A/N: Happy Sunday!

"Dad, are you busy this week?"

There was some rustling, then her father's muffled voice before the sound of a door snapping shut. "Sorry, Princess. You caught me just as we were finishing a meeting."

"Oh sorry," Emma said, as she swiped her staff card and entered the rear service corridor of the hospital. "I should have texted or something. I can call you back later."

"No, not at all. You can call me any time, you know that. So, you were asking if I'm busy?"

Emma swung her bag from her shoulder as she entered the locker room where she could get changed for her shift. "Yeah, and I know you're at work but I was wondering if you had some time free at the station this week or if you were out and about for some reason."

"I'm at the station now. Is everything ok? I'm sorry about what Mum said on Saturday night, by the way. You know she doesn't mean any harm."

Deciding to ignore her father's excuse for her mother, Emma cut straight to the point. "Regina's agreed to talk to you. Thanks, in no small part to Mum, I might add. But she's realised that she does need to tell you what happened and she knows that she might be able to give you information which could really move the needle on the case. So, yeah, do you have some time this week to meet with her?"

"Yes, of course. Whenever she wants, just let her know to ask for me at the front desk. If I am out, I'll come straight back. Will you be with her? I … well, your mum and I sort of picked up on something that was said over dinner which made us think that you two might …" He trailed off.

Emma sat down on the bench in the room, a clean set of scrubs laid across her lap. "Yeah, we're dating," she acknowledged. "But it's really new and obviously complicated, so I'm not ready to talk about it with you yet, ok?"

"Ok," David said. Emma could practically hear his father grinning down the phone.

"And to answer your other question, Regina has asked me to come to the station with her but she says she doesn't want me to be in the room when she talks with you. I think she thinks there are things she's going to be talking about which would make me not like her or something. Which is mad because she's literally perfect and nothing she could ever tell me about her past would change how I think about her."

There was a pause. Emma bit her lip, realising that she'd revealed far more than she had planned to her father about her relationship with Regina.

"You really like her, don't you, Princess?" The question was soft, nonjudgemental. Emma had always been daddy's little girl and she had never held back from talking about her relationships with her father. So, despite the fact that she had said just moments before that she wasn't ready to talk, there was something about sharing this new, exciting and, yes, complicated relationship with the most important man in her life that made Emma confess something.

"Yeah, I do. She's amazing, Dad. I think … fuck, it's mad and it's super fast and I've not said this to her yet or told Ruby or Belle but … I think I'm falling for her."

On the other end of the phone, David couldn't help but smile. There was something in his daughter's tone of voice which portrayed just how happy Emma was. But then that smile faltered.

"Sweetheart, I'm really happy for you but, just, take things slow, ok? Regina seems like a lovely young woman but from what we're learning about this sex trafficking ring, I fear she's been through some awful experiences. She'll have endured traumas and violations you and I can't even imagine. Just, yeah, be careful. I don't want you to get hurt."

The words took several seconds to register with her brain. Or rather, her brain took a few seconds to process what she was hearing. Ok, what her dad was saying isn't exactly a surprise. She knew some of Regina's history. Not the details perhaps but the gist of it. She wasn't naive; she went into this with her eyes wide open. It was fast and unexpected and, yes, confusing, but it was also amazing and made her feel better than she had done in a long time. And now her father was telling her that she needed to be careful? That she might get hurt?

"Dad, Regina's not going to hurt me."

"Not intentionally but she's going to be dealing with a lot of emotional trauma and sometimes that can be difficult on those in supportive roles around the victim."

"Survivor."

"Pardon?"

"Regina's not a victim, she's a survivor." It was a conversation she had Regina had had the night before. The brunette hated the word 'victim'. They'd both agreed that they'd use 'survivor'.

There was a pause. "Ok, I'm sorry. And, Princess, I didn't mean to upset you. You know I only want the best for you."

"And what if Regina is the best for me?"

It was a challenging statement. Emma knew it. She knew she was asking her father to overlook the fact that she had just confessed her feelings for a woman who had been sex trafficked by her own uncle and to be supportive and positive about everything that their fledgling relationship might become. If she was honest, she could see how there might be other, easier relationships she could have fallen into, of which her parents would much more readily approve. Dating apps in London made it quick and simple to meet someone. But she hadn't met someone. She'd met Regina. And, whether her father liked it or not, that was what had happened.

On the other end of the phone, David took a moment to consider his answer. He didn't want to upset his daughter but he couldn't deny that he was concerned. But then, he checked himself, remembering the young woman his daughter had grown into.

"I trust you to know what is best for you, Emma, and your mother and I will always be supportive, of whatever choices you make."

Something cracked in Emma and she stifled a sob as a swell of emotions suddenly swept through her body. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, sweetheart. We both love you more than words can say."

"Stop it, I'm at work and you're making me cry. So, can we arrange for Regina to speak with you on Thursday morning? I'm on a late shift that day, so that would work best for me."

"Absolutely," David nodded. "I'll be waiting for you at nine at the front desk. And thank you, Emma. Without your input, I doubt Regina would have come forward on her own. We need her. We … well, to be honest, we've hit a few dead ends. Her statement might be key to making progress."

"There's one more thing."

"Name it."

It was something that Regina had brought up that morning over breakfast. Somehow it had slipped both their minds but when she was reminded, Emma knew she needed to speak to her father. Of course she knew how important it was that Regina spoke with the police and helped them catch the men responsible for what happened to her but that brave act could not come with this particular price.

"Well, it's about Regina's immigration status."

"Not a problem," David said at once. "Don't worry about anything like that. Even if she's here illegally or has overstayed a visa or whatever it is, if she's a material witness in our case, we can protect her for now and deal with whatever paperwork may be required in the future. Don't let that stop her from coming forwards, ok?"

"Ok, that's good to know. Thanks, Dad. Look, I've got to run or I'll be late for my shift but we'll see you on Thursday. Nine o'clock. And, by the way, can you not tell Mum about me and Regina? I mean, even if you've been speculating already. Can you just not tell her about all the … feelings and stuff?"

"The feelings and stuff?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean and I'm not saying it. At least, I'm not saying it to you before I say it to her, ok?"

"Ok, Princess. Go get ready for work. I'll see you in a few days."

Breakfast on Thursday morning was a quiet affair. Emma glanced over the rim of her mug at Regina who was sat opposite her, absentmindedly pushing some scrambled egg around her plate. The brunette's own coffee sat, half drunk, beside the plate. No food had yet been eaten.

"I can make you something else," Emma offered gently.

Regina shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat, honey."

"I'm pretty sure if I eat I'll be sick."

Emma knew the feeling. She felt nauseous when she was nervous too and she knew nerves didn't even begin to describe what Regina was dealing with. Leaving the matter alone, Emma returned to her own eggs and cleared her plate while Regina sat, sipping tentatively at her coffee. At least that was something. There were days in nursing school when Emma ran on caffeine alone. Not healthy but surely better than nothing.

Once Emma had eaten and Regina had scraped her cold, congealed egg into the food waste bin, there was nothing left to do but make their way to the police station. Although Regina had pointed out that the last place she would expect to run into Killian was outside a building crawling with cops, they had decided that an Uber would be best. There was no reason to make the day more stressful than was needed.

As they were putting on their shoes, the car pulled up outside. Emma walked to the door before turning back to where Regina sat on the bottom step of the staircase. "Ready?" she asked, realising that the brunette hadn't followed.

Regina took a deep breath and got to her feet. "As I'll ever be."

Sunlight flooded the hallway as Emma opened the door. How the city could be bathed in such warmth and summertime happiness on a day like today, Regina didn't know. But she followed Emma out of the house and climbed into the back of the waiting Prius which, moments later, glided away towards a conversation she knew would change her life.

The journey was silent. Mercifully, their driver wasn't chatty and hadn't put on some terrible radio station. In the back, Regina didn't speak and Emma followed her lead. The blonde did, however, reach out and interlace her fingers with Regina's in the younger woman's lap. Regina glanced over and forced a small smile, a wordless thank you.

They arrived far too quickly for Regina's liking, as within ten minutes they were slowing down and Emma was thanking the driver. They stepped out onto a busy street, swarming with commuters who hurried past the large sweeping steps which led up into the police station. Regina stood before then, ignoring the crowds and gazed up at the imposing structure.

Emma stood beside her, knowing it was key that Regina entered when she was ready and that she didn't feel hurried. She didn't mind waiting. Delaying the moment when Regina had to relive her trauma was something she would gladly do. If she could, she'd magically wipe Regina's memory of every bad thing which had been done to her and give her only happiness. But life didn't work like that so here they were, staring up at the engraved crest above the door, waiting.

"I don't know if I can do this."

Stepping in front of Regina at those words, Emma watched as deep brown eyes lowered from the building facade to her own face. When their eyes locked, she forced a smile, even though it was the last thing she felt like doing.

"You can do this, Regina. You are so strong and you've been through so much and I know this is going to be hard but I promise you it won't be as bad as you think. And, once you've done it, you'll know that the police can go out and get the bastards who deserve to be locked up for the rest of their lives for what they've done."

Regina shrugged. "Maybe, if they can find evidence."

"You're the evidence, Regina. Your words, your truth. My dad's good at his job. He'll get them, I know it. All they need is you to tell them what happened. They'll do the rest. And I'll be waiting for you, right outside the room, ok?"

"You'll wait the whole time?"

"The whole time. I won't move until you come out, promise."

"I mean, well, you can go to the toilet or get some food if you need to."

Emma grinned. "Thank you. But I won't. I'll be waiting there until you come out and when I do, I'm going to give you the biggest hug, ok? Then we'll go home."

"You've got work."

"I swapped shifts with Ruby," she revealed. "I decided I wanted to be with you. So, take your time in there. Tell them what they need to nail the sons of bitches, ok. And when you're done, we'll go home and put this day behind us, ok?"

Regina's eyes flicked up to the building once more before returning to Emma's face. "Ok," she agreed, drawing herself up to her full height. "I'm ready."

A/N: Next chapter will be Regina's conversation with David.