Chapter Twenty-Two
Snow White and Prince Charming were justifiably confused, who wouldn't be upon receiving news that a legally dead woman was in surgery?
All the same, Emma was grateful that they rushed over to give her and Henry company, it made the waiting room just a little less suffocating.
Somewhere around the eighth hour, Emma could feel her faith slipping. What would she do if, after all of the magical intervention, Regina succumbed to her very scientifically explainable injuries?
She very much doubted that even cursed medical school included a class on operating on a heart that had been held in suspended animation for weeks while its owner followed the sheriff around town.
Having her parents there at least meant that she was handed a coffee to cling to and vaguely listening to Henry's second attempt to explain everything that had been happening.
Apparently they'd finally found something that was difficult for Snow White to believe in.
As Henry told the tale, Emma mused that it might have been entertaining if it wasn't real.
Snow tilted her head at her vacant daughter.
"So…Regina was there the whole time? Even when you…" she trailed off, looking at Henry who had slumped back in his chair, hugging the cocoa that could no longer be considered 'hot'.
Emma blinked at the hesitation, it took a full five seconds what it was that gave her pause.
"Henry knows how I feel about Regina," she replied and the boy nodded along.
"That means that Regina…" David said, scratching at the back of his neck.
"She feels the same way," Emma confirmed.
"That's fantastic!" Snow burst out, causing Emma to sit up and look around the curious stares that had died down around the fourth hour,
Suddenly, Snow registered exactly where they were and took her daughter's hand to squeeze it.
Emma eyed the contact and glanced at Henry to make sure that he saw it too but the boy was far too preoccupied staring at the doors his mother had been taken through.
Of course, he currently had much bigger issues than whether his grandparents approved of his parents' budding relationship.
Emma found it to be an excellent distraction from picturing the potential futility of everything that they had been through.
"You really think it would be…fantastic?" Emma asked, making sure that her father felt the same way.
"Henry just said she's your True Love, how could it be anything but?" Snow replied, genuinely confused.
"Because she's also…Regina?" Emma posited which garnered attention from Henry, he stared warningly as if she was actually going to say anything bad about the woman currently in surgery.
"True Love is a strange thing," Snow replied, "Your father fell for me after I robbed him and hit him with a rock."
"I wouldn't say that it was at that exact moment that I knew," David retorted a little petulantly and Snow rolled her eyes.
Emma smiled for only a moment until she remembered where they were and it dropped back into a frown as she slumped and her mother squeezed her knee as David touched her arm.
"I know we should have told you guys this sooner, but we didn't think that…"
"She'll be okay," Snow promised.
Emma checked the clock to see that they were officially in the ninth hour and she was about to ask how she knew, but it was as if her maternal care at last summoned the doctor.
The doors flipped open and the four Charmings were standing before she reached them, wearing a tired smile.
Emma at last saw the badge announcing that Regina's surgeon was named Dr Land, but it revealed nothing else about her.
Frankly, Emma couldn't care less who this woman was beyond her ability to fix hearts, fairytale identities didn't matter right now.
The doctor clasped her hands together and cut to what they wanted to know, "It was touch and go for a while there but I'm sure that you all know how resilient Mayor Mills is. We have repaired the damage and she is stable now, it is just a matter of waiting for her to wake up while we monitor her."
Every muscle in Emma's body relaxed at the same moment and she didn't even have to listen to everything that the doctor said.
Later, she could unload every question she had, but in that moment, it only mattered that Regina Mills was alive.
Henry was of a similar mind as he replied, "Can we see her?"
The doctor inclined her head, "I should warn you, she is unconscious and intubated, it may be a little…scary…but…"
Henry shook his head, reassuring her that it was fine. Obviously the doctor couldn't appreciate that he had seen worse already.
The confidence momentarily confused Dr Land but she recovered and said, "While she is in the ICU, I'm afraid that I can only allow close family."
For a horrible moment, it occurred to Emma that bizarrely the only member of the group with a strong legal relationship to the patient was Snow White, but thankfully the doctor made no protests as Henry took a step towards the door.
Emma had to be nudged by her mother to follow suit.
"We'll be right here," Snow promised.
Emma smiled gratefully at her parents and draped her hand over her son's shoulder as they each silently followed the doctor.
Dr Land seemed wholly unconcerned with the fact that neither of them acknowledged her as they entered the ICU room.
Having had the misfortune of seeing Regina in this position before, Emma easily slipped into the seat next to the bed, not at all reacting to to her pale pallor, the tube running into her mouth and down her throat or the sheer tinniness of her frame that she didn't notice when the woman was wearing heels.
She did, however, take note of the steady rhythm of the heart monitor until she turned to find Henry standing in the doorway with widened eyes.
Perhaps Dr Land was right? This had to be a little scary at first sight.
Was this how he would have reacted if Emma had forced him to visit her like she had planned to all that time ago?
There were no feelings of contempt to cover grief this time though, just the fear of a boy who didn't want to lose his mom again.
It was for this reason that Emma held out her hand to him.
"Come on, kid," she encouraged and he finally unstuck himself to drift towards the second chair which he plopped onto absently.
Now up close, he was staring at the bandage protruding from the hospital gown that they both knew she would hate.
"I can't believe she took a bullet for me," he finally admitted in a whisper.
"Really, you can't?" Emma replied, her hand cautiously hovering over Regina's where it lay atop the blanket.
Henry sank back, staring firmly at his mother's face with a sigh, "I mean, I guess I always believed she would, I just…"
His words petered out and Emma nodded, knowing exactly what he meant.
No matter how strange things had gotten, it would always be surreal to them that Regina Mills had died in the first place.
As if breaking through some barrier, Emma dropped her hand onto Regina's and had to swallow back tears.
It was definitely colder than it should be, but it was a world away from attempting to touch a spirit.
S
The next two days were like some kind of cruel limbo.
Having faith was a strange thing for Emma Swan, she was absolutely certain that everything would end well, but she was still an inpatient woman.
What good was knowing that her happy ending was coming when the woman she loved was stubbornly unconscious?
WHy couldn't they just skip to the part where Regina woke up and proved wrong Emma's one invasive doubt about the whole thing.
Having been yet to say it aloud, she took her frustrations out another way, by stabbing her finger into the button that would give her yet more coffee.
Two days in a hospital didn't exactly do wonders for her sleep schedule, so she jumped as a hand passed over her shoulder.
She relaxed, however, upon discovering that it was only her mother.
Mary Margaret and David had been alternating between checking in on their daughter and grandson, but Emma had long since lost track of whose turn it was.
Emma turned from the steam rolling off her pouring beverage and offered Snow a weak smile, the kind that meant it wouldn't even take her mother to notice that something was off about her.
She didn' see the point in hiding her pain anymore.
"How is she?" Snow asked as Emma dropped against the drink machine.
"Breathing on her own," Emma replied with an almost proud sigh, "But still not awake."
Snow didn't remove her hand from the Saviour throughout the admission, "And what did Dr Land say?"
"She said it can take a while after major surgery, even without being cursed," Emma replied, stopping her eyes from fluttering shut.
She couldn't count how many people she had said this to in the last hour.
"You know that she will wake up, right? Snow assured, like everyone else had.
"I know, I just…miss her. I'm used to seeing her all the time," Emma said sullenly, at last finding that the conversation was going differently to the others.
If she couldn't tell her mother that she missed being haunted, then who could she tell.
The issue with choosing her mother was that the woman was able to see beyond the exhausted frown that was on full display for everyone else.
"Is there something else, sweetheart?" Snow asked softly.
Emma sucked in a breath, but she knew that she had to say it now.
Squirming against the drink machine, she said, "Well…it's just…we don't really know how the curse worked. What if…she doesn't remember anything after…the school incident?"
Snow's expression didn't budge during the stumbling words and she apparently had a response prepared, "She is your True Love, look at what you have already overcome. Don't you think that you can handle telling her how you feel again?"
Emma hung her head, "It wasn't the easiest conversation I've ever had."
"At least you know that she will be sticking around this time," Snow offered and Emma reluctantly looked up with a wistful grin at the prospect.
Her mother mirrored it and Emma at last retrieved the beverage that was only supposed to be a temporary distraction.
"You're right," she said, "I'm gonna see if Henry needs anything."
Snow inclined her head, and Emma left her to choose her own beverage as she veered towards the blissfully private room that Regina had been moved to the day before.
Thoughts of making sure that Henry had everything he needed flew from her mind at what met her and she said, "Woah kid, lighten up a bit, you'll pop her sutures."
Henry frowned but dutifully removed his arms from around the unconscious woman to sit up while still staring at his mother from his position next to her on the bed.
He pulled some hair from her face while Emma took the seat beside them.
Emma watched the interaction with her head tilted.
She had thought that extubation would improve the mayor's dire image, but she still wasn't quite the Regina that they were both waiting for. All of the other tubes and wires keeping her alive prevented her from being at all close to the imposing woman who had asked her if she wanted apple cider.
Not allowing her mind to drift to considering just how much had changed since then, Emma sipped at her scolding drink.
"Why hasn't she woken up?" Henry asked, not looking away from his mother as he shifted to sit with his legs crossed as if it would give him a better view of her passive expression.
"True Love's Kiss doesn't fix bullet wounds, Henry," Emma replied, "She had heart surgery and that is a big deal but the doctors said that everything looks normal and she will wake up when she's ready. Besides, she hasn't had any sleep lately, she must be pretty exhausted."
This did nothing for the pinch in Henry's brow, but he took the chance to follow up with another pertinent point that was undoubtedly on a lot of people's minds now that Doctor Whale (and Jefferson) were contained in jail awaiting trial.
"How do we know that we can trust Dr Land?"
"I checked," Emma said, crossing her legs, "The Evil Queen never met her and she prefers Storybrooke to the Enchanted Forest. We should be good."
Henry rubbed at his eyes but nodded and Emma couldn't resist leaning over to drag away a stray eyelash from Regina's cheek.
She looked up to find Henry narrowing his eyes and she sat bolt upright.
"What?" she asked, nervously.
"What are your intentions with my mother?" he demanded.
"Are you serious, Henry?" Emma laughed.
"After…everything, I need to know that you're sure. She can't get hurt again, so what exactly do you want?" he insisted.
Emma glanced at Regina, as if she would choose this very moment to wake up just to help her out.
Of course, she didn't, so Emma swallowed hard and shifted to give her some time before returning to Henry's daring gaze.
"I…want to be…her girlfriend," Emma replied, assuming that the boy couldn't be looking for more detail than that.
To her great surprise, he reached down to pull a comic from his backpack and lay back next to Regina as he opened it.
Emma continued to stare but Henry said nothing else, like he didn't appreciate the gravity of what she'd just said.
He seemed to feel her gaze though, so he replied, "That's good."
Emma shook her head and took Regina's hand to centre herself as she asked, "Do you need anything, kid?"
"I'm kind of hungry," he admitted.
Emma blew out a breath and stood, abandoning her coffee in favour of her jacket.
Perhaps fresh air wouldn't be the worst idea?
"One Granny's coming up," she said, halting unsurely for a moment. This was the first time she was leaving the hospital in forty-eight hours, so she wasn't sure of the protocol. Ultimately, she decided to do what she really wanted to and pressed her lips against Regina's forehead.
Henry's lips perked up as Emma approached the door and said, "I'll get Snow to sit with your guys."
"Okay," Henry replied.
Emma hesitated at the door, taking a moment to listen to Henry addressing Regina:
"I'm not sure if you've been reading the new Avengers mom, but it's really good…"
Emma succeeded in forming a real smile as he began to read aloud and she finally pushed the door, curious if she would remember what the outside world was like.
S
Under the circumstances, Emma was sure that she shouldn't have a spring in her step while she walked towards Granny's.
The woman she loved had been out cold for two days, which was agony, but things were shaping up to be perfect very soon.
Regina would wake up, Henry would have all of the parents he needed and her own parents were going to be supportive when she asked Regina on a date.
It didn't matter whether Regina remembered. That woman was her True Love and she would make sure that she knew that, no matter how long it took.
The point was that she was now sure that she was going to get the opportunity that should have been torn away from her.
There was nothing quite like a bright future to carry her happily through the streets of Storybrooke until she reached the diner and halted at the fence.
Sticking out like a sore thumb, and yet wholly ignored, a man stood watching all of the fairytale characters milling about their deceptively mundane lives.
Honestly, Emma had expected an uproar about the return of the Evil Queen to disintegrate the calm atmosphere of the town, but it turned out that a very small vocal minority were not enough to form a mob.
Presumably it had something to do with Snow WHite and Prince Charming being so openly happy about the turn of events that must seem so strange to everyone else?
Emma was not at all surprised that no one gave her a second look as she stopped up besides Isaac.
If she wasn't so grateful towards the mysterious imp, she may have questioned exactly what his abilities were. As it was, she couldn't be suspicious after what he had given her family.
Isaac didn't remove his gaze from the bustling diner and Emma had to wonder how much he knew about all of these people as he asked, "I take it by the lightness in your step that my proposal worked?"
"So far," Emma replied, crossing her arms as her breath came out in visible clouds, "She still hasn't woken up."
Isaac wrenched his face from Granny's, wearing that smile that Emma would have once thought had to be exhausting.
"Do you believe there is any chance that she won't wake up?" Isaac asked.
"No, I know she will," Emma said without thought.
"That is excellent," Isaac sighed contentedly and Emma eyed him.
"Not that I'm complaining but…Why do you care so much about Regina? You said she's a story to you, so how can you be so invested?" Emma asked, trying very hard not to sound ungrateful.
Isaac shrugged, "It's my job to be extremely invested, I couldn't resist rewriting injustice."
Emma tilted her head, "So this is like real life FanFiction to you?"
Isaac laughed heartily and Emma shoved her hands into her pockets, "I suppose that's one way of looking at it," he said.
Something pinged in Emma, so she replied, "But it's more than that, isn't it?"
Obviously impressed, Isaac inclined his head, "I have been searching for an apprentice for a while and the Truest Believer was the obvious choice."
Emma pinched her brow, "You want to recruit my son?"
Isaac slowly shook his head, "Not just yet, he is a touch too young for the responsibility."
"Then…why?"
"Imagine for a moment what Henry would be like without my intervention if the tether had been broken?" Isaac pondered and Emma finally got the sense that he knew that he was talking about real people, "It may have taken him longer, but eventually, he would have been crushed under the weight of his grief with no outlet to contact his late mother. It is not exactly a recipe for the belief and creativity that is required in this role. After years of love from both of his mothers, I can see that being very different."
That should have all sounded insane to Emma, but it was now fairly standard after everything that happened since she met her son.
It was for this reason that she managed an easy smile, "I guess I'll see you in a few years?"
"I look forward to it, Saviour," Isaac said, moving abc from the thriving din.
"Thank you, Isaac," Emma sighed, pulling out her phone as it buzzed against her hand.
"You are most welcome," the Author's voice faded as Emma accepted the incoming call.
"Hey Mary Margaret," Emma greeted.
"Emma!" her mother replied and she paused in her attempt to finish the distance to the diner entrance, "Regina is awake!"