"Hey, Dad. Have you seen my service weapon?" Emma asked.
"Don't you keep it with the holster in the drawer?" Charming asked, taking a sip of coffee.
Emma looked again, just in case she somehow missed it the first time. "Nope, it's not in here. Neither is the holster."
"Maybe you left it somewhere?" Charming suggested with a shrug.
Emma scoffed. "Yeah, but where? I don't keep it anywhere besides that spot if it's not on me."
"Why are you freaking out, Emma? It's just a gun."
"Just a – Just a gun?! Okay, Dad, I know you're from the Enchanted Forest – "
"So are you."
" – where guns aren't really a thing, but a missing gun is a very, very big deal!"
"Come on, Emma, the most violence Storybrooke sees is of the magical variety, which can do far worse damage than a hunk of metal."
Emma gaped at him. Why the hell was he co-Sherriff again? "You think it's just decoration? A play toy to intimidate people in your presence? Have you ever even fired a gun?"
"Never had to. I know it can be dangerous, but so can cars."
"I just… I just hope it's around here somewhere, or that if I left it somewhere it doesn't fall into the wrong hands." Emma bit her lip. She took out her cell, scrolling through her contacts. Her thumb hovered over various names, prepared to dial, but she stopped herself every time. Creating a panic wouldn't do any good. She put her phone away and continued looking all around. "I'm gonna see if I left it at home," she announced after her search ended empty handed.
"Don't worry. I'll be ready for drunk Leroy and cats getting stuck in trees while you're gone."
Emma rolled her eyes as she left the station.
As she sat in her bug, a text alert buzzed.
Emma? It was Regina.
Emma quickly typed back a dismissive response. Not a good time. Kinda busy.
Another buzz. It's important. I need to talk to you.
Emma sighed. Is Henry okay?
Regina was walking down Main Street, eyes glued to her phone. She frowned when Emma asked about Henry. He's fine. This is about us. Regina shook her head and deleted the last sentence. This is personal. Regina frowned harder and deleted that sentence as well. This has nothing to do with him. Regina nodded and sent it.
Emma blinked at the next text: He's fine. This has nothing to do with him.
Emma shook her head. Then it can wait. Later?
Regina sighed in aggravation. She stopped walking. Fine. She chewed her lip, watching the text line blink at her. Family dinner at my place? She hovered over send, but decided against it and deleted the question. But it really is important. She deleted that, too. We'll talk when it's convenient for you. "Stupid," she whispered to herself. She deleted that. That would have been a bad idea.
Fine. Emma put her phone away, feeling a little guilty. It had taken longer than the previous ones, and to only get a one word response, well, that probably meant she fucked up. But she could dwell on that later. At present, she needed to drive home. So, she buckled in and started driving.
Regina had just begun to walk again when she got a picture text from Henry. She clicked it open and chuckled when she saw him holding a puppy. The caption said, His name is Mr. Jingles :)
Regina opened the reply box, and cried out in a sudden shock of pain. She looked down and saw a large red stain on her otherwise very white shirt. Tears swam in her eyes and her legs buckled, making her fall to the ground. She tried to catch herself with her hands, making her phone clatter away, out of reach. She tried anyway, stretching her arm out as far as it could possibly go. Her fingertips barely grazed a side of it before she lost consciousness.
Emma was anxiously tapping on the steering wheel as she drove. She just wanted to go home, grab her gun, and continue on with her day. She couldn't even think about not finding it at home, that would just be unacceptable. She would find it. She would. Then she could stop being paranoid. People were more likely to be shot with a crossbow than a bullet, anyway. Maybe her dad was right, maybe she was freaking out for no reason.
Emma sighed as she reached one of Storybrooke's eternal red lights. The place really didn't have that much traffic, but the lights could seriously extend a short trip. Making it like New York, sometimes it was more efficient to walk. She brought out her phone, figuring she'd be sitting there at least a minute.
I was rude. We can talk today, I promise. And I say that knowing your hatred of broken promises. I just can't at the moment, I'm sorry. She sent it to Regina, hoping the apology would help. It also killed about thirty seconds of her waiting time, so she was effectively killing two birds with one stone.
When the light was green, Emma continued to drive. After a couple blocks, she turned onto Main Street. As she drove, she saw something weird. In the distance, there was something on the road. As the distance lessened, Emma could make out the vague shape of a person. It was a person in the road. It was too slender a figure for it to be Leroy passed out again.
Did someone get hit? No, she would have known about that already, and there would have been witnesses. Or should have been, at least. That sort of crime was rare and should capture the attention of everyone nearby. Except, there was no one nearby. No one was out. That was strange.
Even closer, Emma could tell the person was bleeding. The woman. Yes, the person was definitely a woman. One with long dark hair, impressive heels, a black pencil skirt…
Emma's heart dropped to her stomach. "No…" It couldn't be.
Emma grabbed her phone and called Regina. She saw the phone a couple feet away from the woman light up.
Shit! Emma sped up to get there faster, slamming on the breaks just a few feet away. She left the car running, but flew out of it and dropped to her knees beside her. "No, no, no… Regina!" She pressed a couple fingers to her neck, relieved to feel a pulse, but it was far too slow for her liking.
Tears didn't take long to fall from her eyes; there was so much blood. "Regina, wake up," she begged, cradling her face in her hands. What the hell are you doing, Swan?! Help her! Emma shook her head and lightly stroked her cheeks with her thumbs before looking down at the shirt that was supposed to be white. She got another sinking feeling and patted her hand lightly up her body until she found what she was looking for, a hole.
Regina had been shot. And Emma knew it had been with her missing gun. "Who did this?!" she choked out. Emma held her hands over the wound and put all her energy and magic to work healing her, while knowing it would only be superficial at best and that Regina would still need serious medical attention.
Emma sobbed. If she'd just come to talk to her, she could have prevented this! She probably would have found her stupid gun, too.
What felt like an eternity later, Emma felt cool fingers wrap around one of her hands. She looked up at Regina's face and saw Regina's watery eyes looking at her.
"You're here," she croaked out weakly. "I… I don't know what happened."
"You were shot." Emma squeezed her hand, still focusing on her magic.
"Oh." Regina chuckled. "Of course I was." A pause. "Emma, you're just buying time," she whispered.
"I know!" Emma snapped. "I am not letting you die in the middle of Main Street. In fact, I'm not letting you die at all! We have an important talk coming up, right?"
A tear fell from Regina's eye. "Not a good time. Kinda busy."
That stung. "Don't do that to me." Emma squeezed her hand again. "You are going to live." She pulled off her jacket and wrapped it around her middle, tying it snugly together. "Come on, Regina." She let go of her hand, sliding an arm under Regina's legs and another under her back. She carefully lifted her up, feeling cool arms loop around her neck and even cooler lips press against her own.
Emma was shocked, and a flood of tears streamed down her face. Regina sure as hell didn't get to die now. She used magic to get them to the hospital. "I don't care what you think you're doing right now, but your most important patient just arrived and she is top priority!" she barked. "Got it?"
A swarm of Storybrooke's medical personnel surrounded them, taking Regina from her. She managed to tell them that she was shot before sinking to the floor, all the adrenaline starting to wear off, reducing her to a sobbing mess.
Regina had kissed her. She was convinced she already had one leg in death's door, and she'd kissed her. Did that mean she… Had that been what the talk was going to be about? Was it just a thank you or a goodbye? Or was it supposed to be the first of many, but Regina thought it might be the first and the last?
All Emma knew was that she couldn't leave her. She looked up at one of the nurses. "I…I know she pro-probably needs surgery, but can you take me to where she'll be… after? She can't be alone, she has to know I'm still here. Please!"
The nurse raised her onto her feet and guided her to where she'd asked to be taken.
Emma sat in an empty room for what felt like another eternity. She used magic to transport Regina's phone, knowing she'd want it afterwards. The lockscreen was on, and Emma looked at it a moment. She was about to put it on the counter behind her when a curiosity struck her. She tapped the 3, then 6, 6, and 2. Regina's phone unlocked for her. E, M, M, and A. She was Regina's password.
Emma knew she shouldn't be snooping. But curiosity got the best of her. She opened the browser, which was open to a Google search: How to tell your best friend you're in love with her
Almost every single link on the first page of results was colored purple, which meant almost every single link on the first page had been clicked on, and presumably, read by Regina.
Emma felt a weird floating and sinking sensation when she recognized the names of the results, knowing she had a similar Google search history on her own phone. One she'd given up on a while ago because they all terrified her and she was too big a chicken. She knew for damn sure, though, no result advised getting shot and nearly dying as a way to go about it. She went back to the homescreen and locked the phone up, putting it on the counter behind her. She dropped her head in her hands. That kiss really did mean something to Regina.
Hell, if Emma thought she was dying in Regina's arms and still had some strength to move, she would have planted one on her, too. She wished it was the other way around so badly. She was the one who lost the damn gun, she should be the one being punished for it.
Eons and eons passed, giving Emma's imagination the chance to run wild with the best and worst case scenarios, and every possible and impossible scenario in between.
Finally, Regina was wheeled into the room on a hospital bed, no longer in her bloody clothes, but in a hospital gown.
"We successfully removed the bullet and it appears any organs that got hit in its path somehow repaired themselves. Now we just want to watch her for any infections and give her about a week to recover from the fact she just had surgery," Whale told Emma.
"So she'll live?" Emma asked, allowing herself a smile.
"Our Mayor's too stubborn to let a simple bullet kill her. Not a dramatic enough exit."
"I can hear you, you know," Regina announced.
"Alright, alright, I'll leave you two alone." Whale locked the bed in place before leaving.
Regina looked at Emma. "You're here."
"Of course I am. I'm not going anywhere." Emma dared to kiss Regina's forehead.
A tear fell from Regina's eye, then another. "I really thought I wasn't going to make it," she choked out in a whisper.
Emma gently stroked her tears away. "But you did," she murmured.
"I… Saw Daniel. He said, 'What do you think you're doing here? It's not time yet.' And… And I saw Daddy. He said, 'Don't you dare leave that nice Swan lady and my grandbaby behind. Don't die before you get your happy ending. It's so close.' And then… I woke up."
"Smart men. I would have kicked your ass if you died on me. It's just rude to kiss someone and die."
"I-I'm sorry, Emma. I thought it was my last chance and I didn't want to miss it."
"It's not your last chance." Emma stroked her thumb along her cheek. "Is this what you wanted to talk about?"
Regina nodded, a sob escaping.
"Regina…" Emma took her hand, lacing their fingers together. Regina's hand was warmer now. "Nothing you say can make me leave this room. I'm not leaving your side."
Regina looked into her eyes. "I love you, okay?" she whispered. "And I have for a very long time."
"I love you, too, Regina. I started slowly falling the day we met, though it took me a while to recognize it. Then I just became a big chicken and couldn't tell you. I tried to bury my feelings, but they never went away. I would regret never speaking up for the rest of my life if I lost you today."
Regina squeezed Emma's hand. "I'm sorry I had to tell you this way. Sort of sucks away all the romance."
"Ssh." Emma pressed a loving kiss to Regina's lips.
Regina returned it, free hand sliding into Emma's hair, her love for the woman growing more than she even thought possible.
Emma broke the kiss when the heart monitor sped up. "Easy. Let's not make everyone run back in here."
Regina smiled. "Now, that was a kiss."
Emma pressed kisses to Regina's knuckles. "You heal up, and I'll take you on an actual date. Anywhere you want."
"Deal."