A/N: This chapter contains a few more flashbacks than usual, and while they're not graphic they do deal with rape.

"You brought this on yourself," Whale told her as he finished tightening the bonds. "At home, all I cared about was my work." He paused to chuckle to himself. "Well, no, that's not all true. I didn't care much for girls, but you, you stayed in my mind for a long time after I met you. So young and innocent and gorgeous." He came back around to the front of her, and Regina refused to allow herself to react as he looked her naked body up and down. "I suppose one out of three isn't bad."

"You're disgusting," Regina finally spat out, glaring at him.

"I wanted you in my quiet little way," Whale continued, ignoring her words. "But you gave Dr. Whale all the confidence and all the need that Dr. Frankenstein never had."

"I gave you a good life here," she pointed out. "I don't see what you have against me."

"You tore me from my work at a critical moment." Regina turned her head as Whale trailed his hands down her sides and back up her chest. "And you refused me even when I asked nicely. So now, I'm done asking." He grabbed her chin and yanked her back to face him.

Regina closed her eyes as he kissed her hard, and she kept her eyes shut even after he'd pulled away. She could hear him unzipping something. "Let me go," she insisted.

"This will hurt a lot less if you don't fight it."

"This will hurt a lot less if you don't fight it."

Regina kept her eyes fixed on the canopy of the bed, not daring to look at her new husband. If she met his gaze he'd be certain to see the tears she was barely holding back. He'd see the way those tears spilled out when he forced himself into her. She closed her eyes then, biting down on her lip to keep from screaming.

"Good girl."

Regina woke screaming.

She tried to fight Emma off, but the other woman took each blow she received without complaint, intent on soothing Regina. "It's okay, it's okay," she kept repeating, stroking Regina's cheek with one hand and half-heartedly blocking Regina's attacks with the other. "It's okay, Regina. Breathe."

Regina finally stopped fighting and went quiet for a moment, a faint pulse of magic pulling her out of her nightmares. "They're here," she told Emma, sitting up. "They've come for me."

"It's okay," Emma promised again. "You're safe. No one's coming."

Regina shook her head. "Someone's outside. I can feel the protection spell."

Emma fell silent, registering an odd feeling that told her the same thing. Something was coming. Sure enough, the doorbell rang.

"Henry!"

It took Emma a moment to realize that she was the one who'd screamed this time. Their son, hair messy from sleep, stumbled into the master bedroom after she'd called for him a few times. "You guys are so noisy this morning," he grumbled.

"Lock the door behind me and stay in here with your mom, okay?" Emma hurried up, lingering for a moment at the bedside to look down at Regina. "I've got you," she promised the other woman, squeezing her hand. "I've got this."

Henry locked the bedroom door after Emma hurried out and made his way over to his brunette mother, crawling under the covers into the warmth Emma had left behind. "What's going on?"

"There's someone out there," Regina told him.

"Who? What do they want?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. They're probably looking for me."

Henry took a good look at Regina's pale face and wiggled closer to her, wrapping his arms around her. Regina held him tightly, closing her eyes and praying that this would all blow over. That it was a mistake. "I won't let anyone hurt you," Henry promised seriously.

Regina sank back down into the pillows, closing her eyes and allowing herself a second to pretend that this was a normal day. A second to revel in the fact that she had her son back. "Thank you, my prince."

Emma wasn't quite sure who to expect, but it certainly wasn't Mother Superior. Or whoever she was on Regina's list, some fairy or other. The blonde's jaw set instantly, eyes narrowing. "Get away from here."

"Emma," the small woman said gently, reaching forward. As soon as her hand passed the doorframe, she pulled it back as if stung. "Emma, I need to talk to you."

"Not interested." Emma moved to close the door, but the fairy spoke up before she could.

"It's about what happened yesterday. Your magic."

Emma cast a glance back towards the stairs and then stepped out onto the porch, crossing her arms over her chest. "Still not interested."

The smug look on the nun's face showed that she wasn't convinced of that, but she didn't push it. "Your parents asked me to come talk to you. Emma, you can't let Regina teach you. Her magic is dark. Don't go down her path. I can teach you to control it, to use it for good."

"Good?" Emma laughed hollowly. "Yes, because torturing Regina is what good people do."

Mother Superior frowned, something in her eyes hardening. "There's a difference between punishment and torture."

Emma could feel the magic surging in her again, the need to lash out like she had at Whale. "I don't hit nuns," she said. "Get out of here before I change my mind."

"You're the one who needs to get out of here. You should be with your family."

Emma stepped back into the house. "This is my family." She shut the door, glaring at the wood separating her from just another of Regina's attackers and taking deep breaths until the rage and magic subsided. "Hypocrite," she muttered to herself.

It reminded Regina of when she was a child and had broken her mother's rules. Cora, of course, would never lay a hand on her, but she'd force her husband to. But this wasn't quite like the switches Regina's father had used. The blows on her back were solid, hard, and stung with a little something extra.

Magic.

She finally managed to piece it all together. The voice was the Blue Fairy's, the instrument was a wand. Her skin burned not just from physical impact but from the magic within the wand, magic that rippled deeper and deeper until the wounds were far from surface level. Her blindfold was wet with tears.

"I always knew that you'd turn out just like your mother," the fairy was saying. "I never imagined you'd be worse."

Regina couldn't do much more than whimper against the gag. That wasn't true. That couldn't be true. Her mother was the one who made her this way.

Blue uttered the first few syllables of a spell and Regina screamed, already knowing where this was going. She'd studied the spell, sure she'd need it someday, but she'd never used it. It was too cruel to be used lightly. She didn't hear the rest of it, but suddenly every nerve in her body was wracked with pain and she had something worth screaming about.

Henry quickly fell back to sleep, so it was Regina who opened the bedroom door for Emma. "Who was it?" she asked softly.

"That damn nun," Emma muttered. "She wasn't after you. She wanted to get me away from here before you start teaching me evil magic or whatever."

Regina closed her eyes and leaned into Emma's embrace. "She's probably right."

"Not a chance."

Regina took in a deep breath, inhaling the smell of Emma and trying to fight away the memories of her interaction with Blue. "Well, don't leave me anyway."

Emma tilted Regina's face up towards her and kissed her long enough that Blue melted away, that everything seemed to melt away. "Never."

Regina reluctantly pulled herself away from Emma after a while, climbing back into bed and waiting for the blonde to take up her place on the other side of Henry. Instead, Emma tucked herself against Regina's back, holding tight to the older woman's waist. Regina took a good look at their son to make sure he was asleep before speaking. "After what happened, I don't know how long it'll be before I can, you know…"

Emma just stroked Regina's hair back so she could bring her lips to the mayor's ear. "I'll wait." Regina closed her eyes, just focusing on the arms around her and Emma's soft voice. "I'll wait until you're ready."

Regina nodded silently before rolling over to face Emma. She kept her eyes closed, just burrowing into the warmth of the sheriff's embrace and once again letting herself cry.

"I love you, Regina," Emma whispered.