Shared Pain

Chapter 11

It felt as though someone had just thrown her off a cliff. She felt like she had nothing to hold onto anymore, every bit of steadiness disappeared and there was nothing she could grasp to stop the falling.

Hi, honey," her husband slurred and the smell of alcohol now filled her nostrils causing her nose to scrunch up in disgust automatically.

A headache started creeping up and she felt two warm hands around her waist, preventing her from actually collapsing.

"Breathe, Emma, stay calm," she heard Regina's raspy voice whisper somewhere in the distance.

Killian looked absolutely horrible and the policemen stood slightly awkward in the doorway. Once they noticed Emma had calmed down a bit, one of them cleared his throat.

"He's broken into the new clothing shop and ripped several items apart, while he was drunk. The owner of the shop said your husband had hit him. We found him unconscious."

Emma blinked a few times, hoping that that would make the headache and the entire situation go away, but it didn't help.

Killian had lost his mind.

"We wanted to identify him, before we threw him in jail, but he has to come with us now. I'm sorry, Mrs."

The sheriffs looked with pity in their eyes at Emma before they carried her husband to the police car.

Emma panted heavily and burst out into tears. Regina wrapped her arms around the woman and tried to soothe her. The woman shuddered in their embrace and cried loudly.

Regina hummed a soft melody while she stroked Emma's back and tightly held onto the woman, giving her all the comfort she needed.

"I really thought things were going better," Emma sobbed. "DAMN YOU, KILLIAN!" She screamed, causing Regina to flinch, but she let the woman.

Emma was now wailing and crying hard. She felt mixed emotions, both sadness and anger. "Why did he do this? Why did he gave up like that. Why couldn't he just talk to me?"

Regina didn't know what to say and just held the blonde. "I finally thought everything was going great," she muttered. "With us, with him.." she pulled back from Regina and wiped away her tears.

"I'm sorry, I.. I knew this couldn't be real, but I just hoped. I hoped that once in my life not everything would get screwed up."

Regina cupped her cheeks and pulled Emma's head up so that their eyes met. "Emma, everything will be alright. I'm going to help you with every step you take from now on. Whether that's filing a divorce or giving your marriage another try, I'm here for you."

The blonde sniffed and another tear escaped her eye, which Regina easily wiped away with her thumb. "I promise, Emma. I ruined your life once and I'm not doing it again. I'm going to help you."

"I don't know what to do," she muttered desperately and closed her eyes for a moment.

"For now, you don't have to do anything. Killian isn't here, he's at the police station. You have all the time to figure everything out."

Emma nodded and swallowed. "Yes, thanks," she replied.

"I'll go make us some tea, why don't you get comfortable on the couch," she said and smiled comforting at Emma.

She wanted to help the blonde as well as she could. How Emma had talked so happily about how well things were going between her and Killian and how that now was taken away, broke her heart.

Not for Killian, he's the one who screwed up, but for Emma. It was clear Emma had been trying so hard to make everything between them work and now that he was in jail for a while, Emma probably felt as if it had been for nothing.

Regina knew that this would be hard on Emma to forgive. The whole scene of police officers coming to her house with her husband, barely having enough strength to stand due to all the alcohol was absolutely horrifying.

Regina was glad though, that the children were outside playing, because she didn't want them to have seen their dad like that.

Emma walked to the living room when Regina heard voices coming from outside and she opened the front door.

"Hi!" Emma's kids greeted her in sync with the same smile upon their lips.

They didn't say anything furthermore and just hurried inside to their mom. "Mom!" They yelled. "We just saw a police car racing with the sirens, just like in the movies!" Lola said ecstatically.

They all didn't really know what it meant if the sirens of the police car started blaring and they found the red and blue lights amazingly cool.

"Did you cry, mom?" Henry inquired before he sat down next to his mom on the couch.

Emma looked at her kids and inhaled deeply. Lola carefully crawled upon her lap and Eva sat down on the other side of her. She hugged her mom from aside while Lola clung to her chest.

"What happened, mom? Did Regina do something?" Henry inquired and Emma immediately shook her head no.

"No, Regina's got nothing to do with it," she said and pulled her children close to her. "I love you guys so much, never forget!" She said and kissed the top of their heads.

"Is it dad?" Henry softly inquired and Emma immediately averted her eyes to him.

"What makes you think that?"

"I heard you fight a while ago, but he changed. It was nice, but weird," Henry confessed.

"Your dad and I were going through a rough time and I told him he should connect more with all of you," Emma said. She was going to tell her kids everything. "But things weren't going so well with the shop lately. He never told me that, but Regina did."

Right when she mentioned the woman's name, Regina entered the living room with five cups of tea. She set them down on the coffee table and took place in a chair opposite the family.

"There's a new clothing store in Storybrooke, which made it harder for your dad to keep up with the shop. This morning he was found unconscious in the new shop. He'd broken in and broken some things, which is illegal."

"Where is he now?" Eva softly inquired as she looked up with her big green eyes.

"He's at the police station. We probably won't be seeing him for a couple of weeks."

"And what happens when he comes back?" Henry asked.

Emma sighed softly and exchanged a look with Regina who nodded encouraging.

"I don't know what happens when Killian comes back. Maybe he is going to live somewhere else for some time."

Henry nodded understood. "Are you two going to get a divorce?"

Emma swallowed thickly and blinked a few tears away. "I don't know, kid. Perhaps."

Her children cuddled closer to her and Regina smiled as she saw the small family. Killian may be a dick, but they still had each other and she saw that this family was beautiful, with or without their father in the picture.

The children seemed to notice Regina's presence only now and smiled at her. "Did you see mommy cry?" Lola asked and Emma chuckled softly.

Regina nodded curtly and smiled at the little girl. "Yes, I did. But your mother is one of the strongest people I know and she'll get through this, as will you."

"Mom, she's nice. You chose a good third friend," Lola said and despite everything, they all laughed.