"Emma? It's me." She heard pounding coming from the door behind her. "Let me in." The tears that had stopped falling welled back up in her eyes as she stood up from the floor to let her friend in.

When she swung it, open August glided forward and pulled Emma tightly into his arms.

It was as if August's touch alone awoke her sorrow, the dams broke, and tears cascaded down her cheeks.

"It's... not fair." She sobbed into his shoulder. Her body went weak and Emma couldn't hold herself up. Instead of forcing her to stand, August slowly slid their bodies down to the floor and he held her close.

"Shhh." He soothed. "It's okay. I'm right here." Her fist balled and crinkled his shirt in a tight grasp as she cried harder as if nothing else in the world mattered.

"She ha...hates me." She stumbled over her words as she cried. Emma was humiliated and heartbroken. She held back no resolve, the pain from rejection was too severe, and her ability to gain composure was non-existent.

"You don't know that." She heard August whisper sweetly in her ear. He gently pulled back a blonde tendril of hair from her blotchy face. "Talk to me. What happened?" He asked. His eyes searched for the sparkle that always glistened in her eyes, but were met with vast emptiness and pools of tears.

Her response was a tearful jumbled heap of words, "She... she..." Emma cried out again, her head was filled with a kaleidoscopic of memories of just that night flashing before her. "She... I, she'll never talk to me again." Emma wailed letting go of his shirt. Her fist pounding against the cold, hard linoleum of her kitchen. It was as if she was seeking out pain to remind her that she could still feel, despite the numbness that spread through her chest like a thick fog.

"I just wanted her to-" She stopped as she winced in pain from what she was going to admit.

"To what Emma, you wanted her to what?" He tried to encourage.

"...to love me." She snatched her hands from the floor and covered her tear stained face.

"What's wrong with me?" She sobbed and cried out. "Why was I born this way? Why do I have to be so unnatural to people?"

August frowned. He hated how his friend felt. She was a beautiful and brave woman, who he loved. He wanted nothing but for her to find love because she deserved it. He didn't want her to ever feel the pain of rejection or to loath who she was. It was who she was that made her so unique and also treasured by him.

"Emma, no. Don't you dare say that. You're perfect the way you are. You know this. You're just upset. You're not thinking clearly."

"You don't understand," She yelled out. "You should have seen her. She wouldn't even look at me. I disgusted her."

August looked at his friend who's beautiful satin hair was now tangled and knotted up. Her face was red with anger and her cheeks were tinted with humiliation. He watched as her chest was heaving from quick breaths of air as her lungs begged to be filled.

"How'd she find out?"

"She..." Emma bit her lip and looked away, shame painted on her face like watercolor. "Uhm, she, we, we're making out." Tears thick with regret rolled down her face. "And, and her hand."

She cried harder. Her mind was unwilling to allow her mouth and vocal cords to work to say the words to explain.

But that's all August needed. He could tell from her clipped and short words that Regina's must have gone too high up Emma's thighs while they were kissing.

"Do you think she's just shocked?" He tried to reason.

Emma shook her head no. "She got... mad."

"How so?"

He watched his friend replay the series of unfortunate events in her mind before she went to answer.

"Re...re...gina, she she, stepped away from me. Her face, it was...anger, and she asked if that was what I wanted to talk to her about. I never got to tell her. Not the way I planned. I Googled it. It said to explain the science behind gender dysphoria and to expect questions. She didn't ask questions. She never asked. She... She just looked at me. And yelled. She yelled." Emma stuttered out. "I asked her to listen and she snapped at me that all she's done is listen." Emma's face morphed into one of the ugliest faces August ever saw her make. "I, um, said something like not knowing how to tell her that I was transgender and, uhm, sh-shee yelled at me that the truth and asked me if she gave me any reason to not trust her. But I do trust her." Emma whined out through her tearful confession. "I wouldn't have let her kiss me like that. I wouldn't have let her see me half naked before. I wouldn't have played that stupid game. I wouldn't have ever met her had I not trusted her. How could she think that, I...I trust her." Emma wiped her eyes, mascara smeared blackness down her face.

"Emma," He cooed.

"No! Don't Emma me!" She cried out. "She didn't believe that I trusted her. I've never trusted someone like her that way. Never even trusted Lily like that. Lily and I took time before we fully committed to one another."

"But Lily knew because you told her sooner than you told Regina." August defended.

Emma paused in between tears to consider his words, but in seconds like the snap of a whip, her mind went back to the flood of thoughts of Regina. "... She thinks she meant nothing to me." Emma silently shook. Small audible noises trembled from her lips. "I don't want her to feel like that. She means so much to me. I, she can't think that." She looked down her hands that were balled up into fists. Her heart hurt and her mind felt like it didn't even belong to her. She had never felt like this before, so distraught.

August nodded as he watched his friend torture herself with the depth of sadness she felt, spawned from regret and self-loathing.

"I told her it was me." Emma laughed, cynically. "What a fucking cliched thing to say to a woman. Like the fuck, it's the-the oldest line in the book."

"What happened next?"

Emma nodded and continued to recount the painful evening. "She grabbed her things. I reached out for her." August watched Emma wince. "But she pulled away from me." Her hand tingled from the phantom feeling that she felt from Regina snatching her own hand away.

"She said she needed time to..to-to process."

"Do you know where she is?"

Emma shrugged. "Some hotel."

"Okay, well want to hear what I think?" His eyes searched for Emma's. When his gaze locked with her's, he said, "I think she got scared and she ran. She doesn't know about your life-"

Emma cut him off defensively, "She does too, we video all the time." She whined. She wiped snot from her nose with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Not what I meant. What I was trying to say, is that she doesn't know this part of your life. She doesn't know that you've been taking hormones since you were ten. She doesn't know that for twenty-one years you've lived as a female. She doesn't know you're getting sexual reassignment surgery. She doesn't know anything about any of that. Okay, so I think she got overwhelmed. We don't know how much knowledge she even has on this."

"She didn't know what a drag queen was." Emma muttered out in Regina's defense.

"Exactly. Wait, what? No, don't answer that." He said with his eyebrows furrowed. "So maybe, like she said, she just needs to process this. By that, maybe she needed space to also cool down because she didn't want to say something she didn't mean. I honestly don't think she hates you. Nothing you just told me tells me that. What you told me, tells me that she was afraid and ran." He pointed out. "She's a confident person who seems to be very knowledgeable. To not know about something can also mess with someone's vulnerability. Besides, she never broke up with you. She never said she didn't want to see you again."

Emma didn't say anything. Instead, she listened. August's words were shining a light back into the depths of her mind that were clouded with doubt and belief that her relationship was over.

"Why don't we get you washed up and get you into bed. Want me to get Weezy?"

Emma nodded as he helped her stand up. His arm wrapped around her small waist and he escorted her to her room.

"I'm going to go run your shower." He said over his shoulder as he made his way into her bathroom.

She heard the metal squeak as he turned the nozzles. Seconds later the calming sound of the water droplets against the tile made Emma relax.

"Okay, so that's going for you. Why don't you pop in there and wash away all of that mascara or whatever is on your face. I'm gonna go find that cat."

Emma nodded and thanked him before stepping into her bathroom and shutting the door.

When warm water initially hit her skin, she flinched at the sudden contact. Her body ached. Every muscle was sore. She leaned her head under the shower hose and soaked her long blonde hair into the warm stream. She felt so empty. There was nothing she could do, but wait for Regina to finish processing. Her attention was torn from her thoughts when her friends voice echoed between the walls.

"Weezy, get your furry little pussy ass over her. Emma needs you."

For the first time that evening since everything unfolded, Emma laughed. The mental image of her friend yelling out of her window for a cat that didn't even belong to her was humorous.

"Weeeeeezy?" She could hear him shouting, followed by the sound of treats being shook. All she could do at that moment was laugh at the insanity of the situation, of her best friend and the whirlwind she found herself in. All the pain and tears seemed to be washed away by the water and Emma slowly started to feel better, well as close to better as one could get, given the heartache and turmoil.

When she stepped out of the shower, she threw on some sweats and a tee shirt. The soft material felt cozy against her skin and made her feel the weight of her exhaustion. When she opened the door to her room, she found her friend in her bed, with Weezy. Not only that, in his lap sat a bowl of Doritos, her favorite.

"My favorite comfort food. All we need is some chocolate ice cream for me to dip the chips in." Emma said, appreciatively.

"Wait, what? You dip your chips in the ice cream? That's bloody disgusting."

"It's not really. It's the perfectly sweet and salty taste." She said. Her voice still lacked the charismatic tone she normally had.

"Okay, how about I go grab some and you watch Bridesmaids till I get back." Emma nodded and sank into her bed, willing it to suck her in like a black hole in outer space.

She watched her friend stand and shove his gigantor sized feet into his shoes.

"Be right back!" He told her. Emma only nodded, her mind was drifting back to earlier in the night.

Instead of tears and theatrics, he saw her remain calm, like an ocean before the storm. He knew this battle with Emma was far from over, but for now, she seemed stable enough for him to run out.

It didn't take him long to run to the store and grab some chocolate ice cream. Though, by the time he walked back into the house, he found his friend curled up on her bed, passed out in a pile of pillows. She looked peaceful, with crumbs of Doritos in her hair and her neighbors cat curled under her arm. The devastation she felt unquestionably exhausted her.

He sat the carton of ice cream down on the table and picked up her phone and scrolled through her contacts until he found her mother's contact information.

While it was late, he hoped she'd answer his call.

"Emma, honey. It's late everything okay?"

August smiled and said, "It's actually August, before you panic, Emma is fine. She's asleep in bed right next to me. Nothing horrible happened."

"August! You just nearly scared me to high heavens!" Her sweet southern voice came through the phone.

He laughed, "Look, I'm really sorry for the late night call. Emma had a run in with her first dose of rejection. She's not taking it well. I was wondering if you could drive up to tomorrow and spend a day with her. I think having you here would help. No one has ever been as supportive as you."

"What happened? Oh god, my baby girl." He heard the older woman gasp.

"She didn't tell her girlfriend when they first started dating. She's visiting now and apparently they got caught up in a moment before Emma got a chance to explain things and she left."

"Oh no. Why'd she wait so long?"

"Fear."

"Right. That makes sense. Ever since she was a small child, she just wanted everyone's attention and wanted everyone to like her. I'm going to come up tomorrow. It's a far drive so I hope she doesn't mind if I stay the evenin'."

"I think she'll love to have you here. Thanks for picking up. Drive safe."

"Thanks, August, and I will. Take care of her until I get there, please don't leave her side. God Bless honey."

"I won't and thanks. We'll see you tomorrow." He smiled and ended the call. He looked around the room. He grabbed a blanket off the foot of the bed and one of Emma's pillows and made a spot on the floor to sleep on.

Bridesmaids was still playing in the background on at a low volume. He searched for her remote to turn it off but fell short of finding it. He was convinced it was likely wedged underneath Emma and instead turned it off manually.

He grabbed the semi-melted ice cream off her bedside table and put it back in the fridge amongst Emma's frozen TV dinners. When he walked back into her bedroom, a soft snore drifted from Emma's lips and nose. It was then that August realized how tired he was too and he slid off his jeans and curled under the blanket on the floor. It wasn't long before his soft snores joined in with Emma's.

The next morning, the doorbell woke them both. Emma was the first to shoot out of the bed like a rocket.

"Shit!" She snapped as she jumped from the bed, tripping over August, and checked her appearance in her bathroom mirror.

"August get up, Regina is at the door." She said, panicked.

He grumbled as he wiped his eyes, "I called your mom. I think it could be her." He yawned and stretched his arms in the air. "What time is it?"

"Noon. You called my mom?"

"Yeah, last night after you passed out on me, I called her."

"Oh." There was no telling what she meant by oh. August looked at her confused and Emma just shrugged her shoulders. Perhaps she was let down that it was most likely not Regina.

"Put your pants back on before she gets back here." Emma said.

"Whoa, there killer. It's not like we had a one night stand."

"No, but still, she's my mother." She defended as she walked out of her room and to the front door.

When she opened the door, her mother's smile melted her resolve instantly. Tears welled up in her eyes again. "Mom." She said as she buried her head in her shoulder.

"Oh honeybee, it's okay. Mama's here." She said as she ran her nails through Emma's light honey colored locks of hair and massaged her scalp.

Emma's mother, Mary Margaret, was in her golden years, so she claimed. It was true, her mid-fifties did her justice. While her soft features over the years were intersected with deep set wrinkles, she still looked as radiant as ever. Emma thought that her age that showed in her mom's face was beautiful.

Her eyes were accentuated by crows feet from years of laughter, similar to the laugh lines around her lips. Her father liked to claim that those were his gift to her mom, always making her laugh and smile at his horrible jokes.

She also had deep set thinker's wrinkles on her forehead, but those deep set lines exhibited wisdom and knowledge from her many years teaching students. While one could see the age in her mother's face, she aged with grace. Her hair was the color of silver, she'd long lost the deep rich brown pigments she once had when Emma was younger, but even still, Emma loved it.

"Why don't we get settled and you tell me what's on that beautiful mind of yours?" Her mother asked.

Emma nodded. "Okay." Her mother walked past her and into the apartment, "Where's August? I told him to not leave your side."

"Oh, so you're the reason I woke up with a grown man on my floor."

"What can I say, it's happened to all of us." She laughed.

"Ew, mom, is that a sex joke?"

"Oh mercy no, if you think that is a sex joke, then you have years of learnin' ahead of you." Her mother said sweetly with a southern accent.

"I heard my name." August said, entering the room.

"August!" Her mother walked up to him with open arms. "Look at you!" She said, squeezing him tight. "Are you going to bring a girl to Thanksgiving this year?"

He laughed, awkwardly. "No, I don't think I will be. I'm holding out for the right woman. Anyways, I've got some plans for today. Emma, call me if you need me." He said as he made the universal sign with his hand and brought it to his ear.

Emma nodded and hugged her friend in response. "Thanks for being here last night for me."

"Anytime. I know we cut up a lot, but you mean a lot to me."

"I know." She said, nodding her head. "I'll call you later." She said as she watched her friend leave.

"Sounds good. Oh and hey, did you ever break your case?" He asked.

"Oh shit. I didn't tell you about that, did I?" She asked, shocked.

"No. I think you had other worries on your mind last night."

"Well, for the record, I did break my case. I have all the evidence I need, but the guy I have been following all along is the same guy Regina was working with. So that's a different story for later. You'll never believe what happened."

"You have my interest. Text it to me or something later."

"Will do. I need to go email those pictures to Maurice before I forget." Emma said.

"It was nice seeing you again." August waved at Emma's mom.

"You too, suga! See you at Thanksgivin' and send me something things you'll want me to make!"

"Yes, ma'am." He called out before he was off.

After he left Emma, let her mother get settled while she shot a quick email to her boss.

Maurice,

Followed Spencer to The Jolly Hooker last night. Looks like he's dressing in drag and doing performances, hence the late nights on Thursdays and random feminine clothing that his wife found. There is no proof that he cheated on her. Just a mid-life crisis (maybe identity crisis too). Pictures are attached.

Emma

The night before, Regina never said she couldn't share her investigation to her boss. She just said to Spencer that she wouldn't say anything. She was very specific and careful with her word choice when it came to her sealing her billion dollar deal.

"Honey, whatcha wantin' to do today? I was thinkin' we could do a spa day like we used to? Get our hair and nails done?"

"I'd like that, but we are not coloring my hair." Emma said.

"Oh, mercy me, no. That last time I made the world's biggest mistake convincing you to dye it red."

"I looked like a Dorito chip."

Her mother laughed, "Maybe a little, but those green eyes of yours popped."

Emma smiled and then said, "I really appreciate you coming, mom. My heart really hurts." Emma confided in her. "I don't think I've ever hurt this bad before."

Emma's mother wrapped her in a big hug and held her close. "I know honeybee, but it hurts so much because you love her."

"How do you know that?" Emma asked as she wiped a few tears away from her cheeks.

"Because, you wouldn't grieve this much if she didn't mean nothin' to you."

She knew that she loved Regina, but was it the same kind of love that her parents had? Being in love scared her. Especially if that's why she was so upset. What if Regina never spoke to her again? Then again, like August pointed out, Regina just said she needed time to process everything.

Less than an hour later, Emma sat in a chair with some lady removing the blue nail polish off of her toenails. The Royals won the series a few weeks prior and she felt emotionally attached to the color. When she went to pick out the same color again, her mother frowned and told her to be more creative, so Emma went with purple this time around.

So there she sat, with her mother next to her, having what she called a spa day.

"So why didn't you tell her?" Her mom asked.

"I didn't know how. I tried."

"Well, obviously you didn't try hard 'nough. Tell me why you really didn't tell her Emma? I raised you better than that."

Emma bit her lip and sighed. It was partly because she didn't know how, but it was the fear of rejection too. Maybe her mom was right. It was because she loved her and the thought of losing the person she loved most was unbearable.

"I think I love her. Like love her, love her and the fear of losing her was unbearable. So I stalled.

I know I should have told her sooner, I get that. I really get that." Emma said.

"So whatchu goin' to do to get her back? You can't just let her go."

"Eight now I just want to give her space. August thinks that she ran because she was afraid, not because she didn't care for me."

"That's a valid point."

Emma nodded. "I just hope she gives me a chance to fix this. I want nothing more than to just sit down with her and tell her all of the intricate details. I want to share with her a different piece of myself that I've kept hidden, out of fear."

"I think ya need ta call her." Her mother said.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I think I need to wait for her to come to me."

"Fine, butchu know what they say?" Her mother said.

Emma nodded, "That mother always know best and there's always more catfish in the lake?"

"That's right!" Her mother smiled. "You've learned well."

When her nails were finished, she sat in front of a large mirror.

"How much do you want to cut off?" The hair stylist asked.

"Like, two inches maybe?" Emma said as she held up her index finger and thumb and gauged how much that was. She watched as the woman worked in a rhythmic pattern trimming the ends of her hair. It fascinated Emma how people who cut hair could get it so even.

"Do you want me to style it for you?"

"No, I can wear it out like this." Emma said. She looked in the mirror at her hair. There wasn't much of a difference, but it did make her look refreshed.

"Thank you. You did an amazing job." She said.

Her mom, on the other hand, was getting her hair spiked, "Who are you and what have you done with my mother?"

Mary Margaret laughed, "Sometimes a little change doesn't hurt."

When they finished up, her mom was right. Sometimes a little change didn't hurt. She looked stunning with her new edgy look and Emma felt renewed.

That night they laid in bed together watching their favorite mother-daughter movie, Annie.

"I couldn't imagine growing up an orphan. You and dad were great. I wouldn't be the person that I am without you two."

"You were a very independent thinker when you were younger. I remember the first time I knew something was different aboutchu."

"When was that?"

"When you flipped you hinny around the wrong way in my belly. You were a difficult little thing tryin' ta give birth to."

Emma laughed, "You really knew I was different then?"

"I always knew thatchu were. I was so happy to have you and as you grew older, I was more astounded by how confident you were. You knew exactly what you wanted and who you wanted to be, even at age six. I wish I was as strong minded as you were at that age. I admire you, my darling daughter."

Emma smiled. "Do you think I'll ever see her again?

"I do. From what it sounds like she's just afraid. If someone didn't know your story, then they wouldn't undastand."

"Yeah. Maybe." Emma said as she yawned. Her head was against her mother's chest and her eyes grew heavy. Her mom's heartbeat soothed her and just like years beforehand, Emma felt a blanket of comfort protecting her. Her mom being there for her this weekend was everything she needed. She helped Emma by reminding her to still have hope. She slowly slipped into a deep sleep in the comfort of her mother's arms.

The next morning her mother's soft hands shook her awake. "Honey, I need ta get on the road. Come walk me out."

Emma felt the pang of sadness in her gut. Her mother being there with her was the best dose of medicine she needed. "Okay." Emma said, stretching her arms.

She kissed her bye and waved her off. "See you at Thanksgivin'!" She yelled to her.

When she walked back into her apartment, she walked over to her Keurig and brewed a cup of coffee. She yawned and stretched out her arms again. She had a damn good night's rest. Emotional exhaustion combined with her mother stroking her hair and holding her close made her fall into a much needed, deep sleep.

A knock on her door distracted her from starring at the coffee dispensed into her World's Best Daughter mug. Her mother was the most forgetful person on the face of the planet.

When she was twelve, her mom forgot to put the car and park and got out. Their family minivan ran over a huge potted plant at the church on a Sunday morning. It was hysterical, yet embarrassing. The nuns and pastor Hopper were beyond upset.

She laughed, and the last time her mom was here she left her purse by the front door. Who knew what it would be this time.

"Mom, what did you leave this time?" She laughed as she opened the door. Instead, it wasn't her mother who stood there, it was Regina.

"Hey?" She said, shocked.

"Hi. Can I come in?" Regina was twisting her hands together.

"Yeah." Emma said, now nervous, excited, but really nervous.

When Emma shut the door behind her, she didn't know how to act, or what to say. Honest to God, she felt like she was talking to a ghost.

Thankfully, she wasn't and Regina quickly took control over everything. "I booked a flight for later this afternoon. I need to get on the road on a few minutes so I have a car waiting outside. I just wanted to stop by before I left to talk to you."

Emma's heart sunk to the pit of her stomach. This was it. Regina was about to tell her things were over and this was the last time she was going to see her again. Emma bit the inside of her cheek to help choke back her tears.

"I need to go home to solidify the paperwork with SMC. Looks like Albert Spencer kept true to his end of the deal. For what it's worth, the other night I shouldn't have left. I was afraid and confused. I still am having trouble understanding. I mean look at you, you're stunning. I don't get it." Regina looked away, frustrated with her own wording.

Emma started to feel slightly at ease and was curious as to where Regina was taking her. As the Huffington Post article said, she needed to also listen and hear out the other person's confusion. So Emma was going to do just that.

"What I'm trying to say is, I care about you, Emma. I want to know more about you and I'm not ready to move on from what we have. I just need your help and guidance so I can understand. Tonight when I get home, can we have a long call, and you tell me everything?"

"Are you serious?" Emma asked as a flood of relief washed over her.

"I am." Regina said, but to Emma, she still felt distant. It was something in her body language and the way she spoke.

"Okay, tonight, let's talk." Emma nodded.

"I need to go." Regina said.

Emma could see the war that she was fighting beneath the surface. "Take care of yourself." Regina said as she turned to leave.

"Regina, wait!" Emma reached out.

Regina looked at her with big, questioning eyes.

"Thank you, just thank you for coming back." She knew that it took a lot for the other woman to be here and be so open. It meant everything to Emma. Regina gave her hope back and now she felt like they could honestly move forward with a clean slate.

Regina nodded. "I needed to. I wasn't about to fly home without letting you know." She said in a calm voice. "I'll call you later this evening."

"Okay." Emma said, understanding she didn't have a lot of time.

It was Regina, however, whose hand reached forward and grabbed Emma's and squeezed it affectionately. It wasn't a hug or a kiss, but it was the start of something. It reassured her and made her believe that they could get through this together once they had their talk.

Emma knew she had a lot of explaining to do and no matter what she was going to be there, every step of the way for Regina. She'd answer any question and be as honest and open as she could be.