Author's note: Trigger warnings for rape and discussion of mental illness. This work is gifted to the hero who helped me iron out the end of the story. Thanks, R_W_Callahan.

The secure psychiatric unit at the Maine state prison was not a place of rehabilitation. It was a place to lock up the criminally insane and throw away the key.

Whether Regina Mills was rightfully sentenced there could be considered for debate. The crimes of which she had been convicted were described as so heinous that few doubted that she belonged in the psychiatric unit. The rest believed she belonged on death row.

Either way, there she was, and there she would stay, for the entirety of her life sentence. She had no recourse but to remain in her cell for twenty-two hours of the day, knowing that for the rest of her life, she would not be released. For the first three months of her sentence, given her high-profile and maximum-security status, the two hours a day she spent out of her cell were also in isolation. One hour in the group room – without a group to join her – and one hour in a cage outside in the shade. (The building towered over the yard, and the sun only shone on that side later in the afternoon, after she'd had her time outside.) The first three months came and went in silence. She refused to speak to the guards, the social worker who visited her once a week, and the psychiatrist who prescribed her medication monthly for the "symptoms" she never complained of.

Regina was given a diagnosis upon her admission to the secure psychiatric unit at the state prison: schizophrenia, first episode, currently in acute episode, characterized by delusions and hallucinations. This was given upon a psychiatric evaluation, completed as part of her trial, at her own lawyer's recommendation. The intention was to keep her from being sentenced to death row, which of course, worked perfectly. No one doubted the results of the psychiatric evaluation.

"This individual," the psychiatrist had said on the stand, "is severely unstable and incapable of discerning right from wrong. In my professional opinion, she is criminally insane."

"And would you say she could be considered responsible for her own actions?" the prosecutor asked the woman.

Regina watched on in silence, even as her lawyer whispered something unhelpful in her ear, her eyes shimmering in the bright lights of the courtroom, but cold and frozen.

"Absolutely not."

When one of Regina's former lovers took the stand, her eyes glazed over as her head turned slightly and allowed her gaze to fall absently on the clock.

After tuning out for a while, all she heard was, "Are you kidding? She's insane! She-" before the ringing in her ears drowned out the sound of the woman's condemnation.

The brunette's thoughts floated to the early past. She remembered the night of the incident that had left her current boyfriend lying dead in a pool of his own blood and felt nothing. Then, her thoughts shifted to her past relationship with the woman on the stand, and surprisingly, the last time they'd made love.

"God, Regina," the dark-haired beauty moaned, having become breathless. "I fucking love you. Please, don't stop."

Shaking herself back into the present, Regina's eyes snapped open, just in time to hear the judge say, "We find the defendant not guilty by reason of insanity. However, we also find the dependent unfit to continue living independently in civilized society."

Regina's lawyer, a young hot-shot who took pleasure in defending the guilty, nudged her in the side and offered a broad, cocky smile.

"See?" he said. "Told you we'd nail it."

But was being found criminally insane and being sentenced to a secure psychiatric unit at a state prison really better than wasting away on death row? Regina wasn't sure, but she knew she was about to find out.

The officers dragged her from the courtroom and returned her to isolation in the jail until the date of her sentencing.

~!~!~

After the first three months of silence in isolation, the resident psychiatrist determined that Regina was stable enough to join the maximum-security unit, where she would finally be able to interact with a few others in the yard for an hour in the morning and spend another hour in the afternoon in the group room. But she was not exactly looking forward to the interaction. Unlike many who would crack under forty-eight hours of solitary confinement, Regina tolerated the isolation without breaking under the weight of complete and total silence. Upon hearing that she was about to be moved into the maximum-security unit, she felt a sensation of something close to dread.

Once she was moved into her new cell – one that was no longer padded – Regina found herself sitting quietly on her stripped mattress on the floor for the next twenty-four hours. Then – by this time, she'd lost track of time again, as many often did in the psychiatric unit – she was startled into consciousness by the sound of a guard shouting at her through the door. At first, she didn't register what he had said, but he quickly repeated himself.

Voice boiling with irritation, he growled, "I said hands on the back wall, psycho, before I take you to the floor and throw your ass back into solitary."

Now was her chance to escape the pressure of being exposed to her peers. She could simply refuse, be thrown to the concrete floor, and dragged back into isolation, where she was comfortable. At least then the howling screams of her fellow inmates would be muffled by the several corridors that separated the isolation cells from the rest of the population. At least then, maybe she would be able to sleep again.

But the human part of her longed for some social interaction, even though she knew she wouldn't speak. Just to look at another person, someone who wasn't a guard, even if they were completely crazy, would bring some kind of relief. So she stood facing the back wall and put her hands up on the stone as the guard burst through the door and cuffed her, dragging her roughly out of her cell.

She was nearly tossed out of the steel door leading to the concrete 'yard' where four other inmates were standing in the shade. One was staring directly at her feet, one was curled up in the fetal position on the floor, one was staring at the wall, and only one of them was looking up through the shade at the cloudy sky. None were speaking to each other. Only the one curled up on the floor was making noise, muttering incoherent phrases to herself as she rocked back and forth.

When the steel door slammed shut behind her, Regina's heart began to race. It calmed slowly as she realized that no one was going to approach her, and she took to joining the other inmate in looking up at the sky. Suddenly, with great force, it started to pour down rain, soaking Regina's short-sleeve shirt almost instantly. The other inmate continued to stare up at the sky, and as Regina covered her head, she watched curiously as the woman allowed the rain to cover her face.

Starting to shiver, Regina backed up towards the door back into the prison. Then, to her surprise, the woman who had been staring at the sky turned abruptly and met her gaze. The woman's features were soft, and her blonde hair splashed over her shoulders, soaked from the rain. The brunette found herself unable to tear her eyes away from the young beauty, even as she looked on in horror when the woman started to approach her. The blonde's steps were slow and steady, non-threatening, but Regina continued to feel a sense of dread filling her as she stood frozen in place.

"You're new," the blonde pointed out. "What ya in for? You chop up your boyfriend too?"

Regina felt her stomach drop. The woman was grinning.

Given that the brunette had, in fact, killed her lover, the woman's blunt prediction was unnerving. But Regina said nothing.

Faced with silence, the blonde asked, "Ah. The silent, mysterious kind. I like that in a woman."

Regina's eyes went wide. Who the fuck did this girl think she was? And why the hell was she even talking to her?

"I'm Emma."

Looking at Regina expectantly, the blonde continued to grin. When she realized that she would receive no response, she shrugged her shoulders and walked away, bouncing on her heels.

That night, in her cell, Regina lay on the bare mattress and stared up at the ceiling, picturing the face of the beautiful young woman who had approached her in the yard. She found herself thinking of Emma's piercing green eyes and the way they seemed to look straight into her. She thought of the way the woman's hair bounced around her shoulders. The way she smiled. It was the most kindness she'd seen in a long, long time.

Then, Regina thought of her own bruises. The way her boyfriend's fists had pounded into her face and stomach. The way her ribs had cracked from the force. She shivered, thinking of it. It wasn't that she was scared of him. No. She was just… done. Done being abused.

After finally falling asleep, she talked in her sleep for the first time.

"No. No. Don't."

Luckily, her muttering had been relatively quiet, and none of the guards had heard her. She woke up shivering, her only blanket having been kicked off and laying in a pile at the foot of the mattress.

When she was brought back to the yard that day, the blonde was sitting in the middle, legs crossed, staring up at the sky again. At first, Regina simply watched her, but again, she was caught off guard when the woman turned around and looked right at her. Regina's breath hitched when their eyes met, and she found herself unable to tear her gaze away as Emma stood and approached her. Without thinking, though, she took several slow steps backwards as the woman advanced on her. Still, Emma continued to move forward, until Regina was shaking.

"Hi," Emma said. When Regina said nothing, she added, "You don't look crazy, so why are you here?"

Regina blinked a few times before finally breaking her gaze. She forced herself to stare over the blonde's shoulder at the other few inmates that were on the yard. Maybe if she just pretended the woman wasn't there…

But Emma simply went quiet, sitting down cross-legged on the concrete and looking up at the brunette.

Then, Emma suddenly asked, "Do you hear those bells?" When Regina still didn't answer, she added, "I never know what's really there or not…"

Regina's eyes went wide at this confession.

"You know they watch us, right?"

Again, Regina just blinked in the sunlight and stared at her. Was this girl for real?

Of course they watch us, idiot. They're guards.

"They listen to our conversations too. They know everything we-"

"Alright, pigs. Back inside," the guard yelled from the doorway.

In a daze, Regina followed orders and made her way to the door, but Emma backed away until her back was against the far wall and grinned at the guard.

"Come get me!" she cried.

Is this girl fucking insane? Regina was thinking, as she stared on in disbelief.

"Oh, hell no," the guard growled. "This ain't happenin'. Not today, princess."

Shoving Regina out of the way, he advanced on Emma and grabbed her arm, twisting it behind her back. To his horror, she didn't cry out in pain. She just laughed.

"What are you fucking looking at?!" he cried, looking at Regina. "Get your ass back inside so O'Connor can cuff you up and drag your whore ass back to your cell! Don't just fucking stand there staring, or you'll be the next one to go down."

With that, he shoved Emma down on the ground, sat on her back, and cuffed her hands. Still, she was laughing. When he dragged her roughly to her feet, though, she stumbled and nearly fell out of his grasp. Finally, after Regina had hurried back through the doorway, Emma was shoved back into the building too.

"Bye, sexy!" Emma shouted with a bright laugh as she was dragged down the hall, past Regina.

"What the fuck you lookin' at, psycho?" the guard watching Regina spat. "MOVE!"

After being shoved hard from behind, Regina stumbled forward toward her cell.

~!~!~

The next two days in the yard were uneventful, and Regina had not seen the young woman anywhere. She assumed that Emma had been swiftly put in solitary confinement after the episode she'd had on the yard. On the third day, just when she was sure that Emma was not going to spontaneously show up, Emma was shoved through the door into the yard.

Raising an eyebrow, Regina watched as the woman stepped into the sunlight and stared up at the clouds. After a few minutes, Emma finally turned and looked at Regina. Her expression was subdued. Emotionless. Just when Regina thought she might say something, Emma turned back around and stared at the wall.

The brunette almost wanted to ask if she was okay, but she already knew what had happened. Emma had felt brave and was uncontrolled in her outburst, and the consequences were severe. Isolation broke almost anyone.

They were both silent for the rest of the hour, until a guard stepped forward and shouted, "Oy! Sluts! Get over here! Time to go back inside!"

In an instant, Regina saw Emma's face turn red with fury.

"Fuck you, asshole!" she shouted, flipping him off.

Oh, God, Regina groaned in her head. Not again…

But the guard was on her in an instant, this time not bothering to pull her arms behind her back. Instead, he simply removed his baton from its holster and proceeded to beat her with it.

When Regina heard a soft cry escape Emma's lips, something involuntary compelled her to leap forward and tear the guard away, using all her strength. He fell backwards onto his rear, but when he scrambled to get up, Regina kicked him in the ribs and grabbed Emma by the arm, dragging her away towards the door.

It took seconds for the guard to recover and rise to his feet, and once he was up, he tore Regina away from Emma and threw her against the closest concrete wall of the yard. When Regina saw Emma run towards her, she shook her head quickly before the guard shoved it forward and smashed it against the wall. Blood poured from her temple as he took his baton and began to beat her with it. He seemed to have forgotten all about Emma, which had been Regina's intention.

After two weeks of painful isolation, Regina was put back into the general maximum-security population, but when she ended up in the yard for the first time, Emma wasn't there. Regina wondered if she'd been put in solitary too, but had she been, she would have been out by then. Surely, she wouldn't have been put in for longer than Regina.

Each day, Regina found herself hoping to see the young blonde on the yard and was also surprised to find herself disappointed when the woman wasn't there. It was another week before she saw Emma again.

When Emma entered the yard, Regina felt her stomach drop. The first thought was that she was grateful to see no bruises or fresh scars on the woman's body. Her next thought was how grateful she was just to see her. Even though she'd never actually spoken to her, the kindness Emma had shown her was more than she'd experienced in a long, long time.

Emma walked up to her slowly, not smiling, but her expression soft.

"Thank you," she whispered, looking deep into Regina's eyes.

The brunette felt herself shiver as a shock ran through her body, but of course, she said nothing.

"What you did for me was very brave."

Regina shrugged.

"Thank you."

Finally, Regina nodded.

Without asking, Emma suddenly wrapped her arms around Regina's torso and squeezed, embracing her enthusiastically. Immediately, Regina's body stiffened.

"Oh," Emma said quietly, pulling away as she sensed just how unwelcome the gesture was. "Sorry."

Turning her face away, Regina shrugged her shoulders.

Affectionately touching Regina's hand, Emma said softly, "You're sweet."

But Regina just shook her head and walked away, unable to handle the tenderness of the moment, leaving Emma standing in the middle of the yard, staring as she walked back towards the entrance to the prison.

~!~!~

In her cell, Regina thought of the tenderness in Emma's touch and the way it felt to have arms around her. It seemed so foreign. So strange. It had been so long since she had felt kindness in someone's touch that she'd almost forgotten what it felt like. Especially in such an environment, it felt out of place. Something about her touch was different than any other touch she'd ever felt, though, and it caught her off guard.

The intrusive thoughts continued through the night and kept her awake, and when she finally did fall asleep, the ghost of Emma's touch lulled her into a deep dream.

At first, all Regina could see were her lover's breasts, bouncing as the woman rode her. The moans, pleading for orgasm, were high-pitched and desperate, but Regina was silent, breathing heavily without speaking.

Regina assumed that the woman she was making love to in the dream was her former lover, but as the woman began to palm her breasts, she looked up and saw that the woman was not dark-haired, but rather blonde, and had Emma's beautiful face.

She woke with a start the next morning, torn from the first deep sleep she'd had in ages by the sound of a shouting guard.

"Get your ass out of bed! Shower time. You reek like a pig."

Regina knew this wasn't true, as she had been taken for a shower the previous day, but the comment was still insulting. Normally, she could allow the guards' comments to fade from her mind as she ignored them, but something about this particular statement got under her skin and irritated her. Still, she said nothing. Instead, she stood and allowed the guard to cuff her and walk her to the shower.

Of course, she was watched. As the hot water poured down over her body and thoughts of the blonde beauty she had dreamed of the previous night flooded her mind again, she had the sudden urge to relieve the tension these images caused. For the first time in a long time, she wanted to touch herself.

The agony of this reality intensified the heat of the shower, and the humiliation of being watched by a guard. Of course, they had to be sure she wasn't going to kill herself, so they had to monitor every activity. Even the yard was covered with cameras that caught everything on video. Luckily, the tapes were never watched unless there was an incident that required investigation. The shower situation, though… It was exceptionally unsettling.

Regina managed to get through the painfully awkward situation and made it back to her cell mostly unscathed. However, what followed, as the desire for an intimate release faded, was a deep, cold dread of going back out onto the yard later that day.

~!~!~

Emma was there, in her usual spot, when Regina was shoved out onto the yard. She was sitting cross-legged, staring up at the sky, and as Regina's heart began to beat even harder, she found herself wondering what the woman was staring at. Clouds? Perhaps. Or maybe she was hallucinating. Emma herself had confessed that this was a normal occurrence. But Regina still wondered, but she was too terrified by the uncertainty of what was to follow when the woman noticed her to even consider asking. Besides, she'd chosen to refrain from speaking and had so far been successful with this endeavor. She wasn't about to give up on it now. Not because some random woman hugged her.

As though she had some sort of sixth sense, Emma turned her head almost instantly, leaving Regina very little time to panic further about what the woman might say if she did turn around. It was happening, whether she was ready or not. To her surprise, though, the woman simply turned back around and lowered her gaze to the bare concrete wall. Again, Regina wondered what she was staring at. Certainly not clouds.

Suddenly, Regina felt compelled forward. Compelled to speak to Emma. Compelled to open up and tell her entire life's story to her. To confess her dreams and desires.

But this was immediately shut down, as soon as the sentiment was realized. Impossible, Regina reasoned. Never.

Then, she was surprised again when Emma turned around once more, stared at her for a long moment, and called out, "You coming over or what?"

Without thinking, without feeling, Regina took several steps forward.

"Well?" Emma pressed, no longer having to shout. "Come here." When Regina was standing directly beside her, Emma added, "Sit."

Again, Regina obeyed without thinking. She was only shaken from her stupor when Emma began to stare into her eyes, piercing them with the intensity of her gaze.

"Are you mute, or do you just hate me?"

Regina looked around to make sure no one was watching, then shook her head slowly.

"No to which?"

Blinking a few times, the brunette looked at her blankly and did not reply.

"Okay," Emma said plainly, looking away. When Regina made a move to stand, after a long bout of silence that hung heavily between them, Emma reached for her hand, took it, and tugged her gently back down, saying, "Stay. Stay with me."

Again, Regina stared as the woman looked into her eyes, and again, she obeyed. Emma did not let go of her hand. They sat like that for a while, Emma staring up at the sky and Regina staring at Emma, until it was time to go back inside the prison.

"Bye," Emma said quickly, finally letting go of Regina's hand as she kissed her companion's cheek and rushed to the door.

Mostly, Regina was surprised at the blonde's compliance. She was sure that Emma would protest and get in trouble again. The woman seemed relentless in her defiance. But this day, she simply stood and followed orders. Also stunned by the kiss, which the guards thankfully had not seen, Regina followed suit and re-entered the unit.

Again, in her cell, Regina thought of Emma, and her shining yellow hair and bright green eyes. Her beauty and tenderness. For the first time, she felt the pain of being alone.

~!~!~

The next time Regina saw Emma was when she was walking down the hall – escorted by a particularly brutal guard – on her way to the showers. Regina's head was lowered, and she stared at her feet as she walked, dragged along by the guard who carelessly shoved her, causing her to stumble repeatedly. The only reason she lifted her gaze was to see who had brushed her shoulder when walking by. To her surprise, it was Emma. Her hair was wet, and she'd clearly just showered. Water dripped down her shoulders, making her skin shimmer.

Regina shivered and froze in her tracks. Of course, the guard shoved her forward, shouting at her to keep walking, and although it was difficult to turn her head back to face the direction she was walking, she managed to reluctantly do so.

After shouting several commands at her as she stripped and stepped under the shower head, the guard ambushed her quickly, turning off the stream of cold water before grabbing her arm and jerking her around to face him.

"I'm talking to you, slut. Didn't you hear me?"

Quickly, she shook her head, not wanting to start anything with someone who she already knew was merciless and unforgiving. Anything to avoid the conflict.

"TALK," he screamed, shoving her against the wall.

She stared at him, no longer unwilling but now fully unable to speak.

He reached for her neck and tightened his grip, saying, "Talk, before I teach you a fucking lesson about disobeying orders, you fucking psycho."

But of course, even if she'd wanted to, even if she'd tried, she wouldn't have been able to make any noise other than a strangled cry with his hand wrapped tightly around her neck, squeezing hard.

When she remained silent, only coughing a few times as she tried to draw breath, the man growled, "You asked for this," and continued to hold her against the wall with one hand as he undid the zipper of his pants with the other. Regina's eyes widened with fear, and as soon as he pressed his body against her, she managed to choke out a piercing scream.

The guard said nothing. He simply choked her harder and pressed her more tightly against the wall as he attempted to enter her. Before he was able to, he was torn away and pulled backwards until he stumbled and slipped, falling to the floor.

"O'Connor!" he shouted, calling to the closest guard as he saw the tenacious blonde prisoner standing over him.

When he tried to bring his leg up to kick her, he found himself screaming again as she slammed her foot down on his knee. The loud crack could be heard in the hallway. Meanwhile, Regina had shrunk to the floor and was sobbing. She was barely able to see her heroine through her tears, but she knew it was Emma.

"You're a fucking cunt, and I'll fucking KILL YOU if you touch her again!" the blonde screamed, kicking him in the crotch once before the second guard charged into the room and dragged her away, throwing her to the floor and kicking her hard in the torso. The cracking of her ribs sent a shock down Regina's spine.

"NO!" the brunette screamed, finally finding the strength to rise to her feet.

But it was too late. She'd finally used her words, and they were worthless. The guard scrambled to his feet quickly and smashed her head against the tile wall, and she dropped back to the floor as the room spun before everything went black.

~!~!~

It took Regina four hours to wake from her black-out. After forty-eight hours, solitary finally got under her skin. The walls closed in, and her head continued to spin throughout her stay in the padded cell. All she could think of was Emma. That is, until she heard a voice coming from the vent near the mattress on the floor.

At first, she thought she was imagining things. Auditory hallucinations from a concussion, she reasoned. But the voice got slightly louder, and as the room's spinning slowed slightly, it became clearer as well. It was Emma. But she wasn't talking to Regina. She was talking to herself. Talking? No. Singing. Then talking. Then singing again.

Regina tried to find the strength to speak, to call out to Emma and see if she could hear her through the vent as well. But the words stuck. She'd finally managed to speak the singular word, and it was wasted. Now, all she wanted to say was Emma's name. Her beautiful, melodic name. But it escaped her, and all she could do was continue to cry, finally allowing herself to think back to the way the woman had saved her from the most traumatic event she'd experienced at the prison. Why? Why had she risked solitary confinement to protect her? Regina wasn't sure, but she was grateful.

Eventually, she managed to cry herself to sleep to the sound of Emma's song.

She woke an hour later, startling herself awake with her own blood-curdling scream. She was sweating.

"Hey. Hey. You okay?" a voice called out.

It was Emma again, but this time, the blonde was speaking to her.

Or was she imagining it?

The voice continued to call out to her, gently, but loud enough for her to hear clearly.

"Okay. Alright. I get it. You don't talk. Just bang on the grate twice if you're alright, okay?" When no sound followed, Emma added, "Please."

Hesitantly, Regina banged on the grate, but only once.

"Fuck. I'm so sorry," Emma said, understanding what this meant. "That was a stupid question. I'm sorry. Of course you're not okay."

Thank you, Regina tried to say. But it wouldn't come out. Nothing came out, except the sound of her labored breathing.

"I wish I knew your name," Emma said softly.

Say it. Say it. Just say it! Regina was screaming internally. Still, nothing.

"God. I'm so glad I was there. I thought…" Emma sighed, then continued, "I don't know what I thought. I guess I didn't think. I just… acted. That's kind of just me, ya know? Acting without thinking. Pretty much all the time. When I think, I think too much, and it's never about my own behavior. It's always… you know. The voices and stuff. I think about the voices. And the people. And… Well… You get it."

But of course, Regina didn't get it. Well, she understood, intellectually, but she'd never had a hallucination, unless what was happening right now was one of them. She still couldn't be sure. But she wanted to assure Emma that it was okay. That the voices weren't in control. That she was in control. But maybe that wasn't true. Judging by the woman's behavior, it was almost hard to believe that she acted of her own free will. After all, what sane person would challenge a guard without provocation? Sure, the incident in the shower may have been merited – still crazy that she'd risk her own life, though – but the episodes in the yard? Unnecessary. Surely, she wasn't just amused by the conflict. There was no way that-

"Do you ever think that maybe nothing is real?"

Truthfully, Regina hadn't. She'd never questioned her reality. She'd questioned others' motivations, but she'd never questioned what was real and what was not. But maybe Emma was a figment of her imagination. Maybe the guard had raped her. Maybe that was why she blacked out. Maybe Emma was just her own defense mechanism, to escape the horrors of being locked up for the rest of her life. Or maybe she wasn't locked up at all. Maybe she was at home, sleeping, imagining everything. Maybe she was in bed with her boyfriend, and she'd just imagined killing him. To be fair, she'd blacked out most of it anyway. It was all a jumbled series of events. Just punches and bruises and waking up to blood. Maybe none of it was real.

"Sometimes I think I'm making you up."

Regina's eyes widened.

"Like… I dunno. Like maybe you're my guardian angel or something. Like maybe if I just see your face… if I just feel you… any way at all… it'll be okay."

As her heart began to palpitate, Regina felt her body tense.

After a pause, Emma sighed, "Yeah. That's probably it. I'm probably just talking to myself again. You're probably just another one of my people. You seem so real, though… But you don't talk. I mean, all the other people talk. But you don't. Maybe that's why you stay, and the others go. Maybe it's so you don't break the illusion for me. Maybe it's so you can keep looking out for me. So you can keep breaking me from my reality." Another long pause followed before the blonde added, "I haven't slept in three days. You know sleep deprivation makes you hallucinate? They say I have a Schizo Waffle diagnosis." She was laughing as she said this. "That's what I call Schizoaffective Disorder. Anyway, it means I'm crazy. I'm lucky, 'cause I'm one of the few people who knows they're crazy. At least I have that. But I can't make the voices and stuff stop. But the thing is… I don't want you to go away. Even if you're not real, I don't want you to go. But I… I wish you were real…"

When Emma started to cry, sniffling and rubbing the tears from her eyes, Regina heard it in her voice and felt a lump rise in her throat.

Finally… Finally… she choked out, "I am real."

There was dead silence in both cells before Emma recovered from her own shock.

"You talked."

Regina banged lightly on the grate twice.

"Does it hurt to talk?"

Again, twice.

"I love your voice…"

Again, Regina's heartbeat quickened.

"Please. Please, tell me your name."

I can't. I can't. I can't, Regina's mind was screaming.

But she managed.

"Regina."

"God, that's beautiful."

Regina pressed her cheek against the cold concrete wall and shut her eyes, feeling the blush rising to her cheeks, but also feeling a wave of relief wash over her as the melodic sound of Emma's voice filled her ears.

"I wish I could see you. I'd give anything to touch you again." Another pause, and then, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Keep talking," Regina managed.

"I think I love you, Regina." Silence, then, "I'd do anything to keep you safe. I'd do anything to get you out of here."

After a long pause, Regina sighed, "I'll never get out of here."

"How do you know that?"

"Because no one gets out of here."

Suddenly solemn, Emma looked down and went quiet, leaving Regina to wonder what the woman was thinking in her silence.

"Emma?"

"Maybe you're right. Maybe we won't."

Lowering her head to the pillow-less mattress, Regina sighed again.

"Why did they put you here?" the blonde finally asked.

Regina shut her eyes and was pulled into her past.

Author's note: This will be a two-parter, and chapter 2 will be posted most likely next Wednesday. Thank you all so much for reading, and please give feedback on your thoughts so far! Hope you enjoyed and I look forward to hearing feedback.