A/N: Happy Sunday peeps! Thank you for all the wonderful words of support after last chapter. It really means a lot to me. Don't worry, I'm not going to stop writing but I just wanted to send out a brief reminder that hurtful, unhelpful comments online do no one any good. Let's keep this a lovely, happy place where people feel supported, heard and represented.

They were words Regina had imagined saying herself. Words she had wanted to hear. Words she knew described how she felt about the blonde. But she never imagined that Emma felt the same. How could she? With their history.

Except, hadn't Emma shown her, over and over and over again that she'd forgiven the brunette? Hadn't Emma told her that the past was in the past, that she forgave her teenage mistakes?

Yes, but then her husband had held her at gunpoint. Surely that was a relationship no-no. Leo's actions that morning must have demonstrated to Emma how she deserved better than Regina. Didn't they?

"Regina?"

Realising that she'd been staring, unseeing into the blonde's green eyes, Regina stepped backwards at the words. Emma's face crumpled at the move, sensing rejection as the space between them widened.

"Oh, you don't feel the same way," she said, more to herself than to Regina.

"What? No!" Regina said. "Of course I love you."

Emma frowned. "You do?"

"Yes, of course. I just can't quite understand why you … I don't know why you love me," Regina ended eventually.

"This is your self-doubt, isn't it?" Emma sighed, sitting down on the edge of Regina's bed. "From our past, right? You're thinking about Maine."

Regina hesitated and then nodded, taking a seat on Henry's bed. The distance between the two of them suddenly felt vast. There was a tense silence, neither one of the women sure where to start.

"Regina, I love you," Emma said eventually. "I don't know how to explain it any simpler than that."

"I love you too," Regina replied. "But for me it's so easy to understand why I love you. You're amazing. You've been so kind to me and to Henry. You're smart and beautiful and I love your passion for what you do here. I just … I don't understand how someone like you can love me, especially after today."

"Today?"

"Leo," Regina sighed. "He was here for me. He's my husband, my responsibility and you put your life at risk for me. Don't you hate me for what he put you through? Don't you -"

"Regina, stop," Emma said, standing up and crossing the room, crouching down before the brunette and resting her palms on her thighs. "I don't hate you. I could never hate you. I hate Leo, sure. I hated Leo long before he appeared with a gun in front of me. I hated him for what he did to you and Henry. But I don't blame you for his actions today. Yes, he was here because of you and Henry but you had no hand in his decision to pull out a gun in the middle of the street. And as for risking my life, I told you; that's my job. I would have done it for any of the women in here. It just so happened that today, the person whose life was in danger was yours. And I love you."

Regina looked down into the earnest face before her. She wanted to believe the blonde. She wanted the beautiful, loving words to be true. But after years of abuse, after the reliving of her shared history with Emma, she couldn't quite understand … "Why?"

"Do you need me to list reasons?"

Faint blush appeared on Regina's cheeks. She felt foolish. This crisis of confidence, yet another one, getting in the way of a budding relationship. They were, she realised, having the same conversations. Her self-doubt, Emma's reassurance. After each conversation, for a short time, she would accept it. Believe it. But then something would happen and that self-confidence would be knocked again.

"I want to believe it, Emma," she said at last. "I want to feel like I'm worthy of this. But I feel like I'm haunted, you know? Every now and then I remember Maine. I remember how awful I was. But you say it's in the past and I want to believe you. And most of the time I can. I'm learning to forgive myself, the way you have."

"Ok, good," Emma said, fingers squeezing lightly on Regina's thighs. "I'm glad you're making progress. That's really positive."

"I know but then something like today happens. Leo found me, Emma. He came to take me back. Maybe this is the world's way of saying I don't deserve to be happy after everything I did to you. Maybe I deserve to go back to Maine with Leo. Maybe that's what fate wants for me."

Emma's features darkened at the statement. "Maine. I don't believe in fate, Regina. We make our own way in the world and you made the decision to leave Leo. Unless that's changed, I won't allow him to take you back to Maine. You're not going anywhere with him, not if you don't want to. I won't let him take you and Henry."

"I don't want to go. I want to stay here, with you. But after a decade of being married to a man who made me feel like I wasn't worthy …"

She trailed off but Emma understood. Regina wasn't the first woman who had walked through the doors to the shelter with shattered self-esteem. She was always in awe of women who had been repeatedly kept down who managed to find the courage and strength to leave. And it was her job to protect them when they came to her. The difference here was that Regina was the first woman in her shelter she had ever dated, ever fallen in love with.

"You are worthy, Regina," Emma said quietly, peering up into those wide brown eyes. "Everyone is worthy of happiness. And I'm sorry if we're moving too fast. I should have realised that you're not ready for a new relationship yet. You're still married to Leo, technically. And you need to be focusing on yourself and Henry. So I understand if you're not quite ready for the 'I love yous' and I'm sorry if I pushed you. I thought it was the right thing to say. I thought it was something you wanted to hear."

"It is," Regina said at once, leaning forwards and draping her arms over Emma's shoulders. "I did want to hear those words. I do. God, if you'd said them last night, I'd have been over the moon."

Emma shook her head fervently. "I would never say 'I love you' for the first time after sex," she said, strangely stern. "It's confusing. You don't know if the person is saying it because they mean it or because they feel so good post-orgasm. Our bodies release a number of hormones during and after sex and they can make us feel emotions which fade in the morning. It's important to have a clear head when you first say 'I love you' to someone."

Despite the day's events, Regina laughed. She loved the way Emma's mind worked. "Fine, then I'm glad you didn't say it yesterday. And had today not unfolded the way it did, I would have been happy to hear those words over breakfast. But Leo's appearance knocked me sideways. I wasn't expecting it. I mean, how did he even find me?"

"I don't know," Emma said, eyes darkening. "But I'm going to find out."

"Thank you," Regina replied. "For everything. What you did today, Emma … I can't believe you did that. You're such a good person."

"So are you," Emma insisted. "You're an amazing mother and a great friend and you are a wonderful girlfriend. And I am happy to keep telling you these things until you believe them if that's what you need."

"I want to believe you. It's just hard sometimes."

"Then I'm going to make it as easy as possible for you. And the first thing I'm going to do is stop hiding this relationship. I don't think there's much of a secret to be kept, to be honest. From the way we hugged when I arrived just now, Mulan will know something is different between me and you compared to the rest of the women. And Kathryn's smart; she'll figure it out too. So, are you ready?"

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Now?"

Leaning forwards, Emma placed a chaste kiss to Regina's lips. "Now. I'm done hiding, Regina. I know people might talk. And I know I need to speak with my staff and explain how this all happened. But I'm ready for that. It's worth it, to be able to be in a proper relationship with you. And then the two of us can face whatever's coming with Leo together. Court cases, custody hearings, whatever may come, we can do it as a team. I mean, if that's what you want."

So, I'm not the only one with self-doubt, Regina mused to herself as Emma moved a little further away from her. She chased the blonde with her lips, kissing her hard. "Yes," she breathed out. "Yes, Emma. That is what I want. You and me, I do want it. And, in time, I will learn that I deserve it."

Emma beamed at her and stood up, reaching for Regina's hand and pulling her upwards. Fingers interlaced, they started towards the door. But before they reached it, the blonde stopped.

"Wait, what about Henry?"

"I'll talk to him," Regina said. "I'll explain everything in a way he can process."

"Will he understand? That you were with his father and now you're with a woman?" Emma knew most of the world, even in 2019, saw sexuality as black and white.

"He'll be fine," Regina assured her. "Kids are highly adaptable. And Henry loves you, he'll be thrilled about this."

"I love him too, he's a great kid," Emma replied. "Are you going to tell him about Leo?"

Regina shook her head. "Not until we know more. I'll keep any answers to his questions vague without lying to him. He's at the hospital, right?"

"In surgery, the doctor told me."

Surgery. That was more than Regina had gleaned so far. It also sounded serious; possibly life-threatening. "He won't die, right?"

"I don't know," Emma admitted. "I don't think so. They wouldn't tell me much to be honest. The police will be coming to interview me later so maybe I'll get some more information. I assume you're his next of kin by default, so if anything was life threatening, you'd have to be informed I would imagine."

"I guess," Regina said. "Anyway, can we not think about him? Not now. I just want to go and see Henry."

Emma nodded her agreement to that plan and reached for the door handle. Before she opened it, she reached for Regina's hand. The brunette smiled as she interlaced their fingers once again. Emma was unsurprised to see Mulan as soon as she stepped into the corridor. The woman had clearly been loitering. Regina walked out behind her and immediately dark eyes zeroed in on their hands.

"Hey," she said after several seconds, forcing herself to look up at her boss. "Um, everything ok?"

"We're ok," Emma nodded. "And yes, we're together."

"Like, together in a relationship?" Mulan asked.

"Yes," Emma confirmed. "You know Regina and I have a history. I've known her since we were sixteen and once we reconnected when she arrived, the nature of our relationship developed and became sexual."

"Emma!" Regina gasped, not realising the blonde was going to be so blunt. She supposed it was part of her autism. Straight to the point, no faff. She realised this quality, this honesty, was one of the reasons she loved the woman now peering curiously at her. "Sorry, carry on."

"Mulan, you know I'm always professional and I have never started a relationship with anyone here before."

"I know," Mulan said. "I'm not judging."

"Good. I just wanted to explain. This is not technically 'ethical' but I do believe there were extenuating circumstances. And as I just explained to Regina, what I did today, I would have done for any of the women here. I didn't only do what I did because I love her."

"Love, huh?" Mulan repeated, eyebrow quirked.

"Yes," Emma said simply.

"Yes," Regina echoed. At the confirmation, Emma's fingers tightened in her own.

"Well, I guess I should say congratulations. You two are pretty adorable together. And while I would love to stand around all day talking about my boss' love life," she winked at Emma, "can we talk about how the fuck that man found this place?"

Emma nodded furiously. "Yes, definitely. Um, Regina, do you mind giving me some time? We've got a lot to discuss and we may need to revisit some of our security procedures."

"Not at all," Regina assured. "I'll talk to Henry. And feed him. He was complaining about being hungry."

"Order pizza. I think we all deserve it after this morning. You can use the phone in the common room; there's a take-out menu stuck next to it for a local pizza place which is good. Pepperoni for me, please. I'll bring the delivery through when it arrives at the front desk."

Regina nodded her agreement to that plan. With a quick kiss to her lips, Emma untangled their hands and headed off down the corridor, Mulan falling into step beside her as they headed for the reception. Right, she thought to herself, now to tell my son.

The procedures and protocol in place to keep Swan's Shelter undetectable were extensive. It was paramount to Emma and the rest of her staff that no one who threatened the safety of those inside could find the place. Of course, many people knew it existed. The women themselves, for example. But the building was not marked on maps, there was no website online, the address was not published anywhere, the door bore no plaque. As much as possible, they tried to remain hidden.

A select group of individuals knew where to find Swan's Shelter. Women in their shelter, former residents and the shelter staff of course. And then there were others in related professions. Some of the female prison officers knew where to find Emma's shelter. If a battered woman required a safe place to stay, they would refer them and even on occasion dropped them off at the door. Similarly, doctors and nurses at the hospital, along with a few administrative staff, knew of Swan's. Victims were provided with the information if and when it was required.

It was hard in the modern world to remain anonymous but Emma tried. She knew how important it was for the women inside to know that whoever it was they felt threatened by would be unable to find them. Not only was the main part of the shelter a female-only zone, but they could also be confident that the husband, boyfriend or father they were hiding from wasn't loitering on the street, waiting for them to emerge. Swan's Shelter was off the grid.

"He had our address," Emma said as she sat down in her office. "I saw a notepad on the front seat of his car. It had our exact address, plain as day."

"That's why you ran off," Mulan mused, thinking back to the way her boss sprinted out of sight of the CCTV cameras. "I called the cops by the way. They said there was nothing they could do because I'd only seen you run out of sight. I was arguing with them about the fact that I knew it was an emergency but it wasn't until Regina appeared in the lobby and then I saw Leo pull a gun on you that the 9-1-1 operator accepted we needed police."

"You did great," Emma assured her. "And thank you for looking after Regina, as well as everyone else here. Where's Belle, by the way. I want to talk to her."

"In her office."

Emma made a mental note to make sure she spoke to the psychologist before she left. "Ok, well, thank you for calling the police. It might have saved my life."

"How did you know he was after Regina?" Mulan asked. "You ran towards her, not back to the shelter."

"There was a photo of her sticking out of the notebook. I guess he was going to show it to people and ask if they'd seen her."

"God, what if you hadn't noticed the car," Mulan breathed. "What if he'd taken her."

Emma shuddered. The thought didn't bear thinking about. "Well, thanks to Ruby having fallen asleep at her desk, I was scrolling through the footage when I spotted him outside. Had Ruby been doing her job last night, she would have seen him and perhaps we could have avoided all of this. It's my fault. I should have known it was too soon to let her come back to work."

"Don't blame yourself," Mulan protested. "She wanted to come back, she needed the distraction. And at least you stopped him. You kept Regina and Henry safe. That's the job, right?"

"Yes, one which Ruby wasn't doing. I'm so angry at her, Mulan. When I see her later -"

"Emma, she just lost her gran," Mulan argued. "She's in mourning."

Pursing her lips, Emma sank back in her seat. "Yeah, I know. But it was a stupid mistake."

"Agreed. But for now, let's go back to working out how Regina's husband found us in the first place. You said he had our exact address?"

After placing the pizza order, Regina turned to find herself face to face with Kathryn. The expression on the woman's face told Regina a million questions were coming her way. But she wasn't really in the mood to answer any of them in detail just yet.

"Hey, thanks for taking care of Henry this morning," she offered.

"Sure, are you ok? Your husband found you. Do you know how?"

Regina glanced across the common room to make sure Henry was well out of earshot before answering the question. "No, we don't know how he found us."

"Shit," Kathryn breathed. "Are you ok?"

"I've been better, but it could have been a lot worse."

"Yeah, Emma sounds like a superhero. She really got in between you and a man with a gun?"

So, gossip travelled fast, Regina mused. It was the truth however, and she didn't want to lie to one of the few friends she had in New York, so she nodded. "She'd have done the same for any of us in here, she told me."

"Yeah but … you're not anyone, are you?"

As Emma had predicted, the way in which the two of them had embraced had not gone unnoticed. Kathryn had picked up on the dynamic between them and now wanted answers. Regina understood that.

"No, I'm not anyone. We're in a relationship."

"How long?" Kathryn asked.

"A month or so? A few weeks? Time seems to slow down in here. It feels like forever."

"Does Henry know?"

Regina shook her head. "I'm about to tell him."

"Well, good luck with that. And I'm happy for you, by the way. I mean, it's a bit weird because Emma does run this place. Isn't she your primary contact?"

"That'll probably change now," Regina noted. "And yes, we know it's not exactly normal. It wasn't something either of us expected. But we have a history and when fate decided to place us on one another's paths again, I suppose we couldn't do anything but fall for each other."

"You guys are in love?"

An almost shy nod was accompanied by a smile spreading over Regina's face. Kathryn grinned back at her and then wrapped her arms around the woman. "I'm really happy for you," she whispered in Regina's ear.

The hug ended and Regina thanked Kathryn for her support and for taking care of Henry. She also asked if Kathryn would mind keeping the news of her and Emma to herself. The two of them would probably tell all the other women together, later in the day, but for now, the less gossip, the better. With that, she made her way over to the couch where her son was sitting, iPad in hand.

"Henry, can you come here for a moment? I want to talk to you," Regina said, patting her lap.

After a few seconds, tongue stuck between his teeth in concentration, Henry discarded the iPad and obediently crawled across the couch to sit beside his mother. But that wasn't good enough, not after what she'd been through that morning. Regina pulled Henry into her lap. He squirmed slightly. Being hugged by your mother is so not cool when you're approaching seven years old. But Regina jut held him tighter and eventually he relented. "Mom, are you ok?" he asked. "Did something bad happen today?"

"Yes, sweetie. But it's nothing for you to worry about. Everyone is fine. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something good."

"Is the pizza here yet?"

She chuckled. "Not yet. Another twenty minutes."

"I'm hungry. Kat made me a sandwich but it was on brown bread." His nose wrinkled in disgust as if it was the most unpleasant meal he had ever been served.

"Well, they're busy making the pizzas now and then they'll come and deliver them. Emma will bring them through."

"Emma's joining us for lunch?"

At the affirmative nod he received from his mother, Henry cheered at the news. Good start, Regina thought to herself.

"You like Emma a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah, she's cool," Henry enthused.

"I like Emma too."

"Do you like her lots like me?"

"Lots and lots," Regina nodded. "In fact, Emma and I like each other so much that we want to be in a relationship with each other."

Henry pondered the unfamiliar word before asking; "is that like a friendship?"

"Sort of," Regina nodded. "The best relationships are friendships too. But it's different. People in relationships sometimes live together and start families together and spend the rest of their lives together. Sometimes they even get married too so all of their friends and family can come to celebrate with them."

"Are we going to go and live with Emma?"

"Not yet."

"So we're not a new family?"

"Not yet."

"And what about Dad? Isn't he in our family still?"

"Your dad did something bad this morning, Henry. He's going to be in some trouble because he hurt Emma a little bit and he didn't do what he was told. He probably won't be allowed to come to visit us for a while."

"So he's not in our family now?" The boy's face fell. He missed his dad. He knew that his dad had not been nice to his mom and that sometimes he had been mean to Henry too. But he still missed him. It was confusing but true.

"He'll always be your dad, Henry. But he's not going to be around much." Or ever, if I have anything to do with it, Regina thought to herself. She had never wanted to completely cut Leo out of Henry's life but the morning's events had made her decide that it was the only way to keep them both safe.

"But Emma will be around lots?"

"Hopefully."

"Like another mom? Or like a new dad?"

"Like Emma," Regina suggested. "She's not another mom, she's not replacing your dad. But she is someone I really like and I want you to like her too."

"I do like Emma."

"Good. So do I. In fact, Emma and I love each other."

"Love? Like kissing and stuff?" Henry's eyes widened.

"Yes, like kissing and stuff."

"Are you going to get married?"

"Not yet." An image of Emma in a white lace dress flashed into Regina's mind. She forced herself to tear her focus away from the delectable image and back to her son who was pondering her answer.

"Oh … ok. Can I play on my iPad now, please?"

Momentarily startled by the sudden end of the conversation, Regina nodded. Henry grinned and scrambled off his mother's lap and retreated to the far side of the couch where he recommenced his game.

Well, that went better than expected, Regina mused. Kids are so willing to accept any kind of relationship, far more open minded than adults who are set in their ways and world views. Why can't everyone be like children? Regina asked. Then she noticed that Henry was sat with his finger up his nose. That's why, she reminded herself as she leaned over and gently pulled his hand away from his face.

Just as she settled down with a discarded newspaper she'd picked up off the coffee table, waiting for Emma to reappear, a chime from Henry's iPad caught her attention. "Henry, pass that here please," she said, holding out her hand for the device.

"What? But I just started a game," he protested. But one look from his mother and the tablet was placed in her hand.

She exited the app, eyes drifting to the top left corner of the screen. "Shit!" she exclaimed.

"Mom! That's a bad word," Henry said, arms folded.

Regina ignored him however, too busy opening the settings app and switching off the Wi-Fi. Powering down the device immediately afterwards, although she knew the damage was done, Regina leapt to her feet.

"Marian!" she yelled across the room. "You gave Henry the Wi-Fi password?"

The woman, who had been standing by the stove, cooking lunch for Roland, frowned. "What? No, I would never do that. Why?"

"The iPad," she said, brandishing the off device. "Where the hell did he get the password from? It wasn't connected when I left last night."

"I don't know," Marian replied. "Regina, please, you have to believe me. I didn't give them the password. They asked to play on my phone at one point but I said no and then they went off to play. I never gave them the passwords; I'd never do that."

After a moment's hesitation, Regina spun on the spot. "Henry, come here."

The boy obeyed at once, somehow knowing his mother was not in the mood for an argument. Everyone in the common room was looking at the two of them as she reached for his hand and the two of them hurried out into the corridor. Regina almost broke into a run, heading for Emma's office.