AN: The dark work of sleep depravation. There is no other excuse.

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time or the characters, etc.

Regina found Graham's hunting knife. The same one had once held to her throat and threatened her with. She had collected it along with his other possessions, after he died. There was no-one else to ask for them.

She was worn out. Tired from fighting. The townspeople just looked right through her now. They were no longer considered her a scary Queen – they had too many other problems to worry about and they no longer cared what happened to her. Now when she passed them she turned away so that they wouldn't see her eyes filling with tears at her loneliness.

Regina ran a finger down the edge of the blade, smiling when she found it was still sharp enough to draw blood easily. She is sat in the corner of her kitchen, on the floor because she feels safer there, out of sight, almost like hiding. Regina pressed the knife to the outside of her arm and lightly drew it down across the skin. A thin drop of blood followed it, such a bright red colour that it hypnotised her. She had numbed the arm so that it wouldn't hurt. Now she regretted it. She wanted to feel the pain.

She ignores the knocking at her door, intent on pressing the knife against her other arm to make a parallel mark. The sight of more blood captures her attention so thoroughly she doesn't hear or see Emma enter through the unlocked back door.

Emma stares at the sight in front of her in shock, before grabbing a couple of clean-looking towels.

"Where did you get this?" Emma asks, taking the knife from her. "It's not the type you keep in you kitchen."

"It's Graham's." She answers, as Emma presses the towels to her skin, obscuring her view of the wounds.

Her voice is distant as she cannot completely focus on the reality of her situation.

"Why do you have it?"

"Who else would want it? I let him keep it from his old life – back in the Enchanted Forest."

Emma wants to keep her talking while she figures out what to do. Should she call for an ambulance? Would Archie be the best person to deal with Regina like this?

Regina pushes the towels off her arms and looks up at Emma.

"You need to keep them on, to stop the bleeding." Emma tells her.

"They aren't deep. Look, they've stopped already."

"Why did you do it?"

Regina blinks and shakes her head to clear her thoughts. "What are you doing in my house?"

"I came to check on you."

"You're breaking and entering."

"I'm the Sheriff."

"Unless you heard screams for help you have no right to be here."

"I'm just going to call Archie and have him come over. Do you want me to call Dr. Whale to look at your arms?"

Regina stood up, supporting herself on the kitchen cabinets. "I want you to leave."

"What you're doing…"

Regina ran her fingers over her arms, extending a healing spell over the red lines. "I'm fine. I had an accident with the knife, nothing serious."

"Liar."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Return my knife and get out."

"You need help."

"Not from you and certainly not from anyone else in this town."

"I understand how you feel…"

Regina pushed away from the counter and grabbed Emma by the throat, holding her against the oven. "You have no idea how I feel and if you tell anyone, anyone, what you think you know you will regret it."

She released Emma and reclaimed Graham's knife before Emma could realise what she had done. Emma raised a hand to her throat, as if checking that Regina had let go, and quickly left. Regina looked down at the knife. Once upon a time it was supposed to have cut out Snow White's heart. Now she just wished it would remove hers.