Yo guys! Sup? Don't get used to the almost daily chapters ok? I have midterms coming up. God help me...
Funny anecdote: my math teacher has a huge-ass crush on another teacher.
Another funny anecdote: I just ate a hotdog. Be jealous.
On with the story!
The drive took a long time, which didn't help Emma's already frayed nerves. Her mind was blank the entire way, the words 'Regina's alive' echoing repeatedly in her head.
She pulls up in front of the hospital with a screech of her wheels against concrete, and she practically runs inside, completely forgetting to lock the car. Regina would've killed her.
She runs to the nurses' station in the ER, and practically breathes out a "Regina Mills, I'm here for Regina Mills."
The nurses look at each other, as if deciding if they should treat her like a normal person, or call the psych ward.
Emma silently thanks them when they decide on the first option.
"Your name, ma'am?"
"Sheriff Emma Swan," she says, out of breath. She slides her badge on the counter for the nurse to see.
The older woman looks at it critically, and writes something on her pc.
"A doctor will be with you shortly. If you would, please," she says, gesturing towards a row of seats far into the room.
Emma sits there, trying to stop her knee, which is bobbing up and down crazily. She sighs, and concentrates on observing her surroundings. She has always been good at people-watching.
She sees a man trying not to squirm in front of who she thinks is his girlfriend, as an intern plunges a needle in his arm.
She sees an angry doctor hitting a vending machine, and another sleeping in an empty patient's bed.
She sees a little girl crying beside her mother.
She sees a group of teenagers crossing the hallway with flowers and balloons.
Shit. Flowers and balloons. She practically jumps out of her seat and rushes back to the nurses' station.
"Excuse me," she tries to get the attention of the nurse, but in vain.
"Excuse me!" she tries again, but she only gets a glare from the nurse.
"I told you to sit-"
"What's going on?" A soft, authoritative voice comes from behind Emma, and she has to stop herself from screaming HELP ME.
The sheriff turns around to see a woman, a head or two shorter than her. She has black rimmed glasses perched on a small nose, atop scattered freckles. Her long wavy black hair is let loose on her shoulders, and her eyes bore into Emma's with such green intensity that she has to take a step back.
The woman looks like a porcelain doll, pale, perfect, beautiful. And Emma can't help but be uncomfortable.
"Ah, doctor! There you are! This person here-" the nurse begins, but the doctor silences her with a raise of her hand.
"Are you Emma Swan?"
Emma nods mutely, thinking that this woman is definitely a smaller version of Regina.
The doctor grins, blinding Emma with a stunning smile. "If you would follow me, please."
Emma nods again, following the smaller woman into a hallway.
"Ms Mills is experiencing what I believe to be symptoms of PTSD, which is not unlikely for someone who went through what she did."
"What did she go... through?" Emma is almost afraid to ask, but she does anyway.
"Well, I don't know the details, but I found burn marks all over her body, which may indicate electrocution. I also found cuts and bruises everywhere, some superficial, and some... not so much. She's suffering from a concussion, amongst other things, like a busted knee, and sever damage to the eyes. She hasn't let any male doctor approach her," the doctor continues on sadly, as they step into the elevator.
Emma usually hates this kind of condescending, pitying tone, but this woman seems to be genuinely sorry for Regina.
She dares to glance sideways, and she sees tears streaking the doctor's face. Whoa, definitely emotional, this one. Emma finds it strangely endearing.
The smaller woman sniffles, and rubs her eyes under her glasses.
"I'm Doctor Jamie White, and I'm a cardio-thoracic surgeon."
Emma almost laughs. This woman looks like a highschooler.
Wait- "cardio surgeon? Does Regina need surgery?" Emma fires quickly, feeling panic gripping at her insides.
"Oh no, no, it's nothing like that." Jamie's quick to calm Emma down. "She didn't want anyone to touch her, and they thought that because I'm 'as cute as a kitten'," she's making air-quotations with her fingers while rolling her eyes. "That she would be more comfortable with me. And she was. It was a good call, but still, very insulting."
And just like that, Emma laughs, all her tension evaporating. Regina was in good hands, definitely.
Still, she feels a chill run through her veins as the doctor's words echo in her head. Burns, cuts, a concussion, severe damage. She takes a shuddering breath, steeling herself for the worse.
She expects the strong, smirking Regina as she enters the room, even though she knows that it's practically impossible. And she still gets shocked by the image in front of her. It's almost like a museum painting; she feels like she's looking at it from the outside. She's detached, and cold, and her heart is beating as fast as a human heart can beat without stopping.
Regina -yes, it is most definitely her, although infinitely skinnier, with longer hair that would've suited her if not for the cuts, bruises and burns, and a paler complexion.
She is laying in the hospital bed, hooked to all kinds of monitors that Emma completely disregards as she settles next to the mother of her child.
She approaches a shaking hand and caresses her hair and wow, it's still as smooth as ever -she figures someone must've given her a bath or something- and she feels a piece of her heart detach and fall.
She looks like she's in excruciating pain. And Emma can't do anything about it.
Just then, a man enters the room, sporting a haltered gun to his belt, and a police insignia.
"Emma Swan?" he asks in a deep and smooth voice, and Emma recognizes him as the man she spoke to on the phone.
She nods mutely, and he approaches her, cautiously eying Regina.
"Poor lady," he mutters, and then looks at Emma with serious eyes. "I promise you, we will do everything in our power to solve the case, Sheriff."
Emma nods again, her eyes not leaving Regina. "Where and how did you find her again?" she absently asks, as she plays with a strand of Regina's hair.
"In a cabin up in the woods. Some teenagers thought it was a good place to smoke a joint and drink some beer, but they were surprised to find this lady right here, cuffed into a corner like some animal."
"Whose cabin is it?"
"The guy who owned it died a few years back, and it's been vacant ever since. Basically anyone can access it."
"So you have nothing," Emma stated, her voice hardening, and her throat tightening.
"Hey, I'm not letting this case go cold," he promised her with a hand on her shoulder. "We will solve it."
"Thank you," Emma breathes, but it catches in her throat as she sees Regina's eyes open slowly.
Kay, this is it! And to answer a reviewer, yes, this is absolutely a swanqueen fanfiction. Don't expect any less ;)
leave a review if you liked it ;)