Trigger warning - domestic violence

Chapter 24 Don't Look Back

Regina's heart was racing as she finally made it home. The moment she got off the bus and walked down the block from the bus stop, her anxiety was quickly turning to fear. Something was telling her she should have stayed at the loft. She should have sent Emma to get Henry. She knew coming back was dangerous, but she couldn't bring herself to put Henry at risk. If she had sent Emma or Mary Margaret, Leopold wouldn't have allowed Henry to go. Even if Emma and Graham showed up on the doorstep with handcuffs, she didn't want Henry anywhere near the altercation. She wanted to do this quietly. She's lost too much for this to go wrong.

Her ribs were more than just aching, but she pushed through the pain as she slid the key into the lock with shaking fingers and carefully opened the door to see Henry's shoes and backpack sprawled out by the stairs as always. Instead of scolding him to put them away, she picked them up and quietly placed them neatly on the steps.

"Regina? Is that you?" Leopold was suddenly calling her from his study. She jumped, startled from his voice and then headed down the hall. The door was partly open, just enough for the light to seep through the crack. Her hands shook, her ribs ached as she struggled to keep her breathing steady as she slowly reached the door. She tried to be brave when it felt like she was walking towards her execution. She pushed open the door to see him sitting at his desk and was relieved that there wasn't a drink in his hand this time. That meant he was probably still hungover. He looked at her with hard cold eyes that had her shrinking within herself and taking a step back. She held her breath for a moment until he gestured towards the chair across from him.

"Sit down," he demanded in a tone that had her immediately obeying him. She couldn't look at him as she sat down and buried her shaking hands in her lap, afraid to so much as even breathe in his presence. "Where were you?"

"I sent you a text this morning," she said, finally meeting his hard gaze. "I was on campus getting work done. I don't have reception in the building." She felt like she could barely breathe out of fear. Something she couldn't quite decipher flickered in his eyes. He stared directly at her; his face emotionless as he studied her. It was as if he were trying to catch the lie. She couldn't read his mood and that scared her because she wasn't sure what to expect.

"Whatever you think you know about what happened that night, you better forget about it. Don't ever question me again. Do I make myself clear?"

She nodded, too afraid to speak as he stood and came around the desk to stand over her. He suddenly grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him.

"And one more thing, don't you ever behave the way you did last night ever again," he said, his tone low but harsh. It was a threat, and as if to prove his point, he smacked her hard before she could even respond. She gasped, her face falling to the side as she brought a hand to cup her throbbing cheek.

"Don't cry," he ordered as she stifled a sob. She held in her tears as he moved back to his chair. "You deserve way more than that, but luckily for you I'll let you earn my forgiveness tonight. And if you're good enough, maybe I'll allow you to sleep in my bed afterwards."

She slowly looked up at him, a hand still on her cheek as anger rose within at what he was insinuating. After what happened last night, he still expected her to lay beneath him? Her lips curled into a snarl. Her eyes blazed furiously. She was just about to shout out a hostile retort but thought better of it when he frowned at her. Now wasn't the time to provoke him, not when she was planning her escape tonight.

"Control that anger!" he snapped, his unrelenting gaze fixed upon her, daring her to say something back. She averted her eyes, swallowing the rage that had been steadily building. It went out like a flame and she sat there before him shaking and cradling her stinging cheek with her palm.

"We'll continue this tonight," he seemingly dismissed her but something in his tone told Regina her punishment wasn't over. It was a threat if she ever heard one from him. He continued his paperwork and Regina stood, leaving the office, and trying not to let her tears fall. She rushed back to the foyer, grabbed Henry's shoes and backpack and rushed upstairs.

"Henry," she cried, knocking on the door and rushing in to see him lying on his bed with some comic books. He looked up at her in confusion, sitting up as she rushed in with his stuff.

"Mom? What happened!?" he asked as she shut the door and placed his shoes and bag in his lap. His gaze was fixated on her black eye in shock. She ignored his question, not wanting to tell him that his father was the one to hit her last night.

"Fill your backpack with as many clothes and necessities as you can and then leave it with your shoes and coat in the foyer closet."

"Why?" he asked, his voice trembling as he quickly stood and headed for the closet. "What's going on?"

"We're leaving tonight, the moment your father is asleep."

"Really?!"

"Ssh," she knelt before him, gently tilting his chin to look at him with fearful but determined eyes. "Tonight is the last night we will spend in this house."

He looked at her with glistening eyes and did something that completely caught her off guard. He threw himself in her arms and held her tight. She stiffened at first, completely in shock but then held him tightly and couldn't help but silently cry in his embrace. The tears she had fought to control burst out and she couldn't hold back her sobs as she held him in her arms.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

Regina went through the motions of acting normal, of continuing on as if it were just a normal evening in the mansion. As she cooked dinner, her mind was distracted with tonight's escape and she nearly burned the lasagna. Out of pettiness she put a massive amount of red pepper flakes on one part of the dish. If only she could poison it instead, like the Evil Queen from the storybook. Her intrusive thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly heard Leopold coming out of his office. She quickly turned off the oven and pulled the lasagna from it, placing it on top of the island and rushing to grab plates from the cabinet. He was expecting dinner to be ready by now, and she was afraid of anything provoking him when he was in such a bad mood.

He came in just as she was pulling the dishes down and stacking them. He came up behind her and she froze in her fear. His body pressed up against her and she could feel his warm breath on her ear. He wrapped an arm around her, squeezing her ribs and making her gasp in pain.

"Give me your phone," he ordered, his voice low but harsh, a clear order that he expected her to follow. She set the plates down and moved away from him. He grabbed her arm before she could walk away. His eyes were cold, void of any emotion but hate towards her. She fearfully averted her gaze. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Her heart felt like it had constricted in her chest. Panic fell over her, and for a moment she forgot how to breathe. Does he know she lied? Does he know she was at the loft all day? She wasn't sure and she couldn't exactly reveal the truth to him when this could just be one of his manipulative tactics to scare her.

She shook her head and after a long calculated gaze from him, he let her go. She grabbed her cell with shaking hands from the island and handed it over. He scrolled through all her messages and contacts for a moment, inspecting it carefully before handing it back.

"Hurry up and set the table," he snapped, leaving her and heading into the dining room to be served.

Leopold didn't say a word throughout dinner except to rudely comment on how spicy her lasagna was. She suppressed a smirk as he coughed and drank some water. Other than that, he was uncharacteristically silent. Usually, he'd bore her and Henry with talk of the office and politics. Something was wrong. He was mulling something around in his head and she was more than just paranoid. She was terrified that he knew she lied to him. His silence meant he was livid and she was sure she was going to pay for it.

It was after dinner when he finally approached her again. She was washing the last of the dishes as he came in. She could feel him standing behind her, and she braced herself for the hit that would inevitably follow. Her hands shook as she turned off the water, dried her hands with a towel and waited for him to speak. She desperately tried to control her breathing. Panic once again washed over her, leaning dangerously close to an oncoming panic attack.

"After you had run off to Atlantic City, I learned I could no longer trust you. I went to your lecture hall and you weren't there. Seeing as how Henry was still in town, I knew you wouldn't leave him behind, so I waited until you came home."

He paused, and she closed her eyes in devastated defeat. He knew this whole time.

"I'm going to ask you one more time, and this time do not lie to me. Where. Did. You. Go?" He enunciated each word like a threat. She couldn't respond. She couldn't move. She didn't even realize tears were streaming down her cheeks until they splattered down into the soapy water. Her hands tightly gripped the edge of the sink as her body shuttered with silent tears. She's been afraid of him many times in their marriage, but in this moment, she was absolutely terrified of him.

"LOOK AT ME!" he shouted, violently swiping the bowl of apples off the island. They landed with a crash as glass shattered and apples thudded and rolled. The loud noise resonated within her, making her jump and immediately face him.

He rushed her so fast she cried out as he slammed her hard against the counter. The edge painfully dug into her lower back. He grabbed her face, forcing her to meet his livid gaze.

"You're hurting me!" she whimpered.

"Answer me!"

"I… I was with…" She couldn't breathe. Fear gripped her chest so hard, she lost the ability to speak. When she couldn't respond, he hit her hard in her already bruised eye. Her knees buckled and she sank to the floor, cupping her eye and letting out a sob. He knelt before her and grabbed her throat. She was so dizzy from the punch, she couldn't focus her eyes on him. Dark spots were already clouding her vision. If he wasn't holding her face up by her neck, she probably would have lost consciousness by now.

"You were with her! Weren't you!" he yelled in her face, not caring about how disoriented she had become "I bet you were at the loft! Don't try and lie to me again!"

"Yes," she whispered, so hurt, so defeated. For a moment she just wanted to give up. She just wanted all of this to end. Maybe this was the night he would finally kill her.

His eyes blazed as he stood at her revelation and brutally kicked her in her already injured ribs. She screamed, feeling her bones breaking from the violent impact. Hot searing pain overwhelmed her. She fell on her side as they kept brutally coming. He didn't stop until she was curled up on the floor, crying and gasping for air.

He knelt before her, grabbing her face once more and forcing her to look at him. She was in so much pain she whimpered at the slight movement.

"What did you tell her?" he asked, his harsh tone daring her to say anything but the truth. Her eyes blazed as her vision finally came into focus. The rage she had shoved down earlier in his study rose within her once more and she couldn't help but snarl at him.

"I told her everything!" she admitted, pushing back her fear and letting her anger consume her instead. Her fury drove her to rise against him. She even imagined herself sounding like the Evil Queen Henry believed she was. Cold, heartless, and brave. "She knows that you put your filthy hands on me!" She shouted in his face.

His face grew red with rage and he was suddenly pulling her up and slamming her hard against the wall. She gasped as he put his whole weight behind it. Her already sore back took the brunt of the impact and she groaned from the pain.

"You stupid girl!" he shouted. "How dare you…" She cried out as he punched her ribs, knowing exactly where it would hurt the most. She would have sunk to her knees if he hadn't been holding her up. Just as he hit her a second time Henry's terrified voice resonated throughout the kitchen.

"Mom!"

He let her fall to the floor this time as he turned to face his frightened son. Henry looked at him as if he were a monster. His eyes were full of devastated tears as he looked at his mother curled up on the floor behind him. Her ribs hurt so bad she could barely breathe. If Leopold went after him, she wasn't sure she could even get up to stop him. A different kind of fear washed through her; Fear that she wouldn't be able to protect him. It made her push past the pain and slowly get to her knees.

"Henry…" Leopold was distracted and had taken several steps towards Henry. She started to panic, silently forcing herself to her feet and holding on to the island for support. She grabbed an empty bottle of cider from the center. Henry's eyes shifted to her as she came up behind Leopold. Just as he turned, she smashed it hard on the side of his temple. He howled in pain and fell to his knees from the impact.

"Henry! Run!" she cried.

He didn't even hesitate. He ran to the closet door where she had instructed him to hide his stuff. She looked down at her husband to see blood pouring from a wound on his forehead. The moment he moved to get up she panicked and kicked him hard in his own damn ribs. He screamed, and maybe one kick would have given her enough time to run, but she couldn't stop. She kicked him again and again until he was spluttering and gasping for air. She screamed as she straddle his torso, pinning him down. Rage blinded her as she punched him in the face.

"Get off of me!" he howled, trying to get up but she squeezed her thighs, putting an unbearable amount of pressure on where she had kicked him. Like he had so often done with her.

"You son of a bitch!" she cried, landing another punch. "Don't you ever put your hands on me again! Don't you ever hold me down again! Don't you ever rape me again… You don't own me…" Her words got lost in her sobs as she hit him in the face again and again, not even stopping when searing pain encompassed her fist. What made her stop was Henry fearfully shouting for her. He wasn't running without her. She suddenly pushed away from him so fast, realizing for the first time just how far she had fallen in her anger. Leopold was disoriented as she fell on her behind and scooted back, her chest heaving from the exertion. He groaned, coughing blood, and just when she thought he was about to get up, she got up and ran.

She grabbed the keys to the benz and didn't look back.

Emma paced in her room, unable to relax since Regina rushed out hours ago. She wasn't going to relax until Regina and Henry were safe. She wasn't going to get any sleep and instead anxiously paced and waited for the moment that Regina was finally out of that house. She was paranoid that maybe Leopold had found out that she was here instead of on campus. She didn't even want to think of the beating Regina would get if he knew. She couldn't even text her in case he were to check her phone.

She didn't know what to do! All she could do was pace and wait for Regina's call.

Unable to take anymore waiting, she grabbed a baseball bat from the back of her closet and rushed down stairs, making sure her service weapon was attached to her belt. She'd wait outside the mansion in case Regina needed her. She couldn't just sit here and wait when so much could go wrong. Just as she was midway down the steps, loud panicked knocks resonated loudly throughout the loft. She stopped in her tracks as Mary Margaret got up from the couch, dropping her knitwork on the coffee table and rushed to answer the door.

Regina fell into her arms the minute she opened it and Emma dropped the bat in shock. She had broken down sobbing and trembling in her stepdaughter's arms. Her black eye seemed worse, swollen shut and more bruised than she had last seen it. Her cheek was red with hints of bruising already forming. The way she held herself, leaning heavily into Mary Margaret indicated she had more injuries they couldn't see. Emma wanted to get her off of her feet and assess if she needed to go to the hospital, but the way the two former friends held each other, she knew they needed this. Henry was standing behind her, his eyes red as if he had been crying as well. She rushed over to him, taking his hand and closing the door.

"Are you hurt?" she asked worriedly, scanning him for any injuries.

"No," he shook his head, sounding like he might cry. "I saw him hurt mom."

That was the last thing she wanted. For Henry to see Leopold beating his mother. She hugged him, holding him close and then looking over at her roommate. Regina was hysterical as Mary Margaret tried calming her, whispering she was safe now. She wanted to give them a moment alone so she took Henry's hand and led him up to her room to give them some privacy. Regina clinged on her in a way she has never seen her initiate with the girl who had once been her friend. Despite the resentment towards her, Regina sought out her comfort.

"Come on, let's give them a moment alone."

She led him up to the loft, encouraging him to take off his coat and shoes. He was sitting on the bed and pulled his book from his bag. They could still hear Regina's heartbreaking cries from downstairs and Mary Margaret talking to her. He suddenly threw it across the room.

"It's all fake!" he yelled and then got up to grab it and started tearing pages out.

"Henry!" she cried, grabbing the hysterical boy and pulling him away. He cried in her chest as she sank to the floor with him in her lap. Tears glistened in her eyes as her son cried in her arms. She held him tightly, trying to comfort him as much as she could when they could still hear his adoptive mother breaking down.

"There's no curse! She's not the Evil Queen and you're not the savior! Storybrooke is just a town…"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, closing her eyes and burying her face into his hair and kissing him. Tears streamed down her cheeks for the way he had lost his belief. For what he had seen his father do, a man who was supposed to love and protect him and his mother.

"I didn't want to believe it," he cried as he finally calmed down and pulled away enough to look at her. His hazel eyes glistened with tears, with broken hope and devastation. A quiet sob shuddered through her. "I always heard them yelling. I always saw how afraid she was of him, but I didn't think he was hurting her. I've been so mean to her, Emma. I told her I hated her."

"Hey, look at me," she said softly, pulling away and drying his tears. "You didn't know."

He broke down crying again, his sobs mingling with Regina's. They sat there in silence for a while, Emma comforting her traumatized son as he shook in her arms. When he had stopped crying and wasn't trembling anymore, she coaxed him into her bed. He looked exhausted and was nodding off in her arms. She tucked him in for the first time in her life although she wished it was under different circumstances. He fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. She took a moment to observe him. She wished he didn't have to see what he saw. He was a strong kid but she was worried about the way he snapped out of his fairytale beliefs and planned to talk to Archie. Maybe they'll all need some therapy when this is all over. She got up and picked up the destroyed fairytale book and the pages he tore out. One of them was of the Evil Queen and she couldn't help but notice that she did look like Regina. The kid really did have some imagination. She set the book down on the dresser and headed downstairs.

Mary Margaret was still standing by the door, holding Regina as she now silently cried on her shoulder. Her body shuddered as Mary Margaret whispered soothing words, combing her fingers through her hair. Emma approached them, placing a hand on Regina's shoulder and didn't expect her to react so fearfully. She panicked, letting out a sob and tightening her hold on her stepdaughter.

"Woh, hey it's just me," Emma assured her and Regina visibly relaxed at her voice. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Let's get you off your feet," Mary Margaret whispered, gently pulling away from her and taking her hand only to gasp as she brought her fist up for Emma to see. Her knuckles were bloody, her right hand worse with bruising and swelling. Emma gently took her right hand, splaying out her fingers and observing them.

"Did you hit him?" she asked, a feeling of satisfaction washing over her. Regina nodded, sniffling and wincing as she pulled her injured hand back. She and Mary Margaret guided her to the couch. Regina suddenly looked so lost, her eyes seemed to have glazed over as if she were in shock. Emma coaxed her to lie down, placing a pillow under her head and sitting on the edge beside her thighs. Regina whimpered from the movement, a hand protectively holding her ribs.

"I'm sorry, I know it hurts," Emma whispered. "Can I see?" They needed to see how bad her injuries were. Regina seemed to have hesitated for a moment but then she nodded and averted her gaze to some point over her shoulder. She slowly slid her shirt up, bunching it below her breasts. Emma's gaze grew hard at what she saw. A deep kind of anger resonated inside her, her own hands started trembling from the exertion of having to force herself to stay with Regina and not rushing over there to kick the bastard in his own damn ribs. Mary Margaret must have seen her reaction because she was suddenly squeezing Emma's shoulder as a way to ground her.

"I'll get some ice."

Emma nodded her thanks and once again let her eyes sweep over the dark bruises on Regina's belly and ribs. It looked worse than it did this morning. Her ribs were bruised and swollen and Emma could the ridges where the bones were broken. At first she thought Regina's breathing was labored from crying, but now as she laid calmly on her back, her breathing had gotten no better.

"He knew I was lying," Regina whispered. "He went to campus and saw I wasn't there."

"How did you get away?" she asked just as Mary Margaret came back with a pack of ice and a hand towel. She hissed from the painful pressure of the ice being placed on the worst of the swelling, where the bones were ridged against her bruised skin.

"I'm sorry," Mary Margaret whispered, taking her hand and coaxing her to hold the pack in place.

"Henry…" she whispered. "He walked in and saw Leopold hurting me. He became distracted and I managed to get up and… I smashed a bottle on his head. I shouted at Henry to run, and to make sure he didn't come after us, I kicked him. I just kept kicking him and then I just…" she swallowed, tears streaming down her cheeks again. "I was so angry I started punching him. Henry shouted for me and I got up and ran. I didn't even look back. I just ran out to the benz with Henry, but I know he was alive. He was groaning in pain."

"You… you fought him," Emma stated in awe. She was so proud of her for having the courage to fight back, for being strong in a moment where she was weak. Regina was so brave, and Emma couldn't help but reach out and place a comforting hand on her cheek. Regina leaned into her touch, looking at her with her one good eye. "You're safe now; he's not going to hurt you ever again." Regina smiled at her and then groaned from the pain. Emma frowned as she shifted her gaze to the deep bruising on her side.

"Your ribs look broken. We need to get you to the hospital."

"What if he…"

"The only reason he'll be on hospital grounds is to get treated for his own injuries," Emma stated. "I'm not letting him near you and Graham isn't covering this up this time."

"Emma, I don't like the way she's breathing," Mary Margaret observed, noticing the shallow heavy breaths as well.

"I know," she nodded, pulling Regina's shirt down and removing the ice and depositing it on the coffee table. "Let's get her to the car."

Just before any of them could do anything, there was a sudden knock on the door. The whole room froze and Regina suddenly panicked. She sat up without thinking and cried out from the pain. Emma was quick to pull her into her side, holding her against her as she tried to breathe.

"Easy," she whispered. "Just breathe, that's it."

"It's him," Regina whispered through her tears, holding on tightly to Emma and fearfully burying her face into her neck. Emma looked at Mary Margaret and nodded at her to check the door. If it really was Leopold out there, there was no way she'd be able to hold herself back. Regardless, he wasn't getting anywhere near Regina and Henry. This was the end of it. She wasn't letting either of them go back to that mansion with him.

Mary Margaret peered through the peep hole and then visibly sighed in relief. "It's Sheriff Graham," she said, opening the door to let him in. Regina stiffened in her arms, and Emma had the feeling he was sent here to bring her back.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Emma growled, the moment her boss walked in. Regina was absolutely terrified at this point. Her body racked with silent tears, her body shook and her breathing seemed to get worse. She really believed she was going back.

"I'm sorry, but I just returned from treating a head wound on the mayor. She's being arrested for assault, car theft and kidnapping. He wants Henry home and Regina behind bars." Guilt flickered in his eyes as he noticed the injuries on Regina's face, although it didn't seem to stop him from carrying out orders. Regina sat up straighter at those words, a fierce protection glimmering in her dark eyes as she looked at him with a deep kind of anger that had the sheriff stepping back.

"Don't you dare touch my son," she growled.

"You know I don't have a choice," he sighed, taking out his handcuffs. "You're under arrest for assault against your husband, car theft, and kidnapping. I don't want to have to do this the hard way."

Emma was up in a flash and Mary Margaret had to hold her back.

"Are you fucking serious! Assault? Look at her face! He beat the shit out of her and you're here to arrest her for assault? She hit him in self defense and ran for her life!"

He looked away in shame and then moved to approach Regina, but Emma was out of Mary Margaret's grip so fast, she was grabbing him by the collar and slamming him against the wall so hard, coats from the rack beside them fell off their hooks.

"She's not going anywhere with you!" she yelled in his face. "Look at what he did to her!" His eyes flickered over to the hurt and shaking woman sitting on the couch. The guilt and remorse she could see in him only fueled her anger. "What kind of sherriff are you?" she sneered in disgust.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret was suddenly pulling her back. Emma relinquished her grip on his collar and stepped back, looking at him with nothing but hate and anger. Her roommate stepped between them and looked at the sheriff with more patience than Emma could ever muster.

"Graham, she needs a hospital. Her ribs might be broken and she's having trouble breathing. Whatever my father has on you cannot be worth covering up his abuse. Whatever is on your conscience will only fester if she dies because of you." Mary Margaret's voice had dropped an octave that froze the entire room. Emma has never heard her speak in that tone. It was scary coming from the sweet school teacher. "Now, here is what's going to happen. You and Emma are taking her to the ER and then you're arresting my father, because if you don't, whatever happens to him will be worse for you. I'll make sure of it."

"You think I want to be doing this?" he asked. "Do you think it's easy to watch him hurt her and then cover it up! There's nothing I can do at this point without risking…" he trailed off, not willing to finish that sentence.

"You selfish son of a bitch!" Emma shook her head in anger and disbelief. "You're not getting to her without getting through me first. Fire me if you have to. You can either be on our side and maybe, just maybe, you can save your own ass by playing hero. Or I can knock your ass out and lock you up at the station and you can rot away in prison with him!"

"Graham, please don't take me back there," Regina pleaded, her voice shaking and sounding more exhausted than the fierce protectiveness she had shown him earlier. "He'll kill me."

He let out a defeated sigh, and Emma could have sworn she saw relief flicker in his eyes as he put away his handcuffs. Relief for what? For not taking her back to him for once? Nothing will ever change the fact that he neglected to stop this long ago.

"Mary Margaret will stay here with Henry while we get her to the hospital, and then we're arresting his ass."

"Are you sure about that? He's our boss?"

"So what he just gets a slap on the wrist while Regina gets the crap beaten out of her! You're not covering anything up this time!"

"Enough!" Mary Margaret interrupted. She was now sitting with Regina heavily leaning into her. She was breathing hard and fast as if she couldn't catch her breath. "She needs to get going now!"

That was enough to make Emma move. She rushed over and helped Regina to her feet. She could barely stand. She placed both hands on her cheeks, looking into her eyes. "Hey, look at me. Are you ok?" she asked.

"I… I can't breathe," she whispered. "It hurts too much."

"Come on, I'll help you," she said, putting Regina's arm around her shoulder and trying to lead her to the door. Graham came over and stopped them by putting a hand on Emma's arm.

"Let me," he insisted and Emma looked at him with hostile green eyes. She still didn't trust him. "I want to help."

Regina was heavily sagging against her. She could barely stand. There was no way she was making it down the stairs and out to the car. So she relented, her eyes hard as Graham picked her up in his arms.

"Don't make me regret this," she threatened and then followed him out the door.