Thank you so much for the story faves/follows! I can't say how much it means to me that so many of you are reading :) Please, feel free to leave a review to let me know what you like and what you don't like. I know that this is probably slow moving to you all but that's the way I want it to be. There is a fluffy Swan Queen moment in this one. Anyway, please let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I wish.
Unbeta'd, all mistakes are my own.
Chapter 4
Emma had heard more than saw the sickening crack that sounded as the back of Regina's head smacked into the cement floor. Blood quickly began pooling around the unconscious brunette's head and Emma Swan dropped to her knees in order to try and rouse the woman without jostling her too much. Regina's body had bounced off of the corner of the table and was now sprawled out on her back in the middle of Granny's Diner. The site where the table had connected with her temple was swollen, bruised and bleeding profusely. Emma was having trouble rousing the ex-mayor as everyone else stood by, mouth's covered by hands all in hopes that the woman would wake up.
"Regina!" Emma said frantically as she kneeled beside the woman, gently patting the woman on the cheek, "Come on damn it - wake up!"
"Mom, wake up!" Henry sobbed. He was on his knees on beside his blonde mother with tears running down his face. He was clutching the unconscious woman's limp hand tightly.
"Someone do something!" Cora called out in fear, tears sparkling in her fearful brown eyes as the weight of the situation caught up to her.
"Granny, call 911!" Ruby shouted as she skidded to a halt beside the brunette on the ground. She handed Emma a clean towel. Emma quickly pressed the towel to the woman's temple in order to staunch the flow of blood coming from what she could now see was a deep gash in the woman's head.
"Shit," Emma cursed under her breath causing Henry to look up at her with an even greater fear in his eyes.
"Don't move her! Everyone stand back and give the Sheriff some room," Granny yelled from the kitchen door as she ran out from the back of the establishment, "We don't want to cause her any more harm."
"Cora, can't you just heal her!" Henry shouted franticly as he remembered the stranger's appearance, "Make the bleeding stop!"
All eyes except for Emma's found their way to Cora's face and watched as it fell with disappointment. She shook her head as tears finally made their way down her cheeks, "I've ne-never been able to gr-grasp the art of healing."
"Of course you wouldn't be able to help her; all you've ever done is hurt her!" Henry spat with disgust as he turned his attention back to his still unconscious mother.
Cora frowned at the small boy who she presumed was her grandson; soon paramedics were making their way into the small building, effectively pushing Cora out of the doorway and back into a corner. Cora stood by helplessly as she watched the men and Emma load her daughter up onto a board of some sort and loaded her into the back of the strange carriage they'd arrived in. It was rather noisy and had bright blinding lights; it honestly frightened Cora tremendously. She wasn't sure what it was or if it was brought in order to help or hinder the process but the men who'd jumped out of the back were quickly assessing the situation and seemed to know what they were doing so Cora kept cool and didn't attack the beastly carriage with a fire ball.
"Sheriff, are you riding along?" One of the paramedics asked quickly as the team loaded the stretcher into the back of the rig, "Or are you going to drive with Henry?"
"No car," Emma stated breathlessly as she climbed into the back of the rig and helped pull Henry up into the ambulance, "We're both riding along."
Cora quickly came to her senses and frantically shoved her way out of the diner, "Wait! Where are you taking her?"
"To the hospital," Emma shouted back over the sirens, "Ruby will bring you. Let's go guys!"
"BP is 115 over 70, pulse is 64, sats at 100 percent room air. Pupils equal and reactive, neuro checks are perfect," the nurse rattled off to Dr. Whale as he raced towards Regina's room. He could hear the ex-mayor hollering at the nurses, ordering them around in typical Regina form.
"I believe she's fine," The nurse said with an eye roll as they stopped right outside the door, "As feisty as ever."
Whale gave her an incredulous look and blew his breath out through puffed cheeks, centering and preparing him for what he was sure was going to be the highlight of his already crappy day.
"It's about time!" Regina exclaimed in relief as she saw the doctor enter her room, "Will you please tell these sorry excuses for nurses, that I am fine so they will leave me alone and then please, release me at once."
"Hello to you too Miss Mills," the doctor said completely ignoring her demands. She rolled her eyes at his nonchalance and crossed her arms over her chest angrily, "Seems you hit your head pretty hard."
"No, you don't say?" Regina retorted sarcastically causing the doctor to blush.
Emma chuckled quietly from the corner where she sat as she watched the interaction between the two. Regina was as about as approachable as an enraged bear and Dr. Whale was about as skittish as a scorned puppy. Even though Emma could tell he did not want to, Whale did his job and assessed his patient thoroughly, all the while listening to her complain about how the 'treatment in this facility was downright unacceptable' and the nurses and axillary staff were 'no better than trained apes'.
"From what I can tell, you don't have a brain bleed or any other damage to your head. We'll have to stitch up this laceration but other than that, you seem to be fine," Dr. Whale started. "However, you do have a bad concussion and you'll need to be observed overnight. I'm surprised your CT didn't show a bleed but in order to ensure you're truly fine, I'm going to admit you for observation."
"No." Regina stated firmly as she shook her head and scrambled to get off of the cart, eyes wild, "I will not, for any reason, stay the night in this damn place. There's nothing you can do to make me change my mind."
"Regina," Emma stated adamantly as she jumped up from the corner, hoping the help Whale convince the woman to do what was in her best interest and stay.
"Save it Miss Swan," Regina snapped, glaring at the woman as she swayed on her feet. The change in position had made her slightly dizzy, so she opted to sit back down. "It's not going to happen. I'll be perfectly fine by myself. I am not an invalid; I simply fell and hit my head."
"Yeah, okay." Emma snorted, "You just about fell on your ass when you stood up! How do you think you're going to manage at home by yourself?"
"Listen Regina," Dr. Whale said quickly cutting off the retort on the brunette's tongue, "the thing is, you've got to be woken every two hours. If you are not able to be roused every two hours or begin vomiting and there's no one there to help you, it could be quite dire. That's only some of the small drawbacks of a head injury. You could have a slow bleed that isn't showing up on the scan which could become much, much worse if the right conditions presented themselves and that could kill you. I insist that you stay overnight."
Thankfully the only person who would have seen the fear flash in her eyes had moseyed her way over to the window in order to check on Henry in attempts to give Regina a tad bit of privacy now that she'd effectively got her to sit her ass back down. Regina brushed the fear aside just like she'd done many times before and snarled, "What part of 'no' do you not understand Whale? I'm not staying here!"
Dr. Whale rolled his eyes and threw up his hands, "Fine! I'll have the nurse draw up the papers for you to sign in order for you to leave Against Medical Advice but just so you know, your insurance will not cover this visit if you so choose to leave."
"Fine, fine," Regina grumped, waving a hand in his general direction in dismissal, "Hurry up about it would you?"
Whale mumbled about returning to stitch up her head and cursed under his breath much to Regina's annoyance as he exited the room. It was only then did Regina shut her eyes, let her shoulders relax and let her head fall back onto the pillow in exhaustion. She winced and grabbed the back of her head when her head and the pillow made contact. Emma chuckled quietly as she made her way back over to Regina's side.
"Hurts?"
"Hmm," Regina sighed and nodded slightly, her eyes still closed. "Like a bitch."
Emma tentatively placed her hand on Regina's and squeezed. "I'm sorry, I can imagine. Why don't you stay overnight and let them keep an eye on you?"
Regina opened her eyes and looked directly into Emma's, "No. I hate hospitals. And no, I don't want to go into any details, so please, drop it."
Emma frowned but nodded in understanding – the last thing she wanted was another fight because she decided to push the brunette. Regina looked down at their connected hands and raised her eyebrow. Emma realized she was still grasping the older woman's hand and pulled it back as if burned, her cheeks quickly colored with embarrassment.
Emma awkwardly cleared her throat and shoved her hands into her pockets. "Well, what are you going to do then? You heard Whale - you can't be by yourself tonight Regina, whether you like it or not. Henry's not old enough to keep an eye on you and I really don't care what you say but your mother is not a viable option."
"I don't know Emma. I'll just deal with it I suppose. It won't be the first time I've had to take care of myself after an injury." Regina sighed, waving off Emma's concern with the wave of her hand, "I'll be fine."
Emma frowned. She did not like that idea at all and would honestly rather Cora stay and keep an eye over Regina than let the brunette be alone for the night. What if something were to happen to the woman and no one found her? What if she did have a slow bleed and became unresponsive and there was no one to take her to the hospital and she perished? None of these thoughts that were flying through the blonde's mind at top speed seemed good and Regina's pride be damned; she would not explain to their son that his mother had died because she was too full of herself.
"No." Emma stated firmly causing the brunette to open her eyes and look at her, "I'm staying with you tonight whether you like it or not."
"Miss Sw-"
"Don't you dare Miss Swan me Regina," Emma scolded, "end of the story, I'm staying with you. I'll go ask my parents right now to watch Henry overnight so you can get some rest knowing that he's okay and safe from your mother."
"Fine," Regina groaned after a moment of consideration which caused Emma to smirk. Regina was getting used to the blonde's company but she still hated it when Emma proved her wrong. "But make sure she doesn't follow them. I don't want her to know where he is."
"Trust me Regina," Emma stated firmly as she looked back at the brunette from the hallway, "Neither do I."
Henry sat by James in the Emergency Room waiting area nursing a hot chocolate and quietly watched as Cora's eyes flicker about between all of the new sights that made up this world.
She must be quite confused Henry assumed as Cora bent down to smell the fake flowers. A frown covered her face and Henry had to bite back a snort that threatened to give him away.
"What ya thinkin' bout?" James asked as he noticed that Cora had piqued Henry's interest.
"She's my grandma too isn't she?" Henry asked innocently.
James smirked down at the boy; Henry was always surprising the adults with what came out of his mouth. "I suppose she is, but don't let Snow hear you call her that."
Henry chuckled, "Yeah she'd probably be pretty upset."
"You have no idea," James laughed aloud.
Snow joined the two after talking with the nurse in hopes to try and see how Regina was doing. Emma had called them from the back of the rig as the paramedics rushed Regina to the hospital. The hospital did not allow children back in the triage rooms unless they were either the patient or there was no one to keep an eye on them and Emma had no desire for her son to be left alone with Cora. Plus, Regina would have her head.
"Hey guys," Emma said tiredly as she approached the trio. Cora saw her approach the group and quietly made her way over to the group.
"Cora," Snow nodded with a slight warning in her eyes.
"Snow," Cora nodded in return, defenses lowered.
Emma looked back and forth between the two and shook her head in attempts to ignore the tension that bounced back and forth between the two women. "Regina's alright. They're going to have to stitch up the cut on her head but her CT came back okay. She has a concussion but that's it. Hopefully we can get her to rest for the next few days and she'll be as good as new."
"What's all of this mumbo jumbo you speak of girl?" Cora asked confusedly. Henry couldn't help but giggle at her naivety. "What's going on? What's a 'CT'?"
James smiled with empathy for the confused woman and could sense that his daughter wished to speak privately with his wife, "come with me Cora. Henry and I will explain to you what's going on while the girls talk."
After Cora and the guys departed Emma dropped her voice to a whisper. "Mom, I need you and Dad to keep an eye on Henry tonight. Regina can't be left alone and is too damn stubborn to let them admit her so I volunteered to stay with her overnight to make sure she's alright. I can't let her be alone in case something happens to her. Whale said that she could possibly have a slow bleed or something, but the scans won't pick up on that until it's actually a real brain bleed. If that happens and no one catches it, she could die. I can't let anything bad happen to her."
Snow regarded her daughter's fearful expression for half a second and she wasn't sure she liked what she found in those intense green eyes. Snow always had found Emma's interest in the brunette somewhat concerning but she had noticed over the past few weeks, since their return from Fairytale Land actually, that Emma's interest in the brunette had begun to change and develop. Deciding she didn't wish to start an argument in the middle of the waiting room or embarrass Emma in public, Snow put the new information away for another day, and simply nodded.
"Of course Emma," Snow responded with a smile, "anything to help you out. Even though Regina and I have been and will probably continue to be at odds forever, I do not wish any harm to her."
Emma smiled brightly and pulled her mother into a much needed, relaxing hug. "Thanks Mom."
Snow smiled and tightened her hold around her daughter. Snow didn't know if she'd ever heard a sweeter phrase, "You're very welcome my love."
"Hey, everything's taken care of," Emma said as she entered the room.
Regina's smile was tense and it didn't quite reach her fearful eyes. "Thank you, I appreciate it."
Emma nodded return and sat back down on the stool she'd previously occupied. She noticed Regina's tense frame and fearful brown eyes and couldn't help but smile slightly at the brunette – she was scared. Regina played herself off as a HBIC with no fears but in reality, she was petrified of a little needle. Emma had noticed Regina's eyes widen in fear when the nurse had drawn up the local anesthetic. She could help but feel bad for the ex-mayor so she rolled the stool over to the cart and simply sat at her side; hoping the brunette would take some strength from her presence. She was quiet while the nurse was in the room but when the woman left, Emma placed her hand upon Regina's and grasped tightly. Regina's fearful eyes quickly found Emma's and gave her a questioning look.
Emma shrugged with a small smile as she met the brunette's eyes in hope of relaying the hidden message behind her actions and words, "I'm afraid of needles so I need you to hold my hand while they stitch you up."
Playing along with the blonde, Regina nodded with an eye roll and quickly blew out a stream of air, "Really Miss Swan, it's just a small needle."
Emma smiled brightly when the brunette responded exactly how she'd hoped. "That may be true but they still scare me."
"Alright Regina, all ready?" Whale said as he entered the room, interrupting their conversation. As he readied himself for the sterile procedure, Regina quickly laced her fingers through Emma's and held on tightly until the last suture had been stitched. Emma smiled to herself and placed her other hand over the back of the brunette's, effectively sandwiching Regina's one hand between her two.