A/N: First off thank you to everyone who read and left comments on Missed Call! I loved and appreciated all of your kind reviews. You can rest assured that that little story has absolutely nothing to do with the plot of this story, but it was definitely born from this one. I hope you like this update, sorry it's a little short. I felt like waiting any more than the 60 days it's been since the last update would be unfair to you xx

It was getting late in the day and Henry had curled up in the recliner of his mother's hospital room and fallen to sleep. Emma was seated beside the bed, she and Regina had been talking softly to each other so as not to wake up their sleeping son.

Regina ran her fingers softly over a small row of stitches on her arm. "It's going to scar... I know it is."

Emma nodded softly, she knew it would be wrong to disagree. "It might. But even if it does it's not going to be that bad, it's a good kind of mark."

"How is it good?"

"Because these marks will represent the medical care that saved your life."

Regina reached delicately for the new dialysis entrance on the higher part of her chest, closer to her collar bone. This was a procedure done the previous night by Dr. Montgomery. Regina frowned, for she knew this one too was likely to scar. "That's easy for you to say, you're not the one who is going to be stuck with these marks all over you for the rest of your life."

"Regina..." Emma said reprovingly. "At least you will have the rest of your life."

The brunette did not respond. "And this one..." Regina reached once more for the stitches on her arm, "this one will certainly not be a good mark. It will always just be a reminder of... of him."

Emma suppressed a sigh, there was nothing she could really say to argue with that because Regina was right. While the dialysis Whale had given her that night had kept Regina alive, the entrance he had made in her arm would not have been necessary if she had not been kidnapped in the first place; Boston would have started their own treatment as soon as she was admitted.

"I'm sorry." Was all Emma could think of to say.

"I wish they would have asked before they put it here." Regina mumbled. She was looking down at her chest as her fingers traced the tubes protruding from her skin.

"How could they have asked? You were asleep when they did the procedure." Emma reminded her gently.

"Well then they should have asked you."

"And I would have told them to put the access wherever they thought was best, which I am pretty sure they did." Emma replied with an amused twinkle in her eye.

Regina did not smile. She would not say it aloud yet but she was upset because she knew it would affect the way she would be able to hold Henry. Often when he cuddled up beside her he would curl up in her embrace and rest against her chest and shoulder, but now that was where the hemofiltration access was. Henry had been able to find a comfortable position beside her earlier on, but it just wasn't the same.

"Come on where were they supposed to put it?" Emma asked softly.

"I don't know, somewhere less conspicuous."

"Regina they were considering putting it in your neck, I'd say you lucked out."

Regina's expression changed and her fingers reached for her neck, she suddenly looked quite bothered. Emma instantly felt bad.

"Regina they had to do it, you know they had to, this is the only way you're going to get better."

"Well if Whale hadn't practically destroyed the skin on my arms with his stupid needles and so-called treatment then maybe Montgomery could have put the new access where Whale put his." Regina snapped angrily with an emotional quiver to her voice.

"I don't know about that, I think it was a different type of dialysis that he gave you..." Emma tried to reason softly, not really knowing if that actually made a difference but wanting Regina to feel better about it all the same.

Regina sighed, her anger dissipated instantly. "I must look like a mess." She mumbled, covering her face briefly with her hands . The comment may have seemed out of the blue, but Emma knew it was very relevant to the incisions that would become future scars.

Emma's heart went out to her. "Regina look at me," she said softly.

Sorrowful brown eyes raised to meet gentle blue ones.

"What do you see?" Emma asked, gesturing to herself.

Regina breathed a tiny, sarcastic laugh. "I see you." She responded a little dryly.

"Exactly, you see me, Emma. Just the same old Emma. And do you know what I see when I look at you?"

Regina was silent as she held her friend's gaze.

"All I see is you Regina. All I see is the same Regina I've always known. Sure maybe you are a little thinner and a littler paler, but that's nothing a little sunshine and proper nutrition won't be able to fix."

"You're forgetting about the injuries." Regina replied with a quirk of her eyebrow.

"They will heal with time. And Regina, if you do get a few scars from the treatment who cares? They'll still be beautiful because they will be a part of you, and nothing about you could ever be not be beautiful."

Regina gave her a look. "Emma please don't lie to me... you shouldn't say things you don't mean just to try to make me feel better." She replied quietly, shaking her a head a little and closing her eyes as she felt tears forming. "I'm not..." She sniffled, taking in a shaky breath. "And not everything about me is. Look at my history for one, my past certainly isn't beautiful. It was dark... and painful, I hurt a lot of people."

"I know and it kills me that you had to go through all of that, but Regina to me? Your past is what led you here to me and Henry. That to me is beautiful because I don't for one second want to imagine a life for myself that you and Henry aren't a part of. I used to feel sorry for myself: my parents abandoned me... I had no one to turn to..." Emma breathed a heavy sigh. "I used to wish more than anything that I could turn back time and change my parents' minds so that they would have kept me and given me a home, but that wish has changed now Regina. Because of you I can see that everything in my life was always meant to lead up to us all finding each other." Emma glanced back towards Henry. "If you had never cast the curse I would have been born in the Enchanted Forest."

"And that's a bad thing?"

Emma turned back to Regina. "Yes. Sure I would have had my parents, but I would never have had Henry and I probably would have been raised to hate you. You would have been alone and I just can't bear the thought of that." Emma said with a catch in her voice. "I grew up without my parents and yeah... that really sucked, but somehow they still ended up a part of my life. If they had raised me I don't know if I ever would have had the chance to really get to know you. You would have just been the old lady that tried to kill my mother."

"Old lady?" Regina's voice raised in minor offence.

"Well I mean yeah. The day I was born weren't you technically just a year younger than you are now?" Emma grinned.

"Yes I suppose I was." Regina responded thoughtfully.

Emma's features relaxed as she finally saw a small smile tugging at Regina's lips. "Anyways back to my original point..." She went on softly. "History and all, scars and all, you are still beautiful Regina." Emma said softly. "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

Regina's breath caught in her throat as she looked over at Emma in disbelieving wonder. "What?"

Emma's heart skipped a beat as her color rose a little. "You're my best friend, I wouldn't lie to you about something like this." She amended seamlessly, forcing herself to appear calm despite the fire storm of nerves suddenly raging inside her.

Regina didn't know how to respond. She felt emotional tears filling her eyes at the words. She knew Emma was just trying to make her feel better, but either way it was still a nice thing to hear. "No one has ever said that to me before." She finally whispered.

"What?" Emma breathed in genuine surprise. She felt a tug of sadness in her heart. In her opinion, if anyone deserved to hear that on occasion it was Regina. Emma quickly developed a resentment towards the man Regina had been married to so many years ago. So too towards Daniel, towards Graham, towards any partner Regina may have ever had. Clearly they had not treasured her as anyone lucky enough to have the privilege of being with Regina should have.

"Most beautiful..." Regina repeated closing her eyes.

Emma's eyes softened. "Well believe me it's true, I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true."

Emma..." Regina dropped her gaze, shaking her head softly in disbelief as she closed her eyes.

Noticing that Regina still believed she was just trying to make her feel better, Emma took a hold of the brunette's hand. "I mean it Regina." She said with feeling.

Regina's expression softened as she looked down at their entwined hands. She drew Emma's hand up to her chest and held it in both of hers, giving the blonde a warm, grateful look. "Emma look at me." She stated in quiet denial. "I'm as pale as a ghost, there are bags under my eyes, I haven't been to the salon in months..." She ran her fingers through her longer than usual hair before placing her hand on top of Emma's once more. "I know you can't possibly mean what you are saying... but all the same, I do appreciate your efforts."

Emma moved from her chair to sit on the bed beside Regina. With her free hand she too ran a gentle hand through the other woman's hair. "None of that matters, you're still you to me and nothing could ever change that."

"Emma..." Regina whispered, shaking her head again as she felt her eyes swimming with more tears.

She did not know whether the new medications were to blame for her emotions, but Regina reached up for the blonde, needing the contact. Emma changed her position to lean back against the bed incline beside Regina, she took the brunette into her arms and felt a flood of affection as she heard Regina's soft cry. She very carefully gathered Regina close, she had missed being able to hold her. Lately either Henry had been occupying the space beside his adoptive mother, or Emma had not wanted to get in the way of the hospital equipment that was helping Regina. She began to brush her fingers through her friend's soft brown hair again. "And to be honest Regina? I think the longer hair suits you."

Regina hummed gratefully. She closed her eyes as she felt herself relaxing against the other woman for the first time since they had left Storybrooke. They were both silent for a few minutes, simply enjoying each other's company in the quiet, safe hospital ward.

"So what do you wish for now?" Regina asked softly.

"Hm?" Emma asked, blinking her eyes open.

"You said your wish has changed, what is it you dream of now?"

Emma considered this for a few moments, but only one answer felt right. "All I want is for you to get better Regina."

It was a little bit later, and for the hundredth time that day Regina gently touched the set of stitches on her arm. She was disturbed that there were still aspects of her kidnapping that she didn't know about. Back at that house she had known Whale had been treating her because she could feel the difference in the morning when she had woken up on the floor of that cold, horrible basement. However she had not known the details until her medical team here in Boston had enlightened her. The drugs given to her by Whale had made everything foggy, and if there had been any pain in her arm her attention had not been specifically drawn to it because every part of her had been aching at the time.

After having moved out of the way so the nurses could check on Regina, Emma was once again in the chair next to the hospital bed. She was watching as the brunette grimly touched the stitches.

"Did you know Whale had you on dialysis?" Emma asked softly. "You never mentioned it."

Regina gave a tiny shake of her head. "No." She replied softly. "There were so many different things he gave to me... and for the entire night I was mostly unconscious... it wasn't until the morning that he started giving me the injections to keep me awake."

"Was he drugging you overnight or was he just letting you sleep on your own?"

"A bit of both I think. I am certain he gave me something to keep me drowsy... I woke up every once in a while but everything was very hazy... I would sometimes catch bits of their conversations but I don't think I was ever awake for much more than a few seconds."

"Did you feel better in the morning? Do you think he gave you the dialysis overnight?"

"I wondered if he had... I knew he had been treating me with something because otherwise I am not sure I would have made it through the night. But of course he wouldn't tell me much of anything. He even led me to believe that you were dead... or hurt... Again, he wouldn't tell me."

"You thought I was dead?" Emma asked in soft surprise. Regina had never mentioned that part.

Tears welled up in Regina's eyes as she remembered. She nodded softly. "I thought there was chance you could be. I knew someone besides me had been hurt that night and I knew it wasn't anyone who had been home with me before the fire."

"How did you know it wasn't any of them?

"I overheard part of a conversation." Regina shook her head as she thought back. "I had no idea it was that poor little girl. I asked Whale about you and of course he decided to taunt me instead of telling me the truth." Regina sniffled, dropping her gaze. "I didn't think I was ever going to make it out of there Emma. I didn't think I was ever going to see you or Henry again."

Emma reached gently for Regina's arm, giving her an understanding smile.

Regina took in a deep breath, shaking her head slightly to get herself to focus. "Anyways... to answer your first question, yes, it was probably during the night that he gave me the dialysis. I was so out of it they could have done anything to me and I would never know it." Regina's expression changed when she realized what she had said. She hadn't given it much thought before.

The color drained from Emma's face at that last remark too, she didn't like that thought at all. She hated them, she hated them so much.

Regina seemed to have the same feelings, she dropped her gaze and shifted uncomfortably, wrapping her arms defensively around herself.

Regina's eyes flicked back up to Emma's. She felt cold all of a sudden. "I'm certain they didn't do anything..." She insisted quietly. "If they had Sidney wouldn't have been so nervous... and to be honest I don't think Whale was going to up until he realized that Sidney wouldn't."

"Are you sure?" Emma asked quietly.

"Yes. Nothing happened."

Emma nodded. She hoped to everything that Regina was right.

Regina pulled the blanket over her arm so that she would not have to see the remnants of Whale's handiwork on herself anymore. She wished the hospital gown had longer sleeves. "You didn't see these stitches either?" Regina asked, knowing that Emma had been far more alert than she herself was when Emma and Snow had bathed and dressed her after her rescue.

Emma's expression was soft. "You asked me not to look, remember? My eyes were on yours the whole time."

Regina nodded, giving her a gentle smile. Soon her brown eyes dropped away from Emma's, and Regina gave a small shake of her head, breathing a humorless laugh in spite of herself.

"What is it?" Emma asked.

"That was a damned stupid time to be self conscious wasn't it?" Regina asked. There were tears in her eyes and a pained sort of smile on her face. "You were only trying to help me."

"Hey, no," Emma insisted soothingly. "Anyone in your position would have been."

Regina met her gaze again. "You think so?"

"I do. And Regina I actually thought it was very brave of you to ask for help. I think if it had been me I would have wanted to get cleaned up but would have just let myself suffer through it rather than ask anyone."

Regina eyed her sideways. "Knowing how stubborn you can be you probably would have just dragged yourself up those stairs and did the whole thing yourself." She teased.

Emma laughed softly, but despite the lighthearted intent Emma could detect a hidden sadness behind Regina's words. She reached for Regina's hand. "But it's important for anyone to ask for help when they need it. It shows strength."

Regina had fallen back to sleep and Emma used the time to call home to Storybrooke. She was currently standing outside of the hospital as she waited for one of her parents to pick up the phone. It was starting to get dark and the air was a little too chilly, but she had not felt like walking back to the parking garage to fetch something warmer from the car. She was thankful for the warmth of the building behind her as she breathed in the crisp, evening air.

Soon the outgoing ringing of the phone cut off. "Hello?" A familiar voice answered.

"David hey, it's me." Emma replied, realizing how much hearing his voice calmed her.

"Emma! How is everything going over there? I was getting worried when you didn't respond to our texts. The last thing we heard from you was that you had made it to Boston."

"Yeah, sorry about that... Regina is in the ICU and they don't allow phones in there; something to do with waves interfering with the monitors. She's doing well I think. She's still really tired but I think she's still just getting used to the treatment. Either way she seems to be in a much better place emotionally now that she is away from Storybrooke."

"She is?" David sounded relieved.

"Yeah. She's still hurting obviously... the mental impact of all of this is going to take some time to get through, but I can tell she at least feels safe here."

"That's good to hear. I am glad you all arrived okay."

"Yeah... we almost stopped at a different hospital along the way though, Regina had a pretty rough trip."

"Why didn't you?"

"Well I had Henry look one up but he couldn't find it... He's upset with himself for missing it but I honestly think the app on my phone just didn't pick it up."

"Well that's not his fault then."

"I know, I've tried telling him that it's okay but he's still acting guilty. Regina lost consciousness by the time we got to Boston and he thinks it's his fault, but honestly it could have happened even if we had gone to another hospital."

"How is Henry doing now?"

"He's been practically glued to Regina's side ever since they let us in to see her last night. I'm sure he'll get over the guilt once Regina starts feeling better, he's just scared right now that's all. How about you and Mary Margaret? Please tell me no one is after you guys for helping us." Emma asked with a nervous edge to her voice.

"We're fine. No mobs at our doorstep so far. Your mother's arm is still hurting but she's going to be alright. I just want her to rest it for now. I would ask if you want to talk to her but she's taking a nap, she didn't sleep much last night."

Emma felt a wave of guilt. She should have kept her parents more up to date throughout the night. "Tell her not to worry anymore. We're all safe and Regina is slowly on the mend. Are you guys still at Regina's?"

"We're back at the loft now but we stayed at the house last night. All of our things were still there, it was late when we got back and Snow needed to rest. I hope that's okay."

"Yeah it's totally fine. In fact Regina asked me to tell you that you're both welcome to stay there as long as you want."

"That's kind of her. How did everything go last night? Did you have to wait a bit before Regina was admitted?"

"Actually no... the ER was overflowing but Regina was unconscious when we arrived. I told them she had been having trouble breathing so they took her in right away. Oh that actually reminds me, thank you so much for calling Dr. Montgomery last night. After your call she stayed late so she could be here to help Regina when we arrived. Thank you, I think Regina really needed her."

"It was no problem at all. What is she like? Better than Whale I bet." David ended a little grimly.

"Waaay better." Emma agreed. "She's great. Unlike Whale I can tell she really cares about her patients, Regina's not just some science experiment to her."

"I'm glad Regina is in safe hands. I hope she'll start to feel better soon."

"Me too. I think a lot of what Whale gave her is out of her system now... last night she was a little delirious but she seems much better now. Now all she needs is time and rest."

XxXxXxXxX

A/N: Thank you for reading, please review! Take care xx