Two days later, standing in the greenhouse watering the plants and growing trees with Big Henry, Emma was humming along to some tune in her head and moving down the line. It was just after 12 I'm the afternoon and she and Henry had been rearranging things for about an hour.
Compared to the other day, Emma was feeling better and not thinking so heavily about the things that were troubling her before. After talking with the brunette more about what had caused her to faint, she and Regina both agreed that the blonde steer clear of the fence and find other activities to occupy her time that weren't so triggering.
Mulan had finally backed off, at Emma's insistence that she was doing just fine. Like the amazing friend she come to be for Emma, Mulan suggested that the blonde could sit with her sometimes and was more than welcome to join her in practicing mindfulness.
So that's what they did that morning before starting their daily tasks. After breakfast while the prison was still calm, Mulan and Emma went to find a spot that was quiet enough and meditate.
Milan explained that she tried to keep to routine and just be one with herself in the morning and at night before bed.
"You can also try to say some positive affirmations after you wake up and just throughout the day. You can even teach Henry some to get him excited about the day." Mulan explained.
While taking care of her plants and checking the fruits and vegetables, Emma had been thinking of what to say. It was just a tiny bit embarrassing when Big Henry walked into the greenhouse and caught her saying her affirmations.
"Make sure you say them loud! And with conviction!" Mulan had told her.
So when she turned around and found Henry standing in the door she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.
"Henry!"
The older man was standing in the door with an amused smirk on his lips.
"How long have you been standing there? How much did you hear?" Emma slumped embarrassed.
"I will be mindful of my thought today!...I am at peace with what is happening and what will happen. I am a strong, confident, beautiful woman." Henry stepped into the door completely as he replayed a few of the affirmations she'd said.
Emma blushes and turned back around to finish placing a few pots in a spot that got more light.
"You have nothing to be embarrassed about, Emma." He chuckled.
"I honestly don't know if this is even going to help at all." Emma sighed.
"Keep practicing and you will find out, mija." He walked up to her side and smiled at her. "Don't give up on it so quickly or feel ashamed. I think it's a beautiful thing you're doing, admirable too, being attentive to yourself in this present moment."
"Thank you, Henry." Emma grinned appreciatively.
Henry gave her a reassuring smile and rubbed her back, before clapping his hands.
"So! What is on the to-do list today?"
From there they got to work, moving back and forth outside transferring plants and grabbing tools. They were working in comfortable silence now and Emma could hear as people were walking by and having their own conversations.
Squatting down to reach a few more plants, Emma groaned uncomfortably at the feeling she got in her throat. Breathing in deeply, she placed the spray bottle down and stopped moving all together, bracing herself.
However the feeling didn't go away and with speed she didn't know she had, Emma popped up and raced for the door. Pulling it back and quickly stepping outside, Emma rushed to the side of the greenhouse where there was more grass and let the breakfast she had just eaten a few hours ago paint the ground.
Crouching again, Emma pulled her own hair back and wretched again. Breathing and groaning, she put one knee and leaned her palm on it, waiting for more to spew out.
"Oh that is not pretty." Emma whined, spitting chuck and remaining bits out of her mouth.
Emma sighed looking at the ground until she felt a hand on her back.
"Emma. Darling, here. Drink this."
Henry was there, having witnessed the young woman race out of the greenhouse, he immediately followed. Turning the corner and seeing her kneeling in the grass, he rushed back in to grab some water for the blonde.
Still waiting to see if anything else would come up, Emma didn't immediately reach for the bottle. But when her throat felt clear, she welcomed the cool feel of the bottle against her face and then poured the water past her lips to rinse her mouth out.
"Mija, if you were feeling sick you should have told me. I would have handled things alone." Henry rubbed her back.
"No, I-" Emma sighed and closed her eyes, her skin felt clammy now. "I woke up feeling fine. I was fine. I swear."
"You passed out just a few days ago, and Regina told me about you feeling nauseous. You have to let your body rest, darling." Henry pulled out a rag from his pocket and knelt down next to Emma.
Taking the bottle, he poured a bit of the water onto the rag and pressed it to Emma's forehead and face.
"Seriously! I was fine. I listened to Doc and I made sure to get my rest. I didn't stress myself out. After I fainted I did feel nauseous for a while but i-it went away..." She groaned.
"Emma." Henry looked at her dubiously, "Tell me the truth."
Emma looked at him guiltily and sighed. "At least I thought it would." She admitted.
"You've been feeling this way for three days?" Henry asked.
"Not completely! I was fine after leaving the Medical Wing."
"But you've still felt a bit nauseous...?"
"Doc said the feeling was to be expected. I just didn't expect to actually vomit! I hate vomiting." Emma reasoned and pouted. "I don't know. I've been queasy but I think the food I ate just doesn't agree with my stomach."
Emma'd had a light breakfast this morning of hardtack and dried meat, but she wouldn't lie those canned peas from the night before did in fact look questionable.
"Do you feel better?" Henry asked as she started to stand.
"Honestly...Now I just feel crummy." Emma pouted holding the rag.
"Your color is a bit off, dear." Henry took the bottle. "Maybe you should just go lie down?"
Sighing Emma and used the rage to wipe the corner of her mouth.
"I think you're right." She ran her fingers through her hair.
"You go on. Don't worry I can finish up here." He held her hand and lead her back to the front of the green house.
"Henry, are you sure?" Emma felt bad leaving him.
"100%." Henry gave her a reassuring grin. "Go on. Rest. I don't need my daughter ripping my heart out, if she knew I even thought about letting you continue to work yourself and you are feeling poorly."
Henry chuckled and Emma did too at the thought of Regina berating her over this.
"Do you need me to escort you back?"
"No. Thank you, Henry. You've helped enough, I got it...I would kiss your cheek, but I'm really gross."
"I understand, darling. Feel better." Henry chuckled.
Emma squeezed his hand and he smiled again and nodded, watching as she started to walk off towards the building.
Stepping into the stall and under the cool spray, Emma immediately started to scrub at her skin. Eagerly wanting to wash the dirty feeling away and off of her.
She let the water run through her hair and sighed as she closed her eyes. She absolutely hated the feeling of throwing up. Thankfully she didn't feel like she would vomit again, mainly because she thinks she let it all out, outside in the grass back there.
Massaging the soap into her skin, Emma slowly titled her head from side to side. Blinking through the spray that fell over her face, Emma tried to remember the last time she had actually thrown up. She never experienced morning sickness when she was pregnant with Henry, so it had to have been years ago!
Like maybe in middle school or high school, she couldn't remember when specifically. She had been nauseous a number of times throughout her life, but actually hacking and vomiting up everything in her stomach had been rare.
She was the reserved clumsy kid growing up, not the one who got sick. That was Adam. August was always the one to break a bone or manage to go get into a fight with some other kid at school.
Turning the water off and watching the last bit of water run past her shower shoes and down the drain. Emma wrung her hair out and shivered feel the drops from her hair land on her skin. She watched the droplets run down her stomach and sides, grabbing her towel from the hook she started to dry off.
Slipping on her underwear and hurriedly putting on her blue t-shirt, Emma wrapped the towel around her damp locks. Rubbing some aloe moisturizer into her skin, she welcomed the scent of the not yet expired balm.
She ran some of through her hair as well, and picked up the brush she'd brought with her and worked it through her hair. Standing in just her panties and shirt as she braided her into a single braid, she sighed in relief and reached for her clothes. Catching glimpses of herself in the mirror this whole time, but as she bent over to pull her tights on, Emma quickly looked up and paused looking at her reflection.
Eyes going wide, as big as saucers at the thought bubble that bursted inside her head, Emma hurriedly pulled the rest of her clothes and boots on rushing out of the showers.
"Where's Doc?"
Emma stepped into the room and saw the empty white beds and only a single nurse sitting at a desk.
"He's taking a personal day, querida." Nurse Rivera spoke and looked up. "Oh Emma! Hello come in, what can I do for you?"
"Um..." Emma took an anxious breath as she stepped forward but stopped and shook her head. "Never mind. I think I'm just overthinking this."
Emma went to turn around and leave but halted again.
"Nonsense. Are you feeling unwell?" Nurse Rivera pushed. "Here come in, come in."
Standing up and usher the blonde over to sit at the end of one of the beds, Emma welcomed the weight under her as she sat.
"Honestly, Nurse Rivera I think I'm just exaggerating a bit." Emma reasoned.
"Please, call me Imelda, querida. And what do you mean? You were just in here a few days ago, yes?" Imelda stood in front of her.
"Yeah." Emma confirmed.
"Yes, I'd heard you'd been carried in here."
"I fainted."
"Did Doc determine why?"
"Mhmm. Before fainting I also had a panic attack and that was just the hammer hitting the top of the nail." Emma sighed.
"Oh, mija. You must've been so overwhelmed." Imelda grabbed her hand. "Well, why have you come back? Would you prefer I go get Doc?"
"No, I don't want to bother him I just..." Emma groaned. "Gods, he said nausea was normal after passing out. So it has to be why!"
"Why what? Are you still feeling nauseous, querida?"
"I threw up earlier, I was fine and then I suddenly got very queasy and emptied my whole stomach out onto the grass." Emma looked at the older lady. "But I thought maybe it was just something I ate, you know. Cause I'm not supposed to feel this way two days later, I've been resting like Doc said." she worried.
"Ok, just calm down...It would be alarming if you were constantly vomiting and experiencing other indicators...but this was the first time you've vomited since your fainting spell?" Imelda asked.
"Yes but I feel a bit better now." Emma nodded and sighed. "I just... I came in here because I-. I showered after and then I looked at myself in the mirror. Like really looked at myself. And I noticed I looked kinda bloated..." Emma bit her bottom lip.
"So I was coming to ask...for a pregnancy test."
"Alright...So tell me the facts again?"
"Camelot is not a building like this, it's a town." Merida started as she began to explain again.
They were all sat in the main dining hall, at a round table sat down on the benches. Only Regina, Mulan, and Jefferson were standing.
"Like a gated community?" Jefferson asked.
"Precisely." Merida nodded. "However, Arthur calls it his kingdom." she rolled her eyes. "It was still being built before everything started but they never finished. Arthur and his people found it and have been there since the beginning. They've fortified the gates, using those big shipping containers and they've piled old cars in the trees."
"It consists mainly of soldiers. Military that'd been with their families, like me and mine. Then the ones who'd evaded being selected and shipped away to fight the dead taking over the city." Fergus explained.
"So this place is secure and thriving. Sounds like a pretty good deal...but you were trying to escape. Why?" Graham asked.
"For months, people started to suddenly go missing..." Fergus frowned. "First, I noticed it was just a few people. Elderly...Then a young boy went missing, then a girl, all gradually getting younger...There's a man there, Dr. Jekyll...Arthur's afraid of him so he lets him do whatever he wants as long as he gets to be in charge." Fergus chuckled dryly. "He's a scientist, was a physician of some sort all the way from England. I confronted Arthur about the people going missing, I wasn't the only one who'd noticed people disappearing and dying...And then one day I heard them talking...For months, Jekyll has been experimenting on the people there."
Fergus revealed and everyone had an equal look of disgust wash over there features.
"What do you mean?" Kristoff asked.
"He's a fucking psychopath is what I mean! He's been conducting his experiments in hopes that he'll find a cure. At least that's what he claims..." Fergus shook his head. "Jekyll showed up with a van filled with all kinds of tubes and chemicals and things, Arthur gave him a house and he set up a lab. He would go out by himself for hours in that van, come back unloading boxes and whatnot...Always staying coupes up in his house, people rarely saw him. But he always gave me a bad feeling. Once Arthur wouldn't step up, I took matters into my own hands. Confronted him myself. He threatened me and my family and Arthur did nothing. So I wanted to get them out of there, but he sent his minions after us."
"We only got so far before they cornered us and took my mother and brothers." Merida sighed. "He was going to hurt me and then no doubt kill us, but my brothers acted out their own little diversion."
"Well...we tried."
"Ruby!"
Heads turned to the brunette as everyone else hissed out the woman's name, Regina glared at the woman.
"What?!" Ruby gaped. "We heard them out! It's unfortunate. But if this King Arthur is doing that to his own people, no telling what the hell he'll do to our people!"
"We have to help them, Ruby." Mulan frowned.
"They couldn't even help themselves, how're we going to help them?" Ruby deadpanned. "Heavy walls. Army Vets. Military grade weapons! What the hell are we gonna do? Huh? Riddle me that, Batman."
"We at least have to try." Phillip frowned and shook his head.
"So, you were in the Military, Fergus?" Regina shook her head at Ruby and steered the conversation back.
"Aye. My wife, sons and I were stationed here when everything went bad. Merida was on a boat coming over from home and we searched long and hard for each other once she got here." Fergus replied.
"Is there no one you were good friends with in Camelot? Do you have an allies?" Mulan asked.
"We thought we had...but they're all pretty much under Arthur's and Jekyll's thumb." Merida shook her head.
It had gone quiet, everyone taking glances at each other, except for Regina. Squinting her eyes, as she looked down drawing laying on the table.
"Gina?" Graham looked at her from across the round steel table.
"You were in Camelot for a good amount of time." Regina started and looked at Fergus, who nodded. "Then you know the area well?"
"Aye. Just about.
"Weak points? Openings along the gate?" Regina asked.
Merida thought about it. Her blue eyes looking into Regina's brown before she leaned forward and started sketching more details onto the paper.
"...The community was still being built and the wall was never finished, so there's construction equipment lined up at the south end of town." She explained.
"And no one's ever snuck past these spot?" Regina asked. "Tried to sneak out?"
"They've four posts set up." Fergus spoke up. "Two in the front, one at the side, one at the back."
"How many on watch?" Regina asked.
"Two men on each. But they switch shifts every few hours." Merida answered.
"How many people inside?" Mulan spoke up.
"Not many more than you have here." Merida looked at the taller woman. "150 max."
"How are they towards new members?" Regina asked.
"What are you thinking, Regina?" Graham questioned.
Standing with her hand on her hip and the other placed at the back of her neck, Regina bit the inside of her cheek as she thought about what they could do.
"Well...if we're to get them out safely...then we have to get in."