Regina knew she should be in a terrible state after the events of the past two days, but she felt a sense of closure after her conversation with Emma. That, coupled with Mal's continuing presence, had resulted in a sense of relaxation she hadn't experienced in a long time. She was using her newfound energy to pack her suitcase when a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

Well, more of a bang, actually. A pounding? Regina didn't really know how to describe the noise that was currently happening on her stateroom door. She crossed to the door and opened it to find a furious Emma Swan.

Emma strode in, brushing past Regina. "Where the hell do you get off?" she demanded.

Regina stood in the empty doorway. "Please, come right in," she said dryly, shutting the door.

"Oh, don't give me that," Emma started, but she was interrupted by the sound of water running in the bathroom.

"Mal," she said as the blonde came out of the bathroom.

"Swan," replied Mal, lips twitching.

"Are you two joined at the hip or something?" Emma demanded.

"Hardly," Mal replied, eyes trained on Regina, making sure she was ok. At the brunette's nod, Mal turned to go. As she reached for the doorknob, she turned and looked at Emma.

"Swan," she said softly. "It's good to see you again."

Emma nodded and Mal left to go back to her own room.

"She knows, doesn't she?"

Regina hesitated, then sighed. "Yes," she said.

"God damn it, Regina."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry."

"You know Regina, maybe you should try not doing things you need to apologize for, for a change."

Regina's eyes flashed, but she didn't take the bait. "What can I do for you, Emma?" Despite her best efforts, she could hear the irritation in her voice as her sense of calm began to evaporate.

"I want you to tell me who the hell you think you are that you can just jump back into my life like this and then jump right back out again? Why do you always get to be the one to make that decision?"

Thoroughly confused, Regina decided to remain silent, rather than jump to conclusions.

"Say something, damn it!"

"Emma, I truly don't know what you want me to say here. After this morning, I thought you wanted me gone."

"I do!"

"I'm leaving, Emma. Either later today or tomorrow. I promise."

"Not like this," Emma shoved her hair out of her eyes and paced the room. "I didn't get to say anything I need to say before you decided you are just going to up and leave without asking me what I want."

Regina's eyes widened in understanding. "Emma…..if you have something to say, please say it. I'll listen, I promise."

"Would you please quit being so fucking reasonable?!" Emma was clearly frustrated, but Regina had no idea why.

"What do you want from me, Emma?"

"I want you to yell or something. I want to know how you're really feeling! I want you to fucking get angry, like you used to."

Regina was thoroughly confused now. "You want me to get angry?" she asked, to be sure. At Emma's emphatic nod, she shook her head. "But I don't feel angry, Emma. Why is it so important to you that you piss me off?"

Emma did not respond at first, just continued to pace the room frantically. Regina watched her movements in growing concern. She knew the blonde had trouble sitting still, especially when her stress was high, as it clearly was now. But right now, it looked as though Emma wanted to jump right off the ship and it scared Regina to death.

"You need to get angry, because how else am I supposed to know that I am worth it?" she whispered.

The heartbreaking realization dawned as she recalled their conversation from the previous day. Someone wise told me once that some things weren't worth the effort.

Regina swallowed hard and forced anger she did not feel into her voice. "Why are you here?" she winced at the sound of her own voice. "What do you want from me?"

You're worth everything, Emma. Even how awful I am going to feel for doing this.

"I want you to tell me why you did it," Emma raged, eyes darker than Regina could ever remember seeing. "I want you to tell me why the hell you let me walk out the door that day."

"Let you walk out the door? Emma, you ran out that door! Do you have any idea how long I searched for you?"

Emma's sudden appearance two inches from her face was legitimately intimidating, but Regina forced herself to remain still. If it was a fight Emma wanted, it was a fight she was going to get, and pretty soon she wouldn't be faking her anger.

"Do you have any idea how it felt standing there, knowing you didn't believe me?"

"Of course, I believed you! For god's sake, Emma, it was so obvious what happened that I couldn't have denied it even if I wanted to. Which I didn't, by the way. Do you have any idea how it felt to come home after working all night to find the person I love most in the world standing there shaking, dried blood on their face, only to have them run out the door before I could process what happened?"

Emma could no longer control the tears running down her face. "Why the fuck did you have to come back?" she cried. "Why couldn't you leave me the hell alone? You broke my heart and then you come waltzing here with your perfect fucking face and your gorgeous voice and your amazing kisses and fuck me up all over again."

"You want to know why I'm here?" Regina demanded. "I'll tell you why! You just disappeared and it…it broke me. All I could think about was seeing you again, getting you to understand how sorry I was. Jesus, Emma, do you have any idea how many USO concerts I have done, hoping to run into you?"

Emma reeled back in shock. "You said you didn't know I joined the military," she whispered.

"Yes, well, I lied, Emma. I guess I'll just add it to the list of things I have to apologize for."

"I don't want your fucking apologies!" Emma screamed at her. "You married my fucking rapist!" and just like that, the wind was taken out of Regina's sails. Fake or not, she simply did not have it in her to fight anymore.

"I did. I know I did, and Emma, that is the reason I didn't want to have this discussion. At the end of the day, I am at fault here. Nothing we say or do will ever change the fact that I betrayed you in a way that is unforgivable. I have only one thing left to offer you and that is a life free of me. Please, Emma, let me give you that." She was actually begging, but Emma was already shaking her head.

"No," she said. "You don't get off that easy. See, I still want you in my life and you don't get to decide otherwise."

"Why? Why do you still want me in your life?"

"Because, Regina," she said. "I know there is more to you marrying Leo than you are telling me. That's the reason I came here tonight, because I was hoping you would finally tell me the truth about what happened."

Regina sighed. "You already know what happened. I let my mother take over my life and when she accepted Leo's proposal on my behalf, I didn't argue. My career was the only thing I had left, and I decided it meant more to me than sparing you more pain. That's it, Emma. That's the whole story."

"Right. Except it's not. I know that it's not."

"Emma," she said, taking the blonde's hands and drawing them both down to sit on the bed. "I love you. I have loved you since the day you changed my tire in the freezing rain, and it is extremely likely that I will love you until the day that I die. There is literally nothing in this entire universe I wouldn't do for you."

Emma opened her mouth to speak, but Regina kept going. "Except for this. Whatever it is you think you know about what happened between myself and Leo, it is just an excuse. You are asking me to abdicate responsibility of the pain I inflicted on you and I cannot do that, even if it is only a small part and even if I am abdicating it to Leo. Please, Emma, I am begging you, if you ever cared about me at all, please do not ask me to do this."

"I don't get it. Why are you protecting him?"

"That's not what I'm doing. What Leo did was horrific and beyond the pale. But he was a monster and it is relatively easy to decide not to give a monster the power to destroy you. He isn't the one who broke you, Emma. He isn't the one who broke us. I am the one you trusted, and I am the one that broke that trust. Leo may have been the arrow, but I was the one holding the bow."

"Well, I think you are giving yourself too much credit, Regina."

"I usually do, dear." And for a split second the tension broke, and the women grinned at each other.

"Diva."

"Peasant."

"You used that one already."

"Well, it appears I am losing my touch."

Emma sighed and stood up. "I need to go. If I stay, we're going to end up in bed together, and that absolutely cannot happen." For a moment, she just stood still and enjoyed the sight of the always composed Regina Mills completely at a loss for words.

"Wait, what?"

"You think you're the only one that is still in lo- that still has feelings? It is so frustrating. Every single thing you said is true and I should hate you for all of it. But I can't help it, when I am in the same room as you, all I want to do is kiss you senseless. So, I need to go before we do something I regret."

Regina stood as well and walked Emma to the door of her stateroom. "The ball is entirely in your court, Emma. If you say the word, I will leave tomorrow, and you will never see or hear from me again. But if you want me in your life, you need to tell me exactly what you want, because I cannot cause you pain again. We are going to do whatever you want."

Emma attempted a smile, though she knew it looked more like a grimace. "Do you have a pen and paper?"

"Of course. Somewhere. Hang on, let me check my purse." When she turned her back on the blonde, she took a couple of steadying breaths. Her sense of closure was completely destroyed, replaced by something that felt suspiciously like hope. She didn't like the power that feeling held over her.

"Here you go." She handed the paper over to Emma who scribbled something down and handed it back to her. Regina glanced down at the paper, then looked up again, confused.

"It's my email address. It's the most reliable way to get reach me while the ship is out to sea." This time, the smile felt a bit more natural. "Clearly, talking in person is a bad idea, for so many reasons. But I'm not ready to give you up." She shrugged. "You said the ball was in my court, but I'm punting it back to you, Regina. If you email me, I'll answer."

She waited for a response, but Regina was too busy staring at the piece of paper in wonder. She reached over, took the brunette's hand and put it on her own cheek. Regina looked up in shock.

"You've been dying to do that since you got here, haven't you?" and Regina did not have it in her to deny it.

"I'm not going to come back to see you before you leave."

"I know." She lowered her hand from Emma's face.

"Good-bye, Regina," was all she said before she left, closing the door behind her.