AN- you guys truly are amazing! The reviews are motivating me to update more regularly so keep leaving them! I am not sure whether to write more about the hospital so you guys have a better idea of what it is like or to just keep it as I am doing (which is only covering about 10% of what it is really like) I truly do want it to be as realistic as possible but if I make it too realistic Regina would be out of a job and in prison (oops)

Please let me know what you think, I'm open to opinions so if you have any ideas for where you want the story to go hmu!

Small paragraph mentioning sensitive subjects around sexual abuse with a secondary character. Underlined as usual.

I love you all – M&R

Emma was woken up by Robin on this cold morning, he wasn't as gentle as Regina. "Morning Emma, you coming to breakfast this morning?"

"yes, how long do I have?"

"about half an hour"

Emma slowly rolls out of bed and shuffles over to the window and looked out over the hospital grounds. The trees were completely bare, the ground covered in different shades of golden brown leaves and a fine mist hindering the blonde from seeing further than the grounds. It was like the hospital and its patients were the only things in the world. Emma got dressed into some dark blue jeans with rips at the knees with a baggy hoodie and pulled her hair into a messy bun. She didn't care that Robin watched her change, she had lost all dignity in this place. She walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth and instantly saw a piece of paper on the floor by the doorway. She knelt down to read it. Emma smiled as she saw it was the paper she used to write notes to Regina in the school room the day before. It must have fallen out of the brunette's pocket when she was sitting on the floor. Emma was about to rip it up and put it into the bin in her room when she noticed the additional writing at the bottom that wasn't there before.

Emma,

The next few weeks are going to be tough for the both of us, I want to apologise in advance however I do not want you to think for a second that I hate you, I could never hate you. You may begin to hate me and that's okay. Just never forget how amazing you are and know that I believe in you.

- R

"What's that Emma?" Robin inquired as he saw the blonde reading the paper.

"Nothing" Emma replied way too quickly to be telling the truth but Robin let it go after seeing it was only paper and nothing that could cause her harm.

Emma was confused, what's going to be tough? Why does it feel like she is saying goodbye and why does her chest hurt so much? The teen ripped up the paper and threw it into the toilet and flushed it away. She couldn't risk it getting into the wrong hands. It could cost Regina her career. Robin looked at the teen with a furrowed brow, what had she just flushed?

Regina was working the afternoon shift today so she would see her at lunch, only 4 hours to go.

Breakfast was quiet this morning, only the sound of the radio could be heard. The room felt tense, something was brewing and everyone could feel it. Emma drank her cappuccino in silence looking out of the frosted window at the pond; the ducks looked cold. Will was eating his meals faster and faster these days, Emma was proud of him but knew this meant he was closer to leaving. She had really grown to like the young man. Belle and Anna were sitting next to the blonde, neither communicating in any way. Peter was sitting next to Will sipping a mocha and eating some peanut butter on toast. The other patients didn't often come down for breakfast, especially on a Saturday when they preferred to have a lie in until the late morning. The blonde finished her drink and left the others at the table to go back up onto the ward followed by Robin. Ella was sitting on one of the couches solving a Rubik's cube; well trying to.

"Morning Ella"

"Morning, hey do you know how to solve one of these?"

"I do actually, would you like me to do it or teach you?"

"you would teach me how to do it?"

"of course" Emma smiled at the younger girl, she must be only around 14 years old. Ella always wore long sleeves just like Emma did. She sat down next to the other patient and held her hand out for the cube. They must have sat for about 20 minutes as Emma slowly taught Ella how to solve the seemingly impossible puzzle.

"thank you Emma" she spoke as she looked at the solved cube in awe.

"not a problem sweetie, what are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"I was thinking about maybe having a girly day: face masks, nail painting, chick flicks. Would you maybe want to join me?"

"I would love to!" Emma had never really spent much time with the girl, and never alone. She wanted to learn more about her; bond maybe.

"Robin?"

"yes Emma"

"if Ella and I were to sit in the lounge and watch a movie would you be able to sit outside of the room and watch me through the window? That way we can talk about girly things" that last part persuaded Robin.

"as long as I can see your hands at all times through the window, that will be fine" Robin answered; happy to miss out on 'girly chat'.

The two blondes decided to watch a movie first and chose bridesmaids as neither had watched it before.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are you here?" Ella asked quietly as the movie started.

"umm, depression I think. I haven't been given a proper diagnosis yet. What about you?" Emma felt uncomfortable but knew to get to know people she had to open up as well.

"I have PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder. I was… umm."

"You don't have to tell me what happened babe"

"I want to, it helps to talk about it and I trust you" Emma smiled, being trusted meant friendship and friends were something Emma loved making.

"ok, well you can tell me anything, but don't feel like you have to tell me now. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon" the blonde jokes which made Ella laugh.

"I was raped by my boyfriend. I ended up pregnant and I lost the baby. I started having flashbacks and nightmares and I couldn't take it anymore. That's why I am here" Ella spoke really fast and without emotion as if she was talking about someone else. Emma guessed it was easier to talk about if you pretended it didn't happen to you.

"Shit. I am sorry, sweetie. That is horrific and you're so young" Emma looked into the young blonde's sad eyes.

"it's ok, he is in prison now and I'm here getting better" Ella spoke so positively it filled Emma with hope. If this 14-year-old could get over such a horrible trauma, maybe Emma could get over her issues.

The girls ended up talking about their lives, experiences and plans for the future for hours but soon enough the call for lunch came through the door.

"let's go Emsie" Ella smiled as she held her hand out of Emma to talk and the two walked hand in hand down to the dining room. Emma felt connected to this girl, she finally had someone she could call a real friend. This girl knew her deepest secrets and still wanted to be around her. The patients here didn't judge her for how she felt or looked. She knew she would stay in touch with the girls here for the rest of her life.

As the two girls (and Robin) walked into the dining room they realised they were the first to arrive. Ella and Robin sat down and poured themselves some water from the jugs on the table. Emma went to get her cappuccino from the hot drinks dispenser in the next room, Robin didn't follow her as he was meant to. He trusted her enough to come back which made Emma smile.

The blonde suddenly remembered that Regina would be arriving any second and as her drink finished pouring she replaced the cup and pressed the button for another. She added milk and 2 sugars to hers but only milk to the other; just as Regina liked it. Then she carried both drinks into the dining room and sat down placing the brunettes in front of her keeping hers in her hand. Within a minute or so the rest of the patients filtered down the stairs and took their seats at the large table followed closely by Regina and Marian. When Regina saw Emma with the two hot drinks cups she had to remember that she couldn't act the way she usually did; the way she wanted to.

"Two drinks Emma? That's a lot of caffeine!" Regina joked looking the blonde in the eyes hoping she read the note and wordlessly begging her to play along.

"I made you one to pay you back for the one you made me the other day" Emma understood what Regina was doing and realised they needed to act like making the other a drink wasn't a daily thing.

"I wasn't sure how you liked it so I added some milk but if you take sugar I can run and get some for you?" Emma added fully understanding what the nurse was trying to say, she was really hoping it helped the situation.

Regina smiled, the blonde was so smart.

"No sugar, that's perfect. Thank you Miss Swan" She replied with a careful smile sitting down opposite the blonde and began to sip the hot drink. She knew she should be keeping a bigger distance but their little scene should allow them to sit near each other even if it is just for this meal. She could sit further away at dinner but for now, she just wanted to look at the beautiful young girl.

Emma and Ella chatted constantly the entire meal, the older blonde knew now what the note from Regina had meant. She knew they needed to hide their closeness for a while. The incident with Kathryn must have caused some issues and they needed to stay away from each other for a while. Regina watched Emma looking up through her eyelashes as she slowly ate her chicken salad. The teenager made her heart soar, she even looked stunning whilst stuffing a burger into her mouth with ketchup running down her chin. Regina would give anything to be able to lick the ketchup off. Wait. What was she thinking? Her connection with the blonde was purely platonic. Wasn't it? Shit. How could she be thinking such sexual thoughts about a minor? She is 25, Emma is 17. It's illegal and wrong. Regina suddenly stood up and walked swiftly back up onto the ward as a concerned Emma watched her leave.

Regina walked straight into the office when she arrived back onto the ward. The white walls of the ward reminding her of the hours she spent as a young girl in the hospital with her mother. As she sat down at her desk she unlocked her computer and checked her shifts for the rest of the week. She wasn't working the next day. She logged out and leant back in the leather chair, what was happening to her. Her heart raced whenever she thought of the blonde, she was in her dreams (and her nightmares). She was in too deep already.

About 15 minutes later Emma, Ella and Robin jogged up the stairs and back onto the ward.

"I'm gonna have a shower, Robin. Are you ok to supervise?" Emma asked her one to one knowing that some male nurses preferred not to supervise female patients in the bathroom.

"would you prefer if I got a female nurse to switch for a little while?" Robin asked sincerely.

Emma knew that there were two female nurses on today's shift and she didn't mind Robin supervising her but there was a 50% chance it could be Regina.

"Yes please!" Emma replied with a smile. Robin would always go out of his way to make the patients comfortable but always put in the extra mile for Emma as she was his only key patient.

Robin and Emma walked over to the office "Regina? Can you supervise Emma whilst she has a shower please?"

Regina was shocked that she was asked, she was sure she wouldn't be placed on the blondes one to one for the foreseeable future.

"Of course Rob" She decided that once August told the rest of the staff about his concerns that this wouldn't be happening anymore so she might as well spend as much time as she could with the teen before that happened.

Regina stood up and was handed the observation sheet for the blonde.

"Let's go Miss Swan" Regina's voice was monotone, trying to hide the fact she was excited to be able to talk to Emma alone for a little while.

The two walked into her room and Emma turned to look at the older woman. "hey" she breathed out with a wide toothy smile.

"hey yourself" Regina replied smiling back.

"you are very smart my dear" she added.

"Thanks, but what did I do?" Emma giggled taking a step towards the nurse.

"You understood what I was doing at lunch and played along instantly. I don't know anyone who would have caught on so quickly" Regina looked up into green eyes.

"That's not because I am intelligent, it's because I can read you like a book" Emma repeated what the older woman had said on the day they first met which made the woman smile.

"what happened?" Emma asked and Regina immediately knew what she was talking about.

"August, he thinks I'm spending too much time with you. He is concerned that we are too close." Regina looked down to the ground. She looked worried and upset at the same time.

"Everything is going to be alright my sweet angel" Emma whispered as she wrapped her arms around Regina's waist and nestled her head into her neck just like the brunette had done to her just a few days before. The other woman automatically hugged her in tightly and rested her cheek on the top of her golden hair.

"Are you actually going to get into the shower?" Regina broke the silence after a few minutes.

"Nope, I think if I just turn the shower on, we could sit on the bathroom floor and chat without anyone hearing us or know that we are talking" Emma proposed.

"See you are smart my dear" Regina said proudly as she continued to hold the teenager against her body.

The two of them entered the bathroom and closed the door. Regina had a key so she locked the door to avoid any unwanted visitors. Emma turned the shower on and they sat on the floor leaning against the side of the bath. Regina folded her legs underneath her as Emma pulled hers up against her chest.

"How are you feeling about it all?" Regina asked looking straight ahead.

"What do you mean?"

"about what August said? About us?" she said quietly

"umm, I don't really know. What do you think?"

"I… Well I care about you Emma, but how close we are breaks pretty much every nursing rule that exists. I shouldn't care about you as much as I do"

Emma didn't respond verbally, she just grabbed Regina's arm and pulled it around her shoulders. "I care about you too; I don't want you to stay away from me. I always feel safe when I am with you" the blonde whispered as she laid her head on the nurse's shoulder and Regina instantly laid her head on top.

"I feel the same sweetheart; I feel the same" She whispered into soft golden locks.

The two sat in that position for 30 minutes talking next to the falling water in the bathtub. They learnt a lot about each other and themselves. Regina knew it was going to take everything in her to back away from this beautiful girl but she also knew she had to otherwise she would never see her again.