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The short doctor who entered the waiting room zeroed in on Lu, Valarie's description of the woman had been extensive and even if the waiting room wasn't empty, he would have known this was the woman he was looking for.
Lu stood, closing the distance between herself and the chubby doctor. "How is she?" before he could greet her properly. "Well…" he started, "She is dehydrated, and has a few bumps and bruises, but she is in a coma. We don't quite understand why. However, we did a full body X Ray of Ms. Doe." He looked up at her, his features changed dramatically, "There seems to be an extensive history of abuse." The woman who stood in front of him, shifted uneasily between her feet. "Recent?" was her question. "No. Looks like childhood, prepubescent, but-" he made eye contact with Lu. "It is the worst case of abuse I've ever witnessed in my 35 years of practicing medicine. The worst case I've ever even heard of." Lu's heart broke, right then in that moment. "May I see her?" he nodded and turned to walk back through the doors he came through. She followed him until he stopped at the open door that held the mysterious brunette with no name and a terrible past. Answers wouldn't be coming anytime soon. The doctor cleared his throat, "Visiting hours are 9 to 3:30, leave a number with Vivian at the front desk and we will notify you of any changes." She nodded and he left her alone in the room.
Lu sat down on the padded chair next to the bed. Her pale features cleaned of dirt, her head wrapped in gauze, her still form, reminded her of Sleeping Beauty. A brunette Sleeping Beauty. She picked up the womans hand, clasping it in her own, "Hey beauty. My name is Lucy. I'm the one who found you. What do you say you wake up and we'll go grab a coffee huh?" she chuckled to herself. "Listen, that's ok, you rest, beauty. I'll be back in the morning. I left my baby on the side of the road, I need to go pick her up before she thinks I left her for you. I will return though beauty." She patted the cool pale hand between her own warm tanned ones and headed out.
She retrieved the confirmation email from her secretary and gave the phone number for the motel to the desk clerk in the lobby of the small hospital and called a cab to take her to her baby. After retrieving her bike she rode back into town and checked into the room she had reserved for her.
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Emma had finished the heart wrenching diary. She never told a soul. Not even Henry. She was ashamed mostly, but also didn't want to expose Regina's secrets to anyone else. It was bad enough she had pried. The journal was dark, it told of more than Cora's insane control over her daughter, it filled in Regina's side of the fateful meeting between herself and Snow White. It lent to speculation that Cora had rigged it up to catch the eye of King Leopold, of course it did just that. It told of Regina's heart break when Cora killed Daniel. Killed him! Snow had said he ran away. After everything she knew of Cora, she believed Regina's account. Cora had accepted the King's proposal and Regina was devastated. She planned on running away with Daniel, until Snow White told on her, to Cora of all people. Once that entry was complete, the rest of the journal was dark. Regina's accounts of life with Leopold were none better than the life she suffered in her childhood home. She no longer suffered broken bones, however her very vivid accounts of his sexual appetites made Emma actually vomit. Emma's anger grew as Regina accounted how her Mother caged her within the castle unless the King accompanied her. The depths of hopelessness and trauma Regina lived with, sickened Emma. She kept on reading though, she read about her first time, how he had servants hold her legs open for him as he took her virginity while she cried. She was 17 years old. He was in his 60's. She wrote about how when he would visit her, he would hold her down, he would call out his dead wife's name and lock her back up in her room. She was nothing more than a possession to him and his actions made that fact clear to Regina. Regina wrote about learning magic from Rumpel, how she tried to revive her love, her Daniel, without success. Once that failure occurred, everything changed. The pinnacle of what the woman had been forged into was born. The Evil Queen was born.
The last entry was mere ramblings of a broken mind, ranting about vengeance and Snow White. Emma was thoroughly shaken. She understood Regina better than anyone else ever had, before she read the woman's personal diary, but now, now she understood, everything. She needed to find Regina, she needed to protect her the way no one has ever in her life.
… We know how you are… who you will always be…
Her own words come back to haunt her. She ran into the bathroom and vomited.
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Emma spent the next two weeks scouring the, not as small as she used to think, town of Storybrooke. She looked everywhere. She assembled a search party that combed the vast woods that surrounded the town, careful not to let anyone go over the town line. At the end of the third week, she caught a break, they found one of Regina's shoes deep in the woods, near the town line.
Emma stormed into Granny's, "Will this fairy tale crap ever end? Really? ONE of her shoes? Like friggen' Cinderella?" she looks over at Ella, the actual Cinderella, and huffed, "No offense Ella." Ella, who was bouncing her child on her knee used her infant's hand and waved at Emma and smiled. Snow sat down next to her daughter pushing a hot cocoa under her nose. She whispered into Emma's ear, "It's an Irish Cocoa." Emma scooped it up and chugged it. The whipped cream giving her a mustache. Snow laughed and swiped the bit on the tip of Emma's nose and licked it off her own finger. "Smooth Swan." She kidded her daughter. The warmth of the booze filled her in places the warmth of the cocoa never could. She relaxed a bit, licking the foam from her upper lip. "She left." Emma stated bluntly. She looked over at her son poking the food on his plate next to her father. "She left him." She sighed. "Because of me." Snow tried her best to cheer the blonde up, but she knew Emma wasn't ever going to stop blaming herself for this. "I never wanted him to know what I felt when I was a kid. I gave him up because they assured me they had a family for him. Then I come blundering into his life and rip that family away." Snow put her hand around her daughter, "You really want to play the blame game, Emma? If I hadn't spilled a secret, Regina's love wouldn't have run away and none of us would be here."
Emma snorted, "Ran away? Cora fucking killed him Snow!" her anger completely unmasked before she could stop herself. Her mother's eyes couldn't hide the confusion, "What?" Emma figured she was in it now, "Daniel. He didn't run away. Cora ripped his heart out in front of Regina and crushed it, killing him because she wanted to sell her 17 year old daughter to a 60 year old pedophile who happened to be King!" The pain that crossed her mother's face when her daughter referred to her grandfather as a pedophile, was deep. "She was 17 Snow. 5 years older than Henry! And he raped her." Snow shook her head, "It was different Emma, they were married." Emma exploded, unable to keep it in any longer spurred on by her mother's insistence that it was anything but what it had been. She lowered her voice and gritted her teeth as she spoke, "It makes me sick to think his blood runs through my veins," she felt herself start to lose control, "and I wish I hadn't killed Cora as quickly as I did. I wish I had made her suffer an ounce of what Regina suffered in her life. I wish I had looked into her eyes as the realization that she was going to die passed over them. HA! Evil Queen? Are you kidding me Snow? I would have killed Leopold too, and it wouldn't have been as merciful to give him poison to make the man have a heart attack in his sleep! There is only so much one person can endure before they break! The only innocent in this entire fucked up fairy tale is Regina fucking Mills!" Emma slammed her fist down on the counter, the formica splintered under the force. Her mother's mouth was open, her face frozen in a shocked mask of terror at her daughter's outburst. Emma was shaking with anger visibly, she stood on shaky legs and dropped a 20 on the table, "Rubes bill me for the counter." Turned and walked out of the silent diner.
She needed to clear her head, she needed to find Regina.
'She left you Swan.' Her thoughts taunted her. 'She left you, she left Henry.'
Emma walked up the street and climbed into her bug. She revved the engine and peeled out, flipping the little car around 180 degrees and headed up the hill towards the mansion.
She had Henry's keys to Regina's home and let herself in. She ran up the staircase, two stairs at a time, and burst into Regina's bedroom. This wasn't the first time she had been in the woman's private domain since Regina disappeared, the kid had taken to sleeping in his mother's bed, and Emma, often joined him. She opened the woman's closet and ran her fingers over rows and rows of suit jackets and satin button up shirts. She pressed her face into the fabric. Regina's light perfume still clung to the clothing and Emma breathed it in. As soon as she did she collapsed into uncontrollable sobs. She missed this woman terribly, and she may have lost her forever.
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Lu had been staying in Dover, Maine for the last two weeks. She stayed at a little motel on the outskirts of town. She had long since shipped her motorcycle, her baby, back to Boston where she lived and rented a car that she used sparingly. The bulk of her time she spent at the hospital with Jane Doe, she ate at the hospital cafeteria and really only used the room to sleep and shower. The staff had made concessions about visiting hours and she was allowed to stay past the 3:30 cut off, which she took advantage of daily.
She walked through the familiar sliding glass doors, two coffees in her hands and a wide smile on her face. She stopped by the front desk where Viv usually sat and placed one of the coffees down in front of the keyboard. The bubbly woman was not in the immediate area so she just kept going up to where the nurses station was. She peeked her head around the corner into the nurses lounge, still no sign of Valarie. She shrugged her shoulders and turned to leave the coffee on the counter, "Val" written in big red letters on the side when she ran right into the woman she was looking for. The little redhead was startled and gasped out in surprise. "You scared the daylights outta me Luie!" Lu smiled her little pirate smile and shrugged. "Sorry." She handed the coffee to the head nurse. "You are a god send, you know that girl? Speaking of god send, guess who's up?" Lu's features dropped and her blue eyes snapped wide, "She's awake!?" Valerie nodded, before she could say another word Lu was jogging up the hallway towards the familiar little room she spent so much time in over the past two weeks. She stopped short outside of the door suddenly nervous for some reason.
'Don't be stupid Lu. Just go in there and introduce yourself.' She paced back and forth until Valerie came up behind her, putting a freckled hand on her arm, "Come on hun," she followed the redhead into the room.
The brunette was sitting up in her bed, poking at what Lu can only assume to be bland oatmeal for her breakfast. Her dark lashes flicked up and Lu flinched when she met the woman's caramel eyes. Valerie spoke to the girl, "Jane, this is Lu, she is the one who found you." Lu's gaze fell to the floor, she was never comfortable with being put on the spot. Jane dropped her spoon and wiped her hand on a paper napkin from her tray, extending her hand towards her savior. Lu smiled her half smile and scooted from behind Val and took the brunettes hand. The brunette smiled herself, "Thank you." She said simply. Her raspy voice hung in the air and punctured all of Lu's senses at once. Val headed towards the door, "If you need anything else Jane, buzz me." She nodded encouragement towards Lu, who took her normal seat next to the bed.
Lu raked her fingers through her raven hair, "So your name is actually Jane?" Her name had been something Lucy had been curious about. The brunette pushed aside the breakfast tray and straightened herself up in the bed. She had impeccable posture. "No, I'm afraid not." Lu nodded in understanding.
"So you found me?" her caramel orbs fixated on the clear blue eyes that studied her. "I, uh did, yes. I was out for a ride on highway 453 in the middle of the woods and saw you, well actually I saw a flash of red and didn't know what it was, the curiosity got the better of me and I went back to check it out."
The brunette smiled, "Lucky for me I suppose. So you live around here?" the younger brunette inquired. Lu's eyes dropped at the admission, "No actually, I was on vacation in Newfoundland and was riding back home to Boston actually."
Confusion crossed the womans face, "They said I'd been in a coma for almost two weeks—" A light flush colored Lu's face, "I extended my vacation." She hesitantly added, "I wanted to make sure you were alright."
A polite smile graced Jane's face, "It looks like I'm fine as can be—um I'm sorry, what was your name?" Lu bit the inside of her cheek, "Lucy, but my buddies call me Lu." Jane smiled, "I like Lucy. It is much better than Jane. I don't really feel like a Jane." Lucy's lips curled up and suggested she chose her own name.
"I imagined your name was Erin. Erin has the body of a goddess and the brains of a genius." the admission fell from her lips before she could stop it, "I-I don't remember where I heard that, but it is definitely a thing." Lucy smiled wide as the young woman laughed. "Well then, who can argue with that? Erin is much more fitting." Her long dark eyelashes batted mindlessly and a soft rose color flushed her cheeks.
"Indeed." Lucy agreed.
"Now that you are awake, Erin, what will you do?" Lucy asked, the younger brunette shook her head slowly, Lucy's ice blue eyes were captivating and she was having difficulty focusing. Erin cleared her throat to focus herself on the question posed. "I have no idea. I don't know what I was doing out in the middle of the woods, I don't know anyone, or even have a wallet." Fear crept into Erin's eyes as she spoke and Lucy's heart broke for her. "Well, and go ahead and say no, but I'd like to help you find your family. Someone ought to be looking for you."
The brunette smiled, "Thank you Lucy. My own personal Hero." She hesitated, "Don't you have to get home though? I'm sure you have a life you can most certainly remember to get back to."
Lucy chuckled at the attempt to cover the womans fear of being abandoned with levity. "Yes, well, yes, but I'm my own boss, and the boss has given me as much vacation time as I need."
"What is it that you do, Lucy?"
"I am a defense attorney." Lucy looked down at the floor, not wanting to see the doubt she sees in everyone else's eyes, when she discloses her profession for the first time. When she does look up the brunettes eyes holds only curiosity. "That is fascinating, Lucy! You must tell me all about it!" Lucy laughed and nodded, promising to share as much as she could with the woman. "So what do you think I was doing out in the middle of the wilderness in a power suit and no shoes? I heard some of the nurses talking earlier this morning, one of them thinks I had been kidnapped from my family and was brought out into the wilderness to be some sort of sex slave! Another one said I was trafficked into the US through Canada and sold into prostitution."
"Wow, the hens are really focused on sex slaves huh?" Lucy rebutted. Erin blushed at the notion.
"Well, I have done some searching while you were— napping— looking through missing persons reports for Maine, stretching back a few years, I haven't hit anything." She paused to judge Erin's reaction, the steel mask of indifference was Mayor Mills trademark, and apparently her face had muscle memory where her brain did not. Not seeing an adverse reaction Lucy continued, "A few days ago, I opened up the search to include the tri-state area. I am still going through reports though, it is slow going."
Erin felt uneasy about whether or not her family would be looking for her. Somehow she knew they weren't. As if she wasn't worth the time to submit a documented report. She worried her bottom lip and then asked the question, "Why—I mean, you don't know me—Why are you, putting your life on hold and staying with me here, I mean, just why? I'm grateful, I really am, I mean— when I heard your voice, it felt like, home—I don't know why, but as soon as you walked in here behind that nurse, I felt at ease with you. I don't know you, do I?"
Lucy thought about this before she spoke, she stood and walked over to the windows that lined the far wall of Erin's private room, "The easy answer is no. I really did just stumble across you. Your doctor said that talking to you, while you were napping, would help you, maybe that's why I feel familiar?" she paused as she turned around to walk back towards the woman sitting straight backed in the hospital bed, "When I found you, I had this all-consuming feeling, that I was supposed to protect you." She shrugged as if that wasn't a big deal, "So I did. And will, as long as you want me to." Erin's chocolate eyes filled up with thick tears, she hid her face from Lucy who was all but panicking at the sight of emotion from the woman. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, do you want me to go?"
Erin shook her head no, but the orange that was lodged in her throat wouldn't let her speak the word. She covered her face with her hands and her body shook with silent sobs. Lucy stood next to her bed, her eyes wide completely at a loss for what to do, she sat down on the edge of the woman's bed and rested her hand just below Erin's knee. Non-threatening comfort. That is what they say is best for trauma victims. Erin sniffled and wiped at her face with the back of her hands trying to calm herself. Lucy stood and went into the bathroom and retrieved a Kleenex box, setting it down on the breakfast tray at Erin's side. Erin took several tissues and blew her nose daintily. It was the cutest thing Lucy had ever witnessed and she chuckled at the prim and proper sight of it. Erin looked up at her, "What?" Lucy smiled a wide pearly white smile, "That is the cutest thing I've ever seen." Erin rolled her eyes, "I'm just blowing my nose." Lucy crinkled her nose, "Yeah, but you are doing it in the most adorable way possible." At that, Erin joined Lucy and both women laughed.
After a couple of days, Lucy continued to spend her days with Erin, they walked and talked, mostly about Lucy of course. Hospital gossip with Vivian was something they looked forward to in the afternoons, then dinners of bland hospital food in Erin's private room. Erin's doctor stopped by during their last dinner in the hospital to inform the women that Erin was in complete recovery, physically, and he would be discharging her. "I have some information about state run wards that will take your mental status into consideration, Erin. I have no reason to keep you on here, I'm sorry." Lucy looked a little panicked at the news, even though it wasn't really a surprise, she knew very well Erin was healthy and wouldn't be staying here forever. They just hadn't discussed what she was doing, and she was hoping they would have a lead on Erin's family by now. "Does she have to… I mean… is the facility mandatory for her recovery?" Lucy asked. "No, I suggested it because well, Valarie said you two have been searching for her family, but haven't had much luck. The ward is better suited to help trauma victims than let's say a women's shelter, or other public works facilities." He tried to be delicate about the whole thing, but his years as a doctor had instilled him with professional detachment that halted just short of delicate. "So, if we were to find her family, or something, that would be better?" Lucy prodded.
"Yes. It would be much better for her to be in a safe and trustworthy environment. If you need the ward information, Vivian has it at the front desk for you." He returned his attention back to Erin, "I'll be discharging you in the morning." He turned and walked out of the room. "I'll be right back." Lucy said and left Erin alone to think things over.
Lucy was pacing in front of the nurses station, she was raking her ebony hair back out of her face, she wore it down today, at Erin's request, otherwise she wore it up and out of her face. It was a terrible nuisance down, it was long and thick and pin straight. The only way she controlled it is in a bun or a braid. Today, however, today it was a hot mess and extra annoying. She paced and thought and panicked. She didn't want to let the girl go. She wanted to—care for her. That initial feeling she felt that day she found her was back, with a vengeance. It surrounded her, it flowed through her, it was deafening as it controlled her thoughts. "Ok, ok ok ok!" she chastised herself. "Just do it Lu."
Erin saw the look in Lucy's eyes and it troubled her. She knew full well she couldn't stay here forever, and she knew they wouldn't find her family before tomorrow morning.
What would the ward be like? Some institution where they put garbage found on the side of the road that has no other place they belong? No one who cares enough about them to look for them when they go missing? This was a nightmare.
Erin didn't want to cry about this, the last time she cried in front of Lucy, the woman was like a deer in headlights! Just as the first tear broke over the rim of her eyelid, Lucy returned to the room. She didn't have the paperwork Erin had been expecting in her hands, the paperwork on the ward. "Come with me to Boston." Lucy said. It wasn't a question, it was an offer. "What?" Erin was shocked. "I have a guest bedroom and a huge apartment, you can stay till we find your family or till you don't want to anymore." Lucy had moved from the doorway back over to her chair next to Erin's bed. "You've done so much for me already, Lucy. How could I repay such generosity?" Lucy looked hopeful, that wasn't a No. "It's really no big thing, I've got the room and I couldn't live with myself if I left you here to become some ward of the state. We can keep searching for your family, you can do whatever you want, we'll find you someone who can help you remember maybe and—" she trailed off, her piercing blue eyes searching Erin's melted chocolate orbs for something, anything positive to the suggestion. Erin simply nodded, and held out her hand to her savior, her knight in shining armor, who has repeatedly saved her. Lucy took Erin's hand and squeezed both her hand and pursed her lips together trying to hold back the utter elation she felt. Her eyes betrayed her and a single tear of joy ran over her cheekbone.