Chapter 15

A ray of sunlight in her face woke Emma the next morning and caused her to turn her head away, grunting. She had no idea what time it was, but judging by the brightness, it had to be at least ten o'clock. She felt like she was rested for the first time in almost two weeks. She had already fallen asleep during the movie the day before, and after Regina had gently woken her up and put her to bed when it was over, she hadn't woken up again until now.

Sleepily, she turned to Regina's side of the bed and found that it was empty except for a note with her fine, curved handwriting on it. But she hadn't really expected anything else either, since her girlfriend usually got up early, even when she had the day off. So she reached for the note and read the words written on it.

Good morning, Emma.

I underestimated it, today is already Friday and tomorrow all this hype starts, so I had to go to City Hall. I'm sorry.

Henry only has class until noon today, so he'll be back early. I hope you were able to sleep late.

I have a confession to make though, please don't be mad: Zelena is there so you won't be alone. She is downstairs with Robin and you please call her when you want to go down the stairs! Consider that an order, Miss Swan!

I love you.

Regina

Emma was torn between being pissed and being moved. Finally, she chose the latter, because she could understand Regina. If it were the other way around, she wouldn't have left her alone either, especially not after she had to climb down the stairs in case she wanted to go to the kitchen.

With slightly aching muscles, she sat up and pushed the blanket off of her. It took a moment before the dizziness subsided, but when she stood up afterwards and stretched a little, she felt a lot better than she had the day before. Relieved about that, she grabbed her clothes and headed for the bathroom. From downstairs she heard gurgling baby sounds alternating with Zelena's unusually soft voice. Involuntarily, a smile settled on Emma's lips, as she found it touching how sweet Zelena could be when she thought no one heard her.

Actually, she didn't want to interrupt her, but she didn't want to eavesdrop either, so she called out, "Zelena? Hi! I'm awake and going to the bathroom first! Thanks for being here!"

"Don't think I'm doing this for you!" it promptly came back.

Emma grinned and closed the bathroom door behind her. She was definitely more familiar with this kind of Zelena.

It took Emma longer than usual to do everything, but since she wasn't in a hurry after all, she simply took her time and so she was able to manage everything almost without any problems. When she stepped back into the corridor, Zelena was already standing in front of the door with her arms folded and dressed in a dark green turtleneck sweater along with black jeans.

Emma looked down at herself and tilted her head. "I guess I can't keep up with my baggy look," she said dryly.

Seemingly critical, Zelena briefly eyed the beige hoodie Emma could have easily fit twice into and the sweatpants that hung low on her bony hips before shrugging her shoulders. "As long as you're not walking around here naked, I couldn't care less what you're wearing," the redheaded witch then countered. "Do you want to go downstairs? Regina put food in the fridge for you. Whatever that 's supposed to be."

Emma already had a rough idea of what it might be and nodded in response to Zelena's question. "You didn't have to come all the way up here though, I'm not that frail." Even if she lacked any appetite, she would at least try to eat something. With Zelena literally forcing her arm on her, she linked arms with her and held onto the handrail with her other hand as they stepped onto the landing. "I'm sorry Regina summoned you here. She worries too much."

Zelena didn't say a word until they reached the bottom, not turning her gaze on her until they reached the foot of the stairs. "Does she?"

"What do you mean?"

"I rather feel that her worries are very much justified," she said, leading them toward the kitchen.

Emma tried to hide her surprise and thought for a moment about her answer. "Then you also think that I can't stay here alone for two hours?"

"What I think doesn't matter."

"I do care, though." Emma followed her with her gaze, while she was already sitting at the table and Zelena was warming her a bowl with indefinable contents in the microwave. "Come on, tell me. I'm definitely not mad at you."

In response, Zelena snorted and placed the bowl with a spoon in it in front of her. "Do you think that's what I'm afraid of? That you might be mad at me?" She laughed out and took a seat across from her. "I'll tell you what I think: you're worse off than you'd admit. Maybe not today, but in general. If I were my sister, I wouldn't want to take the chance of you falling down the stairs after you've professed to be perfectly fine, either."

Emma opened her mouth and immediately closed it again. Did she really give that impression? Had Regina talked to Zelena about this bothering her? "I just want to protect her," it finally came from her thoughtfully.

"Yeah, maybe so. But stop doing that, because it only makes her feel insecure."

Hesitantly, Emma nodded, then looked around. "Where is Robin, anyway?"

"In the living room, I brought the fold-out playpen," she explained. "She often spends hours alone in it, you hear that?"

Deliberately avoiding any noise, Emma even held her breath for a moment as she listened and finally heard soft baby noises echoing in through the open kitchen door, which made her smile.

"Cute, isn't it? She tells her stuffed animals about her experiences; she always does. I'm curious to hear what she says, but I guess we won't know until she can talk properly." Finally, she nodded to the bowl on the table. "What are you waiting for? I don't think it's going to get any better if it's cold."

Indecisive, Emma stared at the greenish-yellow, gelatinous mass that also wobbled when bumped against the table.

"Did you do something wrong? Is she trying to poison you?" Zelena, who didn't miss Emma's look, wanted to know and wrinkled her nose in disgust at the sight of the food herself.

"I'm pretty sure it's incredibly healthy," she answered her, but at the same time felt her stomach rise.

"Aha. That must be true love," Zelena teased.

Pressing one hand in front of her mouth, Emma pushed the bowl away from her with the other before inhaling deeply through her nose and exhaling through her mouth. "I really love her, but I can't eat this."

"I would have been surprised if anyone could digest that either. What do you want instead?"

Surprised that Zelena wanted to make her something to eat, she looked at her. "Would you mind going to Granny's?"

Zelena grinned and stood up. "You little rebel."

"Don't rat me out to her!"

"Can't promise you that." Grinning, Zelena stood up and cleared the bowl from the table. "What will you have?"

Emma thought for a moment, imagining the taste of different dishes. "A hamburger, but no cheese, please," it finally came from her. "My wallet is in my anorak in the hallway."

"I can just about pay for that," Zelena snorted and stalked out of the kitchen.

Emma heard her go next door to the living room and eyed her when she returned once more.

"Robin's still playing. Can I leave her here alone with you for now?" the redhead wanted to know.

Emma nodded. "Of course. I'm fine." Catching Zelena's skeptical look, she added an affirming, "Really!".

Finally, Zelena took a deep breath and nodded. "Well, I'll see you in a bit. Maybe you can keep an eye on my daughter. If one hair on her head is harmed while I'm gone, I can't guarantee anything."

Emma nodded and grinned after she left. The longer she sat here, the worse her headache got, so after a few minutes she slowly got up and walked over to the living room. "Hello, Robin," she greeted the little girl sweetly, stroking her mop of hair. "We see each other way too rarely; do you even remember me?"

Quite unimpressed by Emma's appearance, Robin continued to push her stuffed animals back and forth with her clumsy little hands.

So Emma laid down on the sofa and continued to watch her from there. As soon as her head touched the pillow, she felt a slight relief from the headache. She hoped that she would not be plagued by it consistently for the next few months. When her cell phone suddenly rang, she flinched slightly and took a searching look at the display before answering the call. "Hi."

"Did I wake you?"

Emma rolled her eyes, as Regina's first sentence was already full of concern again. "No, you didn't. How are you getting on?"

"It's all right. Is Zelena behaving?" it sounded from the phone.

Her lips twisted into a grin before she answered. "Yes, everything is fine. And I'm feeling good. You don't have to worry," Emma assured her.

Regina's deep breath could be heard before she cleared her throat slightly. "I'm really sorry I just left. I told you I'd stay home, but I didn't want to wake you up to tell you about the change of plans either. I'll try to get home early."

"Just don't worry about it. You're the mayor, I don't expect you to stay away from work all the time because of me. It's fine, Regina. Take your time and don't stress, I'm just lying around somewhere most of the time anyway," Emma advised, barely able to stand her friend's rushed tone. She shouldn't put so much pressure on herself all the time because of her.

"Call me if your condition changes, though. Promise me," it only came from Regina, as if she hadn't heard her at all.

Emma sighed and nodded to herself. "I will. I promise. See you tonight."

"See you tonight. I love you."

After hanging up, Emma stared at the ceiling for a while. She wondered if things would always be this way from now on, that she would only give Regina reasons to worry. Just the idea of that was enough to make her want to scream out loud. Her headache almost drove her out of her mind, so she dejectedly turned on her side and watched Robin play for a while before closing her eyes.

Emma startled when Zelena dropped the paper bag from Granny's on the coffee table.

"Is that what you call taking care of my daughter?" Zelena asked irritably.

Immediately, Emma sat up and looked over at the playpen where Robin was still playing peacefully. She hadn't even noticed how she had fallen asleep. "She's still playing, what's the fuss?"

"You were supposed to be checking on her, not sleeping!"

"I didn't intentionally fall asleep, okay?" Emma snapped back, holding a hand to her forehead. She didn't know what it was like to not have a headache anymore at all, and slowly but surely the constant pain was making her more and more irritable. "You have no idea what it's like. I'm not myself anymore, I just have to be careful and adjust my day to how I'm feeling at the time. I hate that and I don't want to be like that, because it totally sucks!"

Zelena didn't say anything back anymore, which was enough expression that she was forgiving her, and instead went to the kitchen, only to return moments later with a glass of water and an empty plate, on which she placed Emma's hamburger. "Granny asked what kind of hamburger it was if there was no cheese on it," she said.

"I kind of can't stand cheese since chemo," Emma commented, taking the plate from her. She stared indecisively at the burger, which seemed huge and of which she had often eaten two in the past.

"Is something wrong? Eat before Regina comes home and catches you eating a burger. Because then you won't be the only one in trouble."

"Thanks for going the extra mile," it came honestly from Emma, who finally took a small bite and chewed slowly. She tried to focus on the taste and enjoy the food, but all she felt was nausea. After she swallowed, she put the plate down. "I'll try it again later." With that, she sat back and closed her eyes.

Zelena eyed her from her place in the armchair, stifling any cynical comment. Secretly, she admired Emma. Somehow she still managed to keep a straight face most of the time, thus protecting Henry and Regina from harm. Still, she didn't think she should get their hopes up too high. "They both deserve to hear from you how you feel."

Emma opened her eyes and looked at her questioningly. "Are you the expert on feelings now?"

"You're not doing well, but they're very optimistic that that will change soon. How likely are you to survive this?"

"I hadn't pegged you as giving much to statistics, Zelena," Emma smirked, pulling her knees up to her torso so she could rest her chin on them. "About 75 percent. As long as the treatments kick in and I don't get a recurrence," she finally answered her.

Zelena seemed to think for a moment as she stared at her daughter, lost in thought. "That's not so bad," she noted.

"No, it's not."

"And when will you know if the treatments are working?" she inquired further.

Astonished at the sudden interest, Emma simply answered her again. "In two weeks, they'll puncture my bone marrow again and see if the cancer cells have reduced. Why are you suddenly so extremely interested in all this?"

Zelena's right eyebrow moved upward. "You're still my sister-in-law, aren't you?"

"I am, but you haven't cared about that until now, either," Emma pointed out.

"Are you trying to get rid of me? If so, you've almost got me to the point of leaving!" she sneered at her and stood up.

"No, please, I'm sorry. It's just unusual for me to have you interested in my well-being, that's all. Don't leave." Seriously, she looked her in the eye, which caused Zelena to slowly take her seat again. "I know you care about your sister. If there's any way I can make it work, I'll make sure she doesn't get hurt, you have my word on that," Emma said softly as a particularly sharp pain between her eyes forced her to close them.

"Would you rather go back to bed?" Zelena inquired of her.

"No, I'll be all right in a minute. I don't want to lie around in bed all day, it just makes my back hurt," she replied, forcing herself to look at Zelena again, registering her thoughtful gaze. "What is it?"

"I was just thinking that I never expected to see you like this."

"Like what?"

She didn't know how to put it into words without hurting Emma. "You were always everyone's savior. You had a solution ready for everything, and when you didn't, you came up with one. But for this, there's no solution you could bring about through brawn and brains. Doesn't that make you furious?"

"You have no idea how much," she sighed. "But none of that matters, as long as only Henry and Regina can handle it to some extent. That's what I'm afraid of. That they'll both break from my condition. Everything else I can stand, but not that."

"They are the center of your life, it would be strange if it were otherwise," Zelena nodded, sitting down next to Emma so she could put an arm around her shoulders. "But they are stronger than you think. You have to give them some credit, too."

Thoughtfully, she eyed Zelena's hand hanging over her shoulder. It was a situation she never expected, and here they were, sitting together, holding each other. Why did it always take disasters like a serious illness to bring people closer together? "I do. Are you actually going to the town festival with Robin tomorrow?" she finally changed the subject, not wanting to just keep talking about the one big thing that had taken over her whole life anyway.

"I assume you'll be there," she guessed, "Then I guess I'll stop by for a bit, too."

"Regina is terribly upset about it. She says she doesn't have a head for planning it and that it's just hypocrisy anyway."

"And what do you think about it?"

"On the one hand, I think she's right," Emma admitted. "On the other hand, such occasions are now the only way to show the inhabitants how much they actually mean to each other and that they used to stick together in the Enchanted Forest, after all. Why does it suddenly have to be different now?"

"Do you think it's gotten that bad?" Zelena wanted to know.

Emma shrugged her shoulders. "They're becoming increasingly selfish. They don't begrudge each other anything anymore and everyone is only looking out for their own benefit. In itself, I wouldn't care, they're all grown people and I can't deal with each of them. But it is also reflected in my work. Vandalism, thefts, violence... When I came to Storybrooke, it was different. Sometimes I feel like the Spell of Shattered Sight has left permanent damage on some."

This statement made Zelena laugh. "You'd think it now and then, I guess you're right. But I think that kind of thing is just human. When you came here, they were all under a curse. What they did, they didn't do of their own free will, but because it was in the script Regina had laid out for them. They had no choice but to act according to it. I can't imagine Regina would have built popular unrest into her curse, so willy-nilly they were forced to behave. But now they have a choice, and with it comes the full spectrum of human emotions and reactions, and that just isn't always pretty, it can be ugly."

Impressed, Emma pursed her lips and returned Zelena's gaze. "All respect, one would think you've been thinking about this for a very long time.

"Who says I haven't?"

Emma smirked and checked her watch. "Henry will be here soon and he'll be hungry," she noted as she did so.

"I brought something from Granny's for him, too," she explained, "It's in the kitchen."

"You're the best!"

"I'll remind you of that when I get a chance!" Zelena grinned, standing up as Robin was now getting bored alone and impatiently rattled the fence of the playpen. Gently she took her daughter in her arms. "Are you hungry, my sweety? You'll get your lunch, don't worry." So she carried her into the kitchen. "I've got to feed her first before she comes down on us!", Zelena called back to Emma, leaving the young woman alone for the moment.

Emma took a deep breath and turned on the television so she wouldn't be left alone in the silence. As she zapped through the channels, she couldn't help but notice that she had hardly watched any television in the last few months. If they did, they watched movies on DVD, making them exactly the ones they all liked. So it was only now that she realized that there was absolutely nothing on that really interested her. At this time of day, there were mainly reruns of series she didn't know, or people fighting in reality shows that Emma didn't understand the point of.

After she really didn't find anything, she turned off the TV again and turned on the radio instead. The soft music immediately made her tired again and she fell asleep before she could do anything about it.