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Regina walked down the path towards the manor. She slowed down as her view became unfocused for a second. She shut her eyes and when she opened them it was clear again. She raised her hand to her forehead and continued to walk. She could faintly hear Emma and Mary Margaret talking behind her.
A mother consoling a daughter. The daughter that she had upset. Why do I always have to make her sad? When she's happy I ruin it, I always have to hurt her. Thoughts of self hatred whirled through her brain. She felt the pain in her ribs rising. She gasped as it pierced through we torso. Her body became stone cold and sweaty and her surroundings started swirling.
"No, no." Regina muttered to herself. She felt like she was about to be sick. She felt the equivalent of a strong blow hit her head and then everything went black.
Emma stood up to leave and panicked as she saw a figure lying on the ground. "Shit!" She screamed.
"What is it?" Mary Margaret shouted with alarm. She didn't receive a reply as Emma was already sprinting towards what she'd seen. Mary Margaret quickly scrambled up their picnic stuff and ran after her. She stopped in shock as she saw Emma crouching down beside Regina. Emma put two of her fingers on Regina's neck, checking for a pulse.
After a tense moment she let out a sigh of relief."Thank god." Emma breathed out. There were tears in her eyes.
"What happened to her?" Mary Margaret put the picnic things down and knelt down on the other side of Regina.
"I have no idea." Emma said in shock. She rested her hand on Regina's stomach protectively. Wishing there was something she could do to make it better.
"We should get her inside." Mary Margaret responded.
"Yes." Emma nodded. "Where's Henry right now?" She asked.
"He's upstairs with David, why?"
"I don't want him to see her like this. He's scared of her getting worse and I don't want him to get panicked." She said overly quickly. Mary Margaret noted how worried she was. She wished she could hug and look after her daughter right now but that certainly wasn't the main priority. Emma leaned down and placed a simple kiss on Regina's forehead. She placed one of her palms under her back and the other under her knees. "You're going to need to help me lift her." Emma told her mother. With a joint effort they lifted her up. They resulted in her being in a chair lift, and carried her into the house. They went down the hall and into the living room and placed her on the couch. Emma sat down on the couch and pulled Regina so that she was sat on her lap. She rested Regina's head on her shoulder and cried. She turned her so that she was facing sideways and placed her hands on her hip and stomach so that she was safe there. So that nothing could get her.
Mary Margaret watched all this and her eyes filled with tears. "Emma, she'll be okay sweetheart. Don't be sad." She tried to say as she walked over to her. She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and stroked her cheek gently before letting go. "Don't cry." Mary Margaret said sadly. "She's alive, she's breathing and she'll come back to you. She's been unconscious before and she woke up again. She's very strong Emma and she loves you and Henry too much not to wake up so don't cry."
"I just want her back." Emma sobbed. She pulled Regina's body impossibly closer to her and kissed her forehead. "I love her."
Mary Margaret raised her eyebrows for a moment and then responded "I know you do sweetheart."
Emma put one of her hands on Regina's arm and her eyes widened. "She's freezing."
Mary Margaret quickly grabbed two blankets from the other side of the room and placed them over them both. She smoothed out the edges to make sure they were completely covering Regina. Emma looked at Regina's face. It looked slightly sweaty despite how cold she was. She noticed the pink rim underneath Regina's eyes had returned. "The rim under her eyes is back, it had gone today." Emma said worriedly.
Mary Margaret stepped closer to have a look. "Oh. This can't all be from what Greg did, it's been days!" She exclaimed unhappily.
"It must be. She needs magic to heal her and I think over time she's just going to get worse until she gets it." "Em, you have magic don't you?" Mary Margaret questioned. "I think so, somewhere. But I've hardly ever used it and it's been at times when I've really needed It."
"You really need it now."
"I know." Emma wiped away a tear that escaped. She raised her hand so that her palm was facing upwards and concentrated on it. She tried hard for a few minutes and then gave up. "I just can't muster up power like other people can." Emma tried again and then got frustrated, slapping her fist against the sofa.
"It's okay, it's okay. You can try again in a bit." Mary Margaret tried to reassure her but Emma simply shook her head.
"This is such a fuck up." Emma cried. "This whole thing is so fucked up!"
"Emma, easy on the language."
"No! No I won't. If she dies then what will it fucking matter?" Emma wiped at her tears with the back of her hand. "She can't die. She's too beautiful and loving and caring to die. She doesn't show it very well but she has a massive heart, it's just been broken by so many people that she doesn't know how to use it anymore." Emma looked at the limp woman in her arms.
"I know sweetheart." Mary Margaret said sadly. The guilt of all the mean things she'd done to Regina suddenly washed over her. Yes, Regina had done an equal amount of hurt to her, if not more, but she felt the wounds she'd given Regina were deeper than her own. She'd never realised how emotionally unstable or actually depressed Regina was. She felt awful. With one potentially meaningless gesture, Mary Margaret leant down and placed a kiss to Regina's forehead.
Emma stared at her in surprise. "I thought you hated her, I thought you wanted her dead."
"No, no! I just want her to be happy and safe now. That's what I want for all of us." She exclaimed. Emma nodded and sniffed.
As evening struck, it started to get dark outside. Mary Margaret turned on the lamps at all four corners of the large living room. It made the room so cute and cosy. It made Emma feel ill how beautiful the room looked, it did no justice to what was actually happening.
Mary Margaret eventually took a seat in a velvet lounge chair across from the couch. Emma simply stayed where she was and cried. She stroked Regina's dark hair and occasionally placed kisses to her forehead or cheeks.
"Mom?" Henry asked with confusion as he entered the dismal living room. David was following behind him. Emma looked up at them with swollen eyes.
"Emma what's wrong?" David asked with concern. As he walked closed he noticed that Regina was laying in her arms. "Is she- is she okay?" He noted the tear marks on his wife's face also.
"She's breathing but barely." Emma responded miserably, tears spilling from her eyes. Henry backed up in shock, his back hitting the wall.
David noticed this and walked over to Henry, placing a hand on his shoulder for comfort. "Maybe it's best if we go-"
"I'm staying here." Henry said firmly. The tone of his voice resembled his mother's quite significantly. He walked across the room and stopped in front of Emma and Regina.
"Emma, do something." He said desperately, tears prickling his eyes.
The look on his face broke Emma's heart. "I can't kid. I tried and I don't have any magic."
His face crumpled and Emma outstretched her arm, pulling him closer so she could hug him. With the one arm she had to spare, she held him tight. He looked at Regina's peaceful face, she had those semi circles under her eyes again, he was thinking to himself, but she still looks peaceful and pretty. He kissed his adoptive mother on the head and then took a seat at the other end of the sofa they were sitting on.
David walked over, kissed the top of Emma's hair and then sat down beside Mary Margaret. They sat in complete silence for over an hour. Emma wiped at her tears every so often and held Regina impossibly closer. Regina's head was against the top of Emma's chest now. Her legs were curled around as if she were just snuggled up on the sofa, as if nothing was wrong.
A loud knock at the door broke the silence. Mary Margaret gasped. "We invited Erin Liberty over for dinner, I completely forgot." She looked at Emma with a startled expression. "Maybe she could help." She tried to see the positive to their interference.
Mary Margaret walked through the room, down the hall and to the front door. She undid the latches and yanked it open. Erin was stood at the other side with a pleasant smile. It changed to concern as soon as she saw Mary Margaret. "Dear, what's the matter?"
"It's probably best if you just come with me." Mary Margaret said quietly.
"You said they were fighting- it didn't get physical did it?" She asked with concern.
"No-" She was about to say 'they wouldn't do that' when she remembered all the times when they had done just that. She'd seen her fair share of slaps exchanged between them both. "-no." She just reaffirmed.
Erin nodded and proceeded to follow her down the hall. She went into the living room and everyone looked up at her. She saw how distraught Emma looked, and she saw Regina in her arms.
"Is she alive?" Erin asked with shock.
"Yes." Mary Margaret answered for her daughter and took a seat next to David where she'd previously been. He picked up her hand and held it comfortingly.
Erin decided to crouch down in front of Emma. Despite the judging look she was receiving from their son. He didn't want anyone to be near his mom. If she was dying then he wanted her to spend every last second of her life with her family, not some stranger.
Erin leaned forward and checked Regina's neck for a pulse. "What's wrong with her eyes?" She questioned after noticed the red part.
Emma stroked some of Regina's hair away from her face, feeling somewhat protective and started to explain. "Well she was electrocuted a few days ago and ever since then she got this pink rim around her eyes-"
"Wait- did you just say electrocuted?" She asked with shock.
"Yes, I did."
"What happened? Was it some crazy accident?" She asked with worry.
Mary Margaret shot Emma a warning glance about how much she should reveal to this woman, but Emma shook it away. For some reason she trusted this woman and she felt that she should tell her everything that was necessary. "No it wasn't an accident. A man was very angry about something Regina had done in the past and..." She paused, looking at Henry who was obviously listening.
David watched this and stood up, walking over to Henry. "Come on Henry, please come and make some dinner with me. Your mom will be hungry when she wakes up." He patted the worried boy on the shoulder.
"If she wakes up." He said with dismay. He followed him anyway though and they headed into the kitchen.
Emma continued from where she had left off as soon as they were out of earshot. "Yes- Greg was really angry at Regina and he, he-" Emma's voice wobbled at the disgusting thought of what had happened. "-He strapped her down, attached things all over her body and tried to electrocute her for information. When we got there, he panicked, turned the volts up to the maximum and her body shot off the table at the force. It made this nasty red rim under her eyes and she was unconscious for quite some time. She sort of got better, different side effects have been flaring up day by day but overall I think she seemed healthier, other than what just happened of course."
"That's truly awful. I can't believe she endured that and didn't even mention it at our session."
"She does that." Emma said quietly. "She hides what she's been through and what she's going through all the time. You really have to squeeze it out of her. She thinks she's protecting herself by keeping all of her thoughts and fears to herself."
"You know her well don't you."
Emma looked down at the sleeping figure in her arms. "It appears so."
"I'm astounded that that happened to her, after everything she's been through."
"She told you about her past, huh?"
"Some of it. I'm sure it gets worse."
"That's likely. She's tough though and she puts on a brave face every day."
"That's very admirable."
"So what happened today? From when I spoke to her on the phone."
"She thought she was going to die soon and that no one would care. I told her how much we'd all care and got quite mad actually. She tried to kill herself a couple of days ago. It scared me a lot but she was okay up until now. I don't know whether this is a result of what happened then or what happened with Greg. I was upset after we spoke, we were having a picnic at the time and after speaking to you, Mary Margaret came and sat by me and comforted me because I was upset. Regina started walking back to the house. Then ten minutes later we stood up to leave and I saw someone at a distance was on the ground, I knew immediately it was her and ran over there. Mary Margaret and I got her up and here we are."
"When was this?"
"Two hours ago."
Emma suddenly felt an odd sensation on her chest. She looked down and noticed Regina's eyelashes fluttering open.
"Oh my god. Hi. Hey." Emma said to her, relief washing through her body.
Regina shuffled and sat up slightly further. She rested her hand on Emma's stomach. And looked at her swollen eyes. "What's wrong- what happened?" She muttered worriedly.
"You collapsed, you've been unconscious for hours." Emma said quietly.
"Oh. I don't remember what happened. Why are you so upset?"
"Because you really scared me. I didn't know- I didn't know that you'd be okay." Emma wiped at a tear.
"Don't cry." Regina said sleepily. She raised her hand and wiped at Emma's cheek with her thumb. She placed a kiss on Emma's neck as it was the only place she could reach without moving.
Emma gently stroked her hair. "Try and stay awake."
Regina softly nodded and then looked around the room. "Erin? What are you doing here?" She muttered with a confused expression.
Mary Margaret looked up. "I invited her over to dinner before you collapsed, she arrived about twenty minutes ago."
"Oh." Regina said softly. She looked at Erin's concerned expression. "You don't have to stay here." She said to Erin.
"I want to, I'm worried about you. Why didn't you say what happened in our session today?"
"You'll have to be more precise."
"What happened with a man named Greg."
"Oh, that. That doesn't matter. He's a nobody."
"It still matters Regina, what he did to you is a crime."
"What I did to him was far worse. I deserved it."
"I doubt that." Erin responded with a sigh. "How are you feeling now?"
Emma gently stroked her hand up and down Regina's arm, reminding her that she was there and she was safe.
"I just feel exhausted. The thing is my ribs feels so much worse than before." She bit her lip. Mary Margaret heard this and walked over to her, sitting down on the sofa beside them both.
"But it was awful before. You were in agony, do you definitely think it is worse?" Mary Margaret asked, looking worried.
Regina noted that Mary Margaret had been crying too. She never knew so many people cared. She suddenly realised someone was missing. "Where's Henry? Is he okay?" She asked worriedly, sitting up whilst pushing herself against Emma's body.
"Hey, hey he's fine." Emma reassured her. "He's in the kitchen with David. They are supposed to be cooking dinner but I doubt that they are."
"Why?" She slowly eased herself back down into Emma. Emma wrapped her arms back around her over the blanket and held her close.
"He was getting rather distressed about your condition and also Erin was asking us some important questions which he shouldn't be allowed to listen to, so David took him to cook in the kitchen."
"Oh. I'm sorry I scared you all." She looked around at the three women in the room.
"You don't have to apologise sweetheart." Emma said quietly.
Regina softly smiled. She pulled Emma's chin down and kissed her lips. "I'm okay. Thank you for looking after me. You must have been scared."
"I really was." Emma sniffed. She couldn't help it as another round of tears left her eyes. Regina wiped it away and kissed Emma's cheek.
"I love you." Regina said softly. Emma nodded and then leant forward, kissing her lips slightly more desperately than they had before. It was her way of saying that the feeling was mutual.
Emma suddenly stopped mid-kiss and pulled away. "Your face, it's so hot." She said anxiously. She raised her hand and placed her palm on Regina's forehead. "You have a fever!"
Regina just shrugged. She wanted to say 'add it to the list' but the topic was too delicate right now to comment something right now. "I promise I won't be unconscious but please can I sleep on you. I just want to sleep it off." Regina spoke.
Emma nodded. "I know you do. You can but you just need to wait one more minute. I want Henry to see that you're temporarily okay. It might make him a little less terrified."
Though Emma hadn't meant to hurt her with the words she used, they did. She didn't want to be the reason Henry felt like that. Not under any circumstances. "Of course." Regina nodded with a sleepy smile.
After Regina had spoken to Henry and he was reassured that she was doing better, he and David went to actually make dinner.
Regina settled against Emma. Erin was now sitting on the armchair next to Mary Margaret and she smiled as she saw how close and safe she looked with Emma around her. It wasn't visible under the blanket but Regina placed her hand under her shirt and rested it on her bare stomach. She loved both the comforting warmth and how soft Emma's tummy was.
"Em, could we lie down perhaps?"
"Of course. Do you want to lie down here or would you prefer to go to sleep in a bed?"
"Here is fine." Regina nodded, looking at her tired girlfriend.
Emma lowered Regina down on the long sofa and lay down next to her. Regina cuddled up against her and put her hand where it just was. She placed her head just above Emma's heart and closed her eyes listening to the steady beat. Emma kissed her hair.
"You're safe." Emma whispered comfortingly.
Regina slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Emma. Her eyes were deep pools of brown. "I know. I always feel safe with you."
Emma nodded and just looked at her. Regina pushed her body up and placed her warm lips against Emma's. It was a simple chaste kiss but the sentiment was there.
Regina went back to where her head was resting and placed her hand on Emma's chest, just above her breast.
Emma softly smiled before closing her eyes too.