Chapter 10
It had been almost six months, six months since her office had been bombed, six months since Regina had had the dreadful cast put on her broken arm and then removed. Six months since her life had changed, six months since her heart started to open as the walls around it crumbled and her defenses faded. Six months since she'd met her savior, Emma Swan. She'd never imagined her life going so well. She and Henry were the happiest they'd ever been. Her clinic was growing and today she would meet with the head of the local hospital to work out a contract that would allow more nurses and doctors to help out when needed. The staff would also act as on call for people that had been relocated or those unable to come to the clinic. Needless to say, life was good, things were finally looking up. She and Henry walked through the front doors of the hospital hand in hand, with Emma at work and school being out for the weekend, Regina had no choice but to bring him with her.
Walking past the ER waiting room Henry stopped to survey the people sitting around.
"Come along Henry." Regina tugged on his hand. Several people were coughing and hacking, she did not want to risk him getting sick or herself for that matter.
"Mommy look!" Henry yelled excitedly. He released his hold on her hand and ran towards a group.
"Henry Mills get back here this instant!" She hissed. The boy stopped in his tracks at hearing the tone in his mother's voice. He knew he was in trouble. He turned around and faced his mother avoiding eye contact. "What have I told you about running off Henry," she asked, it was very rarely that Henry ran off, she'd drilled into him how dangerous it was.
He pouted. "Not to do it."
"And why don't we do it," she asked, now crouched down to be at his level.
"Cause it's not safe." His bottom lip trembled as tears filled his eyes. He hated disappointing his mother.
"That's right. Now do you want to tell me where it was you were running off to." She gave him the chance to explain himself. A chance her mother had never given her as a child. It was always punishment first and then if she was lucky, which rarely happened, explanations. She'd sworn she would never be like her mother, she would be a better mother. Her son would always feel safe, loved, accepted and something she never had, heard. She wanted him to always know that she'd listen no matter what it is he had to say.
"I want to see if Emma is here." He explained. He'd thought that maybe if she was and he'd found her quickly then his mother would not have minded him running off as he had.
"Henry, Emma is at work, at station, if you want, I can see if she's busy later so that you can see her. How does that sound." It amazed her how much time Henry liked to spend with Emma, it didn't matter if he'd had hours with her, it was never enough for him. She had been beyond pleased that Emma enjoyed her time with him also. She'd come to their house after work and if he was home from school she would play and talk with him for hours, even when she was exhausted and the past few months, it was more often than not.
"No mommy she's here. See." He pointed to the group huddled in a semicircle, some still in their bunker pants, others in the department issued navy blue polos with the department logo on the back and cargo pants.
Regina stood taking a step towards the group looking for blonde hair. When she didn't immediately find it her heart sped up as it filled with dread. Emma's job was dangerous, she knew the chances of her getting hurt were higher than the average person's job, but she always hoped Emma would be kept from harm's way. 'Don't jump to conclusions.' She told herself. 'Maybe Emma just stepped away for a minute.' She tried to ease her mind. 'But then she'd have messaged.' Her mind argued. With a nod to Henry, the boy took off towards the group calling out Emma's name. Walking towards the group Regina immediately recognized Emma's Lieutenant, August and slowly the remainder of the crew, the crew had become like a family to her and Henry.
"Regina. What are you doing here." August was surprised to see the brunette there. He'd known she and Emma had gotten close in the few months they'd been together, Regina and little Henry had spent a lot of time with the crew, the crew loved the pair, they especially loved Regina's cooking. The days Emma had to cook used to be dreaded, the team loved them now. He'd wanted to call her, tell her about the incident, but he'd also wanted to wait for Emma to be fully awake and letting her talk to her herself. He knew the brunette would worry knowing Emma was injured but not the extent of her injuries.
"I'm meeting with the hospital coordinator for the clinic. Where is Emma, is she alright," she asked. Her meeting could wait, right now, her only concern was Emma.
"L.T. where is Emma," Henry asked his search for the blonde continuing.
August smiled at the use of his rank. Something Emma had taught him. "She's resting in a hospital room." August looked at Regina. She got the message. There was a lot more that he wasn't saying because of Henry. "Henry would you be okay hanging out with the team while I talked to your mom, I think they could use some cheering up."
Henry looked to his mother for permission. Receiving a nod, he hurried towards the group, greeting them all with hugs. Emma's team welcomed the distraction that Henry provided. They all held onto him as he hugged them. His energetic and happy personality lightened the darkness that surrounded them as they waited on word for their team members. It helped that Henry had already spent so much time with the group. He settled beside David and Ruby, and asked about where James was. Ruby and David exchanged a quick glance before quickly changing the subject and doing their best to distract him.
"What's going on, where is Emma, is she alright." Regina fired one question after another, it had taken everything in her to wait until Henry was out of ear shot before drilling the Lieutenant with questions regarding her girlfriend.
"Emma will be fine. She's just resting, they gave her something for the pain. She should be released in a few hours." He assured her.
"Who else," Regina asked. It had only been six months since she'd been rescued by company 3's C-Shift and in that time she'd learned about each team member through her visits at the station and from the stories Emma shared with her. She cared about each one of them because they were Emma's family which made them her family.
"Emma's told you we've had an influx of fires lately," he asked. His team had been hit hard the past few months. It wasn't uncommon for a shift to be busy for weeks at a time but never like this, they'd been running nonstop. He waited for the nod before he continued. "We had a house fire a few hours ago. The arsonist used accelerants, things went bad, fast. The reporting party who called 911 said there were people inside. The conditions were not ideal. If I didn't know for a fact that there was someone inside I wouldn't have sent them in." August ran his hand down his face. "Emma and James went in through the bedroom window where the victim was supposed to be in. They said a juvenile, who was home alone was trapped." He explained his actions. He'd gone over every decision he'd made. Trying to figure out where he'd gone wrong, if he'd missed any signs. "Conditions in the room got worse. They had to bail out of the window. Emma received some second degree burns on her arm and leg."
Regina gasped at this, bringing a hand to her mouth. "Flashover," she whispered. "She'll be okay though," she asked.
August was impressed. Not many people knew what a flashover was. He figured it was another thing Emma had taught the Mills family. He nodded. She was correct. "James wasn't as lucky. His injuries were worse. He was in longer. We are still waiting on word on him." He took a deep breath to center himself. It was the first time in his career that he'd had members of his team end up in the hospital for anything other than minor injuries.
"Oh my god," Regina paused. "Kathryn, I need to let Kathryn know." Since their visits to the station, Kathryn and James had gotten very close. They'd tried not to show it but the group hadn't missed their growing attraction. Kathryn had later confessed to Regina that she'd liked him, telling Regina had made it easier for her and James to go out on dates while she was visiting, it gave her and James alone time without feeling like she was lying to her best friend.
August waited as Regina made the call to Kathryn promising to keep her updated with any news. "Would you like to see Emma," he asked, already knowing the answer.
She nodded. "If I could, I'd like to see her." She wanted to see Emma for herself. To make sure she was okay.
August nodded, he'd noticed a major change in the blonde since the brunette had come into the picture. A change he was happy for. Maybe seeing Regina would bring her spirits up, she hated being confined to a bed while her team waited for word on James, she fought the drugs that were supposed to help her rest. "She'll be happy to see you." He assured.
"Okay let me just get Henry." She started to move towards the rest of the group.
"Leave him. The team loves the little guy. Besides he's helping lighten the mood. I don't think any one of them can be in a bad mood around him." He directed her away from the group with a quick word to his team to keep an eye on Henry. The pair walked in silence to Emma's room. Regina jumped when her phone alerted her of an incoming message, she'd been so focused on seeing Emma the vibration had startled her. She ignored the message and continued to follow August. After a second and a third message she knew she couldn't ignore it. There were only two people she kept in constant contact with and one was in the hospital, worried something could be wrong with Kathryn she checked her phone. She pulled her phone out unlocking the screen. She gasped reading the multiple messages as they continued to come through.
"Regina, Regina." August had stopped walking once they'd reached Emma's room. "Regina. What's going on." He walked back to where Regina stood still staring at her screen. "Regina what are you." The question died on his tongue as he read the message on the screen. "You." He pointed at her. "You're the, her." He grabbed the phone reading the last three messages.
'YOU'RE MINE.'
"Damn it Regina you're the 'her'." He raised her voice.
Regina jumped, startled, she noticed for the first time her hand was empty and she no longer held her phone. It was now in August's hand. "What." She was sure he'd been talking to her, she just couldn't figure out what it was he'd said. "I need to get Henry." She said suddenly, her heart was racing, her vision darkening.
"We need to talk to Emma." He urged her.
"No, no, you don't understand, he's not safe, I need to get to Henry." Tears filled her eyes.
"He's safe, my team won't let anything happen to him, I promise you. We really need to talk to Emma though." He placed his hand on her back and guided her inside Emma's room. The pair walked in quietly, Emma lay on her side, watching the news, her eyes half closed.
"Really Swan, news, don't you ever get sick of it," he asked. Emma was constantly watching the news. Even on her days off.
Emma blinked a few times, waking herself up. "There is nothing on L.T." She turned her attention to her lieutenant giving up on the small TV. "Regina, what are you doing here, what's wrong," She sat up slowly and carefully when she noticed the tear filled eyes, her drowsiness all but gone. She hoped Regina hadn't been mad about her not calling her, she'd wanted to wait for word on James before she worried Regina and Kathryn too much.
"I came for a meeting with the hospital coordinator when Henry spotted your team. Are you alright." She moved in closer to Emma, putting distance between herself and August.
"I'm fine, a bit drugged, where is the little man." Emma looked behind her, she wanted some Henry loving, his hugs always make everything better.
"He's waiting with the team, we need to talk." August spoke, his tone serious.
Emma didn't like where this was going. It was rare for her lieutenant to use that tone, especially outside of work.
"She's the 'her'. The 'her' in all the letters." He explained to Emma, he waited as recognition crossed her features.
AN: I hope to have the next chapter up really soon, it will follow up immediately after this one. Thank you for your patience. We're nearing the end.