I'M BAAAAAACK! It's only been over a year... but whatever. Life you know. Being an adult will do that to you I guess. I know I've lost plenty of people following the story, so for those of you that have been patiently waiting for me to come out of my hole, Bless you. And Enjoy!
A Trip Down Memory Lane
"Keep your eyes closed!" Emma said excitedly pulling the barefoot and blindfolded woman down the dimly lit beach. Despite Regina's protest, Emma insisted that they leave their shoes in the car. Now the sand pushed between their toes and slipped under their feet with every step. The breeze from the lake bit at their lungs but they trekked on through the night intensifying Emma's excitement and Regina's nervousness.
"Emma, where in the world are we going?" Regina tried to keep pace with the woman tugging her along. She knew any minute that the combination of being blindfolded and her clumsiness were going to catch up with her and cause her to face plant into the cold sand. However, the gentle squeeze of Emma's hand in her own kept her panic at ease for the time being.
Emma stopped suddenly nearly causing Regina to tackle her completely. "We are almost there." Despite them both being breathless, Regina could hear the smile and excitement in Emma's voice. "Watch your step." Emma held on to both of Regina's hands and guided her up a wooden staircase, one stair at a time, making sure neither of them tripped. With Emma's luck, her little adventure would end up with one of them in the hospital from some freak accident. Emma prayed hard that wouldn't happen and laughed at herself for imagining it.
"What are you laughing at?" Regina giggled, her face squeezed in concentration trying to feel her way up the stairs.
Emma didn't realize she had actually laughed out loud and she laughed again at her blown cover. "Oh, I was just imagining one of us completely busting it out here. Last thing we need is one of us to end up in the hospital again."
"Yeah, let's not think about that." Regina smirked, finally reaching the top of the stairs. They walked down the wooden dock trying to catch their breaths. The smell of the cool air breaking from the bay brushed through their hair. It was a clear and beautiful set night, with the stars meeting at just the water's edge on the horizon and the full moon peaking from behind a tree on the beach. Emma could not have asked for a better back drop.
"Okay. Just a little bit further." They went slowly down a small set of stairs and then Emma brought Regina to a stop. Regina could hear the slap of the water on the sides of the dock. Emma let go of Regina's hands and Regina searched the air for something to hold onto. She could hear what sounded like a tarp a little ways away being shuffled around, and Emma's heavy bare feet hitting the dock in quick patterns and then approaching her quickly. She could feel the woman's body behind her, almost touching her, and her heavy breath over her shoulder. It sent a sensation of goosebumps down Regina's back and she smiled unconsciously.
"Emma Swan. If you don't tell me-" Regina was cut off when the blindfold came off of her head quickly. Regina blinked to adjust her eyes to the dim light and fixed the hair that had fallen into her eyes.
"Tah dah!" Emma said enthusiastically jumping around and throwing up her best rendition of jazz hands. As Regina's eyes adjusted she could see under the dim light of one of the dock lights a small, white sail boat rocking back and forth in the smooth waves just next to the dock.
"A boat?" Regina looked over at Emma puzzled. Regina took two steps forward toward the edge of the dock and her eyes examined the boats rough edges and cluttered deck. It had a few cracks in the side, no sail that could be visibly seen, and it looked like it hadn't been painting in many years.
"Not just a boat." Emma teased, smiling like a little child. She turned to look at it and placed her hands on her hips triumphantly. "It's your boat."
Regina had never seen a bigger smile than the one that was spread across the face of the woman she was slowly falling back in love with. Love. She stared between the boat and Emma, not able to express anything she was feeling. She was still human after all, even after the accident and losing her memories, and she was feeling weak at the knees. She could picture creating a new life with this woman. Possibly even on this boat if that's where fate should take them. Suddenly her goosebumps multiplied around her body and her brain turned into static. The tears began to burn in her dark shaded eyes. She could hear Emma rambling on, but she couldn't process the words.
"Of course it needs some work." Emma quickly jumped in, noticing Regina silence. She hoped that was a good sign. She stepped over to the steps that lead to the boats deck and took a step up, balancing herself on the bars on either side of her. "But I am going to have lots of weekends free to work on it. And Leroy said he would help me as well since I know basically nothing about boats." She chuckled at herself. When she turned back around to Regina again, Regina was crying.
"Regina?!" Emma quickly approached her worriedly and grabbed a hold of the woman's shoulders to stabilize her. Regina's knees could no longer stand the weight and both woman went down to their knees onto the deck. "What's wrong, babe? If you don't like it, I can just tell Leroy that we don't want it. It's not a big deal." Emma's own eyes stung with tears as she pushed the hair that had fallen in Regina's face behind her ears. Did she really mess up this bad? What was happening? Emma tried to comfort her but she had no idea what was wrong.
Regina felt a tug in her stomach and her head was spinning so fast that she felt like she was going to be sick. Emma fell to the dock with her and all she could do was hold onto her head to try and keep it from exploding. Pictures she couldn't recognize flashed behind her tightly closed eyelids and she felt like screaming. As the flashes mushed together one by one she began to recognize the shapes and colors that resided in them. She saw Emma. She saw Henry. Others that she had seen in passing around town. She saw an office. She saw Emma. Everything was spinning. Just as she opened her mouth to scream it all stopped with a heavy pain in her head like someone had hit her with a hammer. Then darkness.
The dock, where Emma had imagined all of her dreams slowly coming together, now looked like a crime scene. She was in so much of a panic when she called 911 that they sent the ambulance and Sherriff Graham to the dock to find them. A large ambulance stood with its back doors wide open and its lights filling in the shadows on the beach while Graham held Emma away from the paramedics as they took Regina's vitals. She was breathing. Her heart rate was normal. So why was she not responding?
"One minute she was fine, and then the next…" Emma tried to explain what was happening, both for her to make sense of it all and for Graham who was trying to get her talking and her mind off of what was happening around them.
"Just give me the step by step, Emma." Graham continued his questions.
Emma wiped the tears streaming down her face and took a deep breath. "I bought the damn boat from Leroy a week ago as a gift. I brought her down here to see it and then… I just… I can't do this again, Graham." Emma started toward her as the paramedics lifted her up on the gurney. Her tears were uncontrollable at this point.
"Emma stop, there is nothing you can do at this point. Let them take her." He held out his hand to stop her.
"I CAN'T LOSE HER AGAIN!" Emma screamed through her tears and pushed his hand away. He stared at her for a moment, considering his options. But there were none. He stepped back and held his hands up in defeat.
Emma ran over to the ambulance and stepped inside after the gurney, leaving Graham by the boat near the middle of the dock. His silhouette disappeared into the night as Emma watched the sand recede away from her and the moving ambulance. "Please, Regina. Just hold on to me. Please." She held onto Regina's hand as tightly as she could as the ambulance raced to the hospital. Maybe the tighter she held on, the more chance Regina would make it through whatever this was.
When Regina opened her eyes, the familiar buzzing of the hospital lights hung around her and the smell of hospital food wafted through the air. The room was dim other than the long, single, thin light above the head of her bed. The light from the hallway creeped under the door and a soft breathing caught her attention on the left side of her bed. As sweet as the day they met, Emma had fallen asleep sitting next to Regina's bed, still holding her hand, with her head laying gently on the edge of the mattress. Her hair curled around her bare shoulders and the blanket that was casually draped across her, was falling from her back onto the floor. Regina watched her body move up and then down, and listened to the sweet breathing of the woman she was so very much in love with. Everything was so much clearer now. She was no longer searching through a fog, stumbling along like a misfit about to fall right on her face. The fog had lifted and for the first time in a long time, she felt free.
"Emma." Regina's whisper was enough to send Emma flying up from her chair and hurling the blanket into the blinds of the window above her. Emma looked around confused in her sleepy fog, but then trained her eyes on Regina, who was pushing herself up on the bed to sit more upright.
"Regina!" Tears immediately began falling down her cheeks as Emma kneeled next to the bed, pulling up Regina's hand to kiss it. "Regina, I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened… It was like one minute it was good and then… I don't know… I'm sorry… Are you okay? Was it the boat? I can take it back! Leroy said…" Emma sighed and her head fell onto her and Regina's hands. She sobbed. Never in her life did she want to feel like this again. But for a moment, she thought she had lost Regina a second time. It was all too much.
Regina smiled, and brought her free hand around to Emma's cheek and with a finger tucked under her chin, picked Emma's head up so she could look into her red, teary eyes, crystal blue eyes. Emma sniffed and was confused at Regina's lack of surprise or confusion. Regina stroked Emma's cheek with her thumb and Emma turned her head to kiss Regina's palm.
"It wasn't the boat." Regina started laughing. Emma was so confused. But she laughed through her tears in relief that maybe this was not her fault.
"Okay! Well that's good because I did kind of already make a deposit on it and Leroy is not a man to go back on." Emma joked and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand
"I'm sorry. I'm such a mess." Regina finally admitted when she stopped laughing.
"Oh babe." Emma kissed Regina's hand grasped in her own again. The heat from Regina's body gave Emma goosebumps in the cold room. "You are the furthest thing from a mess." Emma reassured her calmly.
"It's just…" Regina started and Emma stood up from the floor, patiently waiting for her to continue.
"It's okay. Whatever it is, you can tell me." Emma struggled to keep her own tears inside.
"I… I remember." Regina said relieved.
Emma's face must have resonated nothing but complete shock because Regina immediately followed up with an explanation.
"I don't remember everything, I'm sorry. But I remember wanting to sail. And my dad, who taught me how, even though I don't remember that part, but I remember him teaching me." She wiped a tear from her cheek and stared at Emma. "And… you." Emma laughed through her tears and wiped her runny nose. Regina laughed in excitement and tears of joy.
"Okay, so you remember us?" Emma paced for a minute before returning to Regina with more questions than she could possibly ask. "Like you remember everything?" Emma was so excited, Regina could help but smile.
"Not everything. I remember us and Henry and my job. I am still fuzzy on the whole accident and pieces of the past. But yes I remember us!" Regina couldn't shake her smile. And neither could Emma.
"I can't believe it! Oh, I love you so much Regina!" Emma dove forward and planted a kiss on Regina's lips before Regina could respond. Oh she had been waiting for this kiss for too long, and it was oh so sweet.
"I suppose you have found out the good news." As Emma and Regina were lost in their kiss, they hadn't realized that Dr. Whale had come into the room. Emma stepped away from the bed quickly, but stayed close enough to keep Regina's hand in her own, and cleared her throat in embarrassment.
Dr. Whale closed the door behind him with a smile and approached the foot of the bed and looked through Regina's files he had on hand. "Well, there is not much else for me to say other than what you seem to already know. Part of Regina's long term memory is working. Which is something in my 30 plus years of medicine that I have never seen. What determines which part she remembers is something we still find a mystery, but something tells me there is a reason why she remembers some things and not others. Whether that be attachment to a particular person…" His eyes darted over to Emma, "…or event, or the fact that she has spent most of her time with you, Emma, I can't quite say. I'm afraid that is beyond my own expertise and I will leave that up to Dr. Hopper to tell you more about. The mind is a funny thing. But besides all that, congratulations to both of you, and to you in particular Ms. Mills." He smiled. "This has been a long and strenuous process. And you have handled it quiet elegantly. I dare say I wish all of my patients were just like you."
Emma squeezed Regina's hand and wiped away a few stray tears. This was real. This was really happening. She wasn't dreaming, she wasn't in heaven, she was here in a place she could call heaven. With the love of her life. And things seemed to be a little back to normal.
"Are… are there any side effects to any of this? It seems to have been quiet traumatic to get my memories back since I am back in here. But is there a possibility that this is something only temporary?" Regina asked wanting to be sure this was the last time she was in the hospital. She was as shocked as anyone to be able to feel normal again. And she didn't want to lose the feeling any time soon.
"Well from the levels I see in your brain here, I do believe your memories are here to stay. That being said, I cannot promise that you will not have another similar episode. The episode did not seem to damage anything and does not seem to be life threatening, although yes very scary. I'm glad we got you here when we did so that we could run a few more tests. It could have been brought on by exhaustion or stress. But that doesn't mean you should be constantly worried about it. If there is a possibility for another one, I think it will be very slim. That being said, we will be discharging you as soon as I get the paperwork to the nurse."
"Thank you so much, Dr. Whale." Emma stepped up and shook his hand at the end of the bed then placed her hand on Regina's ankle.
"My pleasure ladies. You have a wonderful day." Dr. Whale exited the room and a breath of fresh air washed over both women.
"Holy shit." Emma sat down on the couch and let her head fall into her hands.
"You can say that again." Regina answered. Emma picked up her head to look at Regina. She was the same woman she knew last night. The same woman she knew before the accident. But somehow, she loved her even more. She kicked herself knowing that this whole time she could have been loving Regina more. But at this moment, as the morning sun peeked through the window blinds, there was not one person on the earth that Emma could love more.
"Mom! We are going to be late!" Henry hollered from downstairs. Emma threw on her boots and hurried downstairs. The first day of school was always hectic and this morning Emma had made the mistake of sleeping through her alarm. On top of that, it was the first year Emma wouldn't have Regina as principal, and Henry's first day of high school. Both of which she was not ready for.
"I know, kid. I'm coming. Did you get your lunch?" She asked grabbing her keys and opening the door. He walked by her, dangling his brown paper sack up as he went by. "Okay, great. Let's go!"
The week prior, Emma had gotten minimal sleep. A few nights after they made it home from the hospital, Regina began having nightmares. They had started sleeping in the same room again, and Emma couldn't have been happier, but having Regina waking up in the middle of the night screaming was something she was most definitely not happy about. She was worried, and tired. She called Dr. Whale and he said that it could just be a PTSD type reaction from getting her memories back so suddenly and to continue to be in contact with Dr. Hopper. Both women were exhausted. And Emma felt like she was at a loss to help. As for this morning, a silent kiss on the forehead, and allowing Regina to sleep was all she could do.
With 5 minutes to spare, Emma and Henry walked up the steps to the front door of the school. "Okay. Now remember…This is high school. And your mother is basically a celebrity here. So, if you do anything stupid, I will hear about it." Henry rolled his eyes as they stepped through the front doors. "Coach Jones is excited to get you on the basketball court. But remember our deal?" Emma asked him before letting him go to class.
"Yes, mom. If I don't have at least a B in every class I can't play." Henry rolled his eyes again.
"Wow. Okay." Emma reached out for his shirt nervously straightening it and pushing his messy hair out of his face. "God, you need a haircut. Why didn't we get you a haircut before today?" Her motherly instinct was kicking in, and she suddenly realized she wasn't ready for him to start high school.
"Mom? Are you going to be okay?" Henry asked concerned, seeing her face show her nervousness and her exhaustion.
"Yes. Yeah. Of course. I'm just… so proud of you." She pulled him in for a hug and kissed him on the top of his forehead.
"Moooom!" He pushed her away and looked around embarrassed as a group of fellow classmates giggled and passed by quickly.
"Hey. You may be in high school, but I am still your mother. And I have the right to kiss you and hug you whenever I please. You got that?" She raised her eyebrow playfully, but in all seriousness.
Henry sighed and smiled at her. "I know, mom. I love you!" He hugged her again, quickly this time. The bell interrupted them and he gestured down the hall. "Okay, I gotta go. I'll see you after practice!"
Emma watched him run off down the hall and turn the corner. She took a deep breath and wiped a small tear that had rolled down her cheek. It was going to be fine. She had the next four years with him. Four very short years.
"Good morning, Ms. Swan." The methodical click of a cane and the sound of her name twisted her on her heels. Mr. Gold smiled as he stopped just a foot away from her.
"Mr. Gold?" Emma looked puzzled, taking a half step back from the cologne drenched man standing in front of her.
He leaned on his cane and smiled devilishly. "Shouldn't you be in class?" He shifted his weight under his good leg.
"Um, I don't have a class first period." She paused. "But uh, excuse me for asking, but what are you doing here?" Emma asked with much concern. The only time she had ever seen Mr. Gold at the high school was… well the one day early last year when he was meeting with her and Regina about the tutoring program. Which from what she could recollect, didn't have the effect that was initially hoped for. She was hoping he wasn't here with another terrible idea from the Storybrooke school board.
"Did you not get the memo?" He smiled slyly. "Due to Ms. Mill's unfortunate accident, there was a position open for principal."
"You are the new principal?" Emma tried to hide her anger and attitude. After the hell that he put Regina through in the years she was principal, it was a slap in the face for him to take the job. Plus, he had no experience or knew the first thing about running a school.
"It appears that I am. So, if you ever need anything, Ms. Swan, please, feel free to come by my office anytime." He smiled again stepping past her. His awful cologne hit her in the face and she rolled her eyes but didn't respond to him as he passed her by.
When he was out of earshot she mumbled under her breath. "Not on your life."
Once the shock of Mr. Gold being her new direct boss subsided, she made her way down the straight long hallway of the school that had once been the hallway of her former life only one short year ago. Oh how the memories flooded in. She walked past the door to the meeting room where she first met Regina. Her interview was anything but what she was expecting. A small town school in a small rural town. How hard could it be to get a job, right? Wrong.
"Good morning."
Regina entered the room with so much confidence it almost knocked Emma out of the chair she had been sitting in for all of about 5 minutes.
"It appears we are beginning this meeting late so I will begin with a few questions."
Emma couldn't even get in a reply to the woman's welcome and nervously picked at her shirt sleeves waiting for the barrage of questions awaiting her answers.
"Your resume says that all of the experience you have is your internship? Do you have any other job related experience that would give me a reason to hire you?" Regina asked blatantly, looking up at Emma with one eyebrow raised, and her hands tightly woven together on top of Emma's resume.
"Uh well, I uh… no. No, I don't have any other experience."
Emma nearly shit her pants that morning. Needless to say she got the job. She didn't really know how, probably because she was the only one that applied, but nevertheless she was damn glad she did. Regina was the most beautiful woman she had ever met. That day in the meeting, it was like every detail that Emma could notice about her was magnified. The way she took notes, the way her hair fell across her cheek, the way the very corner edge of her collared shirt brushed against her tan, smooth neck. It was all so vividly burned in her brain.
As she rounded the corner, she passed by the library, looking in to see how empty it was for the first day of school. She remembered those countless professional development meetings, and all those pointless staff meetings that would last entirely too long after school. But where always made better with Regina there. Or that one time she found Regina crying between the shelves.
Emma was looking to make sure the library had enough copies of one of the books she had assigned in class in case the bookstore in town sold out or the students wouldn't get the ones they ordered online in the mail in time for them to start reading. She heard the small sniffles coming from the other side of the large shelf she was looking at and listened curiously. They came methodically and quietly.
When she rounded the edge of the bookshelf she pulled her head back quickly. It was Regina. Shit. She hadn't really had a conversation with her other than in meetings since.. Well.. Ever.
She poked her head around the corner to make sure she really did see Regina and it wasn't her middle of the school year exhaustion playing tricks on her. Shit. It was.
"Ugh. Stop hiding, I know you are there."
Emma kicked herself and stepped around the corner, smiling awkwardly. The woman was sitting cross-legged on the floor with a small pile of tissues in her lap. Despite her crying, her makeup seemed unblemished other than the red circles under her eyes from wiping her tears. She was wearing a long sleep white blouse, the same one from the interview, and a pair of high-waisted black slacks. She remembered because it was always Emma's favorite outfit. Other than her silk pajamas. But at the time she hadn't seen those yet.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snoop. I was just…"
"It's fine." Regina cut her off and pulled herself off the ground where she was sitting. She dabbed her face with a tissue and straightened her blouse before turning her attention toward Emma who was just standing there as awkwardly as she could. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Emma attempted to break the awkward silence.
"Um…" Emma cleared her throat. "Are you… are you.."
"Good Day, Ms. Swan." Regina squeezed the small mound of tissue in her hands and pushed past Emma and headed out of the library back to her office.
"Yep, absolutely." Emma answered under her breath quickly moving out of her way.
Emma smiled at the memory of how Regina made her feel when she first started working here. She was like a Queen over her realm. Always on top. Always in charge. Always hiding her secrets and weaknesses. But despite all that, Emma could always seem to see right through her. From that day on Regina treated her differently than she had before. She was not so hard. She was more conversational. She was halfway pleasant towards her.
As she reached her own hallway she stopped before turning. The copy room. How could she forget? It was a frequent stop for them on those long professional development days on campus.
"Emma, stop!" Regina laughed pulling on the hand that held on to hers. She whispered to avoid disturbing the classrooms nearby. "We are going to be seen." Regina pleaded.
Emma pulled her through the doorway, a childish smile on her lips. "No we won't. And if we do… then.. Well… We figure it out. We always do." Emma pulled the woman's warm body close to her as the door shut behind them. "Have I told you how beautiful you look under these wonderful florescent lights?"
"Oh Emma, stop." Regina laughed but played along. "I've heard they do just wonders for a girl's complexion."
"So… beautiful." Emma pushed a stray hair from Regina's face. The nervousness of being caught melted away as they stared at one another. Emma's lips grazed Regina's. Slowly at first. But then when they came together it was like a whirlwind. Emma couldn't stop herself.
The memory was flushed away as she stepped up to her classroom door. She could hear the laughter and the muffled voices from the classrooms near hers. The last time she was here was when Graham called her and told her about the accident. Oh how things had changed since then. She felt like a completely different person, living a completely different life, in a completely different universe.
Her hands shook as she turned the key. When she flicked on the light she felt a nervousness rush over her. Probably from all the chaos that had been trapped in when she ran out of the room at the end of last year. Everything was exactly the way she had left it. She imagined her chair still spinning after all these many months from her throwing herself out of it. She wondered how long it spun once she was gone.
When she sat down she immediately pulled out her phone. When the screen lit up, the time read 8:03am and a picture of Regina's smiling face took up the background. 27 minutes till second period. She opened her recent calls and clicked on Regina's name. She needed to be sure Regina woke up in time to make it to her therapy this morning. And she just wanted to hear her voice.
"Hello?" A sleepy voice came through the other side of the phone. Emma couldn't help but smile.
"Hey, beautiful. You awake?" Emma asked quietly.
"I am now." The voice yawned. Emma closed her eyes and pictured the woman sitting up and stretching. Her night gown falling over her naked body and her rubbing her sleepy eyes. She imagined her pushing the cover off of her bare legs and yawning again. Her feet touching the ground and her head hanging from exhaustion. She could see her get up and stretch and make her way to the bathroom, her silk pajamas dancing around her curves with every step.
"Emma?" Regina's voice snapped Emma out of her vision.
"Mm sorry." Emma laughed. "I guess I haven't completely woken up yet either." She yawned contagiously.
Regina answered sleepily. "Did you get much sleep last night?"
"More than I have been." Emma lied. The last thing she wanted was for Regina to worry about her, or feel responsible for her losing sleep. It's no doubt that Regina was the reason, but not the reason Regina would think. The truth was, Emma only got probably an hour of sleep that previous night. She couldn't help but worry.
"Oh, good. I'm glad." Regina answered.
The silence over the phone was comforting to Emma. She loved the feeling of Regina being close. Even if it was just through the phone. For 15 minutes they stayed that way. Silent, but together. Neither spoke. They just listened to each other's void. And they were happy.
"Well I didn't mean to wake you up, I just wanted to make sure you remembered your appointment this morning." Emma broke the silence.
"Oh yes. I remember. I'm glad you called though." Emma smiled at Regina's sleepy voice. She couldn't help but feel like the luckiest woman in the world.
"Anytime, babe. I gotta go though. Class is about to start." Emma said unfortunately.
"Okay. Have a good day, Emma."
"Thank you, you too! Bye."
"Bye." Regina hung up before Emma did.
Emma set the phone gently down on her desk and she nervously ran her hands down her thighs. She wished this wasn't so difficult for her to process. Everything had changed just as quickly as it had changed before. It was nice to have Regina back, but she hated these side effects. These nightmares. Maybe Dr. Hopper had the answer.
Regina sat in the waiting room of Dr. Hopper's office for what seemed like a lifetime. Her appointment was at 9, but she had misjudged how long it would take her to walk to his office and had arrived about 20 minutes late. When she asked the receptionist if he was in his office, she told her to just have a seat and he would come and get her when he was ready.
Regina was not a patient person. Her leg bounced up and down as she picked nervously at her fingernails. The ticking of the clock above her head was almost too much for her to process. She checked her phone for the time and it was already a quarter till 10. What could he possibly be doing? She felt more nervous than her past appointments. This was the first time she had come to see him since she started remembering things.
His office door squeaked open and Regina immediately stood up, startling the young girl behind the receptionist desk who had her headphones in, listening to music so loud Regina could hear it from her chair.
"Yes, thank you Graham. I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Thank you. I'll see you soon." Dr. Hopper hung up his phone as he came out into the lobby and smiled when he saw Regina. "Hello, Regina. Please, come in."
Regina stepped into the office and took her usual place on the couch, opposite of his chair.
"I am so sorry for being late. I misjudged the time it would take me to walk here today." Regina immediately started.
"It's completely fine. I apologize for keeping you waiting." He said as he walked over to his desk and lifted some books to pull out his notepad. "Now, how are things going? Dr. Whale called me and told me the good news last week." He smiled as he sat down and jotted something down on his pad.
"Yes, things have been great. I think Emma felt some relief about things. We are still working on things though." Regina admitted.
"That's good. And what about you? Are you feeling some relief?"
Regina wasn't quite sure how to answer the question. Of course she felt better now that she could remember. But she couldn't remember everything. There were still dark spots. And they haunted her dreams.
"Yes, I'm doing fine." Regina finally answered.
Dr. Hopper smiled and wrote down some notes.
"Actually…" Regina interrupted. "To be honest, I don't know how I'm doing. I've started having these nightmares that I can't really explain."
"Nightmares?" Dr. Hopper stopped writing and set his pad down in his lap. "What kind of nightmares?"
"I don't really know how to explain it very well. I don't remember much when I wake up. Just the things Emma tells me.
"Just do your best." Dr. Hopper insisted.
"Well… I'm trying to see something and I can't. It's always some black thing that I'm searching for, but when I find it, it's gone. I'm afraid that it has something to do with the memories I can't remember. But I usually wake up screaming at least twice every night. I'm afraid I'm going to scare Emma off if it persists for much longer." Regina explained the best she could. To be honest she couldn't remember the dreams. She remembers the black object but never what is happening.
"Interesting. Have you had a chance to read that book I gave you?" Dr. Hopper stood and made his way to his desk.
"Yes, I have, and I find it quite interesting." Regina answered.
"Yes, quite." Dr. Hopper studied some paperwork on his desk seeming to not be paying much attention to Regina anymore. She became quiet confused. She watched him find the paper he was looking for and head back her way with it in hand.
"I took the liberty of drawing this up for you last night. It is a consent form to begin the dream therapy that my father describes in his book. If you would like, I believe you would be an excellent patient for it. Truly, I believe we can figure this out. What do you think?" Dr. Hopper handed her the paper. His face seemed excited. Like he had been wanting to try this practice his whole career and finally he found the perfect soul.
Regina studied the paper, glancing over its instructions and liability issues. "Will it hurt?" Regina asked looking up at Dr. Hopper.
"No, it doesn't hurt. I can be very… exhausting, however. But it is nothing that you won't be able to handle. It requires a bit of hypnosis, which has its natural side effects. Possible nausea or sleep walking or other issues. I've already spoke to Dr. Whale, and he doesn't see a problem trying it out. And if at any point you feel uncomfortable then we will stop and return to our normal therapy sessions. What do you say?"
Regina thought a moment. "Can I think about it?.
"Of course you can. This is your decision! I promise you, this will be worthwhile. Keep reading the book. We will talk about it more when you come next week. Have the receptionist schedule your appointment and I will have everything ready for you."
"Wait, that's it?" Regina looked a bit confused as she quickly grabbed her things to follow Dr. Hopper out of the room.
"I hate to cut this short, and I'm glad I got to see you, but I have an emergency meeting I must attend this morning. It just came up before you came in. Oh wait.. I forgot to give you something." Dr. Hopper darted back into his office and emerged back with another old, and dusty book. "This is a journal for you. When you have a nightmare, write it down. Anything and everything you can remember. No detail is too small. Don't force yourself to remember things. Just do what you can, and we will go over everything next week. I cannot wait. I have much planned for you!" Dr. Hopper opened the door for Regina to exit. "Have a good day Ms. Mills."
Regina nodded and half smiled as she exited the office, the door quickly shutting behind her. She looked down at the journal in her hand and flipped through a few of the empty pages. For its age, the pages and crinkle of the bind when it opened made it seem brand new, yet somehow meant just for her. The secretary was gone from her desk, so Regina left, thinking she would call to make an appointment later today or tomorrow. After all it had been an eventful few days and she figured maybe a walk down to Granny's for some coffee would cheer her up.