Regina Mills sat on the couch deep in thought over what happened the previous hour. Archie had seen her weak. It made her angry at herself. How could I let Jefferson control my life so much in two weeks, much less a year? "Hey, sis. I got a call from Emma a minute ago." Zelena poofed by her side suddenly which startled the woman causing her to gasp. Instantly, she turned toward her sister.

"Great! Now Swan is telling the whole town about how weak I am."

"I want to help, sis." Zelena replied.

"The only way you will help me is to keep me out of the spotlight and continue to be the best mayor you can be."

Zelena slightly chuckled but then looked confused. "Are you serious?"

She shook her head, yes.

Zelena then started rambling. "You know what I thought, sis? I thought I would show up here and hear your remarks about how terrible I've been running this town while you were gone and how you command me to let go of the position for you." She paused and looked in her eyes generally worried about her sister. "Sis, what happened to you? You don't seem like yourself."

"Because I'm not, Zelena! Jefferson didn't just take my body. He took my mind, my spirit- my whole life!"

"What the bloody hell is going on with you? You are not the same sister I remember! She wouldn't act like this! She wouldn't let anyone drag her down."

"I've changed, Zelena and not for the better but for the worst!"

"Tell me! What got you so worked up?"

"The Evil Queen killed his daughter! I deserved the punishment I got. The truth is I hate that man with every fiber of my being but I also understood him and knew him better than anyone. Every single scratch, cut, or bruise he inflicted on me I deserved. I was the Evil Queen and what he did to me, I inflicted on other people. I killed countless people. I raped Graham. I tortured and hurt a numerous amount of people. I seeked revenge and wanted Snow White to suffer far more than anything. Jefferson was someone like me but he got it right. He was the only one in this town that got it right!"

"Got what right? What the bloody hell are you talking about, Regina?"

"I needed to suffer! You know what I hated most about the suffering though? Emma and Mary Margaret being there and hurting because of me! If only I had gone alone to the bar that night! If only he just found me and not me with them! If only he had just taken me, and they would have been safe. I would have eventually died in that house, never seeing this town and the people in it again. Emma would have Hook. Henry would have Emma as his mother. I wish I never even came back here." She said as tears now stained her face. "I wish I died in that house!"

"You don't mean that, sis! Why do you hate yourself for being back here?"

"Because I have to answer to this town! Yeah! I wanted to die in that house, at least it would have been better than this! I showed my own son I am weak. I showed him I am actually nothing. That all I am is a weak coward!"

"You are strong! You suffered through torture a human wouldn't be able to take." Zelena replied. "You're one of the strongest people in Storybrooke!"

"No, I'm not! Our mother was wrong. Love isn't weakness, pain is. Pain can make anyone weak and for a year pain was all I felt and experienced."

~

Day 300:

Jefferson slapped Regina's face hard, causing her to fall to the ground. She only hovered her face downward, trying not show how much pain she was in. He grabbed her by the hair, pulling her up to him. "Look at yourself now. Look how weak you are."

She made a graspy breath. "How about you get away from me or just get things over with and kill me? I'm dying anyways just kill me." She spoke in a weak voice.

"Not yet!" He told her as he let go of her hair, as she put her head back down, covering her face again, hiding the blood and tears.

He mocked her as he grabbed a pocket knife. She said nothing as he moved toward her with it. Now teasing the blade up and down her skin, she gritted her teeth. The blade slowly cut through her skin as he went across her arm and teased it to her throat. She gulped hard. "Just kill me. Put me out of my misery." She choked out. "I know you want to."

He smiled wickedly. "I want you to break first."

She turned and stared at him. "I'll never break."

He laughed. "You will after I'm threw with the baby."

Baby? What the hell is he talking about?

"What baby? Your baby? Why would you hurt your baby?"

He shook his head calmly. "Not my own baby. Zelena's or should I say Robin's baby girl." Regina's blood ran cold.

I swear if he hurts Robin's baby-

She gasped and then breathed heavily as she felt her heart race with panic. "What? What did you do? You wouldn't hurt a child!"

"Nothing yet. I want to give you the motivation you need."

"For what? Didn't you already do that with Mary Margaret?" He lifted the knife from her neck, made a cut back in her arm and then threw the knife elsewhere. The blood oozed out of her arm onto the cold floor as she tried her best to stop the large cut from bleeding.

"You need to do something for me."

"What?" She spits out as she focused her attention on the cut.

"Obey me! I want you to bow!" She scoffed, not moving an inch to the ground. "Bow to me or I'll kill Robin's baby!"

Regina's eyes filled with pure anger as she realized if she didn't, Robyn would be gone. She sighed, dropping to her knees below him. She couldn't stand looking at him so she bent so low her face was against the ground. "Don't kill that baby. I swear if you hurt her-"

He smiled but inside felt a hint of pity but tried brushing it off. "As you wish your magesty." He told her as he grabbed her body to pull her up to his level.

"I just want you to stop hurting Mary Margaret and not hurt Robin's baby. Stop hurting the people I love, the people Emma loves. Let them go. I'll stay and you can do what you want with me. You can kill me before they find us. All I ask is to let them go!" She said.

"I'll never!" He told her as he kicked her, slamming her against the wall.

"Where was that man?" She questioned, blood dripping from her lips down her chin onto the ground, her voice trembling.

"Who?"

"The man who showed me mercy? The man who fed me, clothed me, showered me, and let me sleep in his bed without using me. Like that night before it all happened."

"You tried escaping!"

"You tried starving me. Of course, we would try to escape! You hurt Emma and Mary Margaret!"

Then, he pushed her all the way to the ground on her back by force. "How dare you ever say I hurt Emma! I love her!"

Regina choked back her tears as he stared at her, taunting her. "You had such a pretty face and body. It was a shame I ruined it. You are so weak now. You know it. They know it. You'll die. I'll be the last thing you'll see."

He then leaned up from her as she still laid on the concrete ground.

She now spoke in a way that was almost tender. "I know I deserve this pain but Jefferson I have been where you're at, seeking revenge day in and out. I was ready to hurt and kill for it but it's not worth it. It's destroying you. It's driving you mad. I knew you before. I knew who you were even when your daughter wasn't yet born. You were a better man. Be a better man."

"Revenge is worth it to me. You only started to change when Henry came into your life. Grace is gone and now I have no one."

She shook her head, no. "That's not true. You have Emma who you say you love and then you have your unborn child. Do they mean nothing to you?"

"How dare you! Of course they mean something!" He punched her in the stomach hard, causing her body to ache with pain. She felt overwhelmed with nausea as she started gagging repeatedly, blood forming in her mouth. She turned her body against the floor and covered her face with her arms, laying there still. She then heard the a pistol's hammer being cocked. She knew he was finally going to end her.

He stopped to listen as he heard a soft but broken voice. "Please, I know I didn't show any mercy on you, but I'm asking you now don't hurt me. I never should've separated your daughter from you. I was so evil back then but you never would have guessed. I felt guilty when you told me you promised Grace you'd be back for tea when I left you in Wonderland. I should have recognized that guilt and I should have helped you. I should have helped you instead of hurt you. A long time ago, I should have found a way for you and your daughter to find one another again. I shouldn't have treated you like I did, the many times you came to me, only seeking help for your daughter and you to be a family. I miss Henry so much, more than anyone or anything. I would give anything for us to be together. I'm sorry. I never knew what those long years were like without your daughter but right now I know what months are like without my son. Now I understand why you hate me." Her voice cracked under her breath. She turned her face toward him as she saw his eyes full of resentment, ready to shoot her. "I'm truly sorry, Jefferson. I'm so sorry." She pleaded and this time he knew she meant it. The look in her eyes gave him now a sense of sadness. He realized this was the first time she truly meant her apology.

"Sorry doesn't change what happened." He spoke and for the first time she heard a sense of brokenness in his voice as well. He seemed just as heartbroken as she was.

"I know I hurt you and your daughter. I hurt others just like you. I wish I could change the past." A tear dripped down her cheek. "But I can't. All I can say is nothing will ever make up for what I did. All I want you to know is that I'm truly sorry I hurt you and killed Grace."

Tears streamed down Jefferson's cheeks as he tried to shoot the woman but couldn't. All he felt was the urge to cry from sadness over his daughter and the simple fact that the queen actually genuinely apologized. It shocked him that she meant it. He knew in that moment she broke but he had broken with her. He dropped back to the floor in grief as his tears became overbearing.

Regina felt shame engulf her as she only knew one way to feel less pain. There was a feeling deep inside she never thought of before toward him. She knew the feeling was odd, strange, and wrong. It terrified her more than anything. It was confusing and embarrassing to feel that way; to feel bad for him. She felt grateful toward him because he spared her life. She couldn't comprehend the sudden urge why she did. She now scooted toward him and hugged him as they both wept in agony.

Jefferson hugged back because the grief was too much to bear alone. He needed someone, even if it was the woman he despised. Regina wrapped her arms around his body, tears staining her cheeks as both held each other close in the silence.

What the hell is wrong with me? I'm going insane just like him! One moment I hate him and then the next I'm thankful toward him for allowing me to live. I feel sorry for him. God, something is wrong with me.

"Jefferson!" A yell came from Emma in panic from upstairs outside the basement door. Regina moved away from the man who wiped his tears and stood up.

"Yes?" He asked.

"I'm having contractions and I think my water broke. I think I'm having this baby now!" Regina and Jefferson looked at one another for a moment and then he untied her. Regina now tried her best to get to the main floor, following Jefferson, to get to Emma.