A/N: Happy Sunday!

If she hadn't felt so good, somewhere in the back of her mind, Regina knew she'd be putting up a fight towards what was being proposed. But the silky smooth happiness flowing through her body meant she simply nodded and allowed Ruby to help her out of bed and followed the tall brunette down the hallway.

To be honest, a bath sounded like a great idea. Her t-shirt was damp and sweaty strands of hair stuck to the back of her neck. She wasn't quite sure if she was hot or cold. It didn't matter. Not now. But a bath did appeal. It was only when she saw Emma sitting on the edge of the tub that she realised that she'd really rather not have someone with her as she washed. Naked. Especially not Emma. Not not. Not … yet.

"Hey, I'm fine. I can do this alone," she said, pausing in the doorway as Emma switched off the taps, stemming the flow of water which had been pouring down, a tower of bubbles rising to meet the spout.

Steam hovered gently above the bath and the scent of lavender hung in the air. A large fluffy towel was on the side. It seemed Emma had drawn the line at lighting candles, she was relieved to see.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Emma replied gently. "But I'll sit with my back to the tub, if that would make you feel more comfortable?"

In any other circumstances, Regina would have protested further but she could tell that this wasn't an argument she was going to win. Plus, for the most part, the heroin dulled her sense of embarrassment or modesty. At least, enough that she knew she could get through this. She shrugged and nodded once.

"I'm going to head downstairs, maybe start on dinner. Do either of you need a drink?" Ruby asked.

Both Regina and Emma shook their heads. Ruby left, closing the door gently behind her and leaving the two women in an awkward silence.

"I'll stand over there while you undress and get in," Emma offered, pointing to the corner of the room as she got up from the side of the bathtub.

Regina murmured her thanks and waited until Emma truly was standing in the corner, facing away from her before she peeled her t-shirt over her head. Her shorts went next, followed by her bra and underwear. Once she was naked, she tentatively dipped her toe into the tub, testing its temperature. Beneath the thick bubbles, the water was hot but not intolerable. She stepped in and crouched down, sliding beneath the water and settling back against the curved porcelain back. She let out a little sigh of relief. It wasn't just that she didn't want Emma to see her body. Regina didn't want to see it either.

"Are you in?" Emma asked before Regina had even had the opportunity to speak.

"Yeah," she nodded, slipping a little further down so just the very tops of her shoulders were visible above the bubbles.

Emma turned around and glanced towards Regina. Their eyes met briefly and the blonde offered a lopsided grin. She returned to the edge of the bath at the opposite end to Regina's head and, as promised, sat down facing away from the tub. There was silence as both women settled into their positions.

The hot water seeped into Regina's body, heating her up which, despite the warmth of the day, she was grateful for. She closed her eyes, letting out another involuntary sigh as she relaxed further into the tub.

"How are you feeling?" Emma asked quietly.

Regina paused without answering. "Good. Calm."

"I guess your body got what it needed," Emma remarked.

While there was no tone of judgement or disapproval in those words, Regina nevertheless felt she needed to say something.

"Look, it's not my choice, ok?"

Despite what she'd promised, Emma turned her head sideways. Regina, whose eyes were still closed, didn't notice that she was being watched. "I know," Emma assured her before she could say more. "I understand what it means to be addicted."

"I just … it was easier with a little help. I guess Killian knows that too. That's why he introduces his girls to Jefferson before we even start on the street. It's the only way to get through it, most times."

Emma hardly dared breathe. This was the most Regina had spoken about her past. After a moment's silence, she continued.

"It's the best of both worlds. It gets you up and it dulls your senses. I can't quite understand it but it makes everything feel wonderful and like whatever you're feeling is also detached from your body, somehow both at the same time. I was happy, or at least I thought I was happy. And I couldn't feel much so, well, if a customer got a little rough, I could take it. They don't like it when you sound like you're not enjoying it, even though it's never like they're actually trying to please us. It's all about them. But most guys don't actually want to know if we're in pain. So, yeah, this was one way to numb our bodies."

"Regina, I'm so sorry," Emma murmured. "I'm so sorry about everything you've been through."

Brown eyes opened slowly. They seemed unsurprised to find Emma's gazing back at them and filled with tears. While she could appreciate Emma's display of sadness on her behalf, it didn't really mean much. Except, perhaps, that she had a friend, an ally.

"Yeah, well, it's in the past now, I suppose."

Emma nodded fervently. "Definitely. He'll never find you, Regina. You'll never again have to do anything that you don't want to." She reached out her hand, resting it, palm up, on the side of the tub. "I promise we'll get you through this."

Bubble-covered fingers emerged from the hot water and landed on top of Emma's, squeezing lightly. "Thank you," Regina whispered, a shy smile on her lips. When Emma returned the smile, the skin around her eyes crinkled, causing a single, fat tear to roll down her cheek.

An hour later, Regina padded her way downstairs, hair still damp after being towelled off. She paused in the hallway, listening to the muffled voices from the kitchen. No doubt she was the topic of conversation but there was nothing to be gained from eavesdropping. She took a deep breath, steeling herself before continuing down the corridor and emerging into the kitchen which was flooded with early evening sunlight. As soon as she entered, both Emma and Ruby looked over at her, their hushed talk brought to a close.

"How are you feeling?" Emma asked.

"Better," Regina replied honestly. "Thank you, that bath was a good idea."

"And the heroin? Can you still feel that?" Ruby asked.

There was something refreshing about how direct the tall brunette was, Regina mused as she crossed the kitchen and slid onto one of the free stools beside the two flatmates. "I'm not euphoric, if that's what you're asking but my body isn't asking for more. Look, I … I'm so sorry. To both of you. And grateful. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't …"

She trailed off. They didn't need to discuss what had happened upstairs. At least, not yet. Ruby seemed to understand and shifted the conversation onto dinner plans. Regina tried to listen to the options being presented to her but she could see Emma still watching her, the blonde evidently unsure if Regina really was ok. Which, she supposed, was fair. She wasn't ok. But, all things considered, after the day they'd all experienced, she wasn't doing too badly.

As Ruby hopped off her stool and got ready to turn the basic tomato sauce she'd prepared into spaghetti bolognese, Emma leaned over to Regina.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

Regina nodded, smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring way. "I feel fine. I mean, today's been hard but right now, yeah, I'm ok."

"And you'll tell me? When you start feeling like you need more? I don't want a repeat of what happened earlier. That was … really scary."

"I'll tell you," Regina agreed. "And I really am grateful. I know you're angry and upset about the fact that I even brought that stuff in here in the first place, so it can't have been easy."

"It wasn't," Emma admitted, a flicker of darkness over her features. "But I knew you needed it. I hate that you needed it but from a medical point of view, I do understand it. And yeah, I'm not exactly thrilled knowing that there's a load of heroin in my house but I get why you didn't tell me from the start and I also know that you can beat this. You do … you want to beat this, right?"

"Of course." The question was bizarre on the surface but then Regina remembered that just a couple of hours before she had been begging Emma for the drug her body was screaming out for. But that didn't mean she didn't want to stop. And she could stop. After all, today had just been a bad day. Most of the time, she wasn't nearly so dependent. "I don't want what happened earlier to even happen again, I can promise you that."

"Well that makes two of us," Emma grinned.

"Make that three." Ruby waved a tomato-covered wooden spoon in their direction, letting both Emma and Regina know that their conversation was being overheard.

Regina nodded her acknowledgement and silently vowed to herself never to put Ruby and Emma in that position again. And herself, of course.

After being reassured that dinner was under control, Emma and Regina headed out to the garden with glasses of water. Regina had noticed a half drunk beer in front of the blonde on the kitchen island but guessed that she didn't want to offer Regina a drink after the events of the day and also didn't want to drink in front of her. She was grateful. Alcohol was the last thing on her mind and the cool glass of water was refreshing and much needed.

"Hey, so, are you going to come with me tomorrow?" Regina asked as she settled into the deckchair at the bottom of the garden.

"I'll travel in with you and take you to the waiting room but my shift starts at eight," Emma said, sprawling out on the grass and folding her arms behind her head. The move pulled her t-shirt up, exposing a strip of bare flesh at the bottom of her abdomen above her denim shorts. Regina couldn't help but glance at that alabaster skin.

"Oh, ok, that's fine," she said, taking another long drink of her water.

Emma rolled her head over to look at Regina, catching her eye before speaking. "I did try to change my shift but it wasn't possible. I could ask Ruby to go with you if you want? She doesn't start until midday. And if you wait around until eleven, I'll be on break and I could walk you to the tube station."

"No, it's fine. But, um, I don't think I should be taking the tube."

"There are thousands of tubes running every single day, Regina," Emma reasoned. "What are the chances he'll be on the one we use?"

"Small but not impossible," Regina shot back. "And he has a vast network too. Friends all over the place. Please, I don't want to risk it."

Emma agreed without argument. "Ok, we'll get an Uber, no problem."

"Thank you," Regina said quietly. "I'm sorry, I know they're more expensive and it's not like I can pay for it myself right now. But the thought of him finding me … Emma, I don't know what he'd do if he ever found me again. To be honest, I think going back to my old life is the least of my concerns. He doesn't take betrayal lightly. And I'm his family which makes it even worse, in his eyes."

Unable to stop herself, Emma let out a snort of incredulity. "Some way to treat your family."

Regina felt her cheeks redden. It was true. Killian had hardly been the supportive uncle she was expecting. And this certainly wasn't the familial relationship her parents had anticipated when they sent her over to the UK. He was her uncle in name only, as far as she was concerned. But she didn't think Killian saw her like that. Despite all he did, and all the things he made her do, she knew that compared to some of the other women, she was privileged. Although, that privilege wasn't always something she wanted.

There were some customers, friends of Killian, for whom she was specifically chosen. Men whom Killian wanted to show an extra good time. For some reason, she was his go-to. That privilege, in some of the girls eyes, was something Regina could certainly have done without.

"Regina?"

The soft voice of the blonde snapped her back to the present. She realised she'd drifted into her reminiscence and hadn't been listening. Emma repeated again that dinner was ready.

"Oh, great," she said, getting to her feet and following the blonde back to the house where Ruby had prepared the table on the patio with bowls heaped with generous servings of a delicious smelling bolognese, dusted with parmesan.

But she wasn't really hungry. She rarely was after she'd fed her body heroin. To be polite, she picked at as much of the pasta as she could, taking small forkfuls to make it seem like she was eating more than she truly had. Emma, she observed, practically inhaled her food. She wondered briefly how the blonde stayed so slim with such a voracious appetite. Regina was grateful for the way Ruby and Emma carried the conversation, barely requiring any input for Regina whose mind was elsewhere.

Once they had eaten their fill, which for Regina wasn't much, Emma cleared their plates away. Regina apologised to Ruby for not eating much and complimented her effusively on her cooking. Ruby waved off the comments and Regina was pleased to note that any frostiness from the evening before thawed away. She was grateful. While Emma had been the one who had offered to help, Regina got the feeling that if she was going to get clean, she'd need the support of everyone around her.

Because that was what she needed, and wanted, to do. It was true. She couldn't deny it. She had become dependent on heroin. Fine, ok, addicted. Addicted. Addicted. Addicted. It was a word she hated, a word she had shied away from. She didn't want to be that person but after today, after the way she had treated Emma and the way her body had contorted itself with pain as the heroin levels faded from her system. It was obvious. Her problem was bigger than she realised.

What had started because Killian had encouraged her in a way that meant 'no' wasn't an option had developed into a way to get through the day. And there were times she was grateful for it. But now things were different. In her new life, in her future, she wouldn't need it. She didn't want to need it. But her body did, for now at least, need it. That had to change. She had to change it. And, Regina thought as she looked across at Emma performing the mundane task of stacking a dishwasher, perhaps it was achievable.

A/N: I'll be getting to Regina's appointment tomorrow and then we can start making strides forwards in their friendship …