When Emma opened her eyes the next morning she awoke with a start as a multitude of questions sprang to her mind. Where was she? Where was Henry? Where was Regina? Was Regina still lying beside her? Emma's arms stretched out across the bed and quickly she was grasping at air as her hand reached over the side of the small rollaway. Hospital, she remembered. They were no longer at the house, they were no longer in Storybrooke, and they were no longer in Regina's bedroom. Emma took a moment to remember everything that had happened the night before. So much had taken place over such a short period of time that despite her momentary confusion, she felt like it had been a week since they had left home.

Emma rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling for a few moments. Daylight was spilling in through the windows and her best guess was that it was nine or ten in the morning. She was surprised at how quiet the hospital still was at this hour. Emma breathed a heavy sigh as she looked around for Henry. The bed where he had been sleeping had been removed from the room altogether and so she supposed he must have woken up a while ago. She urged herself not to worry about his whereabouts, after all there was no reason Henry would have left the hospital and as long as he stayed inside he was safe. She knew he must have gone back into Regina's room and she felt the familiar ache in her chest as she thought about the brunette. She hated that she and Henry had left her side last night but Emma had almost been hallucinating due to how tired she was. She felt much better now even though she knew she likely had not even gotten a full eight hours. Hopefully now that they were in Boston she would return to a more regular sleep schedule.

After enjoying the comfort of her bed for a few more moments, she finally forced herself to get up so that other families could use the room without feeling as if they were intruding on her rest.

When she entered the ICU she was greeted by a nurse she did not recognize, they must have switched shifts recently, Emma concluded.

"Good morning," the nurse greeted, "My name is Cathy. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah actually I did, thanks." Emma replied. "How is Regina? Has she woken up at all?"

Cathy shook her head, "no not yet. And it's still a little early to know for sure but the treatment seems to be doing its job."

Emma nodded, not entirely comforted by that. "Can I go in and see her?"

"Of course."

Emma entered the room as quietly as she could. Her heart softened when she saw Henry curled up near the foot of Regina's bed under a blanket of his own. He seemed to be sleeping quite soundly. Emma's eyes then flicked up to Regina, who looked exactly the same as she had the night before. She had not so much as even moved a hand it seemed.

"Regina..." Emma mumbled sadly. "Why did you ask for those pills?"

She saw that as promised the leather recliner had been wheeled back into the room, she was glad she would have somewhere in here to sleep that night. She knew the rollaway would likely be more comfortable but she would rather not leave Regina's side. Now that it was daytime Emma noticed the morning light trying to peek in through a large window that was hidden behind closed blinds. She wondered what kind of view there was, she had barely been paying attention last night as to what side and what level of the hospital they were on. She walked over to the window and peeked through one of the blinds. She was surprised to see a multitude of trees and greenery. She could tell that just beyond the tiny forest were more hospital buildings, but they were barely visible and she was glad to see that Regina would at least have a nice, relaxing view here. The green space seemed to have been added after the hospital was built and Emma thought that was a nice touch.

She turned around and looked at Regina again, breathing a heavy sigh. She picked up the lightweight, four-legged chair that she had nearly fallen out of the night before and pulled it up beside the bed. She sat there for only about a minute though before she found herself needing to be closer. She did not lower the railing on the side of the bed in case Henry were to shift and fall off the edge, but there was enough room at the top of the bed for her to sit down level to Regina's chest and be able to look down at her face.

"Hey Regina," she whispered, feeling the emotions rise up again as she placed her hand on the flat of the sleeping woman's shoulder. "I don't know if you know this yet but we made it, we're at the hospital." Emma's eyes drifted to the tubes that connected Regina to the filtration machine. She could see Regina's blood in the clear tubes and it felt strange to think that all night the machine had been taking the blood out of Regina's body and putting it back in. Her thoughts momentarily attributed it to the story of Frankenstein, and then immediately she felt sick as she remembered that it wasn't just a story, and that the character was a living and breathing person who had actually played a role in what brought Regina to the hospital today.

She tried to think about something else but it was too late. The horrible memory of him on top of her, his belt undone, his hands all over her. He had stripped her clothes nearly completely off and Emma had seen the look on his face as he admired the injuries created by his relentless kicking. She had wondered why he had made such scarce use of his hands for hitting her. At first she thought it had been cowardice but then she had realized, it was probably because of his occupation. His physician hands were far too precious to him to want to risk destroying while destroying something equally as precious to someone else.

Emma's heart ached and she felt her eyes watering. "I really need you to wake up." She whispered. "And when you do, I really need you to be completely here okay?" Emma sniffled as she thought about what it would feel like for Regina to finally wake up, for her to finally open her eyes and to look at Emma, only to have Regina not remember her. "I got you here, but now you need to do your part okay? Henry and I need you to remember. The two of us know that everything about your past is real, but no one at this hospital is going to believe you. They are going to think you've gone crazy and I really don't want them to treat you that way. If it's true that you don't remember the present, they'll try to convince you that everything you say about your past is false, and then you may have doubts about who you are and I really don't want you to have to go through that. So please Regina, I know you're still in there. You were just confused last night, just dreaming. I need you to be here." Emma repeated, brushing her fingers through Regina's hair. "I can't do this without you." Emma didn't quite know what this she was referring to in this instance: the hospital stay? Raising Henry? Living her life? Perhaps all of the above. "I–" Emma began but she stopped herself. Her voice was quivering as she studied Regina's features. "I need you."

Henry woke up in his mother's hospital bed. He felt much better than he had a few hours ago, and in large part it had to do with knowing that Regina was finally being looked after. He listened to the discreet sounds of the hospital equipment around him and wondered if they were starting to make her feel better yet.

Henry looked up as he realized there was a nurse in the room as well.

"Good morning." She whispered with a kind smile. Henry did not recognize her from when they had first arrived at the ICU.

Henry gave a small smile, watching the nurse as she leaned over Regina to check on her, and then observed the machines around her.

"Do you think she'll wake up soon?" He asked.

"We are remaining hopeful." The nurse replied unhelpfully. Henry wondered if that was a bad sign.

The nurse smiled at someone over Henry's shoulder and Henry turned to see that Emma had returned and was curled up in what must have been the missing armchair from the night before.

"Hey kid," she greeted, giving a tired smile. She was curled up in a blanket just like the one the nurse's had given to Henry.

"What time is it?" Henry asked.

"Around eleven AM?" Emma guessed, looking to the nurse for confirmation.

"Yes, about twenty-after." The nurse affirmed.

Henry quickly did the math in his head. "If we got here around midnight that means my mom has been asleep for almost twelve hours, she should be waking up soon right?"

Emma bit her lip as her eyes flicked to Regina's slow breathing, but still form. Every time she laid eyes on the brunette she felt a pang of sadness and fear in her heart. "Maybe, but don't forget she has days of sleep to catch up on. Ever since the cur–" Emma cut herself off just in time from allowing her exhausted brain to talk about the secrets of their town. "Ever since..." She tried to think quickly, "you know... she hasn't gotten much sleep." Emma finished quietly, allowing for the nurse to fill in the gaps about Regina's attack on her own.

"It must be so hard to see your mother like this." The nurse said softly. "No one deserves to be treated this way. She's blessed to have family like you and Emma to love and protect her." The nurse smiled up at Emma. "Not everyone has someone so devoted to them."

Emma was frowning, she was listening but up until this point she had been watching Regina. Now her brow furrowed and she looked over at the nurse.

"I've seen a lot of patients over the years and I'll still never understand how someone could hurt another person this way. I've looked after many victims of domestic abuse and it never gets easier."

"Regina's not a victim of domestic abuse." Emma replied defensively. "She was kidnapped and tortured by a psychopath."

"Oh my goodness I'm sorry," the woman reddened as she brought her hand to her lips. "I didn't mean it that way, I know she's not... all I meant is that it's always heartbreaking to see the women who have been hurt this way."

"Yeah... he's a piece of shit." Emma agreed as she fixed her gaze on Regina again, wishing again that she could have protected her. Her eyes quickly drifted towards Henry and then the nurse once she had realized what she'd said. "Sorry..." She quickly said to Henry, grimacing at her slip of vulgarity in front of him.

Henry shrugged indifferently, he knew Whale deserved that. He was watching the nurse curiously as she worked. He wondered what it must feel like to work in the ICU, to see so many severely ill people all the time, and to probably witness many of them never getting better. It must be a difficult job, but he knew she must have a strong heart to be so dedicated towards helping complete strangers.

"Henry I am just going to have to ask you to move for a minute," the nurse said. "You can come right back though, I promise. I am going to check your mother's catheter and to do so I am going to have to lift back the bed sheets and her hospital gown. It's better if you don't look for this part."

"Her what?" Henry asked.

"It's a tube that goes up inside her so she doesn't have to get up to use the bathroom." The nurse explained gently.

"C'mere kid." Emma reached out an arm to get him to come stand with her by the window. Henry got up but looked back to see what the nurse meant. She was reaching for a clear bag which he hadn't noticed earlier by the foot of the bed, and it was filled with what he supposed was urine.

"Why is it brown?" Henry asked in shock. "Is that painful? Is it blood?"

"It's not blood. It just looks like this because her kidney's can't filter out the waste." The nurse reminded him. "I know it looks frightening but don't worry, it's not something Regina can actively feel."

"Don't look Henry okay?" Emma said to him gently. She knew the nurse wasn't going to check the tube with Henry still watching.

"Did you know that was happening to her? Has it been like that for a while?"

"Yeah I knew," Emma confessed quietly.

Henry wrapped his arms tightly around her, wishing he hadn't looked in the first place. He was realizing that there was so much more wrong with his mother than he could presently understand.

"This shouldn't be happening to her Emma." Henry said as he closed his eyes. "This shouldn't be happening. She wasn't supposed to get sick."

"No she wasn't..."

It was nearing almost three in the afternoon and Emma was worrying about Regina still not having woken up. She was once again seated close to the bed and she just kept watching Regina and willing her to open her eyes. Henry had been alternating between lying beside Regina, sitting beside her, and walking around the room. Emma was feeling a little gross, she had cleaned up in the bathroom but what she really needed was to go to the apartment to take a shower.

"Emma do you think Mom is going to wake up today at all?" Henry's small voice asked from the bed beside her.

"I don't know kid. I hope so..."

"Is it bad that she's not awake yet?"

Emma breathed a heavy sigh, they had both been asking this question all day. "I don't know."

Just then there was a quiet sigh from the bed, which although the sound had been soft, hints of the oh-so-familiar voice behind the sigh were very distinct. Emma sat up instantly, leaning closer to the brunette. She would have sat on the bed next to her but she was worried about crowding her.

"Regina?" She breathed, afraid she had imagined it.

The woman was beginning to move delicately, tossing ever so slightly before her eyes slowly started to move under her eyelids.

"Mom?!" Henry eagerly sat up beside her.

Her eyelids were heavy, and although her eyes were opening now she didn't seem to have noticed Emma and Henry yet.

Regina's eyes fell closed nearly as soon as she had opened them, and for one heart stopping moment Emma worried that Regina was going to fall back to sleep. She had waited so long already, she didn't want to have to wait any longer to know how Regina was doing.

"Regina?" She said again, touching the other woman's arm gently. "Regina can you hear me?"

Regina made a noise that sounded like a question, and her eyes slowly began to blink open again.

Emma looked up to see one of the nurses entering the room.

"She's waking up!" Henry told her.

"Yes I see," the nurse smiled.

Regina gave another very soft moan, she was blinking slowly now but her eyes remained downcast.

"Regina?" Emma asked softly. "It's me, Emma."

Henry inched a little closer to Regina. "Mom?"

Regina's eyes were open now but were still heavily lidded. So far she hadn't looked at anyone.

"Mom?" Henry tried a third time, getting worried that she had yet to react to any of their voices. He looked at Emma with wide eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"Just give her some time to adjust," Emma said softly, but looking to the nurse and silently asking the same question.

The nurse however was busy paying attention to Regina and checking the monitors and equipment.

Regina screwed her eyes shut, giving a very quiet, but trembling whimper of distress.

"Regina what's wrong?" Emma asked, her eyes round with worry as she placed a gentle hand on her arm.

Regina's hands weakly lifted in attempt to remove the breathing mask, and she was shifting as if she were about to sit up as well.

"Take it easy Regina, just try to relax" the nurse said soothingly, very gently placing her hands on Regina's shoulders to indicate that she should stay lying down. "You're at the hospital okay? You're safe. Here, I can do that for you." She offered as she carefully began to remove the mask.

"Wait what are you doing?" Henry asked, "doesn't she need that to breathe?"

"No she doesn't," the nurse replied kindly. "She has been breathing just fine on her own."

Once the mask was off Regina's hand delicately reached for her stomach and she closed her eyes again.

"Regina my name is Cathy, I am a nurse here at Massachusetts General Hospital, are you in any pain?"

Regina moaned softly again and was about to turn onto her side but the nurse stopped her. "Careful Regina we've connected you to a machine to filter your blood. Just move very gently okay? If you're feeling a little queasy that can sometimes happen, it's just from the treatment. Once your body becomes more accustomed to it, it won't make you feel sick anymore. I am going to lift you up a little bit now okay?" Knowing that Regina had been trying to get up, she began to raise the bed incline so Regina wouldn't have to lie flat anymore. She did so slowly just in case Regina changed her mind.

Regina was breathing a little heavily and Emma could tell she was uneasy even though she still hadn't said anything, or had even looked at any of them. Regina did not try to turn onto her side again once she was more upright. Emma knew Regina was still awake even though her eyes were closed once more, she was anxious to know how Regina felt, and was even more anxious to find out if her Regina was still there.

"Is Dr. Montgomery here yet?" Emma asked.

"No I don't believe she will be in for another hour or two. We'll send her a message to let her know Regina is awake."

Emma nodded, silently watching as Cathy checked over Regina.

Emma kept her eyes on the brunette, while keeping a comforting arm around Henry. She knew Henry was trying his best to refrain from throwing himself into Regina's arms, and she felt horrible that he had to hold back from hugging his mother at a time when he needed her the most.

Regina moved slightly and her eyes slowly blinked open again. Emma was fixated on her, waiting with bated breath for the moment when Regina would finally look at her. Regina's gaze washed over the equipment beside her, and then down to the tube that was protruding from her skin and which was filled with her blood. To Emma, Regina seemed to pale slightly at the sight. Emma could imagine how much of a shock it would be for someone who came from a land where the medical care consisted of tonics and healing spells. Regina had been to the hospital before of course, but she had never had anything like this, and that was assuming Regina could remember Storybrooke at all.

Emma could see the slight panic in Regina's tired eyes but it did not seem to Emma that Regina was unaware of what was going on. Emma felt that the look on Regina's face was more to do with the size of the tube rather than the idea that there was a strange contraption draining the blood from her body.

"Regina?" She whispered.

The brunette didn't respond. Her eyes had closed again and she seemed to be in a little bit of discomfort.

"I think there is something wrong." Emma voiced to the nurse in worry.

"It is a lot to get used to at once." The nurse reminded her, but all the same she placed a gentle hand on Regina's temple. "Regina are you in any pain?" She asked again.

Regina didn't respond, she sniffled softly and blinked her eyes open again, finally looking around to the other side of the bed where Emma and Henry were seated. Her eyes softened when they found Henry's first. She held his gaze for a few moments but didn't reply to his quiet, quivery question of "Mom?"

Regina closed her eyes, taking in a deeper breath of relief before she opened them again and met Emma's gaze. Regina didn't say anything but Emma felt a wave of relief when she saw the recognition on the other woman's face. Regina's tear-filled eyes were soft, and there was a look in them that Emma couldn't quite read. Was it comfort? Gratitude? At the moment Emma didn't care, all that mattered was that her Regina was still there. Emma's heart warmed when she the tiniest of smiles tugging at Regina's lips.

"Hey," Emma whispered in an almost laugh, feeling her eyes once again watering emotionally. She pulled her chair as close to the bed as she possibly could, holding delicately onto one of Regina's arms with both hands. "How are you feeling?"

Regina was blinking tiredly still, she didn't respond but she did look down at her arm and reach her other hand over to hold onto one of Emma's.

"We made it Regina..." Emma whispered. "You're going to be okay."

Regina closed her eyes, allowing a tear to roll down her cheek.

"Everything looks good here," Cathy announced softly. "Why don't I give you three some privacy? Let me know if you need anything, but I'll come back in about ten minutes to see how she's feeling okay?"

"Thank you," Emma replied in an almost whisper, never taking her eyes from Regina.

"Mom do you feel any better?" Henry asked, inching even more closer.

Regina's eyes were still closed when Emma took one of her hands away from the other woman's arm in order to brush her fingers through Regina's hair, which had grown out quite a bit since Emma had first met her but was still amazingly soft.

"I was so scared Regina... I was so scared."

Regina forced her eyes open at that, listening tiredly to Emma's whispered and emotional voice.

"I was so afraid we were going to lose you."

Another tear rolled down Regina's cheek but she had a questioning look on her face.

"When they were first bringing you in they were asking you some questions..." Emma tried to explain, "but I think what with everything you went through yesterday, those last few Tylenols were finally that little bit too much for your body to handle. You were a little delirious... you told them you were from the Enchanted Forest... and you told them I was Snow White. They told us it was possible that your mind could be affected... but of course it isn't, you're too strong for that."

Regina stared at her without a response for a few seconds, before she finally breathed the tiniest laugh. "Oh no," she said in quiet amusement, speaking for the first time since waking up. "They must have thought I was crazy." She mumbled tiredly.

"No," Emma replied gently, shaking her head once. She was leaning over Regina and she was unable to refrain from continuing to brush her fingers slowly through Regina's hair, not entirely aware that she was still doing it. "They've been really good about it here. They knew it was more likely that you were just sleepy or that it was caused by a buildup of ammonia. No one thinks you're crazy." Emma smiled in soft reassurance.

"Ammonia..." Regina didn't look quite so convinced that the situation was diffused. "How much did I say?" She whispered in tired concern.

"That was literally it. Don't worry Regina you're fine. Henry told them we were watching Snow White recently, meaning it was probably still on your mind." She shrugged a little at the lie.

Regina's soft eyes directed towards her son. "Thank you Henry." She whispered.

Henry smiled in response. He hadn't taken his eyes off of Regina since she had woken up.

Regina looked back to Emma. "Do I have a buildup?" She asked quietly.

"Of ammonia? Yeah I think so... Or at least I think you did before. It was caused by a buildup of something called urea... At least that's what I think Dr. Montgomery said last night. But the hemofiltration should help with that. It will help you think more clearly."

"Montgomery..." Regina mumbled.

"Yeah she's going to be your doctor. Henry and I got to meet her last night, I really like her Regina, I think she is really going to be able to help you."

Regina gave a soft smile, closing her eyes again. "How long have we been here?" She asked softly.

"About half a day I guess, we got here around midnight last night and it's late afternoon now." Emma responded.

Regina was surprised, she didn't feel like she had slept for that long. "You haven't left at all have you?" She asked softly, her tone indicating that she already knew the answer.

"We've been here at the hospital." Emma responded. "Although I slept for about five hours in the family lounge. They brought in these little beds for me and Henry. Henry couldn't stand being away from you though, he came back almost immediately." Emma said, giving him an adoring smile and wishing she could have said the same. She was just relieved Regina hadn't woken up alone while they had been asleep.

"I'm so glad you finally got some real sleep Emma." Regina murmured, still with her eyes closed. "I don't know what I ever did to deserve you both. You didn't have to stay here overnight, you could have gone to the apartment."

"Regina..." Was all Emma could say in form of disagreement. In truth she was astounded the woman was still so sleepy, and also a little put out. She had been hoping Regina would be feeling better after nearly half a day of having the toxins filtered out of her blood.

"Mom is it okay if I lay beside you?" Henry asked in a small, hopeful voice.

Regina didn't open her eyes again but she gave a tiny nod. "Of course Henry. You don't have to ask."

Emma somewhat reluctantly pulled away so that Henry could move into the space between herself and Regina. Regina moved her arm so Henry would have room and once he was settled she wrapped her arm delicately around him. Where he rested his head on the mattress it wasn't quite level with hers, but if he had moved any higher it would have been too difficult for her to hold him. Henry wanted so badly to wrap his arms around her but he was afraid of hurting her. She seemed to have an upset stomach and he was also aware that her torso was quite battered. He sniffled as the tears welled up again and he curled himself closer to her. He felt Emma pull his blanket up over them both and then felt her place a comforting hand on his arm.

"I love you." Henry mumbled close to Regina's side. A part of him wished she had never adopted him. A tiny part of him wished she had adopted another baby instead, another kid more deserving of the love he had once not believed in. At the same time however, he never wanted to imagine his life without her or the rest of their family in it.

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A/N: Thank you for reading, please leave a review xx