Emma was hovering in the doorway to the living room, still yet to be noticed by its two occupants. She was able to use the time to study them for a few moments. She knew how great a toll the day's events had taken on Regina. It was still only morning but it was clear that she had used up all of her energy.

Regina and Henry were sitting together on the sofa and they both had their arms wrapped around each other. Henry's head was leaning against her chest and unlike his mother, the ten year old was beginning to look much better now. The blanket Emma had wrapped around Regina earlier was still around her shoulders and was partially over Henry now too.

Emma silently entered the room. Henry smiled up at her as she took a seat beside them but Regina barely seemed to take notice.

Emma gave Henry a small smile of her own, patting his shoulder softly before her attention turned to his adoptive mother.

"Regina?" She asked quietly.

Regina's voice was barely audible as she made a small noise in response.

Emma raised a damp cloth she was holding. "I'm just gonna clean some of this mascara away, is that okay?"

Regina closed her eyes for a second or two and Emma took that as confirmation. Even so, as she reached the cloth towards Regina's face, she did so slowly in case the brunette did decide to object.

But when Regina provided no further response, Emma began to carefully wipe away the eye makeup that had run down her face from crying earlier.

When Emma moved to the other side of her face, Regina's eyes raised to meet hers briefly. Emma tried to be as gentle as possible but Regina still winced when she touched the cloth to the bruise.

"Sorry." Emma said, pulling back for a few moments before continuing to more carefully wipe the makeup away.

"There, good as new." Emma said softly, despite it being far from the truth.

She had managed to remove most of the mascara but Regina still didn't look well at all. She looked extremely worn out, her eyelashes were still damp and her eyes were still slightly red-rimmed from earlier.

Regina still didn't respond. She only wrapped her arms more protectively around Henry and closed her eyes.

"Hey," Emma said. "You alright?"

Regina gave the tiniest of nods in response. Emma held Henry's sad gaze for a few moments.

When she saw Regina's eyelashes flutter open again, Emma took a hesitant breath, but then gently pushed Regina's hair back to examine some of the worsening bruises on her neck.

Regina inhaled softly as she did this, however Emma wasn't sure if it was because the action had surprised Regina or if she was in pain.

"Does that hurt?"

The other woman's silence gave Emma the answer.

Emma felt a wave of anger building up inside her. All she could think of when she looked at Regina now was how could anyone want to hurt her? Even before everything that had happened today, Regina was very obviously fragile right now. It would take an idiot not to see it. Therefore the conclusion she came to was that the townspeople simply didn't care. When they had first decided to come here today they may not have known how sick Regina was, but just by looking at her they should have been able to tell that something was wrong. Regina was good at hiding it but she wasn't that good.

"Regina... I'm really sorry I didn't get here sooner. I should have come back the minute the curse broke. I promised I would be there for you, and I let you down."

Regina remained quiet for a few more moments before taking in a soft breath. "Emma... don't apologize, it's not your fault."

"But if I had only just–"

"Really. This was a long time coming."

Emma sighed, still feeling guilty. "You were right. What you warned me about out there... I should have listened to you, I should have gotten Henry away from the crowds. Or had him stay with Mary Margaret at the school... I underestimated how out of hand things would get."

Emma ran a hand through her son's hair. "I'm sorry for putting you in danger like that Henry."

Henry gave her a small, but warm smile in return. "It's okay."

Regina offered no response. She bit her lip for a few seconds, but ultimately closed her eyes again and rested her chin on the top of Henry's head. It was as if she was hoping that the day would simply just end if only she stopped letting it in.

"Hey, no offence Regina but you look exhausted." Emma said gently. "Why don't you try to rest? Get some sleep if you can, I know you need it. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere and Mother Superior... Blue, placed a protection something or other around the house before she got called away. I promise, no one's going to get near you or Henry. I won't let them hurt either of you again."

Emma felt her heart tug painfully as she swore she saw Regina's lips trembling ever so slightly as she listened.

"Regina?"

Finally the brunette looked tiredly up at her, she gave a small nod of agreement and reluctantly began to let go of Henry.

"Do you want to go upstairs?" Emma asked. "It might be more comfortable."

"I suppose so."

Henry moved out of his mother's embrace so she could stand up.

As they passed through the hallway they met up with David and Mary Margaret who were standing a bit of a distance away. The two were whispering to each other quietly, but stopped when they noticed the others. Emma glanced between them and Regina as the three seemed to be watching each other guardedly. Either that or they were simply all waiting for someone else to speak up first. Snow ultimately gave her stepmother a small smile, but Regina wearily continued on up the stairs without a response. Emma shot her parents another somewhat awkward look before she followed Henry and Regina.

Once they were in the master bedroom, Emma went to get Regina's pajamas from a nearby chair.

"Do you want these?" She asked.

But Regina was already pulling the bedcovers back.

"Hey." Emma said gently. "Do you think maybe you'd like to change first?"

Regina looked down at her outfit to see what Emma was pointing at. She felt faint as she realized how bad it looked, she hadn't noticed the dried blood before.

"Here, take these." Emma said, handing her the folded pajamas.

Sighing tiredly, Regina took them from Emma and went into the bathroom to clean up a bit more.

As the door shut behind her, Emma sat down on the bed beside where Henry was already sitting.

"How are you feeling kid?" She asked softly.

Henry shrugged. "Alright."

"And you're sure your back doesn't hurt?"

Henry nodded. "It's fine."

Emma shook her head, pulling him into a hug. "Thank god Mother Superior was here. I was so afraid we were going to lose you today."

"I know..."

"You're really brave. You know that?"

"No I'm not..." He responded quietly.

"What are you talking about? Don't say that, of course you are. What you did today, that was really something Henry."

"I just didn't want her to get hurt."

"You risked your own life to protect someone you love Henry, that is bravery."

Henry didn't respond.

Emma sighed. "Even so, what Regina said before was right. I don't want you putting yourself in danger like that again, okay? I don't know what either of us would do if something happened to you."

He didn't respond.

"Henry?"

"I just didn't want to lose her."

"I know..." Emma said, rubbing his back soothingly. "But don't worry. I'll make sure she stays safe from now on okay?"

Emma felt Henry tense a little as they heard some shouting from outside the house. Most of the people had left by now but every once in a while there was still a bit of commotion. Emma was extremely grateful for Ruby, Granny, the Dwarves and Archie. They had been down there the whole time and had managed to calm most of the crowd, but there were still the few who wouldn't give up.

"Don't worry Henry." Emma repeated. "No one's getting in here. I promise."

When Regina emerged from the bathroom, Emma and Henry stood up so she could get into bed.

Regina sank gratefully into the soft pillow and Emma fixed the blanket around her.

"I'll get you some water." Emma said.

"Thank you." Regina responded softly, closing her eyes.

Emma got up to go to the kitchen and realized they were being watched.

"Henry, stay and watch over your mom okay?"

"Okay."

Regina smiled softly at him as he climbed onto the other side of the bed and lied down too. She ran a hand through his hair as he rested his head on the other pillow. He was looking much better now but he was still a little bit pale.

Emma continued into the hallway to join Mary Margaret.

"I had no idea she was still so sick." Snow whispered as they walked towards the stairs. "It's sweet of you to take care of her like that. I imagine it must be difficult with the past you two have."

"Actually it's not difficult at all, we're friends now."

"Friends?"

"Yeah. These past few weeks I've been able to see the real Regina and she's not as bad as we used to think."

"Friends." Snow repeated. "Even now that the curse is broken?"

"Yeah? Why should that make a difference?"

"Because Regina may seem sweet and innocent now Emma but don't forget who she really is. She's the reason you grew up without your father and I. She cursed an entire kingdom because she was mad at me, and decided to take it out on everyone else too. Don't let her fool you. The Regina you think you know isn't the real her. She's ruthless and she only ever uses people in order to help herself."

Emma's eyes narrowed as she entered the kitchen and went towards the cupboard to retrieve a glass. "She cast the curse because she wanted a second chance at happiness."

"She could have had that without ruining the lives of thousands of innocent people. Emma you didn't know her before Storybrooke; she hurt a lot of people for no reason. I gave her many second chances but she wasted them every time. She's never stopped trying to kill me or the people I most care about."

"I know..." Emma said. She poured some water from the pitcher on the counter into the glass. "But Mary Margaret the woman who did that, that's not who Regina is anymore. It was her idea to break the curse. She told me about it long before it was broken. She wanted to–"

"Wait a minute, what?" Snow held up her hands to stop Emma. "You knew about the curse? You knew who me and David really were and you never said anything?! How long have you known for?!"

"Not long I swear, just a few weeks and–"

"A few weeks?! Is that why you started avoiding me? I thought you were just busy. If you knew who I was why didn't you come talk to me, why didn't you reach out?!"

"Whoa, calm down," Emma said a bit taken aback. She put the glass of water on the counter. "Seriously it's not like I could have gone up to you and been like 'hey guess what? The kid was right. You're Snow White, I'm your daughter and we're both from some magical fairytale world and now I'm BFFs with your archenemy the Evil Queen.' You would have thought I'd lost it!"

Snow crossed her arms. "You're right, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, you don't have to apologize." Emma folded her arms, but then stopped once she realized Mary Margaret was doing the same. "Look, everyone's a bit high strung right now, things are all still a little confusing. We just need a bit of time to figure everything out."

Snow nodded. "So you and Regina... you really are pretty close now?"

"Well I mean I've been living here for over a month, I guess it was bound to happen."

"Still, now that the curse is broken... I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to move back in with me." Snow said a little hopefully. "I mean… she is the reason you grew up without a family."

"Hold on, you want me to just leave her on her own? Now. Even after what nearly just happened to her today?"

"Emma I didn't–"

"You saw it yourself, they nearly killed her! She's not safe right now!"

"Which is why maybe distancing yourself from her wouldn't be such a bad idea."

"What?! No. No, I'm not going to abandon her, not while she's in danger. Not while she's still so vulnerable."

Snow folded her arms a little more tightly. "It's okay, I get it." She said, a little hurt."You want to keep her safe, there's nothing wrong with that."

Emma instantly felt bad. She realized from the look on her mother's face that the offer had been more about Snow wanting her daughter to move back in with her than about Emma leaving Regina to fend for herself.

Emma sighed, grabbing the glass of water mainly to avoid the conversation. "I'll be right back, I'm just gonna go give this to Regina."

"Okay."

Snow paced the kitchen slowly. This was only the second time she had ever been in this house but it was like seeing it for the first time. Now she could see all the hints of her stepmother's style that Storybrooke Mary Margaret would never have picked up on by herself.

It was strange to think that the woman she had been running away from for so long now happened to be the one she was helping to protect. She knew Regina was having a difficult time lately, and as a result she couldn't bring herself to feel completely angry at her. She just kept thinking back to the broken woman she and David had found upstairs not that long ago, barely alive, and in such despair. And Regina only seemed to have become even more fragile as the weeks passed by.

Eventually Mary Margaret heard Emma's footsteps returning and she turned to face her daughter as the blonde came back into the room. She smiled, feeling proud that Emma had grown up to be such a kind and caring person. She could see traits of both herself and David in Emma.

For a minute or so, the two of them both stood there a little awkwardly. They kept shooting glances at each other every so often until Emma finally broke the silence.

"She apologized you know," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry?"

"She apologized. Not that long ago. For forcing you to give me up."

"Oh..."

"Regina knows about my childhood and she's feeling guilty for it. But I guess we both also know that if the curse had never happened then Henry would never have been born, so..." Emma folded her arms again.

Snow nodded a little sadly.

"You know, I think he brings out the best in her. Without him she may never have changed. And to be honest I don't know if I would want to give up Henry even if it meant growing up with my parents. And don't say I would never have known him so I wouldn't have missed him anyways."

"I wasn't going to." Snow said kindly. "You love him, I know you do. I care about him too."

Emma smiled gratefully.

"So do you think she really meant it?" Snow asked.

"Yeah. I do."

"And you really believe she's changed? It could just be because she's so weak right now that she's simply too tired to engage in her usual vendettas."

Emma grinned a little. "No... I don't think so. I think her brush with death really had a deep affect on her. I think it scares her that she almost lost Henry without ever knowing how much he actually cares about her. I have to believe she's different now."

Snow was staring thoughtfully into the distance. "Oh my god..."

"What?"

"I just realized... she apologized to me too."

"She did? When?"

"It was that day you went to Boston. I mean the one after Henry moved back to Storybrooke. You were returning a trailer you rented to bring Henry's things here... Anyways, Regina came to see me at the school. I didn't really understand what she was talking about at the time." Snow looked crestfallen as she remembered the way Regina had been acting that day. "She came to see me during the lunch break. She said she wanted to thank me and David for saving her life... but I don't think that's what she really wanted to tell me."

"What did she say?" Emma asked, she didn't even know Regina had gone to see Mary Margaret that day.

Snow frowned. "Oh I don't remember exactly what it was... It didn't really mean anything to me at the time. It was something like... she was sorry for everything she's put me through... or for everything she's done or... oh it was so long ago I don't remember her exact words." Snow shook her head. "But I understand now. I think she meant everything she did before. Back in our world."

"That's a big step for her." David's voice said from the doorway.

Emma noticed the way Snow's eyes lit up when she saw him. It was different from the way they had before the curse had broken. It was less of a schoolgirl crush and more of a deeper affection. These people were her parents. But they were also her friends. Emma had known that this was going to take some getting used to, but knowing in advance hadn't made it any easier when the time actually came.

"It's certainly unexpected." Snow agreed with David.

"Are you sure she really meant it though?"

"It's possible. Maybe Emma's right David. Maybe Regina is trying to change."

"Or she just wants to make sure there's someone to hide behind until she's strong enough to resume trying to kill us all." He responded.

"You can't really believe that's true." Emma replied incredibly.

"I'm just saying we need to be careful. In the past Regina has never shown any ability to change. No matter what, she always chooses the darker path."

"Not anymore. Now she has Henry and she wouldn't risk losing him again. She knows that he left because he thought she was the Evil Queen. For him I know she'll make sure she never becomes that person again, but if she's going to be able do that, we need to show her that we're on her side. It's when she gets scared that she goes on the defensive. That's when she puts her walls up. I know that because it's what I do. When I came to Storybrooke she saw me as a threat, she thought I was going to take Henry and that's why she kept trying to run me out of town. Alright maybe she did have reason to worry... I mean I did take Henry with me after all, but only because he asked me to and because Regina agreed to it. I would never have let him move to Boston with me if I had known how much it would actually hurt Regina."

"All due respect Emma, but being defensive and ripping away the lives of an entire population are two very different things." David responded. "Trust me, Regina is nothing like you."

Snow smiled. "No David, I think I understand."

"What do you mean?"

"I told Regina a few weeks ago that she doesn't need to pretend to be so tough all the time. I told her that she needs to let people in, that to be compassionate doesn't mean to also be weak. But I think when I told her that, she had already started reaching out. I think she came to see me that day because she wants to start over. I can't be sure yet if she really has changed but I do believe that she's trying. And for now I think that's good enough for me. I've always believed she had it in her, maybe she finally does too."

"Maybe. But I still believe we should take precautions for the time being, we need to be sure she doesn't have some ulterior motive like she usually does. Don't forget Snow, she's tricked us before."

"No," Emma shook her head. "How many times do I have to tell you? I've been living with her for weeks, she's different now. All she wants is to keep her family safe."

"But Regina could have been lying to your mother when she apologized." David said. "She could have just been feigning her remorse to you both so we would have second thoughts before apprehending her."

"But David I didn't even have my memories when she came to see me." Snow pointed out. "She wouldn't have just said those things for no reason unless she truly meant them. It's like she wasn't certain whether she would have the chance to tell me later, and she wanted to make sure she told me while she still could."

"I don't know... With everything she's done in the past I'm still finding it hard to trust her." David shook his head. "I have to say, Regina's lucky she's so sick right now or she'd be in jail for sure after what she's done. Or at least until we figure out what her angle in this is." He crossed his arms, glancing up towards the second floor.

"Are you even listening to yourself?" Emma asked incredulously. "She's not lucky that she's dying. She's sick because she hurt herself trying to end the unbearable amount of pain she was in. Can you even imagine how alone she must have felt to believe that was her only option?"

"Look, I know she was upset over Henry, and I'm sorry that she felt like ending her life was her only way out, I really am. No one should have to be in that much pain. But that doesn't change the fact that she's hurt thousands of people and uprooted the lives of an entire kingdom. We can't just ignore that, she needs to face some sort of retribution for what she's done."

Emma shook her head. "Can't you see that she's suffered enough already? That she's still suffering?! She's not going to hurt anyone else, I know she won't!"

"Emma we just–" Mary Margaret began sadly, but her daughter never gave her the chance to speak.

"You want to take a dying woman who's in an extremely fragile state right now and you want to throw her in some tiny, cold cell as punishment for something she's already punished herself enough for?! She doesn't deserve that! Not after the hell she's just been through. I'm still the sheriff and I say we are not locking her up."

"Emma that's not what I said." David said patiently. "I know it would be wrong to do that to her right now, I do. But Emma she cast the curse–"

"And hurt thousands of people in the process yeah, I know! But she also broke it for totally unselfish reasons. She did it for Henry! You didn't see her, she was afraid to break the curse. She knew it could get her killed but she did it anyway."

"Emma she didn't break the curse, you did." Snow reminded her gently.

"But she's the one who asked me to help her. Sure I accidentally broke it a bit earlier than planned, but it's what she wanted to eventually happen and–"

"Earlier than planned?"

"Yeah... long story... but the point is if she really was still the Evil Queen she wouldn't have wanted everyone to have their memories back. She would have fought tooth and nail to keep the curse intact. She knew the town could turn on her once they remembered who she was but she wanted to break it anyway because she knew it was the right thing to do."

Emma folded her arms, watching as her parents shared an uncertain look.

"Guys look, I know the three of you have some bad history between you but please just give her another chance. I promise, if you just give her some time you'll see that I'm right about her."

Snow folded her arms, nodding sadly. She glanced up towards Regina's bedroom. "I didn't know she was dying…" She said softly. "What happened? Are you sure it's that bad?"

"It is that bad…" Emma replied quietly. "Her kidneys have started failing after the strain they were put under. Maybe they were already weak to begin with for some reason and the suicide attempt just…" She shook her head, giving a heavy sigh. "The bottom line is, she needs to be on dialysis. If she doesn't start treatments soon her health is going to seriously deteriorate. I think she was planning on starting the treatments in a couple of days, after her next appointment with Whale. But due to recent events… I'm not so sure that's going to be an option now."

"Why hasn't she started the treatments already?" David asked.

"Because she didn't want Henry to know."