The following morning, Regina had woken sore and shivering. She'd ventured into one of their spare rooms, collapsed on the bed and fallen asleep. She peeled herself from the quilt, which she hadn't bothered to climb under, and headed to the bathroom, desperately wanting another shower as the memory of why she wound up in that bed refreshed in her mind.

She noticed the time; it was only 5:30am. At least she hadn't overslept and had to rush to school. She unfastened the robe to be met with a barrage of hickey's trailing her neck and torso. She saw bruises beginning to appear on her wrists and forearms where that oaf had pinned her down then used her to support his oversized frame. She wasn't going to bother looking anywhere else as the sight of him straddling her filled her mind. She wretched and just made it to the toilet as the memory of his sweat glistened body bore into her mind's eye, but it was the sudden pervasion of the smell that had turned her stomach. The whisky and foul body odour combination was too much.

She finally stepped out of the shower and the realisation hit that all of her clothes were in their room. With no other option she wrapped her hair then body in towels and steeled herself. She crept along the corridor, hating at that moment that she couldn't tell how good or bad her hearing was right now. she'd give anything to be able to hear him, to be able to tell whether or not he was still asleep. It was eerily quiet though, which did suggest there was very little movement anywhere. She approached the bedroom door and slowly pushed on the handle, opening the door ajar. Peering through she could see his form still passed out where she'd pushed him the night before; he looked in a fairly awkward position. She really hoped he'd wake up feeling really sore and uncomfortable too. She opened the door enough to squeeze through and, fortunately, the light that spilled in was just enough for her to be able to see. She crept in and walked to her wardrobe door, pulling out the first pair of slacks and long sleeved blouse she could find, then it occurred to her she'd need something to hide her neck too. There was no way she was teaching her class covered in visible hickeys. She tried to rummage for her silk scarves, but it was proving too difficult, she could hear a dull tinkling noise as though things were banging or clattering together, probably hangers and tidies. She could see him begin to stir in the mirror that she'd kept one eye glued too. 'Screw it,' she thought as she gathered her garments and crouched down, hoping he'd not fully wake. She was in luck, now she had to find her lingerie. She scurried to the draws and opened one. She quickly found stockings, a pair of panties and a bra, she didn't even care that they were random; ordinarily she was a stickler for things matching. She quickly, but carefully manoeuvred her way to the door and slinked out, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Next on the list; a very strong coffee.

She toyed with the idea of just leaving, but she still needed to get a scarf and it was too warm in school to spend the day in a winter one, she'd look odd and people would ask questions, it would be strange enough her wearing a dress scarf to work. What she really wanted to do was leave, sneak out before she had to see him, but in a way she was grateful she needed to wait for a bit. It makes far more sense to get this over with now than spend the day worrying about having to see him again. She'd probably do that anyway, but it made sense it would be easier to at least encounter him once before. It wasn't long before she could hear the dull and muffled sound of what she assumed was him approaching. Her heart began to race. It had been an eerily quiet morning, regardless of how well one could hear.

And there he was, standing in full oaf-like glory in the door way, which was definitely her new description for him. Her first inclination was to stand up and reverse to the door. What was wrong with her? It was as though she couldn't help it. Her chest felt heavy and weirdly hollow as she stood just watching him watch her. She had no idea what to say or what would happen. Looking at him, she didn't think he did either. He slowly approached the table, the silence between them more deafening than even she knew. He eventually broke it.

"Regina… I am so sorry, I have no idea what came over me… you know me, and I've never done anything like that, I just…"

"You just what!" She spat out, harsher than she'd intended too, the last thing she wanted to do was wind him up again. Thankfully, he sat on the breakfast bar and placed his head in hands.

"I don't know, it was like years of pent up rage manifest in me. I should never have had that much to drink and allow that man to wind me up."

"What man?"

"Killian." She wasn't quite sure why hearing that wound her up even more.

"Killian! What the hell has he got to do with this…" She approached him, slamming her hands on the table, way harder than she intended causing a stinging pain to radiate. "What on Earth did that man say to you that wound you up enough to come home and RAPE ME!?" He looked straight into her eyes at the sound of her actually saying that, both were on the verge of tears.

"I don't know…" he weakly conveyed; it was almost pathetic. "We were discussing my job, his, then eventually we turned to our marriages. He was talking about how loving his wife was, how willing and subservient she was turning out to be." Her eyebrows shot up at that revelation and her worry for the blonde exploded, only fuelling her anger, but she managed to tune back into him."There was a bit more to it, but honestly, it made me feel a pang of jealousy and I thought I had something to prove … Not that you aren't wonderful…" He quickly added seeing the hurt and anger build in her eyes… "I just longed to be able to give you more, in every way, and I know you've never truly wanted me, not deep down." He buried is face in his hands "I'm so sorry… I never meant for that to happen," he sobbed out.

"What did you mean to happen?" She wasn't quite sure why she asked that, but she was desperate to try and understand what happened.

"I just, I just wanted to make love to you again." She sighed, trying to swallow down her revulsion.

"You know, I would have… I would have let you, had you really wanted too, we could even have had a date night or something?"

"I was just trying to be more… spontaneous. Turns out you need time to mentally prepare yourself to be with me." She could do little more than stare at him, it's not like he was wrong. She sat down on the opposite side of the breakfast bar.

"With anyone, Leopold, not just you. It's not as though we've been intimate for, well, years now and if you do want to initiate anything, you at least need to be clean, not smell like a brewery or be verging on the point of exploding…" He just nodded his head in a self-pitying meets apologetic manner. "I need to go to work." Regina stormed passed him and went to retrieve a scarf. She didn't know what to think. She felt disgusting and sick, but had no idea what to think, she needed to get into school mode now though. She grabbed a scarf and returned to the kitchen to collect her things whilst carefully wrapping it around herself.

"What are you going to do?" Asked her husband, sheepishly. Whatever else he was, he did look broken and bereft.

"I'm going to work?"

"What about us?"

"What about us Leopold!?" She snapped back.

"Are you coming back?" She just gave him the death glare.

"I need some space. I'm taking the spare room." She began to walk past him with her head held high, as she approached she added, "and you, do not get to touch me!" She stormed out still trying to seem confident before crawling in her car and crumbling.

"Hey Ma!" Said Henry, still bouncing around.

"Hey Kiddo, Still eager ay!"

"Oh, come on, we've only been here for three days, and I get to see my friend again and go to school and Mrs White will be there... Are they pancakes!" Emma grinned with pleasure at his appreciation.

"And as a treat for being such as good boy, just this once, you get to put anything you like on them?" He literally squealed in delight as he instantly bee-lined to the syrup, chocolate toppings and sprinkles his mother had laid out. She had no idea why she bothered placing fruit down.

"Understand this is a very special treat though, okay?" She really hoped he wouldn't expect this all the time.

"Oh wow! Are you going to leave any for me Henry?" Killian entered the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Emma, snuggling into her neck, whilst being mindful he didn't cause her to spill the coffee she was cradling. She picked up the other mug she'd poured and handed it to him.

"Hi Killian! Hmm, I'm not sure, you better hurry!" Henry sassed.

Killian walked passed him, ensuring he ruffled his hair on the way and began loading a plate.

"So what do I need to do to get this treat more often?" Killian asked whilst eyeing Emma playfully.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to play your cards right." Emma quipped whilst walking around the table and placing her hands on his shoulders and kissing his neck."

"Yuck you guys, I'm going to get my stuff together." Henry shovelled the last pancake into this mouth on his way out. Emma and Killian both let out a small chuckle.

"So, how was your evening? I hope you aren't going to have many like that. I'm not sure Storybrooke would appreciate it of their Sheriff."

"No, I suspect not. I don't officially start until next week, but I agree it would not be wise."

"Did you meet anyone new?"

"Yeah, I met the town drunk, they call him Grumpy, but I think his name was Leroy. I figured I may as well try and remember that one. I also met Henry's Head Teacher's husband, David Nolan, he is to be my deputy. He's been playing Sheriff in the interim."

"That's weird, why wouldn't they just appoint him, I mean, it would make sense, he's been doing the role and they know him."

"Hmm, but he's got a young boy and only works part-time, his wife is the bread winner in that relationship. He couldn't commit the hours the job requires."

"That's nice for them." She said, thoughtfully.

"What do you think of our Mayor then?" Pushed Emma, Killian smirked, obviously reminiscing about something.

"He's seems nice enough, he was grilling me though. He clearly cares about this town. The townsfolk seem to like him too. He can talk to anyone and everyone makes a point of greeting him. Anyway, he must be endearing right, why else would that woman of married him?"

"That woman?" She knew his comment hadn't been said with any malice, she could tell, but his choice of words still irked her. "You mean, Regina? She does have a name."

"Okay, sorry, I just couldn't remember." He threw his hands up, not really wanting to start anything.

"I know, but sometimes, the way you say things, it's not very pleasant."

"Aww, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend." He leant in to her lips, distracting her and trying to apologise without using words. She kissed back deepening and asking for entry with her tongue. He obliged and began to fight for dominance. She wasn't quite sure why, but the fire they used to have physically was also dimming. Three months ago, before they got too wrapped up in the move, she'd have been obsessed with trying to tear is clothes off by now. Instead, she was grateful for Henry's intrusion.

"Oh, come on you guys, can you not pick this back up after one of you drops me to school?" They both grinned out of their kiss and Emma went to snatch the keys up.

"Come on then Kid," she left Killian alone, wanting more.

Henry raced to his class, desperately wanting to see his new friend; he was happy to see him already sitting there when he arrived. There weren't many others there yet, as it was still a good ten minutes before class was due to start.

"Hi Nicholas, are you usually early?"

"Not always, but I couldn't wait to see you. Something told me you'd be keen to get to school."

"Oh! How did you know?"

"Because Henry, you are literally the most excitable kid I've ever met. Don't get me wrong, I like school, but you could be the walking advert." Henry sat down and, true to form, began retrieving his things out of his pencil case and arranging them neatly next to his books.

"Hey you know, maybe we could do that, you know, a funny online video, somehow promoting the school?" Nicholas hung his head, placing his palm to his forehead.

"Ah, Henry, I was joking. Anyway this school doesn't need an advert, its Storybrooks only one." Henry also hung his head a bit. Nicholas noted his deflated look.

"What's wrong Hen?" Henry just shrugged. Nicholas became bit concerned.

"Please Henry; please tell me, I didn't mean to upset you." Henry looked up and saw his concern and sincerity.

"It's, it's just I can't always tell when someone is just joking or making fun of me and being mean." Henry sighed, not wanting to make things bad between him and his friend.

"Aww, Henry, I wasn't making fun of you, I swear. I was just joking and noting the ir, i, iron…"

"The Irony?" The corners of Henry's mouth rose as he was realised what his friend was trying to say.

"Yeah, the Irony in what you said. How about I promise never to make fun of you?"

"Okay." Henry perked up at that promise and both boys settled back down.

It wasn't long before the rest of his class began to pile with Mrs White close on their heels. Henry's gut sank; there was something different about her. She looked sad and like she'd been crying, he could see she'd tried to cover it up with make-up though. She waited for everyone to take their places as she prepared for the day ahead. Ordinarily she'd have done this before the children arrived.

The first part of the day seemed to go fairly smoothly. They always started the day of with creative writing for an hour or so before looking at anything else. He was told this was to fire their imaginations and enable them to work harder for the rest of the day. Henry absolutely loved this about his new school. It made him feel like he mattered and his thoughts and the ability to express himself were treasured. Today though, he couldn't concentrate enough to really write anything, so he literally started writing down his intermittent thoughts. He kept looking to Mrs White. She obviously couldn't concentrate on anything either, yesterday she seemed to be working while they were writing, but today she just sat there fiddling with her pen or mindlessly doodling. Henry couldn't bare how sad she looked.

It wasn't long before their first break was signalled and the children began to go for their first recess. He wondered if it would be weird if he just walked up to Mrs White and asked her if she was okay, but he didn't need to think on that for long. As he was leaving she called him over.

"Henry, are you okay today? You seem a bit distracted."

"Oh! I'm okay," he mumbled quietly. Irony was turning out to be the word of the day it seemed.

"Hmm, well okay, I just wanted to talk to you about your writing yesterday."

"My writing!" He looked a bit panicked as though he'd done something wrong, maybe it was terrible. "I thought they weren't being graded!" She could sense his worry shine through.

"No, Henry, you're fine. If anything quite the opposite, it's a shame you're not being graded on these stories if your first is anything to go by. I was very impressed. Your imagination is very interesting and you put a lot of care and thought into your characters. There's a level of maturity in your writing too that's beyond your years. Of course, it helps that you're already a really good speller too, that can make even the best of tales irritating to read." The smile that lit his face, literally made Regina's day and warmed her heart, but then his face turned pensive and he lowered his head.

"Henry, what is it?" He sighed.

"I think I will let you down today then." She gently lifted his chin with a curled forefinger and asked him to repeat which he willingly did.

"Henry, you wouldn't let me down, remember that these writings are mainly for you. I only read them every once in a while to see how you are all progressing and growing, and don't forget the rule, if you don't want me to read one, write 'Don't Read' at the top. Okay?" That seemed to brighten him again. Regina returned to her paperwork, missing his unease return and she didn't hear the accompanying inhale of breath, but she did realise he was still there.

"Henry, go on, go and play with your friends while there's still some recess left." He gave her a small smile and did as he was told, not really knowing what to say. Whatever those marks were on her neck, she clearly didn't want anyone to see them, but he knew he didn't like them.

The rest of Henry's day was fairly dull, it probably wouldn't have been, but he couldn't seem to concentrate so it really dragged, even Nicholas couldn't seem to cheer him up. At the end of the day he sat on the step again, waiting for his Ma. Most of the others had left already, only a few students remained.

"Hey Henry, waiting again?" Henry just nodded, it broke Regina's heart to see how down he seemed to be. "Henry, sweetheart, what's wrong?" She sat down beside him on the steps again. He didn't say anything for a while. "Henry, has something happened at home, or in school?" He knew she wouldn't relent.

"I just, I just don't like it when someone is hurt, that's all." He was talking quite quietly so he made sure he was looking at her as he spoke.

"Henry…whose hurt, is it your Ma? Is she okay?" Henry couldn't help a small smile at the thought of her being so concerned for his ma, and she really did look worried.

"No, she's fine." Regina's breathed a physical sigh of relief and could feel how her heart rate had increased at the thought of someone hurting Emma.

"Then who?"

"You," he said softly.

"What?" Her mind began to race, there's no way Henry could know anything surely. They hadn't been overly loud, but then, perhaps she wouldn't have realised. Had Leo been a lot louder than she thought? But even then, there was quite a distance between their houses. Her mind began racing as to what he could mean, she began to fidget. Henry placed his hands on hers to gain her attention again, but he only managed to startle her slightly as she turned back to him.

"I know you were crying this morning and you've seemed sad all day, and earlier, when we were talking, I saw your neck. I know someone hurt you." His little face looked at her all pleading and hurt, she couldn't bare how his face conveyed all his emotions, she had no idea what to say to this.

"Henry, you know…" Before she could say anything else, however, they were interrupted by Emma.

"Hey, everything okay?" Emma looked around again, slightly flummoxed. "Am I late?" Regina couldn't help but laugh at her expression and lingering confusion, oh how this woman had a way of brightening her day.

"Tell me, what time do you guys think school ends?"

"4pm right?" Regina laughed again.

"No, it ends at 3:30pm."

"Huh! Noooo! I am so sorry."

"Hey it's okay, no problem. Henry's… very sweet to hang around with."

"Aww, you being all sweet again kid." She pulled him into a jovial choke hold and ruffled his hair. He pushed away, unable to supress a giggle.

"Ma!"

"Right, come on kiddo, I promised you an ice cream. It's a lovely evening, how about we find the park before we head home?" He paused thoughtfully for a moment.

"I bet Mrs White knows where the park is. Can she come Ma?"

"Oh, Henry I'm sure Regina has better things to do… right?" Emma said, whilst looking at Regina as though she secretly hoped she didn't. Regina thought for a moment, well she really did have some work to do, but she couldn't stay in school much longer. Then there was the prospect of having to go home and face the oaf, or spend some more time with Emma. It really wasn't a contest.

"Actually, I'm not that busy, but I wouldn't want to intrude…"

"It's not an intrusion, I want you to come and so does Henry, right."

"Right!" He confirmed immediately.

"Well, okay then, I'll just go and grab my things. Why don't you follow me and I'll show you the way."