Emma greatly surprised herself by actually falling asleep after pretending for so long and when the car came to a rather abrupt stop, thanks to Robin's questionable driving skills, she jerked awake with a gasp. She woke facing the window, it was dark outside.

"You are one of the noisiest sleepers I've ever had the displeasure of listening to, Miss Swan." Regina accused, turning to face the blonde with a frown.

"Good morning to you too." Emma grumbled, still half-asleep, "Was I really that bad?"

"Atrocious." Robin supplied.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"Oh, we tried." Regina answered.

"Several times" Robin added.

Emma cringed, they were finishing each other's sentences now? She hoped she hadn't missed too much bonding between them on the journey here. She didn't miss the small smile which the pair exchanged after speaking, either. Like they were sharing an inside joke at her expense. Eager to get moving and, she thought guiltily, to get Marian back in the way as quickly as possible, Emma reached for the car door handle as she undid her seatbelt.

"Wait!" Robin called, reaching back with a hand to stop her.

Both Emma and Regina glared at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Let me go inside first," Robin said quickly, then added when they continued to glare at him, "to explain to Marian what you're doing here."

"You haven't told her?" Regina shouted, angrily.

"She was out with Roland when you called. Excuse me for being a bit too panicked and frantic to call and explain things to her before I left." Robin said, his voice defensively high-pitched.

"It would have taken two minutes to call before you left and we've stopped at several gas stations. That's ample opportunity!" Regina argued. "Why hasn't she called to check on you if she didn't know where you went?"

Robin grimaced, "Let's just say I'm often in and out. She's stopped bothering to keep tabs on me now."

Regina bawked.

"Not like that!" Robin explained quickly, shaking his head, "We've not been seeing other people. We've just been spending more time apart, that's all."

"What if she doesn't let us stay?" Regina asked.

"She doesn't have much of a choice, it's too late now that you're here. I'd put my foot down on this, anyway."

Emma rolled her eyes. Put his foot down, right. The reason he hadn't told Marian beforehand proved that he didn't think he could stand up to her. He'd waited until now so she wouldn't have much choice but to let them stay, lest they end up on the streets.

"Please, just wait. I'll be quick, I promise." Robin said as he unbuckled his belt, opened the car door and before either of them could protest, he was jogging towards the apartment building, leaving the pair alone in the car.

"I called Henry, explained we'd be away for a little while. He's staying at your parents." Regina said. "He wanted to speak to you, but you were too busy shaking the earth with your incessant snoring so I told him you'd call him later."

"Sure," Emma said, "So what's going on with Robin?"

Regina spun around at the abrupt change in subject, "None of your business." She snapped.

"You guys do much bonding while I was out of it?" Emma probed again.

"What part of none of your business did you not understand?"

"Hey," Emma raised her hands in surrender, "I'm just looking out for you."

"I don't need anyone to look out for me. Especially not where my love life is concerned."

"Look, Regina, I know what it's like to be in love and I know that it can be blinding. Just don't rush into anything too soon, okay? Don't forget everything that happened just because you're happy to see him again."

"I am not happy to see him again!"

"Okay, whatever," Emma said, knowing she had probably overstepped the mark.

After a moment of silence, Regina muttered quietly, "Besides, it's not as if he could leave Marian and come back to Storybrooke with Roland now, anyway. Not without separating mother and child."

Emma allowed herself a small, sad smile. Happy that Regina seemed to have let down one of her walls but saddened at her pain. "Hey, you've lasted this long without him just fine." She reassured the brunette.

"Indeed I have." She agreed, "Henry is all I need."

"I hope their apartment isn't too small." Emma said, prompting a chuckle from Regina.

"Big or small, I think that it's going to feel a little crowded either way."

"Well, it's New York. No reason to stay cooped up in there." Emma grinned widely, "This is my territory, how about we do some city-exploring?"

"If it gets me out of the apartment, I'm all for it."

Emma bubbled with excitement, thinking of all the places she could take Regina. She wondered briefly if she'd ever been to a club and realised that, aside from The Rabbit Hole, which was a bit of a dump anyway, Regina had probably never seen anything like it. She'd also probably never been bowling, or ice skating, or to watch a game. The list was endless and for the first time since finding Regina in that vault, Emma felt genuinely content. She thought about what she'd learnt from people like Hook and her parents, about living in the moments of good amongst all the crazy that was going on. This was a good moment and she was determined to grasp it.

"Your look of glee is discerning, Miss Swan." Regina's voice snapped her out of her musings and Emma looked up to see the brunette staring at her with an amused expression.

Before she could answer, Regina's door opening caused them both to snap around to see that Robin had returned.

"After you, milady." He said, holding Regina's door open for her.

To Emma's delight, Regina didn't smile or offer a thank you as she stepped out of the car and a look of confusion and disappointment passed on Robin's face before he opened Emma's door for her.

"So Marian's okay with this?" Emma asked.

"Fine." Robin said, unconvincingly.

Not expecting Marian's hospitality anyway, Emma just smiled, happy that they weren't being thrown on the street at least and the pair of them followed Robin as he ascended the stairs to his apartment. It wasn't the dingiest place Emma had ever seen during her time in cities but compared to the places in Storybrooke, it was quite a grim sight with its peeling wallpaper and suspicious floor stains. Regina looked absolutely repulsed and was making no effort to hide the disgusted look on her face, even as Marian opened the door to them.

"Regina," Marian nodded curtly, "Emma."

When Regina didn't respond, Emma nodded back, "Hey."

Once Regina stepped into the room, Marian let her eyes roam over her and Emma could swear she saw a hint of a smile as she caught sight of the bruising around Regina's neck. Emma clenched her fists.

Marian cleared her throat, "Regina, Robin told me what happened. I'm so sorry."

Regina simply nodded and then turned to Robin, "Is there somewhere I could go to clean myself up?"

"The bathroom's through here," Robin said and led her down a narrow hallway to the door. After holding it open for her, he moved to followed her through but Regina placed her hand on his chest to stop him.

"A little privacy?" She asked.

"Regina, I-" Robin started to argue but he trailed off as she glared him down, "Sure. Call if you need anything."

"Emma?" Regina called back down the corridor, "Could you come with me?"

Robin scrunched his brow and raised his hands questioningly.

"I require what few healing abilities she may have." Regina said, curtly, "For what I can't reach."

"Magic?"

"I'll explain later."

"Of course." Robin nodded, politely and turned to leave.

X

As Regina had followed Robin down the hall, Emma had watched Marian catch sight of the horror that was Regina's back. During the drive, the blood had continued to spread and her shirt had stuck to her skin. Seeing it again made Emma's blood boil but it seemed to have the opposite effect on Marian who looked as though she was struggling not to smile, the corners of her mouth twitching, eyes glowing.

"So you're okay with this?" Emma asked, as she glared at Marian.

Marian shifted uncomfortably, realising Emma may have noticed her expression, "As okay as I can be." She said. "After all, what Regina and Robin had is over. I haven't got any reason to be concerned, have I?"

The question wasn't rhetorical, Emma realised, "No. No reason." She said, confused. Robin had made it sound like their relationship was falling apart when he was speaking to Regina but it didn't seem that Marian agreed.

"Emma?" Regina called. "Could you come with me?"

Emma gave Marian one last smile and then left her standing there. As she made her way to the bathroom she heard Regina explain to Robin that she was needed for her magic. She smiled smugly at Robin as he passed, not missing the frown on his face.