Hey! Long time no update, so I hope you're doing alright :) There's hella dialogue in this chapter. Fixing up the previous chapters is taking longer than I anticipated, sorry about that, but anyway! I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think.

Henry gathered his textbook and binder, slipping them into his backpack. Everyone else had left class, the only other person in the room being the teacher. Henry pitied her. Kids asked a thousand questions about the work, but never paid attention when she taught the lessons. He couldn't blame her for looking like she wanted to slap them with a textbook every now and then. Though she wasn't the most approachable, Henry was glad she didn't seem to dislike him as much as the rest. As he left the class, he politely wished her to have a good day and received a half-smiled in return.

Out in the hall, students and staff were walking this way and that. A few chatty groups lined the halls as Henry made his way to the cafeteria for his lunch break. Three more periods to go, he told himself. With Regina's words of advice in mind, he had gone about the day better than he had all year. Her optimism motivated him to take control of his life and focus on himself rather than worry about others and what they thought of him. Happiness, he was beginning to understand, truly was a choice one had to make oneself every day. This morning, he decided to emanate good vibes so that maybe it would rub off on his parents. Neal was still asleep, but Emma did manage a smile, which Henry missed seeing. Maybe things would turn around sooner than he anticipated.

The first person Henry saw when he entered the cafeteria was Grace. She was seated at her usual table with her friends. The two of them made awkward eye contact, which the girl sitting across from Grace happened to notice. She giggled to herself before turning to the girl sitting next to her and whispering. A ripple effect began, the entire table had glanced at Henry and began giggling. All except Grace who looked rather ashamed and kept quiet. Henry rolled his eyes and ignored them as he passed. He took a seat near the corner and smiled to himself. Though it would take him some time for this mindset to become permanent, it felt good not to care about certain things that used to bother him. Those kids didn't deserve his attention; he was only sorry he didn't accept that fact sooner.

-x-

After a minute or two, Emma lifted herself off Regina. She only felt more embarrassed imagining how gross she probably looked. So she turned her back on the other woman.

"Oh God. I'm sorry, I—I didn't—," She sniffed and dabbed her eyes with the wrists of her sleeves. Emma took in what just happened. It seemed so surreal, how Regina was there and literally gave her a shoulder to cry on. Emma considered for a moment the possibility that Regina might care for her. Not just on behalf of Henry. But how could she? Why would she?

Regina chuckled to try and lighten the mood, "I'm glad to see you're still as eloquent as ever."

"Hah. Totally," Emma smiled though Regina couldn't see it. She felt her tap her shoulder and turned her head ever so slightly. A tissue dangled from Regina's fingers. Emma took it and cleaned herself up. Slowly, she turned around. To further her surprise, Regina's features were soft while she stared at her. So different from the days when they were rivals for Henry's affection. Emma had to question if she was looking at the same person, but then she figured not. She was looking at the real Regina.

Emma bowed her head to hide her small smile, shifting from foot to foot, "So, um... Not that I don't appreciate that you were here and all, but... Why were you still here?"

"You won't believe it," Regina chuckled. Her eyebrows rose and her eyes seemed to look past Emma, "I certainly can't at times..."

Finally she looked the blonde straight in the eye, "When I was trying to make a change in my life, you didn't give up on me. I know it wasn't easy for you. And...now, it's my turn to help you. I mean, why shouldn't I?"

Emma's eyes narrowed, though not in a suspicious way. Firmly, her lips pressed together and slowly, she reached out to pat the other woman's arms and shoulders. Regina frowned with confusion, "Um...What are you doing?"

"Just making sure you're for real right now."

Regina snorted and rolled her eyes, "Yes, Emma, I am for real."

"Yeah...I guess you are," Emma chuckled. "But hey, you know, all that change...I mean, I might've helped but—Regina, that was all you. You did that."

At that, Regina simply smiled. Then she began picking at her nails, "I, um, I know I'm probably not your first choice for a confidante, but considering what I already know... I really only want to help."

Emma saw no reason to distrust her. It was early in the afternoon; they had some time before Henry got out of school, and the crime rate in Storybrooke was near non-existent—for once. Regina waited patiently for a response, squinting as the wind blew past them.

"Could we maybe go someplace else?" Emma dabbed her eyes with her sleeve again, "If we're going to talk, I don't want any interruptions. Or curious ears."

"Of course. Do you have a place in mind?"

"Yeah. Mind poofing us there? Or are you completely done with magic?"

Regina sighed and cracked her knuckles, "Haven't used it in two years so I'm a bit rusty, but still capable, yes. Where to?"

Emma pressed her lips in thought before responding, "The clock tower."

-x-

With a swipe of Regina's hands, a cloud of purple smoke engulfed them and cleared away, revealing the slowly turning gears of the clock and the small staircase. The daylight shone through the clock face and illuminated the small space. Regina peered around, pouting.

"Curious. Any particular reason you chose this place?"

"Not really. Just that nobody'll look for us here," Emma grunted, making herself comfortable on the floor.

When Regina slipped her jacket off and sat down on it, Emma internally face-palmed for being inconsiderate. Having been in all kinds of environments, she wasn't the least bit bothered by the dusty room. Regina was quite the opposite as far as she could tell, although the brunette made no remark. Emma would have offered her own jacket if she hadn't left it behind at the station. Or maybe she should have just chosen another place.

"Oh.. We could—"

"No, it's fine," Regina waved a dismissive hand, "We're not here for me, we're here for you."

That was just it though. Technically, Regina didn't have to do what she was doing and could very easily make up an excuse to Henry for it. The right words had yet to come to her, but Emma was very grateful to Regina and made a mental note to express it to her later.

Emma scooted closer until she was about a forearm's length away from her. The two of them looked like a couple of teenagers huddled in their special hiding spot, about to share their secrets. Emma gathered her thoughts and prepared herself to start spilling her guts. At this point, she intended to tell Regina everything. Crying in front of her had been mortifying, yet Emma was sure she'd probably end up doing so again. But Regina would be an impartial listener with no problem being upfront. Emma needed that.

"Perhaps I should tell you what I already know," said Regina, clasping her hands in her lap, "Henry thinks that you and his father have fallen out of love but remain with each other for his sake. He doesn't want that because from his perspective, the both of you are only hurting yourselves."

Regina pursed her lips and rubbed her thumbs together, "However, he's not the only one concerned. Your mother came to me this morning asking about you. Or rather, she came crying to me. Apparently, she and your father haven't seen you and the boys for quite some time."

Emma went wide-eyed. Imagining Mary-Margaret crying to Regina about her made her tear up, but she did her best to suppress it. Suddenly her chest felt cold and her shoulders trembled. Emma rested her elbows on her knees and held her head in her hands. Regina heard sniffling and was unsure of what to do. Emma lifted her head and scratched her nose, and it was obvious that she was holding back. Regina bowed her head slightly to stare down at the little space between them.

"Cry if you must," she then lifted her gaze to Emma, offering a sympathetic smile, "It helps a great deal. You'll appreciate having let it all out in private when you have to go back and face the rest of the world again."

Emma knew she must have been speaking from experience and wondered how many times Regina had cried alone. There she was, sitting with her and telling her it was okay to cry, when it was likely that no one had ever told her the same. The thought made her lip quiver and soon Emma found herself watching her tears hit the floor in clean, little circles.

Regina decided to push the conversation onward and tilted her head, "So, why keep everyone at arm's length?"

"It's not like I want to," Emma sniveled, "I just—I thought I could fix it on my own before it got worse. I grew up having nobody but myself to rely on and I guess I still feel I have to be that way sometimes. It's really stupid... But in this case, I have to consider everyone else involved, I can't just do something for my own sake."

Regina assumed she was referring to Neal; wanting to protect his reputation as the good son of Rumpelstiltskin. Quite the noble deed, though obviously difficult to maintain. What Emma followed up with astounded Regina because it never occurred to her before.

Emma's hazel eyes stared off to the side, no longer crying but still just as sad, "When Mary-Margaret broke the news that she was pregnant, it was around the time Neal and I were already kind of on edge. I know that you're supposed to be able to share everything with your family and I knew I could do that. But then I thought about the baby. It's no good to be stressed out or have negative vibes around in that condition. It's supposed to be a happy time for them. The worse things got with Neal, the more I didn't want to talk about it. And it wasn't easy to avoid them, but like I said, I had to. Especially Mary-Margaret because she does that mom thing... she takes one look at me and she knows.

"It's—... I want to be there for them. But I also know how badly they wanted another kid, so I just want it to, y'know...turn out better than I did. I want it to be annoyingly positive and happy even before it's born," a fond smile grew on her lonely, tired face, "Just like they are."

Regina was moved by how much love Emma had for her parents despite how long they'd been separated. More than that, she was stunned that she thought she wasn't enough for them. Regina sympathized to some extent, having never felt like she was enough for Cora. But countless times, she had seen the way David and Mary-Margaret looked at their daughter, with eyes full of pride and great love. Emma was a far better person than she, and so Regina felt compelled to let her know it.

"If I might interrupt for a second," she held up her index finger, and with a nod from Emma, she expressed, "You know.. you couldn't possibly ruin anything for them. If anything, you being there means everything. The reason your parents want another child is simply that they missed the opportunity to raise you themselves. But they love you. And they're proud of the woman you grew up to be, especially since you were on your own."

She paused as a smile grew on Emma's face, then quickly added, "Just thought I should.. point that out. Anyway, please, continue."

The warm smile lingered on Emma's face for a moment longer before it faded. She began talking about having to ignore her friends. Being sheriff didn't exactly make it easier to steer clear of them. Ruby, Belle, and several others were very caring and they made several attempts to reach out to her. So Emma resorted to giving them the cold shoulder, speaking to them only when absolutely necessary. It hurt her to act so indifferent towards people with good intentions, and at times she considered opening up to them. But by the time Emma had built up the courage to do it, "...They'd already gotten the message."

That was another thing Regina knew very well: being friendless, alone. After losing Daniel, she too thought that her situation had to be dealt with alone, and so she ruined every chance she had to have someone on her side. While she wanted to tell Emma that she understood, she didn't want to be constantly interrupting. However, Emma looked at her as if she was asking for her input.

Regina sighed, "Well, you can imagine I know exactly what that's like. It's not any easier. Quite the opposite, actually. But I'm certain they'll be more forgiving towards you. It's not as if you murdered anyone or cursed them into an eternal hell."

Emma frowned even though she chuckled along with Regina, "That's not funny, Regina."

Regina laughed at how Emma seemed more offended than she was at making a joke about herself. She was glad to have lightened the mood a little bit, but their laughter died down and she was serious once again, "You're right, it's not. But I honestly think that you've nothing to worry about regarding them. After all, you didn't do it for selfish reasons."

Emma licked her lips and rubbed the edge of her eyebrow, also serious, "I did it to protect Neal too. I couldn't let people look at him different just because he's going through something tough. Especially not Henry. No matter what kind of shit Neal and I have with each other, I never want to make him look bad in his son's eyes."

"I see," Regina nodded. After a beat, she very carefully asked, "...He did that to you, didn't he?"

Emma looked ashamed as she nodded her response. Regina stared at her with concern and shook her head, lips pressed firmly together. She didn't even want to imagine how that scene played out; she'd experienced abuse herself and didn't wish to revisit that part of her life. No doubt, neither did Emma.

"I'm glad Henry was with you at the time. So he wasn't around to see it," Emma told her. She scoffed, "It shouldn't have even happened. That was the first time he'd ever done it. And the last."

"It better be!" Regina agreed. "...Now what do you intend to do?"

Emma shrugged her shoulders, "I don't even know where to start. I've got a big mess to clean up. But I'm going to do it."

"Well, at least you don't have to do it alone. Although, if you choose to deal with that husband of yours first, I think I should wait in the car."

"No, you've done enough. This is—I really appreciate this, Regina, I do. You shouldn't have to be listening to my problems, let alone help me solve them. So, thank you, but I can't ask you to do more than this."

"Please," the brunette snorted and began to get up. She dusted herself and her jacket off. "Like you have choice at this point. Besides I made a promise to your mother that I intend to keep."

Regina extended her hand out to Emma and smirked. She nudged her head towards the outside, "Come on, you'll be fine. We'll figure it out."

Emma took Regina's hand and stood up. "Thanks, Regina."

-x-

As always, thank you for reading! *sending peace and good vibes to wherever you are~*