A/N: So I have an exam in 2 days, and apparently my natural reaction to avoiding revising for it at all costs is now to publish more fanfic instead. Sensible plan. But I hope you all enjoy!

starsthatburn x

Chapter Six

'Oh, God.' Two weeks later, this was Emma's greeting as she opened the door to find the mayor stood there, bouncing uncomfortably on the balls of her feet. 'I promise I haven't had anything to drink yet today, Regina. You can stop worrying.'

'It's barely noon, Miss Swan,' Regina replied with one eyebrow raised. 'I should certainly hope not.'

Emma swallowed, taking in the way that Regina's balled fists were fidgeting by her sides. She narrowed her eyes.

'Shouldn't you be at work?' she asked, leaning against the door.

'I took an early lunch,' the mayor responded, nodding to the apartment behind her. 'I have some things that I need to discuss with you. May I come in?'

Emma forced down a sigh, moving to one side. 'Sure.'

Regina stepped into the room, waiting for Emma to join her before she walked over to the kitchen. Emma nodded for her to sit down and she immediately took up the same seat that she had the previous week, feeling no less uncomfortable and arguably even less sure as to what she was actually doing there.

'You've had your stitches taken out,' she said after a few moments of watching the sheriff struggling to reach the mugs on the top shelf. Clutching one hand to her still-aching torso, Emma finally managed to pull one down with the very tip of her index finger.

'Yeah,' Emma said distractedly, gauging how likely it was that she'd be able to reach another one without cracking one of her ribs back open again. Eventually she spied the same cup that she'd been drinking from that morning sitting in the sink and rinsed it out, ignoring the shudder of disgust that she could clearly see exuding from the mayor out of the corner of her eye. 'Well. They've been out for a while, actually – it has been three weeks since… you know.'

Regina frowned, knowing full well that this was the case because she'd spent every single evening of two of those weeks fielding off questions from her son as to why she still hadn't been round to see Miss Swan since their conversation in her office. Even so, it didn't feel like quite so much time had passed since the town meeting.

'Has it?'

'Apparently.' Emma began dumping spoonfuls of cheap coffee into the mugs, loading her own one up with a disgraceful amount of sugar. Regina wrinkled her nose, forcing herself to stay quiet.

As the kettle boiled Emma leaned back against the counter, her arms folded across her chest and her eyes resting firmly on the floor. The swelling of her cheekbone had finally receded, taking the dirty tinge of her two black eyes with it. The gash that ran down her temple, however, seemed somehow even more prominent now that there were no longer thick black lines of thread dividing it up. Regina dragged her dark eyes over the woman's body, noticing with a twinge of something that could have been regret just how thin it had gotten, before she let out a sigh.

'My son misses you, Miss Swan.'

It was impossible to ignore the shudder of guilt that reverberated through the sheriff's body at these words.

'I know.'

'Are you planning on spending any time with him soon?'

'Oh, you actually want me to see him now?' Emma replied, still not looking up. 'That's a novelty.'

There was no bite to her words, however: her hostility sounded utterly forced. Regina chewed at her bottom lip. She had hoped that, in the two weeks since she'd last seen her, the frightened child who had replaced her sheriff might have managed to grow up again. The sight of her lank blonde curls and angrily tensed shoulders, however, told her that this definitely was not the case.

'Of course I do,' Regina forced herself to speak firmly, sitting upright. 'He thinks that you've abandoned him, Miss Swan – he knows that you're talking to August and he knows that you're even talking to me. Surely I don't have to explain to you how hurtful that must be to him?'

'Of course you don't,' Emma snapped, wrenching the kettle off of the stove even though it hadn't actually started whistling yet. 'I'm not a complete moron, Regina. But do you really think he's going to want to spend time with me like this? I'm not exactly juggling oranges and making balloon animals right now.'

Regina forced down a laugh. 'Nor have you ever been – and yet, for some reason, he likes you anyway. I can't believe you think that seeing you like this will actually frighten him away.'

'He's a kid,' Emma said flatly, stirring the mayor's coffee more vigorously than was strictly necessary. 'I may not have much experience with children, but I do know that seeing your mother randomly breaking down into tears because she realised that she can't even hug you properly anymore is going to be a little bit upsetting.'

'No more so than being shut out completely,' Regina replied. Emma shot her a look, but didn't reply.

'Miss Swan,' Regina groaned. 'I'm just asking that you try. That's all. And I know,' she added just as the blonde opened her mouth to protest, 'that you are trying. And I know that things have been exceedingly difficult for you recently. But, like it or not, when you decided to walk back into your son's life again you took on a whole lot of responsibilities with it. I'm afraid that includes spending time with him when you honestly feel like you'd rather curl up in a ball and cry.'

Emma's hand froze over the steaming cups of coffee, the spoon dangling between two of her fingers. Slowly turning her head, she looked at the mayor with a curious expression on her face.

'What?' Regina asked darkly. For a moment, Emma just watched her. Then she shook her head, turning back to the sink and tossing the spoon into it.

'Nothing,' she muttered. 'It doesn't matter.'

She began to bring the cups over to the breakfast bar, her hands still shaking. She had filled them up too far and so she walked slowly, frowning with concentration as she tried not to spill any of the hot liquid onto her fingers.

Regina watched her with a painful thudding inside her chest. The sheriff looked… pathetic. There was no other word for it. It had been three weeks and her bruises may have healed, but her tiny, fragile body and her sickeningly sleepless eyes told the mayor everything else that she could possibly need to know.

When she spoke again, her voice was anxious.

'I didn't just come over here to lecture you, Miss Swan,' she muttered, nodding her thanks for the drink that had been placed in front of her. Emma leaned her body forwards against the counter, no longer unable to sit down next to Regina but somehow still unwilling to do so.

'You didn't?' she said, rolling her eyes with mock-relief. 'Well. That makes a nice change.'

'I came here to tell you,' the mayor ignored her, taking a deep breath, 'that I think that you should consider going back to work next week.'

Emma froze. Her face clouded over.

'What?'

'Emma, this isn't healthy,' Regina said, shaking her head. 'You've kept yourself locked up in this place for the last three weeks. The only time you go out is at the crack of dawn when no one else is around and so you think that no one will see you. Other than those little excursions, I'm fairly sure that the only person you ever really speak to is that moronic roommate of yours. You can't seriously expect to recover if you won't even go outside.'

'Regina,' Emma said in a low voice that was full of warning. 'You gave me indefinite leave from the sheriff station. Surely that was because you knew that it was going to take more than a friendly nudge and a snap of your fingers to get me back there?'

'Of course it was,' Regina sighed, taking a tentative sip of her coffee just to show willing. She immediately wished that she hadn't. 'I'm not saying that you're ready to go back, Miss Swan, because evidently you aren't. But at this rate, you won't ever be. You have to take the leap at some point.'

'I'm not going back.'

Regina rolled her eyes. 'You have to. Sidney will still be there – he can help to ease you back in, to keep an eye on you. You have to admit that it might be good for you to have an… an ally around the office.'

Emma's eyes narrowed at this word. 'Regina. I'm not ready for this, I promise you.'

'And how is sitting around here day in and day out going to make you more so?' the mayor asked sharply, drumming her fingers against the table. 'Emma – you're getting worse. Have you looked at yourself recently? You look ill. You obviously still aren't sleeping, you look at everyone like you're terrified that they're going to try and kill you the moment that your back is turned, and you're being reckless. That night when I came round to check on you, you could have—'

Emma's narrowed eyes flashed at her, and Regina suddenly stopped talking. Those sharp green laser points told her, clearly and firmly, that they were not going to talk about that night. Not now. Not ever.

The mayor sighed, tugging a hand through her hair.

'It's only Wednesday, Emma,' she said gently. 'By Monday, you might feel differently.'

'I seriously doubt it.'

'You can at least give it a try.'

'You're really doing this?' Emma snapped. 'You're going to force me to go back just to suit you?'

'I'm not forcing you,' Regina said simply, shaking her head. 'If you're really not ready, then I will accept that. But this isn't about you not being ready, is it, Miss Swan? This is about you being frightened. And all I'm trying to do here is show you… show you that you don't need to be frightened anymore.'

A long pause followed her words. Emma watched her rapidly blinking dark eyes, wondering why on earth the mayor of all people could be quite so intent on getting her back into that sheriff station: whenever she had been there, Regina had been the very first person queuing up to tell her what an atrocious mess she was making of it. How the tables had turned.

Emma let out a juddering breath, pressing her hand against the ache in her side.

'I just…' she started, then faltered. She closed her eyes for a moment. 'I'm just not sure I can do it.'

'But you can try,' Regina said gently. 'Just one day. That's all I'm asking for: I'll even give you permission to turn around and leave the moment that you step through the doors if it's too overwhelming when you get there. I just... I want you to try and let yourself believe that things can go back to normal again.'

Emma could only shake her head, a tired frown resting between her eyebrows.

'Why do you care, Regina?' she asked, crossing her shaking arms over her chest. 'You've got what you wanted – Sidney's in office. What the hell could make you want to see me kick him out again?'

Emma didn't notice the flash of sharp, tormenting guilt that crossed the mayor's face. There was a pause as she struggled to think of an answer.

'As it turns out,' Regina slowly offered, 'Mr Glass is… slightly less competent than I initially gave him credit for. Consider yourself to be the lesser of two evils.'

A tiny smirk twisted at Emma's lips for a moment.

'I'm going to take that as a compliment,' she said in a low voice, almost laughing. Regina raised one eyebrow.

'You should,' she said, allowing herself to smile. The guilt in her chest tugged once more. 'It's the closest that you're ever going to get to one, dear.'

Emma rolled her eyes, letting herself stare up at the wooden beams that stretched across the apartment's ceiling for the next few seconds.

The sigh that followed was exhausted, and defeated. 'I'm not promising anything.'

'I'm not asking you to.'

'I mean, I'm really not promising anything. This whole idea is just insane, Regina. If I end up back in that office before the end of October you can consider yourself a miracle worker.'

'Miss Swan. Stop panicking. I just want you to think about it – that's all.'

Emma sighed, rubbing her fingers against the bridge of her nose. 'Fine. I'll think about it. But that's it.'

'Excellent,' Regina said in a low voice, not smiling. When Emma looked back up again her breath immediately caught in her throat: those green eyes had never looked so pleading before.

The mayor swallowed, beginning to slip down from her uncomfortable perch. 'I suppose I should get back to work. If… if you don't need me to stay?'

'Why would I need you to stay?' Emma said flatly, looking down at her feet. 'I'm an adult. I can look after myself.'

There was a pause. Regina couldn't work out if the sheriff even realised the significance of what she'd just said.

'Of course,' she said slowly, receiving no response. 'I'll see myself out then. Thank you, Emma.'

'For what?' Emma's gaze snapped curiously back up again.

'The coffee,' Regina said. 'And for… hearing me out.'

Emma only shrugged, a sad smile on her permanently downturned lips. 'No problem.'

The mayor turned to leave. As she approached the door, however, with her hand outstretched, the same tiny voice called her back again.

'Regina?'

She turned back around, her eyebrows raised.

'Yes?'

'Can you…' Emma muttered, looking down at where her toe was nudging at a crack in the floorboards. Her arms were crossed fiercely against her chest as she spoke. From beneath them Regina could just make out the edges of her trembling fingers. 'Can you tell Henry that I miss him too?'

Something sharp stabbed at the back of Regina's throat. She nodded.

'Of course.'

She left then, tugging the door shut behind her. She stood on the other side of it for the next few seconds, her knuckles white around the straps of her handbag, her breathing stilted.

Emma stood on the other side, her arms still crossed and her head pounding.

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