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"Emma. Emma!"
A voice was calling out to her, but the blonde could barely open her eyes, let alone respond. Her body hurt all over, and she couldn't even wriggle her pinky finger. It confused her. Wasn't she supposed to be dead? Her suffering was supposed to have ended. Emma could feel a weight on her stomach, and hot tears soaked through the flimsy fabric that covered her body.
"Oh god. Please. Please."
Somebody was sobbing.
"Come back to me."
Emma tried, but couldn't. The darkness was pushing down on her, and she struggled to break through it. She wanted to say "I'm here. I'm alright. I'm sorry." but found she could not move. In a sense, she was paralyzed. Emma tried to cry out for help, but the blackness enveloped her, and she finally succumbed to it.
"Why isn't she moving?" Snow cried.
Her white ruffled dress fanned out on the ground around her when she knelt by Emma's side. It was going to have wrinkles in it, but that was the least of her concerns. She lifted her head slightly from her perch on Emma's stomach, and stared at her daughter's face. Even while Emma was sleeping, she looked so sad...so lost.
"It's my fault," Snow whimpered. "I should've been a better mother. I should've known that she was depressed and was cutting herself. I should've-"
"Honey," James cut in and rested his firm hand on her shoulder. "It most definitely was not your fault. I should've seen the signs too."
His eyes were red, but he was fighting valiantly not to cry in front of his wife. He needed to be strong for the both of them, since she was clearly so distraught. James gently pulled Snow up from her place on the bed, and wrapped his strong arms around her petite figure. Snow allowed herself to be comforted by her husband for a few moments before pulling away from him and wiping her tears.
"Thank you," she turned and whispered to the other person in the room.
James faced the person too. "Yes. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome," was the short reply. The person did not move. She simply stood back in the shadows, and watched the scene unfolded in front of her.
"You gave us our daughter back," Snow swallowed. "And for that, I am forever grateful."
"What can we do to repay you Regina?" James asked.
"Let me take care of her," Regina's voice was smooth and controlled, "She will need someone to be there for her-"
"But we can-" Snow started.
"And how did that end up for you dear?" Regina cut her off, eyes flashing. "Look at her." She gestured to the broken form of the princess laying on the bed.
"Wait just a minute," James roared and he started to advance.
"James," Snow whispered, and placed her hand on his arm. "Wait. My stepmother is right. Maybe Emma needs someone...different."
"Snow," James started impatiently. "Can we really trust her?"
"Why on earth wouldn't you dear?" Regina sneered and looked at him unflinching.
"Oh I don't know," James snarled sarcastically, "let's see. The fact that you tried to kill my wife? Or the fact that you poisoned her when that didn't work? Because I will not let that happen to my daughter. She is already fragile enough, and she doesn't need your venomous self around to ruin her anymore."
"Are you quite done with your 'if you hurt her, I will kill you' speech?" Regina rolled her eyes. "Believe me when I say this: I will not harm your daughter. I saved her, didn't I?"
"Yes, but you could have some ulterior motive," James' hands clenched.
"Why would I take the trouble to save her if all I was going to do is kill her?" Regina clucked her tongue. "I have every intention to help her."
"But why?" Snow asked, tightening her hold on James' arm. "I mean, like James said, Emma is part of my family. Why would you want to help her if you knew that you would also be helping me?"
"Regardless of the questioning of my every move, trust me when I say that I am not doing it for you," Regina growled. "Look at me, my dear Snow. See if I'm lying when I tell you that I will not try in any way to sabotage or manipulate your daughter to bring you pain. Although that would give me great pleasure, I will not use her for my selfish desires."
"I trust you as much as a slug jumps," James tensed again.
"And I trust you as far as a shark can walk," Regina raised her voice. "Are we done with the silly idioms?"
"Honey," Snow released her hold on his arm and stepped in front of her husband, forcing him to look at her. "I think maybe we should consider it. I mean, Regina was a good mother to me when I was younger."
"She was acting!" James shook his head. "She pretended to be a loving mother while she was plotting your death!" Why couldn't his wife understand? The woman was not to be trusted!
"Even if she was," Snow said calmly, "she was amazing at it. She was caring, and I felt like she truly cared about me. As much as it pains me to say this, maybe Emma needs another mother figure in her life."
Regina smirked behind Snow's back. A mother figure. Right.
"I don't like this Snow," James tried one last time to make Snow see reason. But he knew that he lost the battle once he saw the determined look in her eyes. "Please."
"James," Snow breathed. "I think we can trust her to take care of our daughter. She seems to have good intentions."
"Hello?" Regina interrupted. "I'm right here dears. No need to talk about me in third person."
"You see?" James threw up his hands in frustration. "She's rude, cruel, and doesn't have a nice bone in her body. We can't let Emma be exposed to that."
"On the contrary Prince," Regina smiled slowly. "I'm only rude to you and Snow. You've never seen me with your daughter before."
"That's because you've never even talked to her before! She doesn't even know who you are!" he ran his fingers through his brown hair.
"All the better, right?" Regina smirked.
"You-"
"Enough!" Snow shouted. "You are giving me a headache from your constant arguing. It's settled. Regina will care for Emma, but we have the full right to banish you from this kingdom if you hurt her in anyway, shape or form."
She stalked over to where the brunette was standing and stood up so her mouth was next to an ear. "And you'd better believe that exile is the least of your worries if you hurt one hair on my baby's head. Clear?" Snow pulled back and glared into deep pools of brown.
"Of course darling. But I also have conditions. You, nor James, may not witness me with Emma. Ever. I do not like to be watched, and especially not from you two. I will spend the day with Emma, and every evening, she will be returned to you for dinner. I will then stay the night with her. She will need constant supervision."
Snow held up her hand to silence James' protesting, and looked at the floor for a moment. Decision made, she lifted her head and jutted her chin out to Regina. "Deal."
"Marvelous," Regina sniffed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and heal her."
She attempted to make her way to the bed, but James stepped in front of her and spread his arms out defensively.
"Again?" Regina sighed. "I thought we'd already established everything. This is getting quite dull."
"Why are you doing this?" he crossed his arms.
Regina's gaze faltered before responding evenly, "There is a broken woman laying not 10 feet from us who obviously needs a lot of help, and I'll be damned if she tries to kill herself again."
Seemingly satisfied with her answer, James reluctantly stepped aside. Regina mockingly inclined her head towards him before approaching the fragile princess. Regina allowed her eyes to greedily roam up and down Emma's beautiful form. She tentatively reached out and brushed a golden curl that had fallen over a closed eye. She traced the strand of hair down all the way to Emma's waist, marveling in the softness of it before remembering that Snow and James were watching her every move like a hawk. She hastily retreated her hand, and cleared her throat.
"I do remember that one of my conditions was for you two to leave me in peace while I'm with your daughter," Regina said, not looking away from Emma.
"She's not awake yet," Snow bravely said, "so it doesn't count. And I will be here when Emma awakes. She will need her mother."
Regina didn't respond. Instead, she closed her eyes and rested her hand over Emma's heart. Concentrating, she allowed some of her own energy to flow through her fingertips and into Emma's chest. Ignoring the surprised gasps behind her, she gritted her teeth and let more of her energy out.
Suddenly, Emma inhaled sharply and moaned.
"Emma! Honey! Can you hear me?" Snow cried. She ran over to the other side of the bed and grasped Emma's hand tightly.
Emma tried to open her eyes, but felt like a thousand cobwebs were sewing them shut. She felt a warmth in her heart, and it gave her strength to push through the darkness. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she immediately closed them again from the harsh light.
Regina finished spreading her magic to Emma, and slumped forward, exhausted. She inhaled sharply. It had drained her, since she spent her energy on healing Emma. But she would have done it a thousand more times if it meant seeing green eyes open again.
"James," Regina said weakly before coughing to try and toughen her voice up, "dim the lights. It hurts Emma's eyes."
Baffled by the scene he just witnessed, he nodded silently and rushed to do as he was told.
"I healed her broken arm and leg," Regina said softly. "However, there are still many scratches on her body."
Snow nodded wordlessly, her eyes trained on her daughter's face before whispering, "thank you so much Regina."
"Emma," Snow murmured with fresh tears clinging onto her long lashes, "open your eyes baby. The light is darker."
Emma obeyed, and her eyelids fluttered open again. The first thing she saw was her beautiful mother clinging to her hand with tears streaming down her face.
"Oh thank god," Snow broke down sobbing even harder, using Emma's hand as a cradle for her face. "I thought I had lost you."
Emma felt incredibly guilty when she saw her mother in such a state. It's all my fault. I'm an awful human being. I should be dead right now. Why am I not?
Emma gently stroked her fingers through her mother's black waves, and wiped away some of the tears. She broke eye contact, feeling ashamed, and looked past her to find her father, who seemed to be in the same state as her mother. But he was shaking and trying not to let his tears show.
"Oh Emma," was the only thing he could say.
She managed a small smile, and with a few powerful steps, her father was kneeling next to her mother, and they were both clutching her hand. Emma realized with a jolt that a third person was kneeling on her other side. Green eyes met dark brown, and Emma's breath was stolen. The most gorgeous woman she'd ever seen was resting her chin on the bedspread, and she looked exhausted, but gave her a weak smile. The woman's long dark hair was flowing past her shoulders in gentle curls, and she wore a black gown. Emma couldn't wait until she stood up so she could see the brunette's body, which was probably as beautiful as the rest of her. Blushing, Emma averted her gaze, and looked at the bedspread, overwhelmed. She was supposed to be dead. That way, she wouldn't have to cause anybody any suffering.
"W-" Emma started weakly. "What happened?"