A/N: Defence is up!

The hour long lunch break dragged by. By the time Ursula had finished her questions, the judge had decided that the defence would get their opportunity to question Regina after the break, leaving Regina and Emma with an agonising sixty minutes wait.

"You did so great," Emma murmured into Regina's hair as the brunette fell into her open arms the moment the door to their small room shut behind them. "I'm so proud of you."

Regina had tried to apologise about what Emma had had to hear. She hated that her girlfriend had to sit through listening to what had happened to Regina. They were images she wanted to keep far away from her new life. While she couldn't escape the fact that Emma knew about her past, she had wanted to shield her from the details. But Emma batted apology away. "I'm fine. I want to be here for you. It's painful to listen to but compared to living through it, sitting in the room with you while you have to tell everyone what happened is the least I can do. Remember, when the cross-examination starts, look at me whenever you need to."

She knew she would need to. Ursula had warned her that Killian's lawyer was known for going hard after victims, even though it was a risky tactic which could garner the jury's sympathy in her favour.

"If he pushes you too hard, the jury will find him insensitive and aggressive. It could work to our advantage," Ursula had said that morning.

"But at Regina's expense," Emma pointed out. She didn't know if it was worth the experience of a ruthless cross-examination to get the jury to feel for Regina. Surely all they needed to do was listen to the evidence to do that.

"I'll do my best to protect you where I can," Ursula assured Regina, squeezing her shoulder lightly. "And if you get the opportunity, hit back at him with some brutal truths, ok?"

And now they were mere minutes away from finding to just how hard Hades would push. Emma had remarked how apt the name was. It really did feel like they were walking through the gates to the underworld as they returned to the courtroom after lunch was over, both women having been unable to eat. Emma took her seat while Regina continued to the witness stand.

The pleasantries were a blur. A few easy questions, Hades trying to settle her, appearing to listen, to be compassionate. Regina had been expecting that. She answered his queries about her family, her history, her reason for coming to London.

"So you're here on a work visa and yet you didn't ever start working at the British Library?"

"I didn't, no. Killian told me they withdrew the job offer."

"And you believed him?"

"I … yes, I did."

"So you didn't follow up with the British Library yourself?"

"No."

"And therefore you have no way of knowing whether that was true or not?"

"No."

"So you trusted your uncle? You believed he was looking out for you?"

"I didn't have any other choice. I didn't know anyone else in London. And I had no reason not to trust him at first. He's my family."

"Of course. Family. An important fact, in this case. Are you close to your family, to your parents?"

Regina balked. "My parents?"

"Yes, your mother and father. Your mother is Killian's sister, correct?"

"Yes, he is. Um, I was close to them, yes."

"Was … they're back in Puerto Rico, correct?"

"Yes, and we still are close."

"Have you told them about what is happening here today?"

"Yes." It had been a painful conversation for all involved. Her parents were still in shock but it seemed they had come around to understanding that something terrible must have happened in order for it their daughter to be going to the British courts.

"They're not here today though, are they?"

Before Regina could answer, Ursula got to her feet. "Your honour, I'm failing to see where this line of questioning is heading."

"Agreed," the judge nodded. "Move along, please."

Hades bowed his head in acceptance. "Before my client moved to London, when you were a child in Puerto Rico, did he come around for family dinners?"

"Yes, sometimes."

"So you were a close family? He was close to his sister?"

"I suppose."

"And yet, you're trying to blame him for your crimes now?"

"I - what? No, I mean, yes. Well, they weren't my crimes."

"Kerb crawling is a crime. And you testified earlier that you and some of the other women used to stand on street corners waiting for men. That is a criminal offence in this country, Miss Mills."

"We were there because Killian told us to go out to earn. Owning a brothel is illegal, as is pimping and trafficking sex victims," Regina shot back, cheeks heating up.

"But you don't deny kerb crawling?"

"Objection," Ursula said quickly. "Miss Mills is not on trial here."

Hades held his hands up in mock defence and returned to his notes.

"So, you arrived in the UK about eighteen months ago. You were greeted by your uncle at the airport with whom you had shared meals with as a family during your childhood. And then, according to you, he locked you in a room and forced you to work as a hooker for him. It's a pretty dramatic change from the loving uncle you'd known in Puerto Rico, right?"

"I didn't know him well at home."

"Hmm, ok, well, still hard to believe that an uncle would do this to his niece. I've got nieces and I would do anything to protect them from having to sell their bodies."

"I didn't sell my body," Regina snapped. "He sold my body."

"Well, let's take a look at the facts related to that claim, shall we? That first night when you claim to have been there against your will, did my client force you into that car?" Hades asked.

"I - no," Regina admitted. After all, she had climbed into the vehicle under her own steam. "But -"

"And when you got to the hotel, where my client was not present, did the other woman, Katherine, have to force you into the building?"

"No."

"And yet you claim that you didn't want to be there."

"I didn't."

"Not a question, merely an observation, Miss Mills. Now, let's fast forward to what you say happened in that hotel room, where, again, my client was not present. Remind me, you don't know the name of the man with whom you had sex, correct?"

"I learned it later. He became a regular. I only knew him by Kevin though, I don't know his last name. And that first night, I don't know if he ever told me his name."

Hades paused. Clearly he hadn't been expecting that answer.

"So, you returned to that hotel, to that man, willingly, in the future?"

"I wouldn't say I was willing. I didn't have a choice. And he wasn't the worst, by any means."

"But you kept going back there, knowing that he was paying you for sex?"

"Yes, but I couldn't -"

"And did you continue to use heroin after the first time Katherine gave it to you?"

Regina glanced at Emma who nodded minutely at her. "I did. We all did. It made the nights bearable."

"Before coming to London, were you a drug user?"

"No."

"So, that first night, how did you know it was heroin if you've never used it before?"

"I didn't know at the time," Regina replied. "I asked Katherine what it was in the car on the way back to Juniper Street that night. She told me."

"And you just allowed a woman you met a few hours earlier to inject you with an unknown substance? I find that hard to believe unless you're a very reckless person."

"That whole night was surreal," Regina countered. "I had no idea what was happening. I was young, alone, scared. I was in a new city and I didn't know anyone. Katherine was looking out for me. She knew that the heroin was the best way to get through the night. I trusted her."

"And it was Katherine, not my client, who injected the heroin?"

"Yes, Killian wasn't there."

"And did you see Killian give Katherine any drugs?"

"No, but -"

"So, my client wasn't in any way involved in this illegal activity, correct?"

"I'm sure he got her hooked. He knew our dealer."

"But you never saw him give Katherine or any of the other woman any drugs?"

"No."

"And did my client ever give you drugs?"

"No."

"So you bought your own heroin?"

"I did. It was the only way I knew to get through each time."

"So, you admit to buying a Class A substance?"

"Objection. Again, Miss Mills is not on trial here," Ursula exclaimed.

The judge nodded, briefly berated Hades and reminded him to stick to the case at hand, before waving for him to continue. Sitting and watching, Emma's hands were balled into fists. Her body was vibrating with anger. All she wanted to do was leap to her feet and grab Regina's hand and run out of there with her, away from all of these questions.

"Did the man, Kevin, know you were on drugs?"

"I don't know," Regina replied. "You'd have to ask him."

"I'm asking you."

"Well, I don't know."

"And did the man, Kevin, know that, as you say, you were there by force, not because you wanted to be?"

"I'm sure he knew, yes. It would have been obvious. He knew I was a virgin too. I know Killian charges more for virgins."

"Your honour, the witness is speaking to something with no proof," Hades argued.

"Miss Mills, do you have any way of proving your knowledge here?"

"It's not like he has a price list but we all knew younger girls could earn more," Regina replied.

The judge hesitated before turning to Hades. "Let's just move along to the next question please."

"So, this first night, at any time in that hotel room, did you ever say no to Kevin?"

"No, I couldn't."

"Were you gagged?"

"No!"

"So your mouth was free which meant you could have asked him to stop, if you wanted to."

"Technically but it wasn't an option. Katherine made that clear."

"Katherine did, not my client?"

"Katherine was sent to accompany me. She was there to teach me the ropes, essentially. But she was working for Killian."

"But, to recap, this first night, you got into the car with Katherine voluntarily, you walked into the hotel room with Katherine voluntarily. It was Katherine, not my client, who gave you the heroin. It was Katherine, not my client, who told you to go out of the bathroom and have sex with the man. And it was Katherine, not my client who collected the money after you had had sex?"

"Yes but she gave Killian the money."

"Ah, but earlier you didn't actually see Katherine receive that money from the man, did you?" Hades said, consulting his notes.

"Well, no but -"

"So, Katherine might have been handing him money from another source, correct?"

"Maybe but -"

"So, to recap again, you went with Katherine voluntarily in a car to a hotel, were injected with a Class A drug, had sex with a man and then went home to a safe building where your uncle provided you with your own room, bathroom and food, correct?"

"It was rape, not sex."

"Rape? But you didn't say no."

"I couldn't consent," Regina said through gritted teeth. "I was trafficked. I didn't want to be there. I didn't know why I was there."

"Miss Swan, I -"

"No, let me finish. You've interrupted me enough." Fire burned in her belly, the anger finally spilling over. "I didn't know who the man was and I couldn't say no even if I had managed to make my mouth work. I was terrified. I was alone and confused and I trusted my uncle. My heart broke that night when I realised what he had done, what he had made me do. He might not have been the man who raped me but he violated my trust. He broke me. And every night until Emma rescued me, I broke a little bit more. Now I'm putting myself back together. It's slow but I'm getting better and facing Killian here today is an important step for me. I have to tell the world what he did because I can't let him do this to anyone else."

Hades looked momentarily thrown before a sly smirk spread over his face. "Let's talk about Emma."

"What?" Regina's eyes darted to the blonde whose forehead creased.

"Emma Swan, correct?"

"Yes, why are you -?"

"And she's the nurse who treated you at the hospital when you hurt yourself, correct?"

"Yes."

"And later that day she showed up at 16 Juniper Street after having looked up your address in the NHS system?"

"Yes."

"That's illegal, is it not?"

"Looking up an address?"

"Stalking patients," Hades sneered.

"I - Emma's not the one on trial here, Killian is. She saved my life when she knocked on the door before he could -"

"So, you met Emma at the hospital and then a few hours later she turned up at your doorstep. Why?"

"She could tell something was wrong. She was worried for me."

"And had you met Emma before that day?"

"No."

"But when she turned up, unannounced and uninvited at my client's private residence, you left with her?"

"Yes."

"What is the nature of your relationship with Emma Swan?"

"How is that relevant?"

"Merely a question," Hades said with a shrug.

Regina glanced at Emma who offered her a small smile of encouragement. "She's my girlfriend now but that day, she was simply a concerned citizen."

"Girlfriend? So you're gay?"

"Again, is that relevant?"

'A curiosity, I suppose. Did you ever sell your body to women?"

"No."

"So you had sex with men for money but now you're in a relationship with a woman?"

"I was raped by men and now I'm in a relationship with a woman," Regina countered.

"Do you hate men, Miss Mills?"

"What?"

"Do you hate men? Is this a vendetta?"

"No, what? I … I don't understand." Regina looked for Emma in the courtroom, needing her anchor. She had no idea where these questions were going. By the look on Emma's face, neither did she.

"Do you hate men?"

"I hate my uncle, if that's what you're asking."

"And the men who had sex with you?"

"I didn't care enough about them to hate them," Regina replied.

"So, it's not all men then?"

"You said it. Not all men raped me, no. But some did. And Killian was the reason. I don't hate all men. I don't hate my father. I don't hate Sergeant Nolan, I don't hate -"

"Ah Sergeant Nolan, I'm glad you brought him up. Can you tell me what the relationship is between Sergeant Nolan and Emma Swan, your girlfriend?"

"He's her father," Regina replied, glancing towards Emma who was looking, not at her, but at her dad. Was this not something that had already been covered? Was this something they wanted to keep quiet?

"So, your girlfriend's father is the man who arrested my client, correct?"

"Yes."

"And did either Emma or her father pressure you into making a statement?"

"No, I mean, they encouraged me but I didn't feel pressured."

"And yet it took several weeks for you to come to the police after Miss Swan's heroic actions at Juniper Street, correct?"

"Yes."

"Why was that?"

"I was processing."

"Processing? Not inventing?"

Regina furrowed her brow. "What? No! I was trying to deal with what I'd been through. It took time for me to be able to talk about it. When I was ready, I gave my statement."

"To your girlfriend's father."

"Yes but that's not relevant?"

"Isn't it? It's quite the family affair this, isn't it? You and Emma, her father, your uncle."

"I've been told that abuse is commonly perpetrated by family members."

"So now you're saying my client had sex with you? That's yet another new accusation with no evidence."

"No, I'm not saying that. He never touched me. But he was responsible for sending me to the men who did. And yes, he's my uncle. And yes, I trusted him. But him being family doesn't mean that what he did to me, what he made me do wasn't wrong. I don't trust him now. I don't trust many people now." Her eyes found Emma's, silently letting the blonde know she was one of the few exceptions. "And there is evidence. I'm the evidence. I was there, I experienced everything and I'm not the only one. There were dozens of us. He's ruined so many lives and I'm not going to let him hurt anyone else. Yes, meeting Emma and David was instrumental in me coming forward and giving a statement but I'm not doing it just because I met them. I escaped but lots of women didn't. He was selling their bodies, without their consent and I was in a position to do something about it, just like this jury is in a position to make sure that he never hurts another woman again. He won't confess, I know that. He won't admit to anything. But I'm here, telling my truth. Isn't that enough? Can't you see what he's done to me? To Katherine? To our lives? He can't get away with this. He can't walk free."

A/N: I have realised that I mixed up David's surnames throughout this story, sorry! You all know who I mean!