Warning: Some bad language.

Chapter 12

Once lunch was finished and everything washed up, Emma went in search of her parents, but they were nowhere to be found. Emma though this was rather odd, as they never went anywhere without declaring it loudly to the whole house. When she asked Regina, it turned out her parents had gone into town for lunch. She shrugged it off. They had their own lives, after all.

Emma spent the afternoon playing outside with Henry. He was determined to improve his Frisbee skills, so Emma happily obliged him in game after game. It was wonderfully domestic, and Emma felt remarkably content and at ease.

It was when she was on her way to the kitchen a while later that she heard Snow's voice. She was on the phone, but sounded like she was having a frantic conversation. Emma would have ignored it, but she heard her own name being mentioned. She inched closer to the living room door, peering through the gap.

Snow was pacing, the hand not holding the phone running through her hair in agitation. As Emma watched, she huffed and threw her arm up in frustration.

"I'm sorry, Archie, that's not quite good enough! The message has to be loud and clear."

Emma's eyebrows shot into her hairline, and a pulse of anger suddenly shot through her body. She had a bad feeling about what was going on; she felt like she was about to discover something that would change everything.

"I know! I know. I'm trying from my end, I really am. You just have to be clearer."

Emma heard a sound from behind her and whipped her head around. Thankfully it was only Regina, who stood, arms crossed and eyebrows raised at the scene in front of her. Emma looked sheepish for a moment, but when Snow resumed talking she motioned her head towards the door and placed a finger on her lips.

Snow's voice was growing louder, and Regina didn't even need to move to be able to hear what was being said behind the door.

"What exactly did you say to her? You do understand how delicate this is, don't you? Emma and Regina cannot get back together. Unless you continue to intervene, you and I both know it's going to happen. I will not have Emma hurt like that again. I will not let Regina win again. You agreed to help me stop exactly that happening, and I expect you to keep your word."

Emma's jaw dropped in shock. She could feel anger burning through every cell in her body, unable to believe what she was hearing. Her own mother had conspired with Archie to stop her and Regina getting back together? This was a step too far.

Emma couldn't take it any longer. She threw open the door; surprising Snow who promptly spluttered out a goodbye to Archie then dropped the phone on the ground.

Emma could sense that Regina had followed her into the room, but she ignored it for the moment. Right now, it was her battle to fight.

"What was that?" Emma thundered, glaring daggers at Snow.

"Emma, sweetie! I'm so sorry, I didn't realise–that is–I–how much did you hear?"

Emma pursed her lips, knowing that she was about to completely lose it if Snow kept acting so goddamn ignorant and high-and-mighty.

"Enough. Care to explain?"

Even though Emma pretty much knew what was happening, she wanted to hear it from Snow herself.

Snow visibly trembled, but seemed to realise that she wasn't getting out of it. She wrung her hands together nervously, coughing several times in preparation.

"Alright. Now, don't get mad. I want you to know that I am doing what I think is best for you. After your…time in hospital, I talked to Dr Hopper. I helped him see that it would be better for you if you and Regina didn't get back together. Sh–she would only end up hurting you again. He agreed to steer you away from that path during your sessions."

Emma could hardly breathe. Blood was pounding in her ears so fiercely that she figured everyone else could hear it. She felt utterly disgusted and betrayed. Her own mother had tried to destroy her relationship with Regina, and Archie had helped. She couldn't even think about him right now. All her thoughts were focused on the trembling woman before her.

"How dare you!" Emma hissed. "How dare you intervene in my recovery process like that? Are you insane? Do you actually want to destroy me?"

Snow shook her head, tears running down her face as she observed Emma's anger.

"How could you not understand that the one thing I need right now is trust!" By now Emma was openly yelling, and unbeknownst to her, David appeared in the doorway. "I can't trust Archie or you anymore to have my best interests at heart. Don't you see that I need to build friendship with Regina to heal? I know that what happened is partly her fault, but she is genuinely sorry. And I trust her now, I really do. But you…I am so disgusted with you right now."

Snow gasped and reached out a hand to Emma, but the blonde merely took a step back, eyes blazing.

"My own mother! How could you manipulate me like this? How DARE you manipulate my therapist against me! Now I have no idea if any of the things he has been saying are real. I have no idea if what any of you have said is real. How could you betray me like this? I can't believe you. I can't fucking believe you. Of all the shitty things you've ever done, this has to be in the top few. Do you really care about me so little that you would stoop this low? And your happiness this morning when I told you Regina and I were friends again…that was all fake too, wasn't it?"

Snow took a step forward, tears running down her face. She looked like her worst nightmare had just come true. All she could see were the faces of the people she loved showing hurt and betrayal. Even David was looking shocked and angry.

"Emma, please," she begged. "I just did what I thought was best. I want you to get better and not be hurt again, I promise. I didn't mean to upset you."

Emma laughed mercilessly and hollowly. She eyed her mother with open disdain.

"No, you don't get to talk right now. If you didn't want me to get hurt again, then you wouldn't have done this. And you also wouldn't have decided to have another child without talking to me about it first!"

This angry retort had Snow pausing, confusion plastered all over her face. It was such a typical Snow expression that Regina bit back a snort. The pixie-haired woman was extremely dense at times.

"What?" she asked, brows furrowed. "I thought you were pleased! You said you were happy for us! I don't understand."

Emma pinched her nose in frustration, wishing she were anywhere but there in that moment. It was time for all the truths to come out, and this one hurt most of all.

"You don't see. You rush in one day, announcing you're pregnant, and I'm just left here while you get all excited about your second chance. Your chance to do this 'right'. You'll have the perfect baby, and I will be relegated to second place. You've got your dream: raising a child. But I'm your child too. I need you, however much I hate that fact. And I feel so hurt that I'm being replaced, because that's what it is. You're replacing me. You don't see how much you are hurting me, and I can't take it any longer."

Silence followed this declaration for a few minutes, each person in the room absorbing all that had happened. Emma was angry, but she was also exhausted. She was so tired of feeling rejected by her parents. She didn't want to deal with any of it any more. She'd had enough.

"No more," Emma said surprisingly softly. "I won't take any more pain or betrayal."

She turned around and walked out the room, ignoring any noise that came from Snow.

Emma practically ran from the house, needing to get away. She made it to the beach where she sat down and put her head in her hands. The sounds of the waves were peaceful, and Emma allowed her thoughts to run riot while she sat.

It was so surreal. For all this time, Snow had ben subtly manipulating her. Granted, it hadn't worked, but she had still tried. It was probably just a means of twisted revenge on Regina.

But…God. She'd placed her trust in Snow. And trust was everything to her right now. And Snow had simply disregarded it and barrelled ahead with her own agenda. It was maddening, it was frustrating, and it was wounding.

So much for a simple life.

"Emma?"

Emma whipped her head round, surprised to see Regina standing behind her. She looked breathless and angry; no doubt much more yelling had occurred when Emma had left the house.

Emma gestured for Regina to sit next to her, and resumed her silent contemplations.

Regina gingerly sat on the sand, sneaking glances at the blonde beside her. Emma could see out of the corner of her eye how Regina was worrying her bottom lip, and sighed.

"What is it?"

Regina smirked a little. Her eyes suddenly became alight with a sort of glee. "Oh nothing. After you left, Snow and I merely had a little talk."

Emma snorted. Trust Regina to love getting a chance to yell at Snow. "A talk? Did it go as well as mine did?"

Regina frowned a bit at that, her glee disappearing as she recalled the emotional turmoil that was Emma and Snow's confrontation.

"I suppose yours was rather worse."

"Seriously?!" Emma looked at Regina incredulously. "You get a chance to verbally takedown your former archenemy, but it went better than my argument with my mother?"

Regina shifted uncomfortably, and Emma was reminded that for a while, her and Snow had managed to bury those bad feelings in the past. When their relationship had become official, Snow had taken a while, but she'd eventually come round to the idea. It had seemed like the hostilities were at an end. But now it was a renewal of the vicious cycle they apparently hadn't managed to break.

"Yes," said Regina gently. "My fight was with my former enemy. Yours was with your mother; someone you are meant to trust unconditionally. I was unsurprised at her slight towards me, but I was shocked at what she'd done to you. It was an unexpected development."

"You can say that again," Emma murmured.

They sat for a while in silence, letting the calmness of the ocean wash over them. Despite the soothing nature of the sounds of the waves, Emma was still feeling everything she had been during the argument with Snow.

Emma was angry. Incredibly so. She didn't want to see Snow, as she knew that it would just get ugly very quickly if she did. On top of her reaction, Regina had probably yelled enough at Snow for today, at least. There would undoubtedly be a few more shouting matches to come.

But more importantly, Emma wanted Snow to learn a lesson. She needed to know that she couldn't mess up and expect everything to be alright with an apology; some things went deeper than that. This one wasn't going to fixed with a cup of tea and a few tears. Snow was going to have to change her attitude and behaviour. And until she was willing to do that, Emma wouldn't have a friendly conversation with her; she didn't deserve it.

There was one more conversation she needed to have, however. Archie was going to be in some deep shit once Emma found him. She bristled just thinking about him. There was a reason she had never trusted shrinks, and it just got confirmed for her once again. It was so frustrating; another person she was meant to trust had betrayed her. It was getting exhausting trying to figure out who was sincere and who was not.

Emma closed her eyes and blew out a breath. She knew Regina wouldn't like it.

"I need to find Archie."

Regina blinked, shocked by the sudden noise in the relatively silent bubble they were in. Once Emma's words had fully registered however, her eyes flickered over to the blonde sat beside her and a frown creased her forehead.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. Don't get me wrong; he deserves to go through a mile of hell, but are you sure now is the right time? It's been a tough day."

Emma raised an eyebrow at the advice. Regina sounded like she wanted to kill him herself, no surprise, but Emma was tired of just taking everything lying down. She wanted to teach him a lesson, and for all the lying and betrayal to stop.

"I get what you're saying, but I have to do this now. If I don't, I'll lose my nerve. I just need to get this off my chest."

Regina nodded. She stood up abruptly and offered her hand to Emma. At the blonde's confused look, she chuckled.

"Let's go."

Emma took the proffered hand and stood up. The duo walked off the beach, neither of them mentioning the fact that their hands were still entwined.

They spotted Archie walking along the road outside the diner. They caught up to him quickly, and Emma cleared her throat loudly, stepping forward and slightly away from Regina.

"Dr Hopper."

Her tone was like pure ice; and Archie turned quickly, looking terrified when he spotted who was asking for him.

"E–Emma! How good to see you! Is there something wrong?"

He looked from Emma to Regina with trepidation, but the latter made no attempt to move or speak. She merely stood there, staring daggers at him the whole time.

"Wrong?" Emma seemed to contemplate this for a moment, then let out a cruel laugh. "Why on earth would anything be wrong?"

He gulped, wringing his hands together nervously, eyes flickering from side to side. There was no way out of this.

"Oh wait!" said Emma, feigning recognition. "Now I remember! You and Snow conspired together against me. Do you have anything to say about that?"

"Uh…" Archie wiped his sweating brow nervously.

"Let me tell you something interesting, Dr Hopper. Trust is earned. It takes a long time to earn trust, and do you know what they say? That it only takes a second to destroy it. But for how long were you breaking my trust? For weeks. That's a lot of trust to throw away, and do you know what? You're never getting it back."

Archie started to splutter, but Emma held up a hand in annoyance.

"Stop it. I don't want some half-assed excuse for why you did what you did. The reason doesn't matter; all that matters is that it happened. So let me tell you something. I will not be coming to see you again. Ever. And neither will Henry or anyone else I care about, because it's obvious you can't be trusted. I don't want you speaking to Henry, Regina or I again, do you understand? I don't want to hear any useless apologies, because the damage is done."

Emma eyed the man with contempt.

"I could have trusted you, you know. But you threw that chance away. You could have truly helped me; but you betrayed me. Good bye, Archie."

Emma turned and walked away quickly, feeling tears threaten to fall. Archie was added onto a long list of people who'd fucked her over. She was so done with everyone using her to get what they wanted, and not caring what she thought of it or the effect it had on her.

She was aware of Regina following her, but continued walking until she reached Mifflin Street. Regina seemed to get her drift and led them up to the house, unlocking it and letting them both in.

Emma entered with no small amount of trepidation. It had been a good while since she'd been in there, and her last memories of it weren't exactly the happiest. She walked through the familiar rooms with a sad smile on her face. So much had changed in a few short months.

Even though it was slightly uncomfortable, Emma needed the feeling of familiarity and the feeling of belonging somewhere. Regina wordlessly went to the study and poured two glasses of apple cider, and Emma downed hers in one gulp. She felt the alcohol sear her throat and sat down in relief. The day had taken its toll.

Regina sat next to her, swirling the liquid around in her own glass before she too, drank it in one.

"You're welcome to stay here for the night, if you wish."

Emma smiled gratefully at her and nodded.

"Thanks. I need some time before I can face Snow again."

Regina turned to face the blonde and clasped their hands together, entwining their fingers.

"I am sorry for what happened today; I wish I could have changed it. I just want you to know that I am here for you, Emma. No more lies, no more tricks. I will not betray you again."

Emma smiled weakly. "I know," she whispered softly. "I know."

Relief washed across Regina's face. Her eyes flickered down to Emma's lips for a moment before returning to stormy green eyes. Emma felt her heart begin to race at the look, and mirrored it, unconsciously licking her own lips. They got closer and closer to each other until they were only a breath away, but neither closed the distance. Emma could sense that Regina was waiting for her to confirm that this was what she wanted.

"Regina?" Emma breathed.

"Yes?" came the quiet reply.

"Kiss me."

Regina leant forward slightly, and then their lips were together, beginning a dance that neither of them had truly forgotten, but both of them had missed.

Their lips moved softly against one another, and Emma felt dizzy. She was feeling so much in that moment, but her brain had gone fuzzy. All she could think of was how soft Regina's lips were.

Regina's hand cupped Emma's cheek, and the blonde leaned into the touch.

After what seemed like hours they broke apart, breathless. Emma leant her forehead against Regina's, feeling her mind slowly come back to earth.

"Was that ok?" asked Regina timidly. Emma looked up surprised to see Regina looking incredibly vulnerable. She knew that they were on a precipice of a point of no return. If they went for this now, then it was for real. Emma realised in that moment that she wanted that. She wanted Regina.

"More than ok," she whispered, feeling her heart race at the beautiful smile that lit up the brunette's face.

They were silent for a moment, then both simultaneously burst into hysterical laughter.