A/N: I considered writing a much longer intro and then leaving this chapter with a super nasty cliffhanger but I decided to be nice … for once!
Also, I published a sexy little one-shot for the 600th reviewer of Troubled Teachers today. It's called Behave. Check it out!
Emma sat nervously outside David Nolan's office, her knees bouncing and her fingernails chewed until there was nothing left for her teeth to get at. The lawyer was running late, unsurprisingly. Regina had texted Emma wishing her good luck but apart from making the blonde smile momentarily, she didn't feel any better. If this meeting went badly, Emma might find herself on the next bus back to Florida. The corridor she was waiting in was wide and loud, people in business suits constantly rushing up and down it. Emma had borrowed one of Regina's outfits for the meeting and kept tugging self-consciously at the too-short sleeves. Not that anyone was paying attention to her of course.
"Miss Swan?"
Emma's eye snapped up and looked into the kindly face of a tall blonde man, blue eyes twinkling down at her as he held out his hand.
"Yes," she said, getting to her feet and shaking the proffered hand. "Thank you so much for meeting with me, Mr Nolan. I really appreciate it."
"Of course," Mr Nolan smiled. "I'd do anything for Regina."
Emma knew that feeling. She followed the man into his office where she was invited to sit down. The rest of the meeting was a blur of questions, forms, and legal terms Emma didn't fully understand. All she knew was David's smile didn't fade away as they spoke, so something must be going well. She had known fleeing Tallahassee was going to cause problems for her later but she couldn't stay in the town a second longer, not after Lily had left.
"Just sign there and I'll take you down to Cap's office," Nolan said, placing the last form in front of Emma.
"Cap?" Emma asked, scrawling her illegible signature on the paper in front of her. She hated her signature but it was such a hassle to change the messy scribble she had designed when she was fourteen and she'd never bothered to do so.
"My contact at the parole office," Nolan explained. "A good friend of mine. He owes me a favour and said he'd take you on as long as I got everything smoothed over with Tallahassee."
"And you did?"
"I did," David nodded. "Once we sign a few more papers down at the parole office then you'll be officially registered in New York and Cap can start getting you some interviews. Regina mentioned you were looking for employment?"
"I am," Emma nodded, standing up and following the lawyer out of the room.
"What qualifications do you have?" David asked as they entered the corridor and headed towards the front doors.
"Not much," Emma admitted. "I flunked out of high school and then ended up in prison shortly afterwards. I took a few classes in jail but they don't exactly make your resumé sparkle to a potential employer."
"Perhaps not but you present yourself well and you're clearly intelligent," David said, as they emerged into the weak afternoon sunlight and he hailed a passing cab.
Emma didn't know how to answer the charming man beside her. She knew she was bright. Her teachers had said as much, even as she passed fleetingly through her many schools. But without pieces of paper to prove as much, the verbal accolades were worthless. As she climbed into the back of the cab, Emma fleetingly considered looking into how she could finish her high school education. The snap of the door and another question from David, however, distracted her seconds later.
The parole office was a drab grey building a few blocks away from where David Nolan's law practice was. As they pulled up to the curb, two burley, heavily tattooed men exited the gratified doorway. Emma tugged the sleeve of Regina's suit down. She loved her tattoo but she sometimes wished she didn't conform to the prison stereotype in that way. She followed David through the dark corridors, signed her name into the receptionist's book, and continued to traipse after the tall man. He was chatting to her all the time but Emma wasn't listening any more. She had hated her parole officer in Tallahassee, a ratty, mean little man who had done little to help Emma when she had arrived. Hopefully David's friend would be better.
"Cap!" David said, strolling into an open room on his right. "How's life treating you?"
"I could complain but it wouldn't do any good, would it? How about yourself? Wedding plans finalised?"
Emma never heard David's reply however. Her body had frozen at the sound of the voice and her blood was running cold through her veins. She could heard her heart thundering in her chest and every nerve ending in her body told her to turn around and flee. Her vision went blurry and just as David's face appeared around the doorframe, everything went dark.
"Yeah, she just collapsed. I'm with her now and Cap is waiting for the ambulance outside. Shall we meet you at the hospital or do you want to come here?"
The words took longer than usual to reach Emma's brain and when they did they were sluggish and confused. She opened her eyes and slowly the dim room came into focus. She could see David Nolan standing above her, a cell phone to his ear, but didn't recognise anything else.
"What happened?" Emma croaked, her voice tired and quiet.
David's face loomed nearer to her own as he told whoever was on the phone that he had to go. His concerned blue eyes narrowed as he looked at the pale woman before him.
"Hey Emma," he said softly. "How are you feeling?"
"Where am I?" Emma frowned, trying to sit up and feeling a throbbing pain on the side of her head.
"Cap's office," David said. "You collapsed in the corridor and bumped your head on the way down. Can I get you anything? The ambulance is a few minutes out. Cap's waiting on the street for them now."
"Cap," Emma said slowly, the memory of what had happened before she blacked out coming back. "Where's Cap?"
"Outside," David reminded her.
"Don't make me meet with him," Emma said, her voice quavering.
"What? Why not?" David frowned. "He's going to help you get work, remember?"
"No, he's not," Emma replied. "Please, Mr Nolan, please don't let him come back in here."
David frowned harder and glanced towards the door. He could already hear footsteps approaching down the corridor.
"Let's get you to hospital to be checked out," he said. "I've just called Regina and she's meeting us there."
"No, don't make her come," Emma said, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment (or as much as her circulation could muster - she was still very pale).
"Nonsense," David said with a wave of his hand. "She was very concerned about you when I rang and I have no doubt that she will want to be with you in the hospital too."
Emma's eyes scanned the room, trying to work out if she could escape before the ever-nearing footsteps arrived in the doorway. Even if there had been another way out, she didn't think her trembling legs would carry her.
"In here."
Emma flinched again at the voice, shrinking back into herself just as the paramedics entered with a stretcher. One of them immediately knelt beside her and started checking her pulse. She would have batted them away but she was too busy staring at the man stood in the doorway.
"How are you doing, Emma?" asked Killian Jones as he advanced into the room.
Emma didn't answer but her eyes burned with anger. David looked even more confused than before and glanced between his friend and the blonde.
"You need to come down to the ER and get checked out," one of the paramedics was saying. "Just in case the bump is anything more serious than a knock to the head."
"I'll come with you," David said at once.
"Me too," Killian said, already reaching for his keys to lock the office.
"No," Emma shouted. "No, just David."
David raised his eyebrows at Killian who hesitated before nodding and taking his seat behind his desk. The cool blue eyes followed the pair as the paramedics led them out of his office and towards the ambulance.
Regina flew into the emergency room and ran up to the reception desk, her heels slipping slightly on the tiled floor.
"Emma Swan," she gasped as she regained her balance. "Brought in by ambulance with David Nolan."
"Regina."
The brunette spun around at the familiar voice and almost cried with relief. Emma was perched on the edge of a hospital bed, her legs swinging through the air and an ice pack pressed against her temple. Regina rushed over at once and embraced the blonde.
"What happened?" she asked, checking Emma over with her eyes for any other signs of injury. She seemed fine, if a little pale, and of course there was whatever was under the ice pack.
"I fainted," Emma replied.
"Why?" Regina asked.
Emma glanced around her before she shrugged and gave a minute shake of her head.
"Regina, that was fast."
"David," Regina said, giving her friend a peck on the cheek as he joined their group. "Thank you so much for calling me. I was just asking Emma what caused the incident but she hasn't told me yet."
"Nor me," David replied. "But I'd be very curious to know myself."
Emma stared at the floor, trying desperately to ignore the blue and brown pairs of eyes looking at her. She didn't want to have this conversation, not here and certainly not with David. In fact, she'd rather never speak of what had happened to her in that office. Regina's hand landed on her thigh and she flinched slightly but Regina didn't move away.
"Emma, honey, what's wrong?" Regina asked, her voice quiet and concerned.
"I'm fine," she replied. "The doctor said as much just before you arrived. Please, can we just go home?"
Ignoring the fact that Emma had just referred to the penthouse as home, Regina held out her hand to help Emma off the bed. The blonde took it, even though she didn't really need help, and the two of them began to walk outside to where Graham's town car was waiting.
The drive back to the apartment was silent.
Henry was impressed with the lump on Emma's head and the blonde's eyes squeezed shut every time he poked it. Regina had reluctantly dropped Emma off at her Park Avenue address before driving to get Henry from Zelena's. The three of them had eaten a simple dinner together and then Henry had insisted Emma give him his nightly bath. Regina wasn't complaining, as long as it got Henry into the tub. It wasn't until Henry fell asleep that Regina turned to Emma once more and asked the question she had been fretting over all afternoon.
"Emma," Regina began, taking the blonde's hands in her own and smiling softly, "what happened today?"
Emma knew this was coming. She even spent longer than necessary washing Henry's hair just to prolong the moment when she would have to tell Regina what had happened. Because she couldn't lie, not to Regina.
"I saw someone I used to know from my days on the streets," Emma began.
"I can't say that's surprising at a parole office," Regina frowned, knowing there was far more to the incident than simply seeing a familiar face. "What did this person do to you?"
Emma bit her lip, not wanting to answer that just yet. "No, I half expected to recognise someone, but not him."
"Who?"
"I guess you'll know him as Cap."
"Cap," Regina frowned. "Killian?"
Emma nodded, fighting desperately to stop herself from crying. Because her worst fears had been confirmed. Regina did indeed know her rapist.
"What about Killian?" Regina asked.
"How well do you know him?" Emma asked, needing to gauge Regina's position on the man before she said any more.
"Well enough," Regina shrugged. "I've known him since my sophomore year when I met him at one of David's house parties. He was the captain of the sailing club at Yale, hence the nickname. He and David made quite the team on the water. But then after college Killian kind of went off the rails. Drugs, alcohol, gambling. If you can get addicted to it, Killian Jones did it. Rumour has it a few years ago he got in too deep with a dealer but his father bailed him out eventually, sent him to one of the best rehabs in the country and got Killian a job."
"As a parole officer?"
"I think Mr Jones thought it might deter his son from continuing his downward spiral," Regina chuckled. "Although how successful he's been, I'm not sure. I rarely see Cap outside of social events when David brings him as a plus one."
"I thought David was engaged to your assistant," Emma frowned.
"He is but Mary Margaret is one of the most irritating people on the planet and doesn't thrive at high society parties. She's too awkward and socially inept. So David brings Cap. They're like brothers despite having followed very different paths in life."
And that was what Emma had been afraid of. Even before today, she had known any allegation of assault would stand a poor chance of reaching court nor gaining a conviction. Hookers never won a jury's heart. And now she finds out that Killian Jones happens to be college pals with one of the most accomplished criminal lawyers in the city? Emma sighed and flopped back against the couch.
"Emma, darling, please tell me what happened today," Regina said. "I'm starting to get a little scared."
"It doesn't matter," Emma said, standing up and moving towards the door. "My head hurts. I'm going to bed. See you tomorrow."
Regina watched her go, torn between running after her and giving Emma some space. The latter won and she stayed seated on the couch until she heard Emma's bedroom door close. She stood and walked to her alcohol cabinet where she poured herself a glass of cider before returning to her previous spot. The drink slid easily down her throat but somehow it tasted a little different that day. Regina began to wonder how Emma might have run into Cap during the time she spent on the streets.
Of course, if Cap did still have a drug problem, Central Park was known as a place to score. And since Emma based herself there, it was completely plausible they would run into each other. Or maybe Cap was a parole officer for someone Emma knew. Perhaps August. Although Regina immediately felt bad for assuming the blonde's homeless friend also had a criminal past. And it was hardly likely that Emma had gone to the parole office looking for work so that couldn't have been the connection. There was only one other possibility.
The glass slipped from her slackened grip and landed on the couch, spilling the amber liquid all over Regina and the cream cushions. But she didn't care. Jumping to her feet she ran out of the room and down the hallway. Her fists pounded on the closed door, not caring in that moment if she woke her sleeping son up. As soon as Emma opened up, Regina pushed her way inside.
"You had sex with Cap."
It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Tears flowed down Regina's face as she stood there, looking smaller than Emma had ever seen. The blonde said nothing but moved towards her bed and sat down, fiddling with the edge of her sleep shorts.
"Cap came to you when you were a prostitute."
That word sounded wrong coming from Regina's mouth and somehow Emma felt even worse than before. If Cap had merely been a client, perhaps they could have moved past this unpleasantness and come out the other side. But Emma couldn't possibly see how Regina could ever look at her the same way after what she was about to say. Equally, she couldn't not say it.
"He was," she nodded. "And then, when I told him I wanted to stop hooking, he raped me."
The loudest silence Emma had ever experienced followed this announcement. Every second stretched painfully into what felt like an hour, every sound drifting up from the street below magnified ten fold, every tear which slid down their cheeks a tiny representation of the aching pain each woman felt inside themselves.
Regina had known Emma had been raped, true. But somehow she had managed to eclipse that awful part of Emma's past from her thoughts (most of the time). Now, however, she knew she would never be free of that fact. Emma had been raped. And the man who did it was not only free to roam the streets but someone she knew, someone she liked, someone she considered a friend. She felt sick and her legs trembled beneath her. She wasn't even aware of the fact until Emma coaxed her to sit on the bed that she was close to collapsing.
"Cap?" she whispered, a finger rising to drift over Emma's lip where the skin had been split when she had found her that day in the tunnel.
Emma nodded wordlessly and brushed some of Regina's tears away. More fell in their place as Regina leaned into Emma's touch until the blonde cupped her cheek and pressed her lips lightly to the older woman's.
"Emma," Regina whispered as they broke apart, "what are we going to do?"