Hello, this is my special Valentine's gift for @willow1411 for the Love, From OQ gift exchange!Soooo, I read a prompt about the hospital part on Tumblr, then I almost fell off a tree, trying to catch tangerines, that's how this story was born. Thank you, Carolina, for once again being the best beta ever!Hope you like it!
*I do not own OUAT*
Fight Me
Regina stared out of the window of her bedroom, leaning slightly off her bed, as she tried to get a better view of her apple tree that stood proud and tall at the front of the house.
The brunette was taking notes for one of her classes, when, from the corner of her eye, she noticed the red dots, and felt a sudden craving for one of the sweet fruits.
She had been in her room studying for about three hours now and decided that it was the perfect time to take a little time off the books and venture into a midday snack, one that would allow her a nice pause from her studies, but also would involve going outside for a bit of fresh air.
Putting all the material aside, and closing the computer's lid, the young woman made her way out of the bedroom, descending the stairs and moving towards the front door. Just as she was crossing the doorjamb, her mother's voice made her stop in her tracks.
"Where are you going, Regina?" The older women appeared behind her daughter, holding a mug filled with which the younger assumed to be coffee, tilting her head slightly.
Regina ran a hand over her stomach and turned around fully to face her mother. "Just going down to the apple tree to get a snack." The brunette pulled a funny face, patting her belly.
"Need to feed this one in order for my brain to work." She said, making her mother chuckle.
"A break will do you well, you've been in that room for too long." Cora said, starting to make her way into the living room. "But please be careful with the ladder." She said in a more serious tone.
"No need to use the ladder, I'll just climb to get one, will be a nice way to stretch my legs."
Before her mother could object, Regina crossed the threshold and closed the door behind her. She looked across the yard, it was simply decorated, a garden table with some chairs, vases of flowers scattered a little all over the place and her apple tree, creating a nice shade underneath its big branches.
She stood still for a moment, appreciating the light breeze which involved her like a second layer. It felt nice to just stay there, doing nothing but breathing the fresh air for a second.
Breaking out of her spell, the brunette made her way to the tree.
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When Regina opened her eyes, her immediate reflex was to close them again due to the pain that overflowed her entire skull and send a shock like sensation into her eyeballs. Trying again, but this time a little slower than the first attempt, the brunette realized she was no longer in her garden, quite the opposite, she was in a room she didn't recognize. Making an effort to open her eyes more, the young woman tried to ignore the pain in her head, and took in her surroundings; she was laid down, in the middle of a completely white room, with almost no furniture in it besides a small dresser by the end of the bed and an old TV hanging above it.
Her head was fuzzy, and she couldn't remember how she got there. The last thing she could think of, was her apple tree, and that didn't exactly answer the question to why she was laying in a hospital bed, with a headache that was making her want to throw up.
Regina took a deep breath, and as she was about to attempt her luck trying to get out of that bed, the bedroom door opened, and both her parents got in followed by a small woman, who, judging by the white coat she was wearing, should be a doctor.
"Oh God, Regina, you're awake." Henry gasped, and quickly approached her by the bed, taking her left hand between his. Her father's actions were immediately mimicked by Cora, who made her way around the bed, so she could hold Regina's right hand; the brunette was so confused she just wanted to know what the hell happened to her.
"Hello, Regina, how are you feeling?" The green-eyed woman asked, her tone light and comforting, a detail Regina was grateful for.
"My name is Mary Margaret and I'm the doctor in charge of your case." She continued. "Do you remember how you got here?"
Regina eyed both her parents, searching for an answer, but nothing was given. Both adults just looked at her with concerned looks on their faces, so she faced the doctor again.
"No." She spoke for the first time, and a pang went through her head, making her close her eyes slightly. "I don't remember anything, but my head hurts like crazy, doctor, what happened?"
Cora and Henry were silent, letting the doctor explain.
"Well, Regina, you fell from your tree and bumped your head really hard against a rock on the ground, and got unconscious." Seeing the young woman scared expression, Mary Margaret stopped for just one second before returning to the explanations. "You didn't get an opened wound and when you got here we performed a CAT scan to make sure everything was alright."
The doctor smiled, which made Regina feel at ease. She had a very calming nature and that was very reassuring.
"I just got the results and turns out you have a concussion, which is the most common and least serious type of traumatic brain injury."
The three remaining people in the room were listening carefully to what the doctor had to say, both parents shaking their head 'yes' every now and then. Regina, though, remained quiet, a drum party still going inside her head every time she moved.
"Even though it's pretty common, it's still a brain injury, so we'll want you to spend 24 hours in observation, just to make sure your vision and equilibrium are just fine and that you don't lose consciousness again."
The doctor scribbled something down on a piece of paper Regina only now noticed she was holding.
"Now, I understand you must be in a lot of pain, not only on your head, but in your body as well." Now that she mentioned it, the young woman could feel the soreness settling in. "So, I'm going to prescribe some painkillers that will help you with that, as well as put you in a nicer mood." Mary Margaret giggled, and her parents mimicked her.
"Nurse Robin will come by any second now to administer it, but if you have any doubt feel free to ask for me at any time."
Regina gathered the forces to smile politely at the doctor.
"Thank you."
With that, she moved to accommodate herself more comfortably on the bed, her father helping her, rearranging her pillow, and her mother brushing some locks of hair away from her face.
"I told you to be careful with that tree," Cora spoke softly, something that could resemble guilt present in her voice.
Regina turned to face her.
"Mom, this was not your fault, I'm just clumsy." She tried to make light of the situation. "And you heard the doctor, this is not that serious, I'll be home tomorrow."
Just as Cora was about to answer, there was a knock on the door, and a young man, one that shouldn't be that much older than Regina, got inside the room.
"Good afternoon, I'm nurse Robin and I'm here to administer your painkillers." He flashed a dimpled smile towards the brown-eyed girl, who got suddenly very distracted by how attractive her male nurse was.
Her thoughts were interrupted by her father's voice.
"Thank you very much," Henry said, letting go of her hand so Robin could take his place by her side.
"Hopefully this will help her with the headache." The older man said, concern laced in his voice, making Regina suddenly feel slightly guilty for injuring herself like this.
"Don't worry, sir, the medication doctor Nolan prescribed is very effective." The blue-eyed man spoke. "It's going to make her sleep and, hopefully, leave her in a better mood once she wakes up tomorrow morning."
This time, he spoke directly to her, and Regina didn't know how to react.
Up close he was even more attractive.
"All done, Regina." He once again flashed her a bright smile, and the young woman returned the gesture without realizing she was doing so.
Robin then moved his attention to her parents.
"Now, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave now, Mr. and Mrs. Mills, visiting hours are already over."
"Can't one of us stay the night with her?" Cora asked, still holding her daughter's hand firmly between her owns.
"I'm sorry, but hospital rules only allow a guardian or a family member to spend the night if the patient is underaged or if the condition is serious, since none of that applies here, there's nothing I can do." He answered honestly, sympathy in his voice. "But don't worry, I'm the assigned nurse and I will make sure she's fine at all hours."
For some reason, that statement made Regina extremely happy. She would later blame the head injury for turning her into a school girl with a crush on the hot doctor.
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"Good morning, milady,"
Robin greeted, coming into Regina's hospital room and stopping in his tracks when he saw the brunette curled under the covers, pillow over her head, and only the right arm out of the covers, her hand forming a fist as if holding something.
"Fight me." She half shouted, wagging her arm vigorously into the air.
He chuckled, thinking to himself that the medication was doing its magic on her. Approaching the bed, he carefully set the tray with her breakfast down on the side table and as he was about to answer, she shouted again the exact same thing, peeking out of the pillow to check his reaction.
Before the brown-eyed woman could repeat herself, she started coughing and was struggling to catch her breath. Robin was quick, taking the pillow from over her head and rearranging it where it belonged, also helping her to a sitting position so she could take some sips of water, knowing that her coughing fit was probably from spending so long without drinking anything and then working her voice that morning.
The blonde man smiled down at her as she drank.
"I can't fight you, I'm pretty sure you would win." He teased her, and she almost choked on her water, seeing his dimples making an appearance.
She didn't answer.
"Are you feeling better this morning? How is your head?" He asked.
Regina took a few moments to calm herself. She was acting like such an idiot, what was that childish display under the pillow? That could only have been the meds. She was mortified, to say the least.
"I can't feel practically anything." She said, moving one hand to run through her hair. "Guess the medication is doing wonders to me." She tried to joke, a blush coming to her cheeks.
His smile never disappeared. "Don't worry about it, those are pretty strong, I've seen worse."
She didn't get a chance to answer as her parents got into the room in a fast-tracked pace, quickly approaching the bed and bombarding the nurse with a bunch of questions Regina couldn't pay attention to. She was too deep in thoughts of how ridiculous she had been that morning, and how could the blonde man had been about it. She was trying not to develop a serious crush on this guy, but he has been so nice to her…well, it was his job to be nice to everyone, she was probably reading too much into the situation, she was no longer a teenager, she couldn't dwell on it for too long.
The brunette was brought down from her thoughts by her mother, who was now stroking her arm and asking how she was feeling that morning, only now noticing, with a smile creeping her features, that her father was carrying a bunch of colorful flowers and chuckling slightly.
"I'm feeling much better, thank you." She moved her attention to the flowers. "You know I'm going home today, right?" The young woman reached for the bouquet. "But these are beautiful, dad, thank you so much."
"We wanted to bring you something nice in case you were still feeling down." Henry said, worried wrinkles appearing above his eyes. "we weren't sure if you'd be discharged today."
Regina quickly turned her attention to the young nurse who was still in the division. "I am, right?"
He was staring at her with an expression she couldn't easily read. It looked like adoration, or something else, but once again she forced those thoughts out of her mind, the last thing she needed was to create a romantic scenario where there was none.
When he noticed Regina was talking to him, Robin quickly shook his head, "I'll be back in about an hour to check if your headache is completely gone and to make sure you don't have nausea, dizziness or any of the sort." He explained, both to the young woman and her parents. "If everything is alright, I'll call doctor Nolan, so she can sign your hospital discharge."
The nurse then looked at her and smiled warmly, his look lingering a little bit more than normal on her features.
As if he just woke up from a trance, he looked down and as quickly as he could, he made his excuses and left the room to check other patients.
Regina stared at the door for a while, a shy, small, smile adorning her features. Maybe she wasn't reading too much into the situation after all.
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"Hey, Robin." The nurse held the elevator's door opened so doctor Nolan could get inside.
"Thank you." Mary Margaret said, touching the key to the floor she was heading to.
"How was the roundup this morning? Everything alright?" The pixie woman asked to break the silence.
"Yes, and I think Regina Mills, from room 23, will be ready to be discharged this afternoon." He said, feeling the heat coming to his cheeks.
Hoping his superior hadn't noticed, he adverted his look a little, now facing the doors.
"I'll have to check on her one more time, and if everything is alright, I'll call you to make the final decision." He finished.
Everyone knew doctor Nolan was the hospital's matchmaker. Her ability to read people and interfere with their lives was well known to everyone who works there, and right now, Robin was wishing for all of it to be just rumors, but his hopes came down a little when he felt Mary Margaret giggling beside him.
"Regina Mills, hum?"
There was no answer.
"Really pretty girl, don't you think?"
Feeling Robin struggling beside her, she decided to take a different approach, "Where are you heading now?" The doctor asked.
"To the 12th floor, I need to check on some patients there before my lunch time." Robin lifted the pile of files in his hand to emphasize his point.
"Give them to me, I'll finish that floor for you, I don't have any patients right now." She said, extending her arm to take the files.
"Neither do I, doctor." Robin was confused. "I can do that."
"I want you to go check room 23, see how the patient is doing with lunch, if there's any nausea or dizziness. If so, call me." The doors opened as soon as the doctor finished talking. Reaching for the files in the young man's hands, she quickly flew out of the elevator, her coat opening behind her.
Robin was left behind speechless. Doctor Nolan really was meddlesome.
It was true there was something about Regina he liked very much. They hadn't shared more than two sentences since she got to the hospital, but from the first time he saw her, the young nurse felt something he couldn't describe attracting him to the young woman. Even in obvious pain, she had a way of carrying herself that left him speechless, and her eyes carried a tenderness and calmness he had never felt looking into another pair of eyes before.
He stood there, thinking quietly, and even in his head, he sounded completely delusional, like some sort of lunatic romantic from a 50's movie. But the truth was, he liked Regina, he wanted to know more about her. Now that he had admitted it to himself, he suddenly felt nervous to be around her again.
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There was a knock on the door, and Regina put down the book her mother had bought for her that morning to keep her company while her parents were at work. It was very good, a detective novel just like the brunette liked. The book had been on her shelf since she got it on her birthday, and it hadn't seemed very appealing, but now Regina understood the saying 'do not judge a book by its cover'. The young woman hadn't put it down since that morning, not even
to have lunch, munching on her sandwich between chapters.
Looking up, she saw Robin entering the room with a shyness she hadn't associated with him before, he always seemed very put together and confident the previous times he had paid her a visit to check how she was.
"Good afternoon." He said, barely looking at her, marching to the end of her bed to retrieve her file.
Regina found that behavior totally out of character and frowned slightly.
"What's wrong?" The student asked, concerned there was something bad with her, that she wouldn't be discharged as she thought.
"Is it my head? I'm feeling much better."
He looked up quickly, his eyes locking with hers for an instant before he averted his gaze and smiled without facing her.
"No, no." He shook his head. "Quite the opposite. I'm here to make the final check-up, so you can go home."
Robin finally looked at her fully and smiled. She really was beautiful, he thought.
"So, what's that look about?" She asked. Self consciously, her hand flew to her mouth. "Do I have lettuce in my teeth?"
The blonde man couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"No, milady, you look as perfect as ever." He said before he could catch himself, and immediately regretted it when he saw her eyes opening in surprise. What if she thought he was some creep nurse who went around hooking up with every female patient he saw?
Regina saw the panicking expression dominating his features, and her bewilderment was quickly replaced with a grin. Outside she was trying to remain calm but, on the interior, she was jumping with excitement.
He thinks she looks perfect! Maybe she hadn't been imagining things and there really was a spark between them, she had to act cool, though.
"Perfect, hum?" She asked, blinking slowly and waiting for a response.
Robin knew she was teasing him and exhaled, relaxing, two could play that game.
"Yes, milady, as perfect as a pillow fighter can be." The nurse was unable to keep a serious expression as a deep red blush crept its way to Regina's cheeks. He was clearly referring to that morning's episode, and he knew that it would make the brunette turn red, she was completely cute like that.
"I was under a lot of medication for a head injury, you shouldn't be making fun of me." The young woman crossed her arms and pouted slightly, trying to make the blonde man feel bad about himself. It seemed to be working because his smile started to disappear, and she could see he was at loss of words. Before it could get too bad, she broke down and started laughing.
Robin quickly realized what was going on, and he too broke down a huge smile. He was really starting to fall for this girl after only a few hours of knowing her, it was madness.
"Well, that was pretty mean, Miss Mills." He said.
"Not my fault, mister…" The woman realized she didn't know his last name, she didn't know anything at all about him, really, but she wanted to, she decided.
"Locksley, Robin Locksley." He said, and once again, his eyes found hers, and for a moment, brown was lost in blue and neither of them spoke for several moments. "At your service, milady."
Robin spoke softly as if not to break the spell. He extended his hand and she took it. As Regina was about to speak, there was a third voice sounding through the room, and Robin quickly pulled his hand away from hers, startled, and turned around to find Regina's mother standing at the door.
"Nurse Robin." Cora spoke, unaware she was ruining their previous moment.
"Is Regina ready to be discharged?" The older woman asked hopefully.
The young man was quick to recover.
"I think so, Mrs. Mills. I'm going to get doctor Nolan, so she can make the final decision, but it seems Regina is perfectly fine."
He turned around to look one more time at Regina, his eyes lingering a little bit on hers. Then, he smiled one last time and left the room.
"What a fine young man, don't you think, sweetie?" Cora spoke, coming near the bed to kiss her daughter's head.
"Yes." Regina answered absent-mindedly.
"How was your day?" Her mother kept on making small talk, asking about her dizziness and if she had had time to go far in her book. The truth was, Regina couldn't even remember the book anymore.
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"Doctor Nolan?" Robin called, trying to catch up with the doctor that was leaving a patient's room. The pixie woman stopped to look at him and smiled.
"How is Regina Mills feeling?" She asked with a knowing smile. Robin tried to ignore her.
"She's feeling much better and there are no signs of symptoms from the head injury, I think she's ready to head home, but I'll leave the final decision to you." He said, handing her the patient's file.
"I'm heading there now, would you like to come?" The doctor was already on the move.
"Yes, if it's okay with you." The blond man answered shyly.
At the other end of the corridor, Robin heard his name being called. Both the doctor and the nurse turned around to see doctor Whale approaching them.
"Hey, I need your assistance on the 3rd floor." The doctor whom Robin had never liked very much said, and immediately turned around in the direction of the elevator. He was a senior resident, so the nurse couldn't quite refuse to follow.
Mary Margaret eyed the man with an annoyed expression before speaking again.
"Go, I still would like to talk with Regina's parents and sign all the forms before she can leave." The doctor exaggerated the word 'all' and Robin understood what she was doing, "You can catch her leaving." She winked, and walked in the opposite direction he needed to take.
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When he finished with doctor Whale, Robin really hoped Regina hadn't left yet, otherwise, he would have to check her medical record for a phone number and that wasn't something he was comfortable doing. He would much prefer to give her his own or the other way around.
Suddenly, he had an idea and ran down to the cafeteria to get something.
He really hoped to make it on time.
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Once the nurse got to room 23, he was out of breath and trying to recompose himself. As he was about to open the door, he was met with a smiling Mary Margaret. Looking down at his hand, her smile only grew larger, if possible, and she turned around.
"Mrs. Mills, can you accompany me to the main desk?" The doctor asked. "There's one form I forgot we need to sign." She made an excuse. "Robin will help Regina with her things, don't worry."
Once again, the doctor didn't wait for a response, that seemed to be her signature brand, and she turned around, starting walking.
Cora seemed confused, but smiled at her daughter and followed the doctor out of the division, "I'll be right back."
The two young adults were left alone and suddenly the air seemed to get thicker.
"So…" Both said at the same time and laughed it off.
"You first." Regina insisted.
"Well, I'm going to be straight forward because we don't have much time." He said, approaching her. "I like you, Regina Mills." He said, his hands shaking from how nervous he was. "I know it sounds crazy because we've only known each other for a day, and we basically don't know anything about each other, and I was your nurse…" He was starting to ramble, so she decided to stop him.
"I feel the same thing."
Regina didn't know what had gotten into her, but she decided to throw caution to the wind and closed the distance between them, sandwiching his occupied hands with their bodies.
Once their lips met, time seemed to stop.
Regina moved her arms to wrap around his neck, and he did the same as well as he could, depositing his around her waist.
They kept the kiss innocent enough, knowing her mother could come back at any time, but it was perfect, nonetheless, their lips seemed to have been made to fit with each other.
The moment came to an end when they heard the door handle. They quickly disentangled their arms and put some distance between them.
"Are you ready to go?" Her mother entered the room and frowned. "Is everything alright?" The older woman asked, eyeing both youngers that were acting strangely.
"Everything perfect, Mrs. Mills," Robin answered, his signature dimples on display. "I was just bringing Regina a coffee from the cafeteria." He handed Regina the paper cup and turned around to leave, but not before sending Regina a melting-legs smile.
Regina was left astonished for a moment. He was leaving? Without even asking for her phone number? She started to panic slightly. Had he not felt the spark she did when their lips met, had he not felt anything at all? Looking down at her hand, she stared at the cup for a second before noticing something written on it.
"Are you ready to go?" Her mother asked, handing Regina her bag.
"Sure am!" The brunette answered happily.
On the cup, written with a black market, was a promise for something new:
'Fight me? (555) 555-1234'
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Robin watched her leaving with a smile on his face.
"Got her cell?" Mary Margaret asked from behind him, and his cheeks turned red as a beetroot.
"Ohhhhh, got more than her cell."
Doctor Nolan winked and made her way to the elevator, leaving Robin behind, who was thinking about the awesome girl he had been kissing just a few minutes ago.
A few moments passed before his phone was vibrating inside his coat pocket.
'Thought you said I would win? ;) '
Oh, he had it hard already for Regina Mills.
Well, that's it!I really hope you liked it and that you're having/had a nice Valentine's Day!
Love, Rafa