A/N: thank you for the comments last week. I too am guilty of reading stories without leaving any sign of my presence, so I get it! And I appreciate the reassurance that this isn't too slow. Although I do want to start moving forwards and will be getting our ladies closer in the next few chapters.

Trigger Warning for sexual assault in this opening flashback/nightmare.

His hand pressed against her throat, fat fingers constricting her airways. She struggled to breathe as he moved faster, hips erratically thrusting into her. A bead of sweat dripped onto her bare chest. Her stomach rolled in disgust. She didn't dare open her eyes, knowing that to see his face, red and glistening, she'd be unable to stop herself from throwing up.

A final grunt, and he collapsed on top of her. She squeezed her eyes tighter, a tear forced outwards as she tensed every muscle in her body. Her instincts screamed at her to get the hell out of there and run as fast as she could but she was pinned beneath him, his damp, hairy chest sticking to her breasts.

Eventually, he rolled off her and got up, tossing the used condom onto the bed. She pulled the duvet over her body at once, a small sense of protection. She turned away from him as he began gathering his clothes. Her body felt clammy. Between her legs was sore. She moved her thighs closer together, another small symbol of protection, even though if he decided he wanted to go again, that wouldn't stop him.

"You're quiet tonight," he remarked as he buttoned his shirt.

She didn't answer. What was she supposed to say? It wasn't like they usually had engaging conversations.

"Suit yourself," the man scoffed. She heard rummaging and then the slap of his hand on the bedside table. "Money's there. See you next week."

The door slammed shut. Only then did she allow herself to get out of bed and rush to the adjoining bathroom where she immediately got into the shower and turned the water to as hot as it would go. While clients who could afford hotel rooms generally spent more money and consequently more time with her, these interactions did at least come with the perk of being able to wash immediately afterwards.

She scrubbed every inch of her skin, using handfuls of the hotel's watered down soap to remove any vestige of the man who'd paid to fuck her. He was a regular. And one of the ones she most dreaded. Today hadn't been so bad. He'd not been as rough as he had been in the past. Her neck felt a little bruised, and her hips ached from being pinned open. But it could have been worse. It had been worse.

Thirty minutes later, she eventually climbed out of the shower and dried off. She was gathering her belongings and getting ready to leave when her phone rang.

"Hey, I'm just heading back home," she said as soon as she'd answered.

"Don't bother. Got another job for you."

"Now? This was my third of the night." She was so tired. She didn't know how much more her body could take.

"Yes, now. I'll send you the address."

"Uncle Killian, can't someone else go? I'm really not feeling up to another one right now."

"And I really don't care how you fucking feel. You don't get to decide when you work, little lady. That's my job. Now get that ass over to your next job, and put on a fucking good show, ok?"

The call ended before she could respond. Not that she even could respond to that. She didn't have a choice. She knew that. Sighing, she slid her feet back into her high heels and scrabbled around in her bag to find what she needed. There wasn't much left. She'd need to go and see Jefferson the following day. But there was enough for tonight. Enough to get her through. She prepared the syringe and injected herself.

She let out a low sigh as she felt her body immediately relax. Pausing for a few minutes to let the initial euphoric high settle slightly, she then steeled herself for the next job of her evening and used the map on her phone to find out the easiest route to where she was being summoned.

Fifteen minutes later, she was knocking on a nondescript door. She could hear laughter and raucous shouts behind it and it was only when the door swung open that it registered with her that more than one person was inside. Killian hadn't said anything about multiple customers. A faint sense of dread and fear permeated the fog of her mind but the heroin allowed her to keep the smile on her face as she stepped inside the apartment.

"Hey lads, looks like the entertainment has arrived." He was young. Barely in his twenties. His friends were also young, skinny and pale, as if they'd not been outside for months.

She didn't even get a chance to say anything before cold hands were on her body. The touches felt distant, as if they were happening to another person, and she allowed the more confident members of the group to undress her right where she stood. She didn't even know what they were paying for, what she was expected to do. But who cared, right? Killian didn't. The men didn't. So why should she?

A hand around her wrist pulled her towards a sofa, on which she was pushed, face first. Stale cigarette smoke filled her nostrils and she turned her face towards the back cushions to ensure she could breathe and to avoid having to look at the rest of the room.

"Right, who's first?" came a gleeful voice from behind her.

She shut her eyes, allowing the bliss in her veins to transport her mind elsewhere as a calloused hand connected with the bare skin of her thighs. The slap sounded more like a knock. Weird ...

"Regina?"

She sat bolt upright, chest heaving. The room was dark. She looked around, wide-eyed. She was alone. She was safe. There was no one there. She touched her stomach, then her hips. She was wearing pyjamas.

"Regina?"

It took a moment for her to recognise the voice calling her name. "Emma?"

"Yeah," the blonde replied from the far side of the bedroom door. "Are you ok? I heard something and I wanted to make sure everything was alright."

Regina hesitated for a moment before answering. Was she ok? Well, physically, yes, she was ok. She was safe and warm and she had a place to sleep and food to eat. Mentally, however, it seemed that her memories were no longer being kept at bay.

"You can come in," Regina called back, even though Emma hadn't asked for entry.

The door handle turned and a shaft of light from the hallway split the room. It was only then that Regina reached up and wiped her face, unsurprised to discover tears on her cheeks. Emma stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Emma asked.

Regina nodded, pulling the duvet a little closer to her. "How did you know?"

"I guessed. May I?" she added, gesturing to the bed.

The brunette nodded and curled her legs upwards, wrapping her arms around her shins. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I was just walking past your room on my way up to bed. I just got back from work," Emma replied.

"What time is it?"

Emma pulled out her phone, the screen illuminating her face briefly. Regina noticed that the woman looked exhausted. "Twenty to one in the morning."

"Shit, I'm sorry. Do you think I woke Ruby?"

"Nah, it's Friday night. She's not here. Plus, that woman can sleep through anything," Emma said. "And no need to apologise. Um, do you want to talk about it?"

Did she want to talk about it? More to the point, did she want to talk to Emma about it? She'd done enough talking earlier that day at her first cognitive behavioural therapy session and she was pretty sure that was what had brought on the nightmare. Would talking make it worse? And even if it didn't, did she want Emma to know about her life with Killian in such detail? "It's late," Regina replied. "I'll be ok."

"I don't mind," Emma reassured. "I've got three days off now. Plenty of time to catch up on my sleep. I didn't know you were having nightmares, although I suppose it's not surprising, given …"

She trailed off. Regina didn't need her to finish the sentence. "Yeah, I think it was brought on by the therapy. Talking about my past brought a lot of things up. I guess my brain wanted to replay some of the worst parts."

"I'm so sorry, Regina," Emma murmured, shifting slightly on the bed to get a little more comfortable. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, I don't think so. Thanks, but I'll be ok."

"Ok," Emma said slowly. "But will you tell me if I can help in any way? I know you've got Archie and the CBT sessions now but I'm here too."

"I know, and I appreciate that," Regina replied. "I'm just really tired. I want to sleep and not have to think about … memories."

"I wish I could take those memories away from you," Emma whispered.

Despite everything, Regina smiled a little. "Yeah, I wish that too. Look, it's really late and you've been working all day. We can talk about this in the morning."

"Are you sure? I don't really want to leave you, if I'm honest."

"I'm ok, Emma. I'm a big girl. This isn't the first time I've had a nightmare and it won't be the last."

"I know, but that doesn't mean you have to be alone."

Through the dark, Regina tried to make out Emma's expression. She sounded a little sullen, as if she wanted Regina to accept her help, even though there was nothing either of them could do.

"Well, if you really want to stay in here tonight, you can."

There was a long silence. Regina suddenly worried that she'd misread the offer but before she could retract it, Emma had whispered, "are you sure?"

"Yeah, I mean, I don't need you to stay but if you think it would make you feel better, I don't mind."

"It would but this isn't about me. I don't want to stay here unless you're completely comfortable with it," Emma replied.

"I don't mind," Regina repeated.

"Ok, um, I'll go and get ready for bed. Should I drag some cushions up from the sofa to put on the floor in here or are you ok with …" Again, Emma seemed to be unsure how to finish the sentence.

Regina rolled her eyes. "You can sleep in the bed, Emma."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It's not like I'm unused to sharing my bed with people and compared to who I was having a nightmare about, yeah, I don't mind."

"But this isn't going to, I dunno, trigger you?"

"Not unless you try and rape me."

The word went off like a cannon in the dark bedroom. Regina regretted it the moment the syllable had passed her lips. She could sense Emma stiffen. What now? Should Regina laugh it off or say she didn't mean it? Except, she did mean it. Rather, she knew that the terrible joke had landed badly because of whom she'd said it to. Of course Emma wasn't going to try anything with her and Regina didn't think for a second that she would.

"Emma, I -"

"Regina -"

They both stopped talking. "Go ahead," Regina offered.

"I just … I need you to know that I would never -"

"I know," Regina interrupted, not even needing Emma to voice what she had been about to say. "I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said. I know you would never touch me or anyone without their consent. It was a stupid, bad joke. I don't even know what I was thinking. Can we just forget I ever said it? How about you go and get ready for bed and when you come back, we'll pretend the last five minutes never happened."

Emma let out a nervous chuckle. "Ok, if you're still sure."

"I am," Regina replied firmly.

"Ok." Emma got up off the bed and left the room. Once the door was closed, Regina let out a groan.

What was she thinking? How had she ever thought that was appropriate? She'd embarrassed herself and embarrassed Emma. She hadn't meant to make Emma feel nervous or unsure about her offer, which Regina had accepted. True, she wasn't convinced that the blonde's presence would do much for her, personally, but she got the feeling it was important for Emma. And, ok, she could admit that there was something comforting about the idea of there being someone beside her to wake her if another nightmare claimed her subconscious thoughts.

That night wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last when dark memories had plagued her mind. Usually she woke gasping for breath, sweaty and alone. Tonight she'd woken because Emma had knocked on the door. Had she saved Regina from the worst of the memory? Maybe. The events of that night with those young men certainly didn't get better. She lay back down and settled herself on her side, facing the empty half of the bed which, in minutes, would be occupied.

It had been a long time since she had fallen asleep beside someone. Not since she was in Puerto Rico. And that had been friends from high school during sleepovers. A sleepover with Emma reminded her of her carefree school days, simple and innocent. Before the darkness of her London life had tainted every corner of her soul. She wasn't that girl any more. She wasn't carefree or innocent or simple. God, her life was the opposite of simple. Heroin addict, sex traffic victim, illegal immigrant. Why would Emma want to be there for her? Why did Emma want to help? The spiral into self doubt came thick and fast and by the time Emma returned, Regina was sobbing into her pillow.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Emma asked, climbing onto the bed but staying on top of the duvet.

"Why are you helping me?" Regina sobbed. "Why? What's the point? Why do you care?"

"Where did all this come from?" Emma asked, rubbing a soothing hand up and down Regina's side, over the duvet.

"I'm broken, Emma. I'm damaged goods. What's the point in trying to get better? I have no prospects. My life isn't ever going to be good again. I'm never going to be anything other than what Killian made me. Why do you even want to try to help me?"

Emma hesitated. "I … Regina, I care about you. A lot. And you're not broken. Damaged, maybe. But damaged goods? No way. And your life is going to be good again. Great, in fact. Your life will be great again because you're great. You're so much more than what Killian made you do. But, I understand that it might not feel like it right now. I can tell that today's been an emotional one and if you want to talk about what happened in your CBT session, we can. But can you at least try to believe me when I say that I care deeply about you and I want to do everything I can to help you."

"Why?" Regina asked, tears still rolling down her face.

"I don't know if I even know the answer to that myself," Emma replied. "But I know it's true. Is that enough for now?"

Regina nodded but since it was dark, she added a muffled, "yes."

Somewhat reassured, Emma asked for permission to get under the duvet, which Regina granted while wiping her face. Tendrils of embarrassment crept into her brain at how she'd dissolved into a blubbering mess just as soon as Emma left the room. What had she been reduced to? She used to be strong, confident, independent. What had Killian broken within her? But then the bed shifted and Emma settled herself beside her and Regina was able to force her mind to be quiet for a moment. It felt strange, having another person so close while also trusting that they wouldn't move closer without permission. It felt … empowering.

"Are you ok?" Emma asked.

"Yes," Regina said at once. "I am. This is good, I think. I feel good."

"Great," Emma replied. "And if you ever don't feel good, you'll tell me?"

"I will," Regina nodded. "But I'm ok now. I … I feel safe with you, Emma."

"You are safe with me."

Regina smiled to herself. "I know. Thank you."

"You're welcome. So, um, if you have another nightmare, are you happy for me to wake you up?"

"Yes please." The thought of having someone who was able to pull her back allowed a little of the nervousness Regina had subconsciously been feeling about going to sleep to loosen.

"And is there anything I can do to minimise the chance of you having a nightmare?"

"I don't know. I don't think so," Regina admitted. "I suspect it was the conversation earlier with my counsellor that brought the one on earlier. She wanted to know how I got addicted and I had to tell her about my past. And then she was asking me about when I'd take use and, well, yeah, I don't really want to get into that again right now."

"Ok, no problem," Emma said at once. "If and when you do want to talk, I'm here."

As her spiral had highlighted to them both earlier, Regina didn't understand why Emma was helping her. But she did believe the blonde when she said she wanted to help. The why remained a mystery but perhaps that was ok for now. Perhaps it was enough just for Regina to know that there was someone there, someone who cared.

"Thank you, Emma," Regina murmured. "For everything."

"You're welcome," Emma replied. "Goodnight, Regina."

"Goodnight."

A/N: I will go more into the CBT sessions but for now I wanted to just have the fall out from the first one being dealt with by Emma and Regina together.