Authors note: Trigger warnings apply throughout. Alcohol, domestic violence/child abuse, sexual assault, sex. This will be an alternate ending to 6x21-22 and divergence from there. Robin Hood is still dead but he and Regina were not involved. He was married to Zelena. Zelena cheated on him with Hades and Hades killed Robin. SwanQueen all the way with a sisterly relationship between Regina and Zelena. I don't own these characters.
Regina and Zelena had been sitting in silence for almost 20 minutes. Zelena had poured two glasses of wine when her sister showed up at her door with tears in her eyes, but Regina couldn't, or perhaps wouldn't, tell her exactly what had her choking back tears. Regina finished her glass in several quick gulps and gestured for Zelena to fill the glass again.
"Sis? Are you…?" Zelena started but she was interrupted.
"Just pour," Regina said with a sigh.
And so Zelena did as she was requested. Another 10 minutes passed in silence except for the quiet snores of a sleeping baby Robyn on the baby monitor. Regina once again emptied her glass.
"Sis?" Zelena tried again.
"Pour!" Regina's tone was firm, almost a growl.
"At this rate, I'll have to poof you to the wedding tonight," Zelena was quickly growing concerned with her sister's mental state. Regina did not normally allow herself any indulgence or loss of control.
Her concern was not unfounded. At the mention of the pending wedding of Emma Swan and Killian Hook, the flood gates opened. No longer able to hold back, Regina sobbed into her wine glass. Zelena, surprised by her normally stoic sister's outburst, set the wine bottle on the coffee table and wrapped her arms around her younger sister. Though they had their differences in the past, Zelena did not wish for her sister to feel any pain. In fact, she rather wished she knew what Regina was thinking so that she could comfort her in some way. She hated to see her sister hurting, the pain of her own recent heartbreak still very fresh and raw. In typical Zelena fashion, a string of bad decisions had lead to the death of her husband, Robin Hood. The guilt she felt was overwhelming at times. It had changed her. Made her a better person. For him and for their child. Tears stung her eyes as she watched her sister sob. Regina reached out her hand and Zelena started to take it, but instead the brunette sister grabbed the wine bottle from the table and tilted it back.
"Oi! Sis!" Zelena was shocked to see her sister so determined to lose control.
She put her hands on top of her sister's and slowly guided the bottle back to the table.
"Regina! Talk to me! What's wrong?" Zelena was starting to feel scared. This was so unlike her normally perfectly composed sister.
Regina continued to sob and hiccup and the thought crossed Zelena's mind to conjure a trash can and a glass of water. She put the can between Regina's knees, which Zelena noticed were trembling with the force of her sobs. It was then that she noticed Regina's entire body was shaking. She set the water glass down and pulled Regina into her arms. She whispered soothing words into her sister's dark hair and rubbed her back in circles. She wasn't sure what else to do but let Regina have her tears. After several more minutes, Regina coughed and nearly gagged into the trash can then wiped her eyes and nose. With a heavy sigh, she stood, straightened her dress, and disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke. Zelena was left absolutely bewildered. She immediately sent a text to Snow and Emma to see if they had any explanation for Regina's odd behavior.
"Regina was just at my house. She seemed really out of sorts. Have either of you talked to her today?" Zelena texted Regina's two closest friends.
"I'll go and check on her." Emma's reply was immediate.
"No, Emma, you need to focus on your wedding. I'll check on her." Snow was also quick to reply.
"Too late, mom, I already poofed to the mayor's mansion." Emma was standing on Regina's porch.
Emma knocked but there was no reply. She called Regina's cell but it went straight to voicemail.
"Regina? Zelena texted me. She was worried about you. Are you okay?" Emma left a voicemail but texted a similar message as well. The text quickly showed that Regina read it but she didn't reply.
"Regina, if you don't text or call me back right now I'm going to poof into your house." Emma texted again.
Dots appeared signaling that Regina was typing a message. Emma waited a few minutes but no message came through.
"She read my text but she hasn't replied." Emma updated Zelena and Snow.
Emma tried the doorknob and to her surprise, the door opened. She stepped into the foyer. The blonde could hear muffled sounds coming from the direction of Regina's study. She tapped gently on the study door and waited. She heard rustling and Regina blowing her nose but there was no reply. Not being known for her patience, Emma tried the door, which opened, again to her surprise. She stepped into the dim study and looked around as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. As her eyes started to adjust, she noticed several empty wine bottles on the coffee table and on the floor. Once her eyes had fully adjusted, she noticed Regina curled up in a ball on the couch. She stepped cautiously toward the brunette. She couldn't help but think Regina seemed smaller, almost delicate. A small strip of sunlight was shining between the drawn curtains. It fell just across Regina's upper back. Emma knelt down beside the brunette and put a hand lightly on her back. Regina flinched as though Emma had hit her and started to pull away.
"Regina? It's Emma. We're all worried about you. Are you okay?"
Regina did not respond, but Emma heard her draw in a ragged breath not unlike one might do at the end of a very long cry. Emma kept her hand on her friend's back. Regina hiccuped a couple of times, and Emma helped her to sit up. The blonde sat next to her on the couch and Regina laid her head on Emma's shoulder. She seemed so small curled up in Emma's arms, and Emma couldn't help but notice her dark hair smelled of apples and spice. The scent was warm and inviting, very much the way Regina had become toward Emma over the last year. Emma took a deeper breath, inhaling Regina's sweet scent. Regina looked up at Emma with her tear stained face, dark eyes shining in the dim room, and Emma's heart ached. She had a sudden, intense desire to protect Regina from anything and everything that could possibly hurt her. She wanted to destroy whoever or whatever had caused Regina to feel this pain.
"Regina? What happened? Is there something I can do to help?" Emma whispered gently into Regina's hair.
Regina shivered slightly, and Emma pulled a blanket from the back of the couch to wrap around them. Regina met her eyes again, concern clouding Emma's green eyes. Regina looked around the room, realizing things had gotten a little out of control and how badly she needed to clean up. She was suddenly embarrassed by her tears and the number of empty wine bottles scattered about. How long had she been drinking anyway? She knew she'd started drinking at the rehearsal dinner the night before. And she was fairly certain she'd continued to drink afterwards then slept for awhile before going to Zelena's house. Zelena! Regina was fairly certain she'd thoroughly terrified her sister, which would explain why Emma was here, holding her, instead of preparing for her wedding or celebrating her defeat of the Black Fairy. Regina wasn't sure whether it was the alcohol or the smell of Emma's perfume that was truly intoxicating her. The feelings she'd suppressed for the last year, hell probably ever since she first met Emma if she was honest with herself, rose to the surface. It burned in her belly and ached in her heart. She looked up and met Emma's eyes one last time.
"Emma will be married tonight," Regina thought to herself. "It's now or never, I suppose."
Another whiff of Emma's perfume (and possibly the half a bottle of wine she downed at Zelena's place), gave her all the courage she needed. Regina put her hands up to Emma's face, pulled her close, and kissed her deeply with a passion she didn't know she even had within her. She leaned back and disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke before Emma could register anything but shock.