The next two days were uneventful as Emma continued to make small improvements physically, but didn't seem to be any closer to recovering her lost memories. Regina had stopped by her office to pick up some things she would need to work from home for a while, and she continued to check-in with Robin to reassure him that she was fine. After finishing up at her office, Regina got in her car in preparation to head back to the hospital to meet Emma – Archie, Dr. Whale, and Mal had all signed off on Emma's discharge with the stipulation that she stays somewhere local for at least two weeks for follow-up appointments. If Emma continued to make progress after two weeks and everything seemed on track, she could then return to her home in Minneapolis and continue her recovery there.

Emma had just finished putting on the pair of yoga pants and tee shirt Regina had brought her a few days earlier when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in," she said, as she slipped on the sneakers she had been wearing the night of her attack. All of her other clothes were torn and ruined with bloodstains, but the running shoes were still in decent shape and salvageable. She watched as Detective Graham Humbert and another officer walked into her hospital room.

"How are you today, Emma?" Graham asked her with a smile that Emma couldn't quite tell if it was genuine.

"I'm okay. They're letting me out, finally."

"That's great news, Emma. I'm happy to hear that. I thought you might want to know what we found out from the University of Minnesota."

Emma took a seat on the edge of her hospital bed. "Yes. Please."

"Okay. You are 30 years old and a fourth-year PhD student in the English literature program there. Your emergency contact person is a guy named Neal Cassidy," he said, handing her a slip of paper with Neal's name and phone number on it. "We haven't contacted him yet, since we figured you may want to do that yourself when you're ready. We still don't know what brought you to Chicago, but maybe Neal can help with that. We also have your apartment address in Minneapolis, so you will know where to go when you get back." He handed her another slip of paper with an address. "The landlord's information is there, too, so he can help you get in since you didn't have any keys with you when Regina found you."

"Thank you. I appreciate this," she said as she looked between the two slips of paper in her hand. It was such a small piece of the puzzle, but it was heavy in her hands…it had the potential to finally help her learn who she was.

"Where will you be staying when you are discharged? How can we reach you in case we find out more information?"

"Oh, I'm going to stay with Regina. She has a spare bedroom and her fiancé is out of town, so she'll be able to keep an eye on me while I recover."

"Okay, good. I'll make a note of that in your file and we'll reach out to her if we need to get ahold of you. Please let us know if and when you get a new cell phone so we can contact you directly."

"Sure, of course." The two men nodded as they stood and exited the room.

After signing her discharge papers and receiving instructions from Dr. Whale, Emma made her way down to the lobby and waited by the main doors of the hospital for Regina to come pick her up. Moments later she watched as a black Mercedes Benz E Class coupe pulled up to the loading zone, and she was surprised when she saw Regina step out. "Whoa, nice car," Emma commented as she walked up.

"Thanks," Regina smiled. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yep," Emma replied as she threw a small hospital-issued plastic bag on the floor of the passenger seat. She really didn't have any personal effects to take with her, given that she had been thoroughly mugged prior to arriving at the hospital. The bag only contained her student ID, the journal Archie had given her, and the pain medication she had picked up from the pharmacy. "Are you sure you're okay with me staying with you for a few days? You don't even know me."

Regina sighed. They had already had this conversation multiple times throughout the past two days after Regina had suggested Emma stay with her. "Yes. We've been through this. It's no trouble. I have plenty of space and an empty apartment, and the doctors said that you shouldn't be alone, if possible. So, I'm happy to help."

"Do you have some sort of altruistic savior complex or something?" Emma asked, half joking.

Regina laughed. "No. Not at all. It pains me to admit this, but most of my life I've actually been quite the opposite. I was raised in a world where everyone looked out for number one. I suppose I'm long overdue to do something nice for someone else without any expectations."

Emma nodded but didn't say anything in response. Instead she was toying with the folded piece of paper that she had kept tightly in her grip since the police gave it to her. She looked down at it as if she expected it to suddenly all make sense.

"What's that?" Regina asked as she noticed the paper, stopping at a red light at the on-ramp for Lakeshore Drive.

"It's the phone number for some guy named Neal. Apparently he's my emergency contact at school." Emma then proceeded to tell Regina what she learned from the police and her university. "I don't know if I should call him," she finally said after finishing her story.

"What? Why wouldn't you?" Regina asked, surprised by Emma's hesitance.

"I don't know who this guy is. I have no idea what information he has and what surprises that phone call will reveal. I'm sure I'll call him eventually, but I'm not ready yet."

"That makes sense. There's no rush, Emma. But, I think he'll be able to fill in a lot of the question marks for you…at least I hope so."

Twenty minutes later, Regina pulled up to her building and parked in the underground garage. "Come on," she said as she got out of the car and opened the door to the building for Emma. They took the elevator up to the fourth floor and walked inside. Regina gave her a quick tour, showing her the extra bedroom where she would be staying. Emma put her bag down on the bed and looked around the room. It was relatively nondescript – white walls, a dark oak headboard, white linens, wood floors. The walls were unadorned aside from three simple black and white photographs that were grouped together on the wall above the bed – trees, horses running across a field, and an extreme close up of a flower. The images were pretty, but they seemed rather impersonal. Emma wondered if maybe it was because this was a guest room. Ever since she had woken up and met Regina, she found the brunette mysterious. She found herself wanting to know more about the only person who she had really spoken to since waking up from this nightmare.

"Here you go," Regina said, pulling Emma from her reverie. "Until you get back to wherever you were staying in the city to get your own stuff, I figured you might want some extra clothes." Regina handed Emma two reusable grocery tote bags with some clothes she had set aside to donate to Goodwill. She had just finished her annual closet cleanout the previous weekend, but hadn't had a chance to run the clothes to the donation drop off yet. "There are some jeans in there, too. They're too small for me, but might fit you. If nothing from the bag works, I have some other stuff in my closet that you might like."

"Thanks, Regina. I appreciate it." Emma sat down on the bed next to the bags of clothes and stared at the slip of paper containing Neal's phone number again. She hadn't let go of the paper since the police gave it to her in her hospital room.

"You really have no idea who he is, do you? His name doesn't ring any bells?" Regina asked, sitting down next to Emma.

Emma shook her head. "No. I'm guessing maybe a boyfriend? Or a brother, but we have different last names."

"Well you could be married. That would explain the different last name," Regina immediately responded.

Emma looked up, startled by Regina's suggestion. Regina quickly apologized, hoping she didn't cause Emma more anxiety about the situation. "Oh, no, it's fine. I just hadn't thought of that. I suppose it's possible. I don't have a ring on so I just assumed, but I'm sure if I did whoever did this to me would have stolen it anyway."

Regina shifted closer to Emma and grabbed her hand, inspecting it. "No ring tan line."

"It's the end of March. I live in Minneapolis. No one is getting tan lines this time of year, and I don't seem like the kind of person who would frequent a tanning salon," Emma said, referring to her porcelain complexion.

"See? You're better at this sleuthing thing than you thought," Regina smiled while Emma rolled her eyes.

"I don't know why, but I just don't think I'm married. I think I would feel something if I were," Emma said.

Regina nodded. "Write that down in that journal Archie gave you."

Emma looked at her curiously. "Why? It's not a memory."

"Maybe not, but it's a gut feeling, and he said those can be quite accurate."

Emma nodded and reluctantly took the journal out of the bag, quickly scribbling down 'I don't think I'm married' on the first page.

*.*.*

Regina had left Emma in the guest room so the blonde could take a nap. While she hadn't been doing much else besides sleeping the past few days, she needed her rest. Regina couldn't imagine what Emma was going through and how she could possibly be coping with such a confusing and frightening situation. Regina took the opportunity to make a late lunch, hoping that some sustenance might help her feel more at home.

"That smells really good," Emma yawned as she paddled into the kitchen.

"Oh, you're up. I figured you would be asleep for awhile longer. It still needs a few more minutes, but it'll be ready soon. Are you hungry?"

"Mmhmm," she said as she sat down at the dining table, still groggy from her nap and the oxycodone she was taking for her pain.

"Do you want something to drink while you wait? I only have water, orange juice, club soda, and wine…"

"Water's fine," Emma said. "Do you need help with anything?"

"Nope, I've got it," she responded as she walked to the fridge and took out a bottle of Pellegrino for herself. "Do you want mineral or regular water?"

Emma laughed. "I've always been baffled by the thought of fancy water. I don't get it."

Regina raised an eyebrow as she chuckled, handing a bottle of Ice Mountain to Emma. "You've always been baffled? That sounds like a memory. Write it down."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Are you the memory police now? It's just another one of those things where I know I have an opinion or thought about something, but it's not concrete."

Regina sat down in the chair across from Emma and opened her own bottle. "That may be, but it's still something. You'll get there, Emma." She stood back up when she heard the oven beep and walked over to take out the casserole dish of macaroni and cheese, placing it on the island next to the salad she had prepared earlier. She grabbed two plates and called Emma over. "I'm not sure how hungry you are, so I'll let you have at it," she said, handing Emma the serving spoon as she dished up some salad for herself. Emma helped herself to the pasta and salad and started to head back to the dining table, but Regina stopped her. "You're welcome to eat at the table, but honestly, I rarely sit there. Jeopardy is about to start and it's kind of my guilty pleasure, so I'm going to park myself in front of the TV. You're welcome to join."

Emma laughed, surprised that the seemingly refined woman in front of her would be so casual. She followed Regina into the living room and sat down at the end of the couch, taking her cue from Regina and propping her feet up on the coffee table. "Oh my God, this is amazing," Emma said as she took a bite of the macaroni.

"Thanks," Regina said, happy that Emma seemed to be relaxing a bit. "I rarely have time to cook, but when I do it's usually pasta."

As the episode came to the end, Regina looked at Emma incredulously as she correctly answered the "Final Jeopardy" clue – Emma had answered almost every question in the show correctly. "Well, apparently you're incredibly intelligent, or at least very skilled at trivia. I could understand you dominating the English literature category, but you nailed everything," she commented.

"Well, I am a PhD student. I'm glad to see I at least know about my field of study, even I don't remember actually learning it," Emma shrugged. Regina grabbed their empty plates off the coffee table and walked into the kitchen, depositing them in the sink, while Emma returned to the guest bedroom to grab something. As she walked back into the room, Emma spoke cautiously. "I…I think I'm ready to call Neal."

"Really? That's great, Emma," Regina said. She offered Emma her cell phone to make the call before excusing herself to give Emma some privacy.

"No, please stay. I don't know who this guy is and I could use the moral support."

Regina nodded. "Okay, but if at any point you want me to leave and let you two talk in private, just let me know."

"Okay." Emma took the phone from Regina and unfolded the strip of paper she had retrieved from her room. She slowly dialed the number and hit the speakerphone button as Regina sat down on the couch next to her.

"Hello?" they heard the voice ask.

"Yeah, is this Neal?" Emma asked tentatively.

"Yes. Emma, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Oh my God, are you okay? You've been off the grid for days and I was starting to worry. What number are you calling me from? It's showing up as an anonymous number. I almost didn't answer."

"This is a friend's phone. Mine was…stolen, I think. And I'm fine…sort of. It's a really long story," Emma was hesitant to tell him everything right away, as she didn't know who he was to her. "Let's just say that there was a mugging incident, and as a result I can't remember anything."

"Oh my God, Emma, really? Are you injured?"

"Yes, but I'm recovering and will be fine. My memory is the thing that concerns me most right now."

"You have amnesia? Like total amnesia?"

"Yes," Emma confirmed. "I didn't even know my name when I woke up. The only reason they knew it is because they found my student ID."

"Jesus, Emma, I'm so sorry. What can I do?"

Emma let out a wry chuckle. "Well to start with, you can tell me who the hell you are. The police contacted the university and they said you were listed as my emergency contact person. But, I have no recollection of anything."

Neal sighed before answering. "We're friends. We dated for a while years ago, but decided that we were better off as friends. We met each other junior year of college and have been friends ever since."

"Oh…okay. Are you a PhD student, too?"

"No. You're in the PhD program, and I finished law school last year."

"Oh. Do you live in Minneapolis?"

"Not anymore. I moved to take a job in San Diego back in September. You gave me hell about moving at first, but ultimately pushed me to accept the job."

Emma smiled. She didn't remember any of this happening, of course, but she was happy that she seemed to support her friend. "Do you know why I'm in Chicago or how long I've been here?"

Neal answered immediately. "You flew down there on Monday morning to visit your birth parents. You've been going every year for spring break since you found them five years ago. You sometimes go for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but you weren't able to this year."

"Birth parents?" Emma's heart sank and Regina instinctively grabbed Emma's hand in comfort.

"Yeah, you're adopted, Em. You were adopted by the Swans when you were a few months old. They were great parents and you loved them."

"Loved as in past tense? What happened?"

Neal audibly swallowed. "Your dad was a pilot and perished in a plane crash when you were 17. Your mom had breast cancer and passed away your senior year of college. I'm so so sorry, Emma."

Emma started to silently cry, and Regina had to fight back tears of her own. "Okay, so how do my birth parents fit into this?"

"I don't know all the details, but you told me that your parents always said you could look for your birth parents if you ever wanted to. It was a closed adoption so you ended up hiring a private investigator when you were 23. I don't know how, but he found them in Chicago. You showed up one day at their door and introduced yourself. You told me it was 'hella awkward' but you slowly got to know them and developed a relationship with them."

"Did I ever say why they gave me up?"

"They told you that they wouldn't be able to take care of you the way you deserved. From what you told me, they never gave you too much background, but you said that it sounded like they were having financial or legal trouble at the time."

"Do you know their names and phone numbers? Or their address? If I was here visiting them they must be worried sick."

"Yeah, hold on, let me get my computer and find that info…"

Regina got up and grabbed a pen and notepad for Emma, mouthing "I'll be right back" as she excused herself to run to the bathroom. She wanted to give Emma some space.

"Do I have any siblings?" Emma asked while she waited for Neal to give her info about her biological parents.

"No. Your parents couldn't have kids which is why they adopted you, but you were their only child. Your birth parents never had any other kids either. Okay, I found their info, are you ready?" Neal gave her the name, phone number, and address for the couple she was supposedly in town to see.

"Thanks, Neal."

"Sure thing. Is there anything else you need me to do? Do you want me to come out there? I'm in the middle of a trial right now but I can make time and move things around."

"No, that's okay," Emma said as Regina walked back in the room. "I'll know more once I talk to my parents and hopefully things will be back on track."

"Okay, Em. Let me know when you get a new phone. And please keep me updated. Let me know if I can help."

"Thanks, Neal." She hung up the phone as Regina brought her a glass of water and sat back down on the couch.

"So, how are you feeling?" Regina asked.

"Overwhelmed, but okay. Hopefully talking to my parents will give me some insight. Can you help me get to their place? I don't know my way around the city."

Regina nodded. "Of course." Emma handed the notepad to Regina and her heart immediately dropped as she let out a gasp. The name and address on the notepad matched the couple who had been brutally murdered the same night she found Emma. Regina had been following the story on the news since she first heard about it, but she never would have thought the two incidents were somehow connected. She looked up at the blonde as she took a deep breath. "Emma, we need to call the police. Now."