This chapter is really short sorry, but I'm working on a new chapter today :)

It was becoming a routine that both Emma and Regina were getting used to. Regina would come in, check Emma's incision sight for infection, and try to get Emma to talk. Emma would nod her head and sigh, and Regina would walk out. This happened for weeks, at least twice a day. To be honest, Regina was getting sick of it. She would hear Emma talking to the other doctors and nurses, but when it came to Regina she shut up. What the hell was her problem? The brunette sighed and slouched lower into her chair, a small headache forming in the front of her skull just at the thought of it all.

"Coffee?". Regina looked up to see her friend, and fellow intern Kathryn, holding out a cup for her.

"Bless your fucking life." Regina smiled and grabbed the coffee.

She leaned back into her chair as Kathryn sat down across from her. They technically weren't supposed to be sitting at the nurses station, but no one was going to fuck with them, especially since they were both sleep deprived and moody. Regina took a sip of the hot beverage before saying anything to Kathryn.

"So, how's your day been?" She smiled and took another sip of coffee, fuelling her body with the needed energy boost. She was trying to stall Kathryn before her friend figured out that something was wrong.

"Ok Regina cut the shit. Why have you been so moody lately? You've been ignoring me like crazy, and when I try to be nice you yell." Kathryn glared at her friend. Regina really hadn't been the nicest person lately, and Kathryn was definitely going to let her know how she felt.

"What are you talking about?" Regina shot back quietly. She was offended that her friend would say something like that about her, although she knew it was the truth. Trying not to cause a scene she lowered her head and leaned closer to Kathryn.

"Look, I don't know what's going on in your life to make you so oblivious to your friends feelings lately, but it's getting annoying. This has been going on for weeks!" Kathryn said calmly, trying to sound as nice as she possibly could for the sake of anyone listening in.

Regina thought for a moment while she sipped her coffee. She had been distant lately, but it was because she felt so confused. It was like she was in two different worlds at the same time. But she wasn't about to tell Kathryn that unless she wanted to be committed to psych. She decided instead to tell her half of the truth.

"It's just one of my patients. Room 404. She talks to all of her other doctors and nurses, except for me. What did I do to her to make her hate me?! I need to know how she's feeling to give her the best care possible, but she won't let me!" Regina threw her hands up dramatically, mentally thanking herself for putting her coffee on the desk in front of her before speaking.

Kathryn sighed, glad to finally know what was going on inside Regina's head. She paused for a second before deciding to try and fix the situation.

"Cmon." She stood up and grabbed Regina's hand.

"What the hell..?" Regina replied as she slowly stood up, not sure where her friend was leading her.

"Just trust me."

And with that they left the nurses station. Kathryn lead Regina all over the hospital (trying to throw her off). They visited the dialysis unit, radiology, cardiology, and even neurology, before Kathryn led her friend to the elevators. They went up 4 floors. Regina had no idea where they were headed, until she saw the familiar sign saying "404 EMMA S."
She turned around to her friend, annoyed with her and herself. Kathryn shouldn't be butting into her cases like this, but Regina shouldn't be letting her emotions get a hold of her personal life.

"Kathryn no. She won't talk."

"Then prove it. Prove she won't talk. I wanna see, then I can laugh at you." she raised her eyebrow, knowing Regina could never turn down the opportunity to prove herself.

Kathryn had the privilege of knowing Regina's backstory, and from what she heard Regina didn't have it easy as a kid. Her mother constantly told her she wasn't good enough, and provoked her to prove herself daily. Knowing this, and knowing Regina could never back down, Kathryn walked away from Regina and head back downstairs to finish her coffee, leaving Regina alone in front of Emma's room. She felt guilty about it, but she knew that she needed her friend back to normal, and that Regina needed to feel normal again.

Regina was shocked at what just happened, but she couldn't settle and not prove Kathryn wrong. That was just too easy.

With a huff Regina walked into the room and plastered a fake smile on her face. To her surprise the small blonde returned the smile, and acknowledged the doctor.

"Hi."

A simple hi was all it took for Regina's heart to melt. She could feel tears of acceptance forming in her eyes, so she turned her face and walked towards Emma. She slowly looked towards Emma's abdomen, pretending to check her over, working up the courage to say something back.

"Hello."

Emma was just as shocked as Regina at the one word reply. She was expecting more of a 'It's so nice to hear your voice, how are you today? How did this happen to you? Why are there bruises all over your body? Were you abused?', but the simple "hello" was much better. She grinned at the brunette doctor, but her grin quickly faded and changed into panic when she looked up.

Her body tensed and Regina could feel tension in the air, like a sixth sense. Something or someone had just come into the room that didn't belong. She couldn't explain how she knew, she could just sense this other entity, whatever it was. She looked to the blonde for anything that indicated what they were both panicking about, and followed her eyes. Standing in the doorway was Emma's father. He was holding a tattered teddy bear and was glaring at Emma like she was a possession. It was freaking Regina out.

"Hi sir, can I help you?" Regina calmly asked the man. Trying not to look scared. To her surprise her voice came out confidently.

"Just visiting my..." There a was slight pause.

"Emma." He coughed and turned to face the brunette.

"And you too dearie. I can't forget about my favourite young Regina." The smile that was plastered on his face could have been lethal if she had looked at it for too long. Regina felt instant chills go up her spine, she felt afraid of the man, but something in her was telling her she didn't need to be & that he wasn't powerful enough to take on the two of them together.

"Visiting hours are over, sorry." She said harshly, hoping he would get the point and leave. Of course, he didn't.
He walked further into the small room and stopped right beside Emma's bed. The blonde physically reacted by tensing her body even more and squaring her jaw. But even though she was terrified she looked the man straight in the eyes. Feeling that same sense of confidence, knowing Regina was in the same room.

"I brought you you're favourite bear. Remember? You played in the basement a lot with it." He placed the tattered bear beside Emma, and then looked to Regina.

"But I'll leave you for now...since visiting hours are over." He smiled his creepy little grin again and walked to the door. He paused in the doorway and talked without looking back.

"Don't worry Regina...I'll bring your stuffed horse the next time I'm here again. Nice seeing you." And with that he walked out of the room.

Regina was overwhelmed with confusion and fear and too many emotions. When she was sure that the man was gone she sat on a chair beside Emma's bed without even thinking about it and rested her head in her hands. Flashbacks of a blonde and brunette playing with a bear and a horse in a cold basement zipped through her mind, but were quickly pushed aside. What the hell was happening to her? After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Emma spoke.

"It's going to be ok Regina. You'll be ok."

Regina's head snapped up at the voice coming from the small blonde. That was the most that the blonde had ever said to her. Ever. She tried to smile but she held tears of confusion in her eyes.

"What is wrong with me? What the hell is going on?" Her voice cracked.

"It'll make sense soon. You'll be ok." The blonde hushed the doctor trying to calm her, and her efforts worked. The brunette sighed and wiped away a couple of tears that had escaped. She stood up and squeezed the blondes arm, silently thanking her. When she squeezed it she felt an electric pulse go through her body. It felt so familiar yet so foreign at the same time. The two women stared at each other for the longest moment before Emma broke the silence once again.

"It'll make sense soon."

Regina felt safe with Emma, but knew she had to leave her side to go round on other patients. With a nod she walked out of the small hospital room and headed downstairs to find Kathryn before doing her rounds. One thing was for sure, she was going to need Emma Swan to figure out what the hell was wrong with her; but first, she needed to tell someone about it before she had a breakdown.