Mary Margaret and David had entered Regina's house, they stood just inside the door for a minute listening for sounds of life but the house was completely silent.
"Regina?" Mary Margaret called. "Are you home? It's Mary Margaret! And David's here too. We just came to see if you're okay!"
"Regina!" David called after waiting a few moments and receiving no reply.
"Come on, let's check the rest of the house." Mary Margaret said.
"Should we split up?"
"No let's stay together, it won't take long to look around."
"Alright," David nodded his agreement as he followed her down the hallway.
They discovered that the curtains were drawn shut on all of the windows, casting the whole house in darkness.
"It's nice in here," Mary Margaret whispered taking in all of the classy decor. "I don't think I've ever actually been inside Regina's house before."
"It definitely suits her." David said before they headed into the kitchen.
After searching the entire first floor and finding not a soul, they continued on to the upper level. David hung back as Mary Margaret entered what turned out to be Henry's bedroom, he felt like if they did find Regina it would be best to give her as less a surprise as possible.
Henry's room was dark just like the rest of the house, but it was also barren, giving it a forlorn and dismal feeling. Ignoring the tug at her heart caused by the thought of any mother having to say goodbye to her child, Mary Margaret had a quick look around and returned to David, shaking her head.
David waited as Mary Margaret headed towards the next room. When she got to the doorway she stopped with her hands on the frame and quickly turned back towards David. "She's in there." Mary Margaret whispered in shock.
David immediately joined Mary Margaret. "Is she asleep?"
"I don't know… Regina?" Mary Margaret called softly into the room, certain she was going to scare the poor woman but seeing no way around it. There was no response.
Mary Margaret gathered her courage and hurried into the room, coming to a stop at Regina's side. The mayor was curled up on the bed, wearing blue silk pajamas underneath a grey housecoat and hugging an old child's toy to her chest, a teddy bear. Mary Margaret glanced up a little fearfully at David before kneeling on the floor beside the bed.
"Regina?"
Regina didn't even stir at the noise. Mary Margaret swallowed and reached out to touch the woman's arm, shaking her gently.
"She's not... Is she?" David asked cautiously, stepping closer to see if he could tell whether or not Regina was breathing.
When there was still no response Mary Margaret tried to check her pulse. The way Regina was holding the teddy bear made it difficult for Mary Margaret to feel her wrist, so she raised two fingers to her neck instead.
"Her skin is ice cold," Mary Margaret whispered.
"Do you feel a pulse?" David knelt beside her, trying to figure out what he should do.
Mary Margaret shook her head slowly.
"Wait," she breathed. "Yes, there it is! Oh thank god. But it's really weak..."
"Maybe she's just in a really deep sleep."
Mary Margaret started to stand up when her hand brushed something that had fallen under the nightstand. Reaching down she felt something cold and plastic.
"Oh no... David phone the hospital, we need an ambulance now!"
She was holding an empty pill bottle.
"Oh my god," David took out his phone and started dialing.
Mary Margaret tried shaking Regina and shouting her name, she would have a better chance of surviving if she would wake up. Mary Margaret could hear David talking as she kept trying. She noticed a glass sitting on the table and she picked it up to see if it was water that she could use to splash on Regina's face. There wasn't much liquid left in it, but a whiff from the glass told Mary Margaret that it was some sort of alcohol. In frustration she placed the cup a little too forcefully back onto the table.
"They're on their way," David informed her as he tucked his phone away.
"Why would she do this?" Mary Margaret said sadly to no one in particular.
"Hey, I have an idea, if we can get her to throw up at least some of the pills she might be stable long enough to get her to the hospital." He saw the shocked expression Mary Margaret was giving him so he added, "I can do it. It might work, it's worth a shot anyways."
Mary Margaret nodded a little faintly and stepped back so David could sit down and pull Regina into a sitting position against his chest. Mary Margaret had to look away as David forced Regina's mouth open and stuck his fingers in all the way to the back.
There was no noise and Mary Margaret was sure it hadn't worked, but a few seconds later the sound of gagging and then coughing met her ears, and she turned around in astonishment. David was holding Regina so she was facing the floor, making it easier to clear her airway. Mary Margaret composed herself just in time to see a trash bin on the other side of the nightstand and shove it in front of the mayor. The coughing sounded painful, but at least she was emptying her stomach of the toxins.
After a few minutes of horrible retching, Regina began gasping for air as she buried her face in her hands. David began to rub comforting circles on her back and Mary Margaret sat down beside them and touched the other woman's arm.
"It's okay honey," Mary Margaret soothed, "the ambulance is on its way. You're going to be alright."
Regina was shaking uncontrollably, she dropped her hands from her face which was now covered in tears and instead she wrapped her arms around her upset stomach. She closed her eyes, her expression a mess of emotions.
"What are you two even doing here? How did you know?" Regina whispered weakly, looking quite dazed.
"Emma called me this morning," Mary Margaret answered quietly. "Apparently Henry has been trying to get through to you and he's been worried about you since you haven't been answering. And it turns out he had good reason to be. Why did you try to do this?"
Regina opened her eyes, "Henry? Henry was trying to... talk to me?"
"Yes, did you not get any of the phone calls?"
Regina shook her head. Closing her eyes again. "I was out last night," she said heavily. "I forgot my phone here and I didn't go back for it because I didn't think I would need it. I guess I never checked it." She groaned from the nausea, clutching her stomach even harder. "So stupid..." she muttered, angry for doing this to herself.
David wrapped his arm around her shoulders, trying to get her to stop shivering. "It's okay. It won't hurt for long, I can hear the ambulance now. Just hang in there."
Regina wiped some of the tears away and sighed indignantly.
Mary Margaret stood up, "I'm sorry, can you two excuse me for a minute? I need to call work to tell them I'm not coming in this morning."
"You don't need to miss work for me," Regina said somewhat bitterly, "the ambulance is already on its way. You can go if you want." She was trying to keep her mask up but Mary Margaret saw right through it; Regina was embarrassed and didn't want them to witness any more of her shame.
"Don't be silly," Mary Margaret said, "I just want to make sure you're okay that's all. Besides, I'm going to have to call Emma with an update on your condition after the doctors have had a look at you."
Regina looked towards the floor and shook her head softly. Her expression suddenly changed and she grabbed for the bin that Mary Margaret had left on the floor. David held her hair back as she threw up more of the drugs.
"That's it," he said kindly. "Get it all out."
Mary Margaret held up her phone to him and he nodded in response, she left the room.
When Regina had stopped coughing she let a few more tears slip from her eyes.
David rubbed her arms as she gasped desperately for air. "How long ago did you take the pills?" He asked her in concern.
"Mmm, I don't know..." She cleared her throat. "A little before six-thirty I suppose."
"This morning?"
She nodded, covering her mouth with her hand.
"You're lucky you didn't swallow any more than you did, that's quite some time ago. You're lucky to be alive."
Feeling extremely lightheaded and weak, she allowed herself to lean back against him and shut her eyes tightly. "You must think I'm a complete idiot don't you?" She breathed heavily, trying not to whimper from the agony and humiliate herself even further.
"No actually Regina I don't... I know there must have been a good reason for your doing this." He passed her a tissue and she self-consciously wiped the corners of her mouth. David waited for a few moments. "Why did you do this?"
"I don't have to tell you that." She said, pulling her housecoat tighter around her.
"Did it have anything to do with your son leaving?"
Regina swallowed and dropped her gaze downwards again as the doorbell rang. The paramedics were let into the house by Mary Margaret and they took Regina outside to the ambulance.
As David and Mary Margaret found their own way to the hospital, Mary Margaret finally returned Emma's call to give her the news. She hoped Emma would be able to find an easier way to tell Henry what had happened.