Part Seven: The One With The John Doe
Emma sat down in bed abruptly the second she opened her eyes that morning.
She looked everywhere, all at once, already taking mental notes of how distant the door was and where the nearest window was located.
It took her a few minutes to realize that this new ambiance was in fact her bedroom.
Emma's heart calmed inside her chest as memories of the night before flashed behind her eyes.
The reason why she was in here.
Regina!
Emma rubbed her eyes and yawned not letting the thoughts of how crazy all of this was, invade her mind.
At least not until she had some coffee.
She should have left town last night.
She should be waking up in her own bed, back in her nice apartment in Boston.
The apartment that was still full of her unopened boxes.
And clean clothes.
Emma cracked her neck from one side and then the other before stretching her body, lifting her arms above her head.
She had no idea what the time was, but judging by the faint light entering the bedroom from the window, she knew it was still early.
The thought of going back to sleep tempted Emma, and she even slid under the covers again, but before she could close her eyes, Emma reached for her phone on the bedside table to look at the time and sighed.
It wasn't as early as she thought it was.
Emma pushed the sheets to the side, cursing herself for having agreed to meet Henry at his Castle before he went to school.
She had made plans with him the day before when they spent the afternoon together before she decided to leave.
She didn't even bother to tell him that she was leaving.
She just made the decision and followed through with it.
Or she tried to.
Emma was torn between the feeling battling inside of her. She felt guilty for not telling Henry she was leaving, but at the same time, that was exactly the reason why she was a loner.
She had always told herself that this was freedom.
She could come and go whenever she wanted.
She could just leave.
So, why was it so hard to do the same now?
Emma left the bedroom and walked to the bathroom at the end of the hallway.
Later.
She would analyze this later.
Preferably in fifty years or so.
Right now, she just needed a quick shower and coffee to wake up more properly.
After taking care of all of her needs in the bathroom, Emma changed into the same clothes that she have been wearing for the past two days and walked down the stairs of the loft.
"Hi, Rommie," Mary Margaret greeted her from the kitchen "Good morning"
Hi," Emma said slightly awkward "Good morning"
"I made coffee," Mary Margaret said cheerfully.
"Thanks," Emma said, walking behind Mary Margaret to the coffee machine.
"I have to go in earlier," Mary Margaret said "The kids are supposed to talk about their experience as a volunteer in the hospital today, I need to prepare the class for their debate"
"Volunteer at the hospital?" Emma asked, taking the coffee with her to the counter.
"Yes, I took my students to the hospital I work as a volunteer yesterday," Mary Margaret said "Henry seemed to take quite an interest in one of the coma patients?"
"You let kids near the coma patients?" Emma asked.
"He is a John Doe," Mary Margaret said "Nobody claimed him"
"Why was Henry interested in him?" Emma asked, sipping the coffee.
"I have no idea," Mary Margaret said, already moving in the direction of the door "I have to go. I'll see you later"
"Sure,"
Emma watched as Mary Margaret put on her coat and then scarf before turning back to Emma.
"I almost forgot," Mary Margaret said, walking to where Emma was sitting "Here"
Mary Margaret reached inside her jeans pocket and slid a key onto the counter towards Emma.
"A key?" Emma asked.
"It's my spare key," Mary Margaret smiled "The loft key"
"Oh, right," Emma nodded.
"It's yours now," Mary Margaret said cheerfully.
"Thanks," Emma said slightly embarrassed and sipped her coffee again.
"Okay," Mary Margaret kept on smiling at her although it was slightly awkward this time "I'll see you later"
"Sure," Emma nodded again.
Mary Margaret gave her back to Emma and left the loft.
Emma hardly contained the sigh of relief after the woman left.
Emma walked to the shelves in the kitchen and pick up a box of cereal and then the milk from inside the fridge, pouring them inside a bow.
When she walked back to her previous spot, Emma ate a mouthful of cereal with dripping milk while staring at the key.
She wasn't quite sure how to feel about that either.
In the past two days, Emma wasn't sure how to feel about anything anymore.
After eating breakfast, Emma took the key from the counter, shoving it inside her pocket.
She took her jacket from the hanger and left the loft, driving her beat-up bug to meet with Henry in his castle.
"You are late!" Henry said when Emma was walking to the castle.
"Morning, kid!" Emma said, climbing up to sit beside him.
"Good morning," Henry said "I have news"
"Oh?" Emma asked, "What is it?"
Henry reached for the Once Upon a Time book inside his backpack and opened it on his lap.
"I found your father," Henry said holding the book for Emma to see the image of a man in it "Prince Charming"
Emma sighed discretely, not quite sure if she was awake enough for that fairy tale nonsense this early in the morning.
"Henry…"
"He is in the hospital, in a coma," Henry said looking at her "See the scar?" He pointed at the book "He has one too"
"So?" Emma shrugged looking at Henry "Lots of people have scars"
"In the same place?" Henry asked.
And Emma just sighed again.
She barely knew the kid and she was already fed up with his nonsense.
She could only imagine how Regina was feeling.
"The curse is keeping them apart," Henry said pulling Emma out of her thoughts "Now they are stuck without each other. We need to tell Miss Blanchard we found her Prince Charming"
"Whoah, hold on kid," Emma said quickly "Telling someone there.." Emma cringed, looking for her next words "soul mate is in a coma is probably not helpful"
God, how she wished she could make him understand that.
Just this once.
"Not having a happy ending is painful enough but," Emma said "Giving someone unrealistic hope is far worse"
And Emma knew that to be true.
She experience that once before.
And she would never do it again.
No matter how tempting it was to try.
"What if I'm right?" Henry asked "We know who they are. Now they have to know"
"And how do you intend to make that happen?" Emma asked seriously.
"By reminding them," Henry said with conviction.
Henry kept on talking, but Emma didn't quite focus on what he was saying.
An idea had just popped inside her mind, dancing beautifully in her brain.
She knew how she could fix him.
This was the opportunity she needed, the thing that could make Henry believe how crazy all of this was.
Emma leaned forward, closer to Henry, looking seriously at him.
"Okay," Emma said.
"Okay?" Henry asked.
"Yeah, we'll do it, but we'll do it my way," Emma said "Let me ask her"
Henry smiled brightly at Emma who smiled back at the boy.
And then she helped him get off his castle and shipped him off to school.
Regina was in her office, finishing up a few paperwork before heading back home.
She tried several times during her day to push away thoughts of Emma from her mind.
She failed.
For most parts.
Every time she started to focus on the work in front of her, Regina caught herself wondering if Emma was already in Boston.
She wondered what she was doing.
And if she was ever going to come back again.
Not because she wanted the blonde woman to come back.
Far from it.
She just wanted to make sure that Henry was hers again.
And most importantly, she wanted to make sure that she would never feel the things she did the night before.
When Emma touched her and that wave of electricity made her blood run hotter and faster inside her veins.
When Emma sat by her side and that overwhelming scent of wildflowers and summer days invaded her nostrils.
A scent that made her heart dance inside her chest as if it was recognizing Emma as something it didn't have for a very long time.
As if Emma was a beautiful song that made her heart sing again.
Like it recognized her like home.
Regina spent nearly the whole night at home awake, trying to understand what all of that meant.
What kind of trick was it that Emma was trying to pull at her.
By the time the morning made its way through her window, Regina was only certain of one thing.
She was glad Emma wasn't in Storybrooke anymore.
But knowing that didn't stop Regina from thinking about the blonde woman during the whole day.
It didn't stop her from thinking what the hell all of that meant.
Which was why she was still in the office so late at night.
She called Henry to let him know she would come home late.
He didn't react at all. He was probably happy about it.
Regina had no idea if Henry knew that Miss Swan wasn't in Storybrooke anymore, but she knew he would blame her for it anyway.
Even if it was Emma's decision to leave.
With a little push from Regina…
Regina smiled while she signed her name at the end of the page.
She was glad Emma Swan left Storybrooke.
Glad that it was just her and Henry and her beautiful creation in the shape of a cursed town.
She liked things just the way they were.
This was her victory.
Her happy ending.
And Regina was going to do anything in her power to keep it that way.
The phone rang in the office giving Regina a scare.
Regina shook her head and reached for the phone before the annoying noise would give her a headache.
And she had no choice but to tear the head apart from the person on the other side of the line.
"Yes?" Regina answered the phone.
"It's Dr. Whale, you told me to call you if there was ever any change in the John Doe," Dr. Whale said "Something has happened"
"What?" Regina asked worriedly, rosing from the chair.
"One of your volunteers said he grabbed her and there was a slight fluctuation in brain activity"
"And who was this volunteer?" Regina asked, holding the phone more forcefully in her hand.
"Mary Margaret Blanchard"
Regina turned off the phone without bothering to say goodbye or even a thank you.
She held the phone inside her hand, letting all her hatred and rage for that person take over her body as she nearly smashed the phone to pieces.
Just the name of that hateful bitch made Regina's inside turn.
She hated her.
She was the one to blame for this curse.
She was the one to blame for everything Regina have lost.
Regina walked back to her desk and took her purse before leaving the office in a fury.
The rage was already consuming her, she could feel it in every bone, muscle, and skin.
What the hell happened?
Why did Charming react at all?
Regina had watched Mary Margaret go to him in the hospital for nearly twenty-eight years and he has never, ever reacted to her touch.
So, what was different now?
Regina entered her car and drove her usual way back to the mansion on autopilot.
Question after question after question popped inside her mind and she couldn't answer a single one of them.
Regina drove in front of Granny's and turned her head to the side, her jaw falling open when she realized what was parked in front of the diner.
A yellow bug.
And when she lifted her head to the window, she saw the blonde woman, Emma Swan, sitting across from her archy enemy laughing while sharing a meal.
Regina arrived home even angrier than when she left the Mayor's office.
She only bothered herself to see if Henry was home and when she saw her little boy in his room, Regina just walked back to hers.
It was for the best not to engage with Henry tonight.
The way Regina was feeling, the way her hands were trembling with hatred…
She was a liar!
Emma Swan was a sneaky little liar!
She told her she was leaving town, she told Regina last night on the beach that she was leaving!
She lied!
And now Regina wanted to destroy her.
How could she ever waste a single minute of her life thinking about that woman that way she did?
She was a liar just like everyone else.
Regina walked to the bathroom and took a shower, hoping the cold water would somehow ease her rage.
And by the time she rested her head on the pillow, Regina smiled.
Because Emma Swan had given her something she didn't have for a very, very long time.
Someone to destroy.
Emma was inside Granny's bathroom, pulling her shirt above her head.
God, that blouse was smelling already.
She needed to ship some of her things from Boston here to Storybrooke.
Emma picked up the silky blue blouse from the sink and brought it to her nose.
The smell of fabric softener and perfume invaded her nostrils and even though it smelled nice and she recognize the smell as Regina, it wasn't the same.
It wasn't the same scent she smelled that night on the beach, that overwhelming smell of apple blossoms and winter nights.
That scent told Emma she was home.
That she had finally found what she was looking for.
Emma shook her head, pushing away any ridiculous thoughts of that nature to the back of her mind.
She had a serious conversation to have with Henry this morning.
Today was the day Emma was going to take away all of his craziness about curses and fairy tale characters.
Or at least take the first step.
She had spoken with Mary Margaret the day before.
Asked her to go along with her plane, to take the book and read it to Jonh Doe, and then meet with her and Henry in the diner to tell him that Jonh Doe did not react to the book, or her voice or whatever.
She had left the loft early before Mary Margaret did.
Then she stopped by the mansion and threw some rocks at Henry's window and when he opened the window, Emma threw a bigger rock with a note tied to it.
Meet me at Granny's.
And bring me a shirt.
Then Emma walked back to her car, ignoring the pull she was feeling towards the window to the left.
Emma pushed the blouse through one arm and then the other, buttoning the buttons.
Then she checked herself in the mirror before leaving the bathroom while still tucking the blouse inside her jeans.
"Thanks for the shirt," Emma said and sat down across from Henry "Hey, is this your mother's?" Emma asked even though she knew the answer to that question already.
"She will never notice," Henry said while eating a pile of food Emma did not give him permission to order.
"Where does she think you are anyway?" Emma asked, looking at Henry.
"Playing Whac-A-Mole," Henry nodded conspiratorily at Emma.
"And she bought that?" Emma asked in disbelief.
"She wants to believe it, so she does," Henry said.
"Oh, imagine that," Emma said, trying to control the sarcasm in her tone and features.
Henry nodded at her as if he was considering his answer.
Then he looked in the direction of the door and smiled while the bell was still ringing.
"She's here,"
"Hey, don't get your hopes up. We're just getting started, okay?" Emma said to Henry and smiled at Mary Margaret when she took a seat next to Henry.
"He woke up," Mary Margaret said looking at Emma.
"What?" Emma asked not quite believing her ears.
"I knew it," Henry smiled.
So, Mary Margaret started to explain to her what happened when she went to the hospital and Emma scratched her arm hard when Mary Margaret told her about the connection she felt with the man.
A few days ago, she would tell her she was insane.
And maybe she was.
But then again, so would Emma be.
The main reason why she decided to stay in Storybrooke was because of that damn weird connection she felt with Regina.
Apparently, the town was full of it.
Maybe it wasn't that special after all, maybe it was something in this town.
So Emma ignored the pang of pain in her heart when she thought about the connection she felt not being real and asked Mary Margaret if she didn't actually believe that the man in the hospital was Prince Charming.
And Emma sighed relieved when she said: of course not.
But then Henry suggested they go back to the hospital and Mary Margaret simply agreed with him.
Emma was speechless and it took her quite some time to react.
And by the time she came to her sense, Mary Margaret and Henry had already vanished from the diner.
Regina was at the hospital staring at the empty hospital bed.
The bed where Charming should be… taking a nap for the rest of his miserable life.
Regina couldn't believe this was happening.
That he had somehow woken up.
Regina woke up that morning feeling both content and uneasy at the same time.
She was content for the rise of a new day.
The realization she had the night before, of the little sneaky liar that Emma Swan was, gave Regina a new purpose in life.
She wanted to destroy her now.
Not like before.
Not just sending her away from the town, from Henry, and from herself.
No, Regina wanted more, needed more.
She deserved!
Emma Swan was a liar!
And she made Regina feels things that… that brought up the second feeling that was gaining more and more room inside her heart now.
That uneasy feeling settled in Regina's heart all the way down to her stomach every time she thought about how to destroy Emma Swan.
It was like something inside of her was telling her that this was wrong.
Like she would not only destroy Emma but also part of herself in the process.
Regina supposed it was because of Henry, she was his birth mother after all.
And he looked so much like her…
But deep down Regina knew that wasn't it. Deep down Regina knew there was something more.
And Regina had no interest in going deep down.
But even on the surface, the whole morning was a mess of thoughts and double feelings.
Regina wanted to destroy Emma as much as she wanted to…
Regina shook her head and removed the burned eggs away from the flames.
She had no idea when she made her way down to the kitchen or even when she started to make eggs.
She was on autopilot, she guessed since this was what she did every morning.
Breakfast for Henry.
When Henry entered the kitchen and asked what burned and when breakfast was going to get ready, Regina just sighed.
She walked to the bin and put the burned eggs inside the trash before throwing the pan in the sink.
Henry spoke to her, but Regina didn't quite listen, which was terrible.
She wanted for so long for Henry to come and talk to her and now that he was doing just that, she couldn't be bothered to listen.
All because of that damn blonde woman.
So when Henry mentioned something about going to the Arcade that morning Regina quickly agreed.
She even walked to her study and took all the money inside her wallet and gave it to Henry.
She had no idea how much was there, it didn't matter.
Regina just gave him the money and kissed his cheek before going upstairs again, telling Henry to have breakfast at Granny's.
She heard the front door closing before she even made it to her bedroom.
And that was just another stab to her heart.
Henry couldn't wait to leave her, leave the house.
He didn't even bother to ask her if something was wrong.
Did he even wish her good morning?
Regina shook her head and head straight into the shower.
She hoped a cold shower would help her calm down somehow, make her thoughts fall back into place.
But the only thing the shower did was make her skin cold and her bones frozen.
Regina wrapped herself in a towel and walked back inside the bedroom, going straight to her closet.
She found a black pencil skirt that would have to do for that morning and then started to look for the blue grayish blouse that she always matched with that skirt.
It wasn't in the usual place.
She figured the blouse was in the hamper even though Regina couldn't remember wearing that blouse over the week.
The phone rang inside the silent room, making Regina jump.
The noise was loud and annoying her already.
Who could possibly be calling her at that hour?
Regina walked out of the closet and picked up the phone from the bedside table.
It was Whale telling her that John Doe had gone missing.
When Regina turn off the call and looked at the time, it was only seven forty-five in the morning.
And her day was already hell.
Regina walked back into her closet and picked up a random blouse that could possibly maybe remember the one she was looking for.
She put on her underwear and didn't even bother to sit to put on the pantyhose.
Then she put on her blouse, skirt, and heels before walking to the bathroom for makeup and hair.
And then she drove to the hospital.
And once again, she wasn't paying much attention when someone else was talking to her.
Whale this time.
All she knew was that Charming was awake and Regina had no idea if he had his cursed memories or not.
Which was why she needed Graham to find him before he found anyone else.
Regina saw Graham quickly leave the room they were in and when she looked through the glass door, she saw her.
Regina wished she could say her eyes moved to Snow first, she wished she could say her hands were burning to rip her heart out and then burned into ashes even without her magic.
But her eyes landed on Emma first, and then the blouse she was wearing and how perfectly it fit her.
How incredibly beautiful she looked wearing her clothes.
Regina felt her breathing quicken when she thought about how her smell was on Emma's now, lingering on every pore of her skin, branding her with her scent.
And then she saw Henry.
Right beside Emma, looking in her direction.
Apparently, lying was in his genes too.
But Regina chose to ignore her participation in it.
Regina gripped the metal handle on the bed until her hand hurt as she stared at Emma and then Henry.
She tried to control the rage inside her but the next thing she knew, she was already marching out of the room.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Regina asked, looking at both Emma and Mary Margaret at the same time.
She crouched a little and pulled Henry by the arm with more force than she intended to.
"And you," Regina looked inside his eyes, "I thought you were at the arcade. Are you lying to me?"
Regina let go of the pressure on Henry's arm, staring deep inside his eyes, waiting for an answer.
But as per usual, Henry didn't say a word to her.
"What happened to John Doe?" Mary Margaret asked, "Did someone take him?"
Regina rose to her full height, not really paying attention while Graham answered her.
She could only stare at Emma and the way her blouse was clinging around her chest due to Emma's crossed arms.
And that damn open button that showed way too much skin from her angle.
Regina never felt her throat so dry.
"What did you do?" Henry asked, taking Regina out of her sinful thoughts.
She looked down at him and saw his little face full of anger while he looked back at her.
And for once, she didn't deserve that.
"You think I have something to do with this?" Regina asked him.
"It is curious that the Mayor is here," Emma said behind him.
"I'm here because I am his emergency contact," Regina said back at Emma.
"You know him?" Mary Margaret asked.
"I found him," Regina nodded, looking at Mary Margaret "On the side of the road years ago with no ID. I brought him here"
"Mayor Mills saved his life," Dr. Whale said behind Regina.
"Will he be okay?" Mary Margaret asked worriedly.
"Okay?" Dr. Whale asked "The man's been on feeding tubes for years on constant supervision. He needs to get back here right away or, quite honestly, 'okay' might be a pipe dream."
"Well then, let's quit yapping and start looking," Emma said, already giving her back to Regina.
Regina crossed her arms and watched Emma giving two steps forward before she spoke again.
"That's what we're doing?" Regina asked, forcing Emma to stare back at her "Just stay out of this, dear. And since I clearly can't keep you away from my son, I guess I'm just going to have to keep my son away from you"
Regina reached out for Henry's hand and started to walk away, but then she stopped right next to Emma.
The disdain was just too good to pass.
"Enjoy my shirt, because that's all you're getting," Regina said to Emma.
Regina walked away with Henry not bothering to look back.
Or even acknowledging the bitter taste on her tongue when that scent that smelled like home invaded her nostrils.
Emma watched Regia go with Henry, biting the insides of her cheek.
This was one of those moments where she had no idea why she felt so attracted to Regina.
One of those moments where she wanted to sort of punch her in the face.
But she deserved that, she supposed.
She was rude when she asked Regina what she was doing there. The words came out of her lips more aggressively than what she wanted.
But Emma couldn't help it.
When she walked in and saw Regina with Graham, she couldn't help it.
He seemed to always be around Regina, always right there next to her and Emma couldn't help feeling jealous.
As ridiculous as it sounds.
She watched him, close to Regina behind the glass door, when they entered the hospital room. Saw the way he touched her back before leaving the room to talk to them.
And at that moment, Emma felt nothing but the rage inside of her.
Which was why she was so rude to Regina when she asked why she was there.
And to be fair, it was a fair question to ask.
But Regina didn't have to be so rude in return. There was no reason for her to bark back at her like that.
And the comment about the blouse…
She said that with so much venom in her tone that Emma was tending to believe she imagined the way Regina was staring at her breast.
Perhaps she did.
Emma had no idea why she had this infatuation with Regina.
They clearly hated each other.
Well, at least Regina did.
And Emma was starting to.
A movement beside her took Emma out of her thoughts. Next thing she knew she was following Mary Margaret and Graham inside the surveillance room.
She wasn't exactly sure why she was going.
It was one thing to help look for the guy out on the streets, but going to the surveillance room inside the hospital was the police's job and they were just civilians.
But Emma went along anyway.
One, because she sincerely wanted to help Mary Margaret find this guy, and two, the Storybrooke police force didn't seem to have that many people.
Which was weird.
Emma sort of got the impression that the whole police department was basically Graham.
They watched the tapes and Emma noticed something that nobody did while Graham was asking stupid questions that would never get them anywhere.
Emma noticed that they were looking at the wrong tape.
The hospital room was simply too neat and Henry's class had put up a whole bunch of decorations around the room.
The ornaments were still hanging out there.
After a small argument, the chief of security found the right footage and they saw John Doe leaving the hospital through the backdoor.
The door to the woods.
So Emma followed the rest of them out to the woods to look for John Doe.
She regretted the second her boots stepped on a mud puddle.
Her idea was to help find him around the city while driving her car, not running inside the woods where she could get lost.
They looked for him for hours.
The sun was starting to set and they still hadn't found him, until Graham suddenly stopped announcing that they were at the spot where the trail ended.
And once again, Emma couldn't help the annoyance in her voice when she asked him if he was sure.
Tracking was one of his skills after all.
And she suppressed the eye roll when he put up a little show, talking about how that was his world.
How was that guy the Sheriff?
Not even Mary Margaret bought it. She practically begged Emma to do this, asking if finding people wasn't what Emma did for a living.
It was.
But Emma looked for people in Las Vegas or New York, not in the woods of a small town in Mane.
Emma felt herself getting annoyed as she watched Graham walking from one side to the other, remembering their interaction in the hospital.
The way he touched Regina's back as if he had any right to do that.
To put his hands on her.
And then Mary Margaret started to talk again beside her, asking Emma questions about how she entered the finding people business.
That only irritated her more.
Emma vaguely answered saying that finding people was what she has always done and of course, as nosy as Mary Margaret was, she touched the sore subject of Emma's parents.
Apparently, Henry told her that Emma was an orphan too.
At least if Mary Margaret really was her mother, she knew where the nosy gene on Henry came from.
Emma nearly laughed at the thought but a noise behind her made them turn their back in the direction of the sound.
For a second, Emma thought it was some wild animal that came out from behind the trees to attack them.
And when she saw Henry running in their direction, she wished it was the wild animal.
Emma wanted to take him back home but Henry insisted that he could help, that he knew where John Doe was going.
He went on and on and on about how John Doe was looking for Mary Margaret and how much he loved her.
God, this was ridiculous.
This was not the time and the place for Henry's fairy tale nonsense.
And where the hell was Regina anyway?
Emma asked Henry about that but he said she dropped him off at the mansion and then left him.
And naturally, he thought he should come and find them in the woods.
God, she was so screwed.
She was sure that if Regina find out about this she was going to kill her. And then him. And then her again, just for the heck of it.
Emma needed to take him home.
This was no place for a child.
But then Graham shout for them and they all ran in his direction. Emma found him kneeling on the ground.
He found John Doe's hospital bracelet.
With blood around.
She should definitely take Henry back home now.
This was way too dangerous and the woods way too dark.
But as faith would have it, Graham started to run, and then Mary Margaret started to run and so did Henry.
And Emma had no choice but to go along too.
God, if Regina tried to murder her tonight, Emma was sure she deserved it.
They arrived at a river and they found John Doe.
Graham and Mary Margaret pulled him out of the water and Mary Margaret desperately tried to make him breathe again.
It was brutal, the way she was pressing his chest.
And it was brutal for Henry to watch.
Emma covered his eyes and pulled him away, trying to keep some distance, regret running into every cell of her body.
He shouldn't be there.
If John Doe died and Henry had to witness that, it may scar him deeper than the whole fairy tale nonsense.
She should have taken him home.
This was exactly the reason why she wasn't cut out to be a mother.
Regina would never let that happen, she would never let him through that.
But for some miracle, John Doe took a deep breath and opened his eyes.
Graham called for an ambulance and thirty minutes later, they were all back in the hospital, watching John Doe get medical attention through the glass door.
Until the moment when a blonde woman ran inside the room calling out a name.
David.
And then when Mary Margaret asked who the woman was, Regina's voice came behind them.
The blonde woman was his wife.
Regina explained to them who they were and then she looked at Henry, telling him he was grounded.
She felt for the kid but she couldn't exactly hold that against Regina.
The blonde woman, Katheryn, came out of the room and talked to them, explaining to them how she didn't know her husband was in the hospital.
The story was touching.
Emma could almost hear Mary Margaret's heartbreaking.
And she was almost sure so could Regina, considering how she was smiling.
Was there a story between the two of them or did Regina just hate everyone in town?
Regina called for Henry's name, telling him they were leaving.
Henry told her he needed to pick up his backpack and Emma overheard what he was telling Mary Margaret.
It was awful.
Because for a second there, Emma saw hope in Mary Margaret's eyes.
She wanted that story to be true too.
Henry left with Regina while Emma was looking between Mary Margret and John Doe… David, with his wife inside the room.
It wasn't fair.
The woman inside never claimed him.
He was at that hospital for a decade and nobody ever showed up and now he had a name, a story, a family.
It was so convenient.
Emma was sure this was a setup, but she had no idea why Regina would do that.
So, she rose from the chair she was sitting in and ran after Regina.
"Madam Mayor" Emma shout when she spotted Regina and Henry leaving the hospital.
Emma saw Regina say something to Henry before she turned to Emma.
"Miss Swan, I let you off the hook back there. Don't press it" Regina said.
"I'm sorry, but Mrs. Nolan?" Emma asked "Kind of feels like her story could be a load of crap. All this time, there's a John Doe lying around in a coma and nobody puts it in the news, nobody goes looking. Something's not right here"
"Well, what else would make sense to you? Why would Miss Nolan lie? Do you think I cast a spell on her?" Regina asked sarcastically.
"I think it's rather strange you've been his emergency contact all these years and you only found her now," Emma said, slightly annoyed.
"Well, this town is bigger than you know" Regina crossed her arms "It's entirely possible to get lost here. It's entirely possible for bad things to happen"
"And just when it's convenient you manage to solve the mystery?" Emma asked.
The threat in Regina's voice did not go unnoticed by her.
"Thanks to you" Regina smiled "That tape you found, was a stroke of genius. So, we went back and looked at past tapes. Turns out Mr. Doe's been talking in his sleep. He's been calling out for a Kathryn. After that, it wasn't hard to put the pieces together"
Emma looked down at the floor, Regina's words finally making sense inside her.
"And here I thought you and Mary Margaret would be pleased. True love won out. So bask in the moment, dear. Were it not for you two, they would have lived their lives completely alone" Regina said "That's why I'm willing to forgive your incessant rudeness. Because all this has reminded me of something oh-so very important. How grateful I am to have Henry. Because not having someone? Well, that's the worst curse imaginable"
Regina gave her back to Emma and walked away.
Emma closed her eyes, taking big gulfs of air in order to prevent the tears from falling.
She wasn't going to cry.
Emma closed her hands on a fist, digging her nails inside the flash.
She focused on the pain.
And when she opened her eyes again, the tears were gone.
Emma walked back inside the hospital to stay with Mary Margaret but she wanted to go back home.
So Emma did take her back to the loft and even offered to make dinner, but Mary Margaret just said she wasn't hungry and that she was going to bed.
And Emma did the same.
She went inside the bathroom, making a face when she saw how dirty her boots were.
Emma took a nice warm shower and when she was done, she wrapped herself around the towel and fetched her clothes from the sink.
She would deal with her boots in the morning.
She was exhausted.
Emma put the clothes on top of the bed, staring at the blue silky blouse laying in there.
She hated her.
She hated Regina.
Henry was right.
She was evil.
Emma took the blouse from the bed and brought it to her nose.
Regina's scent still lingered there, just as it did when she first put on the blouse that morning.
Emma let the towel fall to the floor and put the silk blouse on.
She told herself she just needed something to sleep in.
It had nothing to do with Regina or that smell Emma secretly wished would linger on her skin.
Emma fell onto the bed, completely exhausted from the day.
And she was only half-conscious when she brought the blouse closer to her nose before falling into the world of dreams.