Hi peeps, here is another short story of mine. This one has been mostly finished for a while, just needed a few things. But now, I'm finally pretty happy with it. With the medical things, I have no idea if they are realistic. If they're not, let's just pretend they are, okay? Greetings.
Regina sighed as she took her seat on the plane from Miami to Boston. She didn't like being in a closed space with people. Actually, she didn't like being around people at all. But she didn't have much of a choice if she wanted to get to this family gathering up in Maine. On days like this, she hoped someone would invent the transporters from Star Trek soon.
The brunette woman had been struggling with severe anxiety and other mental issues all her life, making her almost unable to be around people. The years of therapy hadn't had much of an effect apart from making her feel even worse about being different from everyone else. All those labels they had put on her - panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, borderline personality - shaped every aspect of her life. Only on her job, she could function.
Regina was a paramedic, saving lives was her purpose. As soon as someone needed her, all her problems were forgotten and she could thrive. In her ambulance truck she felt safe. Outside of her job, she was never safe.
'Please let this seat next to me stay empty', she hoped with all her being. But of course, luck was never with her. Her anxiety skyrocketed when a blonde woman sat next to her. But she had a boy with her, maybe they would be busy with themselves and not try to talk to her. As soon as they were in the air, she could probably feign sleep. Yet again, the brunette was unlucky.
"Hi, my name is Henry. How are you?", the brunette boy asked. "Hello, Henry." Oh gosh, what was she supposed to say?! How was she supposed to react, what did one do during human interaction? "Um...I'm good, how are you?" Totally not stiff and awkward at all, great! "A little scared of flying, but okay", Henry said. "You don't need to be scared. The pilots that are flying this plane know what they are doing, they are good at their job. It will be over before you know it." Regina wasn't sure if she was soothing him or herself. Well, it appeared to be working for both.
The blonde woman smiled at her. "Thanks." She extended her hand. "Emma Swan." Regina didn't take it. "Regina Mills. First flight?" "Second. It's still very new to him." All was said and they fell into a slightly awkward silence. What were they supposed to say, they were total strangers. And now they were stuck next to each other for three and a half hours. Just wonderful.
About two hours in, Henry had fallen asleep and Regina was beginning to doze off, when a bang startled everyone on the plane. She was wide awake immediately, her eyes panically darting around. Another. Those were shots from a gun, coming from the front of the plane.
Then, when that sunk in, a commotion. People were scared, shouting: "What is going on?" "What's happening?!" Regina didn't notice that anymore, she was in her own horrifying world. A flight attendant came into the passenger area, looking distraught and in shock. "Do we have any doctors on board?"
Silence.
Deep breaths. Breathe in, count to five, breathe out through the nose. That's what her last therapist had taught her to do when a panic attack was coming. "My name is Regina Mills", she whispered to herself. One of her coping mechanisms was talking to herself, repeating the things she knew over and over. "I'm on a plane. My name is Regina, I'm 36 years old. I live in Miami. I'm a paramedic." It was almost imperceptible, but Emma heard her. "Then get up there and save lives", she said, ripping Regina out of her trance. "What?" The blonde gave her a look. "You said you're a paramedic. They said they need medical help. Go." Okay. She could do this. She had to. Regina got up shakily and followed the flight attendant to the cockpit. The eyes of the other passengers were practically burning holes into her back.
In the cockpit, she saw both the pilot and the copilot on the ground with bullet wounds. Well, this was her job. This was what she always did. Her anxiety faded away and she was in her own mind, asking for the first aid kit and medical supplies on board. The supplies were limited, so she would have to improvise. Disinfecting her hands and putting on gloves, she assessed both patients.
The copilot was shot in the head. The gun in his hand indicated that he had been the shooter. He had probably intended to kill himself and the pilot. Well, he had definitely succeeded in his case, there was nothing she could do for him.
The pilot was shot in the chest, but at least alive for now. The bullet must have barely missed any major organs. But there was no exit wound, which meant that the bullet was still inside his body. And from the way he was fading away, she needed to get it out if she wanted to save his life. Obviously, the first aid kit was not equipped for that, so she would have to improvise. Wonderful, there weren't even tweezers in this thing. "Hold him still", she asked a flight attendant who was buzzing around and driving everyone else crazy. Now that she had something to do, the redhead woman was drawn out of her daze and the other people in the cockpit could breathe a little better.
Lacking any usable equipment, Regina carefully put her finger inside the wound and searched for the bullet. It was dangerously close to his heart and a wrong movement could make it injure the lung. But this was her job, she could do this. She was completely immersed in her purpose, the buzzing around her seized to exist and only her and her patient existed. Everyone in the cockpit held their breath until she pulled the blasted thing out. Throwing it onto an opened pack of bandages, she tried to fix as much as she could.
There wasn't much she could do with the things she had here, so she grabbed needle and thread next. After disinfecting as much as she could, she began stitching the wound together to reduce the blood loss.
Regina was about halfway through, when one of the attendants hit a console. "Damn it!" "What?", another asked. "We're still on autopilot and headed straight into an NYC skyscraper. Sound familiar?" The attendant from the beginning rushed back into the passenger area, this time asking for a pilot.
And as luck would have it, there was none. In movies, there was always someone onboard. Why couldn't this be one of those darned movies where some random arrogant man had to play hero and save everyone?
"I've only flown helis before", Regina admitted. She had gotten the license during her vacation some years ago and thus flew the heli a few times when she couldn't take her truck. Head attendant Lucas gave her a pleading look. "Please try your best."
What was she supposed to do? She didn't know a thing about flying a plane!
The pilot had woken up at some point due to the lack of anesthesia and heard what was going on. "You're the closest we have right now. The worst thing that can happen if you try is that we all die. And if you don't try, we will definitely all die for sure. So there's no way how you could possibly make it any worse." He was right, she couldn't bring them into a bigger mess than the one they were already in. But there would be a slight chance at saving them.
The stitching was done and the brunette directed an attendant to bandage the pilot before gulping and taking a seat in the pilot chair. "Let's hope everyone has their seat belts on." Lucas had luckily thought the same and pressed a button to make an announcement. "All passengers please fasten your seatbelts." This would be a bumpy ride.
The sight in front of Regina was like straight out of a horror movie. A skyscraper was right in front of them and they were closing in at high speed. Other skyscrapers were to their left and right, they would have to make a U-turn. Oh, how desperately did Regina want to shut her eyes, but that would mean everyone's death.
The autopilot was turned off easily, it was conveniently labeled. Then she grabbed the thing that had some similarity to a joystick and turned hard left while pulling the plane up. Somehow, it all came to her instinctually and the plane ascended. They only barely missed a big structure, but stayed in one piece as they were clear.
Throughout the cockpit, many breaths were released. Lucas quickly got in contact with flight control. "Boston, this is flight AA 1054. Our flight team has been shot and a passenger is at the helm, just steered us clear of NYC. Requesting guidance."
Thankfully, flight control was able to guide her a little and they turned again to head towards Boston with about an hour delay. But the next challenge was soon upon her: the landing.
This was a nightmare! Flight control was giving Regina very clear instructions. They kept telling her to press this or that button, pull that lever, correct the course by a few degrees. Desperately trying not to panic, Regina followed the tower's instructions to the letter. The ground was coming closer and closer, she wanted to close her eyes, then open them again and see her room in Miami. This just had to be a horrible nightmare. What the hell was she doing at the helm of an airplane?!
When they touched the ground, Regina squeezed her eyes shut. The landing was hard, but plane and passengers somehow all stayed in one piece. It was nothing short of a miracle.
They stood still soon and an ambulance with equipment arrived to treat the pilot while two airport staff boarded to properly park the plane. Regina only sat and tried to breathe. Her lungs were desperate for air, but she just couldn't. She kept pinching herself over and over, hoping to wake up.
The brunette was the last one to deboard, her legs still wobbly. She had hoped to not see anyone, but everyone else was standing there forming an alley, waiting for her, applauding. A small smile was all she could manage, to her it felt like a grimace.
Little Henry from the seat next to her flew at her and hugged her tightly. "You're my hero!", he said. First, she stiffened and wanted to recoil from the touch, but then she found herself relaxing a little in the boy's hug.
Deboarding came with a new horror: through the glass door, Regina could see families and the press gathered at the gate. Keeping her head down, she tried to sneak out unseen behind a travel group, but was spotted nonetheless. "That's her", a young woman said to her male companion and pointed towards her.
Before Regina could realize what was happening, they were all over her like hawks. They were all around her, saying things, asking her questions. She couldn't. All the flashes and shouts sent her over the edge. It was all too much. Too much light, too much noise, too many people. She couldn't do this. Breathing became difficult and her flight instincts kicked in.
Luckily, the bathroom was close. She staggered more than she ran. Once inside, she slid down the wall and the mental breakdown that had been in the making for hours kicked in delayed.
She had been too busy to fully realize the extent of what she had been doing, but now it hit her like a bus. In her mind, she could still hear the gunshots and the shouts and the voices and see the flashing lights. It all blended together like in one of those horribly violent action movies that had given her brutal nightmares as a child. But this time, she was playing a lead role. In a desperate futile attempt to block it all out, she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her hands over her ears. She didn't want to see this or hear this. But how do you block out your own mind? She couldn't escape. She tried to suck in air, but her lungs didn't release it again. She kept gasping like a fish on land.
So there she was, on the floor of an airport bathroom, rocking and trembling like a leaf. It was one of her worse episodes, maybe the worst. Even her attacks from her school time before presentations couldn't compare.
A hand was put on her shoulder. It was supposed to be comforting, but whoever it was didn't know about her issues. She jerked away from the touch as if burned. "Sorry." It was Emma. "It's gonna be okay. Breathe. In. Out. In. Focus on my voice. In. Out. You're okay. You're in Boston, it's Friday. You're okay." Her voice was warm and comforting and she slowly helped Regina out of her panic.
"Thank you", she said when she could finally breathe somewhat normally after half an eternity. The blonde shook her head. "You're the one who deserves all the thanks. You just saved my life. And Henry's. And hundreds of others. It's true, you are a hero. It's the least I can do."
Emma had seen many kids with mental issues during her time in the system. She knew a broken person when she saw one, and her alarms were pinging with this woman. Making a mental note not to touch the woman, she asked kindly: "Is there anything I can do for you?"
Knowing she wouldn't make it through the crowd again, Regina accepted. "Could you help me evade the crowd, please?" Grinning, Emma nodded. "Where to?" "The car rental." Emma shook her head vehemently. "You're in no state to drive, you're still shaking. Where do you need to drive? Maybe I can let you out on the way somewhere." "Storybrooke, Maine" was the short reply. "Seriously? That's where I need to go, too. You're riding with us", the blonde decided matter-of-factly, not accepting any protest.
Once at Emma's car, they got in and Emma drove off. The episode in the bathroom had taken its toll on her and the loss of adrenaline made Regina tired, so she fell asleep soon.
She was awake again by the time they passed by the "Entering Storybrooke" sign. "So, where do you need to go? I'll drop you off on your doorstep", Emma winked. "108 Mifflin."
The town was small and they were there soon. Once Regina got out, Henry wrapped her in another hug. When he released her, Emma apologized. "Sorry for him. I noticed you're uncomfortable with touching." "No, it's fine", Regina replied. "He's … he's actually the second person I've ever felt comfortable being touched by."
Once inside the mansion of her parents, Regina let herself fall into her father's arms. "We saw the news. I love you, my princess."
Regina had taken a two week vacation to be there for her father's 60th birthday, for which her mother was throwing a huge family gathering. Her family was nice, but when the talk of planes and heroes got too much for her, she excused herself to go wandering around town to breathe.
On her walk, she ran into Emma and Henry. The two lived in the small town and had been away on vacation in Florida. The two accompanied her on her trip down memory lane through the town she had lived in once upon a time, before she had left for college.
During her stay in Storybrooke, Henry almost never left his hero's side. Naturally, Emma kept along as well. They grew close and became friends during the two weeks. Emma also set her up with the local psychologist who the brunette had seen regularly when she had lived in Storybrooke as a child. It was nice to see Archie again. His office was one of far too few safe spaces.
Unfortunately, a few journalists had found Storybrooke a few days later and were pestering her. Her mother was a very controlling and calculating person. She knew she would be able to gain popularity by having a national hero as a daughter, which might just give her an edge in the next election. She scheduled one interview, but with the promise that it would be the only one. Say what you want about Cora Mills, but when she said something, she meant it.
They did the interview under Regina's beloved apple tree in her parents' garden, the place where she felt the most comfortable. But with all those people there, even that felt crowded. "I am here with the woman who recently saved hundreds of lives by steering a passenger airplane to safety, Regina Mills. Miss Mills, what was going through your head during those hours?"
The presence of both Henrys helped her a lot. She looked into their eyes when the questions became too loaded and she was close to another breakdown.
The interview was aired on national tv the next day and of course, her parents had to sit them all down to watch it. Regina wanted to hide away instead of being celebrated like a hero. She would just forget that whole day if she could.
Three days later, a letter fluttered to them. It looked official and fancy, so it was probably addressed to her mother, Regina thought. But it was for her. It was an invitation to Finland.
According to this letter, the Finnish prime minister had been on the plane and thanked her for his life. They wanted to officially honor her in Helsinki. Well, as honored as she was, Regina really did not want to set foot on a plane right now, so she declined.
Which was no problem for them, they simply relocated the ceremony to the Finnish embassy in Washington DC, which she could reach by bus. Since she was the guest of honor, they would just change the plans. Now she agreed, after little Henry nudging her endlessly.
After having lunch at Granny's one day and Emma and Henry walked her home, the door opened before she could get out her keys. "I think I should introduce you to my father", Regina said after hugging the old man. "This is my father, Henry. Daddy, this is Emma and her son, Henry." She grinned a little and so did Emma.
"So all I have to do is change my name to Henry and you'll be okay touching me?", the blonde woman joked. Regina gave her a smile. "You might one day become the first non-Henry I'm comfortable with. I wouldn't have been able to keep it together through all of this without you two. Thank you so much." "Oh, it's the best we could do to thank you for saving our lives."
When the end of her vacation was near, they had to say goodbye. Regina dared to awkwardly hug Emma goodbye which made Emma cry in joy. Henry gave her a drawing portraying her in a superhero costume. "I understand that you have to go, you have to rescue other people." "Goodbye Henry. Maybe we'll see each other again." Then she got in her father's car with her parents who would drive to DC with her.
The ceremony was very pompous. Since they were in the US, the government had signed on as co-organizer. The Prime Minister and the President himself held speeches and officially honored her with medals which apparently meant a lot. But all the eyes and attention on her almost triggered another breakdown. And of course, the press was present as well.
This was a bad idea. She really shouldn't have agreed to this. Oh she couldn't wait to be back in Miami driving around in her ambulance truck! She couldn't do this, she had to get out of here!
Glancing over to her parents, Regina could see tears of pride in both their eyes and that made it a little better. Her daddy was everything to her and seeing him happy was the greatest joy. She zeroed in on his joyous eyes, using the contact as a lifeline. The woman tried to imagine everyone in the room covered in blood and on her gurney, that made it a little easier. Even though it was a very macabre defense mechanism.
After it was over after several hours that seemed like an eternity to Regina, she said goodbye to her parents and took a bus to Miami. No, she would not take a plane. For obvious reasons.
Years later, there was a knock on Regina's door. She got up from the couch and opened the door, ready to politely decline whoever was outside. "Hi. I'm Emma. I moved into the apartment next door and thought I'd introduce myself to the neighbo - wait, Regina?" The brunette let her friend in with a smile and a hug.
With a glass of wine in hand, they sat on the couch. "When I took this new job in Miami, I never thought I'd see you here", Emma exclaimed. "Well, surprise!" The new neighbor leaned over so her head was resting on Regina's shoulder. "I could never get you out of my head", she admitted.
"So this has to be a fairytale we're living. The prince rescues the pretty princess, who falls in love head over heels, and they live happily ever after." "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm no prince", Regina winked. "Okay then, you're my queen."