A/N: This one's just a short one, as I don't have a lot of time today. This chapter wasn't even originally going to be in the story, but I decided to put it in as a sort of interlude. Enjoy :)


Chapter Seven

On the fourth night, Emma dreams.

In her dreams, she can still see.

Emma dreams she's a princess, adored by the kingdom and she's dressed in her finest dress to attend her coronation. She gets ready in the bedroom and walks down the hall, past the library, past the dining room and into nothingness.

What's past the dining room?

She looks around frantically but nothing looks familiar and the world has turned black and white.

The Land Without Colour.

Oh God.

This isn't a dream. This is a nightmare.

She's still in her dress. She's still in colour, though everything around her is black and white. She's strapped to a table, covered in electrodes. She's screaming for her parents, for Regina, for anyone, to come and save her.

Whale is above her.

Don't be afraid Emma. I'm a doctor. You can trust me. I'll make you all better; better than you ever were. But first, let's rid you of that pesky savior magic shall we?

"Emma!"

Regina's shaking her. She's back in bed, in the blackness. She's crying, and trembling. Regina's above her now, probably looking down at her, she guesses.

"I had a nightmare," Emma whispers. She reaches out for Regina and finds her arms, using them to pull herself up into a seated position.

Regina sighs and places her forehead on Emma's, and starts stroking her hair. "I know. I shouldn't have told you any of that today. You weren't ready."

Emma doesn't want Regina to feel badly about it. She wants to be strong and show her she's really okay, but she can't stop crying now. Maybe she's really not okay.

"Regina?" Emma starts. She's not sure how to finish what she's dying to ask.

"I'm right here," Regina reassures her, though, for once, that's not what Emma meant.

"No… I… what's going to happen when we get back to Storybrooke?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… we…" Emma can feel herself flushing as she trails off. She's not used to asking for what she needs from other people. She's not used to people being what she needs, period.

"We what? Emma, whatever you want to ask, just ask it. It's fine."

"I don't know how I'm going to sleep without you with me," Emma blurts out between sobs.

Regina puts both her hands on either side of Emma's head and kisses her forehead. "I'll sleep next to you as long as you need me to, here or in Storybrooke."

"Why?"

For the life of her, Emma still can't figure out why Regina is doing all this for her. What changed between them in the two weeks she can't remember? She wants to know so badly, but she's also nervous to find out.

"Emma, you're crying," Regina comments. Emma finds it strange that she would say that. She's cried several times in the last few days, and probably much more in the previous two weeks, she's sure.

"I know. I had a nightmare."

"No, I mean, you're crying tears," Regina says, wiping the wetness away from Emma's cheeks with her thumbs. "You couldn't do that yesterday."

"Is that good?"

"Well, it's not good that you're crying, obviously. But it's good that you can, now."

Regina leans forward and kisses Emma's forehead again. Emma's glad for the second kiss, because she wasn't paying enough attention the first time. This time, she can feel how warm and safe and affectionate Regina's soft lips feel against her skin.

She wonders what they would feel like against her own lips.

She hopes she's not blushing now, lest she give away what she's secretly thinking about.

She's sure she is.

Regina lies back down and pulls Emma down onto her chest, and starts stroking her hair again. Emma wonders how this will work in Storybrooke. Will Regina convince her parents that she needs to sleep over at the loft until she's finished healing her? Will she tell them that it would be best to take her back to her mansion every night and heal her there? What if she doesn't need healing anymore?

How will she tell her parents that she can't sleep without listening to Regina's heartbeat?

She supposes her father is already well aware that she and Regina are sleeping in the same bed, and have been for the last four nights, at least. Maybe more. Maybe for the six nights before that she can't remember as well.

"Regina?"

"Yes, dear?"

Emma wants to ask if they slept in the same bed in those last six nights, but suddenly she can't bring herself to do it. So she asks something else, instead.

"You were surprised I remembered waking up that first time. Why?"

Regina sighs. Emma wonders if she was hoping she would ask a different question. It's too late now.

"That was when I wiped out your memory. I knew you were awake, but I thought that would be wiped out, too. When you woke up in the carriage, I thought that would be your first memory, after the fact."

"I was in so much pain. I thought I was going to die."

"I know, dear. And that's why we're not going to talk about that, until you're completely healed. It's too much, and you're not going to convince me that you're ready."

"I wasn't going to try."

"Go back to sleep now, Emma. It's very late. In the morning, after breakfast, we'll go to your mother's old bedroom, alright?"

Emma nods.

Regina keeps stroking her hair. Emma wonders if Regina will sleep next to her forever if she tells her that's how long she needs her.

She wonders where these thoughts are coming from.

She tries to tell herself they are just coming from her newfound dependence on Regina, and that wanting to feel her kiss her lips and wanting to hear her heartbeat every night forever will fade away when she regains her eyesight and her independence.

After all, who is she to ask Regina to change her whole life for her?

No, she convinces herself she's just being silly. She feels almost like a child when she needs help with everything, and it's leading her to develop an adolescent-like crush on her friend.

A crush.

Oh God, she can't believe she just gave what she's feeling a name.

Now it feels real.

Her heart is pounding faster, and she hopes Regina can't feel it. She tries to focus on Regina's heartbeat instead.

Thu-thump. Thu-thump.

Ah, there it is. Emma's center. Emma's safe place. Emma's security. It just happens to live in Regina's chest.

Emma's comfort. Emma's strength. It's all right there.

She needs to make herself stop thinking like this, before she does something stupid, like kiss Regina.

And now she can't stop thinking about kissing Regina.

She bites her lower lip.

"Emma, are you alright?"

Regina's low voice startles her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, why?"

"You seem restless."

"I'm okay," she lies. She has to lie.

Regina stops stroking her hair, and starts rubbing her back instead. She finally feels herself starting to relax. She decides there is no urgency here. Regina will sleep next to her as long as she needs. If something grows from that… it will grow in time. Patience isn't Emma's strong point, but somehow she feels comfortable enough to be patient now.

She thinks that must be a good thing.

And she thinks only of Regina as she drifts off to sleep again.