Chapter 50
A/N: All righty here's the next one. Thank you to the Guest reviewers, Michebellaxo and chen27 for your reviews :)
The red silk blouse fluttered in the breeze, a splash of vibrant colour against the dark green conifers. It danced just ahead of him, snagging against stray branches, tears forming in the delicate fabric.
"I hope that wasn't Regina's favourite shirt," Snow commented, a few paces behind. David ignored her, concentrating on keeping pace with the flying garment. By the time he and Belle had arrived home, Emma and Snow had managed to create a working location potion, a replica of the one David had used to track down Jefferson using his hat. David had grabbed a shirt from Regina's closet, Emma had dumped the contents of her potion on top of it and the four of them had set off after the run-away silk blouse.
They had ended up chasing it all the way out of the town and deep into the forest.
"Do you think maybe she injured herself out here?" Belle wondered aloud. "Maybe she got stuck…"
"Belle…" Emma muttered. "Stop talking."
David glanced over at his daughter gratefully. He had expected the locator spell to take them somewhere inside the town – to whatever building she was being held captive in. But out here? Alone in the woods for more than three weeks? It made his stomach churn just thinking about it.
Maybe there's a cabin out here somewhere, he thought, glancing around the dense forest uneasily. All he could see was endless trees and low shrubs. He glanced briefly over his shoulder, to where Snow and Belle were walking side by side a few paces behind him. Finding Snow at Regina's mansion had been a surprise, to say the least. He knew they still had things to talk about, skeletons that needed to be laid to rest, but this was hardly the time and place for it.
"It's getting late," Emma said, distracting him. "We should probably call Hook and let him know what's happening before Henry starts to worry."
"Can you call him?" David asked, patting down his jacket. "I forgot my phone at home."
"I'll call him," Belle offered up.
"Hey look!" Emma said suddenly, pointing ahead.
David jerked his head, catching sight of a glint of metal and glass through the trees. Sure enough, Regina's blouse was flying straight toward it.
"It's a car," David said, jogging closer. Regina's shirt landed on the ground a few feet away from it. He walked over and picked it up, clutching the soft material in his fist.
"It must have come from over there," Belle said, pointing out the rough path through the trees.
"I can't believe a shitty car like that got this deep into the woods," Emma said, walking around it.
"It's Armand's car," David said, quietly. Emma turned to him.
"What?"
"It's Armand's car," he repeated, leaning in to the open passenger side door. The forest had spilled into the front two seats – there were bits of twigs and pine needles everywhere. "It's been here for some time," he noted.
"And the doors were left open," Emma added, leaning in through the open driver side door. She frowned at him. "This doesn't feel right. Why did the locator spell take us here?"
The thought struck them both at the same time.
"Pop the boot," David said urgently.
"Shit!" Emma lunged for the lever beneath the front seat that opened the back. "Shit. No. Shit…" They both scampered around to the back of the car, jerking the boot open hastily.
Empty. David gasped, leaning one hand against the edge of the car for support. Emma sank into a crouch, her eyes closing.
"Thank God. If she had been inside there…"
He couldn't think about that. He shook his head.
"Guys…" Snow said quietly. Slowly they both turned to look at her. She was standing a few steps from the car, exactly where Regina's shirt had come to a stop. "We're right at the boundary of Storybrooke," she said softly. "A step or so further and we would cross the line into the real world."
"Really?" Belle glanced around them in surprise.
"The boundary?" David echoed hollowly. "Does that mean…?"
"The locator spell can't work past the boundary… there's no magic there."
"You're saying Regina left?" David asked, standing up. He felt a flicker of rage, deep in his belly. "She wouldn't do that."
"That's not what I'm saying," Snow said quietly. "There's a rip in the barrier."
"A rip?" Emma said, startled. "You mean someone from the other side could have gotten through here?"
"Yes," Snow nodded her head, looking faintly sick. "Somebody already did." She turned slightly, gesturing. "I left his body right over there by those bushes."
…
Her eyelids felt like they were glued shut. Each breath felt impossibly slow, deep, heavy…
Wake up. Open your damn eyes, a voice in her head raged.
She couldn't move. She focused on her hands, trying desperately to move even the tips of her fingers. From somewhere overhead, she could hear the garbled sounds of voices.
Just open your eyes, she begged herself.
Somebody had taken hold of her wrist. Cold fingers pressed against her skin. A moment later, another hand touched her face. Her left eyelid was lifted, revealing a hazy glimpse of a masked face before a bright light was shone directly into her eye. The finger pulled away and her lid slid shut, leaving her in darkness again. Bright, iridescent spots popped and flashed in front of her vision.
She groaned and swallowed, suddenly aware of the pain in her throat. It felt like someone had poured sand into her mouth.
Where am I? she wondered.
It felt like she was tearing her lids apart. Cracks of light appeared in her vision.
"There she is," a voice said, the words still blurry and indistinct. "She's coming out."
The lights above her were stark, blinding. She blinked slowly, waiting for the world around her to come into focus. Several figures stood over her, dressed in white lab coats.
Am I in a hospital?
"Regina?" one of the figures called her name. "Can you hear me?"
She moved her lips, tried to speak, but her voice came out as a rasp.
"Here," another figure moved forward, a polystyrene cup help in his hand. He pressed something cold and moist to her lips. She flinched, then parted her lips slightly, allowing the ice chip to slide into her mouth. The coldness helped to waken her. She pressed her tongue against the melting chip, greedily swallowing the moisture.
"…where…" her voice sounded weak and raspy through her painful throat. She tried carefully again. "Where am I?"
The figures glanced to one another briefly as she spoke. She was starting to be able to make out the details of their faces now, her blurred vision slowly starting to sharpen. The man with the ice chips answered her.
"You're in a hospital," his voice was soft, soothing. "You've been in a coma."
Coma? She tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness immediately had her slumping back against the starched pillows behind her.
"Easy there," another doctor cautioned. A woman with short blonde hair and sharp eyes. Regina didn't recognize her. She didn't recognize anyone,her sluggish brain protested a moment later. She knew almost everyone at the Storybrooke hospital, and Storybrooke certainly didn't have this many doctors.
"Please…" she swallowed again, the last of the ice chip gone. "I need a phone. I need to call my family…"
"Just relax," another man spoke up. "We're going to need to examine you first. You've been unconscious for quite some time."
"How long?" she asked, flinching a little as he moved closer, perching himself on the edge of her bed. He waved his hand to the group behind him. "Can you give us some space?"
As one, the team of doctors turned to leave, save for the blonde haired woman, who remained, idly writing something down on a clipboard in her hands. For the first time, Regina found herself glancing around room. It was larger than a normal hospital ward, though her large hospital bed and the numerous machines she was hooked up to dominated one side of the room. There were two doors, one set into the wall on her left, and another set into the wall behind her. The wall opposite her was made up by a huge glass window, which showed a view of overcast clouds and grassy green hills. In the distance, she could see a strip of stormy grey sea. Where the hell was she?
"How long have I been here?" she repeated, turning her attention back to the doctor at her bedside.
"A little over three weeks," he admitted.
"What?" Regina eyes went wide. "Three weeks?" She'd lost three weeks of her life? How had this happened?
"What do you remember?" he asked her gently.
"I…" She shook her head, her mind still feeling foggy. The hospital. Emma. Armand… Her chest constricted. He betrayed me. Her dark eyes lifted to the man in front of her. "Who are you?"
"I am Doctor Hansen," the man said. He gestured to the blonde. "This is my college, Dr Wakefield."
Regina leaned a little forward, sliding one hand beneath the bedcovers. She flexed her fingers, trying to reach her magic.
"I would like to ask you a few questions first," Hansen continued, obliviously. Regina clenched her jaw, struggling to shake off the last of her drowsiness. Her body still felt heavy and weak, her thoughts hazy. Her head ached dully. "Just try answer them as best you can. Let's start with an easy one. Tell me your name."
"Regina Mills," she whispered. Focus damn it. She clenched her hands into fists, feeling her fingernails bite into her palms.
"Good," Hansen smiled at her. "Do you have any idea where you are?" She shook her head mutely, her eyes flicking briefly to the window again. The picturesque view beyond told her nothing. She could be anywhere.
"Where am I?" she asked after a moment, when it seemed he wasn't going to volunteer the information.
"Never mind that," Dr Wakefield said smoothly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She smiled at Regina, though her eyes remained cold and calculating.
"You don't need to know," Hansen added. "For now, just accept that you will be staying here for the foreseeable future."
Regina blinked slowly, her face perfectly expressionless as she absorbed his words.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" Hansen prodded her after a few moments.
She clenched her hand again, feeling pinpricks of pain shoot through her fingers as she struggled to get her magic to answer her command. If only she didn't feel so damn drowsy! Unbidden, her eyes flicked to the bag of fluids hanging beside her bed, and the intravenous line that was slowly running into her vein. She turned her attention back to the two doctors quickly, her heart thudding. She needed that thing out of her.
"No," she said, slowly shaking her head. "Why do I have to stay here?"
She kept her eyes on Hansen, all the while focusing all of her energy on the little white plastic wheel that controlled the drip rate of her fluids. A whisper of magic was all that it would take to scroll it down and close the line. She gritted her teeth.
Concentrate.
"For your own good," Hansen told her.
"And the good of those you could come into contact with," Wakefield added. "Magic is a dangerous disease. We cannot allow it to roam rampant."
"Magic?" Regina echoed.
"We know what you are," Hansen said. "I think it only fair that you know what we are."
"The SDA," Regina mumbled, trying to remember what Armand had told her.
Wakefield arched a brow in surprise. "You know about us?" she exchanged a glance with Hansen, who shrugged.
"Good. That will make this process simpler."
"What process?" Regina growled. She shook her head, trying to shake away the fog clouding her mind. Focus, she told herself. You just need enough magic to stop whatever's in that drip.
"We want to understand you," Wakefield said, leaning forward slightly as she spoke. The way she said the word understand sent a shudder down Regina's spine. Her heart started to thud, adrenaline coursing through her body. There was no way she was going to allow these people to dissect her like a lab rat. "You can either help us and make life easier for yourself. Or…"
"I can resist," Regina finished for her. Her fingers curled and the slightest flicker of power rose up within her in response to her call. Her eyes flicked to the drip again, watching as the white plastic wheel scrolled down, closing the line. She smirked in satisfaction, turning her attention back to the doctors before they could realise what she had done. "I think I'll pick option number two."
"Be reasonable, Regina," Hansen said.
"Reasonable?" she almost laughed. "Why on earth would I be reasonable while you cut me open to see how I tick?"
Wakefield chuckled softly. "We've already done that part."
She froze completely, staring at them through wide dark eyes. They'd done what…?
"Don't over dramatize, Hannah," Hansen admonished his colleague. "We'd never be so barbaric as to simply cut you open. A few ultrasound guided biopsy samples, a spinal tap, a couple of vials of blood… that's all," he shrugged.
She was going to throw up. She felt her stomach heave, tasted bile in the back of her throat.
"She's going to have an anxiety attack," Wakefield noted calmly. She gestured lazily to the machines bleeping furiously at Regina's bedside. "Her vitals are spiking."
"Does it really bother you that much?" Hansen's brow furrowed. "Those are standard tests…"
"Stop talking," Regina ordered. She'd been pulling desperately at her magic as she'd spoken, and somehow her power had layered itself into her words, making her voice sound strange and musical. Hansen immediately fell silent, looking like he'd been slapped. His eyelids fluttered, as though a bright light had flashed before him. Wakefield's eyes went wide, her hand flying to the pager at her waist.
"Don't move," Regina turned her attention to her. The woman froze on the spot, blinking rapidly. Regina released a slow breath, glancing between the pair. Their expressions were blank, dazed, their bodies completely slack.
Go, she told herself angrily. Hands shaking, she reached for the catheter secured at the bend of her elbow, pulling at the little pieces of tape that held it in place. With a hiss she pulled it out of her vein. A drop of dark red blood welled up from the small wound, dripping down her arm. Regina ignored it, concentrating on pulling the circular ECG pads off of her chest. The machines at her bedside began beeping in distress, the loud noise panicking her into moving faster. She shoved the covers off of herself, took a moment to glare at the white hospital gown she was dressed in, and then swung her bare legs over the edge of the bed. A wave of dizziness overtook her as she tried to stand and her knees simply buckled beneath her. A moment later she found herself pressed against the cold sterile floor.
"Shit," she hissed. Whatever drugs were in her system were obviously still packing a punch. Teleport, she told herself desperately. She grunted, trying to get all four limbs co-ordinated beneath her in order to stand. Teleport… what a joke. She was amazed she'd pulled together enough magic to do… whatever it was she'd done to her two so-called doctors. She couldn't piece together the mental power required to light a candle at that point, much less poof herself out of there. She pushed herself up, swaying on her feet. Behind her, she heard Hansen groan, pressing a hand over his eyes. Panic coursed through her and she staggered three steps forward, crashing into door the other doctors had disappeared out of. Her hand slid over the handle…
"No, no…" she gasped, pushing desperately against the door. It refused to budge. Someone had to be controlling access from outside the room. "No… Please…" she slammed a hand against the metal, screaming. "Fuck!"
She turned, sliding down the door until she was sitting on the ground against it. Hansen turned toward her, all traces of civility lost from his expression.
"What the hell did you do to…"
With the last of her strength, she concentrated desperately again, pulling together whatever magic she could. "Stop talking," she said, her voice once again sounding strangely musical to her ears. "Open this door."
His expression went slack again, his lids fluttering like camera shutters as he staggered toward her. She crawled away from the doorway, watching weakly as he curled his hand around the knob, pushing it down and pressing against the door, which refused steadfastly to budge. He continued at it, pushing and shoving, and after several moments Regina reached out and grabbed his leg.
"Stop," she gasped. He glanced down at her briefly before continuing with his futile task. Pulling at her magic, she tried again, jerking on his pants leg until he looked at her. "Stop." He went utterly still, staring at her blankly. A bead of sweat crawled down his temple, running down the side of his face. "Give me your cell phone," she commanded. From within his pocket, he produced a sleek black phone. She snatched it from him, gasping as her fingers fumbled to reach the call screen.
From the other side of the door, she could hear heavy footsteps approaching. She slammed her fingers against the cell, typing in David's number as quickly as she could in her half drugged state. She held it to her ear desperately, holding her breath as it rang. Behind her, she could hear voices talking urgently behind the door.
"Hi you've reached David Nolan, leave a message after the tone…"
Tears sprang to her lids and she choked back a sob at the sound of his voice against her ear.
"David? Oh God why aren't you with your phone? I need help… I'm… I don't know where I am… I…The SDA…" she finally managed, her words barely coherent over the tightness in her throat. "They have me. Find Armand. He gave them to me... he…" she trailed off at the sound behind her, a strange pneumonic hiss. Plumes of pale grey mist seeped up from between the crack beneath the floor and the door, flooding the room with alarming speed. "Shit," she gasped. "Oh shit." She struggled to stand, pulling herself up by the door handle. The window… she turned toward it. If she could break the glass… she released her hold on the doorknob, took a small step forward, swayed wildly on her feet, and collapsed back down into the heavy bank of fog. The phone fell out of her hand, clattering away on the polished floor. She drew in a breath and immediately regretted it as the sweet scent of gas filled her lungs.
No!
She struggled again, barely managing to hold herself up on her hands before a heavy sort of weakness engulfed her body and she collapsed again, her cheek pressed to the floor beneath her. Her eyelids fluttered, then slid shut against her will.
Then there was only darkness again.
…
"They must have taken the body," Belle said, hours later, once they were all back at the mansion. They sat in the living room, each of them making space for themselves amidst the clutter.
"Who?" Emma asked. She turned to Snow, her expression dark. "Who exactly did you murder?"
"I don't know," Snow whispered, shaking her head. "I told you. I just… I took the ink and I left him. I didn't care who he was." She wrapped her arms around her knees, visibly shaking. "Oh God," she whispered, clenching her eyes shut.
"You didn't think this was worth mentioning?" David asked, his voice ice. He was leaning against the sideboard, surveying Snow with cold blue eyes. He needed all the distance he could get from her at that moment.
"I didn't remember until now," Snow sobbed. She pushed her hands through her short hair, tears spilling down her cheeks.
"If these people had mermaid's ink on them…" Emma began.
"It's possible they could have taken Regina," Belle said, nodding.
But what was Armand's car doing there? David wondered. And who the hell are these people? He was finally getting answers, but all they did was lead to more questions. A heavy silence fell over all of them, punctuated only by the sound of Snow's soft cries. And then, by the sound of the front door opening and closing again.
"Honeys we're home," Killian's voice called out.
"You forgot to phone him," David muttered, shooting Belle a glance. She winced in apology.
"Shit," Emma raked a hand back through her hair. "We're going to have to tell them what we found. You," she pointed at Snow. "Stay here." Turning, she strode out of the living room. David listened to her voice as she greeted Henry. After a moment Belle stood and followed her out.
"David," Snow lifted her head toward him, her face red and splotchy from crying. "I'm so…"
"Don't tell me that you're sorry," David said, his voice quiet. "There's no point. I know you're sorry. I know you didn't intend for any of this to happen."
"Exactly," Snow sniffled. "It wasn't me. Not really. I couldn't help it…"
"I don't want to hear it," David muttered, shaking his head. He straightened, moving away from the sideboard. "I need to go and check on Henry."
He found his phone on a table in the entrance hall and picked it up on his way through to the kitchen. Pinnochio was crouched on the tiled floor next to Chase, trying to tempt him to eat a piece of leftover fried fish. Henry stood beside him, staring down at the German Shepherd with troubled brown eyes. Emma and Belle were standing with Hook, explaining what they had found in the forest.
"Mom wasn't in the car right?" Henry asked mid-way through, still watching Chase. "You checked?"
"We checked through the whole car, kiddo. No sign of her," Emma told him, her eyes creasing with concern.
"At least it's a step forward," Killian said encouragingly. "And you managed the locator spell," he added, leaning slightly forward to catch Emma's eye. "Good job, princess."
"Thanks," she whispered tonelessly.
David glanced down, frustrated. At the end of it all, they were still no-where near finding Regina. A blinking light on his phone caught his eye and he opened the lock screen.
Unknown number – 1 missed call
1 new voice message
Frowning, he dialled his mailbox, lifting his phone to his ear.
"David?" at the sound of her voice, his knees buckled. A sound similar to a whimper escaped his throat. "Oh God why aren't you with your phone?"
"David?" Emma called his name, concern written across his features. He was going to throw up. She had called him. She had called him… "I need help… I'm… I don't know where I am… I…The SDA… They have me. Find Armand. He gave them to me... he…" her voice trailed off.
"David what's going on?"
They were all surrounding him now, watching in confusion as tears streamed down his cheeks. He couldn't breathe. "Shit," Regina gasped in his ear, sounding terrified. "Oh shit." There was a scuffling sound and the message ended abruptly. David closed his eyes.
"She's alive."
"Was that mom?!" Henry grabbed the phone from David's hand, his fingers flying across the screen. The message began playing again, this time on loudspeaker, and David covered his face with his hands as Regina's voice filled the kitchen. Each word felt like a knife through his chest. How could he have forgotten his phone behind? She had finally managed to get through to him and he had missed her!
"Armand gave her to them?" Killian repeated.
"Now we know why we found his car out there," Belle whispered.
"But who is 'them'?" Emma asked, shaking her head. "The SDA? What the hell is the SDA?"
"Summis Desiderantes Affectibus," Pinnochio's voice said quietly. As one, they all turned, staring at him. The boy shifted uneasily under the weight of five pairs of eyes. "That's what it means," he mumbled.
"August," Emma took a step toward him. "How do you know this? Who told you?"
"No one…" he bit his lip. "I remember it."
