"Emma, are you sure about this? I think we should go and get you checked first."

"David, I don't have a disease. It's still me, just smaller packaging."

"I'm pretty sure Regina will kill me for coming here without permission." David said trying to keep his eyes from wandering around, "You really think if someone had the power to disappear anywhere in town they'd go inside their own room?"

Emma huffed for the fiftieth time, regretting asking David for help, "Just, just drop me off here."

David carefully lowered his shaking hands that had carried his daughter up as his eyes zeroed in on the item in front, "That thing is extremely disturbing."

"Hey now! It's beautiful." Emma defended, "Now I know what I'm doing so I need you to leave. I'll call you later ok? Please don't tell anyone till then."

David nodded as he stepped back but his eyes kept staring behind Emma.

She sighed, yet again, "David, please."

"Ok fine, but it's", he looked at his watch, "10 am right now and if I don't get your call by lunch time..."

Emma waved her hand as her other one opened the familiar brown door. David watched his daughter disappear inside an eerie-looking miniature house and just hoped Emma knew what she was doing.

Emma looked both ways inside trying to think where Regina could be. There was a heavy blanket of silence wrapped around the place making Emma cringe at her every loud footstep. Her father's words did little to slow her down as her intuition had all but yelled at her to look here first the moment Regina disappeared. She thought she'd check her own room and then the living room where they'd watched TV but halfway her steps slowed down as she thought of a particular room from their tour. Sprinting in the opposite direction, she ran up to the first floor and approached the floral door. Pushing open the door she halted as she entered the room that was different in every way than her own. There were no beds or cupboards, no windows making the room dependant on the lamps for light; a three-piece sofa was set in the middle of the dark red room. On the wall directly opposite the door was mounted a giant white shelf, and the occupants on the shelf were not the rag-dolls Emma was familiar with. No no, these were pretty ones, scary pretty ones, the scary pretty ones that usually kill the whole family in a freak fire incident and get uncovered by firemen the next day unharmed. Emma felt a large burden being lifted from her chest when her eyes found Regina. She was sitting on the floor with her back resting on the chaise lounge and her right side facing Emma, her hands threading the hair of one of those demonic things.

"There you are."

Regina craned her neck and rolled her eyes. When she went back to petting the creepy doll Emma closed the door behind her and walked tentatively towards the woman, desperately wishing she had her own picture of Henry to gain strength from.

"Mind if I sit?"

Regina didn't say anything but turned her head to look at the dolls on the shelf. Emma thought of asking again but decided to just slide down next to Regina.

"How come you're not with dear Neal?"

"Regina", Emma sucked in air not knowing what to say, "Neal ah-"

"It's ok, it's not like you need to run anything by me." Regina couldn't mask her anger when she threw back the words her nemesis had used on her once.

"No, that's not-"

"Please, don't bother."

Before Emma could say anything to defend herself Regina spoke up again, her voice scores quieter than before.

"You know for a moment there, I actually thought things would work out, that you'd help me with Henry. And now, now he has a full set of parents." Regina turned to face Emma, her eyes devoid of the light Emma had become so used to that she'd forgotten they were never there, "Where do I fit in now Emma?"

"Hey, no, you listen to me. Despite all this bull shit, it's us, me and Neal that need to ask that question, because God Regina, you've been Henry's mother and father for ten years. It's us who have to work to make even a small place in his life."

"You know that's not true." Regina looked down making Emma promptly lift her chin using her finger.

"Regina, it's true. We all know it is, but all of us, we still keep pretending that we're doing Henry some big favour by keeping him away from you. But it's wrong. I don't want this for him, to take him away from one home and put him in another. Believe me it's not easy to forget the past family even though they'd been horrible to you."

Regina stiffened at the end making Emma groan, "Now seriously, you know I was talking about me not Henry. I don't think I can ever say anything without making it sound stupid."

"Not sober at least." Regina said with a small smile which was gone as soon as it came.

Emma relaxed a little and shifted till she was sitting in front of Regina, "We'll do something 'kay, we'll figure something out. You and me, we're a team. We're the H-team." She said good-naturedly, desperately trying to make Regina smile again. Seeing her unfocussed gaze she continued on a more serious note, "And I'll always run things by you when it comes to Henry, always. Back then, I wasn't sure how you would react but you need to believe me I was going to tell you myself."

Regina nodded absent-mindedly. Emma looked at her for a moment before asking, "Regina, this isn't just about Neal, is it?"

Regina looked up, a little startled by the question.

"Come on Regina, we're…"

"Friends?" Regina asked annoyed at the presumptuousness Emma was parading, like she knew her better suddenly. Emma would have backed-off at her tone but then she wouldn't be Emma.

"Well, I was gonna say team-mates." she replied airily.

Regina scoffed but didn't reply, not even after Emma nudged her foot. Emma then willed her strength as she eyed Regina's hand, 'Ok we can do this Swan.'

Slowly she slid it into Regina's hand and squeezed it, hoping to convey she didn't mean to pry to hurt, but help instead. Regina looked down in wonder, had it been this long since she had another person holding her hand.

Slightly shaking, her lips moved by this unexpected support, "It's… just… "

Regina's head snapped up, her eyes shining with unshed tears, "Why on earth would you sleep with Neal?"

Out of every scenario, this one managed to catch her off guard, "What?"

Regina tried to remove her hand but Emma just clutched it tighter than before, her other hand reaching to wipe the angry tears that were now leaking through Regina's eyes.

"Don't, there are billions of people in the world, why would you go and make sure Henry was related to that bastard."

Emma's eyebrows went somewhere north when she heard Regina swear, "Regina, it's... ok?"

"No, it's not. Don't you see how his existence mocks me, Gold is living-" Regina voice broke as a huge sob left her lips, "he is living my mother's life."

"Gold", Emma gasped but she quickly recovered from her shock when she heard the gut wrenching sound coming out of Regina's mouth. She pulled the shaking woman into her arms, trying to think of something other than 'there there' to say. She tried rubbing her back to soothe her but Regina's sobs kept growing bigger.

"And now he has a son, a grandson, my Henry. He has a family, a new life, a new life he built on my mother's grave."

Emma's eyes misted at how young Regina sounded. She tightened her hold, making Regina cry into her neck.

"Why couldn't I have died instead?"

"Regina", Emma shouted out in surprise, shaking the body she was holding, "I may be the saviour but I am not above hitting a crying woman ok? You never say that in front of me you hear."

Regina choked out a laugh and then swatted Emma's back for making her laugh when she was feeling so bad. Despite the laugh her tears refused to stop. Emma kept rubbing her back, trying very hard to not cry herself.

After a few minutes, Regina's breathing evened out but silent tears kept finding their home on Emma's shirt. Emma removed the dark hair sticking on Regina's forehead, "Have you cried before, after what happened?"

Regina shook her head slightly.

"Good then, that you're crying finally."

Regina pulled away; her eyebrows knitted in incredulity leading to Emma dropping her head on Regina's shoulder, "God, foot-in-mouth Regina! I meant once it's all out of your system you'll feel good."

Regina clenched her wet eyes shut hoping Emma was right.

Regina's tears had dried out but Emma kept holding onto her, listening to her erratic breathing as the woman she held focussed on Emma's heartbeat.

"You should go to Gold; he's your best bet after me." said Regina, happy that her voice was not breaking anymore.

"I will, later. There's no hurry."

"You don't have to stay here."

"I know."

"Then leave."

"Regina?"

"Hmm?"

"Shut up."

Regina smiled as she closed her eyes, relaxing as Emma brought her hand up to massage her forehead.

"So... tell me about your grandmother." Emma glanced at the doll whose head was next to hers. Regina looked at Emma annoyed at her posture. She was lying with her back resting on the floor but her feet on the sofa, bent around the cushions at her knees like the inverted letter z.

When Emma elbowed her at her knees Regina started, "Well, I don't really remember her, but I can still feel how she used to hug me. She was warm and I think she smelled like roses. Yes, roses. She was the kindest woman I knew you know. I used to stay with her during summer." Regina rested her head on the cushion next to Emma's knees, "She had a beautiful castle, so full of light. It was breathtaking. We used to spend hours playing with this house in her room", Regina looked around the room, "She used to say that I'd always be safe here."

Emma couldn't put into words how she felt knowing Regina had let her stay somewhere that held such a special place in her heart. She squeezed Regina's hand, now feeling more comfortable with the gesture. When she felt Regina squeeze it back, she loosened her grip but their fingers kept touching. Sometimes it was easy to forget how gratifying a simple touch can be.

"So, she was from your dad's side?" Emma asked already having an idea she was right.

"Yes. Unfortunately we'd stopped visiting daddy's side of the family when I was eight. Mother later that year informed me grandma had moved away and I never saw her again."

Emma didn't have the heart to ask if she knew what Cora must have meant. Judging by the faint smile, she was sure Regina hadn't suspected anything other than what her mother had supplied.

"Grandma would always sneak in sweets to me during dinner when mother wasn't looking. The few times she visited our estate, she'd get a basket of apples for Rocinante."

Emma's eyebrows scrunched, "Your friend?"

"Yes." Regina smiled, revelling in the memories, "Best friend. I loved him dearly."

"Oh… Oh, so this was before Daniel?"

On hearing Daniel's name Regina's hand, the free one which was kept on the box of Kleenex she'd conjured on Emma's urgings, curled up so her thumb could caress her ring. But on finding nothing, she remembered she'd long lost her ring. No, not lost. She had traded it for the life of the woman lying in an elaborate yoga position next to her. Oh, how had the times changed. She proceeded to answer her question when suddenly, "How do you know about Daniel?"

Emma's eyes which had been engaged in a spontaneous staring competition with the doll, now held panic as she realised they'd never spoken of Daniel. She withdrew her hand from Regina's thinking of something to say other than Snow blabbed again.

Regina obviously knew there was no one else who could have told her but seeing the woman panic she decided to swallow the anger and continue, not wanting to break this bubble of comfort she had found herself in with Emma. It was nice to talk to someone about things, about people. And it definitely made the whole exchange richer when the person in front was keen on listening.

"Rocinante and I go back years before Daniel. Daniel met him later when he was employed under us."

Emma let out a breath in relief and tried to play it off as a yawn hurriedly followed by a question, "Ah! Daniel was not the jealous kind?"

"Why would Daniel be jealous of Rocinante? He loved him as much as I did, if not more."

"O-kay?"

Regina tilted her head in contemplation, "But you know... I think you're right. Daniel would always be a little short tempered when I spent more time riding Rocinante than with him."

"Holy shit", Emma laughed out, "Regina you minx."

"What? It's not like I was ignoring Daniel. Sometimes he would even join us-" Regina took in the expression on Emma's face, "Oh you pig!" Regina hit her leg, scandalized at her implication, "Rocinante was my horse."

Emma kept on laughing, rolling to Regina's side as the woman kept glaring at her.

Emma had taken over the sofa, lying on its length as she watched Regina changing and then re-changing the position of the dolls on the wall shelf. The demon doll, Emma called her June now, was being used as target practice as Emma kept flicking wads made of tissue papers at it.

"So, I wanted to ask you something..."

"You're the one on the couch, shouldn't I be asking questions?"

Emma threw the next paper wad at Regina but missed the target by a ruler's mark.

"Why is it easier to talk to me when I'm small?"

Regina paused with her arrangement process, "Who said it's easier?"

"You did, today morning."

Regina went back to this morning and remembered saying something of the sorts. Startled that Emma had brought it up she appeased her with a vague answer, "It... just is."

This time the paper hit Regina directly on her head, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Oops, I think it's attracted to bullshit."

Regina narrowed her eyes as she turned back, this time arranging the dolls according to height and not colour.

"It's, I've never been comfortable with people... I-I don't know but I've always been surrounded by people with a bigger stature and-"

Emma nodded in understanding, painfully conscious of the words dying on the tip of Regina's tongue.

"I tried to be as intimidating as possible when I was the Queen. I had to make sure I had an upper hand in some way, by flair, by fear, by power..." Regina's voice trailed off as she adjusted the smallest doll with the utmost care, putting her on the top of the shelf.

"Is-Is that why you like doing magic?"

The question was asked with such hesitance that Regina couldn't help smile.

"I think first it was my only option to defend myself. Later on, it just became who I was."

Emma hurled the rest of her paper ammo at the doll who she had now renamed Cora. If she wasn't dead already Emma would make sure she would be for making Regina grow up feeling so helpless.

"Casa De Mills?"

"No"

"Apple suites?"

"No."

"Mayoral Motel?"

"No."

"Regina's Inn?"

"No."

"Swan Plaza?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes. Over my dead body."

"Mean."

Emma adjusted Regina's hand, bringing it back a few degrees with her hand firmly grasping her elbow.

"Do not move your wrist, this is not some fancy spell. Now throw it only using your arm."

Regina moved her hand swiftly but the ball hit the side table instead of Cora, only Regina didn't know it was Cora she was aiming at. Huffing, she pushed Emma away to try on her own, "Just finish what you were saying without trying to give me ineffective tips."

"Fine, well then that douche had the balls to tell me that Pinocchio had told him to get me arrested."

After missing again, Regina conjured up tiny Styrofoam balls instead of paper to get a better shot. Picking up a red one she asked, "Pinocchio?"

"Uh", Emma bit her lower lip, "August Booth."

Regina gave her a disapproving once-over, "Didn't I tell you he was a questionable character?" She waved it off, "But how would abandoning you have helped break my curse?"

"Exactly."

"I mean it's so silly. That imp-spawn could have just tried to help you. What a cowardly approach."

"Thank you." Emma cried out exasperatedly. "I mean fine I would not have believed at first but eventually... not like that Regina you'll end up breaking that lamp."

Regina drew an indignant breath and this time let Emma correct her hand, "So then he found out about Henry?"

"Yeah, and the kid hated me for lying to him about Neal."

"Is that why you're not eager to return?" Regina asked softly.

"Well, that kid is so quick to judge sometimes. It's hard to stay a hero in his eyes. And he has this other super-mom he keeps comparing me with, who is a terrible shot by the-Hey!"

"My hand slipped." Regina grinned. Emma gathered her hair ruined by the hit but another ball was quick to strike the same spot, "Ok this time my hand didn't slip."

Regina couldn't control her shriek when Emma threw every pillow her hands could grab in her direction.

"If you won't call your father, I will."

Emma kept playing with her phone, ignoring the woman since she was suddenly more interested in breaking Henry's score.

"Just call David and ask him to take you to Gold. I appreciate you giving me company but I'm absolutely fine now."

Emma was now just pushing random buttons on screen, her face contorted in annoyance.

"Regina, can you shut up for one second? I'll call him, Jesus. If you are bored of hanging out with me you can go, I'm not stopping you from leaving this room."

"How absurd, you're just using me as an excuse; you have to go back to the real world, to Henry. You are the only parent in his life I trust right now so just call."

Emma's ears tingled hearing the last statement and all her frustration gushed out, "Well, god, you know I'll have to explain to everyone why I'm... this! First to Snow, if she can get her head out of the covers for a single minute, then Henry who doesn't even talk to me properly now that he has his douche-dad, then ding-ding his douche-dad, and ultimately the whole fucking town because woo-hoo we're all related. Why couldn't your stupid mushroom just have worked?"

"Emma, they won't even blame you for this."

Emma let out a mini huff in frustration, "Exactly you insanely stubborn woman", she clutched the phone tighter to bite down the urge to shake the brunette.

Regina clicked her mouth shut at the volume but kept on eyeing her in annoyance, "You didn't want them to know it was my doing?"

When Emma didn't say anything Regina just pushed further, "Well you don't need to do that. I can handle mobs but I cannot handle feeding you every day."

Emma narrowed her eyes in anger but her nose crunched up as she tried so hard to press down the smile on her lips. The whole attempt was very comical making Regina laugh out loud. Her laugh made Emma laugh out in return.

When they both sobered down Emma spoke, "It's so many things, I'll have to go back to being David and Snow's little girl, Henry's liar of a mother, the whole fucking town's saviour."

Regina looked at her in sympathy, "It's ok to want space from people, but talk to them, don't hide from them. You might think they're being unbearable, or harsh, but she just wants what's best for you. And all the times you thought you'd disappointed her was only because she didn't have her –" her breath hitched.

"Oh Regina."

Regina's eyes focussed on Emma's, confused why she felt tears on her cheek, "I- you said I would feel better after crying once."

Emma couldn't help but laugh at how innocent the accusation sounded. She brought both her hands up, wiping Regina's tears, "Sorry."

"You should be", Regina said trying to sound angry as she blinked away the remaining tears.

Emma's hands cupped her cheeks but her smile disappeared as she kept staring into Regina's eyes.

"What?"

Emma shook her head, "Nothing, it's something stupid. Like always."

Regina narrowed her eyes, blinking in between, "Tell me."

"Uh-" The ring of Emma's phone interrupted her before she could say anything.

"It's David", Emma informed before taking a deep breath as her hands fell from the brunette's face. Regina straightened up, suddenly aware that she had cried not once but twice in front of Emma. She blamed the room and the circumstances, the two items topping the list of excuses which didn't include her name.

"Hey David, I know it's past lunch", she pulled away the phone to check and let out a low whistle, "Ok, way past, but I was about to call you –"

Regina let out a disapproving sound making Emma glare at her. Trying to distance herself she leaned back towards the armrest.

"So you can come by - Oh David! Why would you do that?"

Regina wondered what her father had done seeing the way Emma was worrying her lower lip between her teeth.

"Seriously?! What the actual – well you tell me what the hell is wrong with her then? – Ok, fine – Fine – I said fine! – 'Kay, I'll see you then."

Emma hung up before throwing the phone on the sofa next to theirs, "You're never going to believe what Mary Margaret did?"

TBC

Next Time: Snow... dammit! David brings along a guest to the Mills Mansion.

...

A/N:

Countdown towards the end has begun guys!

Honestly, I'm a little overwhelmed by the kind words you guys leave! So much love coming your way xx

And look look, I just might hit a century with the reviews this time, damn! So um listen, no gift certificates and all.. buuuut we'll definitely work something out, ok 100th reviewer person! Take care!