Thank you all for the reviews, follows and favorites!

As many of you requested, I decided to continue this. The second chapter mirrors the first in that it is written in the same type of stream of consciousness, only this time, from Regina's perspective. After this chapter, the style will likely shift to more dialogue based as the story unfolds.

Reviews and any feedback are always appreciated. Thank you for reading!


After Regina had regained control of her emotions, she magically transported Henry and herself to the hospital without uttering more than a few hurried words to Robin.

When she arrived in the Emergency Room the doctors were still working tirelessly to save Emma. Information regarding the blonde's condition came scattered over several painstaking hours.

"She suffered a severe blow to the head but there's no cerebral hemorrhage that we can detect at this time."

"Emma sustained a pneumothorax from a crush injury to her chest so we had to insert a chest tube."

"She's stable for now, but we still have to take her to the OR to repair the open leg fracture."

Between the disjointed information from the doctors and from the Charmings, Regina tried desperately to understand why Emma was out in the middle of the night during a storm when it wasn't even her turn at the night shift.

Physical evidence at the scene was limited given the conditions that night. The road was absent of any obvious debris and there were no skid marks on the pavement. Without any indication of an accident or any attempt by Emma to regain control of the bug, there could only be one logical conclusion to draw.

Emma intentionally drove into that tree.

Regina spent most of that night silently waiting for any news on Emma's condition while tending to Henry. He had all too recently mourned the loss of his father, so the possibility of also losing his birth mother was almost too much for the teen to bear.

Robin had tried a couple of times over the course of the night to console Regina, but she continually pulled away from his touch and snapped at him whenever he tried to offer any words of comfort. She felt a fleeting twinge of guilt for how she was treating him, as he had been nothing but good to her and Henry over these past few months, but right now he was the last person she wanted to see. Ironically, the only person Regina wanted to be comforted by was the only person who currently could not offer such comfort.

Why did you do this, you idiot?

While awaiting any news on Emma's final surgery, Regina could do nothing but rehash the last few months in her mind, trying to make any small bit of sense out of what happened that night. What could possibly drive Emma to do such a terrible thing to herself?

Things had been better since they dispensed of Zelena, hadn't they? Everyone finally had the mundane contented lives they had always dreamed of. It was what they fought so hard and so long for – it was what she and Emma fought for together.

When Regina thought back, she supposed that they had grown apart somewhat over the last few months. Without the need to practice magic or plot to break any curses, the occasion to spend time together dwindled.

After discovering that Robin Hood was her soul mate, Regina felt that she might finally have her chance at her happy ending. Through all the heartache, loss and anger, there was at last some glimmer of hope – one that she clung to with everything that she had and poured every bit of her heart into to see it through. Perhaps she had lost sight of Emma in the process.

On the surface, Robin Hood was a perfect match for her in every possible way. Aside from being handsome, he was brave, honest, a wonderful father, and wasn't afraid to go toe to toe with the former Evil Queen. It wasn't that Regina was unhappy with Robin, but in the back of her mind she couldn't shake the persistent feeling that something was missing. The spark and the fire that returned to her life when Emma forced herself into Storybrooke had dissipated with time. After a while Regina figured it was just a natural byproduct of finally settling down and that perhaps true love wasn't a thing of fairytales after all. Not everyone could be insufferably in love like the Charmings were, could they?

As time went on, Emma stopped coming by the mansion for family dinner. There was something off about the way she acted around Robin but Regina had just chalked it up to a nothing more than a simple personality clash. Emma was never outwardly combative with Robin, and it didn't seem to interfere with her relationship with Henry, so Regina didn't feel the need to address it with the blonde directly.

Some days Regina would stop by the station to drop off stacks of paperwork for the sheriff. She'd make a few snarky remarks about how long it was taking her to get it done, or how many bear claws she had eaten that day. Every time she marched into that station she felt an exhilarating rush of adrenaline that had become almost completely absent from her life. Although she was glad that the feud between her and the blonde had long since passed, she missed how her altercations with Emma made her feel. Even though Regina seemed to have the life she had always wanted, there was something about her interactions with the blonde – however trivial or fleeting – that made her feel truly alive in a way that nothing and no one else could.

Whenever Regina encountered Emma, she seemed genuinely happy. Through all the feigned insults and remarks, the blonde just smiled and greeted her warmly with a playful quip or two of her own. Each time Emma arrived at the mansion to pick up Henry, she always appeared wholeheartedly eager to spend time with him. Emma and Regina hadn't shared any conversation recently that didn't involve work or Henry, but the blonde seemed to be just as well adjusted as everyone else in town. If she wasn't, why did she feel the need to hide it? Why didn't she reach out? After all of the times that Emma stood by her, believed in her, and even risked her life to save her, why would the blonde think that she wouldn't have reciprocated?

Regina was jerked from her thoughts by the sound of the double doors from the trauma area being thrust open by Doctor Whale. He looked obviously exhausted but his expression was neutral as he pulled Snow, David and Regina aside to provide them with an update on Emma's condition.

"The open reduction and internal fixation of the tibia took a bit longer than expected as there was a significant amount of damage to the bone and the surrounding tissue, but overall, the surgery was a success. Her condition is stable for now, and we've moved her down to the ICU."

Snow breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed Charming's arm.

"So that means she's going to be okay?" Snow asked in a hopeful voice, interpreting this as good news.

However, Whale's expression remained stoic.

"It's certainly promising news for the time being, but the next 24 hours will be critical. We won't really know if there will be any lasting effects until she regains consciousness, and that could take several days considering the degree of trauma her entire body has sustained."

Snow burst into tears and Charming pulled her into his arms.

"Can we see her?" Charming asked somberly.

Whale pressed his lips together and exhaled deeply, looking at the distraught faces in front of him.

"Normally I wouldn't allow it with a patient this critical, but I'll let you visit briefly, and only one at a time."


Regina had decided that she should go see Emma prior to determining whether or not she would allow Henry see her at all in this condition.

The nurse led her down a long dimly lit hallway to a large room sealed with automatic glass doors. She stood outside the doorway briefly, catching sight of the blonde for the first time. Her breath hitched as she fully appreciated the magnitude of Emma's injuries.

Nearly every bit of Emma was covered with casts, bandages or tubes. From first glance the most obvious injuries were her fractured leg and arm, as well as the large laceration and hematoma to her forehead. Due to the traumatic nature of Emma's injuries and the extensive amount of pain medication they had her on, the doctors intubated her to ensure that she would have no difficulty breathing.

Regina took a sharp intake of breath and stepped forward, causing the automatic doors to slide open. As it was the dead of night in what appeared to be the most remote corner of the hospital, all Regina could hear was the heavy pounding of her own heart inside her chest and the systematic sounds of the numerous machines hooked up to the blonde.

A chair was already positioned at Emma's bedside, so Regina tentatively approached it and sat down, crossing her legs and awkwardly folding her hands in her lap. Regina hadn't ever tended to anyone so gravely injured, so she was a bit unsure as to what the proper etiquette would be. After several minutes of staring at the blonde's chest moving up and down to the sound of the respirator, she recalled seeing something on television about talking to coma patients. Taking a deep breath, she reluctantly decided to give it a try.

"Of all the idiotic things you've done, Miss Swan, I think you've finally outdone yourself."

Regina felt foolish sitting there and watching Emma, hoping that her words would have somehow miraculously stirred the blonde from her coma. After several long moments of observing Emma, it was obvious that her efforts had failed. Her heart sank as the gravity of the situation overcame her.

"After everything that you've been through…that we've been through…I simply cannot comprehend why you would do such a thing to yourself."

Regina sighed softly and smoothed out imaginary wrinkles in her slacks, noticing that her hands were becoming quite clammy.

Was she actually nervous to talk to Emma of all people?

She'd been to hell and back with this woman – she'd even camped with her and the Charmings for over a week in Neverland – what could she possibly be nervous about sharing with this unconscious woman?

Regina gnawed mindlessly at her lower lip and flexed her hands anxiously in her lap while she contemplated what else she wanted to say to Emma. When she caught herself, she thought of what mother would say if she saw her like this.

Freedom is power and power is never showing weakness.

As much as she tried tirelessly to let go of the values mother had ingrained in her from birth, in times of stress she still clung deeply to them. Shaking her head, she cleared those old thoughts and habits from her mind, and turned her attention back to the blonde.

The arm that all of the IV's and tubes were attached to had been the only uncovered part of Emma, laying lifelessly atop the blankets. Snow and Charming had been in to see Emma prior to her visit, and she had assumed they had held her hand while they sat with her. That was the customary thing to do, was it not?

She and Emma had never been very physically affectionate towards each other – neither of them were huggers, except with Henry of course. They had touched briefly from time to time, almost always out of necessity for combining their magic. It felt odd to consider holding Emma's hand, especially without explicit permission from the blonde, but Regina felt compelled to offer some form of comfort to her, whether or not it actually provided any physical benefit.

Lifting a hesitant hand, she reached over and gently laid her hand atop Emma's, being careful not to compromise any of the many tubes connected to her arm. As she curled her fingers around the blonde's hand, she noticed how remarkably warm it was. Despite Emma's palms being covered in numerous calluses, her hand felt soft in Regina's grasp. She couldn't help but notice how much different the blonde's hand was from Robin's and how well it fit together with her own.

Frowning at the thought, Regina wondered what it was about Emma that made her question her own happiness. They were great co-parents to Henry and they were a formidable magical team, but that was all they ever were to each other…wasn't it? Why would the thought of losing Emma hurt so much if they were barely even friends?

"It appears that you have ruined me for anyone else, Emma. My happiness – Henry's happiness - it is all directly tied to you, whether I wish it to be or not." Regina said in a low tone to the slumbering blonde.

Noticing a few stray strands of blonde locks hanging in Emma's face, Regina reached over with her free hand and gently brushed them aside, grazing the surface of soft skin with her fingertips.

"Don't you dare give up on me." Regina choked out in barely a whisper, letting one hot tear streak down her cheek as she involuntarily squeezed the blonde's hand in her own.