"Henry honey, can you come through here please?" Emma called from the kitchen where she was making a box of pancakes for breakfast.

"Sure Mama, what's up?" Henry asked as he struggled to button up his school shirt and had his tie hanging loose around his collar.

"Regina told me what happened at school yesterday and I want you to know that I am not angry with you, but you can't lose your temper at school like that sweetheart. You were angry with Brandon, and I understand that, but I can't allow you to fight with or threaten someone. Next time, please promise me that you'll just walk away" Emma said as she plated up the pancakes and Henry nodded before tucking into his food.

"Promise Mama, I just lost my temper" Henry mumbled with his mouth full of pancakes and fruit.

"I know baby boy, but you can't do that. If that happens again, ask the teacher to help you and explain that you're feeling angry then walk away and do something to calm down like reading or playing with one of your friends. I know it gets difficult Henry, but it really will help" Emma promised, kissing the top of his curly head.

"I promise Mama, it won't happen again" Henry said earnestly as he picked up his juice cup and swallowed the contents in three gulps.

"Good boy, now I don't think Regina will be picking you up today, but Grandma might. You'll go back to grandma and Grampa's house and then I'll come and get you from there." Emma said, quickly glancing at her work schedule and noting that she finished at five that day.

"Okay Mama." Henry smiled as he finished packing his bag and made sure he had his PE kit and soft shoes packed.

"Mama, do you like Regina?" Henry asked, trying to gauge her reaction.

"Hmm? Well I think she's very helpful and definitely doesn't look down her nose at us considering who her mother is, so yes Henry, I do like her" Emma answered thoughtfully.

"I meant do you think you'd like to date her?" Henry asked, hardly daring to hope.

"Henry honey, I barely know her. She's really very beautiful and she seems to love you which is key for me, but I don't know her well enough." Emma said slightly sadly.

"Well maybe you should get to know her better." Henry grinned cheekily.

"Maybe I should" Emma smiled, then realising the time, urged Henry to hurry while she scraped her long tresses into a high ponytail.

Regina kept replaying that last sentence over and over again in her head, like it was the chorus of her favourite song. Emma knew she was hiding something, but she didn't know what.
Maybe now it was time to stop lying to everyone, including herself. And to do that, she first wanted to tell her sister.

"Hey Zel I wondered if you were free for a coffee today? I have something that I want to tell you" Regina tapped out the text and sent it, and her phone chimed immediately with a response.

"Absolutely, can we do it at my place though? Robyn hasn't slept too great and I'm hoping that a nap in her crib might help" Zelena answered, hoping that her sister was okay.

"Of course. I can come over during her naptime as I am not getting Henry from school today so can be as long as you like" Regina texted back, and her sister replied with thumbs up and a kiss emoji.

Regina was ready to admit to both herself and her sister that she was gay. Or at the very least, she wasn't straight. She never had found men all that attractive though she still had to pretend to be looking for a husband when in her mother's presence because even Regina knew that Cora would never accept or support her when it came to her sexuality, but Zelena promised to always love and support her sister and Regina was hoping that this news wouldn't change anything between them. She didn't think for a moment that she would be able to cope without her sister.

Regina had kept this fact as her most closely guarded secret since she was eleven years old and first suspected that she was different; all the girls in her class at school were obsessed with the lead singer of a boyband because of his rakish good looks but Regina herself had never found herself being overly enamoured by him, actually he made her skin prickle with irritation every time she had looked at his face.
Cora had sent her to co-ed schools in the hope that she would fall in love with a boy from a wealthy background who would give her life that Cora desired her to have, but Regina had instead become engrossed with her schoolbooks and coming top in every exam, until she won a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school that although was co-ed, Regina still wasn't really interested in coupling up with anyone, instead she preferred to study or hang out with the other girls in her dormitory, which had slightly infuriated her mother but Regina hardly saw her when she was away at school so she wasn't too concerned.
Since starting Law school, Regina had been invited out on dates with a few different guys, but she had always politely turned them down, thankfully Cora had never found out about these!

Regina showered quickly, her facial bruises had finally begun to fade, making her look less lopsided and more as though she had bumped into something, so she applied a light coat of her normal foundation and some concealer wherever the bruising was slightly darker. Her scratches seemed to have healed and thankfully hadn't left a mark, and all she had to do now was wait for the bruising to disappear.
She didn't bother much with her hair, wishing that she could cut it even slightly shorter but now she French plaited it and threw in some kirby grips to keep her bangs away from her face. She then pulled on a red smock top and a pair of flared trousers and her black patent boots, grabbed her bag and headed out to meet her sister.

Zelena Mills-Locksley was sitting on her sofa drinking her third large coffee that morning; the baby had been awake half the night and Zelena hated seeing her husband looking so tired, so she had gotten up with the baby every single time and was now absolutely exhausted. Thankfully Robyn had been cranky because she was tired so when Zelena had placed her in her crib, she fell right asleep, sucking on her pacifier, her blondish brown tufts of hair making her look like a little duckling.
Hearing her little sister's car pull into the driveway, Zelena threw a coffee pod into her machine so that the coffee would be ready by the time that Regina was walking through the door, and sure enough, the machine stopped just seconds before the door opened.

"Zel?" Regina called but quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping baby.

"Kitchen Gina, come through. I've made you coffee" Zelena whisper-shouted back and Regina made her way through to the gleaming kitchen.

"Wow! This is spotless!" Regina said dazzled by the shine off the countertops and the gleam of the tiled floor.

"Thanks, Marian, our cleaner, she's good at getting even the most stubborn of marks away and she works wonders with Robyn's dirty clothes. I don't know how she does it. Definitely the best thing we ever did was hire a cleaner, anyways, what's up?" Zelena asked, handing her sister the hot coffee and sliding a tin of biscuits over but Regina shook her head gently and wrapped her hands around the mug, thinking about the best way that she could say what she had to say.

"Regina?" Zelena asked, jolting her sister out of her thoughts

"You're vibrating. Stop worrying and just tell me what you need to tell me. Nothing will change how I feel about you sis" Zelena voiced her caring nature and glanced at Regina who seemed to shrink even further into herself and glanced fleetingly towards the door, almost wishing she could change her mind and run away from this.

"Zel, there's something I have to tell you, but I don't know how" Regina said, hearing herself that her voice was shaking.

"Just tell me. I'm not going anywhere" Zelena reassured, and Regina took a deep breath and felt her heart lurch into her throat.

"I…I think… I think I might be gay" Regina said in a rush and tears sprung to her eyes before spilling down her face at the sheer relief of telling someone her most carefully guarded secret.

"Oh Regina, I'm so glad you feel safe enough to tell me. Does Mother know?" Zelena cried, pulling Regina into a tight hug and Regina shook her head lightly, sobbing in sheer relief.

"No, and she can't know. You know how she feels about gay people but especially gay women. She thinks we're all sluts and easy and can't control ourselves. She always said that if either of us ever told her that we were gay, we would be dead to her." Regina said, wiping away her tears.

"Regina, I need you to be honest with me… are you safe at home with Mother?" Zelena asked directly.

"At the moment, yes. If she ever finds out, then I am sure that she will kill me. She's already told me that she likes the idea of those Christian camps, you know the ones who basically lock up teenagers and treat them like shit until they become untainted and pure again" Regina shivered, hoping that this wouldn't be her fate.

"Well, she can't send you there, you're an adult and those places only accept teens who can't speak in their own defence, but Regina, if she finds out, you are coming to stay here with us. I don't care what Mother thinks about it but if you're not safe and you're not happy living with her, then I would rather have you living here." Zelena said firmly, her wedding ring sparkling in the kitchens bright lights as she lifted her mug of coffee to her mouth.

"But Zelena, what about your husband and your daughter? Mother adores little Robyn and…"

"Then she can accept you for who you truly are, and until she does, she isn't seeing her grandchildren, myself, or my husband." Zelena huffed defiantly.

"Are you sure?" Regina asked her sister.

"Absolutely. In fact, I have the guest bedroom set up as we speak, why don't you pack up some of your clothes and stuff and move here during the day? That way you only have to sleep in the same house as Mother. Then if she does find out about you, you can just walk out and come straight here. Makes a lot more sense than just hoping she won't find out" Zelena offered, once again offering biscuits to Regina and this time Regina accepted, picking a chocolate chip cookie.

"that's actually a really good idea Zel, I'll pack up a bag tonight and bring it over tomorrow if that's okay. I think I'm watching Henry tomorrow so I can drop off my bag and then go straight to Emma's place." Regina pondered aloud, working out the timing in her head.

All of a sudden there was a cry from upstairs

"That must be Robyn awake then, I suppose I had better see to her" Zelena groaned but Regina sprung to her feet.

"I'll go and get her, she might just be wanting a cuddle or changing. You sit and drink your coffee; god knows you look like you need it" Regina laughed before climbing the stairs.

Robyn was wide awake and standing up in her crib, although she was crying, as soon as she spotted Regina, she started smiling and motioning for Regina to pick her up, which Regina did. Nuzzling against Robyn's soft and fluffy hair, Regina whispered to her niece

"You have no idea how loved you are little one, you have a lovely mummy and a daddy who you've already got wrapped around your little finger. You are so loved and so lucky. I can't wait until I have the chance to make right what your grandmother has done wrong"

Zelena had crept in behind her sister unnoticed but cleared her throat gently, alerting Regina to her presence

"That's why I had her so soon after we married. Mother favoured me but that didn't mean she loved me more or disliked me more. I was lucky in that sense, but Regina I always felt bad for you. She pushed you so much and she has hurt you in so many different ways and I always swore I would never be like that with my own children, and I haven't been. Robyn and her little brother or sister will grow up knowing what love is and not being frightened of me to say that they don't want to do piano lessons or that they hate dance class. Mother damaged us Regina, but you were especially hurt by her."

Regina's free hand brushed at her eye which although healed, she fancied that it still hurt whenever she thought about her mother's rage that night.
She wondered if her mother had always feared her coming out and if that was why she pushed Regina so much as a child, but she doubted if she would ever know the true reason. Cora was a very complicated woman.

"Gina, let me take Robyn, why don't you go and freshen up?" Zelena prompted and Regina handed over the toddler, the sudden loss of her weight making her arms feel unbearably empty. But she took the hint and went into her adjoining bathroom and splashed her face with cool water, her eyes-tinged red with tears and her foundation was streaked.

"Zelena" came a voice from downstairs and Regina recognised it as Robin, Zelena's husband of almost three years.

"Coming Robin, just getting the baby ready. Regina's here as well" Zelena called back

"Right-o, anyone for tea?" he called back, and you could hear the smile in his voice.

"Yes, please Robin" Regina shouted at the same time as her sister shouted for tea as well, and this made both girls start to laugh at each other.

Regina made her way downstairs and was immediately swept into a hug by Robin who treated her like his own sister.

"How's it going then Gina?" he asked, pushing a mug of tea towards her.

"Not too bad thanks Rob, how was work? You're home early, aren't you?" Regina replied, blowing gently on the boiling liquid.

"Only by an hour or so, they didn't have anything they needed me for, so I was free to go, thank God for that!" Robin smiled cheekily at her and Regina poked her tongue out playfully.

"What's going on?" Zelena asked, coming down with Robyn, now dressed in a cute little Minnie mouse dress and matching socks.

"Here's your tea darling, let me see my little one then" Robin said, pushing another mug towards Zelena and plucking Robyn out of her arms and threw her up in the air, laughing all the while.

"Typical. Regina and I spend hours trying to stop her crying and as soon as you walk in the door, she's acting like butter wouldn't melt" Zelena grumbled in mock annoyance, wrapping an arm around her sister comfortingly.

"Ahh that's because she loves her daddy, don't you Robyn?" Robin cooed at his daughter who gave a beaming smile at him.

"Is everything okay Regina?" Robin asked seriously, noticing the furtive glances between the sisters and the arm that Zelena had wrapped around Regina.

"Not really Robin, no" Regina said, taking a deep breath before saying "I think I might be gay"

"Regina, well done for having the confidence to come out to us, we love you no matter what you identify as or who you choose to love. You're safe here, and I hope you know that" Robin said, pulling Regina into a new hug.

"I do Robin, I do. And you have no idea how grateful I am to have you and Zelena to support me, it really means the world." Regina said earnestly as she sat back down at the table and sipped her tea cautiously.

"Rob, I've offered our spare bedroom to Regina during the day so she's away from our mother as much as possible, she's bringing over her things tomorrow just so that if mother does find out about Regina's sexuality, Regina can come here. That's okay, right?" Zelena asked, once again fetching the biscuit tin.

"Of course, I'm surprised we haven't offered it sooner. Don't be afraid to call any time day or night Regina if anything goes wrong, we'll look after you and keep you safe. You will never have to be ashamed of who you are here" Robin said, sealing the deal.