A/N A quick update! Since we're so close to the end now I'm anxious just to finish it and I'm hoping to do that before I go on spring break in two weeks. Quick note- I again know nothing about medical conditions/procedures so I'm sorry for any inaccuracies, it was necessary for the drama within the story. I hope you enjoy this though; the drama is nearly over
Also to the reviewer who wanted me to have Regina sing to Emma, I hope you enjoy the one small scene in this chapter :)
"You have to get to the hospital, now. It's Emma"
Regina didn't even let Ruby finish her statement before dropping the phone and moving her stunned gaze to Mary Margaret and David.
"What's wrong?" David rushed over and grabbed a hold of Regina's shoulders.
"Emma," was all Regina managed to get out, her eyes not quite focusing on anything.
David moved his hands to gently cup Regina's face, forcing her to look him in the eyes, which were brimming with tears.
"She's in the hospital," Regina whispered brokenly. "I don't know… oh God I hung up on Ruby I don't even know…"
David shushed Regina; she didn't need to continue that train of thought. "I'll take you there right now," he said calmly. "I'm sure everything is fine." He turned to Mary Margaret, who nodded just at his look.
"I'll stay with Henry here," she said. "If he wakes up though, what should I tell him?"
Regina sniffled, trying to keep her composure together. "Just go lay with him in the bed and he should be fine… usually he sleeps through the night." Inside Regina's heart was breaking—if something really serious had happened to Emma, she had no idea what they would tell Henry, let alone help him get through it. The past few weeks had been hard enough but at least Emma was around…
David shuffling around to get their coats broke Regina out of her thoughts, and she snapped to attention. Squaring her shoulders back and taking a deep breath, Regina took her coat from David and then walked purposefully towards the front door, knowing he would be right behind her.
The ride to the hospital was entirely too familiar by now, a fact which didn't sit well with Regina. She could hardly stay still—her fingers tapping on the dashboard and windowsill, her legs restlessly shifting beneath her. David knew better than to say anything—as much as he wanted to give reassurance, they had no context of what happened or if Emma really was okay or not.
After what seemed like hours but was probably only 15 minutes at most, David pulled up to the front doors and let Regina get out, knowing she wouldn't have the patience to wait to park the car.
Regina flew through the emergency room doors, her gaze drawn straight to Ruby who was pacing the room in tears.
"Ruby!" Regina called, drawing the other girl's attention to her. Ruby flew towards her, practically tackling Regina in a hug. Regina could feel her whole body trembling. "What happened?"
"Well when I left you guys I still wasn't quite ready to confront Emma, I mean you know how she can be—it's frustrating and a little scary. So I walked around for a bit and then I went back to the apartment and the door was unlocked so I knew she was home." Ruby took a shuddering breath.
"I didn't… I walked into the kitchen and there was so much… I thought it was blood," Ruby cried while Regina sucked in a harsh breath. "It wasn't… there was glass. Wine… I'm not sure where she got it but the pills were… and Emma was unconscious and she wouldn't… and the ambulance came and I don't know, no one has told me anything."
Ruby was crying so hard now it seemed like she could hardly breathe, so Regina just continued hugging her, trying to absorb the information. It felt like ice was running through her veins and her head felt so light, like it would detach at any minute.
"If I had just been sooner getting home maybe-"
"No," Regina cut Ruby off. "You didn't do anything wrong. We both knew how bad Emma had gotten, but no one could have predicted this was going to happen."
Ruby nodded miserably, and buried her face in Regina's neck again when David finally came through the main doors. Regina told him the information that Ruby had told her, and he gave a grim nod before moving back through the ER doors for doctors only.
Sometimes it did pay to have a friend who was a doctor Regina thought. Her and Ruby moved to the chairs to sit down and finally David came back, the expression on his face unreadable.
"She should be okay," he began, causing both women to sag in relief, "But it's going to be a really rough road ahead. She almost OD'd on the painkillers, and the doctors had to pump her stomach. She hasn't woken up yet so the big question will be if she did it on purpose or it was just an accident, but either way she's most likely going to have to become an impatient for psychiatric care."
Before Ruby could interject with a comment David continued, "No, the doctors can't force it if Emma says that she didn't want to kill herself, but it is going to be highly recommended. Somehow you have to convince her."
Ruby sighed; getting Emma to change her mind about anything was nearly impossible, she couldn't even imagine how this was going to go over.
"You guys can go sit with her until she wakes up. I'll go call Mary Margaret and update her on what's going on," David said. Regina nodded to him in thanks, before pulling Ruby up with her to go to Emma's room.
Regina thought that the first time seeing Emma in the hospital was a shock, but it was nothing compared to this. Her skin looked grey and washed out, and Regina hadn't even realized how much weight Emma had lost in the past few months—she was now mere skin and bones. Her hair looked flat and dull, her lips cracked and sickly.
"Oh Emma," Ruby breathed next to Regina, immediately moving to sit in the chair next to the bed and taking Emma's hand. Regina was slower, but still moved to the other side of the bed and hesitated before taking Emma's other hand.
"For the record I'm really glad you're okay," Ruby said quietly to Emma. "But when you wake up I'm going to kill you myself for putting us all through this shit."
Regina let out a watery laugh, and just listened to Ruby talking to Emma almost as if everything was normal. Soon enough though, Ruby had fallen asleep and Regina was left with her thoughts. David had left to go be with Mary Margaret, who was happy to report that Henry hadn't woken up yet. He would have to be brought to the hospital in the morning though, which meant enduring even more pain and confusion. Regina sighed, no use in worrying about it now. For now, Emma just had to wake up.
While lost in her own thoughts, Regina started humming a song, realizing after a moment that it was one her father used to sing to her when she was distressed about something.
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high. And the dreams that you dreamed of, once in a lullaby…
Well I see trees of green, and red roses too. I'll watch them bloom, for me and you. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world…
She sang the song softly; it had always been one of her favorites because it combined two songs that she also loved. Regina's eyes drooped as she was finishing the song, and finally she fell into a restless slumber.
…
Emma woke slowly, her throat feeling like she had swallowed some flames. After an attempt to swallow she let out a harsh cough, radiating pain through the rest of her body, and followed that cough with a soft groan.
The noise caused movement to her right, and she saw Ruby on one side of her, then noticed Regina on the other side. She was back in the hospital? Emma tried to remember how she got here, but couldn't think past the pain she was feeling. Luckily Ruby herself was waking up and could hopefully provide an explanation. Nothing could have prepared Emma for Ruby's immediate glare, though.
Ruby took a deep breath as though she was going to start yelling at Emma, but then assessed her, rolled her eyes, and reached for the water on the end table instead. Even while furious at her best friend, she still wouldn't let her suffer.
"Thanks," Emma croaked out after taking a few painful swallows.
"Do you have any idea what happened?"
Emma shook her head and then winced—even that hurt. "I feel like I've been torn apart."
Ruby snorted, "You may as well have been." She fixed Emma with a serious look, "You OD'd, Emma. You nearly died."
A shock ran through Emma's body at the words and her mouth gaped open, which at least let Ruby know that killing herself was most likely something Emma had not planned on doing.
"What-?" Emma asked, the question hanging in the air.
"Regina and I decided to have Henry stay with her at Mary Margaret and David's for the night and I came back to the apartment to find you laying unconscious in a puddle of wine and broken glass," Ruby's tone was harsh, but she decided that Emma didn't need to be treated gently anymore.
"You can't keep doing this anymore Emma! What if Henry had been with me, what if he had seen you like that? Do you know what that would have done to him? Do you know what your behavior is even doing to him now? The poor kid is hardly even speaking anymore, and I can't remember the last time I heard him laugh," Ruby spit out, her voice slowly rising and waking Regina up too.
"You need to go to therapy," Ruby told Emma, her voice finally breaking.
Regina rubbed her eyes and took stock of the situation; Ruby standing over Emma in a defensive pose and Emma looking entirely worse for wear.
Emma shook her head, "No," she protested. "I don't need therapy, I'll be fine. This was just a slip. It was a mistake."
"Yes you do!" Ruby all but screamed. "Have you even listened to anything I've been saying? You're hurting your son, your girlfriend, me, the person who has been with you through everything. Do you even care?" There were tears streaming down Ruby's face as she finally let go of all of the frustrations she had been carrying around.
Carefully Regina got up and moved around to the other side of the bed, putting her hand on Ruby's back before looking at Emma.
"Regina…" Emma said, trailing off. She truly looked awful, and Regina knew that she couldn't fall for those green eyes any more. Not if Emma really needed to get better.
"Ruby's right," Regina said, happy that her voice only cracked once. "The hospital will provide inpatient care and they'll get you the help you need. Including the physical therapy that you stopped doing as well."
Regina took a deep breath, "Emma I love you, and I love Henry, and I'd love nothing more than to be a part of your family forever. But right now I don't like you, and I can't keep going day after day terrified of your moods or if you're going to hurt yourself, I just can't." Her voice was really wavering now, and she felt Ruby take one of her hands and squeeze it; she was truly glad to have another friend for comfort now that knew exactly what she was going through.
"You decide," Ruby told Emma. "But if you choose not to do this, don't expect us to hang around, and don't expect to be let around Henry while you destroy yourself. He deserves much more than a mother who can't even help herself, let alone her child."
The comment hit Emma like a bullet; while she had known she was hurting her family, she would never regret anything in her life as much as she regretted hurting Henry. It was the only thing she aspired not to do, and now she had finally fucked that up as well.
The two women started walking towards the door as Ruby spoke her final piece, "Think about it and text me when you decide. If you make the right choice we'll bring Henry around to see you before you become impatient."
Ruby sighed, "We really do love you Emma, we just want what's best for you."
The door slamming shut on their way out reverberated through Emma's heart and mind, as she began thinking about what seemed to be the biggest decision of her life…