Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: What Do You Want From Me By P!nk, Keep on Tryin' by Poco, Still by Daughter


The water cooled around Regina and reluctantly she pulled the plug and hoisted her rubbery limbs over the side. Ruby hadn't called, but she had not actually expected one too soon, not until Emma woke up at least. She grabbed a towel and dried her right leg and slipped into the brace. The last thing she wanted to do was prolong her injury by refusing a simple thing like wearing a brace. Emma needed her.

She snagged her phone and toweled herself lightly as she hobbled to her bedroom. Her bed sang to her, and she gave into the siren's call. The bath had helped, but her system took an incredible shock by absorbing the magic. Her hands shook and her vision swam if she moved too quickly, but at least her aching muscles quieted for the time being. She set her phone on the side table and then gave herself over to her luxurious memory foam mattress. She vowed not to close her eyes, instead stared at the phone and willed it to ring.

When it refused her command, she pulled herself from the bed and gimped to the closet. It was only around noon, so she chose a silk royal blue button up and black slacks and then returned to the bathroom to fix her make up and style her hair. Dark purple fingers gripped her neck, Ruby's fingers. A split stuck out prominently from her lower lip near the corner of her mouth emphasized by a dark purple bruise. She winced as she unbuttoned the shirt and let it fall over her shoulders turning to see both front and back. Purple and green spots peppered her ribs and shoulders. She really should have had an X-Ray.

She fixed the shirt and ignored the injuries. She ignored her appearance and slipped into the boots she'd left on the ceramic tile earlier, deciding to go back to the hospital and wait until Emma woke up. She had nothing better to do. A tap resonated through the house when she reached the top of the stairs, and she poofed to the door, wanting the intruder to leave as soon as possible.

"Belle?" She questioned as the young woman's dress billowed with the force of the door sucking hair towards it.

"Emma wanted to give you a message. I'm not sure what it means, but she slipped this to Ruby. She didn't want to leave Emma, so she sent me to Mary Margaret's apartment. Thank goodness, she taught me what an Ipod was a few days ago," Belle laughed at herself as she handed the device to Regina.

Regina stared at the music player for a moment and then fixed Belle with a questioning look.

"Oh! Here, this is the message," she mumbled and hand Regina a piece of paper.

"Would you like to come in, Miss French? I was about to make coffee," Regina offered and stepped aside. Belle fidgeted for a moment and then slipped inside the massive house.

"I'll make it," she offered nervously and then retreated to the kitchen before Regina protested.

The former royal squinted at her back for a moment and then moved to the living room. She gave her body to her leather sofa and scrolled through the music until she came to the song Emma indicated. She thought it the oddest mode of communication she'd ever experienced, but this was Emma Swan, she reminded herself.

Regina wrinkled her nose at the gravelly voice of the female rock star, waiting for the message. She nearly turned the racket off but then the chorus played, and she froze.

"Just don't give up. I'm working it out. Please don't give in, I won't let you down. It messed me up, need a second to breathe. Just keep coming around. Hey, what do you want from me?"

The song was so silly that she nearly laughed, but the words were true and essentially repeated what she'd said to Emma every night she'd been awake. That it was okay to take a minute and breathe and be taken care of without fear of judgment. It ended too quickly, and Regina punched the back button, playing it again. Emma was telling her to hold on, to keep trying, to keep loving her. Tears burned her throat, and she covered her face with her hands as the song played through once more time.

A cup of coffee magically appeared while she was listening, but Belle hadn't stayed in the room. She replayed the song again and then leaned back with her coffee.

"It's plain to see that, Baby, you're beautiful and there's nothing wrong with you. It's me. I'm a freak, but thanks for loving me 'cause you're doing it perfectly. Yeah, there might've been a time when I would let you slip away. I wouldn't even try, but I think you could save my life."

Tears flowed freely again. She let them. Emma had given her the most beautiful message possible. It wasn't hopeful or fluffy but an honest representation of everything they'd gon through and revealed over the past few weeks. Emma needed time and love. It wasn't her fault that Emma had pulled away, and she wanted her to keep visited, keep loving and supporting.

"She asked for you… when she woke up. She hasn't said a word since except that note she gave Ruby," Belle leaned casually against the door frame and sipped her coffee. "Do you need any cream or sugar?"

Regina shook her head. "Are you ready to go?" Belle asked as if she intended to collect the former mayor the entire time. "I have you a thermos ready to take with you. I think those might be my favorite modern-day inventions. How wonderful to transport hot tea or coffee wherever you go!" Belle smiled naively, ears burning at her babbling. Regina couldn't stop her smile.

"Wait until you try Ibuprofen," Regina smirked.

"What is that?" Belle asked, wonder in her eyes.

"A pill. You take it and 20 to 30 minutes later, your pain is gone. Tell Ruby to buy you a bottle in preparation for the next full moon," Regina tossed at the girl as she passed on her way to the kitchen.

Ruby sucked in a breath to respond, ask why she'd need it for the full moon, but her mouth hung comically as her eyes widened. Red heat crawled up her chest and neck in embarrassment.

"Just how much did Ruby tell you?" She tossed at Regina's back as she finally turned and followed her to the kitchen. Regina sighed and debated on whether she should put the girl out of her misery or let her squirm. Belle's eyes were wide with fear and uncertainty, and Regina melted. She leaned across the island, not quite touching Belle's hand, and seriously studied those big blue eyes.

"That she was incredibly satisfied, but she didn't tell me. I deduced," Regina replied earnestly, setting the inexperienced woman's mind at ease. Belle blushed deeper if that was possible and dropped her eyes to the floor.

"Thank you," she uttered.

"For what, Dear Girl?" Regina straightened, genuinely confused.

"For being honest with me and not poking fun like you do Ruby. She's had so many… experiences, and I've had… well…" Belle stuttered, remembering exactly to whom she spoke.

"Me," Regina finished bitterly. Belle nodded shamefully, clearly not comfortable discussing her sexual abuse with her abuser.

"You're not her, Regina. I know that now, but what The Evil Queen did ruined me for a long time. Rumpel refused to touch me when I came back to him, not even innocently. He hugged me once the first day I came to him in his shop. When the curse broke and I remembered everything, I confided in him about it." Belle faltered a moment and then took a deep, settling breath. As if this was something that she needed to say but hadn't actually wanted to. Regina waited, knowing one misstep would have destroyed the moment forever.

"It only put a bigger gap between us, and I was so angry at you…her. I was angry at her for such a long time. I wanted to kill her. I wanted to die when Rumpel rejected me over and over. I'm 26 years old, and the only touched I'd ever felt was hers. Even hers, yours was… gentle? You didn't brutalize me, but she… she took something that damaged me emotionally.

"Even then, you fought the darkness. You could have hurt me badly any way you wanted. You had the power, but you didn't let her. You let me enjoy it until she took over, telling you…" Belle shook her head and wrung her hands.

"I'm sorry, Regina. I'm not sure what point I was making. I'm not even sure why I'm talking about this," Belle retreated into herself.

"I think perhaps you're trying to reconcile what happened between us with what happened between you and Ruby," Regina offered cautiously. Belle thought for a moment and then slowly nodded as she met Regina's eyes.

"Belle," Regina touched her hand across the counter, and both women froze. Blue eyes widened, and after a tense second, Belle's thumb brushed along Regina's, accepting the small comfort.

"It's not the same thing. I promise you that for whatever my word might mean. You and Ruby… it's what most people dream of. It's what I dream of. She's not going to turn on you. Belle, I think you need to ask her, talk to her about this.

"Better yet," Regina leaned forward conspiratorially, "wait until you are alone. Sit her down, sit on her lap in a suggestive manner, and then watch her eyes. Wolf's time can be confusing, but that's not why she made love to you. Her eyes will tell you the truth if you still have doubts. She'll swallow in disbelief as her eyes trace every inch of you. That will tell you the truth."

"Thank you," Belle whispered, a faint rouge tingeing her cheeks as she thought about the scene Regina painted, the one that so closely reflected what had actually happened. "I don't really have friends or parents to talk to about anything, just Ruby."

"You can talk to me whenever you wish," Regina offered sincerely, and she surprised even herself when she realized that she meant it. The librarian's quiet determination and strength had endeared her to Regina. Not to mention, she absolutely adored Henry, and her son adored and trusted her.

"I… I'd like that one day, but… I," Belle blew a frustrated sigh into the air as she collected her thoughts. "I'm not ready yet," she finished, hoping Regina understood.

"When you are," Regina left the statement open and filled her thermos with the rest of the coffee in the pot, capped it and then faced Belle again.

"Ready?" Belle nodded and bolted towards the front door, thankful for something to do. "Let's go get my girl," Regina muttered, though she knew Belle was no longer in earshot.

Regina drove them swiftly through the streets in her Mercedes. When Regina strode confidently through the front doors with a slight buoyancy to her movement, people stared but no one cowered. She appeared on a mission, sure, but not threatening. Belle struggled with the pace but managed to tap into her princess upbringing and regally follow the brewing former queen in her high heels.

David stood and drew his sword as she breezed into Emma's room. She ignored him and Snow and Henry. Ruby's face softened when she realized what had happened. Somehow Emma had given her the strength to come back. Regina paused long enough to feel the tension in the air and then her brown eyes met the green ones staring up at her like a savior.

"Regina, this is highly inappropriate," Snow scolded her step-mother.

Regina ignored her and brushed past her until she stood at Emma's bedside. The injured woman stared up at her, mouth part slightly. Regina leaned over, hands on either side of Emma's head, and simply allowed her savior the chance to study her eyes.

"I want your heart, Emma Swan," she stated clearly in a deep, strong voice that resembled nothing of a whisper, nothing she wished to hide from theirs friends, Emma's parents, or their son.

Emma floundered for a moment, shock by the conviction in Regina's eyes, the desire. She wanted to gauge the reaction of Snow and David, but Regina's equally intense and vulnerable eyes held her attention. Had this woman truly failed to see her reality?

"It's already yours, you fool," Emma answered in a similarly confidently vulnerable voice.

Emma touched her cheeks carefully, afraid this moment wasn't real, a figment of her chemically induced imagination. Regina felt real, tangible. She released a held breath at the realization and then pulled Regina's lips into hers. Regina smiled into the kiss, nearly losing her hold on the bed as the reality of what they'd just done crashed into her. They pulled back smiling, unable to break eye contact.

"No," Snow whispered, her voice an octave higher than usual. "No," she stated more firmly. "Emma, what has she done to you? What did you do to her?" The women ignored Snow's desperate questions.

Emma's eyes widened when the tip of her father's sword pressed against Regina's neck. Regina sneered.

"Unless you'd like me to break your toy, I suggest you move it," she threatened. Surely, no one would have judged her use of magic for this purpose. Charming faltered.

"Mary Margaret, David, everyone…" Emma started. "Please, leave. I need a minute to talk to Regina. Kid," she turned her eyes to her son who watched the scene with wide eyes.

"Do you want to stay with Mary Margaret and David tonight?" She asked. "They'll bring you back in the morning, and I promise that we will talk about this, but right now we need to figure out what this is." Emma gestured between her and Regina. It was the most she'd spoken since being shot, and her voice scratched with the lack of use.

Regina simply stood back and watched as the beautiful woman she'd fallen in love with returned to her and took control of the situation.

"I'd rather stay with Belle," Henry said quietly, his eyes flicking towards the librarian and then back to his hands. "She explains stuff better than you," he admitted to Emma.

Belle turned hopeful eyes to her girlfriend. Ruby nodded, immediately giving into Belle's whim to spend time with the boy. Belle smiled brightly and turned back to Emma and Regina.

"I'd be happy to have him if it's alright with you and Regina. Ruby says that we are trying a food called pizza tonight. She's promised that it's delicious and life-altering. I, umm, if it's okay with Ruby and Henry, I don't mind if you and David come," she graciously offered the flustered princess.

"Sure! We could call the dwarves and Archie and have a welcome back party at the diner tonight. What do you say, Kiddo?" Ruby supplied hopefully. If anything distracted Snow and David from what they'd just witnessed, it was there grandson's excited determination when he got an idea in his head.

"I'd love to spend time with my grandson," Snow hesitantly looked at David, pleading with her eyes for him to agree. They clearly upset Emma by shunning Regina, and she wanted desperately to rectify that. Everything else would be dealt with as it unfolded. They had indeed missed as much as Ruby said.

"I'm not leaving my daughter alone with her," David stubbornly crossed his arms.

"God what I wouldn't give for a curse of silence," Regina sniped, and Emma smirked.

"Emma, you can't be serious!" David flustered dramatically, waving his free hand nonsensically.

"I seriously can't believe you married that," Regina pushed the knife deeper, rolling her eyes at the indignity in the prince's action. "Your shepherd is showing, dog catcher."

"Regina," Emma warned, her voice light with laughter. "Please."

Regina huffed and crossed her arms. Ruby silently shook with laughter because she knew Regina's sass was only warming up. It'd been a while since she'd had someone to properly insult. Snow touched her husband's arm, a lightness even in her eyes.

"That was pretty undignified, Honey," she conceded and then tugged on his arm. "We'll get through it together. Just let it run its course," she whispered. David visibly backed down.

"Please Gramps! We should celebrate. I can show my new book. Belle gave it to me. She knows, like, everything!" Henry's heart soared at the potential party for his heroes. David took one look at his grandson and deflated.

"We'll be back in the morning," he vowed.

"Ta Ta," Regina taunted and held her hand at face height, only her fingers moving up and down.

"Henry, don't forget the book I brought you. We'll read some more of it tonight," Belle instructed and then held out her arm to the boy. He brightened at the mention of his new story and snuggled into Belle's hip. Charmer.

Regina ushered them all out the door, and Ruby turned back for a moment.

"You did good, Witch. Very regal hissy fit. You should be proud of it," Ruby joked, offering Regina support in her odd way.

"Better to focus on your own princess, Wolf Pup. She needs you, and I mean that in the dirtiest way possible," Regina eluded to their earlier conversation without giving away too much of Belle's trust.

"What do you mean?" Ruby scrunched her brow and shoved her hands into her black slacks.

"Just… make love to her tonight," Regina ordered and then closed the door.

She leaned against it for a moment, not nearly as confident as she'd pretended. The whine of the electric bed caught her attention, and she whirled on Emma. The blonde smiled and then jerked her head, beckoning her with the crude gesture. She complied with slow steps, stopping half a foot from the bed.

"Regina?" Emma questioned, now unsure if Regina had actually wanted her or simply to piss off her parents.

"Em, I'm…" The words she'd spoken to Belle rang through her mind. Read the truth in her eyes. Gingerly, Regina set her left knee on the bed and then swung the right one over Emma's thighs, carefully keeping an eye on Emma's injured torso. Lauren had been right when she'd said that Emma really wouldn't be set back at all by the minor surgery.

"Are you okay?" She asked before lowering her weight onto Emma's thighs and received a nod.

Emma's eyes moved from their joined legs, traveling slowly up Regina's body and settled on her eyes. She swallowed, her throat tight, unsure what Regina expected.

"It's in her eyes," Regina whispered and brushed her thumbs over Emma's cheeks.

"You've lost your mind, haven't you?" Emma asked, only half-joking.

"Yes," she answered breathily and then lowered her lips to Emma's.

It was chaste at first, a tentative exploration, until Emma's hands slid up her thighs. She gripped her hips, tugging slightly, desperately wanting contact that she couldn't have because of her healing body. Regina's tongue traced her lower lip, followed by her teeth. Emma moaned and pressed up into the dark woman's lips. She hadn't a clue what happened that led them to this point, but she knew that she wanted Regina.

Emma pulled back, collapsing against the bed, when the muscles in her stomach clenched. Regina barely caught herself on the bed before she fell on top of her. Emma winced, fingers digging painfully into Regina's skin. The older woman bit the inside of her jaw and forced her hips into submission when they threatened to roll against the rough handling of her flesh and the delicious tingle it inspired between her thighs.

"Are you okay?" She rasped, making the decision to focus on Emma instead of her own arousal.

"Yeah. You should…"

"Yes, I should," Regina responded and then pulled herself from the bed, only to immediately return and sit at Emma's side.

"That wasn't talking," Emma stated needlessly.

"It said more than we ever could," Regina countered reverently.

Emma blinked rapidly as the truth of that statement settled into her chest. Regina smiled, the vein in her forehead making an appearance.

At the dock, Cora watched the scene with her hand-held looking glass. Her smirk grew and her eyes met Hook's. He sighed and crossed his arms.

"You were wrong, Love. She has everything," he commented, wondering if the tall woman with the red streak in her hair was available. It'd been 28 years since his last romp.

"How easily it all crumbles," Cora countered cryptically. Her deep chuckled turned into a laugh, and a coldness slipped up Hook's spine.

Even as a pirate, Hook prayed that Regina ran for her life.