I thought it would be fun to write a little one-shot between chapters of my fic Different Worlds. Although sick Emma is written a lot in the fandom, this is my first experience writing a story and so here is my little spin. Enjoy!
All is silent in the loft, and Snow White rubs her temples to quell the oncoming headache, grateful for 15 minutes free of crying and vomiting. Ever since Emma tried to play hero and rescue Elsa from her ice cave, she has been increasingly sick with the flu. And like with most families, Emma just-so-happened to pass off her illness to her baby brother.
It has been 3 days, and Snow is almost at her wits end. David has been out searching for Elsa's sister Anna and trying to find a solution to the wall of ice blocking them into Storybrooke, leaving her alone to care for their children.
The tea kettle on the stove begins a quiet whistling, indicating it is almost done. Snow scrambles to get it off the heat before it becomes louder, but upon leaping over the couch she stubs her toe on the corner of it and mutters a curse as it immediately begins to swell. The tea kettle begins screaming, as does the baby boy lying in his bassinet nearby. Soon, Emma's groans from the bed across the room join in, and all thankful silence is forgotten.
"Kill me now," Snow mumbles under her breath. She takes the kettle off the stove and moves to comfort her crying baby, wiping the tears from his eyes and using a blue bulb syringe to suck the mucus from his nose. This causes him to cry louder, his face turning a deep shade of red.
"It's okay. You're okay, my little prince. Shh shh, Mommy's here," Snow bounces the baby lightly in her arms. The action causes the little boy to hiccup, then release a stream of throw up onto her salmon-pink cardigan.
Emma then gives a cry of surprise and leaps out of bed, only making it a few steps before she falls to her knees and begins to vomit on the floor. Thank god for hard wood. It was so worth giving Charming foot rubs for a week straight to win the argument over carpet or hard floors. Men—no sense of style for indoor decorating whatsoever. In Charming's case, anyway.
Snow sets down her still crying baby, looking back and forth between her two kids as she struggles with who to go to. Emma is technically an adult, but Snow is finding that her illness is making her grumpy and child-like. Replace the wailing for groaning, and Snow officially has two babies to take care of.
Snow unbuttons her son's dirty blue onesie and sets him back down in just his diaper before going over to her daughter who has decided the floor is a good spot to lie. "Emma, you need to get back to bed. The floor is not a good place for you to be." Snow rubs her back, trying to coax her to her feet.
Emma simply looks up at her through watering green eyes, her lower lip stuck out in a pout. Her golden curls are damp across her face, her nose runny, and her face pale. Much like her little brother (minus the hair). "Leave me here to die," she whimpers.
Snow rolls her eyes, then. Apparently, their daughter had picked up her dramatic flair from her father. Which isn't surprising, considering David treated everyday back in the Enchanted Forest like a theatrical production—most likely because of his shepherd on a farm upbringing.
"You think your body is aching now, it's going to get much worse if you stay on the floor." Snow reaches down and rests the back of her hand against her daughter's forehead. She sighs and shakes her head, knowing what comes next is not going to be pleasant. "You need to take some NyQuil."
"No!" Emma rolls over and buries her head in the crook of her arm. "I'll just sleep this off and I'll be better in a few days." At first, Snow had thought Emma had been talking about being against modern medicine (Snow was a bit skeptical herself), but she soon learned that her daughter was just stubborn because she hated the taste of the medicine.
"You said that 3 days ago, sweetie." Snow tries to remain patient as Emma shivers beneath her.
"Then I'll wait 3 more."
Snow carries Neal over to the kitchen sink and uses a damp washcloth to clean his body. She quickly makes a bottle of Pedialyte and attempts to feed him even as he whines and refuses the bottle. Picky little guy prefers milk over everything else.
Neal eventually drifts back to sleep, and after cleaning up the vomit on the floor, Snow covers a sleeping Emma with a blanket, as she still has refused to move off the floor. The former bandit sulks as she begins making herself a cup of tea only to find it had cooled in the time-span she had been playing 'Mom Nurse'.
Guilt washes over the young woman as she pours the cold water down the drain. Ashley and Aurora are so natural with their babies, all too happy to take care of them when they are ill. Meanwhile, she is itching for a bottle of wine and a Xanax to rid of the tears ready to fall. Nobody ever prepared her for motherhood. She never knew it would be this hard. Maybe it's a good thing Emma grew up in the real world. She's sure a better mother to Henry than Snow could ever be to her own kids.
A little cry broke the silence, and the cycle continued over again.
Regina is enjoying her lunch break, eating a kale salad and sipping on a root beer as she and Henry text back and forth.
Regina: You're supposed to be paying attention to your studies young man, not your cell phone. This isn't what I intended it for.
Henry: That's not stopping you from texting me, is it? Did you see the goat video I sent you? Isn't it funny?
Regina: Yes dear, it's quite entertaining. Now put the phone down or you lose it for a week.
Henry: :( One more question
Regina sighs and shakes her head. Just like his other mother, he is. She quickly types back a reply before taking another bite of her salad.
Henry: How's Mom? I heard she's been pretty sick since being trapped in Elsa's ice cave.
Regina mulls over his question for a minute, taking a swig of her sugary soda and swishing it around her mouth. She immediately winces and makes a note to schedule a dentist appointment soon. She hasn't bothered to talk to Emma or anyone since Robin left, only giving into Henry after he begged her to come home and sent her that nice basket of movies and red wine. If Emma wasn't so damn heroic all the time, she wouldn't be in this broken-hearted mess. Damn that Swan.
But she couldn't help wondering… how was Emma doing? The one time she saw the savior with a common cold she was practically putty on the street. She didn't have a high pain tolerance whatsoever, and god forbid she take medicine to help her condition.
A ping from her phone pulls her out of her thoughts. She looks down at her screen to see Henry had texted her a question mark.
Regina: I'll call Snow and check on her, dear. I'm sure she's fine. Now back to work. Love you.
After finishing her lunch, Regina dials Snow's number, fighting off the urge to hang up the phone and forget about the whole thing. Emma was just fine, she was sure. The sound of crying and screaming echoes into her ear and she quickly yanks the phone back a few inches.
"What in heaven's name…?"
"Regina! Thank god you called!" Snow shrieks, sounding as if she too, has been crying. "I can't do this alone! I can't handle this!"
"Snow, calm down. What is going on?" Regina asks, hearing a baby crying and violent retching in the background.
"Emma's been really sick, she passed it on to Neal and she won't take any medicine or go to the doctor and Neal just won't stop crying and I don't know what to do!" Snow bursts into tears on the other end of the line.
Regina sighs and hangs up the phone, slipping on her blazer and locking her office for the day. It seems as if Regina was going to have to play hero and push her ill-feelings toward the Charmings to the side.
She soon arrives at the loft with Elsa in tow, who has been like a thorn in her side ever since she was kept away from the search party for Anna. Neal is screaming in Snow's arms while Emma is crumpled on the floor, groaning and clutching her stomach.
"Popsicle, grab the baby. And conjure up some ice while you're at it," Regina instructs Elsa as she makes her way over to the hardly responsive blonde.
Emma groans as Regina hauls her to her feet. The mayor winces at the slight drool coming from the woman's mouth but carries on, used to this type of behavior thanks to her now 14-year-old son. Every time Henry got sick, he was always so miserable. He must get his tolerance from his father, however, as he can handle himself much better than Emma. Elsa manages to quiet baby Neal and Snow collapses into an armchair, burying her face in her hands.
Regina sighs as she touches the shivering woman's forehead to discover she's burning up. "Do you have a thermometer, Snow?"
"Only one for Neal. My other one died when I tried to use it." Snow promptly bursts into tears moments later.
Regina tries to lay Emma down on the bed only to have her wrap her arms around her neck. "Cold… you're so warm…" she murmurs.
Regina sighs as she is forced to lay on her side while Emma clings to her like a koala. She would have absolutely bitched the blonde out had she been her normal self. However, it seems the woman is barely coherent and delusional, fever-ridden and miserable. Emma wouldn't do such a thing like this had she been herself anyway, ever since Regina yelled at her outside of Granny's.
Looking down at the woman shivering and whimpering beneath her, Regina is surprised to feel guilty. All Emma wants is to make things right and be her friend. She's the only person who believed in her when the whole town wanted to parade around town with her head on a stick.
"How do you do that, Regina?" Snow asks, her voice bordering on whiny. "Emma refused to let me touch her, let alone tuck her into bed. And Neal—" Snow motions to Elsa who is lightly rocking the sleepy baby.
"I find people often do what I say the first time I initiate it." Regina gently rolls Emma over so she's on her back. The blonde whimpers but Regina quickly covers her up with the comforter and lays her baby blanket in her open hand. The woman immediately grasps the crocheted fabric and snuggles into it.
"I feel like a failure." Snow grabs a few books off the shelf and tosses them to the floor. Regina notices with amusement that they are parenting books. "These are all bullshit!" Snow snaps, her face flushing scarlet the more heated she gets. "Emma hates me, my baby hates me…"
Regina holds up her hand to cut her off. "Perhaps you should lie down yourself, dear. You're overworked. When was the last time you got more than a few hours of sleep?"
"Since before Neal was born. David tries to help out, he really does, but we just don't work great together as a team. I thought I could do this. I mean, these are my children."
Then, Regina does something that surprises both of them. She stands and wraps her step-daughter in an embrace for the first time since Snow was young. Then she holds the woman close and allows her to vent out all her anger and frustration and most likely post-partum depression.
"Thank you for being here," Snow confesses against Regina's shoulder. The mayor simply rubs her back and whispers nothings into her ear, calming her down enough so she can function.
"Snow, I need you to do a few things. Take your son's temperature and wipe him down with a cool cloth. Make sure his airways are clear and then give me the thermometer so I may check Emma. Can you do that?"
Snow nods and wipes her eyes. Regina smiles at her kindly, knowing all-too-well how it feels being a first-time mother. This is a great distraction from her own depression, doing something that she is relatively good at.
Neal is sleeping peacefully when Snow comes over with the thermometer. Regina gently rouses Emma from sleep by stroking her cheek, hiding her worry for the girl due to her sweaty brow and cloudy eyes.
"Emma dear, we're going to check your temperature now. I need you to roll over on your tummy," Regina speaks softly so as not to aggravate her condition.
Emma opens her mouth for the thermometer, but Regina shakes her head. "It's not that kind of thermometer. All I want you to do is lay very still and cuddle your blanket. Can you do that sweetheart?"
Emma whimpers as her flannel pajama pants are pulled down and her mother readies her. Regina pulls the blonde onto her lap, stroking her hair and shushing her softly. "Gina…" Emma cries and her face contorts in pain as Snow attempts to push the thermometer in.
Though surprised that Emma even knows she's here, Regina simply continues to talk to her as if she were Henry.
"No more. No more!" Emma begins to cry, no doubt from the pain. "Just a little bit longer, darling. You're doing so well, Emma." Regina says, feeling a strange rush of affection for the woman she tried to convince herself that she hated.
"104," Snow proclaims as she reads the thermometer. "I knew she should have gone to the doctor. Will she be okay?"
"Get me some ice packs and NyQuil. Often times, sickness is worse in adults than children. And Emma's immune system is nearly as bad as Neal's I would guess, judging by her diet of bear claws and baskets of French fries daily." Regina smiles as Emma smirks up at her through droopy eyelids. "Yes, I'm talking about you, Miss Swan."
Snow comes over with the items and watches in amazement as Regina works her magic. The mayor fills up the oral syringe with the green medicine and taps it against Emma's lips. The young woman whines and hides her face from view.
"Ah ah. You will take this medicine, or I will be taking you to the hospital where you will be poked and prodded for hours," Regina chastises. "You are a grown woman and you need to start taking care of yourself. Or at least let other people do so. Henry has more common sense than that."
Emma reluctantly opens her mouth and swallows the vial medicine, gagging slightly as it goes down. Regina pauses, her hand frozen in mid-air as she reaches for the bucket nearby. The blonde tampers down the urge to throw up and relaxes, resting her head on Regina's chest.
Snow's phone chirps, and she quickly goes to turn the sound off so she doesn't wake the baby. "David says they may have a lead on Anna. And the dwarves are finally starting to dent the ice wall."
"Go." Regina waves her off, being careful not to move too much for fear of disturbing Emma. "I can take care of things here."
Elsa gives Regina a pleading look from her place beside Neal. The poor girl has been patiently waiting for days with people she doesn't know in a strange world she doesn't belong in. "You can go too. Be careful."
Regina winces as Snow leans down to kiss her son. There is no better way to spread germs than by a mother's kiss. She wisely keeps her mouth shut, understanding that Snow's pride has already been wounded by her mere presence.
Regina is just sitting down with a book and a cup of tea after rubbing Neal's tummy to quell the aching when Emma begins to stir. "Mm, Mom?" She mumbles, slowly sitting up. The mayor goes to her side, brushing her wavy locks away from her face.
"No, dear. It's Regina. Snow went to help David with something in town so I offered to stay with you."
Emma reaches for the bucket and Regina holds back her hair as her stomach begins heaving. "I thought—you hated me," she says once she catches her breath.
Regina sighs and rubs her back in slow circles. It's most likely the NyQuil that upset her stomach again—Henry reacts the same way when he falls ill. "I don't hate you, Emma," Regina admits to her. "I was—am—angry with Robin Hood for leaving me."
Emma lays down again, her head against Regina's chest once more. "I never left."
Without thinking, Regina lays a chaste kiss on her temple. "I know. That's why I'm here—can't have you dying on me. Who else am I supposed to yell at about late paperwork?"
Emma offers Regina a weak smile. "I knew you wanted to be my friend."
Regina reaches on the nightstand to grab the Vic's menthol cream and stifles a chuckle at the blonde's expression. "I take it you're not a fan."
"I refused to let my mother put that on me. I hate mint."
"Well, with me you have no choice." Regina dabs her finger and rubs it beneath the blonde's nose, eliciting a sneeze from her.
"Told you," Emma grumbles, clutching her baby blanket closer to her.
Regina scoops up a bit more of the cream and begins lifting up the blonde's shirt. Emma stiffens and starts to pull away. "Um, Regina…"
"Sorry." Regina drops the shirt as her cheeks flush slightly. She was so used to doing this with Henry that it had become almost a second nature until she realized who it was that she was treating.
"It's alright. I know you're just trying to help." Emma lifts her shirt up so that Regina can slip her hand beneath it. The savior's breathing hitches as Regina's fingers brush her breast.
The task is finished quickly and the moment seems forgotten as Emma lays her head back down on the pillows this time, though she keeps in physical contact with Regina. "What are you reading?" She asks.
Regina closes the book, making sure to keep her finger on the page she had been reading. "I don't know." She glances at the blank cover where a glossy picture usually occupied. "I like to buy books in bulk and then remove the covers and read them randomly. Keeps an air of mystery in my life."
She immediately blushes, realizing how stupid that sounds. Been reading one too many cheesy romance novels lately. Perhaps that was why relationships never worked for her—she had unrealistic expectations, too high of standards.
"Will you read to me?" Emma's question surprises her, as it had been mentioned before that she had a monotone reading voice.
"You should rest," Regina says, reaching for her phone to check the time. She sends a quick text to Henry to ease his worry and turns back to the blonde to see her staring up at her with her bright green eyes. Even red-rimmed and watery, they easily stole her breath with the way they shined.
"Then help me rest. I like falling asleep to white noise." Emma refuses to close her eyes until Regina has begun to read.
Neal wakes sometime later and begins to wail. Regina hurries to him and cradles him in her arms, conjuring up a bottle of Pedialyte and formula to calm him. Even after he has finished his bottle, she rocks him, making a steady motion across the room as she paces back and forth.
"Henry was so lucky he got you." Regina turns to see Emma sitting up in bed, looking far better than before. "I was so worried he would get placed with some family that just wanted the welfare checks or would have given him up once they had a kid of their own."
Regina smiles and looks down at the gurgling infant in her arms. "I'd say I was the lucky one. He completed me, saved me from myself."
Emma begins coughing violently and Regina rushes to her aide, holding up a glass of water for her to sip on. "Better?" The older woman asks as Emma's coughing fit subsides. Emma nods and leans into her touch.
The humidifier is switched on which helps immensely as all 3 people settle contentedly. Snow arrives sometime later just in time for Emma to slip back into her drowsy, delusional state. Regina pulls away from her so her mother can take her place. Just before she leaves, Emma hugs her waist tighter.
"We're best friends, right?"
Regina smiles softly. "Right."
"We'll always be together, right?"
Regina looks up at Snow, who nods at her to humor the poor woman. "Right," Regina whispers as she pulls herself from Emma's embrace.
A year later, the two women find themselves in the same situation minus a fretful, anxiety-ridden Snow. "Nurse Regina, at your service," the mayor teases as she holds up a spoonful of steaming broth to her girlfriend's mouth.
Emma obediently opens her mouth and hums at the flavor. "I am so lucky to have you."
Regina smiles and holds her girlfriend close, the younger woman so unaware of how the first time she was sick had affected her and started their delve from friendship into relationship. "You should be sick more often," the mayor whispers.
Emma simply smiles and snuggles closer.
Hello there. I'm hoping you enjoyed this, I was mainly bored so I created this. It is in no way my bes work but I had fun. Love Regina taking care of a sick Emma. Leave me a review—I love reading your opinions! Much love.