Ok, this chapter starts off right where I left it, however in the future there might be small time jumps. This is still only Tia's first day with the Swan-Mills family and she is still very vulnerable and not completely settled so there are still some sad parts to come but stay with me, things can only get better…I hope. I promise the next chapter will be a happier one. Reviews welcome, tell me what you hope for from this story.

Love Rouge xxx

Chapter 7

Regina had scooped Tia up out of her chair for a cuddle before picking up her sippy cup from the floor, Emma had gone ahead of them upstairs to start running Tia a bath. "It's ok Mom, I'll clean the juice up, don't worry, you take Tia up" Henry said as he went over to the sink to dampen a cloth.

"Thank you my little prince" Regina said with a smile. She gently kissed Tia's little head as she felt her rest against her chest with her thumb placed into her mouth, the screaming and panic having taken a lot out of her "come on Tia, lets get you all cleaned up".

She walked upstairs slowly and took her daughter into the family bathroom where Emma was knelt down next to the bath as she turned off the taps and tested the water. The bath was filled with bubble bath and some floating toys. "Oh look at this lovely bath that Mama has drew for you Tia" she said remembering to speak quietly as she knelt down onto the floor and sat Tia on her knee "can I undress you so that you can get in?" She asked not wanting to over step any mark. Tia stayed quiet and gently slid off of Regina's lap, into a crawling position instead of standing up and walking. She crawled over to the large bath before reaching up, grabbing onto the side of the bath and pulling herself up. She looked over the rim at the bubbles and the toys.

"How does it look kid? Have I made you a good bath?" Emma asked with a smile "Would you like to get in for a splash?" She saw that Tia still looked unsure, she knew that Jackie had said to try to encourage her to talk as much as they could, but after the fright she had gotten downstairs she thought it was best to go at Tia's own pace tonight. Emma gently put her hands into the bath water "see it's safe, just water" she said as she cupped some water and bubbles into her hands and shuffled over to Tia bringing her hands up to show her.

Tia had had baths before, but they were cold and she hadn't liked being left just sat in the cold water until he felt like letting her out. When she was in her room at the children's home she had had baths, warmer ones, but she was anxious because she didn't know if Regina and Emma's were going to be cold or not. Tia gently poked at the water in Emma's hands and then patted it splashing gently, she smiled feeling that it was safe and warm; the little girl turned back to Regina and blushed shyly as she lifted her arms up.

"Ready now princess?" Regina smiled as she gently started to undress her. When Tia was undressed she turned around to face the bath again. Emma saw the blood drain from Regina's face, when she looked over, she saw a large area of their daughters back was covered with scar tissue, the type of scar tissue that you would get from having been burnt, and leaving it to heal by itself.

Emma Swan broke. Her fists clenched so tight that her knuckles turned white "I'll be right back" she managed to say as she quickly got up and left the room not wanting to scare Tia.

Luckily Tia was too distracted by the bath to notice how upset Emma was, she turned to Regina tapping her hand, "In" she said deciding that she was ready and Regina cleared her throat as she held her tears in and gently lifted Tia into the bath. She swallowed, forcing her tears back down, telling herself that now wasn't the time and forced a smile onto her face for Tia's sake.

Emma had ran outside into the back garden and had gone as far away from the house as she could. She sat down onto the grass, covered her mouth with both of her hands and screamed over and over, her skin muffling the sounds. She let herself feel the anger, she knew that she had to let it out otherwise it would fester. She cried and punched the fence a few times before she dug her fingers into the ground next to her as she pulled up handful after handful of grass. "How dare anyone hurt my little girl" she cried "How could he do that to her?" She asked out loud into the night. "How could anyone do that to a kid?" She asked nobody. But she knew the answer because she had been hurt too, as had Regina….Because he could. Because no one was there to save her. "Until now" she told herself taking some deep breaths "she is safe now, and nothing like that will ever happen to her again" she promised as she sniffled taking some more breaths. She closed her eyes and tried to picture Regina humming to her the tune that calmed her down, the same tune that she hummed to Tia, she did feel herself calm eventually.

Back in the bathroom Tia had let Regina wash her without any fuss and was cupping handfuls of water and bubbles like she had seen Emma do as she kicked her legs gently under the water. "Tia watch this" Regina said as she took one of the rubber ducks that were in the bath with her and pushed it under the water holding it there. She smiled gently seeing that she had Tia's attention as the little girl was looking at where the toy had just been "ready?" Regina asked and then she let go of the toy as the rubber duck popped back up to the surface suddenly "pop" Regina sing-songed playfully.

Tia's eyes widened and she jumped ever so slightly seeing the toy suddenly appear again, this was then followed with a cute little giggle "ducky! again!" She clapped.

"Do you know what sound a ducky makes Tia?" Emma asked coming back into the room and kneeling down next to the bath with Regina. She gave her wife's hand a gentle squeeze to let her know that she was ok. Regina squeezed back before bringing her hand up to her mouth and kissed it gently.

Tia shook her head shyly

"Aww I think you do, I think you know that duckies say Quack Quack" Emma smiled as she took another duck from the bath and moved it about as she said "Quack Quack Quack"

Tia smiled brightly, loving how Emma made her toys come to life, and took the duck from her blonde mother "Kwack" she copied

"That's right! Clever girl" Emma replied enthusiastically

Tia started to yawn and rub her eyes. Emma got a clean, warm towel and opened it up "Ok kid, time to get out and into your pjs ready for bed"

Tia tapped Regina's offered hand and let the brunette help her to stand up in the bath, the blonde then wrapped the towel around her and lifted her out of the bath before carrying her through to Tia's bedroom. Regina pulled the plug and stood up, putting Tia's dress and leggings into the wash. She picked up the little girls shoes and noticed how scruffy they looked, they were a soft felt material, no good for any type of weather, but by seeing Tia's little feet she thought that the shoes must have been at least one size too big. They were dirty too but they looked like they would fall apart if Regina tried to clean them up for her. Regina decided not to question it right now and brought her shoes through to the bedroom with her.

Emma had Tia sat on her knee as she dried her, every now and again pulling the towel over her face before taking it down quickly and saying "Peekaboo".

Tia giggled and patted Emma's face "silly" which made Emma laugh too

"Yup, that's me kid"

Regina could see that the events of the evening were taking it's toll on their little girl as she yawned again, she was starting to get really sleepy now. The brunette was glad that the warm bath had seemed to have relaxed her, she went over to Tia's chest of drawers and brought over a new, pink nightdress for Emma to put on her.

"Tia, you get to sleep in your new, pink, princess bed tonight" Regina smiled gently "and Mama and I will be just in our room through that door there" she explained as she pointed across the hall "If you need us for anything you just come and get us ok? Or call to us, we will hear you and come straight in to see you ok?" She spoke gently

Tia nodded gently showing that she understood as Emma dressed her, the blonde felt her flinch slightly as Emma pulled her nighty down over her back. Her heart broke "oh, did that hurt baby girl?" She asked, her first priority being to find out if Tia was in pain but Tia shook her head. "No? Are you sure, your back is not sore?" She asked again to make sure.

"No sore" Tia spoke quietly

"Shall I give it a magical kiss to make it feel better anyway?" Emma asked knowing that Tia must still remember what happened to her, whatever happened to her and that feeling it being touched, although not physically painful for her, must be bringing some bad feelings back to her.

To Emma's surprise Tia nodded her head. She wasn't sure that that was going to work. She gently lifted Tia up and kissed her back through her night dress before carrying her over to the bed and placing her down. "Now the magical kiss will let you know that you don't have to be afraid, nothing like that will ever happen to you again ok? Regina… I mean your new Mom and me will always protect you and keep you safe". She knew that Tia needed time to be able to trust them fully but she wanted to take every opportunity she could to reassure her baby girl that her pain was over.

Regina came and joined Emma, kneeling on the floor by the bed as Tia snuggled under her duvet clutching Rosie and her blanket to her chest. Emma kissed Tia's head gently "goodnight kid" she whispered.

Regina turned on the night light that Jackie had sent with Tia from her room in the children's home and leant over to kiss Tia's head too. Before she got there, Tia reached out and gently touched the scar above the brunette's lip, she stroked the length of it and looked up into Regina's eyes. "Yes princess" Regina whispered "I have one too"

Tia then did something neither mother would have expected, she kissed Regina's scar as Emma had done to hers "Magwic Kiss" she whispered before snuggling back into her duvet. Regina's eyes filled with tears once again and tucked in her beautiful daughter "Thank you my little princess" she whispered with a smile but Tia was already drifting off exhausted.

Emma took Regina's hand and squeezed it again before then both rose from the floor and left their angel to sleep, leaving the door open for her.

…

"What a day" Emma whispered as she clambered into bed with her beautiful wife. She put her arm around Regina and felt the mattress shift before she felt Regina turn around and snuggle into her chest. "I feel like I could sleep for a week" she yawned as she cuddled Regina close. The brunette's only reply was a small sniffle, followed by another, and then a slightly louder one, Emma felt her clutch at her top and instinctively pulled the brunette closer. "Shhhh shhhh it's ok, let it out baby, its your turn". Emma knew that Regina had been holding it together since seeing Tia's scar on her back. Emma couldn't, and had to take herself off to blow off some steam but that in turn, left Regina having to hold it all together for Tia which is why the brunette was now finally allowing herself to cry. "I'm sorry I left you in that situation baby, I'm so sorry" she whispered as she kissed Regina's hair.

Regina cried silently for a long time, the only sounds being small sniffles that she couldn't keep from escaping. Emma stayed cuddled up with her and stroking through her hair until she had managed to calm down. "It's not your fault, it's his" Regina sniffled "I read in her file that she has a scar on her back but, I never could have imagined it would be like that…I just can't believe everything that she has been through in such a short amount of time, I'm so angry for her!" She growled as she grabbed harder at Emma's top.

"I know, if I ever find out who that bastard is or where he is….." she was winding herself up again and Regina felt her muscles tense

"Shhh dear, shhhh" Regina sniffled as she kissed Emma's cheek softly "we mustn't wake her. We just have to carry on doing everything that we can to make her feel safe and at home here…right?" Regina was looking for encouragement from her wife that they were doing the right thing for Tia.

"Of course" Emma replied "she will never have to go through anything like that again baby, in time she will come to trust and believe us. We are doing everything we can and when Jackie comes for her visit in a few days then we can ask her if there is anything else we can do to help her".

"The worst is far from over though dear, how can we take her outside if she is so terrified of men and loud noises and doesn't understand that not everyone wants to hurt her?" Regina whispered getting upset again "I just want her to be free from pain and terror"

"It will all just take time baby, but if anyone can do it we can right? Team Swan-Mills have got it covered" she encouraged "look at the progress she has made already, yeah we have had a few panics and yeah there will be more to come, but she is giggling, she is talking more to us, she is letting us feed her, clothe her, bathe her, cuddle her. She is doing great"

Regina nodded against Emma's chest knowing that she was right. "Just been a long first day" Regina agreed "and tomorrow we will be ready to do it all again" she smiled gently.

"Exactly" Emma agreed "things can only get better".

…

Regina and Emma were awoken in the middle of the night by high pitched screaming coming from their daughters room. Both mother's jumped awake immediately.

"Quick!" Regina gasped as she ran to Tia's room, Emma right behind her. Regina turned the light on to see Tia awake and screaming as she was curled up into a foetal position in the bottom corner of her bed clutching Rosie for dear life. As the light came on she frantically looked around the room, she looked wide eyed at Emma and Regina and quickly grasped at the air in front of her reaching out to them terrified. Regina quickly scooped her up and cuddled her close as she stopped screaming but continued to cry and wail as she buried her face into Regina's chest.

"Tia, Tia it's ok princess, we're here" Regina said as she felt her child cling to her tightly.

"You're safe kid, no one is here to hurt you" Emma added trying to keep her voice calm "it's ok". She gently put her blanket around her in Regina's arms and hugged them both, knowing that it would be ok to touch Tia because she had held her arms out to both of them.

Henry came to the bedroom door rubbing his eyes, "what's going on?" He asked but soon realised that Tia must have been having a nightmare. Henry stayed by the door, wanting to show support but also not wanting to get in the way or make the situation worse for Tia.

Regina thought that this time the lyrics to her lullaby were needed, she started to sing to Tia as Emma stroked her hair gently.

"Come stop your crying, it'll be alright,

Just take my hand hold it tight

I will protect you from all around you

I will be here don't you cry

For one so small you seem so strong

My arms will hold you keep you safe and warm

This bond between us cant be broken

I will be here don't you cry

You'll be in my heart,

Yes, you'll be in my heart

From this day on,

now and forever more"

Hearing the song had comforted Tia enough to make her stop crying, she lifted her head and looked around the room again…..and then again.

"See baby girl, no one bad is here, it was just a bad dream" Emma explained kindly as she wiped her daughters tears. "We're here, mommy, mama and henry, that's all, no one bad".

"Rosie" Tia whispered

"Oh of course, silly me, Rosie is here too" she smiled glad to finally hear her little voice talk to them after the panic.

"No bad" Tia whispered more to herself than anyone else.

Emma and Regina were so happy that they were able to calm Tia much quicker than when she was in the children's home, she even calmed a little bit faster than in the kitchen earlier. Even the fact that she hadn't hidden under her bed and had reached for them as soon as she saw them was a big step for Tia. Henry smiled as he watched Tia with his moms.

"Lets try getting back into bed princess" Regina whispered

But as she went to lift Tia away from her the little girl clung on "No!" she started to panic again not wanting to be left alone.

Regina cuddled her close again "ok, ok, it's ok" she whispered "shhhh shhhh"

"Why don't you guys let her sleep in your bed tonight, that used to help me feel safe when i was little" Henry suggested with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"That might be for the best" emma agreed "i think the sheets need changing...think there has been a little accident" the blonde said as she noticed the wet patch on Tia's sheets. "But accidents are ok remember Tia, not your fault" she said reassuringly as she stroked her little cheek, smiling gently when Tia leant into her touch.

Regina was too focused on making her baby feel better that she hadn't noticed until now that Tia was wet "ok, shall we get you changed princess? Then you and Rosie can stay in mommy and mamas bed tonight?

Tia nodded gently sucking her thumb enjoying feeling Regina's warmth and listening to her heart beat.

Tia had no more nightmares that night, she was changed, cleaned and she slept snuggled up between her two new protectors

Note- For anyone who doesnt know, Regina's song was "You'll be in my heart" from Tarzan, I just thought it fit really well