A/N: And I had so hoped chapter 69 would be involve a little more fun for these two... Oh well. I guess they'll have to earn it.
At some point following the Hatter's departure to go and find help- while he is working the fifth chip of ice gently over flushed flesh and dry lips- Gold hisses, startled, as the blonde gives a fitful jerk and begins to hyperventilate and thrash beside him. For a second, he believes she is suffering some sort of seizure like the one Jefferson mentioned, but when her hand travels shakily up to bat his own away from her face while her brow furrows distractedly, he realizes she is just entering a hazily confused state of consciousness and breathes a sigh of relief.
"Wha'dy' doin...'Gina?"
Her words are husky and slurred, but he has no trouble deciphering the name she proffers to his gentle attention. Frowning deeper, he pulls fever-damp hair away from her face and places the back of his hand worriedly against her forehead as she squirms lethargically on the bed.
"Emma?"
"What?!"
The cool brutality to her tone surprises him, and he can't help but smirk at the way her mannerisms remain so innately Emma, whether she has a clue what's going on or not. Wetting his hand with the frigid water that soaks the remains of the ice to his right, he wipes the chilled residue gently over her fevered cheeks as her lashes flutter slowly and bleary green regards him in confusion.
"You...?"
"I'm afraid so, dearie."
"Where's... Wh-ere's... Mad'm... Mu... Regin-a?"
"She'll be here soon, pet... She'll be here very soon. First we need to sort you out, though, Emma... You've done quite a job of your arms. Do you remember?"
"Hurts..."
"Yes, I imagine it does. Do you think you could manage some water?"
"Where's... 'Gina?"
"Never mind that right now, Emma. Come on, help me sit you up, you need to drink."
"No... Hurt?"
"I know, dearie, I know! Shhh now, we'll sort you out, just sit up."
"No!"
Gold sighs in exasperation, raising an eyebrow as the Sheriff seems to do the same. Peering at her pensively, comprehension suddenly alights his severe features and he shakes his head slowly, wrestling with her slim frame so that she sits supported against him in the hopes she will be able to choke down a little fluid.
"Relax, Emma. No... Regina isn't hurt. She's okay, lovey, she's just fine."
"Henry?"
"Henry too... Everyone's fine."
The pawnbroker sighs uncomfortably as he holds the young woman awkwardly in the crook of his arm; his other hand petting her thigh distractedly as her forehead burns against his cheek. At his insistence that both the brunette and the boy are fine, she sinks into him weakly, her head rolling into the cradle of his shoulder. Reaching out for the glass of water he has placed beside the bed, he lifts it to her lips carefully, tipping it just a little to coax her to swallow while keeping her from choking on it.
Still, a fair amount of the cooling liquid runs down her jaw in freshets, glistening over the delicate bones of her sternum.
Pushing the glass away when the Sheriff gives a weak shake of her head, Gold lays her back against the pillows gently and checks the dressings to her wrists.
"I called a doctor... I can't let you go to the hospital. Not now... But he'll take care of you... Why did you have to go and do this to yourself, dearie, why?!"
"Why'd-id you?... Why?"
"... It was the only way I could think to get what I wanted... Had I known you'd... Had I known you were going to react in such a way... I know a bad trip down memory lane when I see it, Miss Swan... Me, I find myself revisiting those times I loathe to think on and I dream of all the ways I can make those responsible suffer... I would have thought we were kindred spirits, dearie, but alas... It seems you have yet to face your demons... I imagine that was an arrest all those years back that went very wrong indeed..."
"No... You... Shut up now..."
"Wrong to unspeakable levels given what you were willing to do to break free of those cuffs..."
"S-top."
"Emma, you-"
"-No more... No...So... So hot..."
The Sheriff exemplifies her words as she moves to pull distractedly at the hem of her dress; her pale skin glistening with perspiration. Frowning, the little man pulls her thick hair away from her forehead and neck, his expression wary as he takes in the scarlet hue pinpricking her sallow cheeks.
"I know, dearie, I know. Here- I'll get you more ice-"
"-Off... Want it off."
She plucks irritably at the soiled cotton of her dress and the greying pawnbroker stops her swiftly as he cringes at her fitful movements. Swallowing with an obscenely surreal sense of awkwardness, he locates the narrow zip at the back of her dress and clears his throat as he shakes her gently to try and get her full attention.
"Okay, okay, I'll take it off... Are you... Are you sure you want me to?"
"Hate dresses..."
He supposes it's as close to a solid answer as he's going to get and so hesitantly lowers the delicate zipper and pulls the dirtied white fabric gently from her slim frame. Noting the crude scar that lines her stomach with distracted interest, he glances up at her face warily, but she remains focused on nothing in particular, lids heavy and long lashes casting long shadows across her face.
"What the hell happened to you, Emma...?"
"Told her... Told her I did it to myself... T-told her... Not why... D-don't... Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Don't touch me."
"...I won't. Just stay with me, ok? And we'll get you sorted out."
"... Hate you..."
"Yes... I imagine you do."
"F-fuck you!"
"... If you say so, Sheriff. If you say so."
The Mayor wakes with a start as the echoes of desperate knocking crash about her thunderously. Wrapping her nightgown firmly about her slender frame and slipping from the drawing room, she hurries towards the door with wide eyes; thinking for a moment the fists beating restlessly at painted wood must surely belong to the blonde.
Pulling back the door, her shoulders slump in recognition.
"Miss Lucas?"
The waitress's face glistens with rain and her long hair hangs in sodden clumps about her pale cheeks.
"I found something! I think I found something!"
Regina beckons the younger woman in swiftly, taking her sodden coat before she can even second-guess the gesture, and leading her back into the drawing room, lest their voices wake Henry from what is presumably already a fitful slumber.
"What do you mean?"
Bright eyes regard her desperately and the Mayor is aware within some dark corner of her mind how curious it is that the waitress has come to her alone, and seemingly in favour of going to the schoolteacher.
"Emma filed documents for the storm... I kept thinking about it... But I couldn't think why it kept bothering me so much!"
"... I'm sorry?"
"Yeah! I just couldn't grasp it, you know? So I went to the Station-"
"-You were able to access the Station?"
"Well I kind of have a key-"
"-You have a key?!"
"The deputy's key... For like... Helping with paper work and stuff, and in case Emma locks herself out, and-"
"-You mean to tell me the Sheriff gave you a key to allow you free reign of the Station-"
"-That's not the point! Listen! I went to the Station to try and figure this all out... I mean... I didn't know what else to do... And, I just... I wanted to be there, you know? So I went and I kept looking at those grey filing cabinets she has behind the desk and they were just bugging me!... I know I shouldn't have done it- or even know where she keeps the key- but I do, and I did, and... I found this!"
Ruby holds out a slim plastic wallet containing several legal documents that seem hatefully familiar. Taking them from the brunette with a wary glance, Regina pulls them out for a closer look and freezes as her breath catches in her throat; recognizing them to be the very same papers she had flicked past before finding the documents that had lead to her own despicable actions. Clearing her throat and running a hand through her hair, she frowns as she rifles through them.
"What... What about them?"
"Read them. It took me ages to get it too... It was like one of those puzzles they sometimes have in the paper. The ones where you know the clues are all there but you don't even really know what you're looking for... I remember, because Emma was in such a shitty mood about filing them so I offered to do it myself. She watched me to make sure I didn't screw up, and then I remember her finding this one thing on there odd... All of the property damage claims were either about the shop or Gold's house... Except this one..."
The Mayor frowns as she studies the sheet the younger woman points to with a red-chipped nail.
"Weather and natural damage caused to window and roof of 31 B Main Street?... Where's 31 B Main Street?"
"I don't know... 30-33 Main Street is an apartment building but it's separated into numbered flats. I don't know what the B stands for. It's not on the call buttons... But... Do you think... Do you think it's something?"
"I suppose we're about to find out..."