She woke up again in the middle of the night to Swan kneeling over her. "Good, you woke up easily. Looks like that concussion won't kill you yet. But I'll wake you up closer to morning just in case."
Regina just grunted and closed her eyes.
"First time I've ever seen you speechless."
She blinked open her eyes enough to glare but then closed them again after Emma had gotten the message.
"Right, goodnight again, your majesty."
"Shut up," Regina mumbled before she fell back to sleep.
Another wakeup call from Swan came just as the world was lighting up outside the cave. Regina moaned.
"I hate getting woken up multiple times. Stupid fucking concussions." It was the closest she'd come to whining since she was a girl.
Swan just laughed above her. "I know, don't worry. It should be over now. As long as you can remember where we are and everything in the morning and can function like a human being you should be good."
"Yes, hopefully, and perhaps my headache will dissipate soon."
"Yup. Going to go back to sleep again or you getting up?"
"There's nothing else to do but sleep, really." Besides sleeping would help her injuries heal. "We'll start out later in the day and try to find another spot with water."
"Great, I'm still fucking exhausted."
Regina heard Swan crash back to the ground and she wondered how in the world that didn't irritate her injury.
"Are you ok after that fall?" She let her eyes slip shut. Swan would have probably screamed if she was really hurt.
"Yeah, yeah, it really is feeling better. Better in comparison to searing agony, but like, I'm getting used to it. It's cool." Regina could practically hear the shrug in Emma's voice.
"If you say so. Good night, Swan."
"More like morning at this point, but yeah, night."
Regina just scoffed and didn't allow that idiotic comment a reply. Of course she had to be difficult even with pleasantries. Whatever, sleep was more important than talking with the stubborn idiot anyway. The sound of dripping water lulled her to sleep once more.
When Regina woke again, this time naturally, it was much later in the day. Afternoon, probably by the look of the sun outside. They would have to move fast if they wanted to get anywhere. She groaned as she sat up. Her injuries and muscles had grown stiff while she was asleep. It didn't help that she had slept on literal rocks.
She looked around and found Swan a little farther back in the cave, asleep on what had to be damp rocks. Regina tilted her head. Why in the world had Swan fallen asleep there?
"Swan, time to get up. We need to get moving. Drink a good amount of water before we leave." Regina moved to follow her own instructions. She hoped they could find another cave like this, or better yet running water later in the canyon.
Swan didn't stir even a Regina walked past her. Regina sighed. Of course she would be hard to wake too. She shook her head and continued on to the water, drinking a little more than her fill, knowing that it wouldn't hurt for later.
"Swan!" Regina said in a louder voice. It echoed off the cave walls and magnified the sound so it sounded more like she had yelled at the top of her lungs, and yet still the other woman didn't move.
Regina walked over and knelt down by Swan. She grabbed the woman's shoulders and shook gently. "Swan, we need to move. We've already slept way too long." Regina stilled her hands. She could feel heat wafting off the woman. That definitely wasn't normal. She moved her hands up to Swan's forehead. God above, she was burning up.
"Captain?" Swan asked, groggy. She pushed against Regina's hand and sat up. "What's going on? Is it time to leave?" She stretched her limbs, groaning. "Rocks fucking suck."
"We're not going anywhere. You're running a fever, a high one from what I can tell. Moving around will only make you worse and that's not something we can afford right now." Regina shuffled back to her former place. "And come away from the damp rocks. You're only going to make whatever you have worse if you sleep in damp places."
"What, no, I'm fine. We need to move. You're the one who kept saying that yesterday. What happened?"
"What happened is that you aren't fine. God knows what's wrong with you. It could just be an infection from one of your cuts or a cold you caught on the ship and all the stress triggered it, or it could be something more serious. So we aren't moving. We'll just have to hope we're far enough in and that they won't come looking for us."
"That's bullshit. We can't rely on that possibility." Swan scowled but started to crawl forward. Halfway to where Regina was, her body gave out and she slumped to the floor for a few minutes. She pushed herself up again, determined look on her face and made it the rest of the way.
"And if you can't crawl ten feet without stopping, what makes you think you're fit to go anywhere?" Regina glared at her.
"I am. Fine." She pushed herself up until she was standing but then immediately had to lean against the wall. "I'm just a little bit dizzy."
"Sit down, Officer, that is an order," Regina's voice dropped into her Captain tone, hard as steel and unyielding.
"Really, you're going to pull that here in the middle of a fucking canyon where our ship is god knows where and if everyone is even alive? What the fuck are you Captain of right now?"
"Whether or not I still have a ship to command we are both still members of the Directive and when I say sit you say for how long."
Swan sat slowly. "Fine, whatever, your fucking majesty. Just get us killed or something." She slumped back. "I told you. I can walk. I know my body better than you do."
"And you would walk and then tomorrow you wouldn't get up at all. As it is we have no food, we are injured, and you are sick. There is not much going for us to have you recover in a timely fashion if you push yourself too far. So you aren't going to push yourself at all."
"Not going to matter if we're fucking dead by this time tomorrow." Swan's eyes slipped closed.
"We're not going to be dead."
"How do you know?" Regina could tell it was supposed to be a snapped comment but it sounded more like Swan was already drifting to sleep.
"Are you always this stubborn? You're falling asleep while talking to me. Obviously you aren't ok but why do you insist you are?"
"Had worse. I made it through. And I was a kid. I think I can handle it now."
The more Regina heard about Swan's childhood the more she wanted to punch someone. "Well now I'm here to make sure that you make it through again and I say we stay. Go to sleep, Swan. I'll look around nearby to see if I can find anything for us to eat."
Swan mumbled incoherently and her breathing evened out a few seconds later. Regina shook her head and got up. She winced, so very stiff and sore. At least walking around would loosen some of her sore muscles.
Regina looked around the canyon for food, but there was little besides rocks of varying size. There was a bit of dry grass, but Regina didn't think that would actually do much and so she left it. She returned to the cave just as dark was falling.
Swan, for her part was still dead out asleep on the cave floor. Regina wondered if she should wake the woman up and make her drink something. She walked past Swan and took a long drink herself. She turned and looked at Swan. There was nothing really to carry any water to Swan with. They had ditched their helmets by the rocks where Swan had dragged her to. Those would have worked, but Regina wasn't about to go get them. She would just have to help the other woman to the water or scoop some out in her hands.
"Swan," Regina said, moving over to the woman again. She shook Swan gently, but she barely stirred.
"Cap'n?" she slurred out before closing her eyes again and falling right back to sleep.
"Swan, you have to drink something, come on." She nudged the woman gently again.
Her eyes blinked open, the green color that was normally so clear cloud with confusion. "Whu'?"
Regina dragged her up, muscles groaning. She hauled Swan to the edge of the water. "Water, drink, can you do that?"
She nodded and bent down, drinking for a long minute before sitting back up. Regina didn't even bother asking her if she could make it back on her own, she just pulled her back to their dry spots and heaved a sigh as the other woman fell right to sleep.
She swallowed hard. Swan was not just sick, she was very, very ill if this was how her body was responding. And they had no medicine other than rest. How in the world was she supposed to help the woman? First aid training wasn't going to provide her with much if it was an infection. They would need antibiotics for that. Or Swan immune system would have to fight it off. Which as sick as she looked…that might not happen.
Regina sat back and looked over Swan. She would just have to keep her temperature down and hope. She crawled forward again and carefully maneuvered Swan out of her under shirt. She folded it up carefully and walked back to the water, soaking it in cool water and ringing out the extra. She sat beside Swan and started to bathe her overwarm limbs in cool water. She hoped that this helped because otherwise…well she didn't want to think about that.
The next morning Regina woke up and her head definitely was feeling a bit better. It didn't pound every time she moved, so that was a great improvement. Her stomach, however, was starting to truly protest not being fed for days. She held her abdomen and took a deep breath. Water would have to suffice for a meal.
She got up and walked over to Swan. Regina hefted her up, but unlike the other times, this time Swan didn't stir at all, and if Regina was feeling right, it felt like her temperature had gone up as well. She worried the inside of her lip. This was not a good sign.
Regina set Swan by the edge of the pool. The other woman needed to stay hydrated and the only way to do that was to get her to drink some at least. She cupped her hands carefully and poured a bit of water in Swan's mouth, tilting her head back so she compulsively swallowed. She repeated that a few more times before she bent down and drank a good bit herself, the water soothing the empty feeling in her stomach, but she knew it wouldn't work for long. They needed food, but she wasn't sure she would be able to leave Swan for any length of time today or if it would be even worth it in a canyon like this.
Again she pulled Swan back to their dry resting place and pulled out the shirt she had been using to try and keep the other woman's temperature down. Water trickled across flushed skin, taking away some of the heat, but not near enough, Regina thought. And yet she still kept at it. She bathed Emma with the damp shirt, make sure she drank regularly, and passed the time slowly, trying not to think about any more than was necessary. It was too easy to get lost in her thoughts, too easy to blame herself for this happening. Captains carried around a lot of guilt with them, it was part of the job really, the trick was to not let it weigh you down and let it make you make more mistakes. But right now, sitting in a cave in the middle of an almost barren canyon….that was very hard to do.
Regina's ears perked up as she thought she heard something in the canyon a little past midday. She left the cool cloth on Swan's forehead and walked quietly out towards the mouth of the cave. She listened hard again, but there was only the sound of the wind for a long time until finally, she heard it again, a scrabbling sound. It was too small to be another human, but maybe an animal. Something they could eat, perhaps. She crept forward, trying to pinpoint the sound, but in a canyon with rock walls, that was almost impossible with all the echoing.
She crept forward for a few more minutes, hoping she was heading in the right direction, but the noise started to fade away. Regina cursed and tried to walk in the opposite direction to see if it got any closer, but it was no use. Whatever had been moving around was gone and they weren't eating again today. She let out a slow, frustrated breath. Somehow they would make it out of this, but only if she didn't lose her head.
Regina returned to the cave and returned to helping keep Swan's fever down from a dangerous level, still listening to any noises that filtered in from the canyon.