A/N: Happy Sunday! TW for references to sexual abuse/trafficking.

"So, Belle tells me you guys are going for dinner with Mr Gold," Ruby says as she sits down on the bench in the nurse's changing room.

Emma pulls her shirt over her head and grabs her dirtied scrubs from the floor. "Yeah, tonight. I'm going to meet Regina now and we're walking to the restaurant."

"Well, have fun while I'm dealing with the drunks," Ruby sighs, twisting her hair up to the nape of her neck and securing it with pins.

It was shift changeover and, as was often the case, Emma and Ruby were using the few minutes they overlapped at work to catch up on each other's lives. While sometimes their schedules aligned, it was more common for the two of them to be like ships passing in the night, snatching a few minutes either in the nurse's room or in the hallway at home when one of them was arriving while the other was leaving.

"Did you want to come? I mean, I know you're working but shouldn't Belle have invited you? Kinda feels weird that you're not going to be there, now I think about it."

Ruby shook her head. "Nah, it's not weird. She did invite me, actually, but it was too hard to make all our shifts match. We decided that Dot and I would have a meal separately with them."

Her flatmate's new girlfriend, Dorothy, was becoming a more common fixture in Ruby's social engagements. She'd met Emma and Regina a few weeks agin, after they'd walked in on her and Ruby half dressed in the kitchen, clearly not expecting to be interrupted. Dot had blushed profusely as she buttoned up her blouse while Ruby grinned wolfishly and introduced everyone.

"That sounds like a great idea. I'm really happy for you, by the way. Dot seems awesome."

"Thanks. She is. Regina is too by the way. I … well, I was wrong, I guess. And I'm sorry about all the crap I gave you when she first moved in and when you guys got together. She's a great person and you're lucky you found each other."

Emma punched her friend lightly in the arm. "Sappy. But thanks, she is amazing. Sorry, I've got to go. Regina's session finished a few minutes ago and we'll be late for dinner if we don't get a move on. I hope tonight isn't too bad. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for as few idiotic drunken accidents as possible."

Waving to her friend, Emma headed out into the corridor and wove her way through the maze of the hospital until she reached the small reception area for the outpatient treatment centre. Regina was waiting for her, nose buried in a book.

"You know, you're going to read every book I own if you don't slow down," Emma remarked, tapping the edge of the pages as her girlfriend looked up and smiled at her.

"Maybe we should take a trip to a charity shop," Regina suggested, slotting her bookmark in place and putting the recently started novel into her bag.

"Yeah, sounds good. Maybe tomorrow. How was your session?"

"Good," Regina replied, getting to her feet and raising her hand in farewell to the receptionist with whom she'd become familiar over the past few months. "And Dr Hopper joined us at the end and said he's happy with my progress and he thinks that we could start to look at reducing my methadone intake in the New Year."

Emma looked sideways at the brunette as they stepped out onto the dark, cold London street. "Really? Already?"

Memories of what had happened those few times when Regina had missed a dose back in the summer filled both of their minds. Neither wanted to return to those times.

"We'll take it slowly," Regina said. "And if it's too much or too soon, we can always just return to the dose I take now which we know works really well. I just wanted to speak with Dr Hopper about it, so I asked August if we could spend a few minutes at the end of the CBT session. August thinks I'm ready too, by the way."

The therapist who led Regina's CBT sessions, August Booth, had become an important figure in Regina's life, whose name came up more and more regularly. At first Emma was a little miffed but she had come to understand the close bond that was developing between the two during the CBT sessions was natural and nothing to be threatened by. Still, she was nervous about Regina making any changes to her routine when it was working so well for her.

"I just want to make sure you don't compromise your recovery, that's all," Emma said, slipping her chilled fingers into Regina's as they walked down the busy street, heading towards the restaurant where they'd be having dinner.

"I don't want that either, and nor do Dr Hopper and August. But if you want to talk with them first, you can do. You're the medical professional."

But Emma shook her head at the offer. "No, it's fine. If they are confident this is the right decision, then I'll support you completely. I might be a nurse but I don't have much professional experience in terms of drug addiction and when it comes to you, I want to be involved as your girlfriend, not a nurse. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to react like that. It's great news, really. It shows how far you've come. I'm so proud of you."

They paused in the street, a tender kiss shared before they resumed their walk, the restaurant just a few years away by now.

Inside their skin prickled with the heat, a sudden contrast to the frigid they had walked through for the last five minutes. Their cheeks flushed at the temperature change as they were led through the tangle of chairs and tables towards the back where Emma spotted Belle sitting alone.

"Hey," she grinned, sliding in opposite her friend with Regina sitting next to her. "Sorry we're late."

"Not at all, right on time. Robert's running a few minutes behind though. Hi Regina," she added, smiling to the brunette.

"This place is fancy," Emma remarked, picking up the embossed wine list and raising an eyebrow. "Is this the standard to which you have become accustomed these past few months, m'lady?"

Belle chuckled. "We don't always eat in places like this but as it's a special occasion, I thought it would be nice."

"It's a lovely restaurant," Regina said before Emma could make another quip about Belle's rich older boyfriend. "I'm looking forward to meeting Robert. Emma's told me so much about him."

The lie hung there in the air. Emma didn't know enough about her friend's boyfriend for that statement to ever have been believable. But at least it got Emma off the subject of the fancy restaurant.

"So, Regina, how are your parents?" Belle asked.

Emma had filled her friend in on their next shift together after the interrupted kiss, explaining that Regina had reconnected with her family back in Puerto Rico after months of silence.

"They're good, thank you. I call them a couple of times a week now. I don't have much news to impart but they seem to like hearing from me regularly and I like hearing their voices. I miss them."

"I'm sure they miss you too. Have you thought about going back?"

"Not yet. I need to get my visa sorted out. Emma's father is being really great working with me to deal with all the problems which have come up."

She explained a little about how there were several hoops to jump through now that she had resurfaced after over a year of being in the UK on a work visa but without actually working. The British Library had informed the government after Regina failed to turn up for the job to which her visa was tied, so her presence in the country had been flagged. Luckily, with David's help and her role as a key witness in the pending court case, she had been granted permission to stay in the country. But it was temporary and she and Emma had avoided talking about what happened after the case went to court. All Regina knew was that if she got on a plane to leave before her visa status had been settled, she probably wouldn't be able to come back.

As Belle was asking a question about whether Regina would be able to get a new job offer from the British Library, she waved at someone approaching their table behind Regina and Emma.

"Sorry I'm late," came a thick Scottish accent as a short, middle aged man leaned straight over the table and kissed Belle before sliding into the one vacant chair. "How are you? How's my baby?" He rested his hand on Belle's slightly rounded stomach and stroked it through her dress before turning his attention to the other two dinner guests.

"Hi, it's nice to see you again, Robert," Emma smiled at the man. "This is Regina, my girlfriend."

"Nice to see you too, Emma. And lovely to meet you, Regina," Mr Gold said, returning Emma's smile and then looking to Regina and nodding politely.

There was a pause, conversational etiquette suggesting that it was Regina's turn to speak. But when she didn't, Belle answered her boyfriend's question. "I'm good, thanks sweetie. And the baby is too."

"That's what I like to hear. Have you ordered any drinks yet?" he asked, waving towards a passing waiter as he spoke and reaching for the wine menu which Emma had discarded. "Nothing alcoholic for you, of course. Do they have any of those fun cocktails here?"

"You don't recognise me, do you?"

The words were quietly spoken but everyone at the table turned to look at Regina. Her gaze was locked on the man opposite her, skin pale but eye resolute.

"I'm sorry, no. Have we met before?" Mr Gold enquired, cocking his head as if trying to place her face.

Regina fumbled under the table for Emma's hand, gripping it tightly when she found it. "Can we go?" she muttered. "Now, please?"

"What? Yes, um, yeah, of course," Emma said, confused but understanding by the vice-like grip on her fingers that her girlfriend needed to leave.

Regina got to her feet and grabbed her coat, walking quickly away from the table as Emma scrambled to follow.

"Emma, what's wrong?" Belle asked, even more confused that Emma.

"I don't know. I'm so sorry. Um, I'll call you later, ok?" she offered her friend as she stuffed her arms quickly into her coat. But before she could zip it up, Regina reappeared at her elbow.

"You really don't recognise me?" she asked, voice laced with venom. "I know it was dark but it went on for months. Every Thursday. Ten o'clock. The back seat of your Cadillac. Ringing any bells?"

Emma's gut clenched as realisation dawned on her. At the same time, recognition dawned on Mr Gold.

"Roni?"

"Who's Roni?" Emma asked. "Regina, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"If you're thinking that this man here paid to fuck me, then yes."

Regina didn't know where the fire in her belly came from and she didn't care. She didn't care that diners around them were looking, that her voice wasn't quiet. She didn't care that Mr Gold looked like he was about to faint. Perhaps some part of her cared a little bit about the look of utter devastation on Belle's face. But mostly she was enjoying the feeling of powerful rage which was rising up through her soul.

"You really didn't recognise me? After months of forcing me to fuck you, forcing me to pretend to enjoy it, forcing yourself inside me while I bit my lip to stop myself crying? And you don't even know what I look like? I will remember your face until the day I die. And all of the others. Every one of them. They'll never leave me. I could never blank them out, no matter how much heroin I took. But it's nice to know that you don't even remember me. That I wasn't even a person, a woman with a face. I was just a body, to use when you wanted and to forget the moment you made me get out of the car. I … Emma, can we go?"

"Yes," Emma said at once, her heart pounding as she took in the words she had just heard.

Placing her hand in the small of Regina's back, she steered her away from the table, not even looking over her shoulder at her friend as she guided her trembling girlfriend away from the scene. Seconds later, the two of them stumbled outside into the freezing night air.

"Regina, was Mr Gold -"

"Yes," Regina said shortly, cutting Emma off before she asked the question they both knew the answer to and which neither of them wanted to verbalise. "Can we go home? I can't be here. I can't … you know, I never thought about what would happen if I saw one of them. Killian, yes, but not the men. I … can we just go?"

"Of course," Emma said, reaching for Regina's hand and feeling a little relieved when the woman clasped it tightly.

They set off at a brisk pace down the lamplit street, hurrying towards the nearest tube station whose illuminated entrance was at the corner two blocks up but they had barely gone twenty yards when Belle's voice behind them made them turn around.

"Regina, is it true?" she asked, tears streaking down her face as she stopped in front of them.

"Yes, it's true," Emma snapped before Regina had a chance to answer. "Do you think she'd lie about something like this?"

In her hand, Regina's fingers twitched a silent thank you. "It's true," she echoed. "I'm sorry."

Belle shook her head, dismissing Regina's apology which, all three women agreed, wasn't necessary. "When did it stop? When did he stop coming to you?"

"He didn't stop," Regina replied. "I stopped. Well, I disappeared when Emma brought me home. That was July 15th."

"July?"

Regina nodded. She didn't say anything. She knew from what Emma had said that Belle and Mr Gold had begun dating months before then.

"He didn't …. I mean, he wasn't the man who … did he hurt you?"

"He isn't the reason I had to go to hospital, if that's what you're asking," Regina said quietly. She knew that wasn't answering the question in full but she didn't think Belle could handle the truth in that moment.

"Belle, come home with us," Emma offered.

"I … he's … I'm pregnant."

"So?" Emma scoffed. "Belle, you can't stay with him. He's a vile excuse for a human. He raped Regina." The fingers tensed against her palm at the brutality of the word. "You cannot seriously be thinking about walking back inside that restaurant right now."

"I -"

"Belle."

All three women looked at the man who had burst into the street, clearly unable to wait a moment longer to find out what was happening. He spotted them and walked towards the little group .

"Stay away from me, Robert," Belle shouted. "Please, don't come any closer."

He stopped walking, putting up his hand in mock surrender. "Dearie, I'm not going to hurt you. I've never hurt you, have I?"

"Not physically no but you've hurt Regina, or Roni, as apparently you know her. And tonight, yeah, tonight you hurt me, Robert. I … I'm going home with Emma and Regina. Don't call me, ok? I can't talk to you right now."

Emma took that as her cue and looped an arm around Belle's shoulders, still holding tight to Regina's hand as she steered both women towards the tube, leaving the impish man standing in the middle of the pavement, watching as the trio hurried away into the London night.

A/N: So, I totally wasn't planning this when I started the story but when I was writing last week's chapter, it occurred to me as a storyline and then most of the reviews picked up on it as a set up. I hope you enjoyed the altercation!