Chapter 24.

Ruby frowned, noting the anxiousness in her friend, "Okay," she nodded, "What is it?"

Emma shifted her feet, "Um. It's kinda big. Kinda…personal."

Ruby nodded, "Okay."

"I mean, if you want, you can say no… I mean, you don't have – "

Ruby cut in, "Em, stop. You're stressing out," she observed, "It's alright. Just ask me. I'm your friend, you know I'll do anything for you."

Emma pursed her lips before nodding, "Okay," she took a deep breath, "It's just… I'm going to see my psych after exams. I know I don't always talk to you about this stuff…"

Ruby nodded, "And that's okay, Em. I mean, you know I'm here."

Emma nodded, "Yeah…I know," she replied quietly, "It's just I have to talk, well I don't have to, but I want to," she berated herself internally for stumbling over her words, "talk to her about something new. Something I haven't told her but I think is important."

A patient Ruby nodded, waiting for her friend to get to the point but knowing not to push her, "Well, that's good that you're opening up more."

Emma smiled timidly, "I suppose it is," she agreed, "But like, it's really hard to talk about. I've only ever spoken about it with Belle and then Regina, recently. I kinda freeze up… " she hesitated, "I thought maybe it could help if I spoke to you about it first. Like…like practice, I guess," she chewed her lip, "I know it sounds kinda stupid – "

Ruby put a hand on Emma's arm, "It doesn't sound stupid at all. And of course you can talk to me, Em. Anytime."

Emma nodded, still biting the inside of her cheek, "Thanks, Rubes. I mean, I can't…now. Not here. Do you think you can come over after school? Regina's got some meeting, so we'd have the place to ourselves."

Ruby nodded, "Yeah, totally. Of course. Come here," she pulled her friend into a hug, "Love you, Em."

Emma was tapping her foot nervously. There was still an hour until the end of school and it had felt like one of the longest days ever. She couldn't even concentrate on what her girlfriend was saying to the rest of the class, but still felt a little calmer when Regina took the seat at her desk, right beside Emma's table, offering a small smile as she did so.

They were meant to be studying; that's all any of the classes were doing at the moment. Revising and studying. But today, Emma really couldn't concentrate on Spanish grammar and merely doodled over her paper absent-mindedly. She snuck a look at Regina, who was engrossed in her marking, but as usual could always feel the teenagers' eyes on her and raised her own eyes to meet the students. She offered a small smile as she quirked an eyebrow. Emma bit back a smile; thank god, it was only a few more weeks before they didn't have to hide their relationship anymore. She wouldn't have to sit in these classes and try not to stare, or to flirt, or to kiss or –

"Emma," Regina was in front of her, "The bell rang," she looked at Emma expectantly.

Emma blinked and looked around at the empty classroom, "Oh, right," she nodded as she began to pack her things up, "Sorry, I was zoned out," she said sheepishly.

Regina nodded, "I noticed. You do that when you're stressed, dear, are you alright?" she looked concerned.

Emma rubbed her eyes, "I'm okay. Are you still going to that meeting tonight? When do you think you'll be home?"

"Hm, maybe around seven thirty or eight? Are you seeing the girls?" Regina lent against the edge of her desk.

"Um, Ruby's coming over," Emma stated, before looking around, "I'm going to talk to her about…stuff."

"Oh?" Regina straightened up as she watched the teenager nod.

"Yeah, I thought it would be good to like, practice. I mean, I trust Ruby… but I've never told her, you know, everything. I figure the more comfortable I get talking about it, the easier it will be with the doctor," she looked up at Regina, somewhat nervously.

"I see," Regina said thoughtfully, "That does make sense, dear, you are very in touch with your feelings," she smiled, "I think that is a huge advantage for you."

Emma shrugged, "Hrm, perhaps. Anyway, I'm meant to be meeting her, so I should head off," she stood up, swinging her bag over her shoulder, "I'll see you at home."

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Emma apologised as she approached her friend and they began walking down the street.

"It's cool, you had Spanish. You're always late after Spanish," Ruby teased.

Emma giggled, "Yeah, well…you can't blame me."

Ruby laughed but nodded, "True, that. She is damn fine, especially for a teacher. I mean, that body," she whistled, "Damn girl – "

Emma glowered at her, "Shut it, Rubes," she said.

Ruby chuckled, "Okay, okay. Just saying, I bet you're not the first student to get a crush on her," she shrugged.

Emma looked at her friend, "It's not just a crush," she mumbled.

Ruby squinted at her friend but nodded again, "I know it's not, Em. I mean, clearly you're the first student she's crossed the line for," she bounced her eyebrows at her friend.

Emma smiled somewhat proudly, "Mm, I am," she agreed before sighing, "I love her so much."

Ruby's eyebrows shot up; she'd never heard her friend say that about anyone other than Belle and occasionally herself, and certainly never romantically, "Wow," she said before smiling, "That's…amazing. She really brings something out in you, Em. A new kind of confidence, a willingness to challenge yourself. It's really nice to see."

Emma smiled as they continued walking.

It only took ten minutes to get to Regina and hers place and it wasn't longer after that the two were seated on the couch, Emma twiddling her thumbs anxiously as Ruby watched her, wishing there was something she could do.

"Em?" she said softly, "Just…take your time, okay?"

Emma nodded silently; trying not to berate herself or get lost in her own headspace but she could feel herself freezing up. She chewed her tongue and shook her head, trying to remain in the present with her friend. She took a deep breath.

"Okay," she closed her eyes for a moment, before opening them though she was unable to look her friend in the eye, "You know my foster homes… I mean, I know you're not stupid. You know it was bad…" she swallowed down a tight throat.

Ruby nodded; it was painful to see her friend fighting this battle against herself, but she thought the best thing was to let her friend talk it out.

Emma took another deep breath, "It was abuse. Sexual abuse."

And with that the floodgates opened.

Ruby held her friend tightly, resting her chin on her friend's shoulder. Ruby had always been the fun friend, the one to gossip with or ask relationship advice. She'd always been there for Emma, but it had taken Emma a longer time to open up to Ruby; for a long time, she thought she only needed Belle.

"You're amazing, Emma, you know that, right?" Ruby whispered.

Emma sniffed and shrugged.

"You are," Ruby continued, "You've been through so much and you're still doing so well. I mean, there have been set backs, sure, but you're still here, you're still graduating. You still have friends and a girlfriend. I honestly don't know how you do it."

Emma pulled back and looked at her friend, "Thanks, Rubes. I guess…I don't know. I don't want this shit to hold me back forever."

Ruby nodded, "That's so brave, though. Some people wait a long time before they try to confront their pasts… Em, I want you to know you can come to me any time. I don't pretend to understand what it must be like for you. It's a really individual thing… but I really want to understand, and do anything I can for you."

Emma nodded slowly, "I really appreciate that, Rubes. It's so…hard to talk about, it's so uncomfortable, but I guess the more I talk about it, the easier it will become and it won't seem like such a … huge burden."

"A burden shared is a burden halved and all that," Ruby smiled.

Emma smiled, "Something like that, I suppose."

"Love you, Em," Ruby pulled her friend close again.

Emma allowed herself to be drawn in and closed her eyes, feeling the comfort of her friends arms, "Love you too," Emma mumbled.

Regina crawled into bed beside her girlfriend and wrapped an arm around her stomach, settling her chin on Emma's shoulder and kissing her neck softly.

"Mm," Emma mumbled sleepily.

"Sorry, sweetheart, go to sleep," Regina whispered.

Emma bit her lip as she turned over and shuffled into the older woman's embrace, "It's okay," she mumbled, "You smell nice."

Regina chuckled, "Thank you, dear," she whispered, "Now sleep, exams tomorrow."

Emma groaned, "Okay, sleep now. You should sleep too," she mumbled dopily.

Regina smiled and kissed her on the cheek, "Goodnight, precious girl," she whispered as she ran a hand through blonde hair.

"Swan," Belle approached her friend, "How'd it go?"

Emma was tapping her fingers anxiously on the table as she shrugged, "Okay, I guess. I mean, it's English, it's not exactly rocket science."

Belle nodded, "Uh-huh," she smiled, "Hey, you should eat. Let me get you something," she stood up and went to move to the cafeteria counter.

"I'm not hungry," Emma waved a dismissive hand, "You get yourself something."

Belle rolled her eyes, "Em, come on. You only have an hour until your next exam, you need to eat," she raised her eyebrows at her friend.

Emma sighed, "Fine, fine," she muttered, "You're right."

Belle smiled and bounded off, returning a few minutes later with a roll and a chocolate bar for her friend, and some lunch for herself.

"Thanks, Belle," Emma smiled, "Anyway, how was your exam? Did you ace it?"

Belle bit her lip, "I think I did alright," she nodded modestly.

Emma couldn't help but chuckle, "I'm sure you did. When's your next one?"

"Not til the day after tomorrow, philosophy. I can't believe in a couple of weeks, this will all be over," she said incredulously.

Emma's eyes widened as she nodded, "I know, it's crazy. Ugh, you're lucky, I can't believe they lumped me with two exams in one day; it's just cruel."

Belle snorted, "Hey, at least it means you get them over with quickly!"

Emma thought for a moment, "That's true, I guess. Still, I hate exams."

Belle took Emma's hand to stop it tapping, "I know, Em. Just…deep breaths, it's nearly over. And we're gonna celebrate when this is over, Ruby's being super secretive about her plans but you know her…"

Emma nodded, "The woman knows how to throw a party, that's for sure."

She finished off her roll and ate her chocolate bar quickly before sighing and hugging her friend goodbye before heading to her next exam.

Emma was surprised at how confident she'd felt in her exams; considering. English was never a challenge for her, not that she liked to be cocky about it. It was probably legal that gave her the most trouble, but considering she enjoyed the subject it had made it easier to study for, so she knew she'd done more than pass. Other subjects she managed to push through without too much difficulty. Spanish, she was proud to say, she thought she'd done quite well in.

She walked out of her last exam, psychology, with a sense of relief and freedom. No matter what her marks were, there was nothing further she could do now. She'd done all she could do and that felt…good.

"Emma," a hushed voice sounded.

Emma swiveled around to see Regina sticking her head out of an empty classroom. She bit back a smile and approached her.

"Miss Mills," she cleared her throat, looking around the near-empty corridor.

"May I have a word?" the teacher held the door open and smiled as Emma entered and she closed the door, "How did your last exam go, dear?"

Emma shrugged, "Think it was alright," she paused, "I just can't believe it's all over. Well, I mean, I guess now is the waiting game but – "

"This part is over," Regina agreed, "And I am so proud of you for getting through."

Emma took a step closer but Regina took a step back, her eyes flitting to the door.

"Sorry," Emma mumbled, taking a step back herself.

Regina sighed, "No, I'm sorry," she said quietly, "But nearly, dear. It won't be too long before we no longer have to be so secretive," she sighed again, "Unfortunately, I need to go – I have to supervise one last exam… then we will both be free."

Emma bit her lip and nodded, "Okay, I'll see you at home. I hope I can get a congratulations kiss then," she smiled slyly.

Regina smiled back, "Mm, at least, dear, at least," she winked.