Chapter 12.

Rose slept through the night and following day, Regina checking her often. By dusk of the second night Rose still hadn't woken. Regina once again took her seat by the foot of the bed Rose slept in, picking up the book she had been reading Regina continued to read until a knock at her front door interrupted her. Sighing heavily Regina stood and went to answer it. Opening the front door she found Mary Margaret stood waiting.

"Good evening Regina, is there any change yet?" Mary Margaret asked as Regina stepped back holding the door open for her guest to enter.

"Not yet, Rose is still sleeping." Regina sighed as she shut the front door.

"Should we be concerned? It has been nearly two days." Mary Margaret asked worried as both women ascended the stairs to Rose's room.

"I don't think so." Regina answered tiredly.

"You don't think so?" Mary Margaret repeated, unsure of this response.

"Your sister obviously needs the rest, she's no longer in any pain nor does she have a fever any more, now we just wait for her to wake up." Regina explained as they reached Rose's room, Regina motioned for Mary Margaret to go in ahead of her.

"She certainly looks a lot better than she did." Mary Margaret noted as she sat on the bed beside her sister, again as she had on each visit, picking up her sister's hand to hold in hers. "Thank you Regina, it means a lot to us that you're taking care of Rose."

"Rose was always a good friend to me, but it seemed the best thing considering the situation." Regina accepted then brushed off Mary Margaret's appreciation as she took her seat again.

They then sat in silence for the next twenty minutes as Mary Margaret sat with her sister.

"I should be going, before David starts to worry." Mary Margaret explained, as she stood then bent over her sister gently kissing her forehead.

"Is he afraid what I might do?" Regina asked bitterly not being able to help herself.

"Can you blame him?" Mary Margaret asked as she continued to look at Rose. Regina stayed silent, she couldn't blame David really, but how much longer must she keep proving herself to these idiots she wondered. "Thank you Regina, again, I really do appreciate it." Mary Margaret gave Regina a small smile as she nodded to her and walked out of the room. Regina looked across to Rose before following after her guest to see her out.

With the front door closed again and with Mary Margaret having left, Regina went to her kitchen to make herself some coffee, with coffee cup full and in hand Regina made her way back to Rose's room and her book. As she neared the top of the stairs Regina stopped hearing a noise in her home.

"Rose, is that you?" Regina called out wondering if the red headed queen had risen from her slumber. "Rose?" Regina called again as she walked slowly toward the room. Suddenly, from what seemed out of nowhere, someone rushed Regina slamming her into the wall making her drop her coffee cup, causing it to smash on the wooden floor. "Who the he.." Regina was cut off as the intruder smacked her across the face knocking her to the floor. As she fell Regina collided with a small table in her hallway knocking the photo frames, lamp and small items on the table crashing to the floor, Regina falling with it all. She cried out in pain and shock as she fell. The shock of who would dare attack her in her own home clouded her thoughts as the attacker grabbed her shoulder pulling her round to face them Regina saw the large hunting knife they held above her ready to strike. Before Regina could react or even use her magic her attacker was gone. Next Regina heard a cry of pain from someone as they were slammed into the wall at the end of the hallway by the top of the stairs. Regina picked herself up to see what was going on, had someone else with magic attacked? It all happened so quickly.

"You dare attack a person, a queen, in their own home?!" Rose said sternly to the attacker, whom Rose had by the throat pressed against the wall, his feet off of the ground.

"Rose?" Regina questioned slightly shocked to see the red headed warrior queen, not only out of bed, but attacking the intruder.

"Are you hurt?" Rose asked back not turning from the coward of attacker who dared not move in Rose's grasp.

"I'm fine." Regina said as she neared them. "Who are you?" Regina asked her attacker as Rose held him, her forearm across his throat. The knife he had held earlier in Rose's hand which she taunted him with.

"Regina!" Mary Margaret called out as she, with Emma and David, burst in to her house.

"Up here." Regina called down to them. The three Charmings' quickly ran to the stairs climbing them and stopping when they came upon Rose pinning someone to the wall.

"Let him go Rose." Emma instructed.

"Not until he tells me why he attacked." Rose said pushing the intruder harder against the wall choking him further.

"Well he can't do that if you choke him to death first." Emma countered. Rose stopped for a moment as she stood moving her forearm from his throat to holding him against the wall by his chest then eventually releasing him.

"Fine." Rose said as the intruder fell to the floor with a loud thud. Emma and David moved in quickly to grab the man.

"Who are you?" Regina asked the man. He looked to Regina and sneered before spitting at her feet. Rose stepped forward threateningly, the man coward back into David and Emma.

"We'll take it from here." David said pulling the man away with Emma's help.

'Death to the Evil Queen!" The man shouted as he was pulled away.

"Shut up." Emma grumbled at him. Regina stood with Rose at the top of the stairs watching as the man struggled against Emma and David. "Quit struggling!" Emma yelled at the man as he then managed to twist himself away from her grasp and push her away, he then turned to David who barely had time to react before the attacker grabbed his gun and pushed David away from him, stumbling David fell back over the few small steps in Regina's entrance hall. The attacker raised the gun to Regina.

"You will die, you bitch!" He yelled at her, again before Regina could react Rose did. Tossing the knife in her hand so that she held the blade rather than the hilt, Rose leaned back and threw the knife. The knife met its target and the man screamed in pain, dropping the gun and grabbing his arm, the knife stuck in his forearm. "My arm!"

"Get him out of here." Rose ordered looking down on the man as he cradled his arm. Emma and David tended to the man as they gently picked him up from the floor and helped out to the sheriff's car waiting outside of Regina's home.

"What is the matter with you?" Mary Margaret demanded as she joined her sister and Regina at the top of the stairs.

"A man attacks some one and threatens their life and I shouldn't react?" Rose turned to her younger sister. "There is nothing wrong with me little sister. I acted as I should have and would again." Rose said standing tall and regal to her sister.

"You can't act that way here Rose, not in this world, not in Storybrooke." Mary Margaret explained.

"Then we are going to have a problem." Rose simply said. Mary Margaret was exasperated, she didn't know how to speak to or answer her sister at this moment.

"Why don't we take a breath?" Regina suggested coming between the sisters. "Rose has a lot to learn about Storybrooke and we'll just have to explain it all to her."

"You can start by telling me what the hell it is I am wearing." Rose said looking down at the soft cotton pyjama bottoms she had on and the white vest. As Rose lifted her arms Mary Margaret gasped. Rose looked to her concerned. "Snow?"

"Rose you're bleeding!" Snow exclaimed taking her sister's arm.

"Let me see." Regina said quickly moving in taking Rose's arm from Mary Margaret's grasp. "That idiot must have cut you when you attacked him."

"Well I did surprise him." Rose smirked. "Ow." Rose winced as the cut began to sting. Regina and Mary Margaret looked to her.

"We should get this seen to." Mary Margaret said beginning to turn to head out.

"Let me." Regina said lifting her free hand and with slow waving motions over Rose's arm healed the cut with her magic. "There, all better." Regina smiled a glint of laughter in her eyes.

"Thank you." Rose smiled as she ran her hand over her arm where the cut once was. Mary Margaret came back to the pair and looked from Roses's arm to Rose.

"Rose maybe you should come back with me now that you're awake and feeling better." Mary Margaret suggested looking to Regina for her agreement. Regina simply cocked an eyebrow and started to head downstairs.

"Snow, I appreciate your concern, I do but it seems late. If it is alright with Regina I will stay here for the rest of the night and we can discuss arrangements tomorrow?" Rose countered. Regina stopped on the stairs for a moment smiling to herself before she carried on.

"It's fine with me." Regina said as she reached to bottom of the stairs and headed in to her kitchen.

"Rose please, it would be safer if you were with us." Mary Margaret said in a quieter tone so that Regina wouldn't hear her.

"Snow, if tonight has proved anything, it is that I am quite capable of looking after myself. Go home Snow, I will see you tomorrow. You can show me this Storybrooke and we can talk for as long as you wish then." Rose offered tilting her head to one side as she did smiling gently to her younger sister. Seeing that she was not going to win this time Mary Margaret sighed defeated and started to leave.

"Fine, I'll come back tomorrow for you." Mary Margaret said as she reached the front door, which was still open.

"I have no doubt you will. Goodnight little sister." Rose said as she slowly followed her sister. Mary Margaret looked to her sister as she grabbed the door and shut it after her. "Well I thought that went well." Rose said aloud to herself as she turned to look for Regina.

"Mary Margaret has gone?" Regina asked appearing from the kitchen.

"Mary Margaret?" Rose asked baffled.

"Your sister, Snow. Here she goes by Mary Margaret." Regina explained as she walked back into the kitchen, Rose following her.

"I see. I think she mentioned something about it whilst we were in the Enchanted Forest." Rose said scratching the back of her head. Regina motioned for Rose to take a seat at the kitchen island.

"How're you feeling?" Regina asked.

"Confused." Rose answered honestly.

"You remember how you got here and my mother…" Regina was about to continue explaining how Rose ended up in Storybrooke when Rose waved her hand to her stopping her.

"No, no I don't mean I'm confused about things or how I got here, I remember all of that quite clearly, I may have had my head cracked a few times, but I still have my marbles." Rose smirked at Regina. "No, I mean I find this place confusing. I'm not sure I am going to like it." Rose said sneering slightly as she did. Regina chuckled.

"Give it more than a few moments. I think there are things here you will like very much." Regina smiled. Rose hummed her slight, if disapproving agreement to Regina's opinion. "So aside from feeling confused, are you feeling alright? How's your side?" Regina asked motioning to Rose's injury. Rose instinctively put her hand to the wound.

"It twinges but feels to be healing extremely well, thanks to you."

"There shouldn't be much of a scar."

"You know what I'm really feeling?" Rose said to Regina who shrugged. "Hungry." Regina laughed and stood up from the stool she had been sitting on.

"Now that I can solve without magic." Regina said as she went to her fridge, opening it she pulled out a lasagne. "This shouldn't take too long to cook." Regina explained.

"What is it?" Rose enquired.

"It's a lasagne." Regina explained as she put it in the oven to cook. Regina looked to Rose who again looked confused. "Don't worry, you'll like it." Regina chuckled.