Her eyes stayed on the screen, but her gaze was completely glazed over. Her mind was repeating the words the newscaster had reported and she couldn't help but to conjure images of Emma's lifeless body being carried out of a burning house.
"Regina?" Kathryn was at her side, shaking the brunette's shoulders in attempt at gaining her attention.
The woman slowly shook herself out of it and regarded her lifetime friend.
"Tell me that wasn't her." Kathryn started, disbelievingly. But all it took was the shocked, and now growing fear in her friends features to know the answer. "Oh Regina..."
"I have to go."
Without any warning, Regina just seemed to snap out of it and leaned down to pick up Henry. She moved with purpose towards the hallway to to Henry's room.
"Wait, what do you mean? Regina?" Kathryn followed closely behind and watched when Regina grabbed a bag for Henry. "Regina, if you want to go, that's fine, but leave Henry here. I'll watch him for you. "
Regina looked up then and Kathryn was reassured she stopped to actually consider her words.
"It's passed his bedtime, right?"
"Nooooo." Henry objected and Regina couldn't help the smallest smile towards her son, before nodding at the blonde.
"Okay, then let me take care of him here and you go." She held Regina's eyes and waited until the other woman finally nodded.
"Thank you, Kathryn." She spoke genuinely and Kathryn grabbed her arm and squeezed affectionately.
"Everything will be okay."
She decided not to comment on the obvious feelings Regina must have to react so strongly about news of Emma. Instead, she just took Henry from Regina's arms and let her know he and Regina herself would be okay. That's what she was really here for.
Regina had snapped at the driver nearly a dozen times before they reached the hospital. She was anxious and worried and he seemed not to be able to care less that she was in a hurry. But by the time they made it to the hospital, she thought he may be quitting his job from her, alone. She really didn't care, though.
Marching inside the hospital, no one seemed willing to approach the woman. She walked with her head up and a level of determination in her eyes that could intimidate probably anyone.
She went right to the registration desk in the emergency room and slapped her hands onto the surface louder than she had truly intended.
"I'm looking for Emma Swan." She spoke curtly and the stare she aimed towards the receptionist looked as if it was physically making the other woman uncomfortable.
Regina meanwhile, was trying to disguise her own feelings. She had no idea what had happened to Emma — if she was already back to work without injury, or lying on an operating table seconds from death. She had no clue and felt more anxious in that moment than she had been in years.
"Are you— are you a family member?" the young employee asked, timidly.
"She's my..." She started and then paused as she caught herself. Shaking her head, Regina made up her mind quickly and cleared her throat. "She's my partner." The word sounded awkward to her, but she really didn't care. Especially when the hospital worker nodded and started looking on her computer screen. She knew it would work though — they wouldn't argue if they thought they were together.
"She's in acute care, bed eight."
Regina quickly got her visitor's pass and followed the directions specified by the receptionist towards Emma's room. It wasn't until she saw the correct numerical and stepped right into the doorway, that the tunnel vision finally went away and Regina finally fully understood where she was and what she was doing.
Frozen in the doorway, Regina could only see the closed curtain around a hospital bed. She knew Emma was right there and she could reassure herself of Emma's state if she just looked, but her feet just wouldn't move.
She didn't know what she was supposed to do or say and it suddenly hit her that Emma could think she was crazy for just showing up out of nowhere. They hadn't talked since their date, and while Regina knew Emma had tried contacting her repeatedly, she'd purposefully ignored her and now here she was, just standing inside her room with no warning.
It looked kind of crazy, she realized.
She took a small step back as she contemplated a quick exit, before her shoulder was impacted by another.
"Excuse me." A gruffer voice startled Regina as a petite woman scooted quickly into the room
Regina didn't even have time to process being bumped into by the rushing nurse, before the woman just ripped the curtain back, wide open.
Regina's eyes found the sleeping form right away and glued to the patient there, instantly.
Emma could have been in far worse shape, and Regina knew that, but seeing the soot covered skin and hearing the oxygen flowing into her body, just rattled her more than she would have thought possible for having only just met this woman. No one ever had just an instantaneous and intense effect on her, other than her only child. Certainly never anyone she dated on a spontaneous whim one night.
The nurse buzzed around the room in a well practiced manner that showed of her years in her field. Regina hardly even noticed, though, and the other woman was too focused on her job checking over her patient to bother with the newcomer, either.
Quickly, the caretaker was done and zipping out of the room onto her next patient. Regina was left alone with the quiet blonde and she had no idea what to do.
Part of her still wanted to bolt. She didn't want Emma waking up to find her there and believing it was as weird as Regina was fearing. But then another part of her wanted to reach forward and grab the blonde's hand and reassure herself that everything was okay and she's worried for nothing.
Without really thinking it through, Regina took a small step forward.
Then another.
She felt pulled towards the bed and couldn't take her eyes off Emma as she got closer and closer.
When she finally reached the edge of the mattress and was able to look down at Emma, she simply paused to check the younger woman up and down. Her first instinct was to say that she looked like she'd been run over by a train, but then realistically, Regina could see she didn't have any broken bones or huge gashes. There was nothing that looked truly alarming, but still, seeing her look as if she's just walked straight out of the flames, was startling.
Regina lifted a hand, slowly, towards the firefighter. She touched a few locks of hair that fell over Emma's face, and gently pulled them back and curled them behind her ear. She felt like her own motions were out of character, but there was something about Emma that made it feel natural.
Despite her state, Emma looked calm and peaceful in her sleep. Regina didn't want to wake her, but curiously, she couldn't leave either. She still believed that maybe she needed to, but the thought of stepping away and leaving her behind, unsettled the brunette — enough that instead of following the rational part of her brain that told her to leave, she instead pulled up a chair from the edge of the room and sat herself right next to the inexplicably alluring firefighter.
Emma didn't move when she woke up. She felt the unfamiliar bedding beneath her and the air blowing on her face and it took a moment to remember everything that had happened.
Annoyance and frustration took over and Emma kept her eyes closed for another minute as she thought over the ridiculousness of ending up in the hospital again. But then that led to the understanding of everyone's fears about their safety and then to the woman who obviously thought of hers.
She took her time before finally parting the lids of her eyes just enough to let a stream of light in. She felt like it had only been a few hours, if that. Exhaustion still overwhelmed her muscles and Emma felt no motivation to move, whatsoever. It took another few seconds before she finally just opened her eyes.
And then she saw her.
"Regina?" Emma shook her head, wondering if she was still asleep and only dreaming.
The other woman just sat there and stared back and Emma seriously began believing this wasn't even real. But then she leaned up and felt a pained strain in her muscles and realized that nope, this was definitely not a dream.
"Regina?" She tried again and forced herself to sit up, despite the protest in her stiff body. She pulled off the oxygen mask and continued. "Are you okay?"
There was an irony in Emma being the one to ask that question.
Regina finally seemed to wake up and looked away for a second. Emma could see conflict in her features and her curiosity was growing by the second.
"I'm sorry." Regina started. "Are...are you okay?" She asked and Emma could see she was uncomfortable.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine."
"You're in a hospital, you're not fine." There was a bit of a bite to Regina's tone, that had Emma's eyebrow raising. "I'm— I just mean, clearly, something happened."
The awkwardness was palpable and Emma found that just slightly amusing. Though she was still very confused and that was what got her to focus and try to understand what was going on.
"Yeah, we had a little accident. Robin got hurt, but he'll be okay after a few weeks in a cast and August and I are fine. I just breathed in a little smoke, so they're making me stay the night — that's it." She watched as Regina nodded slowly, before suddenly standing.
"Well alright then. That's good to hear, I suppose. I'll let you get your rest." Regina turned away and made for the door, causing Emma to shake her head and stand from the bed.
"Wait, where are you going?" She asked and Regina turned back.
"It's getting late and I need to be up with Henry in the morning."
"Where have I heard that before?" Emma asked sarcastically and saw an immediate effect on Regina.
The brunette stopped and stared at Emma for a second, surprised at the tone in her voice. She shouldn't have been, though. Emma had every right to a little annoyance.
After a calming breath, Regina turned back towards the room and stepped more fully inside again.
"Emma—"
"What are you doing here?" Emma just asked, bluntly. She was tired and confused and while seeing Regina was something she'd wanted ever since she met the woman, she didn't like feeling jerked around.
"I saw you on the news." Regina started and looked away. "I saw the news about you and the others. They said you were all rushed to the emergency room, and I...I just felt the need to come see if you were okay." Regina admitted, speaking slowly and softly.
Emma didn't really know how to respond. Regina had cut her out for weeks, leaving her frustrated and feeling rejected and confused. But then the second she found out Emma could be hurt, she came running to her side. Emma had no clue what to take from that.
"Well…" Emma started slowly, trying to think of something to say. "The news really over dramatizes everything. Someone will twist their ankle and they'll report that a firefighter 'suffered injuries' at a call. They like to make it way more than it is." She tried to reassure the other woman. Despite her confusion, the thought that Regina had come to her because of what they reported, made her feel something she didn't really understand.
"I see. So, what did happen?" She asked and moved back to the chair she'd left.
"Well, we got sent to this house fire earlier…"
Emma recounted how the call had gone down and how they ended up inside the house. She told Regina about realizing the floors weren't safe anymore, but how they couldn't get out by then. She told her about falling through the floor, but how it wasn't a long drop and that Robin only got injured because of the way he fell.
She told her all about how they helped him out and how her mask got pushed off before she climbed out herself and got carted off the ER a moment later.
She tried to downplay it enough to not sound like a near fatal experience, as she was sure the reporters were doing as they spoke. She could tell though, that Regina could tell it was still very dangerous and Emma didn't know where they were going to go from there.
She waited a moment or two after finishing the story and didn't speak. Regina was absorbing everything, she could tell, and wanted to give her that time. But then Emma couldn't handle it much longer and finally had to say something.
"I called you."
Regina looked up and Emma saw guilt in her expression.
"I know." She spoke quietly.
"You never answered."
"I know." Again, Regina responded quietly and Emma couldn't take the silence that filled the room, following it.
"Why?" She asked and held Regina's gaze. She wanted Regina to talk to her, to explain why she shut the door in her face and then came running for her later. She didn't understand where they were and she needed Regina to speak to her.
Regina sighed and looked away again. Emma could see that she was trying to figure some things out, herself.
"I can't do this, again." Regina looked back to Emma.
"Do what?"
"This— this thing." She waved between them.
"Us? Dating?" Emma asked, confused.
"Yes, all of it."
"Regina—"
"I've done this before. I was with someone who was exposed to danger everyday and I convinced myself he would be safe, but—" she stopped herself suddenly and cleared her throat. "But like you, he couldn't escape everything unscathed and one day...one day he didn't come home."
"Regina..." Emma started, frowning as she felt a sadness overcome her for the other woman.
"I can't do that, again."
Emma still held Regina's eyes as they sat across from one another. She understood now more than ever how Regina would have had a knee jerk reaction to bolt at the first sign of trouble. But then Emma still held onto one small thing...
"But you came here."
Regina looked away.
"Henry saw the report on the news—"
"You came here. You came all the way to the hospital. You could have just called. You could have waited for the news to update you. But you came all the way to the hospital because you were worried about me."
"Fine, I was concerned for your wellbeing. But that doesn't mean—"
"That you care about me? Sure as hell does." Emma replied, straightening up and turning in her bed to face Regina more fully.
Regina opened and closed her mouth a few times. She looked frustrated but Emma was okay with that.
"So what?" Regina started with some of that bite again. "I'm not some emotionless, evil witch as many believe. I can care about another. But that doesn't mean—"
"That you want to be with me?" Emma cut her off again and she could see Regina's anger start to grow. "Sure as hell does." She finished with a small smirk forming.
"I didn't realize you'd be this irritating." She spoke as she stood from her chair again.
"And I didn't realize you'd be so scared." She stood as well and saw the clear offense in Regina's expression.
"I am not scared."
"And I'm not really a jerk, but at least now that you're pissed, you're not going to be so afraid."
"You're trying to make me angry?" Her eyes glared hard into Emma, but it took a lot to scare her. She didn't flinch.
"I want you to be honest."
"Honest? How's this for honest — the only person I've ever loved was a cop, killed at work one night with no warning. I'm sitting at home like some ignorant housewife waiting for him to come home and instead I get a squad car with his sheriff at my doorstep, telling me he'll never come home again. So yes, maybe I'm not so brave as to want to go through that again. Can you blame me?"
Her eyes were red now, but Emma still held them. She felt the emotion from within Regina raging through the space between them, but she didn't flinch. Instead, she shook her head, slowly.
"No. No can't blame you at all." She started and Regina seemed to relax the slightest. "Unless it means that you'll never take a chance again."
"You don't know what you're asking. You don't even know me, so I don't know why you're even so concerned."
Emma frowned, before her gaze relaxed again and she actually laughed, startling Regina.
"You're one to talk. You don't even know me, but you still dropped everything and ran the second you heard I was hurt." She grinned and saw Regina's jaw clench. "Have you considered that maybe this all means something?"
"Please don't start talking about fate—"
"I'm just saying…" Emma stopped her and Regina managed to look a little more relaxed now. "...maybe you should consider that there's a lot to ignore if you just walk away."
Emma stood her ground and stayed in front of Regina. The brunette was clearly taking in Emma's words and considering them and Emma really didn't want to do or say anything to made her turn around and leave.
"Maybe." Regina spoke quietly, but it encouraged Emma.
Taking a chance, the blonde reached her hand forward in the space between them and gently grasped Regina's. Dark eyes that held longtime pain, looked into another pair with equal sorrow, but with so much hope and fire and determination.
Taking a long, steadying breath, Regina curled her fingers into Emma's and squeezed.
I really hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review and let me know what you think!
