The Benz was already gleaming in the driveway when Emma pulled up to the modest, shaded cabin. Their plan to end the exploitive situation in Underland had gone very well, and while the cabin held memories she didn't want to revisit, she felt weirdly pleased when she came up and Regina was waiting on the steps, not approaching the door, which swung ajar.

The car sank deeply into the mud, it had rained recently, and Emma grabbed her roll of Crime Scene Tape as she got out of the car.

"So what happened?"

"I noticed the door had been forced." Regina said, gesturing. "It looks like someone broke the window pane, drew back the bolt, and then forced open the standard lock from outside for good measure."

Emma nodded, pulling on gloves and stepping over muddy footsteps into the living room. There were definitely two sets, a woman's and a man's. A window had been forced open as well, and Emma saw scattered feathers near the window, sodden from rain that had blown in.

"Someone must have forced their way in during the rainstorm. When's the last time you were up here?"

"Three days ago." Regina answered. Emma looked around. Pillar candles on the coffee table. A bowl of apples on the table, next to a box of chocolates. Emma moved with quick steps into the bedroom- fresh satiny sheets covered the bed and a pair of new terry cloth robes hung on the back of the door to the bedroom. She came back out to the porch, trying to keep the anger out of her voice.

"Having a guest up here?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business." Regina snapped.

"Well, have you looked to see if anything has been taken?"

"I was trying not to interfere with the crime scene, but if I can come in…"

Regina stepped past Emma and set down a heavy grocery bag on the kitchen table. Emma's jaw dropped: a bottle of extremely nice champagne and bags of ice?! She felt her cheeks get hot. The break-in seemed genuine enough. So why did she feel like Regina was throwing it in her face that she was planning a romantic assignation? Just the idea of someone else touching Regina made her feel queasy. There was certainly no one she'd seen in Storybrooke deserving of what Regina was with her clothes off. Her heart was racing as she followed Regina with her eyes as the immaculately dressed woman strode around the room, her sharp eyes missing nothing.

"Hmm, these blankets were definitely not in front of the fire." She pointed to the pile of soft wool blankets between the couch and fire. She strode with two steps into the bathroom and Emma heard a tsk-tsk sound. Emma creeped over to the grocery bag and moved the champagne aside, looking angrily for more romantic paraphernalia, hating herself for it but unable to deny her suspicions. At the bottom of the bag was a fresh change of silky sheets. Just the thought of Regina swimming in them, unclothed, made unbearable heat flood through Emma. Regina came back in, shutting the door behind her and Emma stepped swiftly away from the bag.

"Nothing of value has been taken as far as I can tell."

"Probably just kids out in the woods trying to stay out of the rain." Emma shrugged, looking around. "Probably not worth worrying about."

Regina's eyebrows came together and her voice rose to fill the cabin. "Not worth worrying about?! 'Sheriff' Swan, two people came into my house. They made a fire! They could have burned this place down!"

"A fire? What? How can you tell?" Emma snapped.

"Look at those ashes. Can you see me building up something like that?"

Emma almost smiled, a bittersweet pang filling her heart remembering Regina's pathetic attempts to start a fire. The remains of several logs were evident in the ash.

"Look Regina, I don't know what to tell you. I can dust for fingerprints if you want ,but you might consider how much that will kill the mood between you and whoever you're planning to bang up here. Or install up here long term, whatever, I don't care."

Regina's hands went on her hips. "Excuse me?"

"Hey, I don't want to know. But neither does Henry. Tell him he can have a sleepover at my place and he never has to know."

Regina's face was furious, her hands on her hips. "You are overstepping boundary lines YOU demanded on drawing, 'Sheriff.' And how dare you insinuate I'm- I'm planning trysts in my cabin!"

Emma pointed to the bag on the table. "Champagne?! Matching robes?! I get it, Regina, you like to f-ck. You REALLY like to f-ck. Have a great time. But don't call me up on some stupid pretext to rub my nose in it, because that's just – it's just cruel."

Regina waved a hand in front of her face as though trying to block the words."If you must know, I'm lending the cabin to Kathryn and David Nolan as a thank you after she so kindly checked in on Henry the night of the fire. Kathryn told me they needed a romantic getaway. I thought I'd leave champagne and chocolates as a welcome."

Emma found it hard to swallow, but did at last. "Oh." David Nolan? That name sounded awfully familiar.

"It hasn't even crossed my mind to be with someone since…since whatever." Regina said softly. "Although I don't know why I'm telling you, it's certainly none of your business."

Emma felt relief flood through her, dousing the mounting hot, dark anger that had been growing inside her since she first saw the candles on the coffee table. "So what, is that part of your 'you belong to me' crap?"

"Didn't you? At least once." Regina suddenly seemed to be holding very still, yet was unable to prevent a small smile from appearing briefly below large, soft eyes. The one time she meant rose up in Emma's mind and triggered a fireworks display of hormones and endorphins that swamped her memory, her senses, her entire being.

Something in Emma snapped, some long re-inforced wall that shored up her resistance to Regina's beauty crumbled. She crossed the room in three strides and fell to her knees in front of Regina, trying to avoid her face, kissing the band of her skirt, following the indentation of her hip bones until her head hovered between Regina's legs, kneeling at her feet and unable to meet her eye. Regina gasped at first in shock and then in understanding leaned against the back of the couch.

"I can't do it anymore. I need you so badly." Emma practically wept. "This never happened, do you understand?"

"Do you understand? Nothing's changed, Emma. I can't kiss you on the lips." Regina murmured with a tremble of pleasure as Emma's hands traveled up her legs.

"That's not where I want to kiss you." Emma answered.

Emma left first. It had only been a two hour detour. A long lunch. She got in her car, trembling, and made her way back down to Storybrooke, heading for the cannery where Shelley lived.

She knew with painful certainty that what she had tried to do before would always fail: there was no way she could give Regina up again.

She'd take her on any terms.