A/N: a little bit of angsty drama for your Wednesday pleasure.

Something was wrong. She could feel it. There was something in the blonde's tone during their phone call which told her it wasn't just about her smarmy soon-to-be-ex boss and their new business venture. Whatever Killian had said upset Emma was deeper than that. And, Regina suspected, involved their relationship.

The moment Regina's final meeting finished, she was packing up her purse and heading out of the office. Graham watched her go, eyebrows furrowed as he realised his boss was leaving half an hour earlier than she usually did. The taut look on the brunette's face told him she was clearly worried about something. He didn't ask though. While Regina was a great employer, she preferred to keep things professional at work and he had learned not to pry into her personal life.

Regina drove as quickly as she dared back to her house. She had always been a careful driver; even more so after Emma's accident. But she wanted to get home. She wanted to see Emma. Something was wrong; she knew it. Parking neatly as always, Regina shot a glare at Emma's bike which was still parked in the street. The blonde's mechanic was yet to pick up the machine and now it served as a daily reminder to both women of what they had been through.

The house was quiet when she stepped through the door. She placed her purse and keys on the hallway table and listened to try and identify where Emma and Henry were. When no sound reached her, she began to make her way through the house, stopping off to peer around every door. The living room was as tidy as she had left it that morning, with the addition of Emma's kindle which had moved from the bedside table to the coffee table. The kitchen was deserted, as was the back garden which she scanned through the bay windows.

Henry's room and the master bedroom were also empty. Regina frowned and returned to the hall to call Emma. Her cell rang and rang but never connected. She looked at the clock. It was almost five. Henry's school finished at three thirty. Trying Emma again, Regina scanned the hallway for clues. Instantly, her eyes landed on the staircase. The call ended without being picked up. Regina left her cell on the table and made her way, slowly, to the base of the stairs.

Were they up there? Emma had never mentioned the upper floor of the house. But she knew the blonde was curious by nature so she assumed at one point or another she would have ventured upwards when the house was otherwise empty. Henry had followed Regina up when Mary Margaret and David had visited but as far as she knew, he never went up there without her. Her foot paused on the bottom step, ears straining to hear something which would tell them the two people she was searching for were up there. Nothing.

Her mother had told her it was rude to shout indoors but she wanted to check before she forced herself to climb upwards.

"Emma?"

Nothing.

"Henry?"

The silence felt heavy. Regina could hear her own heartbeat pounding in her chest. Where were they? And what had upset Emma earlier? She needed answers. She began to climb.

The landing was dark. A few stray paintings which Regina was less fond of and which didn't fit on the walls downstairs hung here but otherwise the place was bare. Taking a deep breath, she began her search. Door after door opened onto empty rooms. She paused for a moment in the doorway of what had been Henry's nursery; the wallpaper now slightly faded. Her fingers traced over the pencil lines on the door frame where she and Mal had marked Henry's height. One year, two years, three years, four years. The marks from his fifth and sixth birthday continued the tradition downstairs, the first four milestones conspicuously absent.

The final room Regina checked was the old master bedroom. She hadn't been inside for years; not since she had boxed up all of Mal's clothes and donated them to a local charity. The large wardrobe and bed stood alone in the room, mattress stripped and dust mites floating in the shaft of sunlight which streamed from the large west facing window. Clearly Regina's cleaner wasn't always doing her due diligence. A quick scan told her that neither Emma nor Henry were inside. She was just closing the door and wondering where on earth they could be when she heard voices downstairs.

Spinning on the spot, Regina hurried down as fast as she could, appearing in the hallway in front of two shocked faces who were stood by the front door.

"Mom!" Henry grinned, running up and hugging the woman who was now standing stock still at the base of the staircase.

"Henry, where have you been?" Regina asked, her arms wrapping around her son's body.

"Me and Emma went to the park. And then the shops. We bought vegetables for dinner and some chicken, didn't we, Emma?" Henry said, turning towards the blonde who was looking guilty and had clearly realised that Regina had been searching for them.

"Yeah, we took a little longer than usual. And you're home early. Sorry, I should have told you so you didn't worry."

Regina could feel her heartbeat return to normal and, with Henry still in her arms, she shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'm sorry. I should have assumed you were running errands. There was no reason for me to think the worst."

The worst? What was the worst? Both Emma and Regina had the same thought and neither woman had the answer. Regina had been so consumed with finding her missing family members that she hadn't even stopped to contemplate what she thought might have happened to them.

"Henry, do you want to help us cook dinner?" Regina asked, knowing she and Emma needed to talk but that it wasn't going to happen until her son was in bed.

"Yeah," Henry enthused, untangling himself from his mother and making his way over to Emma had the shopping in a rucksack.

The blonde shot what she hoped was a reassuring smile at Regina before following the small boy into the kitchen. As soon as they were out of sight, Regina sagged against the bannister, her eyes closed. It was ok, she told herself. Henry and Emma were safe. They were home. She took a steadying breath and straightened herself before following the duo into the kitchen and helping them to prepare their dinner.

As soon as the door to Henry's bedroom was pulled almost shut that night, Regina led Emma through to the living room where the remainder of a bottle of wine was waiting for them.

"I'm sorry you worried," Emma said before Regina could even begin to formulate a sentence. "I should have texted you to let you know we were going to be back later than usual."

"I was home early," Regina pointed out. "But yes, in the future, perhaps you should let me know. I called you, by the way. You didn't answer."

Emma patted her jeans pocket before frowning. "I think my cell is in the rucksack. It's on vibrate. I guess I didn't hear or feel it; sorry."

"It's ok," Regina sighed. "I mean, it wasn't like I was worried that Henry wasn't safe with you. I do trust you to take care of him."

"But you were worried," Emma clarified.

Regina nodded before taking a generous gulp of her wine. "Yeah, I was worried."

"The phone call."

It wasn't a question. Emma knew her abrupt call to Regina hadn't been well thought through but she had wanted to relay Killian's message. The hot-headed, distracted approach, however, may not have been the best.

"I called my lawyer. He's set up a meeting with Killian's lawyer tomorrow."

"Yeah. I guess you just bought a restaurant. Congratulations."

"We," Regina corrected gently. "We bought a restaurant, Emma."

Slender fingers twisted around the wine stem. Regina could tell she was already getting to the core of the issue. She reached out and covered the fidgeting digits with her own and waited until Emma's eyes met her own before she spoke again.

"Emma, what did Killian say to you?"

Green eyes darted away from the inquisitive yet concerned gaze. She could feel the blush rising in her cheeks. Now, sat beside Regina who was looking at her with such care and love and devotion, Emma felt foolish for reacting the way she did to Killian's comment.

"It's nothing," she whispered. "Forget it."

"It's not nothing, sweetheart," Regina soothed. "He upset you, didn't he? What did he say?"

Emma chewed her lip, the words caught in her throat. She didn't even want to voice them.

"He asked me how I got so lucky with you," she said at last. "He said I couldn't run HLS without you and that I was a kept woman."

The blonde shifted out of Regina's reach, standing up from the couch and walking over to the far side of the room. She stared out of the window into the rear garden. She wasn't looking at anything in particular. She just needed some space. Regina seemed to understand as the brunette made no attempt to follow the blonde.

"It's hard for me to believe, you know? That you're really with me. That we're really together. That you love me."

"I do love you." Regina couldn't help herself. She had to say something. It hurt to hear the words; to hear how Emma felt. How could the blonde doubt the feelings they shared?

"It's just new, I guess," Emma sighed, still with her back to Regina. "And I don't just mean the relationship. I've only been in one serious relationship before this and Elsa and I had a different dynamic. Of the two of us, I was the strong one, the protector. Elsa struggled with her mental health and was regularly depressed. I had to take care of her. She didn't really work so I paid for everything. I didn't mind, but we weren't living the high life. She stayed with me and Ruby most of the time and never paid rent or chipped in for groceries, that sort of thing. And then she got better. The doctors found some meds which worked and she started to get her life together which was amazing and I'm so happy for her. But she left; she decided she wanted to find her own way."

Regina was silent. Emma hadn't talked much about the mysterious Elsa before and the brunette had always wondered.

"I'm over her. It was hard but I get it. She's living in Florida now and she seems happy. I guess she needed to get away from this place and make a start fresh."

There was another pause. Emma was gathering her thoughts, trying to work out how to put her feelings into words.

"I've never been taken care of before," she said, as she finally turned around to look at Regina who was still sat on the couch. "Not when I was a kid. Not when I was with Elsa. You take care of me, Regina. Financially. After the accident. Killian's right, I am a kept woman." Regina opened her mouth to protest but a flash of something in Emma's eyes made her stop. "I don't need your money, Regina." Her voice was rising now. "I didn't ask you to buy HLS. You offered. I didn't ask you to buy us a house. You're the one that wants to move. You keep luring me in with these promises of the high life. You say I can be my own boss. You say we can have a home of our own. But it's not ours, it's yours. Your money; your restaurant. Your money; your house. What about me? What happens when we break up? What happens to me then? I'll have nothing; again."

"Emma, that's not going to happen!" Regina cried, jumping to her feet.

"Isn't it?" Emma shot back, louder still. "Relationships always end eventually."

"They don't have to," Regina said, moving closer to the blonde who was still on the far side of the room.

"So you're telling me you want to be together forever? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes!" Regina exclaimed. "Emma, you know that's what I want. I thought you wanted that too."

"It doesn't matter what I want. Nothing ever works out for me. I've told you that. And if I let you buy me a restaurant and we buy a house, then I'm just setting myself up for heartbreak along with a clusterfuck of hell in the future. What's the point? Shouldn't I just cut my losses now?"

Regina, who had been making her way slowly towards the distraught blonde, halted in her tracks.

"What does that mean?"

Green eyes met brown once more and something registered for the first time in Emma's brain. The words she was saying; the feelings, the deep, dark, twisted thoughts which always consumed her, filtered back through to her subconscious.

"Regina," the blonde breathed out.

"Do you … are you breaking up with me?"

"No," Emma gasped. "No, not at all. Why would you think that?"

The brunette was frowning now. "Because you just said you wanted to, what was it, 'cut your losses'. Is that me? Am I your loss?"

"I didn't mean that. I shouldn't have said that."

"What did you mean then?" Regina spat, the energy of the argument causing her emotions to escalate. "Because from where I'm standing it sounds like you're throwing everything I've given you back in my face. I'm trying to help you, Emma."

"I don't need your help," Emma shot back.

"Everyone needs help. You can't walk through life without letting people take care of you just the same as you can't always be the one taking care of other people."

"Yeah, well, I don't throw my money around to solve problems."

"What problems?"

"The restaurant? The house?"

"I thought you wanted to buy the restaurant? I thought we were going to do that together so that you can be your own boss, have your own business. I thought we'd talked about this."

"And the house?"

"Again, I thought we'd decided neither of us wanted to live in a house which I'd shared with my ex."

"And what happens when we break up? I will be left with nothing. It'll be your house, your restaurant. We've been together less than four months, Regina. It's … it's too soon."

Tears were running down the cheeks of both women by this point. Regina hung her head, trying to gather her thoughts. Emma drained the rest of her wine and placed the glass on a side table.

"Emma, I love you," Regina said quietly at last.

The blonde could hear a sadness that should never taint those precious words. She crossed the room at once, wrapping her arms around Regina's body and kissing the startled brunette.

"I know. And I love you too," Emma said when they broke apart.

A confused and dismayed face looked up at her. "Then what's going on? I don't understand? If you love me and I love you, why are you so afraid that everything is going to fall apart?"

"Because things always do in my life, I told you," Emma sighed.

"Ok, then assuming that's correct, what makes you think I would in any way try to screw you out of what would be rightfully yours if that were to happen? If we were to break up, Emma, and I'm not for a moment saying I think we will or want that to happen, do you really think I'd leave you with nothing?"

"I have nothing," Emma reminded her. "Everything in our lives, everything you're offering to bring into our lives; it's yours."

Regina reached up and pushed a few stray hairs from Emma's face which had come loose from underneath the scarf she still wore.

"Emma, my love, don't you get it? I don't want the restaurant to be mine. I don't want to buy a new house for me and Henry. I want to buy a restaurant for us. We will be partners, remember? You're the chef and I'm the behind the scenes manager. We'd do it together. And as for the house, it was just an idea. I saw it and I enquired. I'm not saying we have to move tomorrow, or next month. We can wait six months or a year or two years. Hell, we can even wait until we get married. All I'm saying is that if and when we do buy somewhere together, it will be ours. I don't care where the money comes from. I don't care about who owns what percentage. We're a team now, Emma, partners. And, just for the record, if we were ever to break up, I wouldn't want to cut you out of Henry's life if you'd still want to be a part of it."

At that, Emma blinked in surprise. "You would still want me to be in contact with Henry?"

"I would and Henry would," Regina nodded, her thumb now brushing a stray tear away. "But a break up is not going to happen. Not if I have anything to say about it. Emma, I love you. So much. I want to be with you and, yes, I want to use my money to build us a life. But I don't consider it my money any more. It's ours."

Emma sniffed and nodded. "I know you say that and maybe it's because I don't have money but that's hard to believe."

"How can I make you believe it?"

The blonde shrugged. "I don't know. Time, I guess."

"Then time you shall have. I'm sorry, Emma. Please don't throw away what we have because we're moving too fast. I didn't mean to rush you into anything you weren't ready for. I know this has been an intense first few months to our relationship and I didn't want to make you feel in any way pressured."

"But that's the weird thing," Emma said. "I don't feel pressured. I love living with you guys and I have enjoyed getting to know Henry and recognise how important it is for him to have stability in his life. It's been intense since day one. I'm ok with that. I think it's the money that's making me feel nervous."

"Then let's forget the money. Forget the house. I'll call Killian now and tell him we retract the offer."

"No," Emma said at once. "I mean, to the house, yes. I think that's too much for me right now. But the restaurant … it's an amazing opportunity and I don't know when we're going to get another one like it. I'm ok with the restaurant deal because I'd be working there; earning my keep, delivering profit. I feel like I have value there. Does that make sense?"

"Yes," Regina nodded. "But I don't want to push you into anything you're not ready for."

"I am ready," Emma said. "For the restaurant. But are you ok if we hold off on the house? I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound ungrateful. What you're offering is amazing and the house by the park is beautiful. I just … I'm not sure I can handle it."

Regina pressed a kiss to Emma's lips. "Ok," she said simply when they pulled apart. "And thank you for being honest with me. If we keep being honest with each other, about everything, then we can get through anything that comes our way, I promise."

Arms wrapped around bodies as Emma sagged into Regina's embrace. She felt exhausted, as if her body had been holding in all her feelings for so long and was now relieved of its burden.

"I love you," she mumbled into Regina's neck.

The brunette pulled back before she replied. "I love you too, Emma Swan. And don't ever doubt that for a second."

A/N: I never write arguments … was it ok?