Holy crap! Hello! What has it been, like a month? More?! Who knows! But that's what happens when you are poor and have no internet for over a month. We are back on track now I think so I'll post as much as I can. I haven't even written on this since way back. But thankfully I like to write way ahead of my postings so I have the next 4ish chapters written already. But I need to finish it. Okay, anywho...

Enjoy!

Wake up, Emma

From where she fell asleep in her tears on the floor, she was unsure of how she made it back into Regina's room where she found herself waking up. The paper white walls cleared in her vision as she rubbed the sleeplessness from her eyes. The air was heavier than she remembered it and she could smell a hint of the apple cinnamon perfume Regina had always worn. She could vaguely remember being carried by someone but her brain was so fogged like when she first saw Regina wake up, that it didn't seem real.

She could feel her head spinning and the picture that had begun forming in front of her face was not at all what she was expecting. Standing before her in the same clothes she remembered the woman wearing the day of the accident, her hospital gown folded neatly on the bed behind her, was Regina. Emma sat straight up from the couch and looked up at the woman, tears forming in her eyes while her brain was trying to make sense of what she was seeing. She looked down at her hands and around the room, wondering if this was some kind of vision or dream that she was caught in, but she felt real, and the room was real, and Regina was real. Emma focused her eyes back up at Regina with a confused look, her tears breaking away from her eyes and a hint of words playing on her lips. There was not a blemish on her. No cuts, no broken bones, no bruises, just her.

The brunette stared down at Emma with the most gentle and loving smile Emma had ever seen. Emma didn't know what to do. She could have reached out, she could have run, she could have just curled up and tried to burn away the vison, but she could do none of those things.

"Hello, Emma." The voice was an echoed whisper in her ears and she closed her eyes to the sound taking it all in, trying to understand it. It moved through her body, down her spine all the way to her toes sending goose bumps all over her skin. A single tear fell and she sucked in the cool air as she felt Regina's hand touch her cold cheek ever so gently.

"I was so scared." Emma managed. She opened her eyes and pushed her cheek against Regina's hand. Taking hold of the soft skin in her own rough hands she felt as if the weight of the world was slowly lifting from her shoulders. She didn't want to let go. She couldn't let go. Not again.

"Do not be afraid." Her voice was ghostly and it caused Emma's heart to race. Deep down she wanted to know this was real, but a fear of uncertainty suddenly overwhelmed her.

"Tell me what to do." Emma pleaded taking in the warmth of the woman in front of her. She looked up at Regina only to see her image begin drifting away like smoke being carried away by the wind.

"No." Emma began to panic.

"Find me, Emma." A voice called out but it was much more distant this time and seemed to come from somewhere else besides Regina. The warmth on Emma's face disappeared and her breath hitched at the entrance of the coldness on her cheek.

"No. Please." Emma reached out for her, but she was fading fast.

"Find me." The voice lingered in her mind.

"NO!" Emma flew up from her position on the couch and she heard her voice echo over the hum of the beeping machines. She felt the pressure of hands around her arms and without a thought she thrashed around trying to free herself from the grip.

"Whoa, Emma stop! It's me." Graham stood in front of her holding onto her arms.

"Graham. She's alive, she was talking and standing right here… she…" Emma looked around the room. It was oddly filled with nurses and Graham, and Doctor Whale. And Regina. She was laying in the same spot, unmoved, the image Emma had so much tried to forget.

Graham kneeled next to her relaxing his grip around her arms. She wiped the hair from her face and straightened out her white tank top and pushed the now suffocating blankets from her lap. She looked up confused as to why so many people where crowded in the room.

"What's happened?" Emma asked, rubbing her eyes.

"She's awake, Emma." Graham half smiled, not knowing what reaction to expect from the blonde.

"What?" Emma looked up at the nurses and doctors stepping around the bed and checking machines. "What?" Emma spoke a little louder pushing herself from the couch onto her feet.

Graham held onto her arm for support. "She is not very awake by any means, but she is awake. She has said only a few words." Graham helped her closer to the bed.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Emma pulled her arm from Graham. "Regina?" She leaned over and with shaking hand grabbed hold of the brunette's hand.

Regina flicked her eyes open and they fluttered a little at the sensation before turning her head toward the blonde.

Emma spoke through fresh tears. "Regina, it's me." Emma tried, her squeeze growing tighter around Regina's hand. Regina just looked at her with a slightly blank stare, her eyebrows moving closer together in deliberation like she was trying to decode the face talking to her.

"Regina." The brunette struggled to repeat the name, the sounds practicing over her tongue. Emma covered her mouth with a shaking hand to stop the escape of a grunt from her crying.

"Yeah, Regina. You're awake."

"I'm awake? What happened?" The brunette struggled as she was becoming aware of what was around her. "Where am I?"

Emma sniffed and wiped her face. "You were in an accident. You were driving with Henry and someone hit you. Do you remember Henry?" Emma was hoping that anything she could say that would spark her memory she was told would be gone. But the look on Regina's face confirmed her fears. Confusion. Fear. It was like they were both feeling the same things but on two different sides of the spectrum.

"What?" Regina questioned, examining the casts on her arm and her leg. "An accident? I don't… I don't remember anything." Regina strained becoming flustered.

"It's okay. It's fine. I will tell you everything." Emma dropped down to her knees and kissed the hand of the woman. A little taken aback, Regina cocked her head to the side but did not pull her hand away.

Dr. Whale came up to the foot of the bed with a clip board. "Regina, I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I want you to answer them as well as possible. Can you do that for me?"

Regina rubbed her temple to relieve the headache she was no doubt feeling. "Um… yes." She finally managed.

"What is your first and last name?" Doctor Whale started.

Regina's faced scrunched up in thought. She looked over to Emma and then back at the doctor. "Regina." She lengthened the words on her tongue questioningly. "Regina… um." She rubbed her forehead struggling to remember.

"It's quite alright if you can't answer the whole question." Doctor Whale interrupted. "Do you know what the year is?"

Regina pushed herself up in the bed. One of the nurses grabbed a hold of her arm for support. "Easy sweetheart. Not so fast."

"The year? Um… I don't know."

"How old are you?" Doctor Whale continued, meanwhile continuously writing something lengthy on his clipboard.

"I…" she looked back to Emma who had been staring at her intently. "I don't know." She shook her head. "Why are you asking me these questions?"

"The injuries you sustained from your accident were extensive enough that would could not correct all of the damage. Unfortunately the conclusions we can draw from our tests, you will have trouble remembering much before today. These questions are just to help me see how much you know and how much therapy you will need from this point on." Doctor Whale explained as calmly as he could. He could tell that the news was much harder on Emma than it was on Regina from the look he received from the blonde. But that was expected.

"What kind of therapy? Can't I just take her home and talk to her myself?" Emma said rather bluntly.

"I'm afraid it's not going to be that easy. The brain is a delicate organ and memories and information can be easily distorted or confused causing even further damage. We will have a specialist come in and get more information and who can help in the process." Dr. Whale explained further.

"I don't remember anything." Regina admitted softly, as if she was speaking only to herself.

The doctor put down his clipboard for a minute judging the situation. The injuries seemed to be as worse as he expected but he wasn't sure how to go about treatment, and he didn't want to push too hard on her right after she had woken up. He knew she needed time.

"As far as any physical damage, that has all been healed since you have been asleep. I want to keep you here for a few more days to make sure the swelling in your brain remains stable as you regain more of your consciousness. As far as your memory loss, I will contact Dr. Hopper first thing in the morning. He can come by and see how you are doing." Doctor Whale smiled thinly at Regina and then glanced back down at Emma who had not taken her eyes of the brunette.

"Emma, can I talk to you in the hallway?" he asked, startling her.

"Um…" She looked back and forth between them. "Yeah, I guess." She smiled at Regina and the brunette smiled back out of curtesy, but nothing else.

As Emma followed the doctor into the hall he quietly shut the door to the room behind them.

"Look, Emma, I know this is going to be hard for you. But I need to ask that you just hold off on trying to explain everything to her right away. I have seen enough cases like this that I know you are itching to tell her everything in hopes to gain some kind of response. But I promise you, there is nothing left. Everything from this point on will be building forward."

Emma considered him for a moment. She dug the toe of her boot into the ground and nervously picked at her fingernails. He was right she wanted to tell Regina everything. Who she was, who Henry was, what life was like, and then in a few days be able to take her home and live like they planned. She didn't want to take no for an answer. "But if I can put the pieces back together for her wouldn't it help? You know, to move on. How do you know that I can't help her?" Emma tried to reason.

"I can't give you a definitive answer. We have been studying the brain for hundreds of years and have just barely broken the surface. Memories are an abstract thought that can't always be controlled by medicine or doctors or people themselves. All I can say is in my experience with these types of injuries is when the family tries to control the process it's always one step forward and two steps back. Some people reject what they are being told. Some people don't want to remember things. It can be an upsetting and shocking experience for everyone involved. I urge you for at least a few days to hold off on talking about it. Only answer questions that she asks, and try to be brief."

Emma rubbed her eyes trying to put everything together. "It's just not fair. What about Henry and her friends? Can they come and see her?"

"You can bring Henry up if you would like, but I trust you will give him the same warnings. Don't bring everyone up at once. Maybe one by one and not every day. That way she doesn't feel overwhelmed by everything. I understand how much you want things to be normal again for you two, but this is going to take time, Emma." He tried to sound innocent enough but it was like someone sucking the air right out of Emma's lungs. She was not a patient person and she just wanted things to be back to normal.

"I understand." Emma leaned her back up against the wall as Graham came out of the room.

"Hey, is everything okay?" He asked curiously.

"Yes, just finishing up with some information. I'll leave you two alone. If you have any more questions Emma, my office doors are always open." He smiled and laid a gently hand on her shoulder before walking away, leaving her and the sheriff alone in the hallway.

"You okay?" Graham asked.

"Elated." She sighed, her hand falling back with a thud on the wall behind her. "Regina is awake and I can't even tell her about anything that happened, or who I am or anything."

"You just have to start small. Little bits of information at a time. We will get there eventually. Starting off with a name is not a bad idea though. So at least she will know who you are." Graham tried to sound light hearted. After all how could he not be. After a month of Regina being in her coma she was finally awake. Of course, Emma was beyond herself as well. But even still, the battle wasn't over.

Graham left her to go get a cup of coffee. It was already past midnight and he wanted to make sure he could stay up with Emma through the night. But Emma's mind was on more than just coffee. The dream she had before she woke up was still haunting her. Find me, Emma. Was it a clue or something? Was it something she could use to help her? Why would she have a dream like that? Was she making too much of what she saw? She had dreams about Regina all the time, why did this one suddenly make her feel so much more uncomfortable. Maybe it was just her mind playing tricks with her again. Showing her things she wanted to see instead of reality. Whatever the cause, she still couldn't let it go.

Find me, Emma.