A/N: Sorry for the lack of a chapter on Wednesday. For those of you who follow me on Twitter, you'll know I'm in Australia for a month. Completely forgot to mention this in my last chapter. I'll be updating once a week maximum while I'm here but please be patient as I have a packed schedule and may not be as reliable as usual!

"Belle, I have to talk to you."

The door to the rear area of the shelter hadn't even closed behind the psychologist when the desperate woman launched herself into her path.

"Regina, good morning," Belle smiled, taking in the pale face as she looked up from the handwritten note Mulan had passed her detailing the information about the shelter's newest arrival. "Is everything ok?"

"I have to talk to you," Regina repeated, fingers twisting around each other. She had worked herself up into quite a state waiting for the woman to appear that Monday morning. "Are you free?"

"Not exactly," Belle replied. "I've got an appointment in fifteen minutes. But I can book you in for later this afternoon. Is it an emergency?"

Regina shook her head. "No, I guess not." The woman had been battling these feelings for over a decade, even if they had grown fainter with time but it was certainly not an emergency-worthy problem.

Trained, experienced eyes scanned the way the brunette deflated, shoulders slumped when Belle revealed that she was unable to make time immediately to speak with the woman who was clearly panicked about something.

"Would fifteen minutes now help?" Belle offered softly.

Regina hesitated. Would she be able to explain everything adequately in fifteen minutes? No, she'd need more like fifteen hours to do that. But maybe talking about what had been consuming her thoughts for the past two days would help relieve some of the tension. "Yes please."

With a smile, Belle gestured for Regina to lead the way and together the two of them walked the short distance to her office.

"Where's Henry this morning?" Belle asked as she unloaded her handbag and a couple of files she'd been reviewing over the weekend onto her desk.

"In our room. He and Roland played all day yesterday, but Roland had to go to school this morning. Henry was upset but he seemed to cheer up when I told him we'd be going to sign him up for the same school this afternoon."

"Oh, great, Emma got you an interview?"

"I guess so," Regina nodded. "She's coming with us."

"Today?" Belle asked.

"Yes, at two."

Belle said nothing but silently noted that her boss was working on her day off. Emma religiously took the day shift on Monday off because she always worked both Saturday and Sunday. It wasn't unheard of for Emma to work seven or more days in a row, despite the scheduled shift breaks she was technically supposed to have but Belle couldn't recall a time Emma had come in for something as standard as a school interview.

"Right, so, what's going on?" Belle asked, sitting down in her chair and smiling once more at Regina.

The woman opened her mouth as if to speak but snapped it shut. Suddenly, she couldn't find the words to explain what was going on, what was happening, what had happened. How could she tell Belle what she had done to Emma but then also make her believe how she felt? Surely Belle would react exactly as Emma had; justified disbelief.

She had barely seen the blonde since they had returned from the park. Soon after they got back to the shelter, Emma had finished for the day and her Sunday shift had been consumed by the arrival of a woman who was in need of a trip to the ER, her injuries consistent with domestic abuse, Regina could tell when she saw the new woman later that day. The brunette hadn't even had the chance to speak with Emma about their plan for Henry's school and the long empty hours had given her brain far too much time to become consumed with thoughts of the blonde.

"Regina," Belle said softly, drawing the woman back to the present, "is everything ok? Did you hear from Leo? Are you in danger?"

"No," Regina replied quickly. "No, nothing like that. We're safe. As far as I know, at least. No, this isn't about me. It's about Emma."

"Oh." Belle hadn't been expecting that.

Regina closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. "You remember what I told you last time we met about me and Emma?"

"Yes," Belle replied. "That you two went to high school together."

"And that I bullied her," Regina all but spat, anger at herself bubbling up at the memory.

"Yes," Belle nodded. "I remember."

"Well, there's more to it than that."

This time the nod was slower. "There always is," Belle said, a soft smile on her features.

"I … look, I'm not proud of what I did back then. I hate myself for what I did to Emma and if I could go back in time and change what I did, I would."

"We all do things we regret," Belle said simply when Regina stopped talking and looked unsure of how to continue again.

"Yes, I know. And I know being a teenager is hard and confusing. But the thing is, I wasn't confused. Not really. I knew how I felt and I knew what it meant. I was just too scared to accept that part of myself and show everyone who I am. And because of that, Emma got hurt. She's still hurt but she won't talk to me about it."

Much as Belle wanted to press questions onto the woman, who was now scratching the sore skin on the side of her thumb with the nail of her forefinger, she waited. Whatever Regina wanted to say would be said in good time.

"I think this would have all be so much easier if I'd just been a bully," Regina sighed. "I know that sounds crazy and of course I wish I had never been mean to any of my peers. But at least if I fitted neatly into that box, it would be simpler to deal with and Emma and I could both move on. Thanks to me, it's more complicated than that. Emma didn't tell you about her last night in Storybrooke, did she?"

"I don't think so," Belle replied.

"It was our prom," Regina explained. "We were all at the high school after our graduation. I was crowned prom queen and my high school boyfriend was king. Fairy tale ending, right? It should have been one of the best nights of my life. Maybe it would have all been ok if I hadn't taken that walk. If I'd just stayed in the gym with everyone else, perhaps none of this would have happened. But I didn't.

"It wasn't like I went looking for Emma. I hadn't noticed her absence from the gym and tried to find her. I had simply felt the need to get out of that room, get away from everyone else and spend a few quiet moments alone. But then when I did see her, sat in that classroom on her own, I knew it was my last chance. Well, I thought it was my last chance. After that night, I didn't think I'd ever seen Emma again. I guess fate had different plans, huh?"

Belle said nothing. She didn't believe in fate. She believed that everyone made their own path in life and was in control of their own destiny. Taking ownership of all life choices, both good and bad, was what mattered most.

"By the night of prom, I had known for months. I was still confused and unsure of what it all meant but I knew. No one else did, though. I hadn't told anyone and I was still dating Robin. But when I saw Emma in that room, something inside me seemed to muster up the courage I had been lacking for months.

"I don't blame Emma for not believing me, for reacting the way she did to what I said. She had no reason to believe that I had suddenly changed from a girl who had bullied her for two years to someone standing in front of her telling her she liked them. It came out of nowhere, for me too, actually. I remember the day I realised I was attracted to Emma. It was in December, just before Christmas. It was a shock, to be honest. Not an unpleasant one, just an unexpected turn of events. I guess it kinda hit me like a thunderbolt and all of a sudden she was 'Emma', this beautiful, intriguing blonde, not the new kid we'd been teasing for over a year."

Still Belle said nothing although she now was beginning to understand what Regina was talking about. As teenagers, Regina and Emma had briefly shared a moment, by the sounds of it. What confused Belle, however, was why Regina was talking to her about a night which happened fourteen years ago.

"I kissed Emma on prom night. It was my first kiss with a woman, the first time I really acknowledged how I felt. She freaked out at first, understandably, but I did manage to explain what was going on, how I felt. I apologised, although I know it wasn't enough. I was so relieved when she let me kiss her again but then …"

Regina trailed off, memories of her friends bursting in through the door and shattering their perfect moment making her eyes sparkle. Actually, it wasn't the appearance of her friends which caused her such pain, it was her abhorrent behaviour towards Emma in those subsequent minutes.

"Look," Regina sighed after a long pause, "I get that Emma's mad at me and I get that she's hurt. But I need to talk about what happened. I need to tell her how I feel, how I felt then and how I feel now." Large brown eyes gazed at Belle, desperate and shimmering with emotion. "I need to tell Emma but she won't listen. She says she can't talk about that night; that here she is my counsellor and nothing more. I don't understand how she can just or shut out a part of our history. I know Emma's brain works differently to mine and perhaps for this it's a good thing. Because I can't do that, I can't forget what we shared. I think about that night all the time now. I need to talk about everything. Please, can … can we talk about it?"

"Of course we can," Belle said at once. "I'm here for all the women to talk to. But I do have another appointment right now ,so I'm really sorry Regina but we are going to have to hit pause. Would you like me to make an appointment for you later today?"

"Yes please," Regina nodded. "And thank you for listening just now. I'm sorry I accosted you as soon as you arrived at work on a Monday morning."

"I understand," Belle assured her. It was not the first time the psychologist had been greeted by a woman desperate to speak with her the moment she stepped into the shelter in the morning. "I've got a slot available at three this afternoon, does that work?"

Regina nodded, assuming that she, Emma and Henry would be back from their one pm appointment at the school by then. "Yes, that's fine. And Belle, the stuff I say in these sessions is confidential, right? You won't tell Emma?"

"No, I won't tell Emma."

"Good," Regina sighed. "She doesn't need to deal with this right now. She told me to back off and I don't want her thinking that I'm not."

"While I'm happy to talk to you about Emma and anything else which is on your mind, we will also have to discuss the more recent events which led you to arriving at the shelter by the way. That's my primary task here; to help you deal with the past and get ready for your new life."

Regina nodded. "I know," she sighed. "And we will. But right now, there isn't much room in my head for anything other than Emma Swan."

Before Belle could speak, there was a knock at the door, signalling that Regina's impromptu meeting had come to an end and the psychologist's scheduled appointment was ready. She got to her feet, straightening out her dress and running her hands through her hair.

"Ok, well, thanks," she said. "I really appreciate it."

"Any time," Belle said, getting to her feet too and guiding Regina over to the door. "I'll see you later this afternoon."

Regina nodded and stepped out into the corridor through the door which Belle opened. She glanced at the woman stood waiting, realising it was the newest arrival. She was a young girl, no more than twenty-five, with straggly blonde hair. Her left eye was half closed, surrounded by a large purple bruise. A jagged line of stitches ran from her temple down towards her cheekbone, the skin angry and red. Regina offered her a tight smile before heading off down the corridor to find her son.

Shuffling slowly along, blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a mug of tea clasped in her hands, Ruby manoeuvred herself around Emma who was lying on the floor of their living room on a yoga mat, finishing her ab workout.

"So you're going to the school with Regina and Henry today?" Ruby asked as she curled up on the couch and rearranged her blanket. It wasn't exactly cold but she liked to snuggle. She had returned from the night shift at the shelter half an hour before and planned to pass out on the couch watching crappy morning television shortly.

"Yep," Emma nodded as she completed a rep of crunches and turned over to do a little work on her back, starting with some swimmers.

"Why?"

"Because I'm her counsellor," Emma huffed, raising her arms and legs in sync to feel her body begin to work.

"Yeah but it's your day off. You're not working until the night shift tonight. Why are you going in when you don't have to?"

Emma didn't reply and instead finished the rest of her workout, making she didn't lose count of how many reps she had completed. Once done, she rolled onto her back again and stretched her arms high over her head, feeling the muscles of her stomach pull tight. She then tucked her heels up near her butt and started doing some slow bridge poses.

"Because I'm off on Tuesday too and we need to get Henry into a school as soon as possible," Emma offered, focusing on rolling each vertebrate one at a time off her mat.

"Someone else could go with her," Ruby reasoned. "Mulan or Ursula."

"Yeah but they're not, I am," Emma replied.

"Why?"

Emma sighed. "Because I want to."

Ruby cocked her head and sipped her drink. She knew Emma well, possibly better than anyone else. While she had witnessed the explosion of anger and hurt the first morning Emma had come face to face with the brunette after fourteen years, she had since seen a number of other emotions displayed in relation to Regina. To say she was confused by her best friend's relationship with this woman was an understatement and Ruby was convinced she didn't know the full story.

"You're working the night shift today as well," Ruby reminded her friend gently. "Just don't work too hard. The women need you focused and at the top of your game. Don't burn out."

Emma finished her last bridge and sat up, wiping the beads of sweat from her brow. "I know what I'm doing. I know what I can handle."

Ruby's eyebrows rose slightly at the defensive tone, but she knew better than to push her friend. Emma got to her feet and rolled up her mat before heading towards the shower to get ready for the day.

As the warm water ran over Emma's face, she closed her eyes and tried to put Ruby's words from her mind. But all that did was make space for Regina. Her words, her actions, her face. Emma's eyes snapped open again, the vision fading. Angry at her own mind for its lack of self-discipline, she reached for the shampoo and started to wash her hair.

Ruby wasn't right, Emma told herself. She wasn't taking on too much. She was being a good counsellor to Regina and to all of the other women in the shelter. Sure, things were a little different when it came to her and Regina. How could it not be? They had history. But their history didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Emma would help the brunette start a new life in the city with her son. That was what mattered. Not their kiss.

Emma cursed herself again as the memory of those plump lips, moving gently against her own, swam back into her mind. The feel of Regina's hips beneath her fingertips, the sensation of her heart pounding in her chest. "Fuck," Emma hissed under her breath as she realised just how vivid her memories of that kiss were. Of course they were vivid. It was her first kiss. She wasn't going to forget that any time soon, or ever. "Come on, Emma. You can do this," the blonde huffed, reaching for the conditioner.

The short pep talk did little to distract the young woman from her memories however, and by the time she stepped out of the shower, Emma had resolved to book another appointment with Archie. In a way, Regina was right, they did need to talk about their shared history. But Emma couldn't bear the idea of talking with Regina, not now, not yet. It was too much, her emotions too raw and unchecked. If the two of them sat down in a room to discuss how they felt, what had happened, Emma didn't know what she might say or do. No, before she could speak with Regina about anything, she had to get her own head on straight.

A/N: sorry for the short chapter and for the lack of SwanQueen in the same room. I'll try to do better for next Sunday but as mentioned, I'm in Australia on holiday/working and I have very little spare time. See you next week!