"I stole for you. I thought we were friends."

Regina stared at the lifeless fairy in front of her, trying to focus. She had saved Regina's life and she hadn't even said so much as 'thank you'. She had never thought about that before, it wasn't until now, when it seemed too late already that she regretted what she had done.

Suddenly, Regina was filled with guilt and anger. She wanted to tell her that she was sorry and that she didn't mean it; she was worried and nervous. She had performed many spells; she had hurt and killed people. She had healed cuts and scratches but she had never encountered something so life-threatening before. She had done terrible things but she wouldn't let Tinker Bell die under her watch, she couldn't.

She raised her trembling hands, aware of everyone's eyes on her. She knew they were watching and waiting but Tinker Bell wasn't the only reason. Most of them hadn't seen Regina in quite a few days and she knew she had lost weight. She didn't have any make-up on, her hair was a mess and she was exhausted and her face certainly showed it. The tears on her cheeks had dried and she was sure her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying.

Regina regarded the body in front of her, there were bruises and cuts everywhere and a pretty nasty looking wound on the right side of her torso, it almost looked like deep scratches. She didn't even know where to start. She took another deep breath and concentrated on the task, her hands hovering over Tinker Bell and the magic bathed her in a soft purple light. Her magic wasn't as dark as it used to be, some things had changed. The healing process was painfully slow, it took every ounce of her strength that she had left and she quietly cursed herself for being so weak. The wounds didn't simply disappear; Regina took most of it in exchange for her magic. It felt like an eternity when the first changes showed, one by one the cuts looked less threatening, the bruises faded until most of them were gone. Regina didn't stop when her hands started shaking. Her breathing got a little heavier and she felt a thin layer of sweat on her face but it didn't stop her, she wouldn't rest until she was certain that Tinker Bell would survive.

The cuts didn't heal entirely but at least Regina made sure that she wouldn't die of an infection sooner or later. When Regina's vision blurred and she see saw tiny stars dancing in front of her eyes, she was forced to stop. It was all she could take for now; her head was throbbing with pain and she tried to focus so she wouldn't black out.

"What happened?" Regina asked quietly and out of breath. She never took her eyes off the fairy.

"I wish I knew," Snow said calmly. "We found her by the lake not too far from here. She was already unconscious when we reached her."

Regina wiped the sweat from her forehead with her trembling hand, feeling utterly exhausted. She was so churned up inside after her little break down and the kiss and now Tinker Bell was here, the fairy she thought she hated, only to realize that she did care a lot.

"I didn't even know she was here," Regina whispered, her voice shaky. "Take her to my room," Regina said, she wanted to make sure that she was safe herself. She owed that much to her. "You need to get Granny," she told Belle who nodded and left to find her. If there was one person in this castle who knew how to make sure she would survive it was her and, odd as it seemed, Regina trusted her somehow. She took Tinker Bells hand, which was cold to her touch, and summoned her last bit of strength to take her back to her room. She made sure that Tink was in the middle of the bed, soft and safe until Granny arrived to tend to the wounds Regina couldn't heal.

"What happened to you?" Regina whispered and put the blanket over her so she wouldn't feel cold. She lit the fire that had been neglected hours ago and waited. It didn't take long until she heard footsteps down the hall and Granny entered the room, carrying all sorts of things.

"Poor thing must've been out there for a while," Granny said more to herself while she began her work. She removed the cover, carefully peeling off the fabric that had once been her dress. Regina watched quietly, trying to figure out what to do. She felt helpless and uneasy.

"Go and fetch me some hot water, dear," Granny said without looking up, she had sensed her uneasiness and although it didn't pass unnoticed how the old lady had addressed her, she simply obliged. With a snap of her wrist she had a bowl of hot water and some fresh cloths in front of her and although using more magic exhausted her beyond imagination, she ignored it and sat down on the other side of the bed.

"I'll look after her," Regina said quietly and drenched one of the clothes in the water.

"And who's looking after you?" Granny asked with a mixture of concern and even a little judgment. She watched her raising an eyebrow and Regina simply returned the gaze. That question had her thoughtful but she didn't know what to say, she didn't owe her an answer at all.

"She was my friend," Regina said quietly and started to wipe off dirt and blood off her arm.

"Didn't know you knew each other," Granny admitted.

"A long time ago," Regina said and washed the traces of the last days away carefully.

"I'll need to take this off to wrap the wounds properly," Granny said after they had worked in silence for a couple of minutes.

"I'll fetch her some clean clothes to wear," Regina said and left them alone for a while. When she returned to her room, Tinker Bell had a white bandage wrapped around her torso; Regina smelled herbs and it was pretty soothing.

"She needs to rest and then we'll see," Granny said when they were done.

"You think she'll be okay?"

"It'll take time," Granny said. "It'd probably help to know what did that to her but I guess we won't until she wakes up."

"If she wakes up," Regina thought but kept it to herself and nodded.

"I'll look after her."

"Only if you promise to look after yourself as well," she said. "You look awful."

"Oh thanks a lot!" Regina replied sarcastically.

After Granny left, Regina sat down on the day bed by the fire. She was chilled to the bone and exhausted and the warmth of the fire was soothing. She leaned back, wrapped in a blanket. It was then that all the exhaustion fully settled, her head was pounding with pain and every part of her body was aching. The soft crackling of the fire slowly calmed her to a place where she wasn't asleep or awake; remembering.

She didn't look up from the book when she heard the sound of rustling leaves, coming in through the open window. It took her a second to realize that it wasn't the leaves but Tinker Bell's wings fluttering through the air. She was in her miniature form when she arrived and Regina knew she would drop by sooner or later but she wasn't in the mood for any company.

She had been such a coward and she couldn't admit that to her now. She had been such a fool and she shouldn't have agreed to all of this.

"How did it go?" the fairy asked, excited. Regina looked up, trying to figure out what to say without having to admit the truth.

"I..." she shrugged her shoulders. "It was..."

"What happened?" Tinker Bell asked, she had returned to her full size, sitting down at the end of the bed. "I don't understand you're not glowing with new love. You should be glowing!"

Regina's expression changed. She was angry, wasn't sure whether Tinker Bell was to blame for this. It seemed easier to blame herself than admit that she'd chickened out after all.

"Because it didn't work!" Regina said. "The pixie dust, it was wrong!" she said but Tinker Bell didn't believe her. She knew that it never failed and had never failed anyone before. There must be more to this. "I went in and met him and he was awful, it was just... awful!" Regina lied but she didn't know what else to do. She had been lying for such a long time now that it became hard not to.

"Are you sure you went to the right man?" Tinker Bell asked, she wouldn't give up on that.

"Yes! The one with the lion tattoo," Regina said and shook her head. "That wasn't the problem!" The only problem was herself but she wouldn't admit that.

"What was?" The fairy asked trying to understand what had happened.

"You," Regina replied, accusingly.

"Me?"

"Yes! You... you're a terrible fairy!"

"You didn't go in, did you?" Tinker Bell asked a little quieter. She actually started to feel a little sorry for the lonely queen.

"How dare you?"

"It's okay," Tinker Bell tried to encourage her not to lose faith. "You were afraid."

"I'm not afraid of anything," Regina said a little more insistent. They both knew she was lying. Tinker Bell looked worried, if not disappointed. Just a couple of hours ago they had laughed about it over a drink and suddenly she felt like she was talking to a different person.

"Can't believe I just let you distract me!"

"No!" Tinker Bell told her. "Don't do it. What you need is love!"

"I had love and he's dead!" Regina said louder and the bitterness had returned. "And I suffered and what you sent me towards wasn't going to change that!" she shook her head. "Goodbye!" she dismissed the fairy with a condescending look on her face and Tinker Bell looked hurt.

"What about me?" Tinker Bell asked, feeling hurt and let down. She had put so much faith in Regina, she had believed in her with all her soul and suddenly it didn't matter any longer. "I stole for you," Tinker Bell said and Regina couldn't even look her in the eyes. "And for what? For nothing! I'm in big trouble!" she said but Regina didn't seem to care.

"As I said, you're a terrible fairy!"

"I thought we were friends," Tinker Bell said sadly.

"I don't have friends!" Regina said and Tinker Bell didn't understand. It wasn't too long ago that she had told her how lonely life in that palace was and now she wasn't even willing to try.

"Fly away, moth," Regina said with one last look at the fairy. "Don't let the doors catch your wings on the way out!"

Back then, when she rejected Tinker Bell she hadn't thought of herself as the Evil Queen but she certainly had acted like her. She had been rude and ungrateful for no reason. She had let Tink down because she was too proud to admit that she had been afraid to take a chance. She had held on to her anger and her grief for so long that she hadn't known what to do without it. And Tinker Bell had paid the price. If Regina had been brave enough to meet the man with the lion tattoo her life might've turned out differently, just like Tinker Bells.

She wouldn't have ended up unconscious and barely alive because she didn't have the chance to protect herself from whatever creature had almost killed her and it made Regina feel extremely guilty. She had almost given up on wanting to find the man with the lion tattoo. She'd been ready to erase it from her mind, if that was even possible. As hard as it seemed she didn't want to dwell on the past since it didn't get her anywhere but now Tink was back. The one person who had started all of this, who had sparked hope in Regina even when she'd been too scared was back in her life.

Sometimes she had wondered if Tinker Bell had actually done her a favour by saving her life. Wouldn't it have been better for everyone if she'd been gone? God knows where they'd all be today. She shook her head in silence, trying to ignore these terrible thoughts; she had never wanted to go back and yet something always reminded her of these days.

"Regina?" he asked carefully before he entered the room. She looked up, a tired smile on her face. She had been so exhausted that things just passed her and now that she had some time to calm down, she started to process everything that had happened during the last two hours. She remembered the kiss and how right it had felt; she'd been safe in his arms and it had made her feel loved, if only for a moment. She was completely lost in his embrace. She had never felt like that before and she couldn't explain it. Maybe it was her need and the loneliness that had made the kiss so intense but a part of her believed that there had been more, she just didn't know what.

She had wondered if it would be awkward to face him after the kiss, wondered what she would do or say but now it didn't seem to matter. As much as she wanted to be left alone, she didn't want him to leave.

She watched him when he walked over, sitting down by her feet.

"How do you feel?" he asked quietly although Tinker Bell wouldn't wake any time soon.

"Tired," she whispered and stared at her hands.

"You saved her," Robin said. He didn't know that, without Regina, the fairy wouldn't be in that situation after all.

"I tried," Regina said and refused to look up.

"Have you met each other before?" he asked.

"Briefly, yes," Regina told him. They hadn't known each other for a very long time but in the end it had meant a lot to her, if only she hadn't messed it up. She wasn't ready to tell him about the man with the lion tattoo and how she'd let Tinker Bell down. She didn't want him to think that she would let him down sooner or later, it was complicated enough for now.

"Did she come back with you?" Robin asked.

Regina shrugged and turned her head, looking out of the window. "I don't know," she said. "I don't remember seeing her. I don't understand why she ended up being so far away from us."

"I... I don't understand. She's a fairy, can't she -" he started.

"Protect herself?" Regina laughed but there wasn't anything funny about that. "No," she said quieter. "She couldn't even protect herself," Regina said and her voice was filled with emotions, most of all there was guilt. Robin reached out and took her hand and she let him. For a couple of seconds, she looked at their hands and wondered why it had been so scary many years ago.

"She didn't have her wings," Regina said and looked at Robin for the first time since he'd joined her.

"How did that happen?" Robin had heard of fairies but he had never heard of one that didn't have her wings, he knew they needed them.

"I didn't believe in her," Regina whispered. "I took her wings away."