A/N: Hello! First, I'd like to say thanks to everyone who reviewed my other OUAT fic! I really wasn't expecting such reception and am very thankful!

I've been working on this fic on and off since Christmas. I finished it about a month ago, decided I hated it and rewrote the entire thing. ~7,000 words later, I humbly present you with this.

It's set pretty much immediately after 2x09, Queen of Hearts, so it's before The Cricket Game and Emma is still willing to give Regina the time of day. I just wanted a scenario where these two sit down and have an actual, proper, adult conversation. I figured Regina would be pretty raw, physically and emotionally, after having absorbed so much dark magic. That comes into play here, and I hoped I've done these characters justice! They're tricky bastards.

No warnings, but there are definite slashy undertones here. Pre-Swan Queen, maybe? If I could pick a third genre, it would be romance.

Unbeta'd, so let me know if you spot any grammar mistakes, though I read through it, like, six times.

Enjoy! And review, please!

Disclaimer: I don't own them. If I did, Regina wouldn't get her heart broken every other episode.

First Aid and Understanding

Emma smiled to herself as she leaned against the bathroom doorway and watched her son brush his teeth. She was so happy to be home. And even better yet, she had a family. She had a mom and a dad and a son, and it was better than all of her lonely-night childhood fantasies of finally being reunited with the parents who had left her on the side of the highway all those years ago.

Henry finished brushing his teeth, spitting out his toothpaste and wiping his mouth with a cloth.

"What's that?" he asked, nodding in the mirror to the Styrofoam container in Emma's hands.

"It's pie," she replied, "from Granny's last night." Granny had given her an entire large cherry pie as a welcome home present. Emma wasn't overly fond of cherry pie, but she didn't have the heart to tell Granny that.

Henry wrinkled his nose. "Is it apple?"

"No," Emma chuckled, and gestured for Henry to follow her into the hallway.

"Good," he said, following her, "because I think I'll be happy if I never see another apple ever again."

Emma laughed a belly laugh this time and agreed with her son. "Me too, kid, me too. But I want you to take this to your mom, okay? We forgot to invite her last night, and I think she'd love to see you."

In truth, Emma felt guilty that she hadn't just turned around and asked Regina to join them the night before. The woman had just saved their lives, and nobody had been bothered to ask her to join them for their impromptu celebratory dinner. Once she'd realized that she'd forgotten Regina, she had even tried to leave to find her, but Snow had seen and begged her to come back and Emma simply didn't have the heart to ignore those pleading doe eyes.

"I have some things I need to discuss with Mary Margaret and David anyway. Alone." She added pointedly, when Henry opened his mouth to protest.

Sighing dejectedly, he took the Styrofoam container from her hands and headed out the door.

The phone had been ringing on and off all morning. The news had spread that Mary Margaret and Emma had returned, and people were calling to welcome them back. So when the phone rang shortly after Henry left, drawing her away from her discussion with Mary Margaret and David (Mom and Dad?), she wasn't surprised.

She was, however, surprised to hear her son rambling incoherently on the line. The urgency in his voice shot through her like an electric current.

"Henry, calm down." She commanded in what she hoped was an authoritative voice. She breathed a sigh of relief when he stopped rambling and took a deep breath. "Tell me what's happened."

"It's my mom, Emma, you've got to help me! She's – She's-"

Emma ran to the front porch.

"Henry, stay with me. Tell me what is going on." She coached him while simultaneously trying to keep a hold on the receiver and put on her shoes.

"I don't know what happened, but I came here and I couldn't find her but then I did and – Emma she's not moving, I think she's unconscious and there's blood and – "

Emma had heard enough. She ran to grab her car keys. She contemplated asking Henry to call for an ambulance, but people in Storybrooke weren't exactly feeling charitable towards Regina as of late. No one was going to rush to the Evil Queen's aide.

David and Mary Margaret stared at her in concern from the kitchen doorway.

"Okay, kid, hold on. I'll be there in a minute. Stay with her in case she wakes up, okay?"

"Hurry, Emma."

Emma ran out the door, leaving her parents to stare in concern after her.

Emma sped through Storybrooke and made it to the former mayor's house on Mifflin Street in record time. She ran up the walkway to the house, and nearly sent herself sprawling as she tripped over a loose stone in the path in her haste to make it to the door.

"Henry?" She called loudly as she opened the door, her voice echoing in the large foyer.

"In the study, Emma! I think she's waking up!"

She ran towards her son's voice, her heart pounding in her chest, afraid of what she'd see when she turned the corner.

It wasn't as bad as she'd anticipated. Regina was, indeed, waking up. Henry was sitting behind her, gently supporting her head with his hands.

It wasn't until Emma neared the pair that she saw the pools of blood beneath Regina's head and right hand. It wasn't a lot – nowhere near as much as Henry had made it sound – but the gashes on her hand looked a little deep and the red stain on the corner of Regina's desk concerned her. Her eyes traveled to the broken mirror above Regina on the wall and the pieces on the floor beneath it. A picture of Regina smashing the mirror and causing herself injury formed in her mind, and the guilt Emma had felt earlier doubled.

Regina moaned and Emma rushed to kneel at her side, placing a hand on her back and helping her sit up.

"Regina, what happened?" She asked, remarking the wound at Regina's temple. She reached out and gently swiped Regina's hair aside to inspect the seriousness of the injury.

"My head's killing me," Regina slurred, bringing her hand up to clutch at her head, accidentally smearing her forehead with blood. At the wet sensation she pulled her hand away to stare at it, and the desolate expression on her face told Emma that she was remembering the previous night. She groaned again, and Emma suspected that this time it had nothing to do with her injuries.

"Mom, what happened?" Henry's voice came from behind her.

"I-I-I fell? I'm not entirely sure." She mumbled.

"You don't remember?" Emma pressed, narrowing her eyes at the woman beside her.

Regina looked from Emma to Henry and then back again. "No, I don't."

Her hesitation gave Emma pause. Regina might just want to keep the truth hidden from Henry, so she let it go for the moment. "How are you feeling? How's your head?"

"'M' nauseated," she mumbled, "and my head is killing me."

"Yeah, you said that," Emma quipped. "Regina, I think you might be concussed."

"Concussed?" She scoffed, and seemed to gain back some of her lucidity. "Don't be silly, dear, I'm just fine." She used the desk beside her to haul herself up, brushing off Emma's attempts to help her. She managed to take half a dozen steps on her own before she swayed and faltered.

"Mom!" Henry cried, alarmed, but Emma was there to catch her around the waist before she fell.

"I'm fine," Regina insisted, "just a little dizzy, that's all," but she put her arm around Emma's shoulders just the same.

"Okay, Regina," Emma appeased. Then, she turned to Henry. "Stay down here, kid, I'm gonna go take care of your mom.

"But –" Henry protested.

"No buts, Henry, stay down here please."

He sighed dejectedly and nodded.

Emma led Regina up the stairs and into the master ensuite. "Sit," she commanded, motioning to the closed toilet seat. "Where's your first aid kit?"

Regina remained standing and stared at Emma as though she'd grown an extra head. She wasn't sure why Emma was still there, insisting on playing nursemaid to the Evil Queen and not home with her new-found family. Truth be told, as much as she had yearned for company the previous evening, she just wanted Emma to leave her alone now to lick her wounds in peace. She didn't need any more insult added to her injured heart.

"Well?" Emma prompted, hands on her hips.

"Miss Swan, this is truly unnecessary. I can take care of it from here." She hoped Emma would just leave. She was exhausted, and she felt like her skin was crawling from absorbing all of the magic from the well, and while she felt less dizzy than before, her head was still pounding. She was feeling utterly out of control, emotions from the previous evening still had a grip on her. She simply didn't think she could handle breaking in front of Emma Swan.

"Where is your first aid kit, Regina?" Emma asked patiently. Clearly Emma wasn't going anywhere.

She sighed in defeat. "Under the sink," she mumbled and sat down, putting her head in her hands. She simply didn't have the energy to fight with the stubborn blonde anymore.

Emma hauled the kit out from under the sink, groaning unexpectedly at the weight of the sizeable plastic box. Lifting up the lid, Emma's eyebrows shot up when she saw the large array of items inside. E Regina had really covered all the bases, everything one might ever possibly need in case of injury or emergency from bandages to a couple of small wax candles and matches.

"You're nothing if not prepared," Emma remarked, choosing some cotton swabs, peroxide and gauze from the kit.

"Yes, well…I just wanted to have everything handy in case Henry ever hurt himself."

Pain blossomed anew in her chest. Henry. She could scarcely believe that this was really happening. She'd come home the previous night feeling lower than she'd ever felt. She remembered wandering through her own house like a ghost. The mansion was simply too big, too hollow and too cold without Henry there. It was the first time she'd allowed herself to focus on that fact since the curse had broken, and the loneliness seeped through her blood like a toxin. Nothing had ever cut through her with such blinding pain as her son rushing into Emma's arms and calling her 'mom'.

The magic she had adsorbed from the well was powerful and dark – just as she and Rumplestiltskin had intended – and it had left her exhausted and in pain. Eventually she'd made it to her study intent on fixing herself a drink, hoping to stop the incessant trembling in her limbs. Instead, she'd found herself staring at her own reflection. It had been too much for her – to look at her reflection and see with painful clarity how alone she truly was. Her devastation and anger had simply erupted within her and before she could think it through she'd lashed out, breaking the mirror and bloodying her fist. The next thing she knew she was coming to on the floor with Emma and Henry hanging over her. She could only figure that the exertion and side effects of absorbing such powerful magic had simply been too much.

Emma came to stand before her, holding cotton swabs and the bottle of antiseptic.

"I don't need you to take care of me, Miss Swan. I can take care of myself." But that particular argument sounded weak even to her own ears, considering how Emma and Henry had found her.

Emma sighed. "I know you don't need me to, Regina, but will you let me? It's the least I can do."

The guilt in Emma's expression surprised her. Surely it was some sort of Charming family guilt complex. Regina was quite aware that Emma didn't owe her anything. But it had been so long since anyone had done anything kind for her that, even though she was acutely aware that she didn't deserve it, she nodded her head in surrender.

Emma knelt before her and began inspecting the cuts on her hand with gentility that Regina never would have thought Emma capable of.

"It doesn't look like there's any glass in here and you definitely won't need stitches. That's good," Emma murmured, reaching for the peroxide.

Regina nodded, and then winced when the action set her head throbbing.

"This might sting a little," Emma warned her, holding the cotton ball above her wounded hand.

And sting it did. Regina bit her bottom lip to keep from hissing.

Eventually the pain subsided and Regina blurted out the most concerning though that had been swimming in her head since she drew the magic from the well: "I don't understand why I'm not dead."

As soon as the words left her mouth she wished she could take them back. Surely Emma wasn't interested in why she wasn't dead. But she was interested, apparently, because she stopped cleaning the cuts on her hand to look up at her.

"What?" She asked.

"Well, Rumplestiltskin thought Cora and Hook would be coming through the well and I couldn't let that happen. She'd stop at nothing to destroy the things I love." Again, she added silently. "We made it so that nobody could survive coming through."

"And you absorbed that magic, thinking that it would kill you?"

Regina nodded slowly.

"Why would you do something so stupid, Regina?" The anger in Emma's voice surprised did she have to be angry about?

"Henry wanted you back," Regina stated, as though her reasons were obvious. "He asked me to have faith that it would be you and Mary Margaret coming through the well and not my mother and Hook. So I did what I had to do," she finished, bowing her head.

"And you think Henry would've been okay with that?!" She would've found Emma's indignation amusing in any other situation, but now it just angered her. She didn't actually expect her to believe that she cared, did she?

"Yes," she hissed through clenched teeth, ashamed to feel the burning of tears in her eyes. "You are the one Henry wants. You are the one he ran to, the one he called 'mom', nevermind that I've raised him since birth! You are the one who makes him happy!" She cried, her voice breaking. She hung her head and brushed away the treacherous tears that had fallen down her cheeks. "Henry loved me once, you know. I guess I should've known that it was too good to last." She looked at Emma and hated her for the compassion in her gaze.

"Henry loves you," Emma reassured her.

But it was easy for Emma to spew hollow words of comfort at her when she possessed the one thing that Regina coveted most.

Emma continued, "So you can't leave him, okay? No stupid stunts that are going to get you killed."

Regina wanted to remind her that her 'stupid stunt' had saved her life the day before. She also didn't mention that she didn't need a 'stupid stunt' at all; plenty of people in Storybrooke would gladly kill her with their bare hands if given the chance.

Instead she muttered, "It would've been worth it. Henry would have you, in any case. He'd have been happy. And I'd protect his happiness with my life."

And she would, now. Because although she'd given Henry every ounce of love she'd had within her to give, when he'd started believing in the curse self-preservation had kicked in and she'd hurt him deeply by letting people think he was crazy. She knew that now, and never again would she stand in the way of his happiness. Even if the thought that he might be happier without her threatened to tear her apart.

Emma picked up her hand again and resumed cleaning the wounds. She didn't meet Regina's eyes when she mumbled, "Yeah, well, maybe I don't want to raise him alone. Henry has two moms and it's going to stay that way." She said it so quietly that Regina almost missed it.

She didn't know what to say back, so she didn't say anything at all. She focused on the pain in her hand instead of the thoughts rioting in her head.

Emma finished cleaning her hand efficiently and silently. As she began gently wrapping her hand with gauze, she looked up and said shyly, "I'm sorry I didn't invite you to dinner last night."

Regina raised an eyebrow, her skepticism showing on her face.

"I felt guilty the whole time we were there. I was going to come find you, but Snow wouldn't let me leave."

Regina scoffed. "Save me you platitudes, Miss Swan. My own son said he'd 'see me later', and you expect me to believe that you wanted me there? Besides, we both know that if you really wanted me there you would've left to find me with or without Snow's permission."

Emma didn't have anything to say to that. Regina was right, of course, and it just made her feel even guiltier. What an insensitive idiot she'd been.

"You almost killed yourself to save my life," Emma said quietly, meeting Regina's gaze.

"I didn't do it for you, I did it for Henry," Regina corrected her.

"Right, for Henry. But I'm grateful all the same. And I'm sorry I didn't show it yesterday." Emma wished there was something she could say to make Regina believe her. To make her see that she understood more than Regina knew, more than she would let herself think about.

Emma finished wrapping her hand and cuts off the extra gauze. "I know you must not've been too happy about bringing me back. I did break your curse, after all, and I imagine you must hate me for it."

But Regina didn't really care that Emma had broken her curse, given the circumstances. The choice had been either the curse or Henry, and that really wasn't a choice at all. Even though she'd lost everything she'd built during the twenty-eight years of the curse, it would've all been meaningless if Henry had died; she would've been without her happy ending, just like everyone else.

So no, she didn't hate Emma for breaking her curse. But she wasn't about to tell her that.

"Please," she said coolly, "what could you possibly know about how I feel?"

Emma looked at her, and Regina loathed the sadness and compassion in her eyes. She wasn't worthy of it. Emma shrugged and said, "I don't. But let's just say that I think I understand a little better why you did what you did. Not saying that I condone it or anything, obviously, but…" she trailed off as she finished tying off the bandage wrapped around her hand. She brushed her thumb over the back of Regina's hand, smoothing over the bandage in a motion that was almost tender.

Regina felt her eyes widen and her heartbeat quicken just a little. She swallowed hard. "Tell me then, Emma," she taunted, "what is it that you think you've divulged about me using your particular brand of pop psychology?" She wanted the words to make her sound more in control than she felt, but they just made her sound tired.

She sighed and stared down at her now-bandaged hand, wishing that she could take back her emotional outburst from the night before so that she wouldn't be having this conversation right now. She wouldn't be in Emma's debt and that, Regina felt, was the most galling part of this ridiculous situation.

In reality, all Emma has to do is say 'jump!' and Regina would say 'how high?' if it meant regaining her son's trust, and she hated herself for it. But then, Regina had always been one to do whatever was necessary to get what she wanted. Showing Emma such vulnerability was no exception.

Emma answered her after a moment. "Well, I've met your mother. And I don't really know what she did to you back then but she's," Emma exhaled, "Regina I don't even think there are words to describe how awful she is."

Regina smirked. She couldn't exactly disagree, even if she did still love her mother after everything she'd done in a warped, dark sort of way.

"There's darkness in her that I don't see in you. It's like..." Emma paused, wanting desperately to say the right thing, which was something she'd never been good at anyway. She didn't want to think about why it mattered to her so much with Regina.

"It's like," she continued, "you have done some really, really evil things. But it's like Cora is evil, it's like there's nothing there but that awful wickedness. And I know you're not like that. Not really, no matter how much you may have everyone else convinced that you're beyond all hope and evil to the core."

Regina closed her eyes and cleared her throat, suddenly finding it hard to speak. "And why would you think that?"

"Because I know you love Henry," Emma replied simply.

Regina felt the sting of tears in her eyes and bowed her head quickly, letting the curtain of her hair hide her face. It had been so long since anyone had seen anything in her beyond darkness and corruption that she didn't know how to react.

"And," Emma continued, "Snow told me some things."

Regina stiffened and raised her head and the mention of Snow White.

"She told me that you lost someone you loved because of your mother and because of her. She told me that you were all but forced to marry the king and that you were never the same after you married him. So, Regina, I'm not going to pretend that I understand every thought that runs through your mind. But to have grown up with someone who would do that to their own daughter…" Emma trailed off and caught Regina's watery stare piercingly.

"Let's just say I understand what it's like to be desperate. I understand what it's like to do anything to get out. And for what it's worth, Regina, I'm sorry."

And then just like that Emma rose and moved back towards the first aid kit, searching anew for supplies to clean the cut on Regina's forehead.

Regina was stunned. She felt as though Emma's words had flattened her, crushing the already-fragile barriers around her bruised heart.

Suddenly, she needed Emma to understand why. There was so much more to her story than she knew. So before she could think twice about it she blurted: "His name was Daniel."

"What?" Emma asked, coming once more to kneel in front of her.

She thought about telling Emma to forget she'd said anything. But then, maybe if she gave this piece of herself to Emma, she'd see that she's trying. That she wants to be better for Henry.

So she took a deep breath and steeled herself. "The person I lost. H-his name was Daniel and I loved him. He was everything to me."

Regina smiled then, just slightly, and it was the most heartbreaking smile that Emma had ever seen.

"He was our stable boy – someone with no status or power – so I knew my mother would never approve. We kept our relationship a secret, going behind my mother's back to spend time together. Aside from the time I've spent with Henry, I have never been as happy as I was when I was with him."

She paused, and Emma marveled at the far-away expression on her face. There was a peace on her face that Emma found enchanting.

"I saved Snow from a runaway horse, and the king proposed to me. My mother accepted his proposal for me. I didn't want to marry him, so I ran to Daniel and asked him to elope with me. He said yes, of course, but Snow saw us."

Regina paused, breathing deeply as the deep-seated anger that had not once diminished within her over the years rose within her.

"I begged her to keep my secret, explained to her that Daniel was my true love. Snow promised me that she would keep my secret, and for a few wonderful hours I had the fiancé that I wanted, and hope that I would be able to live my own life. With him. We were so close to getting away, but my mother caught us."

She fell silent for a long moment. It looked to Emma as though she was in immense pain, but she didn't dare speak. She was enthralled and intrigued in a way that she perhaps shouldn't have been, but she needed to know. The woman sitting before her showing a rare moment of trust and vulnerability was not born evil. Emma simply wouldn't believe it.

"What happened?" She prompted gently when she couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"She killed him," Regina said emotionlessly, though tears fell from her eyes. "She ripped his heart out and crushed it to dust right in front of me. He died in my arms." The memories of that night – just as vivid as they ever were –burned through her like a white-hot flame. She clenched her wounded fist against her thigh and the pain of it kept her grounded.

Emma's stomach rolled. She was horrified. She wished that she could think of something to say that might somehow cross the silence stretching between them. She aimed for sincerity and hoped it was enough.

"You know, when Snow and I were in the Enchanted Forest, I saw the destruction there and I wanted to blame you for everything. All of that death and destruction. But I can't. I can't blame you entirely." She hadn't been able to, even though she'd tried.

Regina stares wide-eyed at Emma. It was more understanding than anyone had ever offered her before, but she couldn't bring herself to acknowledge it out loud.

Regina didn't say anything, so Emma tried again. "I'm sorry, Regina."

Wiping the tears from her cheeks, Regina said bitterly, "Yeah. Me too."

Emma wet a washcloth and began gently wiping away the blood on Regina's forehead and temple. They were very close together, and the air between them was thick with tension. Regina found herself staring at Emma, at her impossibly bright green irises and the dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Emma, for her part, didn't seem to notice Regina's staring as she narrowed her eyes in concentration, making sure to remove every last flake of dried blood from Regina's skin.

Regina wanted to ask about her mother. She wanted to know every detail about every interaction that Emma had with Cora. Even after all of these years, she still couldn't escape her mother. She'd been free of her presence for years, but Cora's voice had always been inside her head, playing back every insecurity, every fear and every nightmare from her past that still haunted her. She hated that her mother was still able to control her.

Only when she felt she couldn't wonder another minute – and not a moment before- did she ask with a nonchalance she didn't feel: "And how is my mother?"

Emma shrugged. "I don't know anything other than the fact that she's evil incarnate." She smirked. But then she put down the washcloth and turned to look gravely at Regina.

"She's trying to find Storybrooke," Emma exhaled.

"I know," Regina sighed, the mere thought of her mother making it to Storybrooke freezing her to her very core.

"She…" Emma hesitated, hoping the other woman wouldn't curse her into oblivion, even though she doubted that Regina had the energy at the moment. "She knows we share a son."

"What?" Regina breathed, the news hitting her like a forceful slap. No.

"I'm so sorry, Regina. I mentioned it before I realized how awful she was."

Regina looked at Emma, who looked absolutely distraught. Anger flared through her. How could she have been so stupid?

"I'm so sorry," Emma whimpered.

She looked so sincerely contrite that Regina's anger evaporated as quickly as it had come. There was no point in being angry now anyway, and she simply didn't have the energy for it. The only thing to do now was to prepare for the worst. There was no way for Emma to have known what she'd been dealing with at the time, no way for her to know that Cora would not hesitate to hurt Henry if it meant having her daughter back under her control.

"Well, Miss Swan, if I know my mother, it's only a matter of time before she gets here. You might have stopped her from coming back with you, but she is crafty and resourceful. She won't rest until she's found me."

Emma felt herself pale. What have I done?

"Emma." Regina barked her name with such command that she had no choice but to look at her.

"I know you hate me," Regina began, "but none of that will matter if Cora makes it here. I will be the least of you worries. We are going to have to put aside our differences in order to protect Henry, do you understand?" She felt the protectiveness and love she felt for Henry surge in her chest, and she knew that nothing would stop her from protecting her son. Not even her mother.

Emma nodded at her, dumbly.

She didn't hate Regina, and she was sorry that Regina thought she did. How could she possibly hate the woman who had made Henry who he was and loved him when she hadn't been able to? She simply couldn't. But it wasn't for lack of trying.

"Regina, I don't hate you."

Regina just stared at her, and it set Emma on edge. She didn't know how to deal with this vulnerable woman sitting in front of her. She'd never seen Regina like this and it was completely out of her comfort zone. It was unlike any interaction they'd ever had in the past.

"You know," Emma tried again, "Henry is amazing."

"What?" Regina snapped, eyeing her quizzically.

"Henry. He's smart, and funny and really kind. Not to mention super compassionate and mature. Well, relatively anyway."

Regina curled in on herself. Yes, her son was beautiful and she loved every bit of him with everything she had. She didn't need Emma to tell her that, when all it did was serve as a painful reminder that she is just not enough for him.

But Emma continued. "He's so trusting and innocent and loving, Regina –"

Regina snapped. "Are you quite done, Miss Swan?" But she didn't sound angry. She just sounded wounded and desperate.

Emma kept going as though she hadn't spoken at all, "- that's because of you!"

Regina was stunned into silence. She stared at Emma, not allowing herself to even begin to hope that she'd heard correctly. Surely the knock she'd taken to the head was causing her to hallucinate…

Then Emma's hands were on her shoulders and she found herself staring into wet, green irises. "And I could never hate the person who has given my son everything I hoped for him to have when I gave him up. Henry might not see it now, but he will. And you need to be around when he does."

Before Regina could even process Emma's kind words, much less think of anything to say, Emma had turned away from her and was rummaging through the first aid supplies for bandages again.

She wiped the cut on Regina's forehead one last time. Emma came near her again and the space between them felt close, saturated with uncertainty and a temporary truce. Regina felt like she might suffocate if she didn't say something soon. She opened her mouth to break the silence but she wasn't even sure what she was going to say. Emma blessedly interrupted her.

"She tried to take my heart, you know," Emma mumbled, looking everywhere but at Regina as she fussed with a butterfly bandage.

Regina felt the blood in her veins run cold.

"She didn't succeed, obviously," Emma reassured her. "She wanted to bring you Snow's heart but I stepped in the way.

Regina's brow furrowed. "So what happened? It's not very often that my mother doesn't get a heart that she wants." Indeed, this was something she knew better than anyone.

"I…don't know. Something stopped her. She tried to pull my heart out but she just…couldn't. And then something threw her away from me. A pulse of energy , or something. Like when the curse broke. It sent Cora flying." Emma gave her a wry smile, but her expression changed to one of confusion and worry. "I have no idea what it means."

"It means you have magic, dear," Regina replies. "It's no surprise, really. You are the saviour, after all." She wished she could take pleasure in the look of absolute terror on Emma's face.

"That's bullshit!" Emma scathed, turning away from Regina and throwing items on the counter haphazardly back into the first aid kit. "I don't want magic!"

"But you have it."

"But I don't want it. I didn't ask for it." Frustration that she'd been holding in since the curse broke flowed through her in a rush. "Turns out I'm just some puppet on a string, a pawn in some game and I don't even know the rules. My life isn't my own, it's all been some giant scheme to bring me here and save a bunch of fucking fairy tale characters and I didn't even get a choice," her voice broke, "because it's my destiny," she sneered. A tear ran down Emma's cheek and she wiped it away hastily. Just as suddenly as the anger had come upon her it disappeared, leaving her drained.

Regina watched her silently with sympathy she wished she didn't feel. Before, she probably would have come up with some cold and cutting remark to say, but looking at Emma's face causes her gut to twist and she hates that she relates to Emma more than she knows. Seeing Emma's bent posture and desolate expression causes the voice of a terrified, heartsick young woman to ring in her ears. I don't want power. I don't want to be queen I want to be free. I want a life of my own.

She knew with a sickening familiarity that there was nothing she could say to ease the blonde's grief. There was nothing she could that that Emma could possibly want to hear, and she'd never been one to offer false platitudes.

Instead, she said the one thing she felt she needed to say; the one thing that nobody had said to her until it was too late. "Just remember, Emma, that magic always, always comes with a price. Be sure you're willing to pay it should you choose to hone your abilities."

She nodded seriously. "Thank you." She was surprised and a little touched that Regina would offer her such advice.

Regina set her lips into a grim line and nodded her acknowledgement.

"I didn't put a bandage over your cut. Here…" She carefully pulled the bandage from its plastic backing, and placed it over Regina's cut, smoothing it gently beneath her fingers to make sure it adhered. She turned then, and began washing her hands.

"She told me that love is weakness." Her tone was almost casual.

"My mother, you mean?"

Emma nodded, turning off the tap and grabbing a towel to dry her hands. "When her hand was in my chest. She told me that love was weakness." She hazarded a look at the woman beside her and the painful, cynical look in her eyes told Emma that this was something Regina had heard many times before.

"She made you believe it, didn't she?"

Regina looked at Emma with wide, fearful eyes. There was no use fighting anymore. She knew that no matter what she said, Emma would see the truth.

"She did," Regina admitted remorsefully. "But I could never extinguish the yearning I'd always felt to be loved without condition." She fixed her gaze on the floor. "It'd be easier if I did believe it. My mother would be disappointed to know that it was one lesson I never did learn, one lesson she couldn't beat into me. Love is weakness and power is the only thing that matters. But she was right, it seems. I never wanted power, but love has made me weak over and over again."

She shook her head and Emma watched a tear trail down to the tip of her nose and fall to the floor. The rawness on Regina's face stole the air from her lungs. It pained her immensely to think that the woman who had raised her son with so much love thought that doing so had made her anything but strong.

"Regina, just because love hurts that doesn't make it a weakness." Regina didn't move her head, but Emma watched her shoulders tense. She moved directly in front of Regina, gripping the brunette's shoulders tightly, bending to capture her gaze. "Love is strength," she said firmly. "You love Henry so much that you were willing to lay down your life for him. Regina, if that's not strength I don't know what is."

Tears ran down Regina's cheeks. She wanted to be strong, but she felt the tenuous hold she had on her tempestuous emotions beginning to slip. She didn't want to let Emma coax her into believing that love could bring her anything but pain.

However, what the blonde before her said next demolished the floodgates holding back her emotions.

"Regina, if love can still cause you pain then you can't give up. If love still hurts, and if redemption is really what you want, then I have faith that you can fix this. Henry will come around."

Regina felt her lip begin to quiver so she drew it between her teeth. Did she dare hope?

"I'll help him see it, Regina, if this is what you really want. "

Of all the things Regina had ever wanted for herself – most of which she never got- this, this is what she wants most of all.

There were many things she wanted to say to the blonde standing before her.

Thank you. Why are you doing this for me? I am not worthy of your trust or friendship. Why do you believe in me? You're a fool, Emma Swan.

She opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a strangled sob. So she gave up fighting and let herself crumble.

Emma watched Regina's face contort with the force of her tears, sobs shaking her shoulders. She didn't know what to do – didn't know how much comfort Regina would accept from her. But she looked so utterly broken that Emma did what she would do for Mary Margaret or Ruby and drew Regina to her in a loose but comforting hold, consequences be damned.

Regina's head came to rest on her shoulder, and Emma could feel her tensing, trying to contain her weeping.

Emma whispered gently, "I'm not gonna judge you, you know. You can let go."

She smiled slightly as she felt Regina relax slightly against her. They stayed like that for a few moments, until Regina had calmed. She pulled away eventually, wiping at her eyes. "Thank you," she said lowly, the blush on her cheeks belaying her embarrassment.

Emma nodded at her and smiled reassuringly. "Don't mention it."

Regina sighed heavily and brought her hand up to cradle her forehead. "My head is pounding."

"Well, I'm done patching you up so you can go lie down, if you want. Do you need help standing?"

"No, I don't think so. The vertigo I was feeling earlier seems to have gone." Hesitantly, Regina stood and took a few slow steps to make sure she had her equilibrium.

"I'm going to go get you some Tylenol and a glass of water, okay?" Emma said as she headed toward the door.

"Emma."

Emma turned to look over her shoulder.

"Thank you." The words were so low that Emma barely heard them. Emma smiled at her and nodded, graciously accepting the thanks without causing Regina any further embarrassment. She figured that Regina had had enough for this afternoon.

When Emma returned upstairs, Regina was in the middle of turning down her bedclothes. Emma handed her the water and the pills, watched her swallow them and place the water on her bedside table. Even after letting some of her emotions go, she still looked utterly weary, like it was taking every ounce of her strength just to keep standing.

"Things'll be okay, Regina. Henry will come around, you'll see."

Regina didn't even try to hide the incredulity in her expression. "If you say so, Miss Swan. I'd like to get some rest now, if you don't mind."

Emma nodded. "Of course."

"Tell Henry I'm sorry," Regina said, turning back around.

"Okay. He'll understand. I'll be downstairs if you need anything."

Regina whipped around once again. "You don't need to stay."

"Yes I do," Emma declared firmly. "I'll be waking you up every couple of hours to make sure you're alright. I don't want to take any chances."

"Okay," Regina sighed. She knew it would be pointless to argue and she just wanted to sleep.

Emma left, closing the door behind her and Regina crawled under the covers, sinking blissfully into the mattress. She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply.

She was almost asleep when she heard the door creak open. She watched Henry come to her bedside, and, without saying a word, climb in beside her.

Regina hardly dared to breathe. The last time her son had climbed into bed with her like this had been years ago, when he was still afraid of thunderstorms and monsters in his closet. He lifted her arm and brought it to encircle his shoulders, resting his head where her shoulder met her chest. Slowly, as though she was afraid he might disappear if she moved too quickly, she brought her cheek to rest on top of his head.

Tears formed in her eyes. She let them roll down her cheeks unabashedly and into Henry's hair. If love is strength, then she was the strongest woman in that world or any other in that moment. Her heart was so full of the delicious ache of love that she felt it would simply burst.

Regina lay awake for a few moments, reveling in the feel of her son's soft breathing on her neck. He looked up at her then, and smiled at her. She returned his smile with a wide, watery one of her own. Henry lay down against her once more, and she remained awake until she felt him drift to sleep.

Finally, Regina closed her eyes. As she drifted off, lulled by the even breathing of her son beside her, she felt another, unfamiliar emotion sweep through her, warming her from head to foot.

It felt terribly – beautifully – like hope.

End.

Woo! Thanks for reading. Leave a review, please? It'd mean a lot.

Also, I've got something else in the works! I don't know when it'll be finished, but keep your eyes open for it! :D 3