Chapter 10 No Ones Fault

Emma paced the waiting room. She was anxious and terrified and so very tired from tonight's gruesome events. She couldn't calm herself enough to even trying to get some rest. She couldn't, not when Regina had been drugged, beaten, and nearly killed. She was still in her wet and muddy clothes and ignored Snow's pleas to go home and change into something dry. She just couldn't leave until she saw Regina.

David and Snow had locked up Khan and his thugs and were now sitting in the waiting room, watching their daughter pace infront of them. Snow couldn't stand watching this anymore so she stood, placing her hand on Emma's arm and stopping her in her tracks.

"You're shivering…" Snow said, referring to their earlier discussion about Emma going home to change.

"I'm not going home until I see her," Emma stated stubbornly.

"I'll be here and no one will hurt her again, not without going through me," she said confidently because no matter their heavy past, they had come to some sort of indescribable relationship. They weren't enemies, but it hurt too much to even be considered friends. They were family, but even that was vague when it came to Regina and Snow.

"No… I'm not leaving her again," Emma finally confessed what had been eating away at her very soul. In the diner she had left Regina's side for only a moment to confront Khan and that moment was all it took for Regina to go down. She could have protected her from Khans thugs if she had stayed at the booth.

"Emma," Snow's eyes full of so much concern and Emma could only look away in shame. "What are you talking about?"

Emma took a shaky breath. Images of Regina collapsing, her head smacking against the floor flashing through her mind and she finally met her mother's eyes again.

"I saw Khan at the bar and I assumed he was her stalker and when I confronted him, that moment was all it took for Regina to go down. If I had been by her side, then everything would have been different. I could have protected her."

"Emma this wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known this was going to happen. You were with her the entire time and you didn't leave her."

"Then why does it feel like I'm the one that hurt her?" Emma asked, her voice suddenly shaking with emotion and the struggle of holding back threatening tears. She couldn't let herself cry right now.

"Oh Emma," Snow whispered, pulling her daughter into her embrace and desperately trying to comfort her. "She's ok now. She's going to be ok."

Hours later, Emma was finally allowed to see Regina. She walked into the room after having been updated on her condition. Her ribs were severely bruised, but luckily none were broken. Her shoulder had been dislocated and was now set. She also had a concussion and her face and body were full of bruises. Regina hadn't woke up yet and Emma's breath caught in her throat at how bruised and hurt she looked lying in that bed.

Regina had always looked so much taller in her heels and the air of confidence in which she held herself but now she looked so small and so vulnerable. She was still strong though. Khan and his thugs nor the psychotic stalker could ever take that away from her.

She walked up to the bed and sat down on the chair beside it. She took Regina's limp hand in hers.

"I'm sorry Regina," she whispered. "I shouldn't have lost my temper and confronted Khan. I should have stayed with you. I should have protected you." She reached out with her other hand, swiping stray dark locks out of Regina's face and behind her ear. She had been so terrified that she would lose her and now that Regina was safe and asleep, she was starting to realize Regina meant more to her than she realized.

Maybe even a lot more than friendship.

Maybe it's been there since the beginning, and tonight had only made her realize what she was too stubborn to admit it even to herself.

She was falling in love and she was falling hard.

Her head was pounding the moment she regained consciousness. She kept her eyes closed, the beeping from the hospital monitors making the painful throbbing in her head worse.

Monitors…

Regina opened her eyes, squinting from the morning light streaming in through the windows. She glanced at the monitors, realizing she was in a hospital bed.

And beside her, was a mess of blonde hair asleep with her head buried on her arms on top of the mattress inches away from Regina. She could vaguely remember staring at green eyes amidst all of the pain her body and head seemed to be in last night. She could only remember flashes. She could only remember pain. She remembered being cold and wet and being paralyzed by not just fear, but by something else.

"Emma…" she rasped, her throat suddenly searing with pain. She couldn't understand why it hurt so much to talk or even move her neck so she lifted her hands, touching the dark bruises and burns from the rope and she cried out in pain.

Emma woke up instantly, startled for a moment before realizing it was Regina that had woken her up.

"Hey, hey easy," Emma said softly, gently pulling her hands from her bruised and wounded throat.

"What happened?"

"What do you remember?" Emma wanted to know before she went into detail about what happened last night.

"Flashes, I guess," Regina said, trying to remember exactly what happened. She knew she was hurt and she knew Emma was there. Emma took a shaky breath.

"We were attacked," she said slowly. "It was Khan and his buddies and somehow they managed to drug your drink when Ruby wasn't looking. It was my fault. I shouldn't have left you… I…"

"Emma, what are you talking about?" Regina softly interrupted her, deep genuine concern flashing through her dark eyes.

"I walked away. I thought Khan was the one stalking you and I left the booth to confront him. If I had stayed by yourself I could have gotten you out of there before they noticed the drugs taking affect. I could have protected you from them."

"Drugs? I don't understand?" Regina told her and Emma then told her everything that had happened last night. Regina listened, not even flinching at the gruesome words. Her mask was on and Emma couldn't even tell what she was thinking.

When she was done, Emma fell silent and not a single word was said until slow tears slid down Emma's cheeks. She wasn't a crier. She always kept her emotions bottled up and didn't dare let people see her cry. Except now she was just so damn tired and the tears she had been holding in all night were finally streaming down her face.

"Emma stop," Regina's voice sounding so strained and raspy and Emma couldn't help but wince in sympathy. Regina placed her hand on Emma's, trying to get her attention. "Look at me, please."

Watery green eyes finally met her own.

"This wasn't your fault. I've done so many cruel things to so many people. I could never be fully forgiven. People will always be angry at me because I hurt them and took so much from them. Even if you had been by my side the moment those drugs took effect, they still would have hurt me and it still wouldn't have been your fault."

"But…"

"No," Regina interrupted her, her voice cracking from both the pain in her body and the emotional turmoil she felt from seeing Emma beating herself up over something she couldn't stop. "You've done more for me than anyone else ever did in my entire life. You stayed with me and no one has ever done that for me."

Emma shook her head, the words finally getting through to her and she shook her head with a small chuckle of amusement as she realized how emotional she had gotten. "I'm sorry. I'm not usually this emotional."

"After what happened last night, I think you're allowed to cry," Regina said with a small smile and Emma caught herself glancing at her lips for a quick moment before looking back into her dark eyes. She wanted to kiss her. The urge was strong but she held herself back.

So she stood, tearing her gaze away from the woman she was falling for so deeply.

"I need to get to Henry," she said, wiping at her eyes. "And you need to rest."

"Tell him I love him," Regina told her and Emma nodded.

"Of course, now get some sleep."

Henry had been terrified when he was awaken by an hysterical Ruby in the middle of the night and then his grandparents rushing out the door to find both of his mothers. Now Emma was here and she was ok and he held onto her in a tight embrace. When he pulled away she couldn't stop apologizing to him. She hadn't meant to scare him. He hadn't gone back to sleep since when Ruby arrived and now that he knew both of his mothers were ok, he could feel the deep exhaustion and as much as he tried to convince Emma to take him to see Regina he couldn't fight the pull of sleep. He ended up passing out on the couch.

Emma covered him with a blanket. She'd take him to the hospital once she was sure both he and Regina were well rested. Her parents were still at the hospital watching over her until she was able to relieve them. There was no way either of them were going to leave Regina alone after last night's brutal attack. Plus they still had the stalker to worry about.

When she was sure Henry was comfortable she went over the breakfast bar that Ruby was sitting at. The poor girl was still shaking. She sat beside her, her eyes glancing briefly at her sleeping baby brother in his crib before looking at Ruby. Her eyes were fixed on her untouched mug of hot chocolate that Henry had made for her early.

Granny had declared she was fine and was at the diner despite Ruby's protest about getting some rest after being knocked out.

"I'm sorry Ruby," Emma whispered and Ruby shook her head and finally looked at Emma.

"No, Emma I put down the drinks. A customer walked in and I put them down long enough for them to slip something into Regina's drink. I can't believe I…"

"Ruby stop," Emma said, all too familiar with the blame game that had been going around. Everyone felt responsible and it took Regina's words to make her see it was no one's fault except for those who were guilty. "Don't blame yourself," her voice stern, and fear and guilt and agony flashed across Ruby's face.

"How could I not?" she asked. "You and Granny were hurt and Regina… she… she nearly died."

"It was not by your hand. It was Kahn and the people who supported him so don't think for a second that you're responsible because… I wasn't either. I see that now."

"What are you going to do with him?"

"Honestly, I have no idea right now."