Standard Disclaimer: The characters ain't mine, I'm just borrowing their strings for a while, so don't sue me please! Please point out any errors in grammar or spelling privately and I will correct them.
Chapter 11 – A Suggestion to Consider
Awaking with a terrified shout, Regina cast bleary liquid eyes around the darkened bedroom as she panted. It was, she dully noted by the clock on the nightstand, 3 am. Seeing the side of the bed next to her empty, she fought back panic. Where was Red? The too-real dream she'd been torn from was still so prevalent in her mind that she half-believed it to be real, and Red's absence was only stoking the embers of her deepest fear.
"Red!" she shouted, half-delirious and not really cognizant of the fact that her son was sleeping within earshot of such a noise and needing rest for his pending mid-terms. When no one answered, she choked out a strangled sob.
A minute later – or maybe two or ten, Regina couldn't tell – she heard a slightly uneven gait approaching and was able to recognize it through the fog of her disquiet. The painful pressure in her chest dissipated into a dull ache. It was Red.
Nearly a year on from the disastrous confrontation on her porch after the breaking of the Curse, Red was mostly healed thanks to her superior werewolf genes...mostly. Two scars remained, marring the otherwise flawless skin on her abdomen just beneath her sternum and just above the small of her back, the entry and exit wounds of the sword that had very nearly taken her life. And though she still walked with a noticeable limp, relatively speaking, Red was very lucky. If she were anyone else, she would not be walking at all.
When Victor Whale had emerged from the operating room that day, Regina's entire body had tensed due to his pale and stricken features. In all the years she had known the man, he had never been one to show much emotion, particularly where his work was concerned, so seeing him so affected by whatever had happened to Red alerted Regina to that something terrible had happened.
At first, she'd thought Red had died and she very nearly freaked out, but then Victor delivered the news that Red was alive. Relief immediately washed over Regina, though it was only temporary, for he then went on to inform her that there was damage to Red's spinal column, and that he was reluctant to guess as to whether or not she would ever walk again. If it weren't for Emma's quick reflexes to prop her up, Regina probably would have fallen to the floor when her knees very nearly gave out upon hearing that potential prognosis. Red, she knew, would rather have died than to live out the rest of her life without the use of her legs.
There wasn't anyone Regina could think of more active than Red was. Back in the Enchanted Forest Red had loved being outdoors, preferring opens skies and tall grass to the stuffy confines of a castle. Whether walking, hiking, or running about the plentiful acreage around the Dark Palace, she took every possible opportunity to indulge her need for activity, no matter the season, no matter the weather. If the sun was up, Red wanted to be out and about, often dragging Regina along on her excursions despite the halfhearted protestations of a Queen who had lost some of that youthful vigor over the course of her tragic life and trying reign. And although Regina's overdeveloped sense of decorum meant that she was obligated to give at least an appearance of resistance, it never lasted for long after seeing Red's face light upon breathing in the fresh air and bathing in the warm rays of the sun.
As a werewolf, Red thrived on physical challenges, so sometimes Regina liked to push her lover to test the superhuman strength and stamina she possessed. Having posed challenges a competitive spirit like Red could not resist, Regina would keenly observe, properly awed as she watched Red lift objects that the strongest man in all the realms would not dare to attempt to move, and would gawk openly as Red used only her arms to propel herself up the towering iron latticed cages Regina kept in the rear of the castle grounds to house the hawks and ravens she often liked to tame. In Regina's mind, the only thing that could match Red's physical prowess for its marvelous wonder was her beauty, making her the preeminent specimen of the female sex.
But Red's natural proclivity for athletic feats was not limited to the Enchanted Forest, for even as Ruby she displayed an inherent affinity for sports, picking up any she tried with ease to the point of excellence. Regina would never have known this but for the months they dated before the Curse broke, but during that time Ruby went out of her way to spend time with Henry by teaching him the intricacies of the scant few sports he showed even a passing interest in. His main interest was soccer since his friend Nicholas played, and it was through Ruby's enthusiastic ability to both play the sport and instruct others how to that he got truly hooked. In fact, Henry remained a soccer fanatic the present day.
For hours they would practice in Regina's backyard, particularly on Saturday afternoons when Ruby was off work. Watching her son bond with her lover, even through the medium of a sport she was uninterested in, produced some of her favorite memories. One time Ruby was feeling particularly playful and proceeded to really lay it on with the trash talking as she scored on Henry over and over. For the most part, he gave as good as he got verbally, but after a while, he finally grew tired of Ruby's antics, and with a growl of frustration, he launched himself at her to tackle her by the legs. Catching Ruby unaware, both of them were sent crashing to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs. For a long moment, Regina held her breath and waited for an exchange of heated words once Ruby recovered from the cheap shot, but they never came. Instead, after pushing Henry off of her, she rolled onto her back and broke out into a raucous laughter that soon infected Henry. They must have laid in the backyard for five minutes, laughing and giggling and exchanging quips. As she chuckled in amusement at their behavior, it finally became clear to Regina just how invested Ruby was in Henry, not just for her sake but for his own, and it filled her heart with such warmth that it spread out from her chest until reaching the tips of her toes.
To her shame, she had not always believed Ruby's efforts to be wholly magnanimous where Henry was concerned. At first because of the relative newness of their relationship she had been convinced that Ruby was simply indulging Henry in order to please her. But that selfish and rather egotistical assumption proved to be so very wrong and she was, for once, glad of it.
Still, besides Ruby's desire to bond with Henry, there were two things of note that Regina picked up as they spent time together playing sports. First was Ruby's passion for the game which showed through the enthusiasm with which she taught Henry, and with which she played during recreational games she began to organize with her friends and acquaintances. In addition to general knowledge of how to properly play the sport, it was that passion Ruby had endeavored to pass on to Henry, and inspired as he was by her, he soon began to develop an interest all his own.
Secondly, Regina had noticed just how astoundingly skilled her lover was. Each afternoon before a practice with Henry, Ruby would warm up by traversing the length of Regina's property from one end to the other and back again without once using her hands or the ball ever touching the ground. The feat was only made more impressive by the obvious fact that it was ludicrously easy for her to accomplish – so easy that Regina assumed she could probably continue on indefinitely.
And it wasn't just the skill alone that awed Regina, for Ruby possessed a grace in her movements, an effortless coordination that was so precise and flawless that it could not be taught. When Regina had commented on it, Ruby told her that she had just always been good at sports. It took a bit of pressing, but eventually Regina got her to admit that she actually played soccer in high school in addition to basketball and softball and tennis. She was also captain of the track team. The fact that the memories were not real had not even entered into Regina's mind due to the Curse being incapable of giving people skills they could not develop on their own.
With intrigue burning in her gut, Regina made an after-hours trip to Storybrooke High School to pay a visit to the Principal, Maria Temple. Miss Temple was a gentle soul whose manners and comportment were above reproach. She was a bit too cordial for Regina's tastes, but all in all, she liked the woman, and apparently Miss Temple had been profoundly fond of Ruby. The ostensible reason for the visit was Regina's interest in the curriculum and what college-applicable studies were offered in preparation for Henry being of age to attend. But when Regina had casually – or so she thought – noted a trophy belonging to Ruby, Miss Temple proved far more insightful than Regina had imagined.
"You needn't hide your secret with me, my dear," the prim though kind lady had said, patting Regina's arm. "Back when Ruby was attending school, every time you gave a speech at a game or at a school-wide function, her eyes always followed you with such spellbound wonder that I knew she was smitten. While I am surprised to learn that something tangible came of her attraction, I can't say I'm displeased. Of all people, Ruby deserves happiness. She was my favorite of her class, you know? She always had so much potential, she just spent far too long in Mary Margaret Blanchard's shadow, if you ask me."
Despite blushing to the roots of her hair, Regina found herself wholeheartedly agreeing. Though she did not openly admit her relationship with Ruby, it was a tacit acknowledgment that Miss Temple had understood and vowed to keep a secret. Eventually, Regina caved enough to reveal that the true purpose of her visit was to inquire on Ruby's accomplishments since Ruby was too modest to talk of them herself. At that, Miss Temple became positively animated and began gushing out praise for the extraordinary young woman who, as she so aptly put it, "never got the credit she deserved."
With Miss Temple describing each one in detail, Regina was lead down case after case of trophies that Ruby had acquired for the school, ending in a display of school records in every sport. Because so many of them belonged to her, those cases seemed almost like shrines to the peerless athletic achievements of one Ruby Lucas, for as it turned out, there was not an individual record for the sports Ruby played that she did not hold. What's more, according to Miss Temple she was apparently the only person in the history of Storybrooke High to letter in five sports.
As a perpendicular interest, Regina had been fascinated by the incredible detail the Curse had provided, but even more so, she was impressed with Ruby, and not because of fake trophies but because she realized that if Ruby had actually attended Storybrooke High, it was almost a point of fact that nothing would have changed. While they were dating, Regina had personally witnessed Ruby play half of those sports, and in each one she trounced her opponents (both male and female) so thoroughly that even though Regina was proud as hell of her lover, she honestly pitied the poor saps who dared to attempt defeating her. It was almost beyond unfair how great an athlete Ruby was.
All of that went to show how much Ruby...Red relied on her physicality. It was such a part of who she was that to be without the ability to walk would be like Regina being stripped of magic. After Daniel's death, magic became the crutch that got Regina through the awful years of her marriage to Leopold and the never-ending misery of being Snow White's stepmother. It was her one constant companion, the one thing she could rely on to always be there for her, helping her when she was in need and giving her strength when she felt weak. And while the Curse had certainly deprived her of her magic, it was a voluntary surrender rather than a forced one. Had she been robbed of her magic without consent, she probably would have lost all will to go on. Likewise, if Red could never walk again, Regina knew she would never be happy, and that was just about too much to cope with.
When Regina finally worked up the strength to ask Victor for more details concerning Red's condition, he went on to explain that if the blade of the sword had passed an inch to the left when traveling through her abdomen, it would have severed her spinal cord, undoubtedly paralyzing her for life. As it was, the blow was glancing, so while there was damage done, it was not nearly as catastrophic as it could have been. And because of the heavy amount of swelling around Red's spinal column, there was no way for him to gauge the extent of the trauma to her spinal cord, and therefore there was no way for him to accurately predict expectations for her recovery. As a final note, he pointed out that Red would almost certainly experience at least some paralysis, but having said that, there was still hope that it would be temporary.
It was another terrifying two hour wait for Regina for Victor to return with a status update. When he did, it was with the news that Red was awake but as predicted, she could not feel anything below her waist. Immediately thinking of her magic, Regina inquired as to whether it would be practical to use it to heal Red, a suggestion which Victor quickly dismissed. Because he felt so guilty about what happened to Red, he revealed that he had reached out to Rumplestiltskin when he heard magic was in Storybrooke. To his dismay, the Dark One informed him that because this world was one without inherent magic, the imported form he had brought over from the Enchanted Forest was far too unstable to wield when dealing with such a delicate wound.
Initially, Regina had been enraged that Victor had dared to consult Rumple behind her back, particularly about so sensitive and personal a topic. The rivalry between them had not chilled with the long absence of memory on his part, and where Regina was concerned, he would always be the blasted imp who manipulated her into becoming the Evil Queen and who had condemned Red to a life of salacious behavior as Ruby. In the end, though, she came to recognize the paradoxical wisdom in Victor's decision, even though it bore no fruit.
There was no denying that Rumple was a devious manipulator but he was also the foremost expert on magic in all the realms, and what's more, Regina did not believe his assertions to be false due to her own experience with magic since its return. Several times during the long wait for news about Red, she tried to wield it only for it to spark to life and then fizzle out with a pathetic whimper. Other times, it behaved in a wildly unpredictable fashion, flaring up at random when her stress became untenable and only subsiding when she was able to calm herself. Without magic to fall back on to heal Red, the only hope Regina retained for her recovery was the science and medicine of this world.
As a lifelong practitioner of both and with knowledge the Curse had provided him with, Victor's professional prognosis was to wait and see. Those were not the words Regina wanted to hear. She was a problem solver, a fixer and a go-getter, so being hamstrung in that way was both infuriating and heartbreaking, especially when she saw Red for the first time and those big green eyes flooded with tears upon spotting Regina in the doorway. For the next half-hour, Red sobbed her dismay into Regina's blouse. Rather than offering empty words of encouragement, Regina let her cry, hoping her presence provided at least some measure of comfort. It was, after all, the only thing she could do for her devastated lover, to be there, to be her rock to lean on. She owed Red that. So, if she could not wield her magic to fix her wounded lover, she could at least love her through the crisis.
Days of exhausting and rigorous testing ensued during which Red was a virtual basket case. The debilitating fear that her paralysis would be permanent seemed to weigh on her constantly, making her act extremely out of character. It was only because Regina couldn't imagine how scary it was for her that she was able to stay in control whilst enduring the vicious mood swings, harsh words, and hurtful accusations that characterized Red in those days. But she'd stayed strong, resolute in her decision to remain unwavering with her support, even when she was hurting herself.
Dealing with the fallout from the Curse breaking was hard enough for Regina, but adding to that the responsibility for her son's welfare and a lover that seemed to be vacillating irrationally between anger and withdrawal made for an extremely stressful period of days. Often, she would feel so overwhelmed by it all that she would have to sequester herself somewhere just to scream out her frustrations, venting all of her pent up negative energy lest she snap at Red or Henry and hurt them more than they already were. She'd felt bad enough as it was for making her son doubt that she loved him and for being the cause of Red's terrible injury, so like a soldier in the midst of battle, she set aside her own pain and pressed on. Red had not given up on her, so she was not going to give up on Red.
Thankfully, after four days in the hospital and with both women pushing the limits of their patience, Victor finally came in with good news. The most recent scans of Red's spine indicated that the nerve damage was minimal and that it was possible that Red might regain the use of her legs. With that news, hope returned to Red and with it her a measure of her old self. It was hard to describe the relief Regina felt at seeing Red smile again, at watching her general enthusiasm for life return one joke and one laugh at a time. All she could really say was that it felt like the weight of the world was lifted off her shoulders, that she could at long last breathe again. It was really quite a fantastic feeling, though it was also one she was not in a hurry to relive.
Things only got better with the next two days during which progressive scans of the effected area of Red's spinal cord revealed visible signs of healing. It was, Victor had declared, a medical miracle. Regenerating tissue in the spinal cord that was damaged should not be possible, but both Regina and Red knew better. Those werewolf genes of Red's were kicking in at last, mending parts of her body that in an ordinary human would have remained permanently useless. After learning that news, Red expressed open gratitude for being born a werewolf, which Regina wholeheartedly reiterated.
Another two days later, feeling started to come back in Red's toes. Regina would never forget the look on her lover's face when she actually felt the needle prick the big toe on her left foot. It was so awestruck and overjoyed yet filled with such indescribable grief that Regina cried right along with her, as did Henry and Granny and Emma and Snow (who were visiting at the time) and just about everyone else milling about the hospital wing, including the nurses who had been caring for Red over the week plus stay. Even at her worst, Red had a unique way of making people care for her. Hell, even the implacable Victor Whale had misty eyes on her behalf. But those tears didn't last long, for with a mighty whoop of joy, Red declared, "I'm going to walk again!" General celebration ensued.
Although Red was almost assured a complete recovery, her road getting there was a long one. For the first three months she was out of the hospital she was bound to a wheel chair when out of bed, and after that, six months walking with a cane. But unlike before when she had awakened from anesthesia to find out she might be paralyzed, she never gave up. Sure, she had her bad days when she couldn't motivate herself to get out of bed, but on those days, Regina would curl up with her to watch TV or play board games or cards or just lay there with her hurting lover, offering support and encouragement for however long Red could endure it. Sometimes Henry even joined them, making the lazy day in bed a family affair. Red often expressed her opinion in the days after one of those episodes that it was Regina and Henry as well as Granny and her other family that gave her the strength to keep fighting. Without them, she would say, she'd have simply shriveled up and died. Regina tended to castigate Red for such negative comments but she couldn't deny how nice it felt to be someone's inspiration for once rather than the source of their hatred or terror.
Also during those long nine months, Red endured one extensive rehab session after another. Like with nearly everything else in life, she attacked them with 100 percent of her effort, making strides that constantly amazed her doctors and therapists alike. It was in large part thanks to that work ethic, helped along by her superior healing abilities, that she was out of her wheelchair only ninety days after a sword had nicked her spinal cord, and was walking without a cane six months after that. Regina had never been more proud of someone than she was of Red the day she laid that cane down for the last time so that they could slow dance in the living room to the smooth, amorous tones of Billie Holiday's "I'll Be Seeing You".
So while at the same time hearing Red's disjointed footsteps was a reminder of how close Regina had come to losing her True Love, it was also a cause for hope. Red hadn't died and she hadn't been paralyzed for life, and that was a deep, inexhaustible well from which Regina could draw courage, even on her worst days or in cases such as this, nights.
When the bed beside her dipped a moment later, a strong arm wrapped around her waist, startling Regina out of her complex ruminations. As Red began to rub a soothing pattern on the small of her back, she shivered. Even though Red's presence reassured her, she still felt that gnawing sense of dread from her dream.
"Hey," Red's soothing voice greeted, drawing out the single syllable word with an imploring timbre. "What's the matter?"
"Where were you?" Regina replied, sliding her hand out to rest on a bare thigh and turning into the embrace. She pressed her face into Red's neck and breathed deeply. The lingering scent of her partner's fruity shampoo and body wash helped to coax Regina further down from the precarious precipice of her nightmare. "I woke and you weren't here."
"Aww, babe," Red cooed, nuzzling her cheek to the top of Regina's head, "I'm right here. Sorry I didn't answer, I was using the little girl's room. Did you have that same dream again?" Regina nodded into Red's chest. It was a lie. The dream was different and much more frightening but she wasn't about to tell Red that, knowing it make her worry herself sick.
Pulling back, Red leveled Regina with a worried tint to her green eyes. "I really think you need to talk to someone, sweetie," she said. "You don't seem to want to talk to me about it and your coping mechanisms are clearly not working. You've been having these dreams for a month now and they need to stop. You're not resting at all."
"I know," Regina replied, sniffling. "I just...I think I know why I'm having them, so I'm pretty sure they'll pass in time."
"Why do you say that?"
Looking at Red, Regina sucked on her bottom lip for a moment. "What day is next Tuesday?"
Red's brows rose in confusion. "February 23rd. Why?"
"Think about it. What happened on that day just one year ago?"
For a moment, Red remained silent, thinking it through as Regina suggested. When realization dawned, she visibly winced. "Oh. I didn't even realize."
"Yes, well, I did," Regina said stiffly. "I'll never forget it. It's kind of hard to forget the day you watched the love of your life nearly die on your front porch."
Looking suitably chastised, Red cupped Regina's cheek and smoothed her thumb over parted lips. "I'm sorry, hon," she apologized, "I just..." Sighing, she shook her head. "I guess its all still a blur to me. I don't really remember much about that day beyond Emma coming to pick Henry up."
Averting her eyes, Regina breathed deeply. Sometimes she forgot that Red's memory of that day was spotty at best, not that it was a bad thing. If she had gone through what Red did, she wouldn't want to remember either. Hell, sometimes she wished she could forget that ghastly day herself.
"It's alright," she then said, glancing back up. "I suppose it's for the best that you don't remember."
"Maybe," Red replied, running her hand over Regina's sweat dampened hair. With a gentle smile, she stretched out on the bed, her movements still stilted – though barely – from residual twinges of pain. Once settled, she drew Regina to lay down next to her. Resting her head on Red's chest, Regina listened to the steady beating of the heart directly beneath her ear and the vibrations of Red's comforting voice, which helped her to breathe a little easier. "I get glimpses sometimes," Red then said unprompted, "these random little flashes of memories that never linger for very long. They always leave behind a feeling of fear, though."
"Which makes sense because you were," Regina replied, drawing her hand up to fist in the fabric of the snug baby blue tank-top Red was sleeping in, "afraid that is. I could see it in your eyes. You kept trying to speak but nothing came out that I could understand. Victor told me later that the blade hit at such an extreme angle that it nicked your stomach, too. Blood was filling your throat and your chest cavity, making it hard for you to breathe, not to mention talking. Seeing you like that...gasping and choking on your own blood...it was awful, Red, just awful. I've never been so scared in my life."
Returning a gentle hand to thread through Regina's hair, Red pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and began to brush long, nimble fingers through her ebony locks, setting a steady, soothing rhythm that helped to quieten the turmoil of such troubling memories.
"I'm so sorry that I scared you," Red whispered, pressing her lips to Regina's forehead this time and allowing them to linger.
Clenching her eyes shut, Regina breathed in deeply and exhaled. In the face of such tenderness and needless contrition, she cut off her temptation to demand promises from Red that she knew could not be kept. It would accomplish little good to chastise Red for acting on an instinct that had saved her life, for had that blade been permitted to strike its intended target, she would have been dead. Because of their height difference, the blow that had pierced Red just below her sternum would have been through Regina's heart.
Although she would have preferred that to have been the case, Regina was neither ungrateful nor unaware that she would never be able to restrain Red from risking her life for anyone she loved. That self-sacrificial nature worried Regina endlessly but she wouldn't change it for the world because it was an integral part of who Red was; it was what made Red capable of such profound depths of love. Regina could never wish to eradicate that, for without Red's love, she would not have become a woman whose faults her son could so quickly look beyond to see the mother who loved him with all of her heart. Without Red, Regina would be deprived of a happiness that was almost too much to contain at times. So as concerning as it was, Red's willingness to risk her life to protect those she loved was something Regina was just going to have to live with. It was part of the deal that came along with being in love with her.
Besides, in the end things worked out for the good. But would Red be so lucky the next time?
"Don't be sorry," Regina replied, mostly meaning it. "You saved my life." There was still a small part of her that was angry at Red but it was the selfish part that she was mostly able to overrule these days. Yet even though she was able to curb the desire to imperiously demand Red listen to reason, she was not able to stop herself from turning up her head to fix Red with a look that hovered somewhere between stern and pleading. "I just wish I could keep you from ever doing such a thing again."
"Well, you can't," Red replied as Regina knew she would. "I'll always protect you, even at my own expense." A detail of which Regina was already painfully well aware. "I would take that blade a hundred times if it meant saving your life once."
Red would take the blade a hundred times but it would only take once to destroy Regina, as evidenced by her dream. It was likely a subconscious way of reminding her how brief life was, and that it would be an unforgivable to sin to take what she had for granted. Red was far too precious a gift to be wasted.
"But then what would I do?" she posed based on the completely plausible outcome to Red's death the dream had revealed. The memories of it were still fresh, driving the desire to get her point across as effectively as possible, and since Red had opened the door, she could feel guilt-free in doing so. Lifting herself to prop up on an elbow, Regina gazed down at her partner. "What would I do without you? I don't think you understand how close I came to losing it. Had my magic been returned and at full capacity..."
Shuddering, Regina shook her head as she trailed off. It would have been horrible. She'd already been teetering on the edge of an uncontrollable rage from the mere presence of the angry mob of morons who had dared to trespass on her property, and when her son was present to boot. But when Red uttered that last broken, "I love you," and the light in her eyes faded away, when that strong heart that had endured so much undeserved abuse over the years finally stopped beating, Regina momentarily snapped.
Seeing black, she'd pounced on the man whose assassination attempt she believed had cost Red her life. With a strength fueled by bloody rage, she knocked him to the ground and pinned him there with her legs while she strangled the life out of him with her bare hands. By the time Emma pried her off, he had turned a pretty shade of violet. Had it not been for that intervention, Regina would have killed the man and felt absolutely no remorse in doing so.
As a matter of fact, she had been so lost in a haze of fury that the gall Emma displayed in interfering set her off again, this time on the so-called Savior herself. With Emma firmly in her sights, she approached in her most menacing pose, ready to thrash the presumptive blonde for daring to cut her vengeance short, and would have done just that but for a shout of triumph from behind her. Turning her attention away from the object of her anger, Regina found Victor Whale leaning over Red, his fingers poised over the artery in her neck and a buoyant smile on his face.
"She's back for now," he'd said, his smile fading quickly. Regina had been so lost to her furor that she hadn't even noticed him begin CPR. "But we need to get her to the hospital asap or she's going to die, and I won't be able to bring her back next time."
In the face of potentially saving Red's life, everything else faded away, rendered inconsequential. Her animosity forgotten, Regina attempted to accompany Victor in the ambulance when it arrived (fortunately Emma had called for one the second she saw Red injured), but was rebuffed. While the Curse had provided for a hospital and medical equipment current for the 1980s, they were substandard to the current era, with ambulances being no exception. Because Victor needed room to work, there was no room inside the rescue vehicle for anyone save himself and the EMTs who answered the call.
It was an agonizing experience for Regina to watch that ambulance drive away, feeling like she had left half of her heart in the back of it. The only thing that eased her turmoil was the indisputable fact that Victor Whale was every bit as good a surgeon as he was a cold and conniving bastard, and that was a good thing because she hadn't forgotten what he'd done to her under Rumple's guidance, neither was she soon to. But it was also an equally irrefutable fact that the man saved Red's life, so Regina had been willing to cut him a little slack for his role in what transpired that day.
Surprisingly enough, Victor eventually turned out to be a very good friend to Red, whose naturally merciful attitude showed no signs of holding his actions against him. That Red was able to forgive him had been the cornerstone of a solid friendship the two built in the months that followed, but while Red could look past Victor's faults to see the man inside, Regina could not. However misunderstood Victor Whale was, and however much he had helped the woman she loved, he was no friend of hers and never would be. For Red's sake, though, Regina was willing to at least tolerate him.
The unexpected development of a friendship between Red and Victor Whale was not the only positive consequence of what might have been an otherwise senseless tragedy. It was watching Regina fall to pieces over Red's injury that finally convinced Henry that his mother was not the heartless witch his precious and previously infallible storybook had made her out to be. He hadn't supposed to be there at all, but unbeknownst to Emma, after she'd left him under the care of a trusted neighbor (for which Emma had received a lengthy tongue lashing later on), he disobeyed her instructions to stay put. After making his way back to the house, he arrived just in time to catch the aftermath of Red being stabbed.
The look in his eyes when Regina saw him told her everything she needed to know, that not only was he distraught because Red was hurt, but also because he could see that his mother was in pain. That look reignited a hope in Regina perhaps they could move past her casting of the curse to rebuild their relationship. She didn't have to wait long for confirmation.
She had been sitting with her son in Charming's truck while waiting for the other half of Storybrooke's most famous (-ly disgusting) lovebirds to take Henry home with him. At Henry's request, she had just finished giving him a rundown of what had happened. Learning that Red got hurt saving her life changed something in him.
"I'm sorry, Mom," he'd said soon thereafter, a solitary tear sliding down his cheek. "I was so hateful to you, and I said that you were the Evil Queen. What you did...the Curse...that was bad, but I really can see now that you love me and that you love Ruby, too. If you were still the Evil Queen you couldn't do that."
"Oh, sweetheart," she'd replied, drawing her son into her arms and holding him properly for the first time since confession her sins to him. "While it pleases me to hear that, I have to be honest with you. I was the Evil Queen and I did do a bad thing. In fact, I did many bad things, more than I could ever count or hope to repay. But for whatever reason, I was fortunate enough to have two people come into my life who showed me that there was still goodness in my heart, that I could still love and still find happiness. You," she squeezed him, "were one of them and Red was the other. Now," she pulled away, rubbing his shoulders affectionately, "I know I have a lot to make up for, but I'm willing to try if you are."
Henry had sniffled as he nodded. "Yeah," he breathed, "I'd like that, Mom."
After giving him another long hug, she sent Henry on his way with Charming, along with a promise to give Ruby a hug and a kiss from her "favorite punk". After climbing into her Mercedes, Regina wasted no time in departing. She drove to the hospital like an authentic maniac. Speeding through the streets of Storybrooke, she was reminded of the way Ruby loved to show off in that hideous metal coffin of a vehicle she owned, spinning her tires at red lights and hugging tight curves until Regina was shouting obscenities from the seat next to her. The speed demon in Ruby would have been extraordinarily proud of the way she tore through Main Street like a bat out of hell, honking her horn at the handful of other drivers she had to swerve around to pass.
Making record time, she arrived at the hospital just after they had taken Red into surgery. The three hours of waiting afterward were an exercise in both restraint and torment, for not only had Regina been dealing with the trauma of watching her girlfriend nearly die, but she'd also been wrestling with the fact that there were still a multitude of angry townsfolk who would not rest until they saw justice doled out on the woman who had cursed them away from their homes. Too proud to run and too tired to fight, escaping them had not been an option, especially since all she wanted was to go home with Red and Henry and live out the rest of her life in peace if that was even possible.
Intellectually, she knew her wishes to be far fetched. Justice in the Enchanted Forest was arbitrary at best, so with its citizens all riled up like they were, it was unlikely that reason would prevail. Although, what was reasonable when considering everything they would accuse her of she was guilty of and more? She was guilty of so many evil deeds that there were any number to choose from that would earn her a swift execution.
Yet however much Regina was ready to consciously own up to her crimes, she couldn't help but hope for leniency. From her perspective it would have been the ultimate misfortune in a life filled to the brim with it to have finally found her happy ending just to lose it when her crimes finally caught up with her. Luckily events would soon conspire to keep her alive but she hadn't known at the time that she would live past the night.
As such, all she could do was pass the time stewing on her guilt and worry. Sitting there in the waiting room, twisted up inside from the torrent of emotions she was feeling, she had felt time crawling by like a slug over hot concrete, melting as it passed and leaving a trail of gooey anxiety in its wake. And as if that was not bad enough, she had to endure nearly constant withering stares from Snow and Emma, both so full of self-righteous judgment and condemnation that she became increasingly agitated.
Thankfully Granny remained passive in observation, having given Regina her conditional support upon arriving at the hospital. When Granny approached, Regina had been standing outside the waiting room, trying to hold herself together.
"Listen, Regina, I don't like you," the cantankerous old woman had said without missing a beat, her normally gruff features a mixture of worry, grief, anger, and something that looked like grudging acceptance. "And I know the feeling's probably mutual. I'm on one side of this feud and you're on the other. There's a lot of bad blood between us, but the thing is: Red loves you. She loves the hell out of you. Why? I can't figure. That doesn't matter to me, though. What does concern me is whether or not you love her."
"I do. So much," Regina had declared without delay, her nose running and her eyes probably bloodshot from how much she'd been crying the last half hour. It was not the way she'd wanted to be formally introduced to Red's beloved grandmother but life rarely gave such luxuries.
To make it worse, at the time, she'd still been battling the desire to scream and break things, but strangely, the steady presence of the elder Lucas seemed to have a calming, reassuring effect on her, much as Red did. Regina supposed it might be the werewolf thing or perhaps it was because there was a mutual devotion to Red between them, but whatever the reason, Granny being there helped her to make it through the interminable wait for news on Red.
Looking at the stern yet slightly softened visage of Granny Lucas, Regina openly admitted for the first time the words she'd been hanging on to since that kiss in her kitchen that changed everything. "She's my True Love."
Rather than acting surprised as Regina had expected, Granny just smiled, her dimples on full display. It was a nice look on a woman Regina had never seen wearing anything but a scowl.
"I figured," was Granny's simple response.
Although Granny hadn't been taken aback, Regina certainly was. "And just how did you figure that out when even I didn't know until our kiss broke the curse?"
Shrugging, the elder matriarch's eyes filled with a sagacity that spoke to her vast life experience. "I've heard tale that you appreciate bluntness, your Majesty, so I won't puff you up with pretty words. I know Red's love for you is true because no one could love you otherwise."
The words were a punch in the gut but they were both fair and accurate. "I hadn't thought of it that way but I suppose you're correct," she admitted, grimacing. "I am an unlovable person for the most part."
"You are, and yet she loves you."
Regina nodded, sad but grateful, and echoed the sentiment. "Yet she loves me."
"That's all I need to know." And with a firm clasp of Regina's upper arm, Granny turned to take a seat in the waiting room but stopped short of the door. Turning her head over her shoulder, she glanced at Regina with a look that could only be described as filthy with ill intent. "One last thing," she'd said, her voice low as if a rumbling growl. "I keep a very special dart on hand for my crossbow that is enchanted to penetrate any magical barrier or ward. If you hurt her, it'll have your name on it, and I don't miss, your Majesty."
Gulping with genuine fear, Regina licked her parched lips once before grating out an equally sincere, "Understood."
With that, Granny departed inside the waiting room to sit and then pulled her latest knitting project out of her purse to pass the time. After taking a few minutes to collect herself from reeling due to the perplexing blend of fear and relief from her exchange with Granny and her persistently prevalent anxiety for Red, Regina ambled inside to join the tense vigil. For what seemed like hours but what must have been minutes, she sat in silence, floored by Granny's unhoped for support, yet as time wore on, Snow and Emma's starkly contrasted attitudes began to be too much for her to ignore.
"What?" she'd barked when she finally had enough, directing her ire at Snow White and her spawn.
Everything in the room seemed to stop at the outburst, including Granny's knitting and the relentless chattering Snow and Emma were engaged in. Fortunately, Henry had been with David, so he didn't witness the ensuing scene.
When neither Emma nor Snow deigned to respond, her lips curled in an affronted snarl. "Have you nothing to say or are you just going to sit there and silently judge me like cowards?"
"No one is a coward here, Regina," Snow had replied, her voice as angry as Regina had ever heard. "I think you know that. But what's it to you if I judge you for what happened? What happened to Red was your fault!" Bursting from her chair, the diminutive woman began to pace while Regina watched, fuming. Nearby, Granny eyed Snow with slight displeasure. Had Regina not been so furious she would have reveled in that small victory. "But it's my fault, too," Snow continued, sounding so selfishly burdened with guilt that Regina wanted to slap it off of her dainty shoulders. "I should have made her stay away from you. I knew you were going to hurt her one day."
"And what do you suppose you could have done, my dear?" Regina responded with a mocking edge. "Were you going to lock her up in her room and throw away the key? Or perhaps you could have chained her up in the dungeons. Please. We both know there was no keeping Red away. She did precisely what she wanted." Almost imperceptibly, Granny nodded, and this time, Regina was in control enough to internally cheer her tiny triumph.
"And you just enjoyed every second of that, didn't you?" Snow replied, gritting her teeth. "Touching her...seducing her in order to mold her into whatever twisted version of her you intended to create." Granny frowned while Regina glowered, though neither said anything. "I know you hate me, Regina, but why did you have to use her to get to me? Why couldn't you have chosen someone else to play with or just killed me instead?"
"My God, could you possibly be more conceited?" Regina had then spat, incensed at the implication. "What Red and I built had...has nothing to do with you. And I didn't want to kill you, you insolent brat. Had I desired you dead, I would have appeared in your room long ago and snapped your scrawny little neck."
While Granny seemed content to watch things shake out between the mortal enemies, Emma – the cooler head of the group – chose that moment to interject. "Guys, chill," she barked. "This is not the time or the place for this. Not when Ruby is in there fighting for her life!"
"Don't you think I know that?" Regina shouted. Her raised voice drew the attention of several nurses that were flitting through the halls. She sighed, reining in her runaway temper. "I know it's my fault that Red got hurt, and though it will haunt me for the rest of my days, I accept my role in that. But I won't stand for anyone questioning the way I feel about her. Ever. I love her!"
"You don't," Snow had countered assuredly, a frown taking up residence on her lips. "You're not capable of love and haven't been for a long time."
Standing from her own seat, Regina approached Snow with deliberate steps that made the shorter woman stumble back a pace. Springing up, Emma stood behind her mother, though Regina glared a warning that made Emma back off a bit. Again, Granny did nothing, sitting and observing neutrally.
"Oh, is that so?" Regina then drawled, pleased at her ability to still strike fear into people's hearts just by her mere presence.
In response, Snow nodded while Emma remained in tense silence. "It is."
"In that case," she had then said with a boastful grin on her face, "you'll be surprised to find out that it was not our illustrious Savior who broke the curse as was prophesied." Of course, if Emma hadn't flirted with Ruby in the first place, Regina would never had the courage to act, so in a manner of speaking, Emma still was a savior of a sort. Regina was not about to admit that, though, nor would she if a thousand years passed. Leaning into Snow's personal space, she'd then put the cherry on top of her gloat sundae. "I did."
"Impossible," Snow gasped, looking around to Granny, who confirmed Regina's assertion with a sharp nod. Turning back to Regina with eyes saucer-wide, Snow breathed out, "How?"
"Are you so daft that I have to spell it out for you? I should think you ought to know with the way you sang its praises after Charming woke you up," Regina had crowed triumphantly. "And while the sleeping curse I put you under was very potent, the Dark Curse was the most powerful curse ever cast. Therefore, only one thing could have broken it, for only one act is powerful enough to break any curse."
Looking pale, Snow's bravado faltered having been mortally wounded by the delicious irony. "True Love's kiss..."
Grinning arrogantly, Regina proceeded to rub salt in it. "That's right. While I know it's as hard for you to imagine that Red loves me as it is that I love her, the proof is, as they say, in the pudding. What Red and I share is True Love, the very same thing you share with your beloved Prince Charming." Her smile then transformed into a dark scowl. "So, with that in mind, if you should ever feel so inclined to accuse me of such a thing again, please recall this fact so that you might refrain. It would be in your best interest because I will not show so much patience or restraint next time. Am I clear?" Still gaping, Snow appeared too stricken to respond. "Am I clear!"
"Y-yes," the pixie-haired woman nodded, her face trembling.
With that, Regina returned to her seat with a satisfied swagger. When she took her seat, she caught Granny giving her a rather stealthy grin, as if she were projecting her approval of the way Regina had handled the situation. Warmth suffused Regina's chest. She hadn't realized how much she actually wanted Granny to be on her side. The old woman's opinion was of the highest value to Red, and though Regina knew Red would never allow Granny's disapproval come between them, being at odds with the woman who had sacrificed so much to raise her would have torn Red apart inside. It was an immense relief, then, to know that Granny had meant what she said. So long as Regina remained faithful to Red, Granny would remain supportive of their relationship. It was more than Regina ever dared to dream she would receive from the austere Lucas matriarch.
For the rest of the wait that passed, Snow kept her opinions to herself, an additional grace which Regina was immensely thankful for. Joining her mother in silence was Emma, although it was difficult for Regina to guess what the woman was feeling. Unlike Snow, Emma was almost as good at concealing her feelings as Regina was, and as such it was hard to get a handle on her.
It turned out that Emma was more open to accepting her, as well as her relationship with Red, than anyone else in town, which was probably because she thought so highly of Red via Ruby. Whatever the cause, Emma's support proved to be invaluable due to the fact that life in Storybrooke was never normal. Several times over the past year, the Savior had stood by Regina's side in situations that required magic, wielding their powers together to save the town that so many people had once desired to abandon. And whereas Victor was relegated to a friendly relationship with Red alone, Emma had become almost as much Regina's friend as Red's. With the way they'd started out that night Emma brought Henry back from Boston, she never would have imagined it could happen, but it did. Life could be as strange as it was wonderful and terrible.
"Hello! Earth to Regina."
Shaking herself out of her thoughts once more, Regina frowned at the sound of Red's voice. "I'm sorry. What?"
Cocking her head to the side very much like her alter ego might, a look of concern crossed Red's features. "You checked out there for a second. Again. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Regina waved her off. Red's concern was sweet but unnecessary.
"Are you sure? I know talking about that day is hard for you." Taking Regina's hand, Red pressed several tender kisses to the sensitive skin on the back of it. "Emma's told me a bit about what happened but I'm sure she left things out for my sake."
Regina looked away, not wanting to see the inevitable reproach in Red's eyes. "She did so at my request."
Shrugging as if unaffected, Red just smiled and leaned in for a kiss. "That's fine. I respect your judgment, always have. I just want you to know that you can talk to me. I don't want you to feel like I'm too fragile to hear about it or whatever. I'm a big girl, you know."
"I'm aware," Regina smiled crookedly, suddenly thinking about all of the 'big girl' activities she had indulged in with Red recently. "However, that doesn't mean I don't feel the need to protect you." Red opened her mouth to protest but Regina stopped her with a gentle finger to her full lips. "No need to object, my love. I promise that I'll speak to someone about this if I feel like there's a need. For now, though, they're just dreams. In my experience, they'll go away on their own, and believe me, I have plenty of it."
Humming, Red pursed her lips. "I hope so, but you know, I was talking to Henry the other day and he said that his grandfather has a theory about your dreams. He didn't really clarify but maybe you should go talk to him."
Regina laughed. "Charming has a theory? That I would love to hear, if only for my entertainment."
"No, not David," Red said, wincing slightly. "Gold."
Could she never escape that man? As if it were not bad enough that he played a starring role in producing the Evil Queen, come to find out, Rumple was related to Henry by blood via his long-lost son, Baelfire, aka Neal Cassidy. Reaching Neal had been Rumple's primary motive in goading Regina into casting the Curse. Nearly a year had passed since that discovery and Regina still found it hard to digest that the Dark One was her son's grandfather. And now Rumple dared to inject Henry into their feud?
Turning on the bed to better face Red, Regina fixed her with a glare. "Gold? What rubbish has that imp been feeding to my son?"
Red shifted uncomfortably. "As I said, Henry didn't specify what Gold's theory was. He just thought it might be a good idea for you to talk to him."
"Do you not remember what that man did to me? What he did to you?" Regina asked, angry that Rumplestiltskin was trying to integrate himself back into her life, and through her son no less. Well, she wouldn't have it. "He's not to be trusted. He never does anything that doesn't benefit him in some way."
"I do remember," Red said in a calming tone, "and while Gold might be a man of questionable character, he is Henry's grandfather, and he seems to genuinely love the kid. Look," she sighed, squeezing Regina's hand, "I don't trust him as far as I can throw him and I'll never forgive him for what he did to you or to me, but I think that since Belle came back and he found his son, he's kind of turning over a new leaf. It has been over a year since he tried anything hinky."
Regina scoffed. If her own redemption had been unlikely, Rumple's was even more so. The man had hundreds of years of villainy on her. Compared to the Dark One, the Evil Queen was a small fish, for he was the puppet master of the Enchanted Forest, the manipulator of all manipulators, the instigator of nearly every foul deed done in the past two hundred plus years. To trust Rumple was the height of insanity, for even when being magnanimous, he had an agenda.
"You may be right," she replied, "but be that as it may, I'm uncomfortable with my son spending time with Rumple alone if he's going to start whispering in his ear."
"I get it," Red nodded in agreement, "and I'm with you on that. I just...just think about it, okay? I'm worried about you. I love you, Regina, so when you hurt, I hurt, too. You're hurting right now and it's eating me up that I can't do anything to help you."
Her expression softening, Regina sighed. Leave it to Red to make her feel guilty about her own torments. Regina knew it wasn't purposeful but it was effective all the same.
"But you are helping me, Red," she extended a hand to brush over Red's cheek, then slid it upwards to tangle in her luxurious mass of chestnut hair. "Just you being here with me is enough. So, I'll be okay, I promise. I've dealt with much worse in my life and that without you by my side, loving me and supporting me in a way no one ever has. You're my rock. As long as you're with me, I won't ever crumble."
With watery eyes, Red leaned in, her face painted with such a profound look of adoration that Regina's heart skipped a beat.
"That was one of the sweetest things you've ever said to me," she breathed with stars in her eyes. "I think it deserves a reward."
Regina quirked an intrigued eyebrow. "Is that so?"
Red nodded, her eyes now twinkling. "It is."
Grinning back at Red, Regina pressed forward to rub their noses together in an Eskimo kiss. Scrunching her nose up adorably, Red returned the grin.
"Well, then," Regina said, licking her lips with anticipation, a reaction that Red noticed, causing her pupils to dilate, "far be it from me to decline so gracious an offer."
Breathing heavily through her nose, Red's pale skin flushed. "Damn. Why do you have to be so hot when you go all politician on me?" And then Red pounced, surging forward to capture Regina's lips, swallowing up her laugh in a searing kiss that had her pressing as tightly into Red's body as possible.
Tilting her head just slightly, Regina deepened the kiss, moaning her approval into Red's pliant mouth. Settling into one another, the exchange of heated kisses shifted into something else beyond the physical, something searching and reassuring, born out of a mutual trust and devotion for one another that surpassed even the throes of passion. It was love, the deep and abiding kind, an outpouring of two hearts beating as one, speaking to one another through a language only known to them, and punctuated by slow, thorough kisses.
It was only after many wonderfully long minutes that Regina pulled away. Extricating herself from her partner's embrace, she chuckled at the lovestruck expression Red was wearing. Red's face always was an open book, and the look of awed reverence on it at present humbled Regina tremendously. Inwardly, she suffused with warm as it hit her once again just how loved she was. Only Red could make her feel that way with only a look.
"While I would love to continue this," she said as she smoothed the well-kissed look off of her Red's face with a gentle hand, "tomorrow comes early, and you do need your rest for your double shift."
A quirked eyebrow was leveled at her in response. "Yeah?" Red drawled. "Well, so do you, Madam Mayor."
"I agree," Regina replied, patting the mattress next to her in an inviting manner, "which is why you're going to settle in here and I'm going to hold you in my arms. That always helps me sleep."
"Oooooh," Red breathed, eyes wide with excitement. "I get to be the little spoon? Awesome!"
Slapping Red's shoulder, Regina chuckled. "Child."
"You love it." Green eyes were dancing with happiness. Regina could not refute the statement even if she wanted to.
"Yes, I do. More than you'll ever know."
After leaning down to share one last sweet kiss, Regina guided Red back under the covers. Once she was situated on her side facing the wall away from Regina, Red let out a contented breath and snuggled into her pillow. Regina wasted no time in settling in beside her, pressing the full length of her body against Red's slim frame. With one arm underneath Red's pillow, she brought the other around, burrowing it beneath the hem of Red's tank top to rest against the smooth skin of her flat tummy. Both women sighed in contentment.
"I love you," Red whispered sleepily as she placed her hand over Regina's and linked their fingers together.
Regina smiled. She would never tire of hearing those words. "I love you, too." And then she closed her eyes and drifted off into a dreamless and peaceful sleep.