A/N: don't worry guys! You know I never leave you hanging for long …

"You're um … I mean … wow. You're here," Lily said, folding her arms awkwardly and shifting her weight from foot to foot.

Emma didn't answer. There was no need. Lily could see perfectly well that her ex-girlfriend was standing in front of her. The ex-girlfriend she had disappeared on because she had met someone else. And now she was back. The daughter of Emma's boss. Brilliant.

The blonde cast an eye over the woman she hadn't seen in over a year. Lily looked a little thinner than she had been but her long dark hair was still in the braid she always wore down her back. Her skin was tanned and Emma remembered Mal mentioning a holiday to Florida. Presumably Lily still lived in the area then. Overall, the brunette had changed very little. Emma wondered what changes the other woman saw in her.

"Do you work here?" Lily asked when several awkward seconds had passed and it became apparent Emma wasn't going to say anything.

"Yes," Emma replied. "I … shit."

She glanced over her shoulder towards the corridor that led to Mal's office, ignoring the little gasp from Felix at the sound of the curse word. Was this it? Was this the thing which was going to lose Emma her job? She had thought it was all too good to be true. She had known something was going to come along and destroy her life. She just hadn't expected it to be Lily.

"I have to go," Emma said suddenly. "Bye Felix. Ashley, can you let Mal know I said have a good trip?"

The confused blonde mother nodded but said nothing. Emma walked quickly past Lily without looking at her and out into the twilight. She glanced up and down the street and rubbed her hands over her face, trying to focus. Home. That was where Emma needed to be. Setting off towards the subway, Emma's mind went into overdrive.

How had this happened? How had Lily ended up being Mal's daughter? What would Mal do when she found out? Would she fire Emma? And what was she going to tell Regina?

Emma was so wrapped up in her imploding life that she didn't hear the footsteps hurrying up the street behind her.

"Emma, wait!"

She froze. She didn't want to. She wanted to walk faster. She wanted to run but her legs wouldn't let her. She didn't want to speak to Lily, not again. Not here. She didn't want to speak to the woman who had broken her heart. She closed her eyes.

"Emma, I'm sorry."

When she opened her eyes, Emma looked for the first time into the familiar brown eyes of her ex. Lily was standing in front of her, a slightly pained look on her face. She tried to smile when Emma's green eyes met her own but she couldn't.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I'm so sorry, Emma. For everything."

"Forget it," Emma muttered. "I have to get home."

She went to move past Lily but the brunette held her hand out. Emma stopped at once. She didn't want to touch Lily. She didn't want Lily to touch her. She stepped back and folded her arms.

"What?"

"Please hear me out," Lily pleaded. "Just give me ten minutes, that's all I ask."

Emma cast around for an excuse but she didn't like lying. In fact she was bad at it. "I'm going to be late. I need to get going." And it was true. Regina had become accustomed to her returning home at about eight thirty. Much later than eight forty-five and she began to worry.

"Five minutes then," Lily bargained. "Please, Emma. There are some things I need to say to you."

Lily had always been stubborn. Emma hesitated before nodding her head towards a cafe on the far side of the road. Lily followed her across the quiet street and they entered the almost empty establishment in silence. Emma sat down and Lily ordered them two teas before joining. Emma stared out of the window until Lily's gentle tone forced her to look back at her ex.

"I'm sorry I left the way I did," she began. "I'm sorry I took your things. And I'm really sorry I cheated on you. I didn't mean to. It just … happened. We fell in love before we'd even realised and it was stupid and crazy and I never meant to hurt you. But I know I did and for that I will always be sorry."

"Who was she?" Emma asked. She had always wondered, never been sure who exactly Lily had left her for. She'd had several suspicions, but nothing concrete.

"Jenny, from my work," Lily said. "I think you met her once at the Christmas party."

Emma nodded mutely. She knew who Jenny was; tall, blonde, athletic. She had been high on the list of possible home-wreckers. Clearly Lily had a type. Looking at her brunette ex with deep brown eyes, Emma noted she did too.

"You still together?" she asked, forcing her mind away from that realisation.

"We are," Lily nodded just as the cups of tea arrived at their table.

Emma didn't know if that was better or worse. She stared out of the window, unable to look any more into the face which was both incredibly familiar and a distant memory.

"I'm glad you got a good job," Lily said. "When I found out you'd skipped town I was worried."

"I'm doing just fine," Emma spat, her voice angry at the insinuation that her life might not have turned out well. And Lily had no right to be worried about her, not when she was the one who had triggered the blonde's downward spiral.

"Why did you leave?"

Despite herself, Emma stared at her ex incredulously. "Are you serious? Why did I leave? Why the fuck would I have stayed?" she hissed, keeping her voice low so as not to attract attention from the few other customers in the cafe. "You left me with nothing. Nothing. You screwed me over and abandoned me to our crummy, empty little apartment without a word. Why would I have stayed there? What, you thought I'd hang around until you rocked up again? I wanted to be as far away from you as I could be. I still want that," she added.

Lily at least had the good grace to look guilty. She knew Emma was entitled to her anger but also she wanted the blonde to understand what had happened. At least, she had to try to make her understand.

"It was a mistake," Lily offered.

"What? Leaving me or stealing all of my stuff?" Emma sneered.

"That wasn't my idea," Lily defended.

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked, exasperated and really wanting the conversation to end. She wanted to get home. She needed to get home. And by home, she meant Regina.

"It was Jenny's," Lily said. "She was the one who told me to take all your stuff. All our stuff."

"Why?" Emma frowned, wracking her brains to see if there was a distant memory of her and Jenny which could possibly explain why the woman would want to screw her over so badly. She couldn't think of anything.

"She said it was mine because I'd paid for it," Lily shrugged. "She said that since I was the one supporting us, I had a right to take it when I left."

"What?" Emma asked. "That's bullshit. I was working too. I paid my half of the rent, didn't I? I paid for our food and bought my own clothes."

"I didn't take your clothes," Lily pointed out quickly.

"Oh yes, I forgot. Because those few t-shirt and denim shorts really did me the world of good when I -."

She stopped. She didn't want to tell Lily what had happened next. She didn't want her ex girlfriend to know how her life had gone steadily downhill from that day until Emma had resorted to living on the street, selling her own body and being raped as a result of that work. Several times. Lily didn't need to know that. Emma might have been angry but she didn't want to put that burden on Lily. No one deserved that.

"When you what?" Lily asked, reading the flicker of pain on Emma's face with surprising accuracy given how much time they'd been apart. "Emma, what happened?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter," Emma said shortly. "But what does matter is what you're going to say to Mal. Are you going to tell her what happened between us? The truth, I mean, not whatever story you told yourself so you can sleep at night."

"She knows about you," Lily said. "I mean, I suppose she doesn't know it's actually you but she knew about you when we were together. She also knew I'd left you. For Jenny. She gave me such shit about it too. My dad ran off with another woman and she thought I was going to become just like him."

"You have," Emma pointed out. "But I really don't care about that now, Lil." The old nickname tripped off her tongue without conscious thought. She swallowed and continued. "I care about my job. I have a good life here and I enjoy working at the youth centre. Are you going to screw that up for me?"

"What? No!" Lily exclaimed. "Why would you think that?"

"You fucked me over in Florida," Emma shrugged. "What's to say you won't do it again here. I don't trust you any more, Lily. I can't trust any more."

Lily looked guilty again. She knew what infidelity did to a person. She had seen her mother's failed attempts at new relationships as she grew up. She hadn't meant to do that to Emma. But she hadn't meant to fall in love with Jenny either.

"So you want me to lie to my mother about knowing you?" Lily asked. "Because I will if you want me to, Emma. I don't want to hurt you again."

Emma shook her head. "No, that's not what I mean. She'll probably be waiting to ask you what's going on when you go back. Felix or Ashley will have told her how I practically ran out of there when you arrived. She's smart. She'll know we have history. She might even have worked that I'm that Emma."

"So what do you want?" Lily asked.

"I want to keep my job," Emma said simply. "I don't want you to say anything bad about me to your mother. I don't want her to look at me any differently now she knows about us. Can you … can you do that for me?"

"Of course," Lily said at once. "Of course, I'll do that. But you should also know my mother wouldn't have fired you for a messy relationship which ended over a year ago, Emma. If she's employing you, it's because you're good at your job and not what happens outside the youth centre. It's a place for second chances, after all."

"I just can't lose this gig," Emma sighed. "I love working here and it would devastate me if I was asked to leave."

"That won't happen," Lily said solemnly. "I promise."

Emma raised an eyebrow. Lily's promises meant very little to her any more. The brunette seemed to recognise the sceptical look and shrugged with a half smile.

"I've got to get home," Emma said, standing up and slinging her handbag over her shoulder.

"How is home?" Lily asked. "I mean … are you happy? Is everything good in your life?"

Emma glanced back with her hand on the door. "Yeah," she replied. "Everything's great."

Regina wasn't worried. Not yet. It was only twenty-five minutes after Emma usually got home and that probably just meant she had got stuck at work or there was a delay on the subway and she had forgotten to text her to let her know. She didn't want to be one of those girlfriends who had to know where their partner was every second of every day. And she wasn't, for the most part. But it was Emma. Emma, walking to and from the subway along dark New York streets. Ok, not dark. But it was night and Emma had been a victim in the past. She knew she was being paranoid. She knew she was projecting her own fears onto the situation. Emma hadn't ever once mentioned that she was scared or felt vulnerable, and the second she did, Regina would have insisted Graham chauffeur the blonde every day to ensure she was safe.

Regina jumped when the penthouse door finally clicked open. She forced herself to remain where she was on the couch, her eyes glued to a page in her book she had been staring at for over ten minutes, not reading a word. She heard Emma dump her handbag unceremoniously on the hallway table and shuffle through into the kitchen. There was the opening and closing of the microwave door and then the clink of crockery and cutlery. Minutes later, there was a ping and the sound of scraping metal against china. Regina put her bookmark in place and turned towards the doorway just as Emma walked in.

"Good evening, my love," she said, craning up to kiss Emma as the blonde passed her and sat down heavily on the far end of the couch, a plate of stew and potatoes balanced on her lap. "How was work?"

"Fine," Emma said through a mouthful of food. "I accepted the full-time position. Oh and Felix and Mathew made me these two super cute cards thanking me for bringing them together as friends. They're in my handbag, I'll show you later."

"They sound adorable," Regina commented, her hand fidgeting in her lap. She didn't want to ask the question reverberating in her head. She returned to her book, distracting herself

"Sorry I'm late," Emma offered after she'd eaten half of her food.

"Oh are you?" Regina said, feigning surprise as she looked up. "I hadn't noticed."

Emma cast the woman a sideways look and raised her eyebrow. "Really? Come on, Regina. I know you worry about me. Unnecessarily I might add but worry you do."

Regina ducked her head, avoiding Emma's gaze. She hadn't realised it was so obvious.

"So … may I ask why you're a little delayed today?"

Emma nodded and put her plate of half-eaten food on the table. Regina looked alarmed and put her book beside the dish. It must be serious if Emma Swan had stopped eating. In unison, the two women turned to each other on the couch, legs crossed beneath their bodies.

"Ok, so the first thing I'm going to say is you can't freak out."

"Well now that's exactly what I'm doing!" Regina protested, throwing her arms up in the air in frustration. "Emma! What happened?"

"Nothing," Emma said quickly. "Ok, not nothing. But it will be nothing. I promise."

"Emma," Regina said, her voice stern. The blonde was stalling and she wanted, needed, to know what was going on.

"I ran into Lily."

There was a deafening silence. She didn't need to say the woman's full name for Regina to know exactly who Emma was talking about. The older woman could hear the blood pounding in her ears as she stared open-mouthed at the blonde. Emma was looking back at her, waiting for the news to sink in before she continued.

"So it turns out Lily is Mal's daughter." Regina's mouth opened, if possible, even wider. "She'd taken her father's surname which is why I never made the connection. Anyway, she is in town visiting and dropped by the youth centre this evening to meet Mal. I … well, I left almost as soon as I saw her but she followed me and persuaded me to allow her to talk."

Regina's fingernails were digging into the palms of her balled up fists. Lily was back in town? Lily had seen Emma? Lily had spoken to Emma? Lily, the woman who had broken Emma's heart and left her to end up on the streets without a backwards glance. Regina felt her face burning with rage. Emma, of course, noticed.

"It's ok," Emma said at once, reaching out to cover one of Regina's fists with her own hand. "I still hate her. She still fucked me over. I will never forgive her for what she did to me."

"Then why did you talk to her?" Regina asked, her voice low and dangerous.

Emma sighed. "Because she begged me to. And a part of me wanted to know why. I've always wondered what went wrong, why she did it. She was offering me answers and I was curious. I'm sorry I didn't text you to say I was going to be late but I was just so … confused. I didn't mean to worry you, I just … needed some time to think."

"Think about what?" Regina asked.

"What she said," Emma replied. "What she did to me last year. I walked around the block a few times before coming up here. I needed to clear my head before I came in here and told you."

"You planned to tell me?"

"Of course," Emma replied at once. "I tell you everything, Regina."

Regina nodded her head curtly at the reassurance. "Ok, so what did she say."

"Sorry. A lot," Emma began. "Not that she's forgiven of course. She said that taking my things had been Jenny's idea. Jenny is her colleague she left me for, by the way. Apparently the woman who broke us up also thought Lily should destroy the rest of my life too. Something about Lily having paid for the things and therefore being entitled to them. God knows why she'd have wanted reminders from the life we had shared in her new apartment but anyway, that was that. And she said she never meant to fall in love. Or out of love with me, I suppose. It just happened, I believe is how she phrased it."

Emma brushed angrily at a tear which had leaked out of her eye. She hadn't wanted to cry. She hadn't wanted Regina to see how much Lily's reappearance had affected her. The brunette said nothing as she leant forward and pulled Emma into a tight hug. Emma buried her face into the crook of her neck and sobbed. She let everything out. Everything she had been feeling towards Lily ever since that fateful day the previous May. The anger, the betrayal, the sadness, the heartbreak, the love. Because she had loved Lily. In fact, Lily had been the first person she had ever loved, aside from her son. But that love had been lost, destroyed. And so she cried for it, in the arms of the woman who now held her heart. The woman who loved her so fiercely Emma felt consumed by it in the most powerful, wonderful, intoxicating way.

As last, she pulled back. Regina gently wiped her tear-streaked face and dabbed her own wet eyes with a tissue. They settled back against the couch, still facing each other.

"She's not going to say anything back to Mal about me," Emma sniffled. "I asked her not to."

"What do you mean?" Regina frowned.

"I thought she might have, I don't know, lied to Mal about us. Made it seem like the break up was my fault somehow and get me fired. But she promised me she wouldn't."

"Why would she have every done that?" Regina asked, a bite in her tone. "Why would she want to hurt you any more than she already has?"

"I don't know," Emma shrugged. "It was just the first thing which popped into my head when I saw her. Before I even thought of my anger towards her or the pain I felt at seeing her again, I worried about my job and whether or not I might be about to lose it. Is that crazy?"

Regina shook her head. "No, it's not crazy. It just shows that you care far more about your job than you do about the woman who walked out of your life over a year ago. It shows you've moved on, Emma. Despite all this sadness you're feeling right now, your job matters more to you now than an old flame."

"I do love my job," Emma said. "And I don't want to lose it. I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I thought Lily might have been that shoe."

"She's not that malicious, is she?" Regina asked. Lily might have done some terrible things to Emma in the past but now they were discussing sabotage. Regina thought that seemed too evil, even for the woman who had devastated her girlfriend the previous year.

"No," Emma said. "No, she's not. It was just me jumping to the worst possible conclusion like I always do. When your life rarely goes to plan, it's hard not to."

"Well I'd say your life is going pretty much to plan now," Regina commented. "Aside from the surprise visit from your ex girlfriend. You have an amazing, full-time job. You're in a stable, loving relationship." She placed a firm kiss to Emma's lips before continuing. "You have Henry who adores you. And you have a home."

"I do," Emma nodded with a smile. "All that's left is for me to find my son and make sure that, wherever he is, he's happy too."

Regina bit her lip. Emma frowned at the sight of pearly white teeth worrying the plump lower lip. Usually she would want to reach over and capture that lip between her own. But the look in Regina's eyes told her now wasn't the time.

"What?" she asked. She didn't think she could take much more emotional talk that day but she could tell Regina had something important to say to her. Something about a little lost boy.

"Ok, now it's your turn to promise not to get mad at me."

"Regina," Emma warned, sitting up straighter. "Tell me what's going on."

"I've been looking for your son."

A/N: I just love the cliffhangers!