer. "Nothing."

"Exactly," hissed Mal leaning forward in her seat. "You will not speak. Not in here and certainly not today."

Regina's cheeks grew red as she stared down at the floor and sent Mal a nod to say she understood.

Mal sighed as she rose from her desk and began to pace her office floor with her arms folded across her chest. "Life is short and time is precious, so I will make this quick. Regina… I'm not going to fire you."

Regina rose her head in confusion and nearly choked trying to squash down at the questions that wanted to fly from her mouth. She wasn't fired?

"I know this must come as a surprise," said Mal raising an eyebrow at her. "Seeing you coming out of an elevator dripping wet, carrying a limp intern in your arms less than a hundred feet away from some of our biggest clients and competition… well let's just say I could've fired you to a crisp on the spot. You and Snow risked embarrassing our company and eliminating a string of potential investors. So make no mistake… I am furious."

Regina shivered in her seat as Mal sent a heated glare in her direction.

"However," continued Mal, slipping back into the seat behind her desk, "as I was sitting in my living room yesterday, trying to come up with creative ways to dismiss you I got a visit from our slovenly little intern who insisted that what happened that night was not your fault. That she would've died if it hadn't been from your actions."

Regina knitted her eyebrows in confusion. Snow had talked to Mal for her?

"Now I suppose I can't fire you for choosing to resuscitate our biggest liability but I would tread lightly if I were you," said Mal. "Your talent, though great, will not buy you any more of my mercy. Do you understand me?"

Regina nodded her head swiftly.

"Good," replied Mal in a low voice. "Now you can head home for the day. The less I see of you, the less likely I am to change my mind."

Regina headed home with her mind swirling with questions. Why had Snow, after being so rude and so condescending before, go to Mal and beg for the safety of her job? Did it even matter now? The fight she'd had with Snow had pushed her over the edge. She hadn't yelled and screamed like that in years. Losing control like she had made her feel… like her mother. It wasn't a feeling she wanted to become familiar with. Snow had said that Regina should mind her own business, that she wasn't her responsibility and after their fight Regina felt more than willing to comply with her wished. Maybe avoiding Snow altogether was the better choice. She wouldn't get the chance to find that out though.

Her heart leapt into her throat as she turned the corner onto her block and saw Snow sitting on the steps in front of her house. For a moment she considered turning around and heading in the other direction but in the end she decided against. She wasn't going to let Snow keep her from entering her own home. With her eyes forward and her shoulders back she walked up to her house with a blank expression on her face, determined not to show Snow any emotion or weakness.

Snow stood up apprehensively when she heard Regina approach her. She looked better than she had in the last twelve hours. Her face was make-up free and her hair was combed. Red streaks no longer lined the whites of her eyes. Instead of her usual bodycon dress and booties she was wearing a pair of jeans and a light blue sweater with black boots.

Regina shrugged her shoulders at her. "What are you doing here Mary?"

Snow internally flinched at Regina's formal use of her name before gesturing to the folded clothes that sat beside her feet. "I just wanted to return your clothes."

Regina's scoffed at the jeans and tee on the steps before gathering them in her arms. "Thanks."

Snow hesitated before speaking again. "Did Mal fire you?"

"No," said Regina in a clipped tone. "Thanks to you she let me keep my job."

"Good," sighed Snow, nodding in relief.

"Don't know why it would matter to you," said Regina, raising an eyebrow at her. "You've made it more than clear that you hate me."

Snow wrung her hands nervously as she stared down at her feet. "I don't hate you," she mumbled.

"You don't hate me?" scoffed Regina. "Well I can think of a few instances that have led to me believe differently."

"I know," choked out Snow. "I'm sorry. I don't hate you. I thought I did. I wanted to… very badly but I don't."

"Why?" asked Regina desperately. "Why is it so important that you hate me?"

"Because hating you is easier than missing you," mumbled Snow, her chin trembling as she tried to look anywhere other than Regina's eyes.

Her words were enough for Regina to offer her a tiny bit of sympathy. With a sigh she sat down on the steps and gestured for Snow to join her. She sniffed as she took a seat next to her in front of the door. Regina shook her head at her in confusion. "What happened to you? Because the girl I knew never used to be this angry. Or this lost."

"The girl you knew was always lost," replied Snow. "She just didn't know it yet."

She sighed before she continued. "You know that last time I felt really loved and really safe was with my mom. I was so little when she died I can't really remember a lot about her but I do have this one specific memory. I was around five and it was night. There was a storm outside my window and I was scared. My dad didn't like it when I slept in the bed with them but he was gone so I ran into their room with tears running down my face. My mom woke up and pulled me under the blankets with her. She rubbed my back and sung me the Itsy Bitsy Spider to make the storm less scary. After she died it was like I lost the one person who was able to make the world feel safe instead of frightening. It was like there was this hole where she used to be."

Regina's mind flashed back to Daniel as she'd listened to Snow talk about her mother. She could understand that feeling of losing someone who meant so much to you.

"After she was gone my Dad didn't really know what to do with me so he did nothing," said Snow softly. "He just… left. On work trips, on business meetings. He was just never there. I did everything I could to get him to notice me. To get him to fill the hole that she'd left behind. I joined clubs, I got good grades, I participated in sports all just hoping that something I did would get him to stick around. And nothing ever did. Until I… introduced him to you."

Regina's eyes widened at Snow's comment. "Me?"

"Regina… when you showed up it was like he finally had a reason to come home more," she said, shrugging her shoulders pitifully. "I know it wasn't real now but… then it felt like things were finally getting better. Dad was home more and I had you. You were so nice and kind. You'd seek me out and spend time with me. Talk to me about everything that mattered. I knew you were never going to be my mom; we'd never have a relationship like that but we were going to be family. When you were around the hole that I felt didn't hurt as much. And then you got engaged and I was so excited. I was finally going to have someone who was there for me. Someone who wouldn't leave."

"But then I left," said Regina sadly.

Snow nodded her head miserably. "He didn't even tell me face to face. He had his secretary send an email. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that you had just left me like that without a word or a goodbye. So I went to see your mother. I thought she might help me find you."

"Oh god," moaned Regina, scrunching her eyes closed. "What did she say?"

"She said that I was no longer your problem and that you told her that you were glad you no longer had to put up with me," answered Snow, her cheeks growing red. "And the hole that I felt when my mother died, it grew twice as big. It ripped me apart and the only thing that made me feel better was choosing to be angry instead of feeling hurt."

"I'm sorry," whispered Regina.

"It's not your fault," said Snow forcing a smile on her face. "You were trapped there. You didn't want to get my hopes up and let me down. I know that now."

"But it happened," replied Regina softly. "And I'm sorry for how it hurt you. I truly am."

Snow looked at her with tearful eyes. "How awful must it have been for you to hang around me when you were forced to be with him? You must've died inside."

"I'm not going to say that it was pleasant," agreed Regina, "but being around you wasn't the worst thing in the world during that time. Honestly, in the whole situation you were the only person who actually cared about my feelings. You just didn't know what they really were."

Tears began to fall from Snow's face and she let out a choking breath as she tried not to cry. "Everyone keeps leaving me. My parents, my friends, even the maids have a high turnover rate. It's like no one can stand to be around me and I am so tired of feeling alone."

After a moment of hesitation Regina gently draped an arm over her shoulder. "You don't have to be."

Snow looked up with wide eyes as Regina continued to comfort her. "You know I talked to a friend about you earlier. Told him how worried I was about how you're acting. He told me I shouldn't give up on you yet."

"Are you going to listen to him?" asked Snow hopefully.

"I am," said Regina with a nod. "But only because I'm not ready to give up on you. I think there's still a chance for you to heal and I want to help you but you've got to start helping yourself and give up this anger and destructive behavior."

Snow nodded slightly before reaching into the purse at her side. She pulled out to bottles of prescription pills. They rattled in their containers as she handed them to Regina with shaking hands. "I went through my apartment over the weekend. This was all that I had… and I don't want them anymore."

"Okay," breathed Regina, taking them from her with tearful eyes. "We are going to go inside and you are going to sit at my kitchen table while I flush these down the toilet and then we're going to talk more. Okay, Mary?"

"Okay," sighed Snow. She shrugged as they both stood to their feet and headed inside. "You know if you wanted to… you could call me Snow? I've kind of missed it."

Regina turned back to her with a smile tugging on her lips. "Alright… Snow."

Please Read and Review! I love hearing from you all.

Secondly, I have a question for you guys. I have one thing left that has to happen in New York and then I will have Regina heading back to California. The thing is I was planning on doing a short little arc or two chapters on what Robin has been up to since Regina left. I know a lot of you have grown impatient so I wanted to know if you wanted to skip Robin's POV and just have her head back or would you like to read up on what Robin and Roland have been up to. Let me know if you have an opinion. Thanks!