Thank you everyone for your eager reviews lol they made my day. :) I bring you ch. 10 with nail biting moments and an even better stopping point, until I post a new chapter again. This story has been my biggest yet and it still has a lot more for you guys to read. Thank you for following me on this awesome journey. I felt a lot of emotions writing this, hopefully you guys feel them too.
Also, this chapter is dedicated to a very loyal follower: NicoleRivera13. Thank you for always putting a smile on my face with your lovely messages.
Workers were already trying to put out the fire, as horses were being released as fast as they could get them out. Emma ran all the way to the stables with Daniel still following right behind. Both worried for Regina's safety.
One of the workers came up running to Emma, "Ma'am, we put out some of the fire, but your wife is still in there. We couldn't see her. I think Mary Margaret might be in there too."
Emma quickly took a wet blanket that had been on the man's back and placed it on her own back, "Keep getting as much of the fire out as possible." she informed the man as he ran back to keep fighting the fire along with the others. Emma then looked at Daniel, "Come with me. See if you can find Mary, I'll get Regina."
"Emma, it's too dangerous, let me go." Daniel offered.
"There's no time! We'll do this fast if two go in." Emma insisted.
Lily came out running as Emma was about to make her way into the burning stables, "Emma, you can't, you'll get yourself killed."
The blonde raced into the stables in the blink of an eye, she couldn't hear Lily screaming for her, all she cared about was finding Regina. She needed to get her out before the place fell apart. The heat of the flames hit her face as soon as she entered, black smoke was making it hard to see. The wood was snapping apart.
"Regina?!" Emma shouted through the sound of the flames, coughing in the process due to the smoke she was breathing in.
Daniel came in after Emma stepped into one of the stables as soon as she heard someone coughing.
"Help me!" shouted the voice of Regina, making the blonde run quicker into one of the stables where Regina was on the ground.
The blonde kneeled down, removing a big log of wood that had fallen on her ankle, as she helped her stand, "Come on, I have to get you out of here."
"Wait, wait. My ankle." replied the brunette.
Emma scooped her up in her arms and quickly headed towards the exit, running into Daniel, "Get Mary." she told him as she ran out with Regina.
Now wasn't the time for jealousy however, he quickly went in and was able to get Mary Margaret out safely who was still passed out from being knocked out.
The fire was out after a while, everyone was safe. Emma had left Regina in her bedroom doing a breathing treatment, while she was done helping out outside with the horses and making sure the rest of the fire was out.
Daniel was with Mary Margaret in the living room as Emma stepped in, "How are you feeling, Mary?"
"My head hurts, but I'm better, thank you."
Emma sat next to her, "Do you remember what happened?" she asked.
"I went to the stables, I was told your Regina wanted to speak to me there. Lily told me so." Mary replied.
Emma's brows furrowed, "Lily?"
Mary nodded, "Yes, ma'am. Only when I got there, Regina was not even there. Before I knew it, something hit me. I can't even remember what it was."
Emma placed her hand on Mary's, "It's alright, Mary. You'll be okay."
"How's your wife?" the older woman asked, concerned.
Emma smiled, "She's fine. She hurt her ankle, but that's all." she stood, "Rest up for the day, I think we all need it." Emma turned to look at Daniel, "Thank you."
Daniel nodded, "I'm just glad everyone is alright."
The blonde headed upstairs, as Regina was sitting on her bed, a knock was heard as Emma stepped in.
"How's Mary?" Regina asked.
"She'll be fine. I told her to rest for the day." Emma sat a medical bag down on the ground beside her as she kneeled in front of Regina.
The brunette was surprised to discover this fact about Emma, "You're a doctor?" she asked her wife.
"I studied it, learned enough." Emma took Regina's foot and placed it on her thigh as her hands delicately felt around her ankle. Regina watched her in silence as she watched Emma's hands on work their magic. "It's just a little bit swollen." Emma digged through her medical bag as she took a cream she had and rubbed some around the brunette's ankle. Her eyes looked up at Regina, "Does that hurt?"
Regina shook her head, "No."
"What happened out there, Regina?" the blonde asked.
"I honestly don't know. I went out to the stables, I was planning on feeding the horses. Only, when I got there, I saw Mary, she had been knocked out. I tried to help her, but then I felt as if something hit me, and next thing I knew, I was waking up to everything in flames." replied the brunette.
Emma needed to find out what the hell happened, it was all too weird. She had to talk to Lily. She stood up carefully to not hurt Regina's ankle as she placed it down. "Rest up, I'll come back to check on you later."
"Emma." the blonde turned to Regina's voice. "Thank you for saving me."
"I'm just glad I got there in time." replied the blonde.
"Me too." Regina smiled, earning a sweet smile from Emma.
Emma took fast steps towards Lily as she saw her outside near the house, "Lily. Would you mind telling me, why you told Mary that Regina wanted to see her in the stables before the fire started?"
"Are you assuming I had something to do with it?" she asked Emma in shock.
The blonde took a step forward, hands on her hips, "Did you?"
"Of course not! Wasn't I the one who came in running to tell you the stables were on fire? I was taking a walk, smelled the smoke and saw the whole thing. As for telling Mary about going there. I was only doing what I was told to do." Lily lied.
"By whom? Because Regina couldn't have given you that order." Emma assured her.
Lily of course, continued her lies, "Well she did. Think about it, Emma. Why would she give me such an order, why there? Maybe she set the fire."
"Regina would never do that, she loves it there. And I doubt she would put herself in danger or anyone else around here." replied the blonde.
"You think so. But, the truth to all this is, she can't wait to get out of here and be free from you. How do you know she didn't plan it? Fake her own death maybe, just to get away from you."
Her lies had gone too far, Emma was done listening to them, she knew she was lying but she didn't have proof that it was Lily, but she did have one thing to say, "You listen to me. I'm letting this go, for now. But if I find out that you were behind this, risking not only Regina's life, but Mary's as well… you'll regret it."
Lily stared into Emma's eyes, trying to convince her, "You're the love of my life, Emma. I would never do anything to hurt you."
Emma left back into the house without speaking another word. She hoped she was wrong and that Lily didn't have anything to do with this. She would hate to think that Lily would take it this far all over jealousy.
Days passed after the incident, Graham had gone for a quick visit after hearing about what had happened and left the same day for work. He didn't have a chance to meet or ask about the man who was now working for Emma. He hadn't seen what Daniel looked like so he would have been easily fooled as well in believing that he was Gregory Myers.
Regina's ankle had recovered in no time, May Margaret was up and running. Everything was back to normal, with only the tension for Regina of Daniel still being there.
During the day, father Gabriel stopped by for a visit, greeted by a smiling brunette, "It's so good to see you, father." said Regina.
"It's good to see you." he smiled, "I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner."
Regina shook her head, "It's fine. We know how busy you get. Emma is in her study, would you like me to get her for you?"
"No, it's okay. I'll see her when she's done." he replied.
Daniel came into the house, as his eyes quickly found Regina, he nodded in greeting as she wasn't alone, "Ma'am."
Regina looked over at Gabriel, as she presented him, "Father this is… Greg."
Gabriel looks over at the man, knowing perfectly well who he was, "Right. I was wondering, whenever you aren't so busy with work around here, if it was possible for us to speak in private?"
Daniel nodded, "Of course. I'll visit you once I'm free." his eyes went back to Regina, "Is Emma around?"
The blonde stepped out of her office in that moment, walking up to the older man with a bright smile, "Father, I'm so glad you're here."
He smiled, "I was just telling Regina, I tried to come sooner, but you know how it is. I have to be where I'm needed."
"Of course. I see you had the pleasure in meeting Greg." replied Emma, as Gabriel only glared at Daniel.
"Yes." he murmured.
"Well, I don't want to take up anyone's time." Daniel said as he looked over at the blonde, "I just wanted to inform you that we finally received all the materials to start building the stables back up."
"That's fantastic. That was fast." Emma replied, becoming more and more impressed with the way he worked.
Regina looked at her wife, "You know, Emma. I've been much better now, I was wondering if it would be okay to ride my horse?"
Emma nodded, "It should be okay now."
Regina smiled at the blonde as she hugged her tightly, feeling Emma's arms wrap around her as she returned the hug.
"Thank you." said the brunette, placing a sweet kiss on Emma's cheek and left outside.
"Well, I'm going to get back to my duties, so excuse me." said Daniel as he headed out towards the front door.
Emma motioned towards the couch, "Have a seat, father."
"Thank you." he sat along with the blonde as he continued, "I see things between you and Regina are getting better."
"They are calmer. I can't say I don't still worry about her not wanting to run away." the blonde admitted.
"Emma. Stop torturing yourself with that. If she really wanted to run away, she would have done it by now. She handles herself well on that horse you gave her. She could easily flee right now if she wanted too."
Emma knew he was right, "You're right. She has been different with me lately."
"See? If she's been better with you, then enjoy it. That festival in Storybrooke is coming up. Why not invite her? It might give you two a chance to know each other more."
Daniel had been keeping his eyes on Regina as she was riding for that entire time. He approached her as the brunette dismounted the stallion, "You look beautiful riding that horse." he murmured.
The brunette handed back the animal to one of the workers as she walked away, "Not here." she told Daniel.
Daniel followed close behind, eager to get her attention, "It never seems to be the right time. So, when?" he whispered.
"I already told you, I am not leaving with you." she spoke softly.
"I am willing to talk to Emma, if that means you'll come with me." replied Daniel.
The brunette now turned to face him, "You'll do nothing. Emma is my wife and that's how it'll stay."
Daniel took a step closer towards her, not caring who would see, "Regina."
Regina backed away quickly, "Daniel, back away. Emma could come, she could see."
"I don't care." he spoke through clenched teeth.
"Well, I do. Can't you see that I love Emma now?" replied the brunette.
"Can't you see that I love you? That you are the only one for me. I'm dying of jealousy over here. I was the one who was supposed to pull you out of that fire. Not her." anger filled his eyes now, "I see how you look at her - exactly how you used to look at me, and it kills me. I feel that I'm losing you."
"Hey!" Neal's voice shouted as he came running up them, causing Daniel to take a step back from the brunette, "You have to get Emma. We have a problem." he said through pants.
"What's going on?" asked Daniel.
"It seems someone let out some of the cattle. The wire fences were cut. We were able to round up some of them, but the rest wandered off into the woods. Strangest thing is we saw nobody near." Neal informed.
"Get two horses ready, quickly. I'll get Emma." Daniel ordered as he took off running into the house.
After informing Emma of the new problem that they were now facing, Emma quickly took a look at the fences along with Daniel and Regina.
"Do you have any idea who would do this?" Regina asked the blonde.
"I have my suspicions. But, I can't go to the police without being absolutely certain." the blonde replied.
Regina quickly thought up a name, "Robert."
Emma nodded, "It's possible."
"Why would he do this, Emma?" the brunette asked.
"The man's never liked me, even less after I came in to all this money. Him and James had history." replied Emma.
"I rounded up some horses, I figured since you know this place well you'd know where the rest of the cattle might of runned off to. I could go with you to help." Daniel offered.
Emma nodded, "That's a good idea. Let's get going."
Daniel took off running, while Emma walked back with Regina following close by.
"You don't think he might be out there, do you?" the brunette had a bad feeling about this, she hated the thought of Emma going there, even if Daniel was with her.
"I doubt it, Robert is too much of a coward to face anyone for himself." the blonde replied.
"I don't think you should go, Emma. You're going to go out there, unprotected." there was worry in Regina's voice now.
"I won't be going alone, Greg will be with me." the blonde reminded her with a smile, "And as my main supervisor to this land, I have him carrying a weapon just in case anything ever goes bad."
The brunette shook her head, becoming more nervous about everything, as Daniel came along with two horses, "We should get going, Emma."
As the blonde nodded over to him, she was stopped by Regina, "Emma… just please, be careful."
Emma smiled, "You aren't getting rid of me that easy."
"I'll watch over her, ma'am." Daniel assured her.
Regina looked up at him as Emma mounted her horse, "Please, see that you do."
With that Daniel and Emma rode off into the woods, while Regina went back into the house and waited for her wife's return.
The brunette was pacing back and forth in the living room area, as Mary Margaret came in to join here, "Ma'am, you have to calm down. Emma will be fine."
Regina sat on the couch, "I know she will be, Mary. I'm just nervous."
Mary Margaret sat beside her on the couch, she looked around, father Gabriel had stepped into the kitchen so not even he was near them, "Ma'am." said Mary Margaret as her eyes landed back on Regina, "I know who Greg is."
Regina's eyes grew wide, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"I've never heard you two speak, but… I have eyes. I see how he looks at you. He's Daniel, isn't he?" asked Mary Margaret.
"Mary-"
"No." the pixie haired woman interrupted the brunette, "You don't have to explain. I know you care for Emma now. And as nervous as you are for them to be alone, we have to trust that as much as he might hate Emma, he will do his job and keep her safe."
"Mary, I swear to you, I've asked him to leave, he doesn't want to accept the fact that I'm... "
"You're what?" the pixie haired woman's eyes lid up with hope.
Regina smiled at the thought, "I'm in love with her."
Mary Margaret could cry of happiness, there was pools forming around her eyes with tears already as Regina's smile only grew.
"You were right. I was only fooling myself. I do feel bad for Daniel, I mean he came all this way."
"You can't blame yourself for that, ma'am. He had plenty of times to be with you, and he never did anything to change that. It's not your fault that Emma won her way into your heart with time." the older woman replied, "My question is: When will you tell Emma?"
"I don't know. I want to do it right, I wouldn't want her to think that this is just another lie." replied the brunette.
Emma and Daniel had been riding through the woods. Daniel hated to admit it, but he was thankful Emma was with him, she really seemed to know where she was going. He would have been lost if he had come alone.
Emma pointed once she spotted the rest of the cattle, "There they are."
As the blonde was about to move towards them a loud gunshot was heart, echoing through the woods. Emma quickly turned to look at Emma as she fell off her horse, a gunshot on her shoulder, almost close to her heart. Whoever had shot her missed her by an inch.
"Emma!" Daniel jumped right off his horse as he duck down on the ground, looking around but there was no sign of anyone. Whoever had shot her, was there to kill her.
Daniel looked down at the passed out blonde, "Emma, can you hear me? Hey! Wake up!"
In a moment of thought, Daniel couldn't help to think how easy it would be to kill her here and now. There was no one in sight. Emma was passed out cold, she would never know. All it would take was a gunshot to the head.
He stood up as he kept his eyes on her, still passed out. He took his weapon out and aimed. This was wrong, but if he did this he could finally be with Regina. After all, he hated her. It should be easy.
Green eyes stared back at him weakly as they slowly opened, discovering Daniel (Greg) standing above her with a gun aimed at her head, "Greg… what are you doing?" asked a weak voice coming from the blonde.
Daniel stared down at her silently as he kept the gun aimed towards her. He couldn't do it. He had to remind himself that this wasn't who he was. No matter how much he disliked Emma for taking Regina away from him.
He saw a snake near Emma, so he took aim towards it, quickly killing it with one shot as he then bent down to help the blonde, "There was a snake. It was ready to bite you. Do you think you can stand?"
A grunt came from Emma as she was in a lot of pain due to standing, even with Daniel's help. She was way too weak to move so much, Daniel was struggling to put her on her horse, "Come on, Emma. I know it hurts, but I need you to help me a little."
The blonde let out another grunt as she managed to get on her horse with all her might, as Daniel helped her sit up, while he got on the same horse, sitting just behind her, "You're going to be alright. You hear me?"
Daniel rode off quickly as Emma had passed out again. He needed to get her some help, he promised Regina he would look after her.
Regina was pacing back and forth in the living room, along with Mary and Gabriel when Daniel came bursting through the doors with other workers, carrying Emma into the house.
"This way! Be careful." he shouted, as Regina's eyes grew wide from seeing Emma passed out and with blood.
"Emma! What happened?" the brunette asked, as Mary Margaret broke into a sob and Gabriel stood in shock.
Daniel looked over at Regina, "She got shot."
"Shot?" asked the priest who was still in shock.
"Mary, call a doctor, quick." Regina voiced as she then looked over at the workers who had brought her wife in, "Take her to my room, please. It's closer. This way." she ran up the stairs, leading the way into her bedroom.
"I'm coming with you." said the priest as he hurried up the stairs as fast as he could.
"Thank you." Regina thanked the two men for bringing her inside the room and lying her on the bed, Regina quickly sat next to her, scared by all the blood that was covering the blonde's shirt right where the gunshot was. "Emma?" she whispered, "Emma, can you hear me?" tears began to roll off her cheeks, "Please don't die."
"How is she?" the priest asked as he walked into the room.
Regina shook her head, fearing for the blonde's life, "I don't know. She's not responding."
The older man stepped closer to Emma as he felt her forehead, "She's burning up. Here, help me lift her up." along with Regina's help they sat her up carefully as he instructed the brunette what to do next, "Take off her shirt, carefully."
Regina did as she was told, slowly taking off Emma's shirt as she let it fall to the floor, "Let's turn her over. Check her back. I need to know if the bullet went through."
They slowly turned her over to her side to check her back, only for Regina to go into shock as soon as she saw all of the scars James had left her through the years.
The brunette gasped, "Dear God." she looked over at Gabriel, "What happened to her?"
"James." he mumbled, "I told you, he was especially hard on her."
They laid her back as they realized the bullet was still inside and that's what was causing the fever.
Emma's scars were still burning inside of Regina's brain, "I don't understand. We've been together only once, but I never saw them." a blushed creeped to her cheeks as she realized she was talking about something so intimate with a priest, "I'm sorry, father."
The man shook his head, "Don't be. Emma has always been careful for anyone not to see them. I'm sure she kept them from you, to not appear weak."
In that moment, Regina realized how much she still didn't know about the blonde she had married.
Like a work of magic, Mary Margaret came in carrying a bowl of water and a towel for them to use on Emma to bring the fever down. It was like one of those a mother always knows moments.
"I brought this for her." the older woman said as tears ran down her eyes.
Regina quickly took the items from Mary Margaret, setting the aside, as she rang the towel from all the water, placing it on Emma's forehead.
"She's going to be alright." said the priest as he saw how worried Regina had become for the blonde's well being, "She's a fighter. Always has been."
"Emma!" Lily came bursting into Regina's bedroom, pushing everyone aside and yanking Regina away from Emma as she hugged a still passed out Emma, "Emma, what happened to you?" tears began to fall from her eyes.
Regina stood in place with her hands on her hips, angry at the woman's rude intrusion, "Lily, what the hell are you doing in here? Get out!" she demanded.
"No! I am not leaving her. She needs to be surrounded by people who love her. Not you." replied Lily.
Gabriel stepped in, "For the love of God, compose yourselves. This is not the time for this."
Regina didn't move her stare away from Lily, "He's right. So leave. I'm her wife, I'll care for her."
Lily scoffed as she looked up at Regina, "Care for her? For all I know, once we all leave this room, you'll kill her yourself."
Regina had reached her limit of patience with this woman. "I warned you." she said as she then grabbed a hold of Lily's arm, yanking her off of Emma as she began walking her out the door.
"Let go of me! I have to be with Emma!" Lily shouted.
"The only one who's going to be with her is me!" the brunette shouted as she threw Lily out of the door, closing it shut, lock and all.
"You can't keep me from seeing her!" Lily shouted behind a locked door, as she banged a couple of times.
Regina sighed, "Where the hell is that doctor?"
There was a knock at the door as soon as she spoke those words. Gabriel answered the door, as Daniel informed him that the doctor in fact had arrived.
"I'll be outside with Lily." the priest informed as he stepped out to let the doctor inside the bedroom.
Regina felt a sense of relief as her eyes saw the doctor walking in, "Oh, thank God. Please, hurry."
Dr. Whale looked over at Regina as he took a seat next to Emma, "Could I get everyone to leave the room, please? Only one person can stay in here with me."
"I'll stay. I'm her wife." replied the brunette, as Daniel stood by the door fuming with jealousy to see how worried she actually was for the blonde's well being.
Mary Margaret soon stepped out as she glared at Daniel to do the same. As soon as the door was closed, Regina sat on the other side of the bed, watching the doctor work, "Is she going to be alright?" she asked.
"That bullet has to come out. She has a severe infection. Luckily, it didn't hit her heart. Had they not brought her in, as fast as they did; you and I would be having a completely different conversation right now." Whale replied while he cleaned around the wounded area.
Tears falling from the brunette's eyes as she saw no movement from Emma. She didn't want her dying, not like this.
Regina would constantly look away, as Whale worked on getting the bullet out of the blonde, constantly cleaning the wound, "I got it." he finally said after struggling to get it out.
He sewed the wound back up as he got an injection ready with the strongest antibiotics he had, injecting the blonde so it could quickly do its job. Soon after, he dressed up the wound with a gauze and wrapped bandages around her arm and shoulder areas, so she wouldn't move them if she did wake up.
"Will she be okay, now?" asked a concerned Regina.
Whale spoke bluntly, "I gave her some pretty strong antibiotics. She may still run a fever, but you've done a good job at bringing it down, so just keep at it. Best for her to stay in bed for a couple of days. If she wakes up, try not to let her move around so much." the man smiled at the brunette, "She's going to be fine. These antibiotics should kick in quickly, but it all depends on her when she wakes up. She'll still be feeling weak."
Regina nodded, "Thank you so much, doctor."
He nodded as he stood from the bed along with Regina, "I'll be sure to prescribe her some pain medication for now. If you see anything different in her condition. Or you have any questions, don't hesitate to call."
"Thank you. I appreciate you coming all this way." the brunette replied.
Whale shook her hand, "I'll see myself out."
As he walked out, closing the door behind him, Regina sat right next to Emma, watching as the blonde's chest moved up and down from her calm breathing, "You're going to be fine, Emma." she whispered to her wife, "I won't move from here, until you wake up."
Between Regina and Mary Margaret they would take turns to care for Emma who remained passed out for the entire night. Regina would take notice how worried Mary Margaret would become over Emma. Of course, the older woman would come up with excuses of how she was a good boss and she was easily loved by her, but Regina knew there was more behind her reason. However, it wasn't the time to ask questions. She was thankful to have the woman's help in caring for the blonde.
As promised, Regina didn't move from there for any reason. She had passed out beside Emma, sitting in a chair and leaned over against the side of the bed.
The next morning, the blonde soon began to open her eyes, feeling a great deal of pain from what had been done to her. A grunt escaped Emma as she tried to move around, her eyes looking around, knowing well this wasn't her room. She was even more surprised as she soon took notice on the brunette's sleeping form leaning against the side of the bed.
Regina began to wake up from her sleep as she kept hearing small grunts coming from the blonde, her lips curved into a smile and her eyes were no longer heavy with sleep as she saw Emma was awake, "Emma. You're awake." she soon stopped the blonde from wanting to sit up, "Try not to sit up. You can't move so much right now." she informed her.
Emma did as she was told as she felt too weak to move so much anyway, hey eyes still trying to occasionally close on her as she fought to stay awake, her weak gaze never leaving Regina.
"You thirsty?" the brunette asked, noticing how dry Emma's lips had gotten.
Emma nodded weakly, fighting to stay awake.
Regina moved quickly to a pitcher of water that was already in the room, pouring water into a small cup, as she placed her hand behind Emma's head carefully lifting it up, "Let me help you." she placed the cup to the blonde's lips as Emma took small drinks of water.
As Regina laid her head back in place, Emma enjoyed the cool sensation of the water as her eyes closed for a minute.
"How are you feeling?" the brunette asked.
A weak chuckle escaped the blonde in humor, "Like I've been shot." her eyes roamed around the room again, "Where am I?" she asked weakly.
"You're in my room." replied Regina as Emma's gaze turned to look at her again.
"Your room? Why?" the blonde asked.
"I had them bring you up here. It was closer than yours." said Regina, "Do you mind?"
The blonde nodded weakly, still surprised by the fact that Regina had fallen asleep in here, "You slept here?" she asked.
Regina nodded, "Yes. We've all been worried about you. The bullet hit your shoulder, luckily it didn't hit your heart. But it gave you a bit of an infection."
"I guess you are getting rid of me that easily." the blonde replied weakly, as she remembered her words to Regina before all this happened.
Regina placed a finger delicately on the blonde's lips, "Don't talk like that, Emma. You're going to be fine."
"If I die… you'll be free to leave." replied Emma.
Regina shook her head, "Emma, stop."
"I've been horrible to you, I think it'd be best if I-"
Regina's brows furrowed, "Shh. Please, don't, ok? I am not going anywhere." she assured her, as tears began to fall from her eyes, voice breaking, "I don't want you to die."
Tired and weak eyes stared at Regina, "Why?" the blonde whispered.
The brunette sighed, "Because I… I care about you. You're not a bad person, you don't deserve to die like this."
Emma's eyes closed, "Such a shame." she whispered, tired eyes looking into brown ones, "And here I thought that... maybe... you were starting to fall in love with me. At least… at least a little." she smiled weakly, "Silly, I know."
Regina wanted to tell her, so badly, but not like this. She wanted Emma to be better, so she could finally kiss her like she's been dying to.
"You're still very weak. You need to rest. I'll go tell everyone that you're finally awake." replied Regina as she stood up from the chair.
"Regina…" the brunette stopped and looked back at the weak blonde as she called out her name, "You'll be back?"
The brunette nodded, "I won't leave you." she assured her as she walked out of the room.
As the brunette was walking down the hallway towards the stairs, she stopped in her tracks as she saw Daniel walking towards the room.
"How is she?" he asked her.
"She finally woke up. But she's still very weak." replied the brunette, as Daniel nodded, "How are you, were you hurt?" she asked him.
Daniel shook his head, "No."
Regina then looked into the man's eyes, "Thank you. For saving her life."
The fact that Regina was now thanking him for saving the woman that they both were supposed to hate was a pain too hard to let go of.
"I wish I hadn't." Daniel admitted in a moment of anger, he decided to come clean, "I just… I had an opportunity to kill her. She was lying there, shot, on the ground. I took out the gun… I aimed it right at her head."
Regina's lips parted in surprise that he was even talking like this, when she had known Daniel. And he would never even hurt a fly.
"Daniel…" she whispered in shock as tears fell from her eyes.
"But then I realized what kind of person I am. And I know that if I killed her in any way…" his eyes were filled with tears now, "That would be like killing you. And I could never hurt you that way. Despite everything… I'm glad she's pulling through."
Regina sighed as he simply walked away back down the stairs. It was becoming obvious to everyone that the brunette no longer hated Emma, but loved her.
As night came around, Mary Margaret went into the bedroom to keep an eye on Emma while Regina changed for bed. The blonde was passed out, so the older woman sat beside her, holding a cool towel against her forehead to fight off the fever again.
Mary Margaret let out a few tears before the blonde as she whispered words for only her to hear, "You're strong. You can make it through this. I'm sorry for leaving you for so long to fend for yourself. You needed me and I couldn't be there. But I'm here now. And I love you with every beat of my heart. And Regina loves you very much. She's just scared."
The older woman quickly wiped her tears as she heard Regina come out of the bathroom and into the bedroom as she also walked up to Emma.
"Another fever?" the brunette asked as she took a seat next to the bed.
The pixie haired woman simply nodded.
Regina noticed she had been crying for Emma again, "Do you have kids, Mary?" she asked curiously.
Mary Margaret grew nervous, "No." she lied.
"Mary. Be honest with me. You used to work here, didn't you? I see you sometimes around the house, you seem very familiar with the place." said Regina.
"I worked here when I was younger. Years, years back." Mary replied.
"You must have known Emma when she was a little girl, then."
The older woman quickly shook her head, "No, I- I was gone by the time Emma came to live here."
"Where were you?" asked Regina.
"Just… away."
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry." replied Regina as she noticed how uncomfortable the woman was becoming with her questions.
Mary Margaret smiled as she stood up, "It's no problem, ma'am. I'll leave you to tend to her." she took the bowel and towel with her, cleaning up the place as she walked out of the room without another word.
It had been days since Emma's incident. Finally the blonde was happy that she could move more and had been fully awake, even if her arm was still sore from the wound.
Regina found herself in her bedroom with Emma, the blonde had been hungry and was surprised that Regina had brought her some cut up fruit and even fed it to her, given that she still couldn't move and had her arm in a sling.
"You know, I do remember how to feed myself." the blonde joked as she chewed a slice of apple.
Regina smiled with an eyebrow raised, "Are you complaining about the attention I've been giving you?"
Emma smiled, "I have to admit, I could get used to this sort of attention." she sighed in frustration as she looked down at her sling, "I just hate being in this thing."
"It's only for a couple more days." Regina assured her, "You have to be back a hundred percent. You can't just rush these things."
There was a knock at the door, which caused both women to turn their heads, as Lily peeked into the room, smiling at Emma, "May I come in?"
"Come on in." Emma said with a smile, as Regina only grew annoyed with Lily's presence alone.
She took the empty plate as she stood up from the bed, "I'll take this downstairs." she told Emma as she left the room to avoid seeing Lily.
Lily quickly took Regina's spot and sat beside Emma, "I'm so happy to finally see you're awake. You really scared me."
"Takes more than a bullet to kill me." the blonde joked, which got a chuckle from Lily.
"I'm just glad finally there will be some control in this house. Regina wouldn't even let me see you. It was a nightmare." she told Emma.
"Just do me a favor? Try and stay out of her way, okay?" Emma pleaded her friend.
"You know me, Em. I'll always do as you ask." replied Lily.
As Regina stepped back into the bedroom, Lily stood up, showing Emma that she could do what was asked of her, "I'll let you rest." she leaned over, placing a quick kiss on the blonde's cheek, "Good night, Em."
Regina soon took the seat next to Emma as Lily left the room, "How's the pain?"
"Bearable." replied Emma.
"Good. I'll let you rest too." Regina had been staying elsewhere once Emma was able to move around, so like she had been doing for the past few days, she walked over to her dresser to grab a pair of pajamas.
"I may not be as ill as before, but you can still sleep here, you know." the brunette turned to the sound of Emma's voice, "It is your bedroom, after all."
"I wouldn't want to hurt your arm." replied the brunette. She loved the idea of sharing a bed with Emma now, but she truly didn't think it would be wice just yet.
Emma looked towards the other side of the bed, "Bed seems pretty big. I don't move around a lot." she assured, "Be honest. It's not my arm that concerns you." she smiled before Regina could reply, "Don't worry. Right now, I'm as defenseless as a newborn. I give you my word, I won't try anything."
She had to admit, even in that sling the blonde looked cute in her bed. Regina would quite enjoy the sight of her once she got all better. She wouldn't mind doing other things either, but if Emma gave her her word about not trying anything just yet, then she could as well control herself too.
"Very well. Just, let me get changed." the brunette replied as she headed towards the bathroom, pajamas in hand.
Emma's smile was bigger than ever. She felt like a kid, to say the least while she anxiously waited for Regina to come out of that bathroom and join her in bed.
The blonde soon got her wish as Regina stepped out of the same bathroom, and quickly pulled the covers up as she crawled into bed, lying next to the blonde. She turned as she felt a gaze on her, when she saw Emma's own green eyes staring at her in silence.
"What?" asked Regina as she sat up along with Emma.
"If getting shot, gets you in bed with me. I would have gotten shot a lot sooner." the blonde joked, earning a hard glare from her wife.
"Please, don't joke about that, Emma." said Regina.
There was a small pause before Regina spoke again.
"I saw your scars. Father Gabriel told me you're father did that to you." she saw Emma's smile turn small.
"He did." Emma murmured.
"How old were you?" asked Regina.
Emma thought back, "About ten years old." her eyes soon met Regina's, "I was reading books that Father Gabriel had given me. James came along, he didn't like me reading."
Regina's eyes grew angry at the man for doing this to Emma, as pools of tears formed, "So, he… did that monstrosity to you, for wanting to read?" tears soon fell, "You were just a kid."
The blonde's eyes turned soft as her thumb quickly dried Regina's tears, "They don't hurt anymore, Regina."
"They don't make you weak either." she murmured, as Emma only turned away. Regina quickly cupped the blonde's chin with her thumb and index finger, making her look back into her eyes, "Far from it. You're a fighter, Emma Swan. And that to me, makes you brave. From what I've heard of James, he was the real monster. I was wrong about you, and I'm so sorry."
Emma's lips parted in surprise by Regina's honest words, because the blonde could now see that there was honesty in those brown eyes she loved staring at so much, "You're being honest with me. You really don't see me as that monster anymore?" she asked with a hint of hope in her voice.
The brunette shook her head, "Of course not. I'm sorry for even calling you that. For doubting you, even when you said you had nothing to do with Daniel's misfortune."
As long as she was being honest, Emma had to ask, "Do you still think about him?"
Regina went quiet, but gave her honest answer, "Sometimes." she quickly turned Emma's face back towards her as the blonde had turned away from her, "Not in the way that you think." she assured her.
"No?" asked Emma as she stared into Regina's eyes once again.
"No." replied Regina, "Please, Emma. For once, trust me. Believe me. We both talked about trying, and… I am. Everything is different now. The way I see you has been different. Can't you see that?"
Emma nodded, "You're right. You're right, I'm sorry."
"Tell me." Regina murmured as she brought up her hand to Emma's cheek, "What can I do to show you, to prove to you, that I am finally being honest with you?"
Emma took Regina's hand into her own, her eyes never leaving Regina's brown ones, "I believe you." she murmured, "I can't say I don't still get jealous with the thought of him being constantly in your thoughts, but… I'm trying to fix that."
Regina's thumb caressed Emma's own thumb as their fingers linked together.
"I haven't thought about him in the way that you think, Emma. And I can prove it to you now." the brunette replied.
"How would you do that?" asked Emma.
Regina smiled, "Well, if my words aren't enough for you to believe in, just yet… maybe, you'll believe in my actions."
The blonde's brows furrowed in confusion as Regina's hand brushed a lock of blonde hair behind Emma's ear, as the brunette leaned in to press her lips onto Emma's together in the most soft, passionate and loving kiss.
It didn't take Emma long to melt into that kiss, as her lips moved along with Regina's.
This had been the very first kiss Regina ever gave her wife and Emma was loving every minute of it. She could feel the sincerity in that kiss, without question. Their hearts were beating as one, as their lips moved one another slowly in slow motion. It was a kiss that was never rushed, nor forced.
It was a kiss of true love.