A/N: Happy Sunday!

The first emotion which registered in Regina's mind the following morning was embarrassment. She groaned internally as she remembered the events of the night before. How she had woken Emma. How she had been so desperate. How she had been unable to control her body, her cravings. How she had caved to the addiction. She hated how weak she felt when it came to her body's need for heroin.

But the second emotion which Regina came to recognise was one of comfort. In both senses of the word. Beneath the duvet, she was settled comfortably in the warmth of the cocooned space, still wrapped in Emma's arms as she had been when she fell asleep, hours earlier. And those arms were not only comfortable but comforting. She felt safe, secure and, despite the embarrassment, there was something vaguely peaceful about lying there in the dim room, the rest of the world bustling outside but far away.

London, Regina had learned, was never silent. Wherever she was in the city, she could always hear other people. Even in the street where Emma's house sat, relatively suburban and quiet, there was still the hum of life happening outside. But up on the top floor of the house, the buzz of city life felt more distant than it had in a long time. Even through the ajar skylight, there was only the faintest sounds drifting up from outside. It felt like the two of them were alone in the world.

Regina closed her eyes and gently pulled Emma's arm around her waist a little tighter, strengthening that feeling of safety. Against the nape of her neck, Emma let out a sigh, her breath warm on Regina's skin.

Was this her future? Could she and Emma really make this work? And what did that mean? Were they together? Was this a relationship? What happened next? Would Emma expect sex? She didn't know what to do when it came to sex with a woman. Would Emma think she was bad and leave her? What if she couldn't even have sex? What if she was too damaged, too traumatised to even let Emma touch her?

Regina's mind went into overdrive. She never had been good at switching off or living in the moment. She had to admit that the heroin had been a godsend in that sense. Without it, her time working for Killian would have been unbearable. At least she was numbed to her reality. But she didn't want to be numbed to Emma. She didn't want to not feel whatever it was that was blossoming between them.

It was scary, sure. Scary and unknown and unpredictable. But it was real, she was sure of that. Nothing had felt like this before. Well, nothing had been felt at all for the past year but even back in Puerto Rico, she had never felt for someone else how she felt towards Emma.

Was that because those crushes she'd had back in high school had been directed at boys? Regina tried to remember how she had felt, who she had been drawn to. It was fuzzy, as were many of her memories of her teenage years. It wasn't long ago but she had struggled to recall her childhood since arriving in London. She didn't know if this was a side effect of the heroin or a subconscious attempt to protect herself from the happy memories of home.

The crushes had been on boys, she was sure of that. But had she actually been attracted to them? Or were the boys she said she liked simply the same as the ones her friends were talking about? Had the attraction been genuine or had she said what she thought was needed to fit in?

"Good morning," came a mumbled voice behind her, breaking into Regina's reminiscence.

"Good morning," Regina replied, fingers grazing over Emma's forearm where it lay against her stomach. "How did you sleep?"

"Good," Emma said, the words muffled in Regina's hair. "You?"

"Very well. Aside from our midnight interlude."

Emma chuckled. The sound vibrated through Regina's body, causing her to shiver. "Well, I didn't mind at all. Any time you need me in the middle of the night, wake me."

"I … thank you," Regina said, deciding she didn't want to prolong the conversation with regards to her recovery.

They fell silent for a while, but neither woman made any effort to move or get up from the bed. Behind her, Emma let out a sigh. "This is nice."

"What is?"

"This, being here with you. Waking up with you in my arms. I like it."

As if to prove a point, Emma tightened her grip slightly around Regina's waist and pressed a light kiss to the nape of her neck, through her slightly tangled hair.

"Me too," Regina whispered. "You make me feel safe."

"You are safe," Emma replied at once. "I promise you're safe here, Regina. I won't let anyone hurt you again."

Regina didn't answer but instead turned over so she and Emma were face to face. The blonde lifted her arm slightly as she moved and then replaced it once Regina was settled, her hand splayed against the small of the shorter woman's back.

"I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you," Regina said, the words slightly thick in her mouth as she looked into those familiar green eyes. "What you're doing, Emma, it's more than I deserve."

"You deserve the world," Emma insisted. "And everyone deserves to feel safe. That's a basic human right. I want to keep you safe and I want to make sure that man can't ever hurt you or anyone else ever again."

At those words, Regina was reminded of Emma's argumentative stance on the first day they met. She knew what Emma wanted her to do, what the blonde thought was not only right but her duty. To be fair, Regina didn't disagree.

"I do want to go to the police," she murmured. "I know I need to tell them what happened and what I know. But I'm not sure if I'm ready yet."

It was the first time Regina had voiced her true feelings. Rather than saying she didn't want to involve the authorities at all, this at least was a reason as to why she wasn't yet willing or able to sit down with Emma's father. It wasn't that she didn't want to. It was more about whether she was even able to do so yet. She knew that if Killian was going to be brought to justice, she had to be strong enough to see the case through to the end. And right now, she wasn't feeling very strong.

Emma, however, saw things a little differently. "Regina, I get what you're saying and I won't push you to do anything you're not ready for. But what I can't stop thinking about is the other women he has working for him. You know there are girls doing exactly what you had to do, night after night. And I respect that this is really hard but the sooner you speak up, the sooner we can save them. It's your choice, of course, but … just think about them, maybe."

"You think I don't know what's happening to my friends?" Regina shot back, pushing slightly away from Emma who released her hold on the woman's body, respecting her need for space in that moment.

"No, of course you do. I didn't mean it like that."

"I know what they're going through," Regina said, rolling onto her back and looking up at the ceiling. "I know what is being done to them. Every night when I close my eyes I can see them, their customers. Former customers of mine who now go to them. The guilt I feel at the fact that I got out, at the fact that I'm not suffering any more. God, Emma, do you think I don't know that?" She turned to glare at the blonde, her eyes blazing with anger.

"I'm sorry," Emma said at once. "I didn't want to upset you. Please, Regina, I didn't mean that you aren't thinking about them."

"I can't stop thinking about them," Regina said, her voice suddenly softer as she began to cry. "They're my friends, Emma. I know I can save them and I want to. I will. But I don't think I'm strong enough yet. What if he finds me because of the police getting involved? I can't go back there, Emma. I can't risk my freedom."

Emma shuffled closer and pulled Regina back into her arms. The brunette folded willingly against her, burying her face against the bare skin of Emma's chest. Neither spoke. Emma didn't know what to say to comfort the woman whose tears she could feel dripping onto her own body. How was she even supposed to relate to what Regina was going through?

For her part, Regina wasn't able to voice any more of her fears. She just wanted it all to stop. The worry, the terror, the constant living in fear. But she knew that was impossible. It wouldn't stop. Not until Killian was stopped and every person victimised by his so called business was free to live life on their terms. They all deserved that opportunity, a happy future.

"Katherine."

The word was muffled against Emma's chest. She stroked Regina's back a few times before pulling away just a little and softly asking the woman to repeat herself.

"One of my friends, you know, from the group of Killian's girls who lived in that building where you found me. She's called Katherine. She looked out for me when I first arrived. Helped me get set up. Showed me how to shoot up properly because she knew that it was the only way to get through the day. Katherine's my friend and she's still there, still suffering. I think about her every night."

"We'll help her," Emma promised. "When you're ready, Regina. My dad can help Katherine. He can help all of them."

An hour later, showered and dressed, Emma and Regina settled in the garden, enjoying a cup of coffee. It was just the two of them in the house, the shared calendar in the kitchen informing Emma that Ruby was at work. Belle was too although Emma also knew that if she hadn't had a shift, the woman would be with her boyfriend.

Regina disappeared into her latest book, while Emma scrolled through the BBC news app, catching up on current affairs. On the table between them were discarded plates, speckled with toast crumbs. The scene felt, despite everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours, surprisingly familiar. They slipped so easily into the domestic routine which reminded Emma of her parents' own Sunday morning routine, except -

"Let's not forget to give you that extra dose of methadone this evening."

Regina looked up from her book at Emma's words. "Yeah, ok. Although, didn't the increased dose you gave me this morning mean I should be ok now?"

"Probably but I don't want to risk it. I'll phone Dr Hopper to confirm it's medically the right thing to do but I think a little extra will make sure you don't have another night like last night."

"Ok, if that's what you think is best."

Regina returned to her book but Emma spoke again. "I do but I also want you to be comfortable with the decisions made. I may be a nurse but this is your health, your journey. I don't want to be the one calling the shots here if you're not happy. Would you prefer to speak to Archie yourself?"

"No, it's fine. I trust you."

Emma cocked her head to one side. "Then how about we call him together," she suggested. "That way we're both part of the conversation."

Nodding her agreement, Regina resumed reading.

"And."

Regina closed the book and looked pointedly at Emma. "Seriously? I'm at a really intense point. I just want to know what happens next."

"Sorry," Emma said, not sounding sorry at all. "I was just going to say that maybe it would be a good idea if we stayed in the same room from now on. You know, in case you need more methadone during the night."

This distracted Regina completely from the novel. She lay the book on the table and smirked at Emma. "Oh really? And this bed-sharing would just be for that reason, I suppose, no other motive?"

Emma blushed. "Well, I'm not going to lie, I like sharing a bed with you and as I said this morning I liked waking up with you in my arms. But I don't want to put pressure on you, Regina. Sharing a bed goes no further until you're ready."

Not wanting to tease the blonde further, Regina reached out and covered Emma's hand with her own. "I liked waking up in your arms. And I know you're not trying to get me to do anything I'm not comfortable with. Truth is, I am comfortable with you, more comfortable than I've ever been with anyone. If I don't want something, I know I can tell you."

"Right, so, is that your way of telling me you don't want to keep sharing a bed?"

"No, but I don't want either of us to be using the excuse of methadone as a reason. I get that it would be easier for me to wake you if you're right there but a flight of stairs isn't a major barrier to me doing exactly that when we're in separate rooms. If we're going to be sleeping in the same bed, I think it should be because we both want to in the dynamic of whatever this new aspect of our relationship is."

"Ok, yeah, that makes sense. So, just let me know, I guess, whenever you're ready."

"How's tonight sound to you?" Regina asked, smiling shyly.

"Really?"

Regina nodded. "Really. I like you, Emma. And yes, we need to take this slow but waking up in your arms this morning, it felt right. So if I get the opportunity to experience that every morning, well, I'll take it."

A/N: I'll do my very best to have a chapter up the day after Christmas but I cannot promise anything ...