Regina felt the warm tingle of light magic wash over her. She opened her eyes to see Robin looking down at her. His face was a picture of surprise.
She understood instantly, True Love's Kiss had woken her up. A wide smile broke across her face.
"Hi" she said and held his gaze. He took a moment to recover then rushed to kiss her. She felt him let go of her hand, then realised it was smaller, softer, not Robin's at all. She was stiff from lying still for so long but she turned to see who it was.
"Emma" she said with surprise, she half expected it to be Henry.
"Hey Regina" she smiled brightly. "Welcome back"
"Let's get you home" Robin said, helping Regina to a sitting position. She steadied herself on the arm of the couch but was not ready to stand yet.
"Robin, can I talk to you?" Emma asked.
He followed her to the door of Regina's office, looking back to check on her as he went.
"She thinks you woke her up" she said quietly. There was a pause while Robin thumbed his stubble in thought.
"I think we should let her believe that" he replied. Emma was struck by his casual approach to the truth.
"What?" She whispered
"I don't think we should confuse her, she's only just woken up, she has a lot to catch up on." He said
"But shouldn't she know that-" Emma tried, casting a glance over his shoulder to see Regina stretching and rubbing her stiff neck.
"She does know, there is something of sisterly connection between you two. She does know that" He said, smiling at Emma though she didn't return it.
She was silent. Her instincts said he was wrong. Her stomach clenched at the word "sisterly". They may be friends. They had enough of a past to say they knew each other well, but sisterly?
"It would be unfair to confuse her with this, we'll tell her another time" he said, and nodded as he spoke. He left Emma in the door of the office.
She watched him lift Regina to her feet. She leant on him, she trusted him. Emma's heart leapt. Something was wrong, why wouldn't he tell her the truth? What difference did it make to any of them? And yet, not telling it made all the difference to Emma.
She watched Regina let herself be supported and her stomach clenched again. She deserved this trust, this happiness, but he was withholding something from her and that set Emma on edge.
What could she do? Her mind raced. Regina smiled so easily with him, Emma had never seen anything like it. He made her happy and she let him, and that in itself was a big deal for Regina.
Emma had a bad feeling that she couldn't place as she watched them kiss like she wasn't, and had never been, there. She felt an ache in her chest and her eyes blurred with tears that she didn't understand.
The hallway outside was dark. Emma turned and melted into it.