Regina pretended to be asleep for a long time, until Belle was finally snoring. (That part didn't take long.) The buzz had worn off, and she was left only with her thoughts, which overtook her mind until the early hours of the morning, when exhaustion finally overcame them.

In the morning, Regina was the first to wake. Looking at her watch, she saw that it was only seven AM, so she made as little noise as possible as she rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling of her lover's bedroom.

Only when nine o'clock rolled around did she sit up. Seeing Emma's arm draped around Belle's waist and the way their bodies fit together, Regina felt a twinge of jealousy in her stomach, something she'd fought off until that point.

"Guys," she finally whispered, her voice cracking just a little from the anxiety she was feeling. "Wake up."

Emma, obviously hungover, groaned and covered her face, but Belle shot up in bed. When she saw Emma's arm so intimately wrapped around her, her mouth fell open, and she shot Regina a terrified glance as she nearly threw the girl off of her.

"I..." Belle started, but Regina shook her head.

"It's fine," she mumbled, swallowing hard and trying her best not to act like a jealous teenager.

Still, when Emma rolled back onto her side and insisted on wrapping her arm around Belle once again, it only made matters worse for Regina. But the doctor refused to say anything, knowing all too well that what she was feeling was her own insecurities. No matter what she tried in her head, though, nothing could push the thoughts away as she imagined the two of them spooning all night, holding each other, with Emma's face buried in Belle's wavy locks of brunette hair.

"Regina?" Belle asked, snapping the woman out of her trance.

"Huh? Oh, shit. Sorry. What?"

"I asked if you were okay."

"Yeah. Fine," she mumbled. "How is she?"

"Really hungover."

"No I'm not," Emma groaned at last, making a half-hearted attempt to slap Belle's arm.

Belle had to stifle a laugh, but Regina didn't find it funny. She rose to her feet and stood beside the bed, stroking Emma's hair out of her face.

"Honey," the doctor whispered. "You need to get up. You've gotta sneak me out of here before your foster family finds out."

"No," Emma said flatly. "Don't leave."

"Please don't do this now," Regina sighed. "You can't afford to get caught with me in your bedroom."

"Don't be such a prude. You weren't a prude last night. Maybe you should have some more to drink."

Regina's mouth fell open as she backed away from the bed.

"You know what?" she started. "Fuck you. Get caught. Whatever. I'm just going to leave and hope for your sake they don't see me."

"Wait, Regina," Emma protested, sitting up in bed, pressing her hand to her forehead as she felt her head spin from dizziness.

"Bye, Emma. Bye, Belle. It was great meeting you. Honestly."

And with that, the doctor was gone.

"Fuck!" Emma spat, turning around to punch her pillow, knowing that if she punched the wall, she'd wake the other residents of the household.

"Emma," Belle tried, touching the girl's shoulder. "She's just upset. I think you hurt her feelings. I'm sure she'll come around. She... She loves you..."

It was obvious that it pained Belle to say the last few words, but she said them anyway, knowing they were true.

"Don't, Belle," Emma snapped. "Just don't."

"You can be really mean, you know that?" Belle said softly, swinging her legs out of bed and standing up.

"Hold on. Wait. Belle, I wasn't trying to-"

"Forget it. I'm going downstairs."

It was hours before Emma reappeared out of her room and found Belle sitting in the living room watching television. The girl's head was lowered though, and her attention seemed to be on floor, rather than the TV screen.

"Belle..." Emma tried.

"Don't."

"I'm sorry."

Belle sighed and finally looked up.

"It's fine. Just sit down."

Emma did as she was told and took a seat on the opposite side of the squeaky couch, glancing up at the TV and then back to her friend.

"So what happened last night?" Emma asked quietly, nearly in a whisper so no one else in the house would hear her.

"You threw up an entire week's worth of food, pretty much."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. You can't hold your liquor at all."

Emma scowled and crossed her arms.

"Whatever."

Belle couldn't help but laugh.

"I felt bad when you got sick, but it's kinda funny that you're such a lightweight."

"You didn't throw up?"

"I didn't drink as much as you."

"What about Regina?"

"She can hold her alcohol like a pro, that's for sure. She drank more than either of us."

Emma blinked a few times before saying, "I don't remember anything. Did I do something stupid?"

"You said some... well... personal things. I think you scared Regina. The look on her face was..."

"What did I say?" Emma asked, anxiety straining her voice.

"You told us, indirectly, that you were raped."

Emma stood up instantly and turned to bolt for the stairs, but Belle grabbed her arm and said sternly, "Sit down."

When Emma tried to pull away, the girl jerked her down back into her seat and wrapped both arms around her.

"We love you, Emma. You don't have to be ashamed. You can tell either one of us anything."

Emma shook her head.

"No, I can't. You don't understand. I-"

"Emma," Belle whispered in her ear. "I love you."

Caught off guard by just how direct the statement was, Emma went silent. They sat like that, arms around each other, for a while, until Emma finally pulled away.

"I don't want to talk about this. Ever."

"You don't have to, but-"

"Ever."

Belle gave a nod of understanding before sighing and leaning back against the couch.

"You should call Regina," Belle finally said.

Emma bit her lip and nodded, ascending the stairs quickly to retrieve her cell phone. She felt pangs of nervousness as she dialed the number, and they got worse when the woman answered.

"Hi."

"Regina, I'm-"

"What do you want?"

"What do you mean, what do I want? You're my... I thought we..."

"You were rude as hell this morning, Emma."

"I know. I'm really sorry. I was hungover, and I didn't want you to leave..."

"Don't make excuses for your bad behavior. I know you're used to that, and that's just how you are, but don't do it with me."

This stung, but Emma nodded her head, even though Regina couldn't see.

Eventually, Emma said, "I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone. Call me if you feel like it. It's okay if you don't."

She waited, but no response came, so she mumbled, "I love you," and hung up the phone.