A/N: I'm writing with a hangover for the first time in 9 months. Evidently 'retiring' from the partying scene when I moved to the countryside and then heading out as if no time had passed leaves me … yeah, if this isn't coherent, that's why.

Trigger warning for discussion of an eating disorder. Which is a trigger that will occur be present from now on in pretty much every chapter throughout the rest of this fic.

"Regina."

Brown eyes took in the woman before her; blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders, navy blue silk shirt clinging to the slender frame and perfectly fitting slacks making long legs seem impossibly longer. An energetic, drunken dancer bumped into Regina, jolting her focus and she snapped her eyes back up to the quizzical face before her.

"What are you doing here?" Regina asked.

An eyebrow rose. "Um, I'm here with Ruby and Belle," Emma said, gesturing to the two brunettes stood beside her, both watching the interaction with interest.

"Oh," Regina said. "I'm with Kat." She pointed to her friend who was stood by the door, frowning back at the little group which was holding up their exit. "We're just leaving."

"Oh." Emma couldn't stop the hint of disappointment in her voice but she hoped the loud music covered the escaped emotion.

"It was nice to see you again," Regina said after a pause.

Shooting the blonde a final, shy smile, she moved towards Kathryn who was now holding the door open for her and looking a little impatient.

"Wait." At the shout, Regina turned at once. "Stay for a drink?" Emma asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Regina, the Uber is here," Kathryn said, waving her phone at her friend as proof of this statement. "Come on."

"We have an Uber," Regina said unnecessarily.

"I can call you another one later," Emma offered. "One drink. Please. I … I want to talk to you. Our conversation yesterday, I don't think it was finished, do you?"

Regina tensed. No, she didn't think the conversation was finished either but she wasn't sure she wanted it to be continued either. If they did keep talking, what would happen? What would she say? What would Emma say? What might she reveal?

"Regina," Kathryn repeated. "Are you coming?"

The brunette turned to her friend who was now stood with her arms folded. When Kathryn decided the night was over, there was no convincing her otherwise.

"Go ahead without me," Regina said. "I'll make my own way home later."

Kathryn's eyes slid past her friend and landed squarely on the mysterious blonde, behind whom two brunettes were whispering in a conspiratorial manner.

"Are you sure?"

"Quite sure," Regina said. "I'll call you tomorrow."

Kathryn pursed her lips but said nothing. "Text me when you get home, ok?"

Nodding her agreement, Regina leaned forwards and kissed Kathryn on the cheek. With a final glance at the brunette, Kathryn left the bar. Regina waited until the door was closed before she turned back to Emma.

"So," the blonde said, hands now stuffed into the pockets of her slacks, "what are you drinking?"

"Apple martini, please," Regina replied.

"Coming right up," Emma said. "Do you wanna grab a booth?"

Regina nodded and pointed to the one she and Kathryn had just vacated which was still empty. Emma followed her line of sight and promised to meet the older woman there as soon as she had their drinks. Parting ways, Regina weaved her way back through the heaving crowd while Emma, Ruby and Belle fought their way through to the bar. As soon as they got there, both brunettes rounded on the blonde.

"What was that about?" Ruby asked.

"Nothing," Emma shrugged, leaning on the bar and waving to a server to get their attention.

"That wasn't nothing," Belle remarked. "That was something."

"Well, you did say you wanted your itch scratched," Ruby joked. "I guess you're not wasting any time."

"Regina isn't going to scratch my itch," Emma scowled. "She's straight."

Ruby and Belle both laughed. "Yeah right. Your gaydar is broken, Em. Did you see the way she was checking you out?" Ruby exclaimed.

"She wasn't," Emma scoffed.

"She called you Emma," Ruby went on. "And you called her Regina."

"Yeah, cos that's her name."

"Her name was 'Ms Mills' two nights ago," Ruby reminded her. "What happened when you went to her office yesterday? I thought you were just dropping off that stupid toy car."

"I did," Emma said. "And nothing happened. We just got chatting."

"About …?" Belle pushed.

"About none of your business," Emma said just as a server appeared in front of them and she placed their order.

The two friends continued to question and tease Emma as they waited for their drinks. The tequila shots arrived first and the trio went through the motions as usual. It was a tradition to start their nights with a strong shot and Emma was glad; she got the feeling she was going to need it. The licked salt was washed from her tongue with the burn of the shot before she bit into the lime and the acidic juice soothed away the delicious pain. As soon as she had paid for the round, Emma picked up Regina's cocktail and her own beer and pushed past the two smirking friends and made her way, slowly, across the packed bar.

"Sorry about the wait," Emma said as she placed Regina's drink down on the table and slid into the booth opposite the brunette.

Regina smiled and tucked her cell away. She had been texting Ella and letting her know she'd be back later than expected. She was glad she had asked the woman and her daughter to stay the night so they wouldn't have to drive back to their house whenever Regina eventually did get home.

"No problem," Regina said, taking a sip of her cocktail. "It's busy tonight."

"It's their first night and everyone wants to check out a new bar," Emma explained. "Looks like this business is going to be a hit."

"Hopefully." At Emma's frown, Regina elaborated. "My sister owns this place. I was running her marketing campaign and by the number of people packed into this place, the Facebook ads did their job."

"I'll say," Emma grinned. "You're obviously very good at what you do."

"So are you," Regina said. She had thought back to the dishes she had enjoyed at the restaurant a number of times over the past two days. And those thoughts had not only been focused solely on the food. She was not, however, at the point where she was able to acknowledge those other musings.

"Thanks," Emma said, blushing. It didn't matter how many times people told her she was a good chef, the blonde was always going to doubt her own abilities. It was just in her nature. "Um, where's Henry?"

"At home with a sitter," Regina said. "I promised Zelena I'd come. It's not really my scene to be honest but I'm being the supportive little sister."

"What is your scene?"

The older woman wrinkled her nose. "Somewhere quieter so I can actually hear what my companion is saying."

The song had changed and the pulsing bass was making it hard for Regina to understand Emma across the wide polished table which separated them. Without hesitation, the younger woman slid herself around the u-shaped booth so she was sat at a right angle to the brunette.

"Better?" Emma asked, leaning even closer.

Breath caught in Regina's throat. "Y-yes." For something to do and an excuse to break the piercing eye contact, she reached for her cocktail and took a generous sip. The alcohol was already warming her veins and she knew she should slow down. She wasn't used to drinking these days and sensed that whatever was occurring between herself and the blonde could become dangerous if all her inhibitions were dulled by alcohol.

"So," Emma said after she had taken several gulps of her own drink, "how's Henry?"

Jumping right in, are we? Regina mused. She should have known the blonde had no tact when it came to sensitive subjects. That said, the brunette reminded herself, she was the one who had agreed to stay so they could continue their conversation. She still wasn't sure what had made her say yes. She could be in an Uber right at that moment, heading back to her son rather than being sat beside the blonde with those striking green eyes.

"He's good, thank you," Regina said. "We went to the park today. He loves playing soccer."

"Who's we?" Emma asked.

"Me and Henry."

"No one else?"

"There were other people in the park," Regina said, "but no, it was just the two of us."

Subtlety wasn't Emma's strong point. And yet, she still didn't know for sure if Regina was single. But she wasn't about to come out and ask her directly. After all, Emma reminded herself, the woman had a son so she must be straight. Or she went through IVF, her brain supplied helpfully. Green orbs travelled to the Regina's left hand, fingers toying with the stem of her glass. No ring. But it is 2018, the blonde scolded herself. Just because she wasn't wearing a ring, didn't mean Regina wasn't married or in a committed relationship.

"He ate some more capsicum at dinner last night," Regina said after a short pause, interrupting Emma's silent detective work.

"Yeah? Good," Emma grinned.

Regina nodded slowly. "Yeah, it is good." She stopped and turned away from her drinking companion and looked out over the busy bar. It was good that Henry was eating a vegetable. But …

"But?"

Was Emma a mind reader? Regina thought to herself as she returned her gaze to the blonde. "But," she nodded. She didn't know what the end of that sentence was. All she knew was that there was a 'but' when it came to her son's eating habits.

"Did you think any more about what I said?"

"Which part?" Regina asked. She wasn't about to tell Emma that she had thought of very little but what the two of them had discussed the day before.

"About the child psychologist," Emma said.

Regina shrugged. "I guess. I just don't think we're there yet. He's only six."

"You know, most people make the mistake of thinking eating disorders are something which affect teenage girls and no one else," Emma began.

At the term, the first verbalisation of Regina's deepest, darkest fear, the brunette whipped her head around and stared pointedly out over the dance floor again, willing the tears which had sprung, unbidden, not to fall.

"Anyone at any age can suffer from an eating disorder, Regina," the blonde pushed on, knowing it was important for the brunette to hear the uncomfortable truth. "I know I only saw Henry eating one meal but from what you told me, this isn't just a fussy kid. He has issues with food and I think you need to get him some professional help."

"What would you know about my son?" Regina snarled, whirling around and glaring at the blonde.

Emma could almost see the defensive wall being reconstructed as the woman before her shut down, trying desperately to protect herself from the truth. But it was too late. And Emma wasn't going to back down now; not when she knew she was close to getting Regina to admit what was really going on with her son.

"I don't know Henry," she agreed. "But I do know eating disorders."

"Why? Because you're a chef?"

"No," Emma said. "Because I was anorexic."

"What do you think they're talking about?" Ruby asked Belle.

The couple were leaning against a table, sipping their drinks and observing their friend. They had been watching since the blonde had stalked off, trying to work out what was going on between the two women. Ruby knew full well that Emma was attracted to Regina. Anyone with a heartbeat would be, to be fair. But Ruby had been friends with Emma long enough to recognise when the blonde was infatuated.

"I don't know," Belle replied. "But I don't think it's going well, do you? She looks mad."

"Emma must have said something stupid," Ruby laughed as she watched the brunette spin back towards their friend. "Ooh yeah, she looks super mad now."

They could only see the back of Regina's head from where they stood but it didn't look like the conversation was going according to plan. Emma was usually good at picking up women. She was charming, beautiful and had a certain something which had proved very popular whenever she was out. Tonight, however, Emma's natural charisma didn't seem to be working.

"Um, are they just staring at each other," Belle frowned as she realised that Emma hadn't said anything and it didn't look like Regina was talking either.

Ruby leaned further over to try and get a better angle. "I think so. Is that weird?"

"Yep," Belle nodded. "Come on, let's dance. We can leave Emma to fail at pulling a woman way too hot for her."

"She is hot," Ruby agreed before cowering under Belle's glare. "But not at hot as you."

Leaving their now empty glasses on the table, Ruby laced her fingers with Belle's and tugged her girlfriend onto the dance floor. The shorter woman melted into Ruby's tight embrace as soon as slender arms encircled her frame and soon the two of them were grinding on one another, lost to the rhythm of the music.

"I … I'm sorry," Regina said eventually. "I didn't mean to … I wasn't … I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Emma assured her. "I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. I just need you to understand that when I say I know what you're going through, it's true. I really do."

"Henry's not … he hasn't got … I mean, he isn't -"

"No," Emma agreed. "From what I've seen, I don't think he is anorexic. Yet. But he has issues with his food. Control issues. The way he interacts with his food and what you've told me about him, they're textbook signs of anorexia."

"Were you like that?"

"I was worse," Emma said. "Much worse. Which is why I think Henry can be helped. If you go to see someone now, before it gets too bad, you can stop it from progressing. You can stop him from hurting himself."

"Hurting himself? Like self-harming?"

"Anorexia is a form of self-harm," Emma said. "You're punishing your body. You're depriving your body of the nutrition it needs to be healthy and strong. Henry's just a kid so it's not a conscious decision but that is what he's doing."

"You mean what I'm doing."

Emma frowned. "What? No. That's not what I mean at all."

"I'm his mother," Regina snapped. "Shouldn't I be making him eat healthy food?"

"It doesn't work like that," Emma said. "This isn't your fault. You can't force someone with an eating disorder to do anything. Pushing food on them has the exact opposite effect. Believe me, I should know."

A dark look took over Emma's face for a moment before she schooled her features into a smile. But Regina had seen. It was that same, brief flash of powerful emotion she had spotted when she sniped at Emma about not being a mother in the restaurant the night they had met. Two nights before. For some reason, to Regina, it felt like a lifetime ago.

"So what do I do?" she asked at last, deflating and leaning back into the couch.

"See a specialist," Emma said. "The sooner Henry gets help, the better."

"Is that how you recovered?"

"Yes," Emma replied honestly. "I had an amazing therapist. She saved my life. Or perhaps she taught me the value of my own life and helped me to save myself."

"You were that sick?"

Emma nodded. "But I'm fine now. I mean, I guess I'll always be recovering but I don't have any harmful habits when it comes to eating now."

"And you're a chef," Regina said, realising that it seemed like an odd choice of profession for someone with an eating disorder. "You work with food."

"Yes, it was a decision I made after I got better," Emma said. "Part of my healing process involved learning about nutrition and all of the different vitamins in food which our bodies need. I suppose I may have gone from one extreme to another but perhaps that's just how I work; I need a focus, a reason. For years I controlled how much I put into my body by limiting my intake as much as possible. Now, I control exactly how much nutrition I get. All of my meals are perfectly balanced to make sure I get what my body needs. To people who don't know, it looks like I've got OCD but I think it's the remnants of my illness. I'm just lucky that I channelled that focus into a healthier format."

"Lucky?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, I'm lucky. I survived. Not everyone does."

A tear spilled and slid down Regina's cheek. Without thinking, Emma leaned forwards and wiped it away with the pad of her thumb. Brown eyes locked on green as Regina's olive skin seared white hot where the blonde had touched her.

"I … I have to go," Regina said, sliding away from Emma and standing up.

"Wait, I told your friend I'd get you an Uber," Emma said, following Regina who had already turned and begun to make her way across the still-packed bar.

"I can get my own," Regina called over her shoulder.

Emma ignored her and stayed right on Regina's heels. The brunette didn't look back, however, and wrenched the door open, all but throwing herself out into the cool night air. She took a deep breath as soon as she was outside; as if the bar had been suffocating her.

"Regina, wait."

She froze, cell in her hand.

"Regina," Emma said again, circling the older woman. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you or cross a line or whatever just happened to make you freak out."

"I'm not freaked out," Regina lied. "I'm tired and I want to go home to my son."

"Let me get you that Uber," Emma said.

Regina shook her head. "Thank you but no. I can get my own." She gestured to her cell which was already open on the app.

"I'll wait with you until it's here," Emma offered as Regina set about arranging a ride.

"There's no need," Regina said. "Look, they're two minutes away."

Emma ignored her and folded her arms. Regina scowled. The woman was stubborn. With her phone in her hand, she too folded her arms and moved towards the edge of the sidewalk to wait for her ride. After a few moments, Emma moved to stand next to her.

"Henry is going to be fine," Emma said into the quiet of the night, not looking at Regina.

"You don't know that," came the choked response.

"I don't," Emma admitted, "but I have faith in him and in you. It's not going to be easy but Henry is young and I don't think he's anywhere near beyond help yet."

"Beyond help?"

Regina turned to look at Emma once more. The blonde offered a sad smile and nodded. "Some people get to a point from which there in no return. Either they don't want to get better or the damage is already done."

"Damage?"

Another nod. "Make an appointment for Henry. The sooner the better."

"Thank you," Regina said, just as her cell started to vibrate and a blue Prius pulled up to the curb.

"You're welcome. I'm just glad I could help. Have I helped?" she added, now questioning her own sense of self-importance.

"You have," Regina nodded. "You voiced something no one else has dared say. You're right that I didn't think it could be anything serious because he's only six. I kept telling myself he would grow out of it. Perhaps, underneath everything, I knew what was going on but I wasn't ready to face it."

"It's hard," Emma said. "I wish someone had gotten me help sooner than they did."

The Prius driver beeped the horn, interrupting the two women. Regina held up her hand to the car, signalling for them to wait a moment.

"I need to go," Regina said, unnecessarily.

"Ok."

Still neither of them moved. And then Regina handed her cell over. Emma frowned in confusion but took it anyway. "Can I have your number?" Regina asked, suddenly shy. "You know, in case I have any questions about Henry."

"Oh, sure," Emma said, typing her digits into the device and handing it back.

Regina saved the number and pocketed her cell. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Emma smiled. "If I can help in any way, please, reach out."

The Prius beeped again. Regina shot Emma a final, tentative smile and walked over to the car and its impatient driver.

"Bye, I guess," she said.

"Bye for now," Emma offered. It wasn't the end, that way. There was hope that the two of them would see each other again. Emma found herself yearning for that day to come sooner rather than later.

"Bye for now," Regina repeated, the corners of her mouth raising slightly with something which looked almost like hope.