At five AM, Regina gave up and went downstairs. She was exhausted. Had a thumping headache. But she couldn't sleep. Her mind was scrambling. Her thoughts were swirling. Going in circles and getting absolutely nowhere. It was terribly frustrating. And it was even more frustrating to lie in a darkened bedroom without being able to sleep. So of course she gave up and went downstairs.

Downstairs, she drifted around aimlessly, unable to find rest. All she could think about was Liam. And the mission that hopefully would mean the end of his reign of terror. She thought about Emma. Thought about her tired eyes and the bandage around her hand. Regina felt so guilty. Liam was a part of her baggage. It was not fair that Emma suddenly had to deal with that.

Regina walked back and forward. It felt like her legs were full of ants. She had never felt so restless as she did right now. After coming back from the shooting range yesterday, she had felt a fraction calmer. And a little mortified. She was not a violent person. She never had been. Was not the type to stomp her feet or throw stuff when things didn't go her way. But yesterday at the shooting range, she had imagined all the shadowy figures to be Killian. And she had shot and shot and shot. Every shot directly in the chest. Afterwards, she had been so worried about how calm it had left her, so she had texted Doctor Kristine. She had not seen her therapist in person, but they'd had a good talk through text. Doctor Kristine had assured her that taking out her anger on something was a perfectly normal thing to do.

Regina had felt soothed by that. She had still felt calm when returning home. Calm enough to fabricate a lie to tell her son. That she and Emma were going to the log house to talk things over. It was vague, and Regina couldn't blame her son for looking confused. He had asked whether she and Emma were dating again (so he had known about that) and Regina had ended up nodding. She cursed herself for doing so afterwards. Wasn't sure what had come over her. It had to have been wishful thinking or something like that. Dating Emma was something she really wanted to do, but telling Henry that she WAS dating Emma, was a stupid thing to do. Because she had no idea what would happen after Liam was captured. There was a very good chance that Emma would decide that this was all too much. That she couldn't do this.

Regina wouldn't blame her. If she was Emma, she'd probably walk away to.

And if Emma decided to walk away, Regina would have to tell Henry that they were not dating anymore. Again. She really should not have told him that she and Emma were dating again. She shouldn't have let her inner most thoughts bleed through. That sort of thing only lead to heartbreak.

Regina continued to walk back and forward. She couldn't find rest anywhere. She wouldn't be able to find rest until Liam Jones had been put away for good. She pinched the spot between her thumb and index finger again.

Breakfast that morning was an exceptional quiet affair. Henry was sleeping in because it was the weekend, but Zelena was up early. She had set the table for breakfast. Regina wasn't completely sure why, though. None of them were eating anything. It felt like her stomach was full of bubbles. Coffee was the only thing she could handle.

And Zelena looked positively nauseous. And pale. Her eyes looked too big for her face. Her freckles stood out in contrast to her pale skin, and Regina felt worried about her. It took her back to the time she'd spent in the psychiatric ward. Zelena had looked like that every single day.

"You'll text me regularly, right?" Zelena asked.

Regina immediately nodded. It was the third time Zelena asked her, and under normal circumstances, Regina would have gotten annoyed. But not today.

"As often as you possibly can," Zelena continued. "I need to know what's going on all the time. And you have to text me as soon as the police has Liam." She took it for granted that the plan wouldn't succeed.

So did Regina. She had all the faith in the world in Graham and his officers. They would keep her and Emma safe. And if it came to a confrontation, Regina would have her gun ready. And she would not hesitate to do to Liam what she had done to those silhouette mans at the shooting range. If it came to a life-or-death situation, Regina would do what was necessary.

Regina nodded to assure her sister that she would of course give regular updates. Then she lifted her hands. 'I know that today is going to be scary, but can you try to make it look like everything is normal? For Henry's sake.' She knew that she was asking the impossible of Zelena, but it had to be like that. Both of them had to push their feelings aside for Henry's sake. He was still the top priority. And if he got wind that something was wrong, or even worse, if he got wind of what today's 'outing' really was about…. No. That was not even an option.

"I'll do my best," Zelena said quietly. She didn't say anything else. She didn't have to. They both knew that pretending would be more than incredibly straining.

Regina reached out and patted Zelena's hand gently. Both of them had a long and tiring day ahead of them. Both of them would be pushed to their limits. In different ways, but the following exhaustion would be the same.

Regina took another sip of her coffee. She wasn't really enjoying the taste but felt like coffee was the only thing that could get her through this day. This bizarre, nightmare-ish day. God, a month ago she couldn't have imagined being in this situation. She couldn't have imagined that she would want to face Liam Jones voluntarily.

How things could change.

Two hours later, Regina was upstairs, stuffing the last piece of clothes inside the bag she had packed. The prop was necessary if this was going to look authentic. She rubbed the back of her neck where a stubborn, gnawing pain had set in. Not at all comfortable. And undoubtedly the result of her target practice yesterday. She had tensed her shoulders too much.

The door to her room was opened, and Zelena stepped inside. Her face was pinched with concern. "So. You're ready," she said quietly.

Regina nodded. She was indeed ready.

"I don't know if I should say good luck or…" Zelena shifted in the doorway.

'Good luck seems fitting,' Regina signed before zipping her bag.

Zelena sighed. "God, I hate this. I wish I could go with you. I really, really do."

Unfortunately, that was not to be. Zelena's presence would ruin the ruse. It had to be just Regina and Emma. 'The police will take care of us,' she signed, knowing that it was true. But of course that did not stop her from being anxious. She was going to be face to face with Liam Jones. The closest thing to Killian. Their faces and expressions and everything was so similar. It would almost be like being face to face with Killian Jones himself. And Regina honestly did not know how that would make her feel. She did want to look Killian Jones in the eyes someday. When she felt strong enough to do so. Something she wanted to look into his eyes and ask him why. But for now, she would have to settle for looking Liam Jones in the eyes.

She worried about her reaction. What if she vomited as soon as she saw him? Or what if she simply reached within her purse and shot him on sight? Took matters into her own hands.

"What are you thinking about?"

Regina snapped out of it and quickly looked back at her sister. She shrugged slightly in a 'nothing'-manner.

Zelena clearly did not buy that. Her mouth twisted and she was clearly biting the inside of her cheek.

'Regular updates,' Regina signed and smiled at her sister to remind her that she was only a text away.

"Yeah," Zelena murmured. "Regular updates. And the police is there. You'll be okay the whole time."

Regina nodded eagerly to convince them both. Yet she suspected that none of them truly believed it.

"You're so brave. Do you know that?" Zelena said softly.

Regina shrugged again. She would prefer being called brave afterwards. Once this whole thing was over and she could breathe again. When she knew that Liam Jones would never threaten Emma again!

A slight crunching sound in the gravel outside had Regina looking out of the window. The little yellow bug was standing crookedly parked outside, and Regina's first, impulsive feeling was joy. Because she had missed that dear little car. Almost as much as she had missed the woman sitting behind the wheel.

But then she remembered the reason Emma was here. It was time to go.

She turned away from the window and grabbed her bag. Left the room with Zelena right behind her.

Downstairs, she said goodbye to Henry who was seated on the couch with a book in his lap. He sniggered slightly when she kissed the top of his head. "Bye, mom. I hope you'll have a nice time with Emma."

Regina had no idea how she managed to put on a smile for him. But she did. Once again, she pretended for her son. Because she would rather walk on hot coal than having him knowing what was really going on.

'Be good for Zelena,' she signed. 'And remember to get some fresh air.' Reading was good. Reading was healthy. Reading kept the mind young. But fresh air was also extremely healthy.

"I will," Henry said and scrunched up his face as though he couldn't imagine anything worse than getting fresh air.

"Don't worry," Zelena said behind them. "I'll make sure my favorite nephew gets some fresh air. And a snowball straight to the face."

"Aunt Z!" Henry protested and scrunched his face up even more. "That's not fair!"

Regina rumbled with amusement, grateful that Zelena knew how to put on a façade too. Regina knew that Zelena would ace today's challenge. She would succeed in keeping up the lie for Henry's sake.

'I better get going,' Regina signed and felt that fake smile making her cheeks hurt.

"'Kay," Henry said. "Tell Emma I said hi!"

'I'll do that. Have a nice time with your aunt.' Regina kissed the top of his head again and then went into the hallway where she put on her boots and fur collar coat. Because Henry was sitting right inside the living room, she and Zelena could not exchange any words regarding today's 'mission', so Regina settled for flashing her sister a smile, and Zelena murmured a quiet: "get that bastard. And don't forget to text me."

Regina nodded to both and flashed a thumbs-up. Then she left the house with her prop-bag slung across her shoulder. Her purse swinging back and forward. And the gun weighting heavily inside it. Zelena knew that she had been at the shooting range, and she most likely knew that the gun currently was nestled in Regina's purse, but she hadn't addressed it in anyway. Neither had Regina. The gun still didn't feel like hers. It still felt bizarre to be carrying a weapon. She preferred not to talk about it.

She crossed the street. Made it over to the yellow bug and opened the door to the passenger's seat. Climbed inside as elegantly as she could.

"Hey," Emma greeted as Regina placed her bag on the floor. She sounded exactly as squashed as Regina felt.

Regina nodded in greeting.

"Are you ready to do this thing?" if Emma was trying to sound brisk, she was failing miserably. Her voice was laced with anxiety and concern.

And Regina was definitely not 'ready to do this thing'. She reached within her coat pocket and handed Emma the note she had written while in her room. There was only a single word written on the note. 'Tired'. She handed the note to Emma.

"I understand," Emma said softly after having read the note.

Regina reached within her pocket again. Found the second note she had written in her room when the tiredness had overwhelmed her. 'Would you mind if I took a nap during this trip?' she handed that note to Emma as well.

"No, of course not," Emma said immediately. "I've got the route on my phone. You just sleep for as long as you want."

Regina smiled gratefully at that. She carefully buckled her seatbelt and then leaned back in the soft seat and closed her eyes. Her body was already starting to feel heavy, but just as she was surrendering to the comfortable, heavy feeling, loud music suddenly blasted out from the speakers in the radio. Regina flinched and opened her eyes again.

"I'm sorry!" Emma exclaimed and slammed her finger down on the button that would make the loud noise go away. "I'm so sorry."

Regina flashed her a little smile and hoped that would be enough to show Emma that she was not mad. She definitely didn't want Emma to think that. Not when Emma already seemed so sheepish. Regina felt a twang of guilt when she remembered that she was the one who had brought them in this situation. Liam was her mess, and somehow Emma had gotten involved in that mess. She did not deserve that.

But the thing was, neither did Regina. She didn't deserve what Liam was doing. She knew that. Knew that Liam was the one at fault and not her.

Regina shifted discreetly in her seat. Felt the weight of her purse in her lap. Felt the weight of the gun inside her purse. Perhaps it was crazy of her to bring the gun. What would Emma think if she knew that Regina had a gun inside her purse? Maybe she would get afraid. Regina wouldn't blame her. Guns was a serious thing, and as she sat there and felt the weight of the gun in her purse, she decided that she would only bring it out if it was absolutely necessary. She was not gonna flaunt it around for Emma to see. In fact it would be better if Emma didn't know of the gun's existence at all...

Regina woke. A bit confused at first, but then remembering where she was. She was in the car. Somewhere on the road. She looked around. It was some kind of rest-area in the middle of nowhere. Regina blinked disorientated. Where were they? She didn't recognize this place at all. She turned her head and found Emma sitting next to her. At least that had not changed. Emma was still here. That was good, but Regina still felt slightly disorientated as to where they were.

"Hey," Emma said softly and flashed Regina a little smile.

Regina still felt fairly disorientated. She had just woken up from a very realistic dream. It was one she'd had many times before. Running up the stairs. But not with anybody running after her. Instead running into her old bedroom in Montreal and grabbing a bag containing everything she owned. Running back downstairs. Grabbing her car keys and storming out of the house, leaving the door wide open. Jumping inside her car and accelerating out of the driveway so the tires squeals and the gravel crunches. Driving out onto the main road, and suddenly Henry is there with her. Sitting in the passenger's seat. Reaching out and taking her hand. Smilingly beamingly while proclaiming: "everything will be good now". And off they're driving into the sunset.

Yes, Regina had dreamed of her escape many, many times. The dreams always felt so realistic. And every time she woke up and felt utterly devastated that things had not turned out that way.

They could have.

If only she hadn't been stupid enough to stay until Killian arrived home.

If only she hadn't been idiotic enough to assume that they could talk it over and he magically would understand how she felt.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"You've been asleep for three hours. We still have an hour left of the journey," Emma casually told her, and Regina was mortified. Three hours?! God, she was only supposed to take a quick nap! Not be dead to the world for three hours! Emma had been driving to an unknown destination, nervous and scared, and Regina had been asleep instead of showing Emma support and letting her know that they were in this together.

She clearly couldn't do anything right when it came to Emma Swan.

Regina shook herself at herself.

"It's fine," Emma said sweetly. "Totally. I reckoned that you needed to sleep."

Regina nodded. Indeed. But not for three HOURS.

"I just needed a quick coffee break," Emma said and lifted a cup as evidence. "What about you? Do you want a cup too?"

Yes. She would very much like a cup of coffee. It would appear that she needed it. Regina nodded.

Emma roamed around for a moment and then found a second cup underneath her seat. She poured Regina a cup of coffee and then handed the said cup to her with a soft: "here you go."

Regina quickly accepted the cup of coffee. Took a sip. Mmm. It was a good coffee. Very strong. But that was only positive. She clearly needed to wake up. She flashed Emma a smile. One that was promptly returned. And tenfold. Seeing Emma smile made a tiny flicker of something swirl around in her stomach, but now was not the time nor the place. Right now there were more important things to think about. Like lunch. Regina was getting hungry. And perhaps Emma was too? She should definitely ask her.

She opened her purse and cleverly shielded the gun from Emma's view as she found the two tin foiled sandwiches, she had made earlier that day. Then she turned her head and made eye contact with Emma. Mouthed the word: 'hungry?' and hoped that Emma understood that she was asking her.

And she did. She eyed the tin foiled wrapped sandwich as she said: "Yeah." She actually did look a bit hungry.

Regina handed her the sandwich. She was glad she had made two. Perhaps she fell asleep in the car and left the anxious driver to her own devices but sandwiches she could make.

"Thank you," Emma said as she took the sandwich. She took a large bite, and Regina couldn't help but noticing the look on her face. Emma looked like the sandwich was the answer to all her prayers, and for a moment Regina was a bit amused. It was just ham and cheese. Nothing special. But she stopped feeling amused when she studied the look in Emma's eyes a bit more carefully. She got a feeling that this was not just about the sandwich. It was more about that someone had MADE her a sandwich. Regina frowned. Was Emma not used to anyone making her a sandwich? Thinking of her? Including her? That made Regina feel sad.

She dug into her sandwich and winced at the way her throat ached. She was not surprised that it hurt today. Of course her PTSD was in full force. But she was not going to let it win today. She made sure to take sips of coffee in between each bite to soften the food. It sounded disgusting, but it actually worked quite well.

Emma didn't take long to empty her first cup of coffee. When she poured herself a second cup, she held the thermos out towards Regina. But Regina shook her head. She was not quite ready for a second cup.

She couldn't help but observe Emma as she drank her coffee. And it didn't take long before her gaze landed on Emma's bandaged hand. She remembered the note she had written earlier when she could not sleep and was driving herself crazy with worry. She reached within her purse (avoiding showing the gun) and found the note ('is your hand doing better?'). Gave it to Emma.

Emma sat her cup down in the cupholder and took the note. She looked at it. Frowned. "My ha-" she didn't finish the sentence but looked down at her bandaged hand. "Oh." She turned her head and looked at Regina.

Regina did nothing to hide that she was looking at Emma's bandaged hand. She felt absolutely terrible that Emma had been injured. Couldn't even begin to imagine how scared Emma had to have been when that brick was thrown through her window. And then Liam's disgusting phone call afterwards.

"My hand is absolutely fine," Emma said firmly. It sounded like she was trying to convince both of them.

Regina was not convinced that easily. She lifted an eyebrow.

"It is," Emma insisted. "Seriously. It's just a small cut."

Now Regina felt the skin between her eyes tighten as she frowned. But she didn't want to argue with Emma. If she said that her hand was fine, Regina would just have to accept that. Accept it but not necessarily believe that it was true. She turned her head and looked out of the window. It seemed impolite to keep staring at Emma's hand. It put irrelevant thoughts and ideas into her head. Such as wanting to take Emma's hand and carefully inspect every inch of it to make sure that she was really fine.

Stop it, she thought to herself. They were on their way to capture the man who was stalking Emma. Because of Regina. She was the one responsible for this whole mess. Her thoughts about Emma was completely inappropriate.

"Are you ready to continue in a sec?" Emma asked as she downed the rest of her coffee.

Regina snapped out of it and nodded. She quickly emptied her cup of coffee and ate the rest of her sandwich. Her appetite was still not a hundred percent good, but she had managed to eat the sandwich. That was an achievement.

"Great," Emma said as she started the engine once more. "It's probably best to just get there, yeah?"

Regina nodded in agreement and lifted her head. But then she remembered that Emma could not understand Sign Language. Oops. But at least signing was coming easier to her. She supposed that was a good thing. Since it couldn't be any different. She was definitely not going to use her voice again. Was still slightly embarrassed that Emma had heard her pathetic little voice in the station yesterday. Regina was glad she had not slept last night. Otherwise she probably would have had nightmares about her voice. She hated it. Hated the silly little voice the attack had left her with.

"Right. Let's get going then," Emma announced as she started the engine again. She sounded like she was trying to be brisk, but Regina could easily spot the anxiety. She knew when someone was faking being something they were not.

The journey continued, and Regina thought of the last time she had been on this road. And the state she had been in. She had been obsessed with driving. Obsessed with getting away as quickly as possible. The log house had always been her safe place. It had been the last time too. Regina wondered whether Liam's presence would taint the place for good, or if she would be able to move past that.

Killian had been in the log house too. But not many times. He hadn't liked it. Had called it a primitive place. And he had pushed to make Regina sell it.

Regina was glad she hadn't. The log house was her place. Her haven. She had refused to let Killian taint the place. So perhaps she wouldn't let Liam taint the place either.

A slight shifting brought her back to reality. She glanced at Emma. She was the one who was shifting slightly in her seat. It occurred to her that Emma had been driving for a long time. It was very possible that she was tired of driving.

Regina reached out and tapped the wheel lightly without interfering with Emma's driving. When Emma glanced at her, Regina pointed to herself and then tapped the wheel lightly once more. She hoped that Emma would understand her clumsy attempt at communication. It was quite restrictive, not being able to use Sign Language. Not that she was an expert in it, but still.

"No, it's okay. I don't mind driving," Emma said. So she did understand.

Regina raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure," Emma said.

Regina frowned, but still nodded. Again, she would not argue with Emma.

"I used to take long drives when I lived in Toronto," Emma told her. "Sometimes taking road trips was the only thing that kept me sane."

Regina nodded. She more than understood that. Thought back to her mad drive again. Everything had just piled up in her head, and driving had indeed been the only thing keeping her sane. Focusing on the destination had prevented her from loosing it completely. She turned her head and looked out of the window. Tried not to think of anything except for the road stretching out in front of them. She didn't want to think about Liam and how she would come face to face with him again after it had been such a long time. Would she even be capable of looking him in the eyes? Or would she leave the room the moment she saw him? She hoped not. She genuinely wanted to look him in the eyes. She didn't want to be afraid of him. He was not worth her fear. And she wanted him to know that. More than anything, she wanted him to know that. She wanted to be brave. Not flinch when he looked at her. Because he was going to look at her. She was the one he wanted revenge on. Not Emma….

One hour later, they parked in front of the log house. Regina glanced at the little house through the window. It looked like itself. Untouched. All hers.

"Is this it?" Emma asked.

Regina was pulled out of her thoughts and nodded. Yes, this was indeed it."

"Wow. Alright them. We made it on time."

Regina nodded again and opened the door. Despite the severity of the situation, it made her feel happy that Emma liked this place. She wanted Emma to like this place as much as she did.

Emma followed her outside. They grabbed all their bags and then went towards the porch. Regina pushed the door open. It was not locked. Of course not. Graham was already here. The unlocked door was not something to be alarmed by. Not at all.

They were greeted by Graham when they stepped inside the hall. "There you are," he said, smilingly faintly at both of them. "Did the journey go okay?"

"Yup," Emma said, stuffing her hands inside her pockets. Regina wondered if she was trying to play it cool.

"No followers?" Graham asked as a wrinkle between his eyebrows appeared.

Regina shook her head as Emma said 'no'. No followers. At least none that they knew of.

"Excellent," Graham said. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I'll just go upstairs and inform my officers that you guys arrived safe and sound." With that he turned around and went up the wooden staircase.

Emma seemed to be looking around in the log house. She was clearly impressed, Regina could see that. And it made her happy that Emma liked the log house. But Regina found herself to be struggling. The last time she had been here, she had dulled her feelings in alcohol, but there was no dulling now. No way to escape. And being here with Emma, triggered Regina's memories and took her back to the times she had been here with Killian. The first time he had been here, he had called the place 'charming', and Regina had believed him. But the other times…. They had spent most of it in the bedroom, doing things that Regina had felt compelled to say yes to. She had feared the consequences if she said no.

And now she couldn't stop thinking about it. She flicked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Are you alright?"

Regina instinctively shook her head at the question. Then she retrieved her phone from her pocket and began writing a message. She wanted to be honest with Emma. 'This place used to hold a lot of good memories for me. I've been coming here ever since I was a little girl, but now I can only think of all the times my ex-fiancé and I were here. It's like he's still here, somehow. At least the memory of him.' She looked at the words and wondered if some small, repressed part of her was somehow feeling guilty for being here with Emma. Was there some small, damaged part of her that still felt loyal to Killian Jones?

Perhaps.

Because he had manipulated her into thinking that she needed him. That he was the answer to all her prayers.

Before she could delve too far deep into that forgotten corner of herself, Regina turned the screen towards Emma who slowly came closer and bowed her head to read the message. Upon having read it, she looked up. Green eyes looking into chocolate brown ones. "Regina, I…"

But Regina shook her head. Didn't want Emma to feel sorry for her. She lifted her hand and patted Emma's once. Then tapped on her phone again. 'There is a guestroom upstairs where you can put your stuff. I think it's best if we put our things away. Makes it seem more authentic. Just go upstairs and turn left. Then you'll find the guestroom.' They were on a mission, after all. There was no time for feelings. She turned the screen towards Emma and let her read.

"Right," Emma said, grabbing her duffel bag and slowly trotting up the stairs.

Regina waited for a moment to be sure that she wasn't hot on Emma's tail, and then she too went upstairs.

Inside the guestroom, she methodically emptied her bag and put the clothes away in the little dresser. She wasn't quite sure why. It was not like she was going to stay here for a long time. Perhaps it was her survival mood kicking in. When things got rough, Regina got effective. Overly effective.

It didn't take long to unpack, and Regina sat down on the edge of her bed and closed her eyes for a moment. Despite the nap in the car, she was still tired. And she still had a massive headache. She should probably do something about that. She reached inside the pocket of her coat which was now draped over a chair and found her little bottle of headache pills. Then she grabbed her bottle of water. She downed two tablets with lots of water and cringed because it pulled at the stiches in her throat. With that taken care of, there was nothing she'd want more than to take a nap. But she wasn't gonna give in to the urge. Not today. Not when she already had slept once and left Emma to her own devices. Emma was nervous. Emma was frightened. Regina wanted to be there for her. HAD to be there for her. She couldn't just go to sleep in her bed and pretend that this was not her business. It was VERY much her business.

She tried to push the wave of exhaustion out of her system and listened instead. The creaking told her that Emma had left her room and was in the library now. She was probably scouring the shelves. Regina hoped that she would like the library.

While Emma creaked about in the library, Regina took the opportunity to send a text to Zelena. To let her know that they had arrived safe and sound. Zelena responded by asking her how she was feeling. Regina texted back that she was doing okay, considering the situation and all. To which Zelena reminded her that she wanted regular updates. Regina promised her to give her just that.

Another creak told her that Emma had returned to her room. After a moment, Regina stood from the bed. It would be appropriate for her to peer into the blonde's room and check how she was doing.

She went into the hallway and saw the half open door. So Emma was in the guest room. Regina did not mean to pry. But the door was half open. And Emma was sitting on her bed. It was impossible not to get a glimpse of her. And what Regina saw, made her heart beat faster for reasons that had nothing to do with fear.

Emma was sitting on her bed, book in her lap. But it was what she was doing with her hands that caught Regina's attention.

Emma was wiggling her fingers in the air in a very particular manner. Then mumbling to herself: "no, that's not right."

Regina's breath caught. Was Emma…. Was Emma trying to learn Sign Language? Really? How…. Extraordinary.

Regina's heart swelled in her chest. She was. Emma WAS trying to learn Sign Language. She was trying to understand Regina. That was….

Regina had to swallow thickly. Emma was trying to learn Sign Language. If that wasn't a sign, Regina didn't know what was.

Emma trying to understand her meant that she could see an 'after'. That she too had hope that after Liam had been caught…. They could continue to see one another. Emma's feelings had not changed.

Everything, her behavior and the things she said had been an indicator of that, but now Regina felt even more sure.

Perhaps it truly could be the two of them.

Perhaps there was still hope.

Hope for more dates. And maybe more… kissing.

Regina should like that. She would like to kiss Emma again. In time.

She stood stock-still in the doorway and observed as Emma wiggled her fingers. She was actually doing a fairly decent job.

The feelings that had been bubbling all morning threatened to boil over as she watched Emma wiggle her fingers and tried to communicate in Sign Language.

She was not just 'in the process' of falling for Emma.

She HAD fallen for Emma.

Fallen in love.

God.

Regina licked her dry lips. How was this even possible? She had all but forgotten what love was. 'Love' had become a blurred, twisted thing in her life. 'Love' had been something that had been bestowed upon her when she earned it.

Meaning complying when Killian wanted something specific. Some kind of disgusting act performed in the bedroom in exchange for rare affection and praise like she was some kind of animal.

A twisted deal where she never walked away with the grand price.

But this…

Falling innocently in love with a good woman who had been 'courting' her in the most noble way possible.

Emma wanted nothing from her.

Didn't expect anything from her.

Emma was nothing like the monster whose claws Regina had been in for far too long.

Emma was kind and gentle and wonderful. She was selfless. She was good with Henry. And knowing the truth about Regina had not scared her away.

How was Regina supposed to NOT fall in love with her?

It was impossible.

And there was no way of running away from it.

Regina could feel the great, metaphorical butterfly flap its wings somewhere low in her stomach. But she was not as scared of it as she could have been.

Because Emma was….

Emma was everything good.

She was everything that Killian Jones had not been. Where he had been cruel, Emma was kind. Where he had left her feeling uncertain of everything, Emma had brought clarity. She had brought light into Regina's world where it should have been impossible. She had shown up completely out of the blue as though fallen out of the sky, and she had made Regina happy.

And if she was given the chance, and the time, Regina would make Emma just as happy. If she got another chance, she would do this the right way. No more secrets. No more lies. From now on, she would only ever tell Emma the truth. Always.

She shifted again, and the little shift made Emma look up. Regina hastily turned her attention to the book in Emma's lap. She didn't want Emma to think that she had been standing and looking at her. That was creepy.

"Hey," Emma said. The word was laced with uncertainty.

Regina did another little shift. Pointed lightly to the center of the room and then to herself. God, how she detested pointing! It was so primitive!

"Yeah, you can come in. Sure," Emma said. Luckily, she understood what Regina was getting at.

Regina stepped inside. Walked over to the foot of Emma's bed and looked at the Sign Language book in Emma's hands. She had to find some kind of excuse for having been caught lurking. And proclaiming her feelings would be both awkward and ill timing. So, she chose to look at the book. She feigned curiosity as she pointed to the book and then back to herself. More pointing. Great.

"You wanna see?" Emma guessed.

Regina nodded and formed a 'please' with her lips. No more pointing, damnit!

Emma handed the book to her, and Regina took it. Flipped it open and looked at the illustrations. Frowned slightly as she copied the signs for 'how are you?'. It didn't look quite right. Either the illustrations in the book was bad and Emma needed new material, or Regina needed to brush up on her skills. It was probably the ladder. Regina often found Sign Language to be difficult. There was so much to keep track of. So many different signs. She had cried about it many, many times in the hospital.

"I was thinking about taking some classes in it. Maybe," Emma said. She sounded almost timid. Nervous. Why was she nervous? Did she think that this would make Regina upset? Because that was definitely not the case. Regina was only delighted and extremely touched that Emma wanted to learn Sign Language. Not everybody would do that for someone they had dated for about five minutes. And especially not someone who had treated her as poorly as Regina had treated Emma.

Regina carefully put the book down and found her phone. Wrote a long message to distract herself from all the feelings swirling around within her. 'I might join you. I'm not that good at using sign language. As I've mentioned, Henry is far better at understanding sign language that I am at actually using it. Often, I can be signing something to him, and he'll go "mom, you're signing that all wrong!". And then he shows me how it's done.' That was true. Henry had helped her out many a time. And his sweet guiding had been the only thing preventing her from bursting at the seams. She turned the screen towards Emma and hoped that the message wasn't too long.

Emma chuckled lightly after having read the message. Still sounded a bit timid when she said: "I definitely wouldn't mind a bit of company during those lessons."

That could be fun. Regina smiled a little. Emma didn't say anything else, and silence fell over them. Almost an awkward one. She fiddled with the edge of her black scarf and wondered if now would be the appropriate time to excuse herself and get out of Emma's hair.

But then she noticed that Emma was looking at her. No, staring at her. But it was different from Killian Jones' cold, unsatisfied, uncomfortable staring at her when he felt like she had done something wrong. Emma was staring at her with warmth in her eyes. Curiosity.

Regina liked when Emma looked at her. She lifted her chin and willingly met Emma's gaze.

Emma quickly averted her eyes and mumbled a hushed: "sorry."

She should not apologize for this. She should never apologize for giving Regina hope. Or do things that filled Regina with warmth rather than dread. She leaned forward and gently put her free hand over Emma's. Wished that she was brave enough to do more. Hold her. Kiss her.

But the blockage within her forbade from doing anything of the sort. The thoughts of Killian Jones' hands on her made her back-pedal even before she had attempted to do either of the things she wanted to do.

Emma's hand was warm. Soft.

Safe.

Regina could have stayed like this all day. But once again, she remembered that there was a reason for this. Liam. They were trying to catch Liam. This was a mission. And her vague attempt at 'romance' (what was that even?) did not fit the situation in anyway.

So after a moment, Regina moved her hand away from Emma's and wrote a quick message on her phone. A short question. 'Do you want to have another cup of coffee downstairs?'

"Yeah. Coffee sounds great," Emma nodded.

Regina copied that motion. Then she left the guestroom, and after a moment Emma followed her. And even though Emma was right behind her when she walked down the stairs, Regina didn't feel a rush of panic. Because she knew that it was Emma behind her.

Having coffee with Emma was nice. As always. It felt like one of their old coffee dates with the two of them seated across each other and a stack of post-its and a pencil between them. Just like in the old times.

Regina was just about to tell Emma that. Tell her how this took her back to one of those times. Bringing up their coffee dates was not just a random comment. She hoped that Emma would understand what she was trying to say. That she was hoping that they could go back to those times after this mess was over.

But she didn't get the chance to write anything before Graham came inside the kitchen. Regina looked up and turned her attention to the sheriff of Steveston. He had news. She could tell that from looking at him.

"I've just spoken to my colleagues in Steveston," Graham said seriously as he stuffed his phone back into the pocket of his jeans. "Liam was there until twenty minutes ago. Another one of my colleagues are tailing him and saw him drive towards Highway 97. He is definitely on his way here..."

Regina felt her palms dampen. Their plan had worked. Liam was coming here. She glanced discreetly at her purse. Knowing that the gun was there made her feel a smidge calmer about being bait….

To Be Continued…