By the end of her second day of working for the Sheriff of Storybrooke, an uneventful one at that, Emma already had a pretty solid idea just how her life in Storybrooke would be when it came to work. The highlight of her second day was responding to an intruder call and she was able to meet the infamous Mrs. Mays. The intruder in question had been a stray cat looking for warmth under her front porch and Emma had spent the better part of an hour trying to coax the thing out under Mrs. Mays careful supervision.

The second highlight of her day had been Regina's spontaneous visit to the station to drop off some paperwork for Graham. Emma watched her and Graham talk in his office and she leaned a little too far back in her chair just trying to catch sight of Regina's taut ass in the tight pencil skirt she was wearing. It ended up with her on the floor with Regina trying in vain not to laugh from Graham's office. When she offered to see her out to her car, she ended up in a corner just off the entrance, kissing her for a solid ten minutes before she let her go.

Graham, like everyone in town, of course knew about her relationship and engagement to Regina. He had been red-faced when she returned to her desk, her lips kiss-swollen and her hair mussed despite her attempts to tame the slight curls. Regina always did like to grab her hair, slide her fingers through and hold on tight. By the time five rolled around, Emma had leapt from her chair and all but said goodbye to Graham before heading home for the weekend.

Small town life actually agreed with her so far and she loved how in just the short ride home, the people out and about that she drove past would wave and smile at her. She knew Henry was doing a lot better than he initially thought he would, already making fast friends with most of the kids in his fourth grade class.

The instant she walked through the door she was greeted by the smell of lasagna cooking in the kitchen and the sounds of Henry playing his Xbox in the den. After pulling off her boots, jacket and beanie, placing them in the closet to avoid another one of Regina's looks when she didn't, she found Regina in the study and sitting at her desk, flipping through a few papers that were piled in front of her.

"Hey," Emma smiled and she leaned down to kiss Regina, pulling back after a moment before leaning up against her desk. "You're still working?"

"Yes, darling. Just a few things I need to catch up on. I'm nearly done."

"Dinner smells good."

"Henry asked if I could make lasagna tonight," Regina said with a smile. "It'll be ready shortly."

"Do I got time to shower?"

Regina quickly signed her name on the bottom of the sheet of paper in front of her before glancing at the dainty watch on her wrist. "About fifteen minutes."

Emma smiled, ducking her head down to swiftly kiss Regina on the cheek. She headed upstairs after checking in on Henry in the den, his attention solely on the game he was playing, barely answering her when she asked him if he'd finished his homework. After checking for herself and finding the homework he'd been assigned had been completed, she headed upstairs to have a quick shower, the fluffy white towel already folded on top of the vanity in the en suite for her.

The fact that she was living such a domesticated life had dawned on her that morning. She didn't mind it at all because she was living this life with Regina and she was happy, truly happy. She showered and dressed quickly, plucking her ring from the small little dish on the dresser and sliding it on, not realizing how much she missed the feel of it until she had it back on. Regina had asked her not to wear it to work in case it slipped off or was damaged. She'd asked her to do that while she was still in New York, but most days she'd forgotten to take it off and she sure as hell wasn't going to tell her that.

The three of them sat down in the dining room for dinner shortly after she came downstairs. It was quiet, save for the soft, barely audible moans Emma made with every bite she took. After they all finished up, Henry retreated to the den, not to play video games, but to watch a movie before bed, and Emma helped Regina clean up, both of them sliding into the easy routine of washing the dishes. Regina washed while Emma dried and in between each dish, Emma would steal a kiss or two.

The weekend went by quickly and although it was relaxing for all three of them, it was the second weekend she and Henry had been there and the three of them hardly went out in public together. She was sure there wasn't a reason why, it was February and as cold as ever outside. She didn't want to raise it as an issue because it really wasn't one and the last thing she needed was to start arguing with Regina just after a week of living there.

First thing Monday morning, she called Granny and asked her to come up for the weekend so that she and Regina could spend Valentine's Day together in Boston. Granny, of course, had been planning on making a trip up to Storybrooke to try and make an offer on her old Diner to buy it back, so it was a perfect opportunity for both of them to get something out of Granny making the flight up there for a handful of days.

The second she hung up her cell and slipped it in her pocket, Graham stormed out of his office, pulling on his jacket quickly. He rapped his knuckled on her desk and motioned for her to come with him.

"What's up?"

"Got a call down at the Rabbit Hole," Graham replied. "Drunk and disorderly."

"It's not Leroy, is it?"

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "A guy named Greg Mendell. Tori went to open up early this morning and found him passed out in the bathroom. Guy broke in some time after closing."

"To what, drink more?"

"That's what she said," Graham shrugged. "I'll meet you there."

Emma nodded and they both got in their own cruisers. She flipped the switch, the siren and lights coming to life as she followed Graham the short distance down to the Rabbit Hole. A small crowd had gathered and Emma parked behind the Sheriff's cruiser and climbed out, yelling out for the crowd to back away quickly.

With a hand on her gun that was strapped to her hip today, she followed Graham inside the bar. The instant they entered, they heard the unmistakable sound of bottles crashing and breaking. Emma spotted Tori huddled down behind one of the pool tables while the man stood behind the bar, grabbing various bottles and muttering to himself when it wasn't what he was looking for.

"Sheriff's department, stop what you're doing and put your hands up in the air!" Graham yelled out and Emma was too slow to pull Graham away, a full bottle of whisky smacking him him the head, effectively knocking him out.

"Stop!" Emma said firmly, drawing out her gun. "Mr. Mendell? You're under arrest. Please step away from the bar now and—"

"All I wanted was one more drink!" He yelled, his words slurred but strong. He was angry and even standing a good ten feet away, she could smell the booze on him.

She knelt down beside Graham, not taking her eyes off of Mendell for a second as she checked to make sure Graham was still breathing. The blow to his head had been quite hard and the gash near his temple along with the swelling told her he most likely was concussed.

"Sir, I'm going to ask you one more time. Step away from the bar with your hands above your head," she said as she slowly rose but up to her feet. Holstering her gun, she reached around for the cuffs she had in the back of her belt.

Emma had dealt with guys like this hundreds of times and she knew she had to tread carefully. There was no telling what would set the man off even more, angering him further and make him snap.

"Why do you people have to ruin everything! All I wanted was another drink."

"Sir, I understand that, but this establishment is closed. You broke in here and—"

He yelled out as he charged at her and Emma was quick to grab his fist and wretched his arm behind his back, slamming him down face first on the table beside her. An elbow came flying out at her while she grappled to grab his other hand and it caught her in the jaw, momentarily stunning her just for that split second too long and he was out of her hold. Another fist came swinging another split second later, catching her just under her right eye.

Her second attempt to get his hands behind his back and the cuffs on ended with another punch to her face, one she couldn't duck away from quick enough. Now she was pissed and despite the fact that it was so very against police etiquette to fight back with their fists, there was no way she was letting this guy go down without a fight.

"All right you fucking asshole," Emma growled as she curled her right hand into a tight fist. "You're asking for it."

"What are you gonna do, huh?" He leered at her, swaying slightly on his feet. "Hit me back, girl?"

"Deputy Swan," Emma corrected him, watching as his mouth gaped open suddenly and she threw a hard right hook to his face, a punch that had brought other perps down, but Mendell was still standing.

"That hurt, you stupid bitch!"

Everything happened far too quickly and Emma grunted as she landed on the ground with the six foot man on top of her, struggling to grab a hold of her hands. She threw another punch to his face, then a second, a third. The fourth she felt the bone in her index finger crunch painfully under the force behind the punch and she brought up her knees and kicked him off of her.

Despite her finger most definitely being broken, she gritted her teeth through the pain and pulled him to his feet, shoving him down hard on the table as she struggled to grab for her handcuffs. She cuffed him and wiped at her mouth with the back of her left hand, blood smearing over her skin. She ran her tongue over the inside of her cheek, feeling where it had split open a little.

"Swan, you all right?" Graham asked as he pulled himself up from the floor. "What happened?"

"You got a bottle of whisky thrown at your head and you got knocked the fuck out," Emma said and she pulled Mendell off the table. "Our little friend here decided to pick a fight. Don't worry, pretty sure then doctors can fix his face up," she said with a wave to his cheek, the eye socket definitely broken considering the way it was swelling up and fast, the eye swollen right up to the point where he couldn't even see out of it.

"You okay, Swan?"

"Broke a finger, maybe two," she shrugged. "Meet you down at the hospital?"

Graham nodded and hauled Mendell to his feet and dragged him out of the bar. Tori stood up from where she'd been crouching and that's when Emma saw she had a good sized gash on her arm, blood pouring out as she held on to it with her hand.

"What happened?"

"He got me with a broken bottle when I called you guys in," Tori replied. "It's not as bad as it looks."

"No, it's worse," Emma said and she looked down at her right hand, two fingers swollen and throbbing in pain. "It'll take too long for an ambulance. Come on, I'll take you down to the hospital to get patched up."

Tori flashed her a grateful smile and with one last look at the mess that was left behind, they exited the building and climbed into her cruiser. The ride down to the hospital was quick and after making sure Tori was seen to almost right away, she checked on Graham and the newest favourite prisoner who was in the middle of a wrestling match in the middle of the ER.

With a roll of her eyes, she threw herself into the fray, helping Graham to subdue Mendell, throwing one last punch, both of them screaming out in pain before Graham managed to cuff him to the bed they'd been trying to get him on before. It took everything she had not to pass out from the pain in her hand and by the time Dr. Whale had her sent for x-rays, the painkillers she'd been given by a nurse had started to kick in, and they were strong, far too strong for her liking.

After she was cleaned up, the blood Mendell's and not her own thankfully, her fingers were splinted and taped together, she checked on Graham who was laying in a bed, the gash on his forehead stitched up and the diagnosis was that he had a mild concussion.

"Take the rest of the day off, Swan."

"And who is gonna protect and serve while I do that?" Emma retorted and she rolled her eyes. "No, you're concussed, I just have two broken fingers. You're in worse shape than I am. Look, just rest up. I got this covered, okay?"

"I'm sure the good citizens of Storybrooke could survive the day without us."

"I'm not willing to leave that to chance, Graham."

"You're a tough one, Deputy."

"Had it a lot worse before. Couple of broken fingers won't slow me down, Sheriff."

Before the end of the day, Mendell had called a lawyer and Emma was served with a warning that Greg Mendell was looking to press charges against her. For the fifth time that afternoon her phone rang and she ignored the call, not daring to look at Regina's name on the screen as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

In a small town like Storybrooke, word traveled around fast and Emma knew that Regina had, without a doubt, found out about the incident at the Rabbit Hole. Emma finished up the paperwork covering what had happened and left it on Graham's desk to be signed when he came in the next day. She locked up and drove home, not surprised to find Regina already at home and standing in the foyer with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes blazing and her lips pressed together firmly.

"Hey," Emma said softly as she shut the door behind her.

"I've been calling."

"I know, I just had some things I had to get done and—"

"I know what happened this morning," Regina said tightly. "I know you were in a fist fight with Mr. Mendell and that the state you left him in requires that he have surgery. And I also know that Mr. Mendell is looking to press charges."

"Which will never happen because he was under arrest and resisting! The charges won't stick. You and I both know that!"

"Do we now?" Regina snapped. "Do you realize the pressure I will be put under by the town council over this incident, Emma?"

"He was resisting arrest, Regina! What did you want me to do, let him get away with it! Let him continue to destroy everything at the Rabbit Hole?"

"You are a trained police officer, Emma, and I know that punching a criminal, resisting arrest or not, is police brutality—"

"You weren't there, you don't know what went down! It was either his face or mine!" Emma breathed out heavily and shook her head, not knowing why Regina was yelling at her and while she knew that she shouldn't have gone about it that way, her anger had gotten to the better of her in the moment. Just as it was getting to her now. "His own fucking lawyer knows that when he tries to press those charges against me that they won't stick and that Mendell will be charged with breaking and entering, property damage, not to mention two counts of assaulting an officer."

"You were being reckless, Emma! I had thought you knew better than that!"

Emma scoffed. "Are you fucking scolding me?"

"Do not use that language in my house!"

"Do not tell me what to fucking do!" Emma screamed right back at her and she was stunned into silence by a hard slap across her face. Emma laughed angrily as she backed away from Regina. "Right. You did not just do that to me."

"Emma—"

"I need to go."

"Emma—"

Emma was already out the door and slammed it hard behind her. She climbed into the Bug and angry tears burned in her eyes as she hit the gas, the tires squealing as she drove down Mifflin Street. The last thing she expected to happen when she came home was what had just unfolded and while they'd had their petty little disagreements over the past six months, Regina had never slapped her like that.

Unable to calm down, the fire burning through her veins, Emma gunned her foot down on the gas pedal, not knowing where she was going or how far, just knowing she needed to find a way to calm herself down before she went back home later. Much later.

Regina stood in the foyer, her hand tingling as the tears welled in her eyes. She knew the instant she had slapped Emma that she had taken it way too far. She hadn't meant to be so angry with her, but after learning of the incident and then the charges, not to mention that Emma had broken two of her own fingers in the process, the anger just surged up from deep inside of her and she just couldn't shake it. It was made worse when every single one of her phone calls had been ignored on purpose.

"Regina?" Henry asked from behind her quietly. "Regina, are you okay?"

"Henry, oh my—" Regina clamped a hand over her mouth when she realized he had to have heard absolutely everything that had happened. "Henry, I—"

"Where'd my mom go?"

"She left."

"Oh," he frowned. "She does that when she gets mad sometimes, but usually she just goes to the bedroom and slams the door and doesn't come out for a few hours."

"She just left," Regina whispered, staring straight ahead and not down at Henry. "What if she doesn't come back home tonight?"

"She will."

"Are you certain?"

Henry nodded and tentatively took a step closer to her. "She just needs to cool off."

"I never meant to—"

"I know," Henry said as he placed a warm hand on Regina's arm. "She knows too, or she will once she's not as angry anymore."

"I hit her," Regina whispered quietly and it felt like a slap to her own face. "I never meant to hit her, Henry, I swear to you—"

"Regina, hey, it's okay. I know that you didn't mean to hit her. People get angry sometimes and they say and do things they regret later," he said gently. "She'll forgive you. I know she will. She loves you too much to stay mad at you, even if you did hit her."

"It's wrong, I never should've—"

Henry cut her off, not with words but with a tight hug that rendered her silent in an instant. When he let her go, he didn't say a word as he retreated upstairs to his bedroom. Regina was shaking as the tears wracked through her body, her stomach twisting into knots as she nearly ran up the stairs and into the bedroom. She sat on the edge of the bed heavily, the tears flowing as she stared down at the hand she had slapped Emma with.

How could she have ever laid a hand on her like that? How could she have reacted in such a way that made her run off? They had fought before, but never like this, never as bad as this and never to the point where Emma walked out on her.

Just over a week was all it had taken for them to start fighting and it was something that Regina had feared would happen deep down inside, one way or another. They weren't accustomed to living with each other and as good as things had been, just that very morning she had that feeling that it was about to come crashing apart for both of them.

One hour turned into two, two turned into three and Emma still hadn't come home. In that time, Regina had made sure that Henry got something to eat for dinner and after she reminded him to wash up and do his homework afterwards, she returned to the bedroom, kicked off her heels and curled up on the bed, the tears still flowing as she buried her face into Emma's pillow.

Emma pulled into the driveway and put the Bug into park, the engine idling as she gripped at the steering wheel with her uninjured hand. She'd spent hours driving around Storybrooke and after getting lost in an area she wasn't familiar with, she had finally calmed down enough to go home.

Now she was worried about how Regina was going to react when she walked through the front door. Was she still angry or was she upset that she'd walked away like that? Emma was almost afraid to go inside, but she knew she had to suck it up because this was home now and her son was inside, probably already in bed, and her fiancée was probably worried sick. Sucking it up, Emma turned off the engine and climbed out of the Bug, moving quickly along the path to the front door and she let herself inside and out of the bitter chill that hung in the night air.

Almost every light was off on the main floor, save for the one that usually stayed on in the foyer at night. Emma put her boots and jacket in the closet and quietly ascended up the stairs. She went to Henry's room first, tapping on the closed door lightly before opening it.

"Hey," Emma said quietly, leaning up against the frame. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Shouldn't you be talking to Regina instead of me?" Henry asked from his desk, keeping his back to Emma as he flipped through his math practice book. "She's upset."

"Yeah well, so am I, kid."

"You made her cry."

Emma frowned at that. She didn't know what else to say to him, but she did know without having him tell her that he'd heard their fight earlier. Emma sighed as she looked down at her taped fingers, wincing slightly as she moved to cradle her right arm with her left hand, the pain in her broken fingers throbbing in time to the beat of her heart.

"She's been in her room almost the whole time. She only came out to make me a couple of sandwiches for dinner and she went right back in there. She hasn't come out since. I think she's in there crying because you left."

"Look—"

"It's fine, Mom, just go fix it. I'll go to bed as soon as I finish one more question, okay?"

This time he turned to look at her and Emma nodded, whispering good night before she shut the door. Taking a deep breath, Emma turned on her heels and walked down the hallway to their bedroom. She paused and listened carefully for a moment, not hearing anything, and she opened the door slowly. She walked into the dark room, stopping herself from turning on the bedside lamp after she'd shut the door behind her.

She could now just faintly hear the sobs coming from Regina, who she could see curled up on the bed with her back to her. Emma shakily ran her left hand through her hair before kneeling on the bed and moving to lay behind her, wrapping an arm around her as she pulled her in close.

"I'm sorry," Regina whimpered quietly. "I am so sorry, darling. I don't know what came over me and I should never have slapped you, not for any reason what so ever."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not okay. I hit you, Emma."

"It was just a slap, Gina. You were pissed at me, I was pissed at you. Heat of the moment, I get it. I know you didn't mean it."

"It's still wrong."

"Regina?" Emma asked softly and she let her turn around in her arms. As her eyes adjusted more to the dark room, she placed her left hand on Regina's cheek. "Why were you so angry when I came home? I mean, aside from the obvious?"

"I worry about you every minute you are at work. I worry that something is going to happen to you and I cannot stomach the thought that the Sheriff will show up here one day and tell me—tell me that something has happened to you, that you're either in the hospital or dead."

Emma kissed her softly and wiped at her damp cheek with her thumb. "Nothing is going to happen to me," she said even though they both knew she couldn't make that promise stick, not when she was a police officer. "Besides, this is Storybrooke. Aside from what happened today, what's the worst that can happen?"

Emma knew she'd just jinxed herself, but she was only trying to calm Regina down. She felt her trembling and she kissed her again, her lips lingering just a little longer than the last kiss.

"You're hurt," Regina said softly. "You broke two fingers punching that man. Your face—"

"He got the worse end of the deal."

"Believe me, I am well aware of that fact."

"Regina, I really don't want to fight about this again," Emma sighed and she dropped her hand from Regina's cheek and placed it on the small spot on the bed between them. "I'll deal with this and his empty threats of charges he sent a two-bit lawyer to threaten me with. The guy is going to jail, Regina, and his charges aren't going to—"

"We can't be sure of that."

"I'm sure of it," Emma countered. "Sure, it was unorthodox for me to hit him like that, but he was highly intoxicated and I couldn't subdue him. Graham was knocked out and with no one else to back me up, I had to do what needed to be done. This thing goes to court, no judge is going to rule in favour of the criminal."

Regina sighed shakily, placing a hand over Emma's uninjured one. "Nothing like this has ever happened before," she said and she shook her head slightly. "And I've never been as worried about you than I have been today nor have I ever been so upset as I have been since you walked out on me."

"Did you think that I wasn't going to come back or something?"

"Maybe not tonight."

"I just needed some time to calm down and cool off, Regina."

"I know. Henry made sure that I was well aware of that earlier as well," Regina replied and Emma found herself smiling just a little at how caring her son was. "He's a bright boy, Emma. You've done a wonderful job raising him to have such a caring, loving soul. I do not know how I would've gotten through the last couple of hours if he hadn't said what he did to me after you left."

Emma wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in close, careful to manoeuvre her injured hand carefully to avoid being crushed between them. She ran her left hand up and down Regina's back, feeling her tremble a little more before she started to relax in her embrace, bit by bit.

"I never should've hit you, darling."

"It's okay, Regina. I told you I already forgive you for doing that."

"It was wrong of me to."

"You were angry. People always say and do things they regret when they're angry."

"He told me that too."

Emma smiled a little and she pulled out Regina's dress shirt that was tucked into her pants and slid her hand under, splaying her palm over the warm, smooth skin of her lower back. It was something she had learned many, many years ago that soothed Regina if she was upset.

"We're going to be okay?" Emma asked, their noses nuzzling gently. "Gina?"

"Yes, darling, we're going to be okay."

"Couples fight all the time."

"I suppose that is true."

"Couples make up after fighting all the time too," Emma chuckled, just faintly feeling Regina's lips brush against her and felt the smile that was curling over her lips ever so slowly. "The situation with Mendell is fucked up right now, I know that it is. It'll blow over quickly, I promise."

"I trust that you'll take care of it in a professional manner."

"Pretty sure it's not appropriate to be cuddling with my boss," Emma chuckled and her eyes went wide. "Wait, you are my boss, aren't you?"

"Technically yes, I am, but here at home I am just Regina."

"This isn't an issue or anything is it?"

"If anyone on the town council has a problem with that, they can…" Regina trailed off and Emma chuckled throatily.

"Suck it?"

"I shouldn't have to remind you that I don't have a dick, dear."

"No, because we keep it in the drawer that locks up and technically, I'm the one who wears it more often than not."

"Emma…"

Rolling her eyes, she planted a soft kiss on Regina's smiling lips. "Seriously, if anyone has a problem with us, we'll deal with that too, okay?"

"I truly am sorry for overreacting, Emma."

"It was our first fight."

"We've argued before," Regina said gently.

"But we never screamed at each other like that before," Emma added and she sighed and rubbed over Regina's back gently but firmly. "We were bound to fight about something sooner or later, Gina. We're engaged and we live together. It's different now." Emma paused and thought for a moment, never wanting to fight with Regina like that again. "Can you tell me how I can ease your worries when it comes to my job?"

"I don't think I'll ever stop worrying."

"I'm good at what I do. Guys like Mendell, they get stronger and explode easier with drunken rage. Always had Booth to have my back when I faced guys like that back in the city. Guys like Mendell in a town like this are rare, this I know. I'll be back to chasing after teenage taggers and rescuing cats before you know it."

"I suppose you are right," Regina sighed. "But what if he'd made a grab for your gun, Emma? What if he had shot you?"

Emma paused and frowned, her forehead creasing with worry. Regina didn't know that she'd been shot before or stabbed in the gut by a homeless man and Regina had never asked her about the scars no matter how many times her fingers or lips would run over them. She knew then that if Regina ever found out she'd kept something like that from her, she was going to be so livid that she would end up nailing her to a cross or kill her or both—figuratively speaking. It wasn't lying, not exactly. There were some things she knew she had to keep from her or she'd worry a hell of a lot more than she already did.

"He didn't," Emma said after a moment. "Thankfully."

"What if he did, I—"

"He didn't even make a move for my gun. He didn't shoot me, so there's no reason to think of the what ifs when the outcome is completely different," Emma sighed. "I know you worry and I love that you care so much about me that you worry about me when I am at work all the time, but you don't need to. Storybrooke is nothing like New York. I know that you know this. This is your town after all, isn't it?"

Regina nodded and let out a deep breath, moving to nuzzle their noses together once more before capturing Emma's lips in a sweet, sensual kiss. After a few moments of losing themselves in each other, Regina was the one who broke away from the kiss with a sudden jolt.

"Couples fight all the time and make up," Regina stated.

"Yeah?" Emma said curiously. "We covered that already—"

"I also happen to know that it's a fact that make up sex happens to be a part of it."

"I really love the way you think sometimes…"