***Author's Note: This part of the story is one of the first parts that I had completed and I wrote it right after I wrote the first chapter. I have changed a few things here and there in the last two months since I have added to my story but the main parts of it have not been touched at all. It was always going to be about Regina and Killian's bond and eventually centered on how Emma gets slowly added to that equation. With that said, two things that you could possibly hate me for after this chapter. Firstly, it's a rough one to read, and second, I won't have an update for you all in a while. I have tons of ideas but I have other projects and stuff that I need to focus on in the next few weeks. Of course I say that and then I'm up until 2am writing so we'll see what happens. Please enjoy and leave me reviews with your thoughts.***

Regina finishes cleaning the kitchen and has just turned all of the the main dining room lights off when she comes out from the back to find Emma sitting at the bar, sipping from a glass of wine. Regina knows that Emma can be persistent but sometimes the blonde really takes it to a whole new level. "Emma, what are you doing back here?"

"Uh, excuse me, I am a paying customer." Emma pulls out her wallet and lays it on the bar as she flashes Regina a brilliant toothy smile.

Regina rolls her eyes and sighs. "The bar is closed, Emma. And I told you that I'm fine."

Emma shrugs. "Oh, I don't doubt that you're fine. But just in case you did actually want to talk, I thought that I'd make myself available."

Regina sighs and walks from the bar area over to where the reading nook is and sits down. "There's nothing to talk about."

Emma gulps down the rest of her wine, walks over to where Regina is sitting down on the loveseat, and situates herself right next to her. "Oh, I'll bet that I can think of a few things that we could talk about. That woman that was in the bar earlier for one. Or we can talk about why Killian stormed out of here." Emma continues when Regina does not respond to her. "Look, Regina, I didn't come back around here because I'm trying to be nosey or want to be in your business. I'm here because I consider you my friend and I don't really have very many of those. I just need you to know that I am here to listen if you're willing to open up."

Instead of answering, Regina gets back up and walks towards the bar. "I think that we're going to need another bottle of wine for this conversation. You want red or white?"

"Or how about something stronger?" Emma suggests.

Regina contemplates this for a second, "Hmm...why not. Bourbon?" She does not wait for confirmation before she grabs two glasses and the bottle of Bullet. "I know that you're a Makers girl but I like Bullet better."

Emma smiles, "You're the boss and you're pouring the booze. I don't think that I am going to argue with you."

This makes Regina laugh. "You are a smart woman, Emma Swan."

Regina sits back down and she pours herself and Emma each a drink. She takes a sip of hers letting the alcohol warm her insides. She did not expect to see Danielle ever again and especially not in her bar. She does not even know where or how to begin telling the story. She sighs, "Honestly Emma, I don't even know where to start."

Neither of them say anything for a while before Emma finally speaks up. "I don't really like to talk about it but I was almost engaged once." Regina looks a bit surprised by this. "But it didn't really feel right." Regina makes herself more comfortable, sitting back as she lifts her legs up onto the loveseat silently urging Emma to keep talking. Emma takes a drink and looks down at her glass, "we were together for almost three years and we were happy for most of it. I mean, I can only speak for myself and I think that I was happy for most of it. But, it was the kind of relationship where I'd catch myself giving into every single thing he wanted. I would always be the one making the sacrifices, or always letting him choose what we do, or eat, or even when we would be intimate..." She hesitates looking up to see Regina is looking at her and waiting for her to continue. "He liked being the one to call all the shots and I just didn't realize until it was too late that he was just a very selfish guy. But, then he asked me to marry him. And I considered it. I really did. I spent so much of my life looking for someone who wanted to keep me around that I almost just did it for that reason."

Regina can only imagine how confused Emma must have felt in that moment. She thinks of Emma as a very headstrong and independent woman, and yet she always seems to be seeking some sort of validation. That is something that Regina can relate to as well. Her and Emma are so different in many ways and yet so similar. "But you didn't stay in it, Emma. You learned that it was toxic and you made the decision to walk away. I think that says a lot about you."

"But, I didn't walk away. I ran. I just packed up, left my best friend and everything that I knew in New York, and I started driving. Sometimes I wonder to myself if I did it just so I wouldn't get that urge to just go back to him. Like if I were given the chance to, I might just beg him to take me back." She takes the rest of her drink in one big gulp. Saying everything aloud makes Emma feel a bit of relief, like a weight she did not even know was there has suddenly been lifted. She thought that she had the closure that she had needed to move on from all of it, but maybe she just refuses to talk about it because of the fear that she did not.

"Emma, I like to believe that we, as human beings, do things that feel the best for ourselves in the moment. From the perspective of someone on the outside looking in, it may look as if you were running but it was really just self-preservation, wasn't it? Who gives a shit what anyone else sees. If you are happier not engaged or married to a selfish man, that's the only thing that matters."

Emma manages a small smile. "Yeah, I kinda know that now." She pours herself another and Regina reaches her glass over so that Emma can top hers off as well. She loves that her relationship with Regina has changed so much in just the last few days. It was so easy for her to tell Regina all of those things that she has not even said to Ruby. She can only hope that Regina is able to find that same comfort in her. "So, are you going to tell me about that chick that was in here earlier tonight, or what?

Regina sighs. "I still don't know where to even begin. I may need a few more of these first." She says as she raises her glass to Emma.

"How about start at the part where she ruined your engagement. That seemed to be the main topic of the evening. I mean, it made Killian pretty fucking upset when he brought it up." She clinks Regina's glass with her own urging her take a another drink so that she can tell her story. "Did she steal your fiancé or something?"

That question makes Regina take another rather large drink from her glass before putting it down on the coffee table. "She didn't steal my fiancé." Regina subconsciously plays with her hands, touching the spot where there was a ring before. "She was my fiancée."

Emma is shocked. She does not know why, but up until this very moment, she always thought that Regina was only interested in men. She knows that they have not really talked about any specific romantic relationships before tonight, but she is surprised that she has not once picked up any vibes that Regina is at all interested in women. "So...she was your fiancée?"

Regina glares at her. "That is what I just said, Emma."

Emma feels stupid for repeating it but the shock has not wholly dissipated. "Sorry…I just...uh...please continue."

"Her name is Danielle, which I am sure that you heard. She is a tax lawyer for a law firm that is just a few blocks from here. When we first met years ago, she would come into the bar after long days at her office and she was always friendly and talkative. At the time, I had just bought this place and had it six months, maybe close to seven. I hadn't hired any help yet so I would just open and close every day on my own. It wasn't ever extremely busy back then so a lot of the time, when Dani would come in after ten or eleven, it would just be her and I in here. And we would talk for hours. And that went on for months. One night, she came in with a date who was this gorgeous woman, who had legs for days and looked like she could be a supermodel, and I didn't know why at the time, but it made me so upset."

Emma smiles. She has known Regina for more than a few months now and has never really gotten to know anything this personal about her. Regina is good at shutting herself away from others and Emma likes that she is finally able to open up.

Regina is laughing at herself when she continues, "I was so oblivious to my own feelings that I was such a bitch to her that night. Then she doesn't come in here for at least two weeks and I was so mad at myself because I was sure that it was because of how I treated her and her date that night. When she does come back again, she tells me that it didn't work out with the other woman and jokingly brings up how mean I was the last time she saw me. I was so embarrassed but I couldn't deny my feelings any longer so I told her that I realized I was just insanely jealous of her date. We laughed about it and then she asked me if I would go out to dinner with her. I didn't know what to say."

Emma decides that now would be a good time for the question that she has been wanting to ask since Regina first began her story so she asks,"So, were you always attracted to women or was it just her? I mean, no doubt, she is super gorgeous so I'm sure that even if you weren't attracted to women that way, you'd be attracted to her..." Emma realizes that she is rambling on and trails off waiting for Regina to answer.

"In college, I had fantasized about women, but I always just believed them to be passing thoughts. I never acted on them. And I definitely had never been in any sort of relationship with a woman romantically...or sexually and I told her that she would be the first." Regina sighs. "With her, everything was always so comfortable though. She made it so damn easy to fall in love."

Emma thinks that Regina must have been so very happy then. Just talking about it now, she looks as if she is sadly reliving it. "So, you went out to dinner with her, obviously. And it was perfect?" Emma is now completely absorbed in Regina's story.

"Well, I had this place to take care of and I told her that I couldn't just close down the bar to go on a date. After pestering me about it all night long, she finally let it go. We exchanged phone numbers that night and we ended up talking until four in the morning. I was exhausted the next day. That evening, she comes in with flowers, take-out, a bottle of wine, and suggested that we just did our date here in the bar. She waited for the few people that were in here to finish up and leave. Then she helped me clean the tables and dirty dishes. Afterwards, we ate together, talked, and she just swept me off of my feet."

"Wow. That all sounds like it was really sweet, Regina." Emma does not know what else to say because clearly, things do not work out in the end. While it makes her think about the romance that she is lacking in her own life, she is also still trying to process all of this new information about Regina. Emma decides that in order for her to do that, she really needs more alcohol so she leans over to the coffee table where both of their glasses are sitting and refills them. She grabs them and hands one to Regina who has been quiet for a minute now.

Regina takes it and takes a drink. "She proposed to me on Christmas Eve last year after we had been together for nearly four years. " Emma is not sure that Regina is necessarily wanting a response so she does not say anything. "And then we ended things back in March."

Emma is confused. Is that the whole story? Was Killian involved? He seemed like he knew Danielle quite well also, just judging based on his reaction tonight. It feels like there are gaps that need to be filled in so she musters up the courage to ask, "So...what happened?"

Regina is suddenly feeling more tired now and she is not sure that she is in the right mindset to tell the whole story. She has not talked about what happened with anyone. Not even Killian and her have really talked about it and she thinks that she probably owes it to herself and him to have that conversation at some point. "Has Killian ever told you anything about Elle?"

Emma nods, "Yes, but we never really had an in-depth conversation about her. That's his ex girlfriend right?"

Regina nods as she takes another drink from her glass. "His ex wife, actually." Emma is shocked for the second time tonight because Killian never once mentioned that he had been married before. But at the same time, he never mentions very much about his ex in general. In fact, he is very good at changing the subject everytime it comes up. "I don't know very much about her either to be honest, just that they were together for a long while. When he started working for me, they had already been together for six years, I think. Elle never really came around here very much because she had just started grad school when Killian started working here so she spent most of her time studying. We did spend one Christmas together, the four of us. Killian, Elle, Danielle and I. We rented a cabin in the mountains. It was such a great time. Elle seemed sweet and it was evident that Killian was so crazy in love with her. I only saw her a few other times after that but the most memorable time was undoubtedly when she came walking into the bar this past March holding my fiancée's hand."

Emma gasps as she covers her own mouth in disbelief, "Oh...no. Oh, my god…"

"They told us that afternoon that they were in love and that they were leaving Killian and I," Regina clears her throat and adds as if that was not clear enough to Emma, "to be with each other." Emma can hear in Regina's voice that she is getting choked up. Her head is tilted downwards now and Emma sees when tears fall as they start to stain her jeans. "As it turns out, they had been having an affair since they met the winter when we were all at the cabin. Danielle tells me days later when we are screaming at each other that she only proposed because she thought that it would push Elle to leave Killian. As it turns out, her plan worked out. It just took a few months. "

Regina is unmistakably crying now with her knees pulled up to her chest, hugging herself tightly and it breaks Emma's heart to see it. Emma scoots herself over closer to Regina and puts her arm around her, trying to comfort her. "Regina, I…I'm so sorry." And she tries to think of something else to say that could possibly make Regina feel even a tiny bit better but she could not find any words at all.

"I still feel so stupid, you know. I can clearly remember so many nights when Killian would close the bar for me so that I could be at home just to have Dani call and tell me that she had to work late and would have to stay at the office. And all of those nights she was probably spending in the arms of Killian's wife. Regina wipes the tears from her face and takes a deep breath. Then without really thinking about it, Regina leans over and lays her head onto Emma's shoulder. Emma tenses at first surprised by the sudden closeness but she slowly relaxes her body and pulls Regina tightly into her side. Regina continues, "And poor Killian, he wouldn't say anything to me for days. I thought that he was so angry at me that he was going to just quit and leave town. But one night we were closing and I just broke down. I was on the floor sobbing and he just held me. We both cried until we couldn't cry anymore and he came in the next day like none of it ever happened." Regina takes another deep breath then. "And we haven't really talked about what happened in detail since that night."

"Regina, I had no idea-"

Regina cuts Emma off. "I don't like to talk about it. It makes me feel so foolish." Regina says as she wipes the wetness from her face.

"Regina, you are far from foolish."

"Yeah, well, they got each other in the end. That must count for something."

"Only if you let that count against you. The chick is obviously an idiot for someone who has a law degree or whatever. Because there are so many ways that she could have handled that situation and she basically picked the worst one possible. I don't know anything about Killian's ex-wife but you're totally a catch, so I've already picked out who I think the loser is in this story."

Regina manages a small smile. She knows that Emma is trying to make her feel better. Marian and Robin, the only other people that know the truth behind her separation with Danielle outside of Killian, and now Emma, spent weeks telling her the same thing. "Thanks, Emma. But I just don't think that I'll ever be able to believe that."

That makes Emma speechless because it is so heartbreaking to hear Regina say that to her. What Emma witnessed in the bar tonight, how upset both Killian and Regina was, she could never have imagined that this was the story behind all of that pain. Regina is a woman who has spent the last several months of her life hurting and yet all the while trying to move on with her life, just to have the floor pulled out from underneath her all over again.

Then her mind wanders to Killian. He has pretty much become one of her best friends in the short time they have known each other. When she made the move from New York, she was doing it as a way to heal from her own heartache, thinking that she could leave it all behind and start anew. Meeting Killian really helped her to move on and right now, she feels like a complete asshole because this whole time, it has not occurred to her that he could be going through a healing process of his own. She really wishes that she could be there for him right now as well. He must be a wreck.

They sit in a comfortable silence and Regina realizes how nice it feels to be so close to Emma. She no longer feels so lonely because Emma has turned out to be a great listener, and a great friend. "I haven't even told my parents about how or why everything ended between Danielle and I. They know it is over, of course, I couldn't keep that from them. I just haven't been able to work up the courage to face them with the truth."

This baffles Emma. "What? Why would it be hard to tell them the truth?" She asks before continuing, "Whatever happened between you and Danielle isn't something that you could've done anything to change or prevent from happening. This whole mess is on her, not you."

Regina pulls herself back so that she can look at Emma but is not expecting to be as close as she is to the other woman's face. Regina is taken aback for a second but quickly recovers. "They were just so happy for me, Emma. They really loved Danielle."

"It's funny because I always think that my family is going to disappoint me but my mom and dad still manage to surprise me when I least expect it. So, whatever you think their reaction will be, your mom and dad could surprise you, too. I'm sure that they love you very much. And because of that, I really don't think there is any reason at all for you to worry about telling them what happened."

Regina considers what Emma says for a moment knowing that this is the first time that she has ever heard Emma bring up anyone close to her besides her best friend Ruby. She wants to ask Emma to tell her more about her family but she just feels so drained right now. She also realizes that she is unexpectedly missing their closeness so she eases her head back onto Emma's shoulder again."I will see them at Christmas and I'll be stuck there for more than a few days. They will somehow torment it out of me, no doubt."

Emma chuckles. "Now, that sounds like something to look forward to."

"Right…"

Emma thinks about how Regina is such a strong woman. From the very first moment they met, Regina has been beautiful in Emma's eyes but being here with her now, having her open up the way she does tonight, somehow just makes her even more beautiful. Emma knows that she is probably enjoying the intimacy a little too much but she cannot seem to shake the feeling of how good it feels to hold Regina in her arms.

Regina has stopped crying now and they sit there like that for a while before Emma notices that Regina's breaths have slowed and evened out. She shifts herself forward to see that Regina has actually fallen asleep. Emma turns towards the bar to see that it is just after 3am and decides right away that she does not want to wake her sleeping friend. She blinks a few times and decides that she is actually pretty tired herself so without another thought, she shifts them slowly so that they are now both laying down. Regina stirs but does not wake and actually buries her face into Emma's neck. Emma cannot help thinking to herself how good it feels before she, too, drifts off to sleep with a smile on her face.