A/N. Trigger Warning for Sexual assault/attempted rape, drink spiking and drowning scenes.
What Regina Did.
"What do you mean you know" Regina gasped "How and why didn't you say anything?"
"Maybe know isn't quite the right word" Emma sighed "But I suspected, I saw you leave that night and before I had a chance to talk to you about it Robin turned up dead, Then I saw the extra milage on my car that I couldn't account for and the missing gas, and there was the guilt that you seemed to feel over Roland losing his dad, it seemed like more than just the normal feeling bad more like you blamed yourself directly somehow and I just sort of put two and two together from there" Regina silently nodded as Emma ploughed on "I didn't say anything about my suspicions because you didn't so I figured that there was a reason for that, I thought that maybe you were trying to protect me or something, you might not have practiced for a while but you're a damn good lawyer Regina and I trusted in that and in you." She paused there taking a deep breath while she waited for Regina to respond.
"I always intended to tell you" Regina ventured cautiously "But you're right about me trying to protect you, and not just you but me too and our whole family, what I had done was bad enough already but then I had to all but perjure myself in court, setting you up to have to do the same would have been unforgivable. So, I kept quiet and then with everything that's happened since I just never found the right time to tell you until now."
"It's okay, I understand" Emma replied stepping forward to wrap her arms around Regina's slight form, the brunette let out a sigh and allowed herself to melt into Emma's embrace.
"I've made a real mess, haven't I?" she whispered fat tears falling silently down her cheeks and soaking into the shoulder of Emma's shirt.
"Not from where I'm standing you haven't" Emma replied.
"What do you mean?" Regina asked stepping out of Emma's arms to look up at her, still blinking back tears.
"Well" Emma smiled reaching up to gently cup Regina's face with her hands, wiping her eyes with the pads of her thumbs, "Robin is out of your life for good and we're standing here together in our new home, with our boys and our new little princess and nobody suspects you of anything, you're completely in the clear, we're free to live our lives together in peace, I wouldn't call that a mess Regina" she murmured.
"No that's not a mess" Regina agreed unable to stop the smile from gracing her lips at Emma's words. "But Zelena's locked away for life for a crime she didn't commit and that just doesn't feel right" she sighed.
"Oh please" Emma scoffed "she might not be guilty of killing Robin but she's hardly innocent either, look what she did to you, what she still had planned to do to you, if anybody deserves a stint inside it's her" Emma replied.
"Yes, that's how I've been justifying it to myself too" Regina sighed again not really feeling any better about the situation.
"She wouldn't have felt bad you know" Emma said softly.
"I know" Regina agreed readily, then immediately fell silent again as her mind raced with jumbled thoughts that just couldn't seem to untangle themselves no matter how hard she tried.
"Do you want to tell me what actually happened that night?" Emma asked, "It might help if you do, but it's also okay if you don't want to talk about it." she said.
"It's fine Emma" Regina replied taking a deep steadying breath "You deserve to know."
"That night" she said gazing into Emma's eyes "we fell asleep in each other's arms and it was so blissful, I felt so safe and happy in that moment" she sighed, "but I woke up not long later and I couldn't get back to sleep, suddenly I was too impatient to wait to catch Robin and Zelena on the camera's in the house, I wanted what I had with you that night every night and I wanted more" Regina paused and sighed again "I kept thinking what if I was right, what if Zelena had gone back to the lake house after dropping us home, It wasn't that far a drive and I could catch them that night and get the evidence that I needed to divorce the bastard and stop him coming after me and taking my boys away, so I got up, left and drove back up to the lake house….."
Flashback to the night of Robins death.
Regina hurried to hers and Robin shared room, her heart racing with anticipation, why was she suddenly so nervous, nothing would be happening between her and Emma tonight and it wasn't even the first time that she had shared a bed with the blonde, so why the nerves all of a sudden?
The answer of course lay in just how much had changed between them recently, yes she had slept in the same bed as Emma before when both of them were still hiding their budding feelings for one another, desperately trying to quash them in a hopeless attempt to protect their hearts from the devastation that would surly come from falling in love with someone whom they could never hope would love them back, at least not in the same way.
But tonight, would be the first time that they would be sharing a bed having made their feelings for one another clear and learned that they were one hundred percent reciprocated.
Sex or no sex, this was different, tonight she was going to finally be able to lie in the arms of the woman she loved knowing that she was loved back in same way and that was why her heart continued to race as she padded down the hall way clad in satin shorts and strappy top pyjama's with a small wash bag and change of clothes for the morning in hand.
Emma had already settled into bed when the soft knock sounded from the other side of the door.
"Come in" she called out then waited patiently for Regina to enter and discard the items that she was carrying.
Emma felt her own heart speeding up and heat rising in her body as she watched the beautiful brunette move around the room setting her things down, her short pyjama's displaying much more of her flesh than Emma's was accustomed to seeing.
Silky smooth olive legs, muscular from running revealed themselves from under black satin shorts, while the matching strappy low-cut top revealed a bit more cleavage than would be deemed appropriate to show in public, and Regina's slender arms, neck and shoulders were all on display. She looked stunning and Emma swallowed nervously as Regina finally approached the bed, pausing next to it when she saw Emma watching her so intently.
"Is this, okay?" she asked suddenly feeling a little self-conscious "because I can always put something less revealing on if this is too much" she added.
"Don't you dare" Emma all but purred throwing the blanket back revealing herself in grey cotton shorts paired with a white cotton tank, "You look amazing" she smiled reaching to pull Regina into the bed next to her then turning to switch off the lamp once they were both settled.
"Thank-you for this Emma" Regina murmured as she snuggled deeper into Emma's arms.
"Any time" Emma smiled down at her, and they both leaned into soft lingering kiss full of love and promise.
"See" Emma murmured as they pulled apart again "nothing sordid about that".
"No there wasn't" Regina agreed letting out a wide yawn which Emma appeared to catch because she immediately came back with equally big yawn of her own, cuddled Regina in closer and let her eyes drop close.
It was still pitch black out when Regina woke up only a short while later, she fidgeted a little to get more comfortable in Emma's arms and tried to settle back to sleep, but try as she might sleep wouldn't come, she was lying in Emma's arms, her favourite place to be in the whole world, wide awake with her mind working in overdrive.
Suddenly she just couldn't handle it anymore, the thought of going back to pretending that all was okay with Robin and Zelena until the hidden cameras caught them in the act and gave Regina the proof that she needed to file for divorce.
And what if she went through all of that for Robin to manage to wriggle out of it, she knew him to well, he would never back down easily, he would use the picture of Regina's fragile mental health that he had spent so long so carefully painting to play on the judges emotions and twist their thoughts in his favour, knowing Robin he'd still manage to run off of with the boys and leave her in his dust with nothing, but Emma, she'd always have Emma no matter what wouldn't she?
Emma was her happy place for sure but there would be no happy place for her anymore if she didn't have her boys with her and that was when another terrible thought struck her, what if on top of everything that he might do to her, Robin gained the upper hand then used Emma's love for Henry to get between them and break up their budding relationship before it had even truly begun, because no matter what they were mothers first and they would always prioritise their children first.
Emma had sought to give her son up as a new-born for that reason and if she had strength enough to see that through then giving up a newly started relationship to stay with her boy would surely be a walk in the park no matter how much she loved Regina, and Regina wouldn't even be able to fight to keep her because if Robin had succeeded in taking their boys and there was any chance of Emma remaining in their lives they would both agree to take it.
So that the boys would have more than just Robin and Zelena, they might actually stand a chance of a half loving upbringing then and neither Emma nor Regina would be able to rob them of that to fulfil their own selfish desires.
Regina wouldn't have to be without Emma forever at some point they would grow into men, Regina would be forced to miss it all if Robin had his way, but they would become men and with their manhood, Robins grip over every aspect of Regina's life that she cared about would finally be lost for good, Emma would finally be able to return to her, but the wait would be a long and lonely one where she would miss so much in her boys and Emma's lives, who knows maybe Emma would forget her and move on that time, a lump suddenly rose in Regina's throat and her heart clenched painfully, if she felt like this at the mere thought of what could be to come then how much worse would actually living it be?
She sighed in frustration, the bed suddenly feeling so stifling hot that she had to get out of it, so careful not to wake her Regina slipped from Emma's arms, picked up her phone and tiptoed out of the room already slightly regretting the move as the door closed softly behind her.
Back behind the closed door, Emma felt into the empty space then blinked blearily wondering for a second where Regina had gone.
She strained her ears for movement from the ensuite bathroom, hearing none and when she squinted towards the closed bathroom door, she saw no light penetrating the doors cracks.
She obviously wasn't in there, so Emma figuring that Regina had gone for a drink rolled into the brunette's empty space, nuzzling her face into Regina's pillow where the scent of her shampoo still lingered and settled there to wait for her return.
Regina by then was indeed in the kitchen, standing by the sink with a glass of water in hand debating whether to go back to bed or not.
Her mind kept drifting back to Zelena and Robin and on how convinced she was that Zelena had gone back to the lake house to be wih Robin.
'They are probably together right now' Regina thought to herself 'If only I had cameras there, I could have gotten all the proof that I needed tonight.'
She lifted her glass to take another sip, but her hand froze midway to her mouth as she suddenly remembered something, they did have cameras at the lake house.
Okay they weren't inside the house like the ones that Emma had installed in this house for her, but they would have captured Zelena If she had gone back through the front door that night.
Excitement rising Regina left her half full glass of water on the kitchen unit next to the sink and hurried through to Robins office where she powered up the computer on his desk, she had her own log in which gave her access to certain things including each of their homes security footage for the last twenty-four hours, Robin kept a longer account under his name but had set the footage to delete after twenty-four hours on Regina's account not that she ever usually bothered to check it anyway, it wasn't like Robin was going to do anything incriminating in front of the cctv cameras that he had installed himself and knew their every location, but just maybe this time he would have slipped up.
And sure, enough there she was, Zelena, in living colour, unmistakable with that vivid red hair of hers, returning to the lake house just a couple of hours after she had dropped Regina and the boy's home.
They were there together right now, if only Regina could be to, something told her that she would find all the evidence that she needed there with them tonight and slowly from there a plan began to form.
Regina looked at the time seven minutes past one in the morning, if she hurried, she could be at the lake house by just after three maybe sooner if she put her foot down on the long clear roads that she knew to be clear of cameras, that would give her a clear hour or so to get her evidence if there was any to get by the time she got there, before she would have to leave again, it was the weekend so Emma and the boys wouldn't be up until at least nine in the morning, preferably she wanted to be back and in bed again long before that time came and without being seen by too many of the towns early risers if she could help it, however she did suppose that if she was running late she could stop and Grannies and return with breakfast as though that's all that she gone out for in the first place.
She rewound the footage of Zelena's arrival at the lake house and recorded it on her phone before it would be lost to her by automatic erasure then shut down the computer deleting all traces of her having been on it along the way so that if Robin checked the history on the computer he wouldn't ever know that she had been on there at that time on that night to ask her about it.
Then she padded upstairs into hers and Robins room and rifled around in her closet pulling on a pair of black leggings with a black shirt, coat, and boots and with the possibility of stopping at Grannies in mind she grabbed a pair of blue jeans to pull on over her leggings if she needed to so that she wouldn't look strange turning up all dressed in black, she was probably overthinking that last part but her nerves were jangling like never before.
As she left, she locked the bedroom door behind her and pocketed the key hoping that if anybody tested the door whilst she was out, they would assume her to be asleep in there and leave her be.
Downstairs she crept back into the kitchen grabbed Emma's car key from the kitchen bowl along with her house keys and crept towards the back door.
Robins' obsession with not having camera's overlooking the back garden had extended to this house too so Regina knew that she could exit through the back door unnoticed, unless….
Upstairs Emma stirred again and was surprised to find that Regina hadn't returned to the bed yet, worried about where she had gotten to the blonde swung her legs over the side of bed and padded from the room, she was heading for the stairs when a small familiar sound caught her ears, it sounded like Regina's back door closing.
Wasting no time Emma hurried into the nearest guest bedroom that overlooked the back garden, racing across it to look out of its window. Glancing down she was surprised to see the shadowy form of Regina hurrying across the lawn and disappearing into the tree line beyond.
"Where the hell are you going at this time of night" she whispered her breath steaming up the cold glass of the window.
She stood there watching for Regina's return until she was too cold to stay there any longer and her legs were cramping, then she returned to their bedroom where she paced for a while racking her brains before she slipped between the sheets to warm up.
From there she tried to dial Regina's number several times but each time the number was unavailable, wherever she was going, Regina clearly didn't want to be disturbed, in one last ditch effort to crack the mystery of where Regina had gone so late, Emma got back up and ventured downstairs.
'Maybe she left a note' she thought as she ventured through to the kitchen where she found nothing apart from an empty bowl that had contained both of their keys when they had gone to bed the night before, including the keys to Emma's bug.
Whatever Regina was doing Emma wasn't going to find out about it until she returned and she was shivering from the cold again now, so a rather despondent blonde had returned to her space between the sheets to await Regina's return, hoping that she wouldn't have to wait long.
Regina not realising that she was being watched at the time, entered the treeline, shuddering at the creepy shadows that the trees made, trying not to think of wolves and bears as she hurried down the well-trodden path, veering off before she reached the gate that separated their land from that which was public and which did sport a camera to capture intruders, but she and Emma had previously discovered a well-hidden path that avoided it and this was the one that she took now.
It was pitch black but she didn't dare use the torch on her phone through fear of alerting someone's attention to her presence and so she pressed on, her whole-body trembling as fear of the unknown in the pressing darkness threatened to overwhelm her and send her running back home.
It didn't though, she pushed through it emerging from between the trees victorious a few minutes later and stepping out onto the street not too far from where she knew that Emma had left her car the night before.
She hurried to find the yellow vehicle jumping into the driver's seat and shoving the key into the ignition preying that it would start as she turned it.
"There is a god" she mumbled as the engine flared to life on her first turn, 'Emma was right about one thing this car really was reliable' she thought as she pulled away.
The journey was as she suspected it to be at this hour, clear and straightforward, the weather was still optimal for driving and Regina never saw another soul on the road as she floored the gas pedal, it would have been kind of exhilarating if she so damn nervous, in fact part of her was beginning to wonder if she should just forget about the whole thing and turn back and go home, but she was over half way to the lake house now so she might as well see it through.
As she drew closer to the house Regina eased off the gas pedal, she couldn't risk being seen which made driving to close to the house not an option, but Regina knew this area and their property well and she knew that if she turned soon, she could get off the road and well out of sight then cut through the trees from there to the edge of their property.
The turning that she was looking for suddenly came up on her right and she quickly took it without even bothering to indicate because there just wasn't anybody about to benefit from it.
She drove for a few minutes longer before leaving the road and heading into the treeline where she left the car out of sight of anybody who might pass it, grabbed the black beanie that Emma had left on the passenger seat and crammed it onto her head, slipped on her gloves then with her phone in hand she hastily exited the car leaving it unlocked with the keys still inside of it so that they wouldn't be able to jangle in her pocket and give her location away.
She spent the next ten minutes creeping through the trees waiting for the house to appear,
She heard Robin and Zelena's raised voices before she saw them, rather disappointingly they weren't in bed like Regina had hoped they would be, but rather they were arguing in the pool area with Zelena looking slightly worse for wear.
It wasn't what she was hoping for, but Regina figured that she might still capture something worth coming out here for, so she crept forward staying well hidden in the trees that surrounded the property and were untouched by the lights that lit up the area surrounding the pool and set her phone to video.
She watched through the phone as the two argued, Zelena was accusing Robin of drugging her and Robin was pleading with her, saying that he was only trying to get her to relax and then a furious Zelena announced that she was leaving and stumbled in through the decking doors and out of sight, closely followed by Robin.
Now that they were inside the house Regina could no longer hear them, so she was faced with two choices either leave with the little footage that she had obtained or risk getting closer to possibly get something better.
Curiosity mixed with the desire to obtain more evidence so that her journey wouldn't be totally wasted had her creeping forward against her better judgement, but then this whole trip had been against her better judgement, and she realised now that it had been a stupid idea but maybe, just maybe she could still salvage it.
The voices became clearer now as she got closer to the open doors risking a peek inside, neither of them would notice her they were both far too focused on each other and their heated argument, Robin was getting physical now pushing Zelena down onto the sofa where she seemed to pass out then to Regina's horror Robin started to clamber on top of her pulling her skirt up to access to her underwear, his breathing becoming more and more laboured as he worked to undo his belt.
Regina's heart picked up speed as the belt thudded to the floor, she couldn't just watch Zelena get raped by her husband, no matter how awful the red head was she didn't deserve to be violated like that but what could she do to help without revealing herself.
His trousers were down, and his bottom exposed now and she was running out of time, she was about to throw it all in and just reveal herself to stop it when she spotted something lying on the floor nearby.
Her hand was wrapped around the smooth pebble and seconds later she had sent it skittering noisily along the decking.
A startled Robin looked round just as Regina moved her hand out of sight, he seemed to accept the noise as being caused by an animal because he turned his attention back to Zelena, only the noise and the sudden movement above her seemed to have had the effect that a relieved Regina had been hoping for because a second later the echoing sound of skin meeting skin rang through the lounge and Regina peaked back in to see a furious Zelena pushing an equally furious Robin who was cradling his now smarting cheek away from her.
"Get the hell off me you creep" the red-faced woman yelled pushing Robin a second time who promptly tripped over the trousers and underpants now pooled at his ankles and went crashing to the floor with an angry grunt.
Zelena still heavily affected by the drugs in her system got up as quickly as she was able and stumbled towards the front of the house, but a far more sober Robin was back on his feet pulling his trousers up and following her in seconds and Regina could hear that he had caught up with her again in the hallway that lay just beyond the lounge, she could still hear them but again they were out of sight so phone still recording she crept in through the lounge and peered through to the arguing couple.
"I'm going to the hospital" Zelena was shouting, and Robin was yelling back that he wasn't letting her leave.
Regina had seen enough, the argument was moving closer to the front door and soon they would be outside shouting, and she thought that Zelena was lucid enough to be able to keep out of his grip now and once she was away from the house, she planned to anonymously call the police claiming to be a passer-by reporting a concerning ruckus.
So for now she put her phone away and began to quietly creep back towards the decking doors, she paused when she spotted Robins half full glass of amber liquid sitting on coffee table next to a small bottle of something clear.
Tiptoeing over to it she picked the little bottle up in her gloved hand and pulled the stopper out with the other raising it to her nose to take a whiff, the clear liquid was odourless and Regina immediately certain of what It was upended the bottle into Robins drink before she even had time to think her action through.
'Let's see how you like it you bastard' she thought.
The argument was still going as loudly as before when she moved to replace the bottle, suddenly stopping halfway to putting the stopper back in when she realised that Robin might notice that the previously full bottle was now empty and grow suspicious, she looked around frantically her eyes landing on what looked to be a glass of water sitting on the other end of the table, she hastily dipped the bottle into the glass filling it up with the liquid within and plugged the stopper in before returning it to its place next to Robins now spiked drink and returned to her hasty retreat.
But her eyes were on the door that led into the hall where the shouting still ensued and she didn't notice Robins belt on the floor behind her until it was too late, her foot got caught in it sending her stumbling backwards with arms twirling like windmills as she fought to keep her balance, a feat that she was somehow successful in but she had made far too much noise in the process, the shouting in the hall abruptly stopped and realising that she was completely out of time Regina turned and fled as fast as her legs could carry her, her heart racing with pure adrenaline and fear as she pushed herself harder and faster than ever before towards her escape.
Robin came thundering back into the room just after Regina had left through the back doors, she didn't stop running until she had hit the trees and thrown herself behind one fighting to steady her erratic breathing.
Robin stepped outside just in time to see the leaves of the small shrub that she had just run through stop rustling.
"Damn Racoons" he growled and Regina her heart still hammering painfully in her chest fought not to let out a sigh of relief as she held as still as she could, just out of sight not even daring to breath, in the distance a car roared to life signalling that Zelena had taken full advantage of Robins distraction and fled and in that moment Regina couldn't help but wish that she was Zelena, the red head had escaped and now she was the one left here alone with Robin, her only mercy lying in the fact that he didn't know that she was there, but now that he didn't have his argument with Zelena to distract him would she be able to escape without him discovering her first?
"Fucking Bitch" Robin cussed in the direction of Zelena's clearly speeding car as he turned back into his house and Regina suddenly found herself hoping that the heavily intoxicated Zelena wouldn't end up killing herself or somebody else on the way to hospital, she also hoped that she wouldn't pass the woman's green car in a ditch somewhere on her way home when she eventually escaped.
She waited for a few minutes and then wanting to put as much distance between her and Robin as possible she made to move only to come up short and remain frozen in place when Robin stumbled back outside drink in hand and made himself comfortable on one of the nearby deck chairs that were dotted around the pool and which most unfortunately was facing in Regina's direction, so still the trembling brunette still didn't dare to move just yet.
But he was drinking the drink so she only had to wait for it to fully take affect then she would be free to leave.
She watched for a few minutes longer, saw Robins eyes growing heavy until they closed the empty glass rolling from his limp hand and entering the pool with a gentle splash.
This was her chance to get out of there so why was she walking towards the asshole instead of fleeing in the opposite direction?
"You're a pig Robin" she hissed over his sleeping form "A cheating pig and now I have everything that I need to take you down for good, I'll get my divorce, my kids and take you for every penny that you have" she said venomously.
"You'll get nothing" Robin unexpectantly replied his heavy eyelids wrenching open and his voice severely slurring with the effects of the drugs in his system. "I, I'll make sure you never see those boys again" he said, his face turning pale as he leaned as though to throw up.
And Regina with a sudden wave of fury cursing through her veins leaned in to whisper in the retching man's ear.
"I don't think so darling."
It wasn't hard, his body was leaning heavily that way anyway and he had already passed out cold, so when Regina had grabbed her side of his deck chair and tipped it up Robin and easily rolled off of it and into the pool with a much bigger splash than the glass that had gone in before him had made.
She had stepped towards the edge of the pool being careful not to step in water on its edges so that she wouldn't leave footprints when the eventually walked away.
From her new vantage point, she could see Robins body sunk like a stone into the well-lit pool the only evidence that he was still alive were the bubbles rising from his mouth towards the surface.
One small part of Regina still wanted to jump in and try to save him but another much bigger part smirked in victory as she watched the bastard drown knowing that she was well and truly shot of him.
He never tried to save himself not even for a second, nothing in him took over and tried to get him to the surface, because no matter how much his brain might have been screaming at his limbs to do something they couldn't respond, they were far too heavy under the effects of the drugs and so he had simply lain on the bottom of the pool where his body jerked a single time as his lungs made a last ditch effort to fight for oxygen only to be flooded by water instead and then he breathed no more.
From the second that his body had hit the water he had never stood a chance and as Regina stared down to the bottom of the pool at the eerily still and silent man who used to be her husband, lying in the glow of the spot lit waters, she felt certain that even if she jumped in right now and pulled him out there was no bringing him back, he was gone and the finality of that scenario suddenly hit her seconds later.
The reality of her situation came rushing in, crushing Regina under its weight, Robin was dead, and Regina had killed him.
Trembling and full of horror at the realisation of what she'd just done, but with no way of taking it back Regina had turned on her heel and fled into the trees, raced back to Emma's car where it had taken no less than three attempts to get the damn thing going and with shaking hands and tears streaming down her face almost blinding her she had begun the two hour journey home, glancing at the clock as she pulled out from the trees she saw that it was barely passed four in the morning, everything that had just transpired had happened in under an hour.
The drive home had proved to be even quicker than the one to the lake house had been, the roads had again been mercifully clear, and fortunately she hadn't seen a single trace of Zelena or her green car along the way.
It wasn't until she had driven past the welcome to Storybrooke sign and was cruising through the small towns streets that Regina had began to calm.
She parked Emma's car back where she had found it and leaving the beanie on the passenger seat where it had been when she had borrowed it, she grabbed the bag with her unused jeans inside and exited it, retracing her earlier steps back to the house unnoticed by any security cameras, snuck back into the back door her mind still racing with the nights shocking turn of events but much calmer and clearer than It had been at the scene.
She grabbed another glass of water guzzling it down in one and leaving the empty glass on the side beside the still half full one that she had left there earlier that evening, it had only been a few hours ago but it felt like a lifetime, so much had changed that night and nobody on the planet knew about it, except for her.
With the keys returned to the glass bowl she went upstairs to hers and Robins room where she changed back into her satin pjs before burying her black clothing into the bottom of the wash basket in their bathroom and headed back to bed with Emma leaving door to the bedroom that she had just vacated open behind her.
She paused for a moment to further calm her breathing and heartrate as she looked at Emma's beautiful, peacefully sleeping face, her blonde hair was spread messily over her pillow and her hands rested in Regina's empty space beside her as though she had reached out in her sleep to look for her.
Regina felt a little guilty about not being there for Emma to hold her as she slipped between the sheets and snuggled back into the blonde who pulled her close without waking or ever knowing what time she had gotten home until now.
Present time.
"Of course, if I'd known I'd dosed the bastard with enough Rohypnol to finish him off I wouldn't have bothered to tip him into the pool" Regina finished her story with a sombre look on her face.
"I really thought that Zelena had been gone long enough to be ruled out as a suspected and that it would have all been put down to an unfortunate accident by misadventure, I truly didn't expect her to take the fall for it" Regina shifted guiltily and Emma reached out to hold her again.
"What you did was incredibly brave Regina" she whispered "you did what you had to, to protect your family, our family and you could hardly come clean after that bitch went down, the only thing that, that would have achieved would have been her out free and gloating to anyone who would listen while you were the one locked up for the rest of your life, so you did the right thing Regina and you have nothing to feel guilty about, anyway I said it before and I'll say it again, Zelena deserves her punishment" Emma said adamantly.
"That maybe so but I can't help but feel that she deserves better from us" Regina sighed and gave a sad nod in the sleeping baby's direction.
"Regina" Emma said leaning out of the embrace to look into Regina's eyes, her hands coming up to rest on the brunette's upper arms where they moved in comforting rubbing motions up and down of their own accord.
"We'll raise that little girl well; she'll be so loved and want for nothing."
"Except for her mother" Regina replied a little despondently.
"She won't be lacking in that department; she's got two of us" Emma laughed.
"You know what I mean" Regina sighed.
"So, what do you want to do about it?" Emma asked peering into Regina's eyes with concern lacing her own.
"I don't know" Regina replied her shoulders sagging in defeat.
"Well I have a suggestion" Emma said and Regina looked at her hopefully "It's late and everything that you've just disclosed is still raw and heavy in the air, so I suggest that we both sleep on it and decide what to do in the morning, I reckon we've got an hour or so before this one wakes for a feed" she chuckled glancing down into the crib, then back at Regina who still looked uncertain.
"We'll find a solution Regina, I promise you that, just not tonight and not one where you end up in prison instead of her, I won't let you sacrifice yourself like that okay" Emma spoke with such passion and conviction that tears began to prick in Regina's eyes.
"Okay" she sniffed as Emma pulled her in for yet another tight hug "I think you're right I'm far to emotional to think clearly about this tonight, thank-you Emma, I don't know how I would get through this without you."
"And you'll never have to find out" Emma murmured back guiding her towards the bed.
"There's just one thing that I need to ask you before we go to sleep" Emma said a thought niggling away in her head.
"What's that?" Regina yawned sleepily settling in as the small spoon.
"All the video evidence that you took that night" Emma said her heartrate picking up slightly in anticipation of what Regina's answer would be mixed with worry "where is it now" she whispered.
"Gone" Regina assured her "Don't worry about that, as soon as I got back to Storybrooke I deleted all traces of it."
"That's good" Emma replied breathing a sigh of relief and pulling Regina in closer.
Regina who thought that she would never be able to sleep after that night's events fell asleep almost the second that her head had hit the pillow apparently the raw emotions of reliving that awful night had completely exhausted her.
Emma however stayed awake a little longer pondering over what the sleeping woman in her arms had just revealed to her and despite telling Regina that they should sleep on it she couldn't stop her own mind from trying to come up with solutions that would make Regina happy without turning her in to take Zelena's place in prison.
She wouldn't let her do that, she'd stop that from happening at all costs even if it meant that she herself had to step up and say that she had done it and Regina was lying to protect her to stop Regina from being the one to go to jail, that ending for Regina, would be so unjust after all that Robin and Zelena had put her through.
The first sounds of a stirring baby shocked Emma out of the thoughts, had Poppy woken earlier than she had expected her too or…
Nope Emma looked at the clock to see that more than an hour had passed since she and Regina had settled into bed and Emma had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed how much time had ticked by.
Poppy began to fuss a little louder and Regina stirred in her arms but didn't quite wake…yet.
Emma eased her arm out from around Regina who remained asleep and tiptoed round to the fussing baby, plucked her from her crib on Regina's side of the bed and slipped out the room.
"Hush little baby, don't wake mama Regina" she murmured as she padded down the hall way and carried her down the stairs "She really needs her sleep tonight" she smiled at the infant as they entered the kitchen together.
Emma tried to put the baby down to free up both of her hands to prepare her bottle but she let out a loud wail as soon as she left Emma's arms that had the blonde picking her straight back up through fear that she would end up waking the whole household in the time that it would take her to make the bottle and returning to the kitchen with the baby balanced a little awkwardly, but quietly in one arm while she fumbled one handedly to prep the bottle spilling almost as much powder on the kitchen side as she got into the bottle and then proceeding to smear it around when she tried to clean up still with one hand using damp cloth making if possible even more mess as she waited for the bottle to cool down enough for the baby to drink.
With a frustrated sigh she blew her hair out of eyes and gave up her cleaning efforts slinging the dirty cloth into the sink and figuring that she would sort It out in the morning when she wasn't desperately trying to stop the baby from screaming the house down in the dead of night.
The bottle was guzzled down as eagerly as the earlier ones and when Emma held Poppy against her chest so that the infants chin rested on the blonde's shoulder and her tiny legs drew up wards to tuck themselves up into her own abdomen and began to pat and rub circles on her back, she let out a satisfyingly loud burp that made Emma chuckle lightly.
"Better out than in as I always say" she joked as the relieved baby's legs finally relaxed and Emma moved to change her nappy, applying some of the same ointment that she had handed Roland earlier, to her sore patches which she was happy to see were already starting to look much less angry, hopefully they would heal in no time.
Job done and dirty nappy in the bin Emma cradled the little girl in both arms which was much more comfortable for her and headed towards the stairs, she wasn't even half way up when she felt the baby's breathing even out but being the clutz that she was Emma didn't dare look down at her until she off of the stairs, when she finally did find a place to safely pause and look at the baby, she saw what she already suspected, Poppy was fast asleep.
Emma gently placed her back into her crib without waking her and climbed back into the bed next to Regina who also hadn't stirred and there she finally too dozed off.
Regina would wake up for the next feed and it would be Emma who would sleep through it this time and Regina who would strive not to wake her. In fact, Emma didn't wake again until the morning, by which time both the other side of the bed and the crib were already empty.
She stretched, yawned and used the bathroom then padded downstairs to the kitchen still in her pjs to find Regina making breakfast in her dressing gown, with a very contented baby cradled in one arm looking like she was attempting to focus very hard on the face of Regina who appeared to be in a surprisingly chipper mood all things considered.
"Uhh Regina?" Emma began uncertainly as she approached them, Regina just smiled brightly at her and gave a tiny shake of her head easily miss able if you were looking for a response followed by a slight but pointed a nod towards the other side of the kitchen where Emma turned to see Henry and Roland tucking into breakfast.
Emma looked back at Regina and gave her an equally small nod to show that she had understood that there was a discussion to be had but one that would have to wait until certain young ears weren't about to overhear and smiling, she reached to relieve Regina of the baby freeing up her other arm for cooking.
"We really need to get you some more stuff kid" Emma smiled at the baby "You need somewhere safe to put you down in so we don't have to carry you around constantly until you can walk" she added jokingly.
"Yes, there's still quite a lot that she needs" Regina agreed "I thought we could go shopping for her when the boys are at school today" she smiled, and Emma nodded in agreement.
"I want to come shopping with you" Roland suddenly interjected around a spoonful of cereal causing milk to dribble down his chin.
"Well, I don't" Henry piped up sounding appalled at the idea of shopping for baby things.
"Neither of you are coming" Regina replied moving the pan off the stove and crossing the kitchen to mop Roland's chin clean.
"But I really wanna" Roland whined.
"Well, you can't baby because you have to go to school" Regina smiled at him then moved back to the pan to dish up Emma's pancakes "Anyway you'd be bored out of your mind and complaining that you want to go home after about five minutes" Regina chuckled affectionally, ending the conversation.
They had to leave a little earlier for the school run here than in Storybrooke because in this more rural area the journey was longer, Regina dropped Roland to pre-school as usual while Emma drove Henry to his bus stop where she would wait in the car to watch him get onto the bus that would take him the rest of the way before she returned home to meet Regina and Poppy ready for their shopping trip.
"So you're in a good mood today" Emma smiled as she walked into the kitchen and hugged Regina who was busily packing a bag for the baby's day out, from behind, her mood was notably the same as it had been at breakfast meaning that it hadn't been a show for the boys sake, Emma didn't know whether she should be concerned or happy to see her like this after last night's still as yet unresolved but very heavy conversation.
"As a matter of fact, I am" Regina replied turning in Emma's arms to face her with a triumphant smile on her face, "I've thought of a solution" she announced.
"Oh" Emma replied with a questioning quirk of her brow.
"You were right Emma I just needed to sleep on it for a bit, it came to me when I got up to give Poppy her second feed in the night" her eyes flickered at the now clean side where Emma had left her milk mess behind during the night before, Emma's own eyes followed her glance then dropped downwards a little sheepishly.
"So, what's this solution of yours?' she asked, awkwardly clearing her throat and finally looking back up again to meet Regina's brown eyes shining back at her filled with friendly humour.
"Mal" Regina replied simply.
"Your lawyer friend?" Emma asked seeking conformation, not entirely sure that she liked the direction that this was heading in when Regina nodded in response.
"I thought I'd call her and ask her to look into Zelena's case" Regina said, and Emma frowned a little.
"Don't worry, I won't tell her anything about what I did" Regina reading her look correctly tried to reassure Emma "I'll just explain about the adoption and tell how insistent that Zelena was that she was innocent, and I'll tell her that I think she might be telling the truth. I'll tell her what Zelena's lawyer was like because he was awful Emma, the actual evidence against Zelena was circumstantial at best and he didn't even attempt to argue that he just tried and failed to pack the stand with so called character witnesses like us instead, she didn't stand a chance with that idiot representing her" Regina sighed.
"And there is no chance of you ending up implicated in any way whatsoever?" Emma asked frown deepening slightly.
"Not at all" Regina replied "that's the beauty of it Emma, Mal will have no trouble buying into my story, She'll get straight onto the case with our funding if she'll even accept it of course, our money I mean, not the case" she clarified with a chuckle and Emma nodded her understanding, "She'll be much better for Zelena than Sydney Glass" she added.
"Okay" Emma said slowly "and what if it works and she gets out and wants Poppy back?" Emma asked.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, but I really don't see that happening anytime soon, Mal might be able to get her back into court but I don't think she'll be able to get the existing conviction overturned completely, maybe reduced with a much more lenient sentence than she's currently facing but I still think she'll serve hard time Emma, this way she'll pay for what she did to me with Robin but she'll still have hope of release one day and long before she's an old lady too" Regina smiled "and she might even be able to get a transfer to nicer prison too."
"In that case" Emma replied after a few moments of quiet reflection "I think it's a great idea" she grinned and handed Regina the phone who returned the grin and accepted the handset, immediately dialling Mals number.
As suspected Mal bought the story without question, but to be fair it was all the truth where Zelena was concerned just with the omittance of any facts pertaining to Regina's own involvement in her husband's murder.
And then feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders Regina carried the baby out of the house with Emma hot on her tail and headed for the Mercedes which would be the car that they would be taking into the nearest big town that day.
"Oh my gosh" Emma squealed excitedly picking up what had to be the twelfth cute tiny outfit in quick succession, Regina chuckled and shook her head slightly glancing at the stack of clothes already littering the bottom of their shopping cart.
"Oh, but look at it Regina" Emma begged her green eyes wide and pleading "she'll look so cute in it we have to get it for her."
"Emma she'll grow out of half of her clothes before she gets to wear them at this rate" Regina laughed looking from the stack of outfits on hangers most of which Emma had chosen and the packs of sleepsuits and vests that she herself had tossed into the cast. She looked back up at Emma who had her lip stuck out in a pout and rolled her eyes.
"Okay, okay" she conceded "we can get it but at least swap it for the next size up so that she has some things to grow into" Regina compromised, and Emma beamed at her.
"Deal" she said hurrying back to swap the outfit for a bigger one the same, happily placing it into the cart a few seconds later.
Soon Poppy had a full wardrobe of clothes in three different sizes, another large pack of diapers and Regina had also added a selection of cloth diapers and the supplies that she would need to go with them, Robin hadn't allowed her to try them with Roland and she hadn't really known about them when Henry was born so this time she was eager to at least give them ago and she enjoyed picking a few different cute designs to start them off.
They also picked out a very nice pram together a travel system which could either be a very fancy red pram or a pushchair, with a cute bow on its hood.
More blankets were next to be added, then a full-sized deep oak sleigh style crib and mattress and bedding to go with it were selected and maybe most importantly of all an upgrade on the car-seat for a fitted one that would last Poppy for years as apposed to the baby carrier that they had been using as temporary measure.
They selected some more bottles and another tin of formula, a little comforter toy, a few more toys for Christmas ready for when she grew into them, and then Emma had rushed off to select a couple of Christmassy themed outfits, a play mat for tummy time, a nursing pillow which Regina had found useful to have with both Henry and Roland despite not nursing either of them herself, they too had been bottle fed babies, though Emma had expressed for Henry for a few weeks to begin with.
Then Regina chose a swing seat and a bouncer chair as well as a little wicker Moses basket with stand to be kept downstairs and then they were finally done.
They arranged to have most of the larger items delivered, the car seat was immediately fitted into the car by someone trained to do so and the bags of clothes, toys and other bits were placed into the car boot along with the baby carrier and Moses basket stand, while the basket itself was slid onto the backseat next to the baby where Emma secured it into place using one of the seatbelts so that it wouldn't be loose in the car with the potential to become a projectile that could cause the baby or either of them significant harm in the event of an accident.
The exhausted trio then made their way back home with Regina in the driver's seat talking animatedly about all of her ideas for the nursery with Emma smiling and nodding along occasionally throwing her own ideas in that either had Regina glowing with excitement, laughing or sneering depending on what the idea was, the latter of which never failed to send Emma into fits of hysterical giggles whenever she spotted Regina's lip curl clearly unimpressed by Emma's latest contribution.
It had been good, productive day and by the time they had unpacked the car, fed, and changed Poppy around each of them downing a quick cup of coffee it was time to leave to pick up the boys and then their evening routine would begin soon after.