Just to address some concerns that have come up in reviews: I am in no way an expert on rape or assault. I apologize for anything that comes across as inaccurate or disrespectful. Real life survivors are strong in ways I cannot even imagine, and I have the utmost respect for them.

As for Regina's pregnancy, I know that her decision will be controversial. A woman's decision to either keep or not keep a child in this kind of situation should be entirely up to her, and I think that either choice is incredibly brave. For this specific story, I have to be true to Regina - both the canon version and the one I've written in this story so far. Since children are so important to Regina, and since she comes down so hard on any parents who abandon theirs in any way, the choice she would make feels very clear to me. It may not be the best choice, but it's hers.

I know some of this is hard to stomach, but thank you for sticking with me.

When Ruby ducked into her room during the break between the lunch and dinner rushes, Henry was sitting cross-legged on her bed waiting for her. "I took this," he admitted, holding out Regina's file. "I'm sorry."

"Your moms are going to kill me," Ruby sighed, taking the file back. At least it was the much more tame second edition, missing the pictures and some of the graphic details.

"I had to know," he said, eager to move past the apology stage and on to confirming what he'd put together from the file, his visit to Mary Margaret, and a little research. "They raped my mom?"

Ruby winced, knowing that Emma and Regina would be furious with her for letting Henry figure everything out. "They did."

"And you guys can't put them in jail."

"Well, considering we no longer have a jail…" Ruby pointed out.

"So that's why Emma killed Dr. Whale," Henry said.

"Everyone's saying Regina did it," Ruby said, sitting down heavily beside him. "His heart was ripped out, Henry. That's kind of your mom's thing."

Henry shook his head. "It was Emma. And I know why she did it, but that doesn't make it okay. You can't just kill people."

Ruby wasn't entirely sure she bought Henry's theory at first, but then she thought about the Emma and Regina she'd seen on the day Whale died. Emma's anger and Regina's concern, how Emma had charged off after David and left Regina to pick up the pieces. It was all too easy, based on their histories, for Ruby to cast them in their usual roles as murderer and savior, but that wasn't what she'd witnessed.

"You can't just kill people," Henry repeated. "I wish Emma never got magic. I wish I hadn't made her break the curse."

"This isn't your fault," Ruby reassured him.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this." Tears rose in Henry's eyes, and he was helpless to keep them in. "I never wanted Emma to be evil."

Regina relaxed her tight hold on herself and, eventually, fell asleep, and Emma sat beside her and watched her. She didn't touch, didn't want to risk overstepping any additional bounds. She never wanted to see Regina pull away from her like that again. Emma wanted to be her protector, not the thing she was running from. She never wanted to scare her.

And she was going to scare Regina, Emma realized. If she followed through on her plan, if she killed anyone else, she'd be playing into Regina's worst fears.

This train of thought got Emma riled up again, and she slipped off the bed and out of the hotel room. Once the door closed between them, Emma punched the opposite wall hard. She had to punish David somehow. But not at Regina's expense. She'd promised to stay by the older woman and she meant it.

Her hand throbbed, but she hardly noticed. She punched the wall again, about ready to scream from frustration. After throwing a few more punches, the pain finally reached her. "Ow!" She hugged her fist to her chest, still seething, still wishing that she could punish all those who had ever hurt Regina without joining their numbers herself. "Fuck."

"Come inside," Regina said gently from behind her.

Emma turned, anger fading into shame at being caught. "How long have you been there?"

"Just long enough to see that last one." Regina shrugged. "I wanted to know where you'd gone off to."

"I shouldn't have left," Emma apologized.

"I think you needed to." Regina leaned in to kiss Emma lightly on the cheek. "Go inside and I'll get you some ice."

Emma retreated and sat at the foot of the bed, waiting until Regina returned with a washcloth full of ice. She took the blonde by the wrist and applied the ice.

"Is this about before? The way I freaked out?" Regina asked meekly, keeping her eyes on her task rather than looking at Emma.

"No, of course not." Emma used her good hand to guide Regina's chin up and meet her in a kiss. "I will wait as long as you need, Regina, you know that."

"That doesn't mean you can't be frustrated."

"I'm frustrated because I want to punish my father," Emma said. "Because those monsters hurt you and I can't do anything about it."

"You've done so much." Regina covered Emma's good hand with her own. "But next time you need to hit something, try a pillow. Much more forgiving." She raised the ice to inspect Emma's hand and then replaced it. "Or we can practice sparring again."

Emma couldn't help softening at that. "I can't hit you, Preggers," she teased, letting the frustration fade. It wasn't worth it, getting caught up in getting justice when Regina smiled at her like that. She wanted to stay in this moment.

"Call me that again and I will hit you." Regina playfully shoved Emma back onto the bed.

"I can injure myself just fine without your help, thanks."

"Apparently." Regina gave the ice a pat before sinking down beside Emma. "I didn't like waking up with you not there," she added once she'd tucked herself against the blonde.

Emma shook off the washcloth and ice so that she could wrap her arms around Regina fully. "I will do my best to make sure that it never happens again."

Regina closed her eyes, nestling her head against Emma's shoulder. "It was nice, earlier," she mused, toying with the hem of Emma's shirt absently. "Looking at houses like normal people. But it's not going to be normal again if I keep it."

"It's not going to be normal no matter what," Emma said, cradling Regina closer. "All we can do is start over here and spend the rest of our lives in therapy."

"Can we pretend to do normal tonight?"

Emma pecked her on the cheek and watched Regina's eyes flutter open. "Absolutely."

"What are you doing here?"

Henry looked up, startled. He was inspecting the place where Emma had killed Whale, and he'd almost entirely forgotten about the patient in the bed behind him. Sidney was thoroughly bandaged, everything obscured except his eyes and mouth, and easy to overlook.

Henry stood and put on a bit of a swagger borrowed from one or both of his mothers. "I'm asking the questions here," he announced. "Why did you do it?"

Sidney shifted a bit in his bed, but Henry wasn't sure if it was due to physical or mental discomfort. "Henry, you don't know what you're talking about. Go home before I call the nurse."

The boy saw Sidney reaching for a little remote beside his pillow that would alert the hospital staff. But he was slowed by pain and bandages, and it was all too easy for Henry to beat him to it and snatch it away. "I do too know what I'm talking about. You raped my mom."

Sidney blinked at him, startled. "You know that's not true. Your mother and I have been close since before you were born. She just didn't want you to know the true nature of our relationship."

Henry narrowed his eyes. He knew very well that Graham was the one who had always been around, not Sidney. His mom had tried to hide that relationship, of course, but the difference was clear. Henry had spent years noticing the little smile she gave Graham, but Regina had always been perfectly cold to Sidney. "I can tell when people are lying, you know," he bluffed.

Whether or not Sidney believed him, the reporter changed his approach. "Since the day I met her, your mother has promised me things that she never planned to give. I was merely collecting my due."

"My mom has done a lot of bad things," Henry said. "Sometimes she had good reasons and sometimes she didn't. But there's no good reason for what you did. She lied to me, too, but I would never hurt her!" He threw the remote down, furious.

Sidney gestured at his bandages. "Your other mother already punished me, Henry. I don't know what it is you want."

Henry went cold at that, staring at Sidney for a long moment with a ferocity that reminded the reporter of Regina. "You're not even sorry," he said, disgusted, before turning and running from the room.