"What do you mean we can't see Mom? Where is she?"
"I'm not answering any questions until someone tells me why you're all here," Robin responded sternly, out of energy and unprepared to handle the situation he was in.
"It's my fault," Emma blurted out, "I just had a feeling that something was off. You know how I get."
"What did you think would happen once you got here? There's still a lot that we don't know about the situation here, I just barely talked to Zelena-"
"We're family, we have to stick together," Will interrupted, followed by quick agreements from Roland and Caroline.
As frustrated as Robin felt, he knew he couldn't argue with his stubborn family. He gave a long look towards the group, Emma, Killian, his children and his brother, knowing they weren't giving in without a fight. "Mom is still resting- the flight was hard on her."
"We have to let her know that we're here at least," Roland said, sounding urgent.
His father reluctantly agreed, aware that he had no other choice. Without words, Robin lead the group to the correct floor and down the long hallways. When they got to room Regina was in, he gave the door a few knocks before peeking his head in. To his relief, his wife was no longer connected to an IV. She looked peaceful with her eyes closed, wearing a blue hospital gown. Before Robin could sound a warning against waking her up, the door pushed forward, and soon the room was filled with family members, all donning concerned expressions.
"You never said she was basically admitted in the hospital," Will was the first to say, eyeing the bruises on her arm with worry.
"It's… not as bad as it looks," he replied, attempting to make the lie sound as real as it could. "They just wanted to make sure that she's alright."
Caroline stepped carefully into the room, brushing past her father and heading towards the metal hospital bed. She reached for her mother's hand, fervently holding onto it. Her touch caused the woman to stir instantly, awakening to find herself face to face with her daughter. Brown eyes narrowed in confusion as she registered her surroundings, meshing two very different worlds together.
"Wh-what…"
"We couldn't let you do this on your own," Caroline interrupted, giving her hand a squeeze.
Instead of the unflinching anger that was expected from everyone in the room, Regina laid her head back in an exhausted heap.
"We have no idea what the situation is like here," she spoke, shutting her eyes as if that would make all of the problems go away.
"And we don't need any added distractions," Robin chimed in, putting his hands on Caroline's shoulders. "I'm going to need you all to jump back in the car and turn right around- I'll let you know what information I find about Zelena."
"Dad, we can hel-"
"I can't believe you two brought them here," Robin stated, directing his frustration towards Will and Emma, "whatever is going on with Zelena is insurmountably dangerous- this is the worst place for them to be right now."
"And we're stronger together than we are apart," Emma replied, holding her ground. "We've all been out of practice from taking down villains, but we've done it before and we'll do it again."
Overwhelmed, Robin backed down and glanced back at his kids, knowing he would have to accept this new reality. "Make sure they're safe- why don't you guys go to the beach in the morning?"
A spark of interest flickered in Caroline's eyes, one that quickly dissolved once she remembered what the real reason behind their trip was. "Sure, once we help Zelena. What's the plan for that?"
On queue, the other adults stepped in. "For now, bedtime. We'll meet back up in the morning."
"Can't we stay here with Mom?" Roland asked, studying her fragile nature.
Robin gave his son a reassuring look. "I'm not going anywhere tonight. You guys enjoy the hotel."
He gave each of his kids a long and secure hug before sending them off with the others.
Emma drove with Robin down to the police station the next morning. She was secretly excited to return to a familiar place during her time as a bail bondsman- dealing with police was second nature to her. Looking over towards Robin, she wasn't surprised to see him nodding off.
"Robin!" She exclaimed, nudging him awake, "did you get any sleep last night?"
Jolting his head up, Robin noticed they were parked in front of the station. "Not really- hospital chairs aren't made for people to sleep in."
Rolling her eyes, Emma pushed a coffee cup into his hands. "You have got to start self medicating. Ready for this?"
Mugginess was soon met with the relief of crisp air conditioning as they stepped into the building. Instead of the intense momentum the hospital had, the police station was dead silent on a Wednesday morning.
"Uh, hello," Emma began, getting the attention of one of the officers' attention. "We have some questions regarding a hit and run that our… friend was in a few days ago."
"She wasn't identified until we arrived to the hospital," Robin chimed in, watching the officer's confused expression as they searched through the computer database.
"She had no identification on her, not even a drivers license," the officer remarked, looking back up towards the two. "We can't give out classified information to people that aren't fam-"
"Is being her brother in law family enough?"
The officer took a long moment before reluctantly getting up and retrieving evidence from one of the back rooms. Both Emma and Robin waited in stressed anticipation for the officer's return.
"This is all she had on her at the time of the crash," the officer stated, setting down a bag filled with various items. Each one was taken out slowly and carefully, until the table in front of them was lined.
Robin studied each item in great detail, his confusion only growing by the second. An entire stack of printed fliers peaked his interest first- he picked one up to study it further, surprised to see Zelena's face front and center, followed by the question, do you want to have power over your life again?
"She can't be serious," Emma remarked, taking the flier from him and reading the contents. A few laughs escaped from her as she flipped through the pages. "What's she trying to do, make money off of how controlling her personality is?"
Glancing around at the other items, makeup, numerous 'how to' books on how to start a business, it seemed like he was looking into another person's life entirely. He wasn't too surprised to see her level of commitment, considering how she knew everything about the magical world about three times over. Looking over the items once more, Robin's intrigue quickly turned to panic when he realized there was one thing missing.
"Is this everything?"
The officer nodded. "Were you expecting more?"
Someone else had Cora's wand.
"No, this is all we needed." Emma chimed in, not really wanting to explain to an officer of the law that they were looking for a magical weapon of destruction. They both left the station more disheartened than before, another problem added to the list. Neither of them noticed a car parked across the street from them, watching their every move.
"You're set to be discharged this afternoon," one of the nurses explained to Regina. The news immediately made Caroline hug her mother tightly. It had only been a day, but she was tired of her mom being trapped in her room against her will.
"Just as long as you continue to take the pills prescribed to you. And lay off the strenuous activities for a while- let your body heal."
Regina barely registered what the nurse was telling her, just that she was being released. "Can't I leave now? I have to meet up with my husband-"
"I'll have the doctor come in for a final analysis- then you'll be free to go."
Once the nurse left, Regina wrapped her arms securely around her daughter in return and sighed with relief. "I can't wait to leave this place behind."
Caroline smiled, allowing herself to feel some of the feelings she had pushed down during their trip down south. "Mom?"
"Hmm?"
Caroline paused. Maybe she didn't want to know the answer. "What if you die? From not eating, I mean."
She could feel the air shift like a sudden sunset, all the comfort and familiarity snuffed out entirely.
"Caroline…" her mother spoke, forcing her attention, "I'm not going to die. Not any time soon, that is. This is something really hard for me, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. Just takes time."
"You're in the hospital right now- that's where people go when they're really sick or-"
"I know. I'm going to work harder to be a better mother once this is over with, I promise. That starts with working on myself."
The ten year old hoped with every ounce of her being that her mom was telling the truth.
"I never got the chance to say how sorry I am for your birthday party," Regina continued, her transgressions resurfacing all at once. "We never got to talk about it."
She studied her daughter for a moment, feeling a wave of guilt wash over her due to all of the things she was put through. Zelena may have brought her to another realm, but it was because of her that her daughter didn't trust her.
"I- we - should've told you about your powers. I was just scared, Magic has done more harm than good in my life, and I didn't want to ruin everything we had."
She remembered how angry she was, trudging through the forest to find comfort in Zelena. It was exactly what she wanted her to do, and she played the part perfectly.
"It's okay. I learned a few things in the Enchanted Forest," she began, giving her mother a smile. "I'll have to show you some other time."
"Of course! We can do whatever we want once we get this mess sorted out."
Then Caroline remembered about the mansion, and how her mother still didn't know they were there. It was another obstacle that was waiting to be tackled. She wondered how her mom would react to knowing that she read her diary.
"Where's Roland?" The girl asked, realizing she hadn't seen him since they all left the hotel that morning.
"He, Will, and Ruby were getting lunch from what I heard. Why don't you find them and get something?"
"Sure, afterwards we can all keep you company until they let you go." She replied, getting her things together. Her mind was already working on how much time she had before Will noticed that she was missing. There was only a small window of time before her mom would be talking to Zelena, and she was prepared to get some answers before that happened.