A/N: Some of you have expressed interest in a continuation of this story, and the more I thought about it the more I realized I really wanted to keep exploring. So here goes.

I'm bumping the rating up to M - there will be flashbacks, some of which might be violent and/or sexual in nature.

I'm still figuring out where this is going, so I'm always happy to hear your ideas in the comments! I'm still determining which characters were and weren't involved in the attack.

Regina woke to find Emma's warmth gone, but the blonde hadn't gone far. She was sitting in a nearby chair, watching over Regina, much paler than usual. Regina attempted to lift her head but a sharp pain in her neck stopped her.

"I took a look," Emma said apologetically, gesturing towards the battered body that she'd tucked the blanket tightly around. "I'm sure you don't want to go back there, but the hospital... I'm not good for much more than sticking bandaids on things. You need a doctor."

Regina stiffened at the word. "No," she said, aiming to sound firm but not managing it with her weak voice.

"Take your hands off of me." She was all mayor, all queen. "How dare you?"

"How dare you tear all of our lives away from us?" Whale asked in reply. He guided her down the stairs with a firm hand on the back of her neck.

Regina didn't dignify that with a response. It wasn't until he shoved her into an empty room in the hospital basement that she realized how serious this was. She fell forward, hands tied behind her making it impossible to catch herself. "I'm warning you, Whale," she said as he pulled her back up onto her knees by the hair.

"You know my real name, Your Majesty," he said scornfully. "And that's what I want to hear when you beg for mercy."

Emma nodded. "There's a hospital about an hour's drive from here. Can I take you there instead?"

The concern in Emma's eyes was touching. No one had looked at her that way in a long time, if ever. "Yes," Regina said softly. "Would you help me clean myself up first?"

Emma got up and brought a pair of Regina's silk pajamas with her, kneeling down beside the couch. "If that's what you want," she said. "But as sheriff, I'd kind of like to collect evidence at the hospital."

"Evidence?"

Emma gently sat Regina up, easing her arms through the sleeves of the shirt and buttoning it up the front. "DNA, you know? Hair, skin, fluids." Emma offered Regina a weak smile. "I'm going to catch the bastards who did this to you."

Regina watched, silent for a moment, as Emma maneuvered her legs into the pants. "I don't know who did this," she lied. She certainly didn't know everyone who was involved, but there were certainly a few names she could mention.

But Emma didn't even need to look at her face to see through her. "You do," she said, lifting Regina up gently to carry her back out to the car. "But you don't have to tell me." She put Regina in the passenger seat this time, buckling the seatbelt for her and checking twice to make sure the older woman was comfortable. "We'll pick up Henry on the way."

"No." Regina closed her eyes as the car began to move. She couldn't bear to look out the windows and see the people who'd done this to her. She couldn't bear to look at her beautiful town now that it was no longer hers. "I don't want him to see me like this."

"You're okay leaving him here? With these people?"

"No one would hurt him." Regina allowed herself to open her eyes but only focused on Emma. "He'll be all right."

Emma glanced at Regina, concern all over her features - although whether it was for her or for Henry, Regina didn't know. "That's not like you."

Regina closed her eyes again. "Things have changed." She somehow managed to say it with enough finality that Emma didn't press.

They were well out of Storybrooke when Emma finally broke the silence. "Can you tell me what you remember? Who was involved besides Whale?"

Regina opened her eyes again, surprised by both the question and the unfamiliar landscape. She hadn't been outside of town in ten years. "How did you..."

"I saw that look in your eyes when I mentioned a doctor," Emma said, eyes darting over to Regina periodically before focusing back on the road. "He seems more likely than Archie."

"Maybe you're not as terrible at your job as I thought," Regina said softly, and Emma smiled.

"Now you sound like yourself."

Regina took a deep breath, even though it burned to do so. "Whale was the ringleader. I don't know who all the people were, or how many there were... some were very quiet. But Whale always took off the blindfold and the gag so I'd know it was him and he could hear me screaming."

Emma's grip on the wheel tightened. "He's not going to get away with this."

Regina reached up to wipe the tears she hadn't even realized she'd been crying. She didn't know if she should thank Emma or discourage her. There was no way that one cop could round up everyone involved, and even if she did it would be Regina's word against theirs.

But Whale had gotten evidence all over her. And even if Emma only got him, it would be worth it.

Emma was glad she had her badge on her. She'd gotten Regina in quickly that way, claiming that she was a police officer investigating an assault. Which wasn't a lie. It also meant she got to stay with Regina even though she wasn't family, even though Emma had no claim on her.

She stayed just outside the room, though, as a nurse collected evidence and as a doctor - female only, Emma had insisted - examined Regina. She didn't want to intrude more than she already had. Regina, or at least the Regina she'd known before today, was all about dignity and pride, and Emma didn't want to make things worse. She still found out everything as the medical staff came and went, but she'd give Regina some semblance of privacy.

And then a nurse came out to say that Regina was asking for her, and Emma's heart jolted oddly in her chest.

The mayor was hooked up to an IV, and the various injuries on her face, neck, and arms had been bandaged neatly. "They want to put me on all sorts of drugs," she said accusatorially as Emma walked in.

The blonde smiled, glad to hear that Regina's voice had its usual bite. "You'll feel better."

"I won't lose control of myself," Regina said, her voice wavering slightly.

Emma came closer to the bed and put her hand over Regina's. "No pain meds," she told the nurse. "Only what's strictly necessary." She pulled up a chair to the side of the bed once the nurse left and resumed her light hold on Regina's hand. "I'll be right here. I will make sure nothing happens to you even if the drugs knock you out."

"I survived this long despite the primitive medicine in the Enchanted Forest."

Emma held up her hands. "All right, fine. I will back you up, whatever you want."

Regina fell quiet for a moment, looking up at the ceiling. "They said I could be here for days," she said, folding her hands over her stomach. "You don't have to stay."

"I'm not leaving you," Emma promised immediately, and Regina turned her head again to see her.