For SWANQUEEN Week Challenge.
Tropes and Cliches
Day 1: Bed Sharing
One shot (I hope), no beta, rated T
3A arc, Pan and Henry didn't exchange souls hence no Pan in Storybrooke, Rumple didn't sacrifice himself, there's no curse reversal. Tinker Bell present!
The P.O.X.
It all started one early and peaceful morning in the small town of Storybrooke, two weeks after our HEROES returned from their adventure in Neverland.
Emma Swan was contentedly sitting at a bar stool in front of the kitchen bar nursing her very first cup of coffee. There was a small, genuine smile on her face as her mind takes her back to their adventure. Okay, there really was nothing to be happy about the circumstance that lead her and the others to invade Neverland. Henry was taken by that stupid Greg Mendell and Tara whatever, and they all have put their lives in danger getting him back... she... no, they – and by they she means Regina and her – almost lost Henry, thanks to Regina's dark side, they were able to save him and return his heart to his chest. And now, no one could ever take it again, that's once again because of Regina's magical protection over their son's heart.
And that's what the smile on her face was for.
Finally, she had seen through the woman's mask and in the two weeks that they had arrived, they had sort of gotten into an agreement/schedule regarding Henry. Two weeks of sharing their son without trying to pull the other's hair out or punch the other's tooth out... whatever they were into before had somehow lifted a lot of weight off her chest. It somehow made living in Storybrooke lighter than before.
It was in this line of though that she heard the rustling of the bed that was hidden by a thick curtain, signalling that her mother, Snow White had arisen... well, aside from the giggling sound that she sure doesn't want to know why, she was sure she'll be showing herself any second now. So she stood, ignoring the still giggling sound, she took Snow's favorite mug and started preparing the woman's coffee.
"Good morning Emma," greeted Snow which the sheriff returned by nodding her head, a silent acknowledgement, without looking at the other woman and continued preparing the coffee. "It really is a GOOD morning. Isn't Storybrooke so peaceful right now? I mean... I think this truce with Regina has done us a lot of good!" The pixie haired brunette said in her usual cheery, sweet voice.
"Aha," Emma grunted, turned and stopped, "Snow..."
The smaller woman smiled at her daughter, "You can try calling me mother you know? Or Mom..."
"Yeah, I mean... what happened to you? I mean your face..."
Snow's eyes widened, "Oh this!" she pointed a finger to her face, "I already went to Whale and had it checked, he said it was nothing, just an allergy, he said it must be something about the air in Neverland. Your father has some too, though his were mostly at his back. You should probably checked with Whale too, we all came in contact with the air there..." then she frowned, "Actually, I thought I had one at my lower back yesterday but when I heard a 'popping' sound, it turns out it was just a simple body acne. It's not even that icky kind of thing." At the raise of Emma's brow she continued, "It only has clear liquid inside instead of those icky yellow ones."
Emma put the cup down and backed away from her mother, "Are you sure he said that they are only allergies? Because I've had had allergies and they..." her eyes widened when her cheery mother suddenly grabbed her in a tight hug. The blonde has no idea her mother could actually move that fast!
"Oh don't be like that! You were inching away from me as if I'm having a contagious disease! This is just an allergy, I swear on my father's name!"
"Alright, alright Snow get off me!" but the brunette didn't let go and even rubbed her face on her daughter's exposed arm, "Ew... Snow... I mean mom!" and then the small woman let go.
"See, that wasn't too hard."
"But you're sure it is an allergy?"
Snow nod her head, "Princess Honor!"
-0-
Regina was supposed to bring Henry to the station so that the two could go back to the Charming's apartment together. It has been a week when she had talked to Emma about any plans on getting her own apartment, and the blonde woman told her that she had everything in control. After Emma told her that Charming and Snow wanted another shot at raising a child, and knowing the state of the apartment they lived in, she offered the sheriff help in finding her one. She can't just let her son live in there and accidentally see the two idiot, or even hear for that matter, making all those horrendous noises as they make another EMMA or a male version of the sheriff. One week, and Emma found one that was just below Mary Margaret's, but the family that lives there have one more month worth of deposit and wants to use it since the deposit is not refundable, either use it or forget about it.
Anyway, Henry started complaining about sore throat yesterday, and then he suddenly developed a fever that night and she got worried when she found three rashes at his back that she can't tell whether it was a pimple or not this morning when he woke up. She decided to call the school excusing Henry and then decided to talk to Emma.
It seemed the sheriff for the first time hadn't notice her arrival despite the sound of her shoes, because there was Emma, sitting on his chair and...
"Are you rubbing your back at your chair?" she asked with a frown as she stepped inside Emma's office. "That's just gross, do you have fleas or something?"
Emma stopped and rolled her eyes, "Or something," she frowned, "Where's Henry?" She stood when she saw the worried look on the brunette, "Is he alright? Did someone took him again?"
Now it's Regina's turn to roll her eyes, "Oh and what? I'll just let anyone take our son and then ran here to ask you to get him?" she asked with raise brow.
The blonde raised her hand in surrender, "Hey, you look worried what would I think? We've just gotten through a kidnapping, I can't help thinking the worst!" she explained and then she turned her arm to reach her back as she tried to reach the itchy part, "What the fuck! I think Snow gave me her allergies!"
"Wow, that probably is some strong allergy strain."
Emma looked at her, "You don't have it? Whale said it must be from the Neverland air."
Regina grinned, "Or probably its just the gene." she sighed, "Anyway, I left Henry home. He was complaining of sore throat yesterday, then he had fever last night. When he woke up, he had these rashes on his back... I'm worried..."
Emma stopped scratching and looked the brunette in the eye, "Are the rashes pimple like?"
"Yes! How do you know?"
"Snow got some on her face, she saw Whale for it and he said it was nothing but allergies."
"Allergies? He's feverish last night, his temperature was 39.7!"
Emma frowned, "Okay, that's not allergy. Maybe we should bring him to the hospital?"
"Let's not rush, maybe we can observe him for the mean time, I checked his temperature this morning and it was down to 38, and that's when I saw the rashes!"
The sheriff led the brunette out her office, she took her jacket from the coat rack and they went out of the station together. "I think we better head to the apartment, I think Whale had prescribed Snow some cream for the rashes, maybe we can ask for some until we can take him to Whale?"
"I'm not sure about this Emma, what if this isn't just some simple rash? I don't think Henry could be cured by electrocution, and even if his condition can be cured by it, I'm not allowing Whale with an electrode near our son!"
"Okay I get it, but we have nothing for now. No real doctor and that damn town line had made us invisible remember? So let's see Snow and borrow her cream, unless you have some magical cure for him?"
Regina sighed, "There are magical cure for rashes, but unless I know what kind of rash this is then I can't mix any. I can't just blindly mix a healing potion and do trial and error on him."
"Alright, then let's go."
-0-
When they arrive at the apartment, Snow was currently in the bathroom taking a bath, David who was supposed to be at the station was still in his night wear covered with a bath robe. He was scratching a lot which made the two women frown. Regina though wanted to laugh because Emma seemed to be mirroring Charming's movement, minus the robe.
"Is she going to take longer?" Emma asked impatiently as she scratch her back.
"I don't think so, she had been there since..."
David, Emma and Regina jumped when suddenly there was a shrilling scream in the bathroom.
-0-
[Next Day]
When Regina made the curse twenty nine years ago, it didn't occur to her to make the hospital bigger. It was supposed to be a small town made of people who repeats their day for twenty eight years. There was no magic and yet the most that happen that warrants hospitalization was some bone breaking from accident, or some occasional flu which were seen as out patient cases.
And then Emma Swan came and the town started moving forward, the curse was broken, Rumple brought magic, then Neverland happened and they didn't return as they were... they brought 'kids' into the town and well, with people finding their loved ones, the population boomed – in just one year! -
It also didn't occur to her that when the curse breaks, no one could actually go out of town or else lose their memories, but now, with Rumple's cloaking spell, they are also invisible to the outside world, and she didn't anticipate any complication of increasing population in a non expanding economy, so there is only one doctor available and he is damned FRANKENSTEIN!
The reinstated Mayor was standing by the hospital's emergency entrance watching the commotion. Whale had been up to his head with admissions due to this 'sudden rash outbreak' which seemed to start with the Charmings, so she thought, and then the lost boys followed and then Wendy Darling and her brothers.
The hospital has a total of fifteen rooms, five private (single bed rooms), five semi-private (2 bed rooms), and five ward consisting of five beds. The day hasn't ended and there are now only three free rooms. One private and one and a half semi-private. Regina was just glad Henry didn't need to be hospitalized yet, but she's not sure so she went to the hospital to have the one private room reserved. She had Miss Lucas look out for Henry with Emma who, aside from the itching, has not shown sign of worsening. Miss Lucas was unaffected and available since Granny Lucas decided to close her diner indefinitely until this outbreak is solved.
"Hello," Regina greeted the person at the admission office,
"Madame mayor," The man said smiling, "How may I help you?"
"I want to reserve the private room? I mean I talked to Loreta at the triage and she said there's one more private room available..."
The man shook his head, "First ma'am, we can't reserve the rooms at the moment unlike before because of the outbreak, and second, we can only give a room when Doctor Whale already has an admission order. I'm sorry,"
"No... look, my son, Henry is afflicted, he hasn't shown the bad signs yet but I just want to be sure..."
"Then have him come here madame mayor and have Doctor Whale look at him..." he frowned, "Ah, I think the room has been taken."
"What?"
"Mercy had just admitted Mr. Gold."
"Oh..." The brunette politician opened her mouth to protest but was interrupted.
"Madame Mayor, maybe you should go see Dr. Whale."
"What?" she asked and followed the man's eye looking at her exposed neck. She reach up and her eyes widened, "Oh no..."
-0-
The Mayor had to put her pillow on her head to drown the grating sound being made by the other occupant of the room. But despite the pillow, the wail keeps going and it seemed to get louder.
"Oh Charming look at my face! What kind of sorcery is this?! REGINA! I thought we had a TRUCE!" Snow white keeps on as she looks at the mirror. There were now different kind of rashes on her whole body, face included. There were some that darkened and looks to be peeling off, there were new rashes sprouting everywhere, and there were the mid-rashes that had water in and it itch everywhere. "This must be plague! You cursed us again? What have we done this time?!"
Regina rolls her eyes and sat, she pulled the curtain divider showing the pathetic looking woman. "Damn it Snow! If I wanted to curse everyone - again, why the hell would I include myself in the curse? And why would I curse my own son! For once, I am as clueless as you!"
"Then what is this?!" Charming screamed as he points a finger on his own body having the same condition as his wife.
"I don't know, and that is not a plague! I have seen one and this is not it!"
Whatever reason the three has to continue their shout-fest stopped when the door opened and a gurney was pushed in, a blonde head peaked out of the blanket and that caught the three's attention.
"Emma?"
"Honey?"
"Miss Swan?"
"Unh," was Emma's only response. She slowly sat clutching her stomach, "Hurts! Itchy and my stomach hurts!" she said as a nurse helped her off the gurney and then they stopped to look at Snow White, and then Regina.
"The Sheriff needs to share a bed, she's dehydrated and her medicine will have to be given through I.V., we have no more beds available and the only one willing to share was Mr. Gold..."
"I'm not sharing bed with him! If it's the last thing I ever do..." Emma said as she grimace in pain.
"Wrong tone dear," Regina said sighing, "It seems there's no other bed for sharing but mine, unless you want to do threesome with your parents..."
The nurse grinned,
"EW Regina!" Emma shivered then grimace before the nurse guides the sheriff to Regina's bed, along with the IV stand.
Regina rolled her eyes when Emma was about to take the right side, "The other side Ms. Swan," she growled.
"Oh come on, I'm dying here and you can't scoot?"
"Left side Emma... and stop being so dramatic!"
"Argh!" if she could wave her arms in the air she would have, but she's weak from stomach ache that has started several hours ago and can't even eat anything without puking, so she slowly went to the other side and slowly lie down. When she was settled, the nurse gave a curt nod and left with the promise of coming back for Emma's stomach meds.
Emma was at her side, her back to Regina while the older brunette was at her back, facing the ceiling. "What where you three yelling about?"
"I thought we had a truce, Regina did it again." Snow said pouting.
"She didn't," she then looked back to see the woman, "God's, my mother outnumbers your rash only by twenty. What the heck is happening Regina?" Emma actually had the inkling in her to touch the other woman's face and will the rashes to disappear.
"Like what I've told your mother, I have no idea either. I've called Whale a dozen times for explanation, alas, he knows nothing. I think we have more chance of knowing what ails us if we ask Belle." Regina said in her irritated tone.
"it's your fault," Charming said.
"What have I said? If I'm cursing everyone I wouldn't include..."
"Not that, for making Whale the only doctor... and Whale? As in Frankenstein?" he shook his head.
"He was fine for the first 28 years!" Regina argued.
"We were cursed! Time stopped! No one gets sick without being miraculously cured the next day!" Snow white interjected.
"So now you believe that I didn't curse everyone again?" The younger brunette huffed.
Emma groaned, "Oh how I wish it is true right now. My stomach's killing me."
Regina looked at the woman beside her, "How come you have a different symptom than us?"
The blonde sighed, "I'll take whole body rash than this fucking stomach ache!"
"Emma, Language!" all three other occupants chastised.
-0-
10:00 p.m. The semi-private room was cast in a light glow from a fluorescent lamp at the head of the bed. Nothing could be heard aside from the slight snore coming from David. The curtain divider was returned separating the two beds, giving occupants a sense of privacy.
"Regina," Emma whispered as she turned on her other side facing the other woman who this time was on her side, facing her. There was no answer, so she assumed the woman was asleep. All four of them were given medications for the itch and the side effect was them falling asleep, but for some reason, she was still awake. Maybe the side effect is overridden by the side effect of my stomach meds? She thought, then her eyes roamed that of the mayor. This is actually the first time that she'd get to see Regina up close, they had been in each others personal spaces before the curse but with their adrenaline high, anger flaring, she had no time to digest how beautiful the other woman really is.
And now, even with the rashes, she find herself lucky to have been given the chance to see this. And with her relaxed and asleep? She could look at Regina's face forever.
"I do hope there is more to you than just calling my name Emma," the blonde's heart almost got caught in her throat for the unexpected voice. Regina opened one eye, and even raise the brow of said part.
"You scared me," she said as she clutch a hand to her chest, "I thought you were asleep,"
"You thought wrong then, our magic negates any medical side or adverse effects. It separates the positive effect from the negative ones so now, despite the strong medication, we don't get sleepy unlike the rest."
Emma opened her mouth in understanding, "I see, maybe when this outbreak is over you can start really teaching me how to control my magic."
Regina's eyes now both opened, "Remember where that got us?"
"But this time I'm a willing student."
Regina smiled, "Maybe your parent would rather Blue help you."
Emma frowned, "If they want Blue to teach, then they can be her student. Not going to learn from her, no way."
"So?"
Emma tried to raise one brow like Regina but to no avail, "So what?"
"You called my name, there must be something to follow 'Regina',"
"Oh..." she sighed. "Yeah, about this..." she said making a motion towards their condition, "I'm no doctor, and I have not seen any condition like this, but just now I remember someone from my middle school, he was absent for about two weeks when he returned he had lots of shallow scars of rashes all over his body and the teacher said he had the pox."
"The pox? What is the pox?"
Emma shrugged her shoulder, "I don't remember, but I remember he contracted it when he went to visit his mother's family somewhere in Asia."
Regina frowned, "We didn't go anywhere Asia, can't leave Storybrooke remember?"
"Yeah, but what if it's not only there? Maybe it has something to do with the jungle? Forest?"
"We have forest..."
"Regina," she hissed, "It's a long shot but still a shot. Whale seemed to be in the blind and his ego prevents him from consulting the internet! Maybe Belle could help." then she grimace which caused the older woman to frown.
"Medicine lost its effect already?" she asked, concern on her face and then she felt the itch coming back, "Oh, the medicine effect is also reduced because of our magic... I almost forgot about that. And now I'm itchy again."
"Gods," Emma rolls her eyes, "At least you only have the itch and you don't have this tube so you can scratch any time,"
"Do you want me to scratch you?"
Emma looked at Regina, "Really you'd do that? You won't think it's gross?"
"Have you looked at me? I am the very definition of gross right now."
Emma smiled and shook her head, "I don't know how you do it, but even with all the rashes, you still look gorgeous." both woman's eyes widened, "I think that's the medicine talking?"
Regina just raise one brow, "Turn around Emma, I'll scratch your back, you scratch mine."
"But I got IV..."
"You only have one IV, you can use the other hand. Now turn," Emma did and smiled when Regina started scratching her itchy back.
-0-
[Next Day]
Regina was awakened by low voices from the other side of the room. She tried to sit but was unable to and when she looked down to find out why, she saw a blonde headed patient who decided to make her left shoulder a makeshift pillow, and a strong leg over hers. Emma Swan made a koala of herself, with her as her bamboo. "Ms. Swan," she called softly but the blonde didn't wake up. "Sheriff," a little loud this time but still... "Emma!"
That last one brought the people on the other side to open the curtain, and her face reddened because it was not only the two idiots there but also their son, Ms. French, Mr. Gold and a grinning Ruby.
"Mom!" Henry called and hurriedly went to her mother's side.
Regina smiled despite the embarrassment, "Henry, you are feeling alright?"
"Still itchy but I am fine now, though the rashes are now even under my feet!" he grinned and looked at his still sleeping birth mother, "So she did share bed with you."
"I volunteered," Mr. Gold said shrugging his shoulder.
"So this is what hospital bed sharing does huh?" Ruby teased causing the Mayor to glare at her, "Zipping my mouth now," she said as she stepped back and away from the glaring woman.
"Aren't you supposed to be lying on your bed?" Regina asked turning her focus from Ruby to Gold. She wanted to laugh but tried not to since she know that she must have the same rashes on her face, just like Gold, just from the seeming additional weight on her face. But when she looked at Snow White whose face was filled with now darkened and looks like scabbing rashes, she can't help herself and began laughing, followed by Henry then Ruby. "How did you end up having that much Snow?"
The teacher glared at the Mayor who wasn't phased at all, pouted and crossed her arms over her chest which caused Regina to laugh more. But they heard her mumble something about "I took a bath with lemon water... someone said it helps with the itch..."
"Oh, at least Mary Margaret is already on the convalescence stage. We had a chicken pox outbreak. It's more common on temperate countries, and in some way, Dr. Whale was right, it must have been from Neverland."
"A chicken pox?" Regina asked bewildered.
"I had the same expression," David said, "I was waiting for the explanation as to when the chicken or the fox comes out of the rashes." he was serious.
Henry rolled his eyes, "Grandpa, its pox, P.O.X not fox. And it's a viral infection, no cure, it just goes away on its own."
"What?" Regina frowned.
"Henry is right, there is no cure for it. I read a lot of journals from the internet about it, all the afflicted needs to do is rest and hydrate."
"But Emma, she was in so much pain last night."
"Oh," all eyes went to the blonde, "Her's are viruses that didn't manifest, instead of skin rashes they manifest as stomach flu."
And this was the time that Emma decided to join them. She wiped her eyes and smiled sleepily at everyone. A few minutes more and she realized her position and the number of people in the room, that made her eyes widened in surprise, her cheeks reddened from embarrassment and she gave everyone a sheepish smile, "How long has everyone been here?"
Henry grinned, "Long enough to see you drool on mom."
"Henry..."
-0-
[Two weeks later]
The Outbreak breaks and the people of Storybrooke afflicted by the pox had all been cured. The diner re opened and life in the town almost went back to normal. The library now includes manuscripts, print outs regarding different infectious disease of this realm that could commonly afflict humans.
The Charmings so overwhelmed by the absence of the viral itch decided to reconnect with each other and thank the heavens, Emma thought, that Henry is a deep sleeper, because the noise the two were making would scar the boy for life and he might seek Archie's help all on his own. But she was not like Henry, even with a pillow on her head, she can still hear... feel the vibration... and probably, it was her magic that made her nose very sensitive.
So she closed her eyes tight and think of peace... then her eyes opened wide at the shriek and then she just felt herself falling... off a bed.
Bed, not her bed but someone else... when she knelt to look, she was surprised to find angry brown eyes meeting hers. "What is the meaning of this Ms. Swan?!" Regina has her arms crossed on her chest, blankets covering her thighs.
"Uh... I can explain?"
-END-
Nice to know thing: I didn't consult any infectious disease book. Some of the symptoms base on experience, most from what I remember back when. Shingles is a chicken pox that recur. When a chicken pox virus is cured, they don't really go away of the body (thats why you only get to have chicken pox once, when you have it, you can't have it again, you get immunity), instead the virus hides in the plexuses (networks of nerves). Shingles affect immunocompromised people, now, if you havent gotten chicken pox, you got immunocompromised then got infected by simple chicken pox, you get Shingles, not CP and that's painful!