Love to know what you think of this one.

David and Emma talked for hours, and he offered her more insight on Regina, helping her understand her actions a little better. He also told her more about Cora, recounting stories of her cruelty toward Regina from the time she was a small child, often in the form of callous indifference.

Throughout much of her life, Regina had been ignored, and when she needed a mother most—pregnant and in the wake of losing her first love—she had effectively been disowned, which, Emma mused, basically left her orphaned. By the end of their conversation, Emma desperately wanted to wrap her arms around Regina and kiss her face, to make amends for all the pain she endured as a child and in her early adulthood. If anything, she felt closer to her, realizing just how similar their experiences had been, despite the differences in status and wealth.

David offered suggestions on how Emma might win her back—grand gestures, like surprising her with a romantic dinner or declaring her love when Regina went to visit the stables. But all of that just felt wrong, unfitting of the moment, and ultimately Emma didn't want to be the pursuer. She had been hurt enough, and it was time for someone to prove their love to her for a change. Despite how much she was hurting and how much she wanted her, she knew Regina had to come back to her on her own terms.

After a few hours, she thanked David for listening and being such a caring friend, promised to keep him looped in, kissed him on the cheek, and headed back to Storybrooke with her gut twisted in knots and her chest full of lead. She got back to her apartment and wallowed, twice typing texts to Regina and then deleting them. She thought about calling Ruby, but she really didn't want to explain the whole situation again.

So she drank a bottle of wine and felt her weary eyes begin to get heavy when her phone buzzed in her pocket with a text message.

Unknown number: Don't give up on her. She loves you.

She stared at the message, her sluggish mind trying to figure out what she was looking at. It could only be one person.

Emma: Henry?

Unknown number: Good guess.

Emma: Is she ok?

Unknown number: No. She's a mess. But now I know you love her too.

Emma: That's not always enough I guess.

Unknown number: It has to be. Don't give up. Please.

Emma: You're sweet, kid. But I'm not sure it's up to me. Take care of her, Henry.

Unknown number: I will. But who will take care of you?

Good question.

The next night at Saviors, Emma retired to the office a little early to do the books. She normally stayed on the floor to greet customers and help the staff with cleanup, but her nerves were frayed, having spent the entire day expending most of her energy on not bursting into tears. It was all she could to do keep herself from ripping Killian's face off for the mere suggestion that they add a butternut squash lasagna to the menu. Instead, she'd just glowered at him, as a wave of nausea washed over her at the memory of their "Spicy Latina" night together.

She looked at the clock. It was almost 10. She could go home. But for what? A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Ruby slipped into the office wearing a sympathetic smile, her hair pulled into a low ponytail.

"Hey you. What are you doing here? I thought you had to help Granny tonight."

Ruby settled into the chair opposite Emma and crossed her legs.

"All finished there. Just checking on you. I texted, but I didn't hear back. Wanted to make sure you were ok."

Emma narrowed here eyes.

"Checking on me? Who spilled?"

"August may look like a dumbass, but he pays attention. Something happened with Regina? I'm guessing you don't want to talk about it because you didn't call me, but I just wanted to make sure you knew I was here for you if you wanted to talk about it."

"Thanks, Rubes. Well, I'll give you the 50-cent version. Gold came in here the other day, and he basically told me he knew I was with Regina and insinuated that if I didn't get her to retract her review—which, who does that—then he would make life miserable for us, for me. I just blew it off, honestly, because that guy is such a freak. But then I met her in Boston, and we had the most incredible night together. I mean, incredible, Ruby. She was just, ugh, I felt so connected to her."

Emma's voice grew stubbly and strained, and Ruby rubbed her thigh reassuringly, waiting for her to continue.

"Then the next morning, we woke up together, and I mentioned what had happened with Gold. And, she disappeared on me. Like she just shut down, right before my eyes. She was out of there before I could even blink. She said she couldn't do this with me, that we were done. And that was it, she was gone."

"Oh shit."

"Yeah, I kind of lost it. So I went to see David up there. I told him everything, although he already knew most of it. She had talked to him. So he filled me in on a bunch of things I didn't know. He told me more about what happened with Henry's dad, Daniel—how he really died. He told me that Regina's mother had been threatening her fiancé for a month, and she basically drove him off the road, which is how he died—he crashed his car. And Regina felt responsible and basically shut down for a decade and a half. And then she and I… and then this happened—"

"And she's scared shitless that the same thing is going to happen now. She terrified of losing you, of something happening to you. And it being her fault," Ruby said, nodding in understanding.

"I guess, yeah."

"So what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean? What can I do?"

Ruby tilted her head to the side and looked at Emma with chagrin.

"Go after her, Emma. You are in love with her. You shouldn't just give up."

"You know, Rubes, you're the third person to tell me that. And here's the thing. I didn't give up. And I'm not giving up. But she did. So she needs to be the one to decide she wants this, that she won't let fear of what might happen overcome the possibility of falling in love, of having a relationship with me. I think she needs to get there on her own, on her terms. I wish I could wave a magic wand and she'd suddenly realize that we belong together, but I'm not sure I can do that."

Ruby thumbed at Emma's cheeks, wiping away tears she didn't know she'd shed.

"When did you get get all Dr. Phil on me? Maybe you're right, but I just want you to be happy. And I have truly never seen you as happy as when you were with her. I think you have to find a way. She's just freaked. Ugh. Gold is such an impish little troll. Fuck him."

"You know what? If it hadn't been him, it would have been something else. He was just the trigger."

Ruby looked at Emma appraisingly. Then she grabbed one of Emma's hands and squeezed it.

"You're saying all the right things, Emma. But when you find someone like her, you can't let go without a fight. She's worth risking your heart. I have watched you all these years, the way you've gone after your dreams," she said, gesturing around them. "So fearless. I know it's not the same thing, but you have to call up some of that badass bitch courage now. Go get her back."

Emma smiled through her tears. Ruby's words, somehow, were making her feel more hopeful, like maybe there was a way to get through to Regina.

"See? This is how I know I'm not a complete moron," Emma said, her eyes shining gratefully at Ruby. "I'm smart enough to have you as a best friend. I owe you big time."

"You owe me nothing. I've been the one in the deficit for a long time. So I've got a ways to go to catch up."

"Tell you what? Lets call it even. Love you, Rubes."

She went to bed feeling a little better that night, but she still had no idea what to do. For weeks, she was paralyzed, wanting desperately to reach out to Regina but fearing for her own heart. She tried to busy herself with the restaurant and helping David with some wedding planning, but she felt a thundering sadness weighing her down.

Emma woke up the morning before David's wedding, once again feeling the emptiness pulling her under, experiencing the loss with the start of a new day. The rejection still hurt, but more than that, she missed Regina. She missed their closeness, that decadent mixture of sweet and sassy, the perceptiveness, the warmth in those eyes, and just being with someone who noticed everything, who never missed a beat.

With sluggish limbs and a tight chest, Emma pulled on her running tights, a long-sleeve shirt, vest, and sneakers, and went out for a run. She found her favorite playlist on her phone, the one that never failed to motivate her, and she began to run at a punishing pace, no idea where she was headed.

With no word from Regina or even Henry since that morning at the hotel, doubts were the only remaining embers. Had she imagined the intensity between them? Had she overplayed Regina's feelings for her? Had she let herself fall for a woman who was never going to love her back? Despite what Henry had said, she wondered if Regina was feeling even a fraction of the sadness and hurt that she was experiencing since their relationship came to a screeching halt.

She found herself running toward Regina's house, but instead of turning down the familiar streets, she willed her legs to steer her away, winding up at a lake nearby. It was a crisp April day, and the moody sky and bare trees matched the way she felt inside. She pushed hard, sweat dripping in her eyes.

Emma was halfway around the lake, Foo Fighters's "Everlong" blasting in her ears, the the drums powering her ahead, when she saw a figure about 50 feet ahead sitting on a bench, crumpled over. As she got closer, she realized the figure was crying, shoulders shaking, black hair covering the face. It was a woman. It was Regina. Oh god.

The realization pierced through her, the sudden understanding that Regina was just as emotionally wrecked as she was. She wanted to comfort her, to wrap her arms around her, to take away the pain. But instead she stopped on a dime and switched directions, starting her run home with determination. She knew exactly what she had to do.

Regina walked home, her faced red and puffy from the tears and the wind whipping at her for hours. She had lost track of time. Days even. The sadness and hopelessness had eaten away at her from deep within. Even her bones felt tired. Any comfort she tried to provide her body was mercilessly turned away—food she loved tasted bland and sleep was interrupted. She was a mess.

Turning away from Emma—breaking her heart—was the most difficult thing she had ever done. It had broken her. Not just for herself, although she knew she was desperately in love with her, and leaving her created a despair she hadn't known since Daniel died. But it was worse in some ways because she had felt more connected to Emma, more understood. She also hated herself because she knew she had played into Emma's worst fears—being once again rejected and left behind by someone she loved.

But she knew what Gold was capable of, and the thought that Emma could lose her dream or be harmed in any way because of Regina was just too much to even consider. She berated herself mercilessly for writing that review. How could she have been so naive?

But despite all that, it had taken every ounce of willpower not to call Emma, to go to Saviors, to drive to her house in the middle of the night. She wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to make love to her, and she knew those would be the only remedies to the unrelenting pain that wracked her body, mind, and spirit.

But that would be selfish.

Nevertheless, she knew if Emma came for her, she would fold. But Regina knew the blonde was too proud for that.

As she approached her door, there was a large white envelope taped to her door with LETTER TO THE EDITOR written in thick black ink. She knew that handwriting.

Emma.

Her heart began to hammer in her chest, and for the first time in days she felt her cheeks flush with a happy warmth. Even just the thought that Emma had just been where she was standing was adrenaline in her veins.

She pulled the envelope from the door and unlocked it, taking off her coat and moving to the kitchen counter. She sat on a stool and unsealed the flap, pulling out a handwritten letter on a piece of notepaper.

Dear Editor,

I know this is unconventional, but I need advice. I've fallen hopelessly, desperately in love with a remarkable woman. She's painfully beautiful, wickedly smart, and she challenges me in every way. Everything between us is natural and real, and it has energized me and allowed me access to parts of myself I didn't know existed. I strongly suspect we are made for each other. But we have come to a crossroads. She has had a difficult past, and someone she cared for very deeply was taken away from her at the hand of someone else she trusted, someone who was supposed to love her. The wound is very deep, and although I believe she cares about me, she has walked away from our relationship very suddenly because she fears someone may try to hurt me and that she would be the cause. She is worried that history may repeat itself in a cruel twist of fate.

So I'm writing to you for help. I want this woman to know that even if that if her worst fears were to come true, it would still be worth it to me to have had even just a moment with her, even just a taste of this love I believe we have. I am desperately hoping she cares about me enough to take the risk, to face down the world—together. If we tackle the threats as a couple, I know we are strong enough to overcome them. But alone, it's too painful. I miss her every goddamn minute of the day. Maybe she thinks she's protecting me, but I want her to protect me with her affection and her presence, not by leaving me to face the threats alone.

So please, if you have any thoughts on the magic combination of words I could use to explain all this to her, to win her heart, tell me. Text me. Email me. Skywrite it. I need to know. I need her.

With much gratitude,

Emma Swan

Regina's shoulders shook, and she broke down again, Emma's words both decimating and healing her all at once. She folded the letter in half and went to put it back in the envelope, but when she looked inside, there was an object buried within.

She turned the envelope upside down, and a familiar necklace fell out onto the counter. It was the swan talisman that Emma always wore. Regina clutched it in her hand, pulled the letter to her chest, and headed upstairs to pack, shower, and get ready for the wedding.