This idea came to me after watching 'Unforgiven' (staring Sandra Bullock on Netflix). It is not really "based" on that movie, but if you've seen it, you already know what the title means. If you haven't, you will find out. I don't know how long it will be, but it is SQ end game. Oh, and just because I can, I'm using some OITNB characters! Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Regina Mills sat behind the desk in her new office. She had made them redecorate it to her taste, and she loved it. She had no idea they'd actually do what she asked and thought she'd go looking at other job offers, but the Boston Correctional Institute for Women said they needed her and based on what they agreed to pay her, her hours, and now her office, they weren't lying. She was not a prison guard by any means, though she did have to take a simplified version of training once this job was offered to her. Dr. Regina Mills was a therapist – a very successful and sought-after therapist – who told herself she was up for this challenge; even if that meant she'd be working in close contact with the man her mother had cheated on her father with and created her elder half-sister. She despised the man, but she was excited for this challenge.

"Good morning, Doctor Mills." Ugh, his voice just sent shivers through her. Mr. Robert Gold was the warden of this correctional institute and would be her boss. "I hope you find the office to your liking."

"I do, thank you. I wanted a place of comfort for the women here considering the rest of their day is in the dank, gray walls of this place. No offense."

"It's a jail." He said with a shrug as he sat down and put some files on her desk. "These are the women that the board and I think could use you the most. One in particular…" He said, looking through and putting one on top. "Emma Swan. I know that looking at her rather thin file, most people would think she's a model inmate. She has never been in trouble, never in a fight, goes to her work duty, and keeps to herself. However, we think she would benefit because she literally just doesn't engage, or talk to anyone. She can talk, she says her 'please' and 'thank you' and even 'good morning' as a reply, but that's it."

Regina looked at the file, well really, the few sheets in it. "Been in the system since she was 13?"

"Yes." He said with a sigh. "Caught her foster dad molesting her foster sister and, according to her, blacked out until she woke up and he was dead, and her hands were covered in blood. Poor kid clamed up and all she told the court appointed lawyer was 'I did it'. Her lawyer was crap, as most court appointed lawyers are, and let her plead guilty to manslaughter and get a lifetime sentence. She was in juvenal hall until she turned 19 and has been here for the past 9 years. That's fifteen years in here without ever talking about it."

"And you're sure she hasn't talked to bunkmates or anything?"

"Positive. Usually, we get complaints for bunkies being too annoying or obnoxious, but with her, we get complaints because they get bored having no one to communicate with." He let out a breath. "I guess I'm just hoping you can get through to her. I know you have your thoughts on me, but I care about these women and even if they are criminals, I want to help them as much as I can. I hate to think how lonely it is for her. She's up at 430 every morning, does her work out, goes to the kitchen for her work shift, comes back to her cell at noon, just sits or lays in there until 3, goes back to the kitchen until 7 and back to her cell. Even while she's in the kitchen, she doesn't talk. She just does her work and leaves."

Regina was extremely intrigued by this inmate and made a mental note to get to know Emma as soon as possible. "Thank you for the heads up. I'll be sure to make her and the others here priorities. You're right in that life can't be that fun if you don't socialize; it is human nature after all."

"Great. I knew we made a great choice when we offered you the job." Mr. Gold stood and went to the door. "I am proud of you, Regina."

Regina swallowed the bile in her throat. "Thanks." It wasn't that the man was ever mean to her or her mother or sister, it was just that she loved her father so much that she hated the man for him. Even if her father forgave her mother, even if it all happened before she was born, she still hated the man. Once he was gone, Regina opened the file again and took out the pictures. Each year, updated pictures of the inmates were taken and put on file. She started with the one of a scared, young, and honestly sad looking 13-year-old, her long, blonde hair framing her face and her aqua eyes piercing hers. Regina softly brushed her finger along the picture and went to the next one. At 14 and 15, she didn't change much, but at 16, Regina could clearly see that any hope, any innocents, any sign of childhood at all was gone. At 20, she was in this facility and again, Regina couldn't get over the hollowed look in the woman's eyes. The most recent at 28, Regina saw how she still looked like that 13-year-old girl, only sharper, older, and definitely sadder. Regina didn't even know she had tears until one hit the picture. She let out a breath and closed the file. All she had to do now was figure out how to get Emma to talk to her. On her computer, she set Emma up for a 1pm appointment the next day so it wouldn't interfere with her work duty. "I hope you'll talk to me, Emma Swan."

SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ

Emma Swan's aqua eyes opened and she right away knew what time it was. She stretched, got up, grabbed her bathroom things, and headed to the stalls. She liked to be early because it not only was quieter, but it also gave her ten minutes of warm water versus only five. Sure, she knew she should shower after working out, but if she did that, there would be a huge line and she'd be late for work duty. As she let the warm water cascade over her…or rather, dribble over her, she closed her eyes and tried to remember what showering in the outside world felt like. She had only been a kid when she was sent to Juvenal hall and a foster on at that. Until the last place, however, they hadn't been that bad. The only crap part was growing close to them only to have them send you back. The last one, however, was terrible.

It was a rainy day, but the three girls walked home from school as slowly as they could. Emma was praying it wasn't her turn since it had been her turn the last three nights, but she didn't want either Lily or Ella to have to do it either.

All three girls had told their social workers what happened at the house, but all three social workers decided it was all made up for the girls to get to go live in a group home. No reports were made, no tests done, and because of that, things at the home had gotten worse. Each day, when they'd come home from school, there'd be one of three figurines waiting by the front door. If it was a Swan, it was Emma's night, a dragon signaled Lily's night, and a gold pumpkin signaled Ella's night. Whoever it was, was to eat right away, take a shower, and wait naked in bed. They all knew the rules and they all knew what happened if they didn't do as they were supposed to.

Emma closed her eyes and took a breath before turning towards the door. A dragon. It wasn't her night. She felt her heart drop regardless and looked at Lily. Lily had been Emma's best friend since the met when they were both 7, and she hated the mixed feeling of guilt and relief she was feeling right now.

Lily had gone completely white. "I can't. I can't do it again. I can't."

"Emma had it the last few nights, Lily. It was bound to be one of our turns." Ella said, putting her arm on Lily's shoulder.

Lily pulled away. "I don't care! I can't do it. I'm leaving. I'm running away. Come on guys, we can just go. Let's just go pack now and leave before he gets home."

Emma wiped at the tears mixing with the shower water and turned the faucet off. She wrapped the towel around her and stepped out of the cubicle. After brushing her teeth, putting her hair back in a bun, and putting on the standard issued uniform, she grabbed her shower caddy and headed back to her cell.

So long as nothing was going down, the cell doors in her block stayed open twenty-four hours. The block held 24 rooms; 12 on the first floor and 12 on the 'upper deck' as they called it. Each cell had one bunk bed, one desk, one cabinet with two drawers and, in this block anyway, a window. There was a toilet in case of a lock down, but the women here knew not to use them unless completely necessary. In the block was an open area with 6 tables, a tv, puzzles, and a guard station. All in all, though it was bleak, it wasn't as bad as Emma had feared it would be. Sure, it wasn't as cushy as Juvenile hall, but it wasn't as bad as the horror stories they tried scaring kids with. Maybe because she was lucky enough to end up in a women's only prison? She didn't know, nor did she care. This was her home for the rest of her life, so why should she care what it offered?

Emma sat on her bunk and rolled her neck, trying to get it lose for the day when she heard her bunkmate roll over. "Morning, Swan."

"Morning."

"Did you sleep well."

"Got to get to work." Emma said before leaving the cell. It wasn't like Emma didn't like her bunkie; hell, she didn't even know her, it was that she learned fifteen years ago to not trust anyone, and she'd kept that vow all these years.

In the kitchen, Emma smiled at Red who was her boss. If she were to ever decide to talk to anyone, the blonde had already known it would be Red. Red never pushed her, never judged her, and quietly looked out for her. "Potatoes?"

Red looked over and smiled back. "Good morning, Swan. Yes, if you could start on those, that would be great." Emma started washing them, getting lost in the chore she did every morning. "Feel like talking today?"

Emma looked over at Red. "When I do, you'll be the first to know."

Red smiled softly and gave a nod. "I'm here for you, Emma."

"I know. Thank you."

Time went fast when Emma was working and before she knew it, she was being told to go until the afternoon. Emma stopped by the bathroom first and then went to her cell, glad her Bunkie was gone. She lay on her own bunk and got her journal out.

I can't believe it's been almost sixteen years. It's been both slow and fast, to be honest. I'm 28 now and have spent more time in here than out there. That seems…sad, really. Lily still comes every Tuesday and Thursday to visit me, and I still decline each time. I know it isn't technically her fault, but she betrayed me and I'm not sure I can ever be okay with that. Her last letter said something about her finding my biological mom and how they want to help me. Pfft, right. Any psycho can say she's my mom just to get involved in drama. How would they even know? Lily is so stupid sometimes. I do miss her though. I miss life before the home. I miss life in general.

"Swan, you have an appointment." Guard Martina said, interrupting Emma's writing.

Emma looked up. "What for?"

"New therapist. Dr. Mills. She wants to meet you."

Emma rolled her eyes and tucked her journal under her pillow. "I have to?"

"You do." The woman said with a gentle smile. "It won't hurt."

"It's a waste of time." Emma said as she followed the guard.

"Don't make it be then. Talk. Emma, you know how to talk, but you never do. You seem laid back and kind, yet you don't even try to make friends. I get that it sucks in here, but it could suck less if you gave someone else a chance."

"A chance to what? Betray me? No thank you." Emma said surprising even herself with her words.

Martina stopped and looked at Emma. "Talk to her. She can help you." She said before knocking on the door. "I have Swan."

"Come in." Came a low voice that Emma immediately found sexy.

When they stepped in, Emma stood still for a moment looking at the office. It was like they were in a completely different building. "Emma, hello. I'm Dr. Mills. Please take a seat." She gestured to the sofa. "Guard Martina, thank you. I've got it from here."

"Right. I'll be back in an hour or so."

Emma rolled her eyes. "It'll take less than five minutes."

"An hour." Martina said, giving Emma a look before leaving.

Regina came over and sat on the chair across from Emma. "Hey there. I'm Dr. Mills and I am the new therapist for BCI for Women. I asked Mr. Gold to give me a list of people he thought would benefit from talking to me and you were one of them."

"Me? Why? I've never once gotten in trouble."

"No, you haven't. However, you apparently also aren't very social."

"Why is that such a big deal?" Emma asked, starting to get annoyed.

"Even though you're all prisoners, your well being is important to us. Mental and physical. You've been here for quite a while and the fact you don't socialize is concerning."

Emma sat back and crossed her arms. "I've seen what happens when you trust others. It never ends well. Look, this is a waste of time. I'm fine, I'm not suicidal, I'm not going to hurt anyone. I just do my job and keep my head down. No big deal."

Regina sat back, seeing the walls go up on the blonde. "You trusted someone once and it didn't end well?"

Emma scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yep."

"When?"

"Many years ago."

"Who was it."

"Someone."

"What was it about."

"Something."

Regina grit her teeth and just watched Emma. Emma, for her part, stared right at Regina. "Emma, I…okay, tell me how I can get you to trust me?"

"You can't. Nothing personal, Dr. Mills."

"You can call me Regina. What if I told you something about me and then you tell me something about you?"

"No thanks."

Regina decided to try something else. "I've heard you keep a journal." She noticed how Emma went still at this. "What if you picked out an entry to let me read? It could be about anything, even if it's just about what you ate."

"How would that help you?"

"It would give me just a little insite into you, and it would show you that it's not that hard to let someone in."

"Why should I let anyone in? I mean really, Regina, what is the point? I'm going to be here until the day I die; who cares if I've made friends along the way? Friends that would either be released, transferred, or die as well. There's literally no point."

"If that's your logic, what's the point of getting up every day and working?"

"I'm here, okay. I'm here and I'm going to be here, so why not pass the time with working. Besides, I have no one on the outside to give me commissary money, so I need to work so I can buy things they don't provide." Emma sat forward with her arms on her knees. "Look, doc. If I did need to talk about anything, I'd talk to Red in the kitchen. She's been sort of like a mother figure, even though I didn't ask for it. All you need to know is I'm fine."

Regina took many mental notes. "So you are close to someone."

"I didn't say that, but sure, twist my words, every therapist I've ever talked to has done that."

"And how many have you talked to?"

"A few. I had to talk to two before my case and there was one at Juvie, but he was a creep."

"And they twisted your words?"

"Every single one of them did."

"What did you talk about?"

"My case. I'm sure you know why I'm here."

"Actually, I don't. Yes, I've seen your file, seen your charges, but I still don't know why you're here. You were defending your foster sibling after both you and she had been sexually abused for a couple years and no one believed you. That's self-defense of another and not manslaughter."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Is that supposed to make me feel better and suddenly want to be your best friend?"

"No. It's simply my honest look at this."

"Ha, well, tell that to the judge. Look, can I go please? I've already said more than I ever wanted to."

"How about this, you come every Wednesday for an hour. You don't have to talk but you can if you want. If you want, bring in your journal and I'll read only what you give me permission to read."

Emma had no idea why, but she agreed. "Fine. I guess it gives me a way to make an hour go by fast. I'm not going to talk though."

"Okay. No problem. I'll see you Wednesday at one."

"This Wednesday? Why can't it start next week?"

"This Wednesday at one."

"Fine." Emma stood. "Can you call Martina?"

Regina did and when there was a knock, Emma went to the door. "Nice meeting you, Emma."

"Yeah, you too." Emma grumbled and left. "Let's go."

Regina watched the door close and sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought, but she was more determined then ever to get to the bottom of Emma Swan.