A few days passed without incident. Emma hadn't needed to resort to her Dark One ways and as far as she knew, Robin and Regina hadn't spoken since their date. That should have concerned her, what with being the person who wanted Regina's happiness more than anyone, but she wasn't bothered in the slightest. The less time she had to spend coaching Robin through how to be a good boyfriend the better. She also selfishly appreciated that they hadn't seen each other because she didn't like Robin and she didn't like how Regina changed when she was around him.
That morning she felt lighter than she had since she made her sacrifice. She didn't wake up to the harsh reality that she was on a mission to stop Robin from screwing up or protecting Regina from herself. She didn't have to worry that day, at least not just yet. She had time to do what she wanted and what she wanted was to take a little more pride in her new home. Regina had a point the other night about not putting much effort into a place she considered sacred, so she went out to pick up a few things. Plates, more glasses—and not just wine glasses—a nightstand, and a decent sized TV. If Henry ever did come over for dinner she wanted to make sure she'd have something to entertain him, to help him feel comfortable in a new environment and an otherwise uncomfortable situation. She figured it was an important time in his life to give him something familiar if only to allow him the opportunity to distract himself. Because a lot had changed in his life and in such a short amount of time. She knew how that felt, the constant shift in surroundings and the revolving door of people that came and went throughout her life. Just as she was determined to make Regina happy, she was determined to make everything easier for Henry, easier than it ever was for her, and as painless as possible.
The cashiers that rang up her orders asked her if she wanted the items delivered, but because she was even more private than ever before she didn't disclose her address. At that point, Regina was the only one that knew where she lived and she planned to keep it that way for as long as possible. She responded to the delivery question with a flick of her wrist and poofed all her purchases directly to her house.
She was on her way home to set everything up the non-magical way—to keep her hands busy—when she drove past the hospital and noticed Regina make her way inside. Emma had a brief moment of panic that something had happened to either her or Henry, but she calmed when she recognized the entrance as non-emergency. That was something at least.
Curiosity nagged her anyway and that was how she found herself turning into the hospital parking lot and following the brunette inside the building. She kept a comfortable distance as she would if she were tailing a car and followed Regina down a set of stairs into the basement. The basement. For all the times Emma had been in the hospital, she was only familiar with the ER, ICU, and that one supply closet she'd dragged Regina into a few years ago. But of course in a town like Storybrooke the hospital had a basement, and it wasn't used for storage.
Regina slowed her pace as she approached the reception desk of the psych ward and pulled something out of her jacket. Emma hung back, but peeked around the corner to watch the entire exchange.
"Over thirty years and it never gets old," Emma heard the orderly at the desk say. "Everyone may have seen you as the Evil Queen, but through all your stages in life you've always only ever been one thing, Regina Mills."
"And what's that," Regina asked with a slightly husky voice Emma hadn't heard in a while.
"Smooth," the blonde orderly with pinned up hair replied with a grin before she lifted a rose to her face and smelled it.
Emma's eyebrows instantly shot up. A female orderly had just called Regina smooth, she'd flirted with her, and that was after Regina had given her a rose.
Regina hummed in response and Emma was sure that if she'd been able to see Regina's face she would have seen a smirk. After a moment, Regina dropped the teasing and asked, "How has she been recently?"
Emma frowned. She?
"No more trouble than she was before. She just sits in the corner of the cot most of the time. She only ever speaks when she's antagonizing you during your visits."
"Figures. Just…make sure she eats? She's pregnant and stubborn and…"
"And she's your sister," the orderly finished Regina's sentence. "I understand and I've been keeping an eye. She doesn't like being here, but she's only a handful when you're around."
Emma watched Regina tense and stand up rigidly straight when she heard that bit of information.
"Well, I suppose I should have expected that. Thank you." Regina stepped away from the desk and disappeared down the hall, apparently going to visit Zelena.
Emma turned and pressed her back against the wall. She closed her eyes and sighed as it all came crashing down on her. Whatever issues Regina and Zelena had, Emma hadn't made it any easier on the brunette by unwittingly bringing Zelena back from the Enchanted Forest. Maybe Regina had been right and she should have just let Marian die. If she hadn't knocked Marian out and forced her to come back to Storybrooke, Zelena wouldn't have had a disguise to maneuver her way back into everyone's lives. It was her fault. She brought Zelena back and the woman was crazier than Regina had ever been when Emma and the brunette had been at odds that first year.
Emma didn't wait around any longer. She mentally kicked herself all the way up to the ground floor of the hospital and further still as she slid into her Bug and headed home. She stayed parked in the Bug on the curb for a few minutes and blankly stared ahead as she continued to blame and beat herself up about something she logically knew she couldn't have foreseen. But Emma wasn't thinking logically in that moment. She was wrapped up in her emotions. She was stuck on the fact that she'd pushed too hard and screwed everything up for Regina, even though she thought she'd been doing what was best. Emma doing what she thought was best always ended up hurting Regina. She hurt Regina. She had to fix it, but she doubted her plans to make Robin the best boyfriend and soulmate ever would be enough. Because Emma wasn't enough and her efforts to be enough always fell short.
She took a deep breath and held it in for a long moment before she exhaled and then exited the Bug. As she went to work on setting up the things she'd bought earlier around the house and without using magic, she collected herself and inwardly chanted over and over again that she would stay on track. No matter what doubts about herself and her ability to give Regina a beautiful and well-deserved happily ever after, she had to continue to do everything in her power to make Regina's life everything it should be. Robin included.
She stared at the familiar gold numbers on the door as she waited for it to swing open. She listened closely for the sound of heels on the hardwood floor in the foyer, but the door opened without her ever having picked up on a single click. Her eyes went from Regina's confused gaze down to her bare feet and Emma's lips curled into an amused smile.
Emma's eyes traveled back up Regina's legs to see they were covered by black leggings. As her eyes wandered further up the other woman's body, she took in the matching black, scoop neck shirt that fell loosely around her hips, torso and shoulders. One of the short sleeves hung off Regina's shoulders and exposed a thin, purple bra strap. She licked her lips without even consciously meaning to do it before her eyes locked on Regina's again and almost a full minute later, Emma finally greeted her.
"Hi."
She watched Regina's throat bob as she swallowed and then stared at Regina's lips when the brunette tentatively replied, "Hi."
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I," Emma asked and looked Regina over once again, quicker that time.
Regina looked down at her own attire before she shook her head and replied, "No, but it's not as if I was expecting visitors at this hour."
"It's only eight o'clock," Emma pointed out with a frown.
"Well, I didn't make any plans for tonight and it's been a long day."
"Should I… Do you want me to leave," Emma asked and she felt like an idiot for just showing up without warning. She hadn't told Robin to come over and just be there for Regina, because she thought he'd just make a mess of things, so she'd decided to check on the brunette instead.
"You don't have to go," Regina answered after a few seconds. "I'm just surprised you're here."
"Why?"
"You just…you always seem have to perfect timing. Or the worst timing depending on how you look at it."
Emma swallowed and shoved her hands in her pockets before she asked, "Bad day?"
"I've had worse, but today could have gone better." Regina looked her over from head to toe and back up again. She let go of the door and stepped aside. When she turned around and started to head further inside the house, Emma took the hint and wordlessly followed the other woman.
Emma shut the door and locked it behind her before she continued after Regina. She joined the brunette in the kitchen and watched her pour hot water from a kettle into a mug. There was a box of chocolate mix next to Regina on the counter and soon after she set down the kettle, she stirred the contents of the mug.
"Henry had the last of the cinnamon," Regina said before she lifted the mug and carried it over to Emma. "He's upstairs working on homework if you want to see him. Or blame him for you having to drink plain cocoa."
Emma chuckled and accepted the mug with both hands. Her fingers grazed over the backs of Regina's hands as the mug transferred from one woman to the other. Green eyes flicked up from the mug and locked on Regina's before she smiled and said, "Better than not getting any at all. Thanks."
Regina ran her hands down her shirt to smooth it out, but Emma saw it for the nervous habit it was. She took a brief sip of hot chocolate then lowered the mug and tried to calm the other woman's apparent nerves.
"Do you want to talk about something," she asked.
Regina cleared her throat and shook her head. "I'm fine. It's just been a long day."
"Is it Robin? Have you seen him recently?"
"Robin and I are fine."
"Just fine?"
Regina rolled her eyes and brushed past Emma toward the foyer. "Feel free to stay and finish your cocoa, but after that you can let yourself out. I'm going to bed."
"Wait," Emma set the mug down on the counter and rushed after the other woman. She stopped Regina at the stairs and rested a hand on the railing near Regina's own hand to catch her attention. Regina hesitated on the third stair and turned to Emma. "I thought maybe you could use some company. If you don't want to talk, we can just sit and watch a movie."
Regina stared at her for a while before she took a breath and then walked back down the stairs, level with Emma once again. "Do you have something in mind?"
"Something sappy and light."
"Does the Dark One do sappy and light?"
"Maybe Rumpelstiltskin didn't, but I know that's what I need right about now. What do you say?"
"Fine. I'll pick out the movie and you can say goodnight to Henry."
"That's a deal," Emma smiled and headed up the stairs while Regina made her way into the living room.
She stood outside of Henry's room for a moment and peered through the cracked open door before she smiled to herself and pushed the door all the way open. "Hey, Kid," she greeted and continued to smile, unable to be anything other than happy to be around him. Her inner struggle with herself, her magic, and her dark thoughts faded in his presence because Henry was more important than her pain. No matter what adversities she faced, she would always love and protect Henry above all else.
"Emma," Henry almost breathlessly said her name, his eyes wide with surprise. His hand and pen stilled against the notebook he'd been writing in before he'd seen her. After a few seconds, he dropped his pen and pulled himself to the edge of his bed. He sat with his legs over the side and braced his hands on either side of himself as he looked her over for a moment. He seemed to be assessing her and the thought that he still wasn't sure what to make of her given the limited time he'd shared with her since she became the Dark One almost made her chin wobble.
She fought back tears she hadn't realized she could shed after all the darkness she had absorbed as she sagged against the doorframe. She never took her eyes off Henry and hoped that he understood she wasn't there to hurt him, or his mother for that matter. Somehow she seemed to get the message across.
Henry jumped off the bed and rushed to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed like it was the first time they'd seen each other after a harrowing battle. Despite having seen each other a few days ago, that moment, that hug, was truly the first real interaction they'd had since their return to Storybrooke. Even after her sacrifice, when they'd all been in the Enchanted Forest, she'd been more like herself. She'd looked more like herself, too. Her hair had still been blonde, not white. She hadn't worn anything black or leather. Her lips had been natural and pink instead of the bright red she favored as the Dark One.
She exhaled heavily as she held him to her in a tight hug and closed her eyes for a moment. She took that moment to relax, just a little, and then finally pulled away.
"Okay, Henry. I'm going to be honest with you. I would never hurt you. Even like this. And no matter how much darkness I have inside me, no matter how long my name is on some all-powerful dagger, I love you. Do you understand?"
It was in that moment she realized how much she sounded like Regina that first year. She remembered when she'd kissed Henry awake and Regina wanted to make it clear how she felt, always had and always would feel, about Henry.
"No matter what you think, no matter what anyone says, I do love you."
Henry nodded.
"Good. Now get back to your homework. Your mom and I have some stuff to talk about so I'm going to be here for a little while, alright?"
He nodded again.
"I thought it was fair for you to know," Emma added. "I saw the look on your face when you found out she and I had seen each other and we hadn't told or included you so I'm making sure you don't feel left out again, even if you're not a part of the conversation."
"Okay," he finally verbalized a response. "But…you won't hurt Mom, will you? You say you won't hurt me, but—"
"I won't hurt her," she promised with sharp, sincere eyes that spoke only truth. She knew as he stared right into her that eyes he wouldn't have a single doubt that she was being honest.
His lips curled into a small smile before he backed away toward his bed and sat back down. He pushed the open books around to make room for himself before he shifted and folded his legs beneath him. He looked at her one last time with a bit of a hopeful look and then turned his attention back to his schoolwork as she slipped out of his room and into the hallway.
She'd fought to be Henry's hero before, fought to have and keep a place in his life, and she could sure as hell keeping fighting for that even though she'd chosen to become a villain. Her stomach started to twist with discomfort for feeling any less than strong and anger started to boil her blood as she thought about why she was a villain in the first place. It wasn't anyone's fault. It had been her own choice.
But Regina…
Regina sat with her legs tucked under her left side on the couch. She had a glass of wine in one hand and there was another on the coffee table. She looked different in loungewear. She looked completely at home, which she was, but there was another kind of at-home feeling about Regina's appearance as well. She was at home in her own skin. Emma had never seen her look so calm and comfortable. In that moment, Emma thought even the darkest part of her couldn't blame saving Regina regardless of the consequences.
The brunette looked at her from across the room and curiously tilted her head to the side as she kept their gazes locked. "Are you going to join me or just stand there and watch me watch this movie?"
Emma grinned and moved toward the couch as she replied, "As tempting as that is, I'll join you."
Regina lifted the remote and pressed play. The sound of the studio that funded the movie filled the living room before the screen went black and then faded in to the start of whatever Regina had chosen to watch for the evening.
Emma plopped down next to Regina on the couch in the most graceless way ever, in true Emma Swan style. Hardly any space existed between the two of them on the couch, except for the space that Regina's legs created. Although, Regina's bare feet lightly pressed against Emma's outer thigh so even her legs didn't put much distance between them. Emma licked her lips without conscious thought. It was a knee jerk reaction to the barely-there touch and the blonde never even realized she'd done it. She just sat there and stared ahead at the screen as she saw the first few scenes. The movie didn't matter. She wasn't interested in what Regina had picked. She only cared that Regina was thankfully open to the idea of a movie night with her, because Emma knew Regina wasn't in the best mood and needed the company even though the brunette would deny it every time.
"So you don't want to talk about Robin. Anything else on your mind," Emma waited to ask until they were several minutes into the movie. She reached for the untouched wine glass on the coffee table and took a sip as Regina lowered hers onto the end table next to her side of the couch.
"Not particularly, no."
"I know I'm not a very open person either, but I do know that the longer you keep this bottled up the easier it'll be for it to eat at you. Inner demons and all that."
"I'm well aware," Regina flatly said, and Emma knew that was true. But that was exactly the kind of thing that fell under Emma's self-assigned job to help Regina be happy.
Emma took another sip of her wine then leaned forward and set it back down on the coffee table. As she sat back on the couch, she took a deep breath and then turned her head to face the other woman. "If he's being a jerk, I'll kick his ass."
Regina's head snapped to the side to look at her so fast Emma worried the brunette would suffer from whiplash. At first, her brown eyes looked upset but a light quickly appeared in them after locking on Emma's gaze. Full lips curled into a radiant smile seconds later and then Emma heard the most heartwarming laugh from Regina.
"Thank you for the offer, but if you'll recall the last time you interfered with my love life it ended what you thought was our friendship."
Emma's eyes widened and she immediately swallowed the lump in her throat. She hadn't forgotten that, but it definitely wasn't in the front of her mind when she'd taken Robin's heart and pocketed it for her later, somewhat sadistic use. With that as her top conscious thought, Emma thought it was best they proceeded with conversation that didn't involve Robin Hood. She really wanted Regina to open up about Zelena and her visit to the psych ward anyway so she found a way to subtly change the subject.
"Right. I only said that because I think he isn't focusing on you enough."
"Why would that concern you," Regina asked with a furrowed brow.
"I just… You're my friend and friends don't want to see friends get hurt."
Regina shrugged and rolled her eyes. "I'm already hurt," the brunette quietly admitted.
"Tell me what's going on."
"Why? So you can tell me you're going to kick Robin's ass again? Or worse, actually attack him?"
Emma nervously licked her lips and averted her eyes for a moment before she leaned to one side, which pushed Regina's foot further against her thigh. She took a quick breath and then said, "You can't talk to Henry about this. You might be able to talk to my Mom about it, but would you really want to do that? And Zelena's not helpful at all. She's at least half of your problem with Robin, isn't she?"
Regina clenched her jaw and kept her eyes focused on the movie.
"Maybe you don't want to talk to me about it either, but I'm here. I'm listening. And even as the Dark One I've still got your back. I just want you to know that if you're going through something, you're not doing it alone."
Regina sucked in a deep breath and curled her fingers against her palms a few times before she relaxed and turned away from the screen. She kept her eyes on Emma's for a long moment before she said, "Zelena… She doesn't care about Robin. She just wanted to stand between me and my happiness and having his baby is a bonus."
"What?" Emma tuned away from the TV and tucked a leg under herself. Her right knee touched the back of the couch and her right foot rested beneath the underside of her left thigh. The new position forced Regina's foot to then press against Emma's shin.
Regina guzzled down half of what remained in her wine glass before she cleared things up for Emma. "At first, when she came back she just wanted to put a wedge between Robin and me. But when they went to New York, she thought maybe it could be her chance to start over. She didn't care that it was Robin. It was just… He was just convenient. She'd already run off with him. And Roland was there for practice."
"Practice," Emma repeated with a heavy sense of dread. Her stomach dropped low in her gut and felt like steel. She was the Dark One, the Enchanted Forest's version of the Boogie Man, and yet the new information Regina relayed to her made her nauseous.
"Roland always saw Zelena as his mother because she was pretending to be Marian. He never knew the difference. He was too young when I- When I captured her. He could recognize her, but beyond that he barely knew her. Zelena cared for him and smiled at him, said all the right things. He trusted her. He loved her. Unconditionally."
"How do you know all this," she asked even though she already knew the answer.
"She told me. I went to see her today. I haven't visited her since we came back and I stuck her back in her cell. After my date with Robin, I figured if I had a chat with her it might make things a little clearer as why things between Robin and I haven't gone back to the way they were before she showed up."
"Did you get your answer?"
Regina shook her head. "No. I got an answer, but not the one I'd gone there to get. She… Roland loved her unconditionally because to him, she was his mother. She felt that love. She'd never felt that way before, the way she felt when Roland would hug her or just…look at her. It's like how we feel with Henry. He loves us and looks up to us and even when he's angry at us he never wants us to get hurt or suffer."
"So…what, that convinced her to keep up the charade?"
"No, it convinced her that there could be someone in her life that could love her the way she should have been loved by our mother. The way she should have been loved by the man who'd raised her. So she…she planned to get pregnant."
"Getting pregnant with Robin's baby wasn't about you?"
"Apparently not," Regina humorlessly laughed. She smiled as she laughed, but it was a sad and twisted expression. "It was about her. Robin was just the sperm donor."
"Does- Does he know that," Emma asked with wide eyes.
"It's possible, but then if he knows that it doesn't make sense to me why he would keep going back to talk to her."
"Wait, he's still in touch with that bat-shit crazy witch?"
"I haven't seen him visit, but he's mentioned going there to talk about the baby. He said he's trying to establish a plan for after the baby's born, but Zelena claims he doesn't just talk about the baby."
"What the hell else would he have to talk about with her?"
"How things could work out between them once the baby's here. How co-parenting might work. He wants to be a part of the baby's life and he understands that means he'll most likely have to be a part of Zelena's life too."
"That. Fucking. Asshole," Emma growled, but then yelled the last word.
Regina sighed and explained, "You have to understand. He's from a different world, a different time."
"Yeah, so are you, but I don't see you trying to make something happen between you and your rapist baby mama!"
Regina cringed. Emma would have regretted her words because of the negative effect they had on the other woman, but she was enraged and her eyes flashed from green to yellow to dark as sin black. She was going to kill the bastard and revel in the blood and screams and the loss of light in his eyes in his final moments when he finally realized all he'd had to do to survive was treat Regina better.
She felt a hand on her arm and it was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on her in her fiery rage. She blinked and then shook her head as she snapped out of her thoughts and back into the present.
"Are you okay," Regina asked, and Emma immediately noticed the obvious concern in her beautiful brown eyes.
"Yeah. Yeah," she breathed out and forced a smile to help Regina believe the lie. In all honesty, she hadn't ever felt so absorbed by anger and hate. Even when she'd been a feisty and unwanted child, teen, and adult, she'd never once felt emotions like that. Never felt hurt, pain, upset, or murderous intent as aggressively as she had in that moment. "Sorry. I just…I seriously don't understand that guy."
Regina didn't look at all convinced. She still looked worried, more so than Emma had ever seen her look. After a couple of seconds, Regina's hand slipped away from her arm and the two of them just stared at each other for a moment. The movie played in the background, but neither of them cared or even seemed to notice the sounds or flashes of the changing scenes.
"Well," Regina said before she cleared her throat and looked down for a brief second. She looked up at Emma again and continued, "I'd like to point out I don't have a 'rapist baby mama.' I have an infuriating, idiotic, self-sacrificing baby mama. I also think I need to mention, we doco-parent Henry."
"You're defending him. The fact that he's seeing Zelena and basically trying to plan their future together doesn't bother you?"
"It's not that simple."
"Actually, it is. Robin and Zelena aren't us. I might be dark and evil now, but I'm not messed up like your crazy, murderous sister. She killed Marian without a thought. She didn't even know her when she killed her. She just needed a way back to this world. She honestly didn't even have to kill her. She could have just poofed Marian somewhere else in the Enchanted Forest and just magically stolen her identity the way she did. But no, her first thought was just to get rid of Marian altogether.
"And then she realized who she was pretending to be and got some sick thrill out of destroying your happiness before she then raped and used Robin to make a baby for some seriously selfish reasons. That's insane!"
"I once killed Marian without a thought, too," Regina shouted. "I slept with Graham when I had possession of his heart so it's not like he could have completely consented to the agreement we had. He was free to make his own decisions in this world, but it's not like he knew our history like I did. If he had and I'd let him have his free will, he would not have chosen to be with me in any way. You call my sister insane, but I barely see the difference between her and me."
Emma's lips parted. She blinked a few times as she finally started to see why Regina might not have been so quick to judge Zelena, or even Robin. There were similarities between Regina and Zelena. She understood that once Regina had laid it out for her, but she also knew that Regina had changed. She wasn't in the same place as Zelena was in. Regina had moved past that and she realized that Regina still felt like she hadn't changed enough. Emma was determined to prove to Regina that just wasn't true. "You're not like her. Not anymore."
Regina shook her head and her chin started to wobble as her eyes watered. She was on the verge of tears and Emma scooted forward on the couch to be closer to the brunette.
Emma grabbed Regina's ankles and lifted them as she closed some of the space between them. She didn't let go of Regina's legs until they were draped over Emma's left thigh and hip. "You still want to believe she'll change, don't you?"
Tears streaked down Regina's cheek and the brunette raised a hand to wipe them away, but Emma reached out and beat her to it. She swiped her thumb over olive-toned skin and breathed out a barely audible sigh.
"I gave her a chance before and I… It looked like she would have rather killed herself than make amends with me," Regina started to explain. "She's known me most of my life, but I've never had the chance to know her. She was the only family I had and I knew exactly how she felt. I'd lived it all before. I thought…I thought I could be enough.
"And then she came back just to rip apart my life and make me miserable. I don't understand why she still holds so much hate for something I couldn't control. I didn't choose to be Cora's daughter. I didn't choose to be born."
"You didn't do anything wrong," Emma softly interjected.
Regina sniffled. "If I could move on from that point in my life, maybe she can, too. And Robin's been able to overlook all that I've done so maybe that's why he visits her. Things are complicated and she is having his baby so maybe…maybe he's trying to see past her faults. For the baby. They're in this together now. Like we are."
"Not like we are. There circumstances are different," Emma assured her. "Way different. But I get it. Things are complicated and you know what? Robin's probably just really confused. You probably don't have anything to worry about."
"You can't know that," Regina said with a raspy voice, thick from the tears she shed as well as the ones she'd held back. She licked her lips and wiped away the rest of her tears as she moved further back into the arm of the couch.
While Emma did know that Regina had nothing to worry about because Robin was no longer in control of his heart, she found another way to assure the brunette that everything would work out. She set a hand on one of Regina's knees and gently squeezed.
"I'll tell you what I can know. I know that you don't deserve to be anyone's second choice, no matter what the circumstances and complications. I know that if Robin doesn't understand that yet because he's confused about all the stuff going on with Zelena, he'll figure it eventually. That I know with certainty."
Her eyes flicked down to Regina's throat and she watched it bob up and down as the other woman swallowed. When her lips parted, Emma's eyes wandered back over her face and took a second too long to stare at her mouth before their gazes locked again.
Regina cleared her throat for a second time that night and then pulled her legs back. She brought her knees up to her chest and avoided touching Emma at all.
Emma moved back a cushion and created more room between them for Regina's benefit as soon as she saw the brunette's discomfort to being so close.
Regina took a deep breath through her nose and collected herself. A moment later, she turned back to the TV and tucked both legs beneath her. She only took up one couch cushion then and didn't give Emma any reason or excuse to be any closer than a whole cushion away. Emma stayed on her side of the couch and Regina stayed on hers.
Emma respected Regina's wordlessly put in place boundaries and stared at the other woman for a moment longer before she finally turned her attention back to the movie. They'd already missed a good chunk of it in order to talk so unless Emma wanted to lose herself in her thoughts, which had never been a preferred thing to do since becoming the Dark One, she had to watch a little too intently to catch up. Once she thought she had a good grip on the plot, she looked over at Regina and saw the woman had fallen asleep.
She smiled to herself and then looked behind her at the blanket that hung over the back of the couch. She pulled it off and carefully draped it over Regina. She ensured the blanket covered the woman from her shoulders to her feet and smoothed out any scrunched and folded up parts of the blanket before she went back to watching the rest of the movie. She was asleep before the end credits rolled.
A/N: It took me three weeks to finally finish up this chapter. My motivation is a little sporadic these days. Sorry. Also, for those of you who are Zelena fans, don't worry. This isn't her only involvement in the story and I think just like Regina's gotten her chances to change, Zelena should have a few herself. She's just got to be willing to change. Someday in this fic she might. :)