So, this story has completely taken on a life of its own haha. It's not just a simple stripper story that I thought it would be but based on all your comments/reviews/kudos/favorites/follows, I'd say you're all okay with that. Thank you for all of those! Also, I am a HUGE SVU fan and have seen every episode at least three times, so please don't think I don't know that Olivia wouldn't be here since she's NYPD, this is AU people, she's where ever I want her to be lol.

(see end for more notes)

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Chapter 7

Emma took a shower and got dressed the next morning with her stomach fluttering with nerves. She had opened this door, but now she wasn't sure she'd be able to go through it. Was there a point?

"Stop thinking so loud." Regina chuckled from her bed. "I wish you'd let me go with you."

"Actually, I was thinking. W…would you mind? You don't…"

"I'm coming." Regina said, getting up. She kissed Emma's cheek. "Let me just shower."

"Thank you. Do you want any breakfast?"

"I'll grab some toast before we head out. Help yourself though, babe."

Emma smiled, watching Regina go into the bathroom. How had she gotten so lucky? Never did she think she'd find someone who made her feel so loved and so special. Sure, they'd only been dating a few months, but still, she never felt this way before. She felt safe and protected and…she sighed; she knew it wouldn't last. Nothing good ever lasted for Emma Swan. She sat on a chair in the kitchen, sipping her coffee as she thought about that. She really hoped she wouldn't do anything to make this not work.

"What's on your mind?" Regina asked, kissing Emma's cheek. "I can tell it's more than just meeting with Olivia today."

Emma shrugged and was mad at the tears that gathered in her eyes. "I'm fine." She lied.

"You're not." Regina sighed and sat down with her coffee. "Baby, talk to me." She put her hand over Emma's.

"I just…" Emma looked down. "Nothing good ever lasts for me." She said quietly.

Regina completely understood why Emma would feel like that. She pulled the blonde's chair out and knelt in front of her. "I understand that you believe that since that's how it's always been for you. My love, I'm not going anywhere. Please don't sabotage this before it really begins."

"I'm not trying to, Regina, I swear it. I just can't help but wait for the other foot to fall."

"I know. I…I feel the same way. I've told you that I was married before and that it ended but…well, let's just say I'm scared for the other foot to fall as well."

Emma urged Regina to get up and pulled the woman on her lap. "Do you think you can tell me about it?"

Regina nodded, she owed at least this to Emma. "I married young. I was just out of college and figuring out what to do with my life when I met Daniel. I thought he was amazing, and he was…at first. He didn't want me to work, so I didn't. He wanted me to dress a certain way, so I did. If I challenged him or talked back, he'd get angry. Mostly it was little things like not talking to me for a day or so. Sometimes, if I wore something he didn't like, I'd find that clothing ripped up and in the garbage. Then one day, it stopped. It went from him being completely controlling to him not caring at all. Turns out he had found another woman and was cheating on me. It hurt, it broke my heart, it…it made me feel so worthless."

"I'm so sorry, Regina. No matter what, it can't feel good to be cheated on."

"It didn't. We ended up divorcing and since I didn't have a job or money, he and his lawyers got everything. Thank goodness for my mother because she let me come home and start over. Still though, I never trusted again, and thought I'd never love again. Then, a few years later, this hot, annoying, perky, dumb joke telling blonde walked into my life."

Emma chuckled. "That's what you thought of me?"

Regina smiled. "Yes, somewhat. But I love you so much and I'm so glad my mom pushed me to follow my heart and ask you out." She kissed Emma and then rest her forehead against the blonde's. "My point is, we both have things in our pasts that are going to make us question things and fear for things to go wrong, but we cannot let those things guide us. We have to live in the moment and…just be."

Emma smiled and took a deep breath. "You're right. Thank you for telling me your story, Regina, and I promise I will do my best to live in the moment with you."

"That's all I ask, hot stuff." Regina said with a wink, trying to lighten the mood.

It worked as Emma smiled and even blushed a bit. She then looked at the time and her smile faded. "Regina…I'm scared. What if this is all a waste of time? I'm not sure I can go through all this and possibly even court only to not be believed."

"Emma, you only take this as far as you want to. Today, you're just talking to Olivia; just talking. You're just telling her what happened and then you see what she says. If this goes anywhere, you go step by step, day by day and if at any point you want to stop, you stop."

Emma nodded and smiled softly. "Thanks. You're right." She took a breath. "Okay, let's go."

The ride to the precinct was quiet as Regina let Emma reflect and prepare for what they were doing. She did take a call from Mal at one point on hands free.

"Hey boss, I got the self defense class set for Tuesday at eleven."

"That's great, thank you for doing that." Regina responded. "And the girls all want to get back at it Wednesday? You know, I excuse them if they don't."

"I know, but they do."

"I do too." Emma said, though she hadn't meant to interrupt.

"Is that Emma?" Mal asked, the smile evident in her voice.

"Yeah, sorry, I don't mean to eavesdrop but you're kinda on Regina's car speakers."

"Well I'm sorry if I'm interrupting some brunch date or something." Mal chuckled.

"You're not." Emma said, but tried not to sound down. "Mal, I want to dance again too but…can I maybe go back to just the stage for now? I know it's less…"

"Honey, that's fine." Mal said. "It's completely fine. I'm just glad we're not losing you all together, though I wouldn't blame you."

"I know it could have been worse, but it…it just…affected me."

Regina reached over and put her hand on Emma's knee while Mal continued. "Honey, I've seen your physical scars from your past, I can only imagine the mental ones. You don't have to explain anything to me, love. We'll start you off slowly, schedule you for two sets on Wednesday and go from there. How does that sound?"

"That's more than fair, but usually I do up to six or seven sets a night. Won't you lose out on money if I don't do more?"

"I'm going to let Regina answer that."

Regina smiled softly. "Money isn't our number one priority, Emma. Yes, it's a business so yes, it's up there, but it's not number one. I'm going to tell you something that doesn't leave this car or conversation okay?" When Emma nodded, she continued. "You've been with us for a few months now and our books can mark the day you started on stage. The profit you've earned our company is through the roof, Emma. You cutting down on sets, or even if you wanted a break, is completely fine because we are so far into the black it's crazy. We can afford for you to cut down or take a break."

"I don't want to though; not completely. I just…even before that happened that night, I was thinking that I wished I was just on stage. Maybe one day or in the right circumstances, I could do lap dances again, just…not right now."

"Emma, that's completely fine. Hell, if you wanted to just go back to being behind the bar, that's your choice." Mal stated. "You always have a choice."

"Thanks. I do appreciate it." Emma said, seeing they were pulling into the parking garage.

"I have to go, Mal. Thanks again for setting up the self-defense classes."

"No problem. Emma, I'll see you Tuesday. Regina, are you in tomorrow?"

"We're closed tomorrow, Mal, and that includes you. Stay home and have some time off."

"Thanks, boss."

"No problem." Regina ended the call and parked before looking over at Emma. "Ready?"

Emma took some deep breaths and nodded. "I guess."

After checking in with the desk sergeant, they made their way to the SVU area where Emma saw the blonde that had been with Olivia the night at the club. "I thought it would just be Olivia." Emma whispered.

"Maybe she's just here working on something else."

The blonde saw them and smiled. "Emma Swan? Olivia is expecting you. If you don't mind, she's asked me to sit in with you since two sets of ears can be better. However, if you don't want me to, that's fine as well."

"Um, no, that's fine. Is it okay that Regina come with us?"

"Of course. I'm Detective Amanda Rollins by the way." She said holding out her hand to shake. "Can I get you two something to drink? The coffee isn't too terrible."

"Just some water please." Emma said and Regina agreed.

"Great, Captain is right in here." She knocked on the door. "I have Miss Swan for you. I'm just going to grab them some water; do you want anything?"

"Thanks Amanda, I'm fine." Olivia said and stood with a friendly smile. "Emma, please come on in and take a seat. Regina, right?" She asked, shaking their hands.

"Yes. I hope it's okay that I'm here. Emma wanted some moral support."

"It's honestly just fine as it's up to Emma who she wants to hear all this."

"I told Regina already." Emma said, taking a seat. "I'd had a nightmare after the incident at the club and I told her everything. She's the one who suggested seeing if anything could be done."

"I get the feeling you're not sure about all of this." Olivia said kindly.

"Can I be honest?"

"Please."

"I just…" Emma rubbed at a crack on the table. "I don't want to waist anyone's time. I honestly don't know what I'm more worried about here. If me telling you this is going to just end there, or if it'll go further only to have no evidence and no one believing me. It was so long ago, but…" She kept her eyes down. "Every time I think I'm over it, it comes back to haunt me."

Regina softly rubbed Emma's knee, proud of the blonde for being honest. Olivia reached over and put her hand over Emma's. "One thing I'm going to tell you right now is that you don't have to fear no one believing you because I already believe you, Emma. I will be honest as well and tell you that I don't know what will happen after you make your statement, but I promise you that I will do everything I can to try and help you get justice."

With her free hand, Emma wiped at a fallen tear. "I just don't see how." She whispered as Amanda came in.

"You let us worry about that." Olivia said, patting her hand before sitting back waiting for Rollins to get her notepad out.

"Thanks for the water." Emma said, taking a sip.

"No problem." Amanda stated. "If either of you need anything, just ask."

"Emma, there's no rush so let's just do this at your pace." Emma nodded and started telling her story, holding Regina's hand the whole time. Olivia listened intently, trying to keep her interruptions to a minimum, but jotting down questions. When Emma explained how it all ended when the summer ended and how they never talked about it afterwards, Olivia let out a breath. "So, it didn't happen the next summer?"

Emma shook her head. "I was so scared that it would, so I honestly just spent as much time away from her house as possible. I'd sleep on park benches and panhandle instead of going to her home."

Regina noticed how she didn't call it 'home' and her heart went out to the blonde. Olivia jotted something down. "And you didn't talk about it at all after that?"

Emma shook her head. "I…I felt so betrayed that I just didn't talk to her at all. I completely withdrew in everything and I think she was just waiting for me to leave. I know it's hard to believe that anyone could live there another year and not talk about it, but I didn't. I couldn't. I…I just would stay in my room alone and cry. I missed so much school and when I was there, I didn't do much. I honestly don't know how they didn't call her. Maybe they did, I guess I don't know."

"Did you graduate?" Amanda asked, unable to stop herself, but she asked it in a kind way.

"I did. I was staying in a homeless shelter where I met my now roommate and her social worker helped me get my GED with night classes. I did really well too, so I can only imagine how good I could have done in school if…if I'd just tried harder."

Olivia reached and again covered Emma's hand with hers. "Emma, you were dealing with so much in your head. My god, the hell you had to be going through all alone. I honestly cannot imagine how hard that would have been. I want to ask you something, but please don't think I'm blaming you in any way, okay? Why didn't you tell anyone? A teacher or your social worker?"

Emma felt more tears fall as the shame went through her again. "I wanted to but…I didn't think anyone would believe me. My social worker never checked in on me and my teachers…I never got close to them. I figured they'd think I was making excuses or something."

"Do you know why your social worker never checked on you?" Amanda asked. "Unless you were in long term care or adopted, they should be checking in once a month."

Emma scoffed and tried not to roll her eyes. "Tell that to them. What I learned early on was that because I was an orphan, because I didn't have family fighting for me, I wasn't top priority for them, and they'd just push off my visits. I know I could have called them, I do know that, but again…" She bit her lip and looked at Amanda. "When foster care works and people do what they're supposed to, it's a great system. When it doesn't work and you get people who cut corners, who just want a pay out, who…who just does the bare minimum, it doesn't work. Unfortunately, I never got a social worker who fit that first category and I was dumped over and over from place to place and it got to the point where I was blamed. I got hit because I was bad, or I was locked in my room for three days with no food or water because of something I did. I honestly didn't want to be blamed for this. I know that sounds ridiculous now, but at the time, I thought that's what would happen."

"It makes sense, Emma." Amanda assured her. "I hate that nothing surprises me anymore about that system. I'm sorry it failed you."

"I am too." Olivia stated. "But I'm going to do all I can to see what we can do to fix it. Do you remember Maggie's full name?"

Emma nodded, wiping her eyes. "Margaret Stemps. She was in Peabody Mass, just outside of Salem." Emma let out an almost laugh and shook her head. "She used to take me to Salem, and we'd go to the museums and talk about how terrible the witch trials were. Then she turned around and did this to me." Emma took some breaths as she tried to not cry.

Regina rubbed Emma's back knowing she as going through so much. "You didn't deserve it, baby." She said softly.

"Then why did it happen?!" Emma asked, trying so hard not to get mad at the wrong person. "Why couldn't I find someone who actually cared about me for once? Why…why did this all happen to me?"

Regina pulled Emma into her arms. "Oh baby, I don't know. I wish I had all the answers, but I don't. What I do know is you didn't deserve it. No child deserves what you went through."

"She's right." Olivia said softly. "I can't imagine how hard this all is, but she's right in that you didn't deserve this."

They talked for a bit more and Olivia got more information. "If you need my permission to get my records, just let me know." Emma said, signing her statement.

"I don't think we will, but if we do, I'll call you. Emma, I can't make promises on how long this will take. We're working between states, so it could take longer."

"It's fine. Honestly, please don't put this case above any others. This was so long ago…"

"That doesn't mean it's not as important." Amanda said. "Not only for you but for anyone else that may have been hurt by these people."

"If you think of anything else, please don't hesitate to call me, Emma." Olivia said as she walked them out.

"Thank you so much, Olivia." Emma said, taking Regina's hand and walking out.

"Are you okay, love?" Regina asked, pulling Emma into a hug outside the building.

"I'll be okay, Regina. Honestly, I'm glad I'll be seeing Mary Margaret tomorrow. This…this is affecting me more than I realized it was." She kissed Regina softly. "Thank you for being with me in all this."

"There's no where I'd rather be. Now, how about lunch and a movie?"

Emma smiled. "I'd love that."

The two spent the afternoon together and decided Emma would spend another night with Regina and the two spent the evening cuddled together and just talking. Emma loved how easy Regina was to talk to and Regina loved having someone like Emma to talk to.

Monday came and Emma took the bus to see Mary Margaret while Regina got some work done at home. It wasn't too bad as the first appointment was mostly to get to know each other and by the end, Emma knew the woman was someone she could easily talk to and set up reoccurring sessions for Mondays knowing she'd be able to easily get off work since they were usually closed. As she waited for the bus, she called Regina. "Hey. Are you sick of me yet or can I come back there?"

Regina smiled softly. "Emma, I could never get sick of you. In fact, I'm making a nice comfort dinner after the weekend you've had, and I was hoping you'd stay over."

"I'd love that. I do have to stop at home and grab some more clothes and I should probably check in with Lilly."

Regina bit her lip. "Emma…if you wanted to, you could bring clothes for more than one more night."

Emma smiled. "How many nights?"

Regina grinned. "How ever many you want to."

"Regina Mills, are you asking me to move in with you?"

Regina actually giggled. "I would but I know you'd say no; that you have to talk to Lilly and all that, so for now I'm just saying…stay longer."

"I'll talk to Lilly, Regina. I want to…I mean if you want me to. I just can't leave her high and dry – especially after everything she's done for me."

"I want you to live with me, Emma, but I am not asking you to leave Lilly high and dry. I'm just happy you're willing to talk to her."

"The bus is here, baby. I'll talk to you later. I love you."

"I love you, too." Regina said and hung up with a smile.

Emma couldn't stop smiling as she got on the bus. Maybe, just maybe, life was going to be good.

a/n – I know this has taken a turn from simple stripper story, but I wanted more depth. Anyway, we will get back to the stripping soon. Also, I know I usually update every story once a month, but I am going to be MIA for a bit as I take vacation and the settle into my new place with my girlfriend. Thank you for your understanding.