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“Regina, you have a baby to look after!” Emma shouted at her.

“And you have Henry!” Regina responded.

“He doesn’t need me!” Emma shouted, “none of them do! I’ve done what I came here to do, I broke the curse and now everyone has their happy ending, I’m done!”

Regina looked at her with a raised eyebrow, “so now the Saviour is leaving? Is that it? Job done and off you go back to your real life? Well, I’m sorry to point out that your work is substandard, Miss Swan.”

Emma looked at her with a shocked expression, “excuse me? I broke your fucking curse!”

“Sort of,” Regina sneered, “we’re all still here so clearly you didn’t. But that aside, everyone has their happy ending? I don’t think you really believe that, do you?”

“That’s what it looks like from where I’m sitting,” Emma quipped, her hands still on the steering wheel and her foot still sat heavily on the brake of the car like the reverse of a loaded gun.

“What about the boy?” Regina asked.

“Henry?” Emma frowned.

“No, if I meant Henry I’d say Henry,” Regina rolled her eyes and shook her head, “the boy, the boy who left you for dead at the building site.”

“What about him?” Emma asked in exasperation.

“Well I don’t think it sounds like he got his happy ending, does it, what did he say about his father?” Regina asked, “or doesn’t he matter? Do you only focus on people you care about? Are you the Saviour who saves the people who you can be bothered with?”

“Don’t. Regina. Just don’t push me,” Emma said as her fingers turned white as they gripped the wheel.

“I have to push you or you won’t tell me what is going on!” Regina shouted back at her and Emma flinched as it was probably the most emotional she had ever heard Regina become.

“Why do you even care?!” Emma shouted back.

“Because I can’t stand to see you breaking apart like this,” Regina sighed gently as she took a deep breath, “please, tell me what is going on in that brain of yours and then.. then I’ll go, I’ll leave you to drive off wherever you wish. Just tell me what is happening, honestly.”

Emma looked at Regina who was now staring at her hands in her lap and considered what lie she might tell the woman but then she considered that Regina seemed to be able to read her, maybe had her own version of the superpower.

“I’m..” Emma hesitated, “I’m.. terrified of being alone.”

Regina nodded her understanding and willed Emma to continue. She knew that the wrong word now could utterly break the young woman and any chance she had of helping her.

“I feel so damn lonely,” Emma whispered as tears began to fall down her face, “and don’t say I’m not because I am.. loneliness isn’t about having people around you..”

“No,” Regina said in agreement, “you can be completely alone in a room full of people. Loneliness is a feeling.”

Emma looked at her and nodded, “yeah..”

They both regarded each other for a while before Regina finally spoke, “this started because of me, didn’t it?”

“What do you mean?” Emma asked.

“Because I made you Henry’s legal guardian..” Regina explained and then tilted her head to the side as she considered, “or because I set events in motion that led you to a life in the foster system. Either really.”

“This isn’t your fault, it’s mine,” Emma shook her head sadly, “I’m the one who’s messed up. I don’t even understand it myself half the time.”

“Then let me help you,” Regina offered, “you feel lonely, like you don’t belong?”

Emma nodded in agreement at the assessment.

“Like what you have is being taken away from you?” Regina questioned again.

More tears fell down Emma’s face as she nodded again, “yes,” she said shakily.

Regina licked her lips and considered what she wanted to say and then looked at Emma, “would you mind taking the car out of gear? I’m a bit concerned you’ll lift your foot off the brake and we’ll surge over the line.”

Emma blinked and suddenly realised the situation they were in, she quickly nodded and placed the car in reverse and moved them back from the line before parking the car up.

“Thank you,” Regina breathed a small sigh of relief, “Emma, I’m not going to pretend to understand what is going on in your mind, that would be patronising. But don’t think I’m completely without a clue, I have experienced similar feelings so I feel I’m informed enough to say that running away won’t help.”

Emma shook her head and looked away.

“Well,” Regina shrugged, “it will help this time, of course. Driving away from your parents, from Henry and from me will stop us from being able to hurt you, will prevent your feelings for them hurting you. But what about where you go? When your emotions from Storybrooke start to dissipate and you create an emotional attachment to someone else and then.. something triggers these feelings in you again? What then?”

“I don’t know,” Emma angrily bit out.

“Come on, Emma,” Regina sighed, “you need a better answer than that!”

Emma angrily bit her lip as she looked out the window to avoid eye contact with Regina.