Here's another chapter for you all! I'm not hugely happy with it, but I didn't really know what else to do with it.

Thanks for all the favorites, follows and reviews :D

Chapter 11

A few days later, Emma knocked hesitantly on Regina's door. Part of her hoped Regina wouldn't answer but the other part hoped she would. Her emotions were rolling around inside of her, conflicting and warring for dominance.

When the door was opened Emma attempted a smile.

"Can we talk?"

Regina's face was a mask as usual, but Emma caught her uneasiness as she nodded and ushered Emma inside. There was no mistaking what this conversation was about. That and the fact that it was 2am; late-night conversations were becoming regular, it seemed.

Regina's room was about the same size as Emma's, with white wallpaper yet deep purple bedcovers and dark wooden furnishings. It felt distant yet welcoming at the same time.

Emma awkwardly perched on the end of Regina's bed while Regina herself sat down near the headboard, looking anywhere but at the blonde. Emma steeled herself and cleared her throat.

"So…about the other night." Emma fidgeted nervously and coughed to hide her trepidation. "I've come to a decision."

"Oh?" asked Regina softly. Her shoulders were slumped slightly, and she looked a little defeated. She clearly expected to be rejected, and Emma felt a pang of guilt as she realised her answer wasn't going to be very helpful.

"Yeah. I think, well, first of all I'd like us to become friends. I want to build trust between us again, Regina. That's the most important thing of all right now. I can tell you're genuinely sorry, and if you're serious about helping me as well as you through this, then we need to start at square one again. We need to build up to being friends. And after that…well, I think we should just sort of see where it takes us. If there's a spark or something, then there is, and we'll deal with that when we get there. But for now, I just want to start afresh. I realise this probably isn't the answer you were hoping for, but I'd like it if we could do this. Together."

Emma waited anxiously for a response. Regina was looking at Emma, searching her eyes as if to find any hint of deception but it seemed as though she could find none. She looked a little relieved, then it faded to slight disappointment at Emma's words. She nodded nonetheless.

"I agree. I would like it if we were to begin again, in a sense. And if you never want to pursue anything romantically," she swallowed at this and looked a little pained, but continued, "then I will accept that. If you can trust me again and we can be friends, but you want nothing more, then I will deal with that when the time comes. But if you do want more then we'll see where it takes us."

Regina smiled and Emma felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders. At least they could salvage some sort of friendship out of all this.

Emma then grinned. "Well then. How about we begin now? Hi Regina, I'm Emma."

She stuck out her hand and Regina chuckled with an incredulous look on her face. "Not cliché at all," she quipped, but she took the proffered hand nonetheless.

"So Emma. What shall we talk about first?"

They spent the rest of the night talking about anything and everything, getting to know each other again in a more relaxed atmosphere than they had ever been in.

"Emma?"

Snow's voice drew Emma out of her reverie. She was sitting at the kitchen island, picking at her food absentmindedly. Snow looked a little concerned and curious.

"You seem…happier this morning."

Emma raised an eyebrow at the blunt comment. She shrugged but decided to tell her mother the truth.

"Regina and I agreed to a truce. We're going to start afresh and try to become friends. I just feel like a burden has been lifted, I guess."

Emma was suddenly engulfed in a furious hug.

"That's great!" came Snow's slightly muffled voice. "I have my own issues with Regina, of course, but I'm glad you two have decided to patch things up a bit. It will be good for you, and for Henry too."

Emma rolled her eyes at the thinly veiled insult, but let Snow have her victories. She patted her awkwardly on the back and was relieved when she finally drew away.

"Well, this is fantastic! You can tell Dr Hopper at your session this morning."

Her session. Emma groaned, putting her head in her hands. Her sessions with Archie were really quite uncomfortable, due to the fact that Emma hated bearing out her heart and soul to anybody. Even though Archie could be trusted with all her thoughts and secrets, his gaze never betrayed anything, and Emma always felt she was being judged when she was there. Her past, her feelings and Regina were all tetchy subjects at best. She had a sneaky suspicion that she would be forced to go to see him for many months to come, if not just to satisfy Snow's motherly urges.

"You're not getting out of it Emma," said Snow in a disapproving voice.

Emma grimaced. "Oh I know. If there were a way to get out of it, believe me I would have found it already."

Snow gave a little huff of indignance before continuing to eat her breakfast. She was eating something that looked and smelt absolutely disgusting and Emma couldn't help but gag when the smell hit her.

"Jeez, what the hell is that smell?"

"I sure don't want to know," came David's voice from the doorway. He sauntered in, giving Emma a brief hug and Snow a peck on the lips before looking distastefully at her 'food'.

"Just what exactly is that, Snow?"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Honestly, it's not that bad. It's some sort of organic porridge. It is filled with nutrients and everything that I and the baby needs."

Emma eyed the foul concoction sceptically. It did not look edible. "Suit yourself," she shrugged. She tried hard not to vomit as the smell wafted in her direction.

Checking the time, she groaned again. It was almost time for her appointment with Archie. She finished her coffee and stood up.

"Gotta go, don't want to be late," she said sarcastically. Just as she was about to leave, Regina walked in.

"Oh, Emma. I am leaving now and could give you a lift, if you'd like." Regina said it casually, but Emma could sense some apprehension in her voice. This starting afresh was going to be a little strange at first. Regina's face suddenly changed to one of disgust and she eyed Snow's food with severe distaste.

Emma suppressed a laugh. "Sure thing, I'll just grab my jacket."

They were soon in the car in a deep silence. It was stiflingly awkward, to say the least. Eventually Regina broke it.

"How are your sessions going with the b– I mean, with Dr Hopper?"

Emma quirked a brow at the slip but didn't acknowledge it. She sighed audibly.

"It's alright. I really don't want to be there, so I guess that ruins the atmosphere a little. I just, well, I feel like he's judging me for everything I've ever done. For who I am."

The car swerved a little but Regina managed to get it under control before they hit anything. She looked genuinely shocked, which surprised Emma.

When Regina spoke, her voice was quiet, but deadly.

"For who you are? What do you mean by that?"

Emma looked slightly alarmed at the tone and responded cautiously, eyeing Regina for any more negative reaction.

"It's nothing too bad, don't worry about it. He's been great for the most part to be honest; I think he has helped a lot. It's just that…I don't know. Every time I go in there I feel like I'm being punished for being me. For having issues that I can't control. A past I'd rather not think about. It all just makes me feel like I should be ashamed of myself."

Thankfully they had just pulled up outside Archie's office and stopped, as Emma was pretty sure they would have crashed had they been going at any real speed. Regina's hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles were going white. She continued looking out the window as she spoke, her voice again taking on the menacing manner that made Emma slightly nervous.

"Is Dr Hopper making you feel ashamed of yourself? Is he disrespecting you in any way?"

Emma sighed and placed a hand over Regina's on top of the wheel. The contact made Regina jump slightly and finally face the blonde who was looking at her earnestly.

"I don't think it's him, Regina. He's not like that. I think it's more what he represents. A lifetime of people who paid no attention to me or my issues. It's hard to separate myself from that after so long. I guess it's me, projecting my own thoughts outwards."

In a bold move, Regina removed her hands from the wheel, interlacing them with Emma's. Her next words were spoken gently yet understandingly.

"Do you feel ashamed, Emma? To be yourself?"

Emma nodded, a lump in her throat. The next thing she knew she was being drawn into a gentle yet hesitant hug. She accepted it with a bit of confusion and awkwardness, and after a few moments she drew away.

"Never be ashamed to be yourself Emma," said Regina, her soft tones like a breath of fresh air washing over Emma. "And don't let your past own you. You are so strong and beautiful, particularly in your heart. You are the most amazing person I've ever met."

Emma smiled. "You know," she said, a twinkle in her eye, "I think you might be a better therapist than Archie. You're certainly easier on the eye."

Regina laughed loudly and heartily at that.

The feeling of dread crept back as Emma neared Archie's door. Sighing, she knocked. Archie opened the door and ushered her in, and she took her usual spot on the sofa, hands clasped tightly in her lap.

"How are you doing today Emma?"

Emma gritted her teeth and forced out a smile. "Okay, I guess."

"Anything you'd like to tell me about?"

"Well," Emma began slowly, "there's actually been some good developments with Regina."

"Such as?"

"We've decided on a sort of truce, I guess you could say. We're going to start afresh and see if we can become sort of friends. We're both tired of all the hatred. It's not good for either of us, or Henry."

"Hmm," Archie surveyed Emma over his glasses and she felt like she was in an interrogation room.

"How is that going? What do your family think about it?"

Emma narrowed her eyes slightly. There was something off about Archie's tone of voice, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"It's going well, I suppose. Snow's overjoyed of course. I think it's good that we're being…nice to each other. I want to trust her again, I really do. I don't know if it will develop into a romantic relationship again, but for now I just want to become friends. My past has dictated my life for long enough. It's time for it to stop."

Archie removed his glasses and started polishing them, his eyes never straying from Emma's.

"Do you think you'll be able to trust Regina again? Do you think you can let the past go? It's not something you can easily forget."

Emma's brows furrowed at the question. "I think so," she replied. "I mean it's not going to be easy–we both have a lot of emotional baggage and all, but I'm willing to try. I just want to escape the things that are holding me down. I want a chance at a truly happy life, and being friends with Regina is the first step."

"An interesting surmise," said Archie lightly, "but I think you're forgetting something very important."

"Which is?"

"The reason you're here Emma is that you're still not better. It's admirable that you want to make up with Regina and start anew, but you can't just erase the past like it never happened. You have to face it. If you don't, it'll just come back to haunt you."

Emma held up her hands in a surrender pose, feeling marginally threatened by Archie's words. "Whoa, slow down. I'm not saying forget about it all. Regina and I are still going to talk about everything that happened. I just don't want to be consumed by it all. I'll face it, don't worry about that, I just want to be able to move on."

"Very well."

Emma's eyes widened and then narrowed. She felt like she was being chastised for choosing the path she had. She knew the only way she was going to truly heal was to remove all the hurt from her life, and that included animosity with Regina. It would only help, surely, to have her as a friend than an enemy? She wasn't just going to forget about everything that had happened, and besides the scars–both physical and mental–would always be there to remind her of it. She just wanted to stop hurting. Was that so much to ask?

"Shall we move on?"

Emma walked home in a kind of daze, feeling rather unsettled from her session with Archie. Something about what he had said and the way he had acted was strange. Emma felt judged all over again, like she wasn't capable of making any decisions for herself.

She felt like she was being trapped in a corner. And she didn't like it.

On the face of it, what Archie said made sense. She did need to focus on her own recovery primarily. But she also needed to heal the relationships in her life that were damaged. And why not start with the most damaged of all?

Emma barely noticed entering the house or sitting down at the kitchen island. She was jolted from her thoughts by Regina calling her name.

"Emma? Are you alright? You look far away."

"What? Oh. Yeah, I suppose."

Regina put down the vegetables she was chopping and leant on the counter, eyeing Emma curiously.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Emma hesitated. She didn't want to make anyone worry unnecessarily, but she had promised to make amends with Regina, and she was going to keep her word.

"I just had a weird session with Archie. I told him how we were starting afresh and he acted strange about it, that's all. He seemed to think I was disregarding my own recovery completely."

Regina's eyebrows shot up. "He what?" she asked quietly. "I'm extremely surprised. Surely he knows it's not like that?"

"I told him it wasn't," said Emma, brows furrowed. "I just said that I needed to mend the relationships in my life as well if I was going to have any chance of sticking it out. I don't think he liked the idea very much."

Regina bit her lip, appearing deep in thought. Emma sighed and put her head in her hands.

"I just don't really know what to think. The whole thing just threw me kind of off-kilter."

Regina inclined her head and nodded. After a few moments of silence, she cleared her throat.

"Would you like to help with lunch? Henry requested some sort of 'feast' since it's Saturday. He really doesn't like school dinners."

Emma chuckled. "I'm not surprised."

The two made lunch in companionable silence. It felt natural for Emma to be in this domestic mode with Regina. She realised with a pang that it had been a long time since they had been like this. She chanced a glance at Regina and saw the saddened expression on the brunette's face.

"What's wrong?" asked Emma, alarmed. "Are you upset? I–"

"It's ok, Emma," said Regina softly. "I've just missed this."

Emma gave her a small smile, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "Me too. I'm glad we're becoming friends again."

Regina swallowed and gave a strained smile that looked more like a grimace. "Indeed."

They continued in silence after that, it being broken finally by Henry bounding in sniffing excitedly. He seemed to always be hungry these days.

As they finished making lunch, Emma kept thinking back to her session with Archie. She wasn't going to stop making amends with others, but she also realised she couldn't disregard herself either. That meant having the one conversation she really didn't want to have with her parents.

They were really excited about the baby. Emma didn't want to take that away from them, but she felt like when the baby eventually arrived that she would be put away in favour of something newer and better. Of course she knew that babies needed a lot of attention, and she wasn't going to stop that happening at all, she just wanted to feel like she mattered to her parents.

After all, they hadn't raised her. They'd spent 28 years without her only to find her the same age as them. She hadn't needed the same amount of parenting a baby would. The real problem was hearing Snow and David say "We'll get it right this time," like there was something inexplicably wrong and unfixable within Emma.

Were they expecting the baby to be perfect? Did they think that they'd be happier with a better child than the one they had now? Did they just want a child who was less of a screw up that they could show proudly to the world?

Emma didn't know. She hoped that they would find it in their hearts to still love her, even when they eventually held the perfect child they'd always wanted in their arms.