Chapter23

Zelena insisted they swing by her apartment before going back to Regina's. She claimed there were some things she needed to gather. The brunette couldn't think of anything she needed to pick up.

"I'll only be a minute Regina." The redhead said pushing the button for her floor.

Regina tightened her grip on her purse strap. Her stomach was queasy and tied in a massive knot. What if Emma was there? She wasn't ready to see her yet. She already felt bad for not calling her with the test result. She wasn't ready to admit that she missed seeing the other woman.

The elevator door opened and the two women stepped off in the direction of the apartment. They would grab whatever it was Kathryn felt she couldn't live without and go. It was no big deal. It would only take a minute.

"What's that?" Kathryn asked.

"What's what?" Regina asked looking around the empty hallway.

"That music," Kathryn said straining her ears to figure out where it was coming from.

Regina listened as she tried to walk softer. It was difficult to hear when her heels clicked loudly on the hallway floors. Suddenly she heard it. 'You're beautiful' drifted through the air as they grew closer to the door.

The brunette froze, closing her eyes.

"What's the matter?" Kathryn asked worriedly.

"It's Emma." She said.

"Oh, right. You told me she could play." The blonde said. "She's pretty good."

Regina took a deep breath before releasing it, "Yes, she is." The brunette adjusted her purse on her shoulder, "Maybe I should just wait for you in the car."

"Oh no, you don't. You are going to talk to her." The blonde said firmly.

"Alright, but I can't do it today. There is so much going on and…" She started.

"I'm not telling you to profess your love, okay? I just want you to talk to her. Start with hi, for God's sake." Kathryn said grabbing her friend's hand and pulling her closer to the door.

Regina's heart beat fast beneath her chest. She listened to Emma play the song through the closed door. Kathryn dug her key from her own purse. Regina wanted to see the younger blonde's face nearly as bad as she wanted to run.

Kathryn unlocked the door without making a sound. Stepping inside, Emma continued to play. She was unaware that she was no longer alone. Regina's eyes searched the dim room for the younger woman as they sat their purses down on the island.

The piano's melody floated through the apartment. The tune had always been a sweet happy sound, but at this moment it seemed sad and dark. Regina found the soft gentle features of the younger blonde. Her emerald eyes hid beneath her closed eyelids as her fingers pressed in the keys of the piano. She was beautiful, to say the least. Of course the brunette had noticed that on several occasions, and at this moment even more so.

Regina walked towards the black baby grand, her eyes glued to the closed ones of Emma's. She almost reached the blonde when she noticed the wet streaks on the younger woman's cheeks, and she gasped.

Emma's eyes shot opened and she grabbed her chest, "HOLY SHIT! You scared me."

"S-sorry." Regina stuttered. "I didn't mean to. I…"

The blonde turned her head, using her shirt to wipe her tears then stood, "It's cool." Emma's eyes caught something behind her and a smile spread across her face, "Kathryn? When did you get out?"

The younger blonde passed the brunette and into the arms of Kathryn. As they hugged their hellos, Regina couldn't help but think about the tears that had stained Emma's cheeks. She wondered if she had been thinking of her mother or of some other tender subject.

"Today. Regina is my official babysitter." The older blonde answered. "You are very gifted."

"Thanks, but I was only goofing off." The younger woman said.

Kathryn smiled, "It's too late to be modest. Regina has already bragged about you and Henry's performance last week. I hear you have magic fingers.

Both Regina and Emma blushed, "Don't you have some stuff you need to grab before we head to my place?"

Kathryn gave the brunette a knowing look and with a smile, she disappeared down the hallway. The silence in the room was deafening. She didn't know where to start let alone what to say.

"So, Dr. Mills filled me in on the results." Emma's tone was smooth but Regina could hear the disappointment.

"I'm sorry I didn't call. I…"

"Don't apologize. I'm sure you were busy." The blonde said shoving her hand into her pockets.

"Right." Regina pulled her bottom lip into her mouth. Of course, it was a lie, but she didn't know how to respond. What was she supposed to say?

Silence once again rang out in the apartment. Regina wanted to kick herself. Every time she got around this woman it was like Junior High all over. She was waiting for an acne breakout.

"JESUS!" Kathryn's voice shouted from the hallway, "This painful to watch."

Regina made eye contact with Emma for a moment and then looked to her friend.

"If I have to play mediator, I will." She paused, waiting for one of the other women to say something, but it never came. "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" She threw her hands up, "Emma you are coming to Regina's for dinner tonight."

When Emma went to protest, the blonde cut her off, "Regina, you are hosting me a welcome home dinner, no argument."

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Henry had been in his room ever since his grandfather brought him home from school. His mother texted him earlier, informing him of his Aunt Kathryn's release. It wasn't the news he wanted to hear. He was happy that she was getting out, but with everything else going on, he didn't want to have to explain why he had yet to go and visit her.

His grandfather had asked him many times on the car ride home what was wrong. He wasn't his normal talkative self. He didn't want to tell the old man. The last time he shared his problem with someone, it only made things worse. Why did grownups always have to put their noses in everyone's business?

He threw himself down onto the pillows and looked up at the ceiling. The glow-in-the-dark stars still filled the space over his head. At night he enjoyed pretending he was floating through outer space somewhere. He wished he were there now.

"Henry!" He heard his mother's voice from downstairs.

"Great, they're here already." He said under his breath. He stared up at the little yellowish plastic pieces attached to the textured ceiling.

He could hear footsteps coming up the stairs and shuffling in the hallway. The guest room door opened and then closed. Every time he thought of his Aunt, he could only see that night. The blood and the fear in his mother's eyes had almost been too much for him. He wasn't sure what to say to her. Did he pretend nothing ever happened? How could he?

Footsteps stopped outside his door and there was a tap. His plan was to ignore it, but the door handle turned.

"Henry?" His mother's voice was soft as she stepped inside and closed the door. "Is everything alright?"

He kept his eyes on the stars, "Everything's peachy." He didn't mean for the sarcasm in his tone, but he couldn't help it.

He watched his mother walked over to his bed and sit down on the edge out of the corner of his eye, "Okay, out with it."

"Nothing's wrong." He lied.

"Henry Daniel Locksley, don't lie to me." She said, her voice laced with warning.

He exhaled loudly and sat up, "Just having a bad couple of days."

"So tell me about them." She said brushing a lock of hair from his forehead.

He shifted, "There's nothing to tell. Just stuff."

His mother stared at him, "I'm sure your Aunt Kathryn would love to see you. She misses you."

He lowered his eyes to the floor but didn't say anything.

"Baby I know things have been tough for us lately, but it's been hard on Kathryn too. She needs our love and support right now. She needs to see that we still love her and we haven't given up on her." His mother's voice sounded pleading and he looked at her.

"I know that, but why did she have to do it?" He asked.

His mother seemed to search for words, "Well, she was having trouble dealing with some things."

"What those men did to her?" He asked.

His mother nodded her head, "Yes, that's a big part of it."

He let out a sigh, "I'm not mad at her. I just don't understand why she would leave us like that. I thought she loved us."

"Is that what you think?" His mother asked cupping his face in her hands, "Baby she does love us. She loves you most of all. Sometimes people don't know how to ask for help so they think that killing themselves is the only solution." She leaned in and kissed his forehead, "Maybe you should talk to your Aunt Kathryn about this."

Henry nodded his head, "Okay mom. I'll be down in a few."

She stared at him for a long moment before standing, "You might want to get cleaned up. Emma is coming for dinner tonight."

He gave a weak smile, trying to hide his anger. He was mad at Emma. If she hadn't gone and told Peter and Felix's parents then they wouldn't have been beaten. This was definitely not something he wanted to discuss with his mother. He could see the concern in his her expression so he smiled bigger, "I'll be down shortly."

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Things were quiet at dinner. Dr. Mills and Kathryn did most of the talking. Emma sat watching the brunette out of the corner of her eye. It seemed Regina was avoiding eye contact with her, but that wasn't the most disturbing thing. The most disturbing thing was how Henry was acting. He refused to look at her and barely said three words to her since she arrived.

"So Emma, how are things at the club?" Kathryn asked.

More silence filled the space before the younger blonde replied, "I don't work at the club anymore."

Kathryn tilted her head, looking at Regina before looking back at Emma, "What? I thought you were the owner now."

Emma took a sip of her water and gave a small smile, but didn't know where to start.

"I'm sorry, I meant to fill you in, but I didn't think you needed to worry about anything except getting better." Regina butted in.

"What happened?" Kathryn asked with even more curiosity.

"My father did what my father does and screwed me over." Emma paused hearing the older woman gasp, "It's no big deal, I'll figure it out."

"That son-of-a-bitch," Kathryn said with a glare. "How can he do that?"

"He's like every other adult. He sticks his nose in other people's business." Henry said loud enough that he was heard from his end of the table.

"Excuse me?" Regina looked as surprised as everyone else.

Emma watched him. He shook his head, "Nothing. May I be excused?"

"No, you may not." Her eyes were a mix of anger and confusion, "Why did you say that?"

His eyes stared down at his plate and he sighed with frustration. "Because grown-ups are always nosy." His eyes shot up to meet Emma's, "And they only make things worse."

No one at the table missed the look the boy had given his friend, and now all eyes were on Emma. She furrowed her brows, wondering what had happened between her and the kid. Did he still think she cheated on his mother?

Regina studied the blonde's face for a moment then turned back to her son, "What's going on Henry?"

He looked back at his plate, "Ask her." He pointed at the blonde.

"Ask me what?" Emma looked around the table. "Henry I don't know what you're talking about." She said with sincerity.

"What I told you last night. You went and talked to their parents." Henry's glare was icy.

Emma replayed her visit over in her head and then it came back, "Maybe here isn't the best place to discuss this." She said trying not to look at Regina.

"This is the perfect place," Regina said with authority.

Henry huffed, "See what I mean." He looked at Emma with disappointment and her heart sank.

"Henry, I'm sorry, but I had to talk to them. What those boys are doing is wrong." Emma said as gentle as she could.

"It wasn't your place." He snapped. "You only made things worse." His voice was venomous.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Regina said standing up from the table.

Emma gave Henry an apologetic look before turning to the brunette. "There are these two boys in Henry's class that were giving him a hard time. When he first told me about them I sent a couple of guys to scare them, but apparently, it didn't work. So, when he told me last night that they were still bothering him, I went and had a chat with their father. He assured me the issue would be resolved."

Regina eyes widened, "How come I wasn't told that someone was bullying you?"

Henry shot up from his chair, "Because it wasn't anyone's business. You only made it worse." He all but yelled at Emma.

"Did they hurt you?" Regina moved towards her son.

"NO! THEIR DAD HURT THEM BECAUSE OF HER!" He shouted before running out of the room and up the stairs.

Emma was in shock. Not only had she never seen Henry act that way before, she didn't know how to process the information.

Regina started to go after the boy, but Dr. Mill's caught her elbow, "No. Let me."

Emma watched the old man exit the room and turned to Regina, "I'm sorry.'

"That seems to be your favorite line. You should have come to me when you found out about those boys." Regina had her own icy tone.

"I know and I'm sorr…" She started.

"STOP!" Regina shouted, "I'm his mother. It is my job to deal with things like this, not yours." Her eyes matched those of her son's from only minutes ago.

"Regina." Kathryn started.

Regina put her hand up to her friend, "My job has been to protect him since the day he was born. How can I if I don't know what's going on? You're supposed to be the adult and that means telling me if you know my child is in danger." The younger blonde could see the tears welling up in the other woman's eyes, and she remained quiet. "Why didn't he tell me?" The question was more to herself.

"Look, He told me about the other kids and I thought I could stop it. He only ever thinks of your feelings first and he didn't want you to worry." She tried to explain.

"I'm his mother, I'm supposed to worry." A tear escaped and the brunette didn't try to wipe it away.

Emma wanted to pull the woman into her arms and comfort her. The last thing in the world she wanted to see was Regina cry. She should have told her about the bullies, but she was trying to be Henry's friend. She didn't want to be a snitch.

Roughly yanked from her thoughts, Regina said, "Miss Nolan, I think it would be a good idea if you left."

For a moment the younger blonde didn't move, "Regina, I'm sorry."

"I can't deal with this right now." The brunette wiped beneath her eye, "My son needs me, so if you will show yourself to the door."

"Come on Regina." Kathryn tried.

"No." Regina said, "I can't." Without another word, she walked out of the room.

Emma closed her eyes and sighed. What was she supposed to do now?

"Emma…" Kathryn said searching for some comforting words.

The younger blonde shrugged, "It seems all I can do is screw up when it comes to her. Just tell her I'm sorry, okay?" She didn't wait for Kathryn to reply, instead, she hurried from the house as if it were on fire.

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Regina hadn't made it to Henry's room when she heard the front door open and close. It indicated that Emma had left. She bit back the tears she felt. She was angry with Emma Nolan, so why did it feel like her heart fell from her chest when she heard the other woman leave?

She tapped on her son's doorframe, "Henry? May I come in?"

"You're going to anyways," was his stubborn reply.

She turned the doorknob and let herself in. Her father wasn't inside, where she thought he'd be. She closed the door behind her and looked down at her son who lay on his bed with his back to her.

"Why didn't you tell me about the boys at school?" Regina asked.

Henry only shrugged. He was on most days, a very level headed and overly mature child. That was until his anger got the better of him. She would love to blame Robin for those traits, but she knew damned well he got them from her.

"Please talk to me." She paused, fighting the lump in her throat. "You used to tell me everything."

Henry rolled over to look at her, "I never told you everything."

His tone wasn't malice, but it hurt all the same, "What do you mean?"

He stared up at the ceiling for several long seconds before saying, "I heard you cry a lot when dad was here." Regina held her breath as he continued, "Dad treated you bad for so long and you put up with it."

"I thought it was…" She started.

"The best thing for me." He finished. "Grandpa said you are just like Grandma. He said you are always worried about everyone else. I see you try and pretend that you're okay, and I know you're not." He paused again chewing on his lip, "So I don't always tell you everything. You have enough to worry about."

Regina knelt down in front of the boy, "You are my son. I will always worry about you no matter what." She touched his shoulder, "Honey, as grown up as you seemed to be, you are still only nine-years-old. You should be out playing with your friends. You should be watching cartoons and doing other things kids your age do. It is my job to worry about you and if someone is threatening you or hurting you, you need to tell me."

"I'm not like the kids my age. I'm a freak." Sadness laced his voice.

She took his chin in her hand and moved his head so his eyes were on hers, "You are not a freak."

"Yes, I am." His voice raised a couple of octaves and he pulled his chin free of his mother's hand. "Mom, I can't talk kids my age, and the older ones think I'm a freak because I've skipped a few grades. You have no idea how hard it is, but then I found Emma. She didn't treat me like a freak. For the first time ever, I had a friend." He blinked back his own tears, "But then she betrays me."

Regina had never even considered Henry was having a problem at school. He played it off so well. She knew he didn't have many friends, but she thought maybe he was going through a phase or something. She ran her fingers through his hair, "Emma did the right thing. She didn't betray you. She was trying to protect you."

Tears slipped down her son's face as he sobbed, "But Peter and Felix's dad beat them for it."

Regina pulled the boy to her chest, "Oh baby, that's not Emma's fault and it's not your fault."

"Why would he do that? Why couldn't he just ground them or something?" He choked out between his hiccupped cry.

Regina couldn't stop her own tears, "Some people are bullies."

"Like dad." He stated. Images of the fights she had had with Robin came rushing back. She hesitated, then confirmed, "Like dad."

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Emma sat in the back corner of the restaurant eyeing the now half empty bottle of wine through the dim lights. Her mind flashed back to her last night in New York. The way her heart had raced when she was up on the ledge of the balcony. She wanted to laugh at herself for seeming so dramatic. Of course, she wasn't going to kill herself, she was just having a bad day. Well, a bad few months it would seem.

She glanced down at the time on her cell phone, 7:30. The last hour since she left Regina's, had been trying to figure everything out. August told her the cops had been digging around their father's office and the club asking questions. She was surprised her father hadn't called her. He would reiterate what a disappointment she was, or announce his disownment of her.

"I figured you would have learned your lesson about drinking the other night." Her brother's voice said as he pulled up a chair across from her.

She wanted to argue the fact that she hadn't been drinking that night but decided she didn't have the energy. "Where's Zelena?"

"She'll be here. She had a few things to finish up at her office." He said grabbing the bottle and pouring some in the empty glass before him.

Emma nodded and took a sip from her glass, "I'm sorry about what happened with Zelena and me."

"Oh? Why is that? From what I understand, nothing happened." He said drinking from his own glass.

"You're right, nothing happened, but I'm sure you thought…"

"Thought you got my fiancé drunk to take advantage of her?" He asked with a small smirk.

On a normal day, she might have laughed or at least smiled, but not today, "It's not a joke August."

Before he could reply, Zelena walked up to the table, "Sorry I'm late. Did you already order?" She asked, not looking at Emma as August stood to pull out her chair.

"No, we haven't. I just got here myself." He said glancing at his sister.

She didn't miss the redhead's gaze move from Emma's nearly empty glass to the bottle, "I see you've been here a while." Her eyes still didn't meet the blondes.

"Yeah, well, my evening didn't go quite as planned." She reached for the bottle to fill her glass again, "So I had time." She could feel the buzz affecting her senses.

There was an awkward silence as she took a long drink from her glass. Awkward was becoming the norm when sitting at a table, "I'm surprised you're not screaming at me August."

"Why would I scream at you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I figured you would have been angry about the other night." She said gulping down the rest of her glass. She couldn't let the topic go.

August straightened, "Nothing happened, so I've no reason to be mad."

"Liar." She said with a snort. "I bet the minute Zelena called you were ready to beat my ass."

Her brother shifted uncomfortably. He looked at fiancé and then back at her, "You're right. At first, I was livid, but I was out of town so I couldn't have gotten to you even if I wanted to. Zelena sent me the results and it proves that nothing happened." He cleared his throat, "Anyways, it's over now so we can drop it."

Emma laughed and shook her head, "Yeah, right." If Zelena thought she was hiding her shame of the past situation, she was sadly mistaken. Even Regina looked at her as if she were still guilty of a crime that was never committed. As far as August, he would always remember how he felt when he first got the call from his soon to be. Nothing could erase that from his mind.

The waiter walked up, "Are you ready to order ma'am?" He asked Emma.

"I'll have another bottle and they'll have…" She let her words die out as she gestured towards her companions.

"I'll have the chicken Marsala, and she will have the blackened chicken penne." August passed the menu up to the waiter, "Are you sure you don't want something to eat?"

She shook her head as she stared into her glass. The waiter took the menus before leaving to place their order.

August looked at her with concern, "Emma, what's going on?"

"Nothing." She gave a failed attempt at a smile. "Well, that's not true." She refilled her glass and took another long sip. She didn't miss the sigh her brother released, "I'm going to the police to turn myself in."

"WHAT," Zelena shrieked now looking the blonde woman in the eye!?

"Emma, you need to think this through. Right now, they have nothing. There's nobody, no proof that a crime was even committed." August explained.

"I need to do this." She took a gulp from her glass and set it down on the table, "I don't want anything coming back to my friends. They were only trying to help me."

"Listen to your brother," Zelena said with her undivided attention on the blonde in front of her. "They don't have anything. They can't even put together a reasonable timeline."

Emma brushed her fingers through her hair, "They won't stop. They will continue to look for him forever. I don't want to be sitting on my front porch in thirty years to have them come up with new evidence. I damned sure don't want them finding anything else to harass Regina or Kathryn about. They need time to heal, not be treated like criminals. I've done enough damage."

"And what does Regina think about this?" Zelena asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"I haven't told her, and besides, it's not her decision," Emma said reaching for the bottle of wine.

August reached out holding the bottle in place, "Emma, she wouldn't want you to do this."

She stared hard at her brother for what seemed like an eternity. "I have no idea what Regina Locksley wants, but I know it doesn't involve me. I just want this to end." She felt the sting in her eyes and blinked, "I want you to try and get me a deal. I mean, I know I'm a killer. I just mean I would like to think I could at least get 20 years with the possibility of parole."

August took his hand off the bottle and picked up his own glass to take a sip, "I don't think this is the best decision."

Her brother's words seemed to dull out when she caught a familiar figure at a nearby table out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes moved in that direction. She flexed her jaw muscles. Speak of the devil, she thought to herself. Sitting not two tables away from her was Peter and Felix's father. He was laughing and cutting up as if he hadn't been an abusive piece of shit. No, she hadn't seen the injuries herself, but for Henry to be that upset, they must've been pretty severe.

She interrupted her brother who had still been talking, "Excuse me for a moment."

She pushed back her chair and stood. He wouldn't get away with this and what better night than tonight? Emma walked over to the man's table and stopped beside him.

The brown haired businessman glanced up at her with a friendly smile, "Well, hey they."

"You like to beat up on kids, huh?" She sneered.

His smile remained but confusion flashed through his eyes, "Excuse me?" He glanced nervously at the bleach blonde woman across from him.

"Oh, have you forgotten already?" She clenched her fist beside her. Her heart was now beating in her ears. "Why don't you try it on someone your own size, or does beating your kids make you feel tough."

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about, so if you would please leave." His voice hardened, but his lips were still curled in an uneasy smile.

"Oh then maybe I should refresh your memory." She began unfastening her belt and slipped it from her belt loops.

"If you don't leave, I will call for security." He said turning in her direction.

She didn't say anything, instead, she wrapped a few inches of her belt around her right hand. The silver buckle glistened in the dim lighting.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked looking around the room, "SECURITY!" He yelled out.

In one quick motion, she cracked the belt over the man shoulder causing him to yelp in pain. It wasn't enough so she hit him again. The more she hit him the angrier she got. She must have struck him dozen times not caring where the buckle landed, "You don't deserve to be a father." Images of her own father popped into her mind. She couldn't stop swinging the belt. Then she could see Robin and how he treated Henry. The man had fallen on the floor trying desperately to crawl away from her, but he couldn't. The lashes were frenzied.

Emma felt strong arms wrap around her causing her to halt. The man was down on the floor cowered in the fetal position. His face, hands, and arms littered with bloody nicks from her small buckle, his shirt torn.

"EMMA, STOP!" She heard her brother yell from behind her as he turned her to face him.

The patrons of the restaurant stood in shock. All eyes were on them.

"KEEP HER AWAY FROM ME! SHE'S INSANE!" The man shouted as two police officers made their way to the table.

The next thing Emma knew was that she was being placed in handcuffs as one of the officers read her the Miranda rights.