Thanks to everyone that's still reading this fic, your brilliant. Feel free to leave a review, they are surprisingly motivating.
Disclaimer's in chapter one. Mistakes are still mine. Enjoy folks.
Regina was woken by unexpected pressure on her hand. Groggily lifting her head from its perch on the hospital bed, she winced when her back cracked and the ache spread out across her body in protest at the position it had been forced to sleep in. Stretching she gave a sigh of satisfaction at the action.
"Morning baby." Emma rasped.
"Morning dear." Regina opened her eyes and smiled. "How are you feeling?"
If she could have Emma would of shrugged but unable to do so she had to settle with words. "Alright I guess."
Regina felt her smile falter and the blatant lie she was expected to believe. "I don't appreciate being lied to Emma. I want you to tell me how you are really feeling. No one in this world or any other almost dies and then claims to be feeling alright."
"Everything hurts. My head is throbbing and I feel like my body has been put through a mangle." Emma groaned.
Regina smirked. "Now that I can believe."
"So…you feel like filling me in?" Emma reached for Regina's hand again.
Entwining their fingers Regina ordered her thoughts. Unsure of where to start. "Well what do you remember?" Perhaps filling in the blanks would be easier than having to relive the experience all over again.
"Cora, being a bitch. She had us cornered. She was going to hurt you, and I couldn't let her do that." Emma's face screwed up in concentration, shifting through her memories of the previous day. "I got in her way and she tried to take my heart again, then…" Emma stared at Regina hoping that her lover would throw her a bone, obviously that was too much to ask for. Closing her eyes the answer can to her, hearing a phantom band and pain tearing through her body in remembrance. "She shot me, with my own gun. Everything goes kind of hazy after that. Then I remember you."
"Me?" Regina asked drawing meaningless patterns on the back of Emma's hand with her fingers.
Emma's eyes opened. "Yeah, you didn't look like yourself. You were royally pissed off. You had…something in your hand."
"Do you remember what I had in my hand?" Part of Regina praying that she wouldn't have to explain her actions to her lover.
Emma hissed, her eyes snapping shut and her free hand coming up to rub her head in an effort to ease the pain. "Not really no."
Nodding her head absentmindedly Regina waited for Emma to open her eyes questioningly trailing them over Regina's face. "It was my mother's heart dear." Emma remained silent allowing Regina to finish her explanation unchallenged. "I was going to crush her heart to ash, but you saved her life dear. Not for her sake but mine." Emma cocked her head to the side clearly mulling Regina's words over. "I thought you were dead Emma. You weren't moving and I lost myself. I wanted to kill her for taking you away from me." A few tears managed to escape their route cut off by a tanned hand running swiftly across their path.
Green eyes creased in concern, the corners of pale lips turning down. "Hey, Regina don't cry." Gently tugging on their entwined hands to pull Regina closer. "You didn't do it. I remember you made sure she was imprisoned. You didn't kill her baby and I'm proud of you."
"Of all the things people can be proud of their partners for, I don't think that is normal dear." Regina placed a kiss on Emma's forehead.
Emma managed one small chuckle before her wounds protested and she winced in pain. "True but I think we both know we are not normal."
Regina lips quirked into a small smile. "You're right."
"Naturally." Emma grinned.
"Don't let it go to your head dear." Regina scoffed. "It only happens once in a blue moon."
"Meany." Emma stuck her tongue out.
Regina could think of so many things she would like to with that tempting piece of flesh, she cursed the state the rest of the body it was attached to was in. However that didn't stop her from doing one of those things. Her head shot forward to capture the taunting tongue in a kiss. Revelling in the knowledge that even in her current state Emma could not resist battling her for some form of dominance in the kiss. Moaning Regina clenched her hands into the pillow and bedspread to prevent her from accidently aggravating Emma's wounds. Not that Emma seemed to care using both hands to pull Regina closer to her.
The kiss broke, their heads rested together unwilling to truly part from the other. Their lips continuing to meet for small sweet kisses. "I am the Evil Queen dear. I am expected to be a…" Regina rolled her eyes. "Meany." Though the dazzling smile she got in return for her words did make up for the minor indignation.
Their moment was ruined somewhat by the door being flung open. Two members of staff and their unconventional family piling into the room. Turning their heads to look at the people responsible for intruding on their private moment. They tried to figure out why exactly they were there. Regina straightened up from her hovering position over her lover. Looking every bit the unflappable Queen. Emma on the other hand had no qualms about letting her feelings be known.
"What the hell was that all about?" Emma grumbled. "Don't any of you know how to knock?"
"We were responding to the equipment Sheriff Swan." The older less welcoming nurse said, glaring at the two woman opposite her. "We were following procedure. It monitors your vital signs and it suddenly stopped working. You could have been dead for all we knew."
"So naturally you allowed the family to follow you to the dead patients room. I can see you followed your procedures to the letter." Regina primped her hair. "Such professionalism is to be admired."
"You listen here your Majesty. It wouldn't surprise me if you decided to kill our Sheriff in her sleep while she is defenceless. If it were up to me you wouldn't be allowed in this room." The frumpy nurse hissed.
Emma took hold of Regina's hand and spoke before her lover could. "It's a good job it isn't up to you then nurse…"
"Nurse Fiddler."
Emma snorted in amusement. "Right. I got to tell you my bedside manner sucks, the only reason I'm on my best behaviour at the moment is because of my Queen here. So it would be in everyone's best interest if you left her alone."
"That is for me to decide Sheriff." Nurse Fiddler examined Emma reaching over her to pluck a loose wire off the bed. "This is the reason for our being here. Care to explain."
"I don't like feeling like a pin cushion. It fell off."
"It is for your benefit Sheriff."
"I have enough unnatural holes and wounds that aren't supposed to be there without you adding to them with needles." Emma groused. "Besides whatever happened to those little sticky things that got put on a person. Why am I stuck with needles?"
"Because you are supposed to unconscious and resting."
"Please get out." Emma huffed. "I'm fine, Regina's not trying to kill me and you are making my headache worse."
Before Nurse Fiddler could respond she was ushered out the room by the younger nurse. "Give us a call if you need anything Sheriff."
Emma sighed letting out the frustration the old woman had instilled in her. "I can't wait to get out of here."
"You'll have to, you are in no condition to leave this room Emma Swan." Mary Margaret stepped up to her bedside, David by her side.
Henry sidled up to his mums side and placed his hand over their joined hands. "Hi Emma."
"Hey kid. You alright?" She smiled at the boy with his free arm wrapping around his mum's waist.
Nodding enthusiastically Henry grinned. "Yup. Even better now that I've seen you."
"Thanks kid, I feel better after seeing you too." Emma never would have believed the difference it made having people that cared for you being by your side.
"What exactly were you doing to cause the commotion?" David asked his eyes darting suspiciously between Emma and Regina.
"I don't see how that's any of your business." Regina stated.
David leaned over the bed at Regina. "Emma's my daughter she is my business."
"Emma's right here, don't talk about her like she isn't." Emma muttered. "It was my fault. Obviously I moved my arm too much and it fell out. It's no big deal."
Gently placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder Mary Margaret tucked a stray strand of hair out of the way. "We love you and we were worried when the nurses acted the way they did. I'm glad it was nothing serious. Just concentrate on getting better."
David placed one of his large hands on her shin. "Yeah, what your mother said, get well soon Emma. We can't have you staying in here too long."
"I won't be here for long trust me."
"We are going to go home and get some rest. We'll leave you in Regina's capable hands." Mary Margaret dropped a kiss to the crown of her daughters head and pulled David to behind her to the door. "We'll see you later."
"Wait, what?" Struggling against his wife's strong grip David only managed to say, "Goodbye." Then he was dragged out of the room.
Three pairs of eyes stared at the door. Each silently processing what had just happened. Henry's eyes lit up at the happy expressions on their faces. "I think grandma is happy that you two are together."
"I wouldn't say that Henry." Regina smoothed her hand over his hair.
"I've got to agree with your mum kid, I think she's just accepted that there's nothing she could do to change how we feel." Emma yawned. "I really need to get out of here."
"Tough luck Emma, you're stuck here until someone says you can leave." Henry giggled at the mock glare Emma shot at him. Before he thought for a moment, looking up at his mum. "How come you didn't see a doctor mum?"
The question caught Emma's attention, fighting to keep her eyes open. "Why? Regina were you hurt?"
"There is nothing wrong with me dear, I am perfectly fine." Regina squeezed Emma's hand reassuringly.
Henry tugged at her shirt. "But you were bleeding, when Cora trapped you in the vines."
Emma's gaze drifted up and down her lovers body looking for any sign of the truth in her son's words.
"Magic Henry. When I used my magic it healed me." Regina sighed in resignation.
Emma perked up. "Then you could heal me."
"No dear I couldn't." Regina snapped, taking a calming breath she went on. "Healing myself was not intended and in your case it would be better to heal naturally. Healing magic can be risky for the caster and the recipient, and in this world were magic works differently the risk would be even higher." Regina pleaded with her eyes for her lover to understand. "Please believe that it is not because I don't want to."
"It's alright I get it." Emma closed her eyes. "I'm just going to rest my eyes a bit ok."
"Sleep well Emma. I love you." Henry whispered kissing her hand, letting it go gently and leading his mum around the bed.
"I love you too kid." Emma smiled keeping her eyes closed. "Hey Regina?"
"Yes dear?" Regina asked following Henry to the door.
"What does a girl have to do to get a goodnight kiss?"
Walking back to the bedside, she whispered softly, "I love you Emma." She claimed her lovers lips in a sweet kiss, conveying her feelings for the injured woman. Parting, their noses still touching. Regina stole another kiss, and wandered back to the door where Henry waited for her. "We'll be back to see you again soon dear. Behave yourself."
Emma grumbled something nonsensical when the door was shut behind them.
