Thanks for your reviews, everyone. Between packing for a move and being sick I haven't had time to respond to them. Or to write much. But here's the next segment!
Emma was curled up in her chair again, knees tucked up in front of her to block Regina's view of the case file. There was room for her in bed, as always, but she wasn't taking any chances. Regina was not going to see those pictures. The brunette hadn't seen herself in a mirror until she'd been cleaned up considerably, and the bandages left her unable to see the full extent of the damage.
The sheriff shuffled the pictures to the back of the file and flipped through the new ones of the crime scene. It wasn't much to work with, just dried blood. The evidence she'd bagged and locked up in her office wasn't much either: the fabric used for the gag and blindfold, several lengths of rope, the destroyed clothing Regina had been wearing.
"How's that going?" Regina asked softly. Emma wiped at her eyes before she looked at the other woman, not wanting to show the tears that welled up in her eyes whenever she focused on the case.
Emma shut the file and turned towards Regina, smiling weakly. "All I can really go on right now is your testimony and the DNA, once Ruby finishes swabbing every man in Storybrooke. The lab identified three men based on the…" She paused, all attempts to put on a brave face for Regina failing, and coughed to try to stop her voice from wavering. "Based on the rape kit."
Regina closed her eyes and let the information sink in. "Three." Certainly Whale had forced himself on her many times, but so much had begun to blur together. She vaguely remembered a second, but not who he was, and the third was completely a mystery.
Emma got up and went to the bed. The doctor had come by in the morning to tell them that Regina was improving and would be released tomorrow, so for the first time since they'd come here Emma felt that it was safe to hold the older woman. The embrace was still ginger, not quite enough for either, but comforting all the same. "I'm going to get all of them for you," she whispered as she leaned into the crook of Regina's neck. "They'll pay for what they've done."
Regina stared at the wall beyond Emma, grasping at the blonde's shirt to keep her there. "What if I can't go back tomorrow? What if I can't ever go back?"
Emma pulled back just enough to be able to see Regina, setting her head down on the pillow. "I'll pack up your things and get Henry and take you anywhere you want," she said seriously.
"What about your family?"
Emma squeezed Regina just a bit tighter. "We'll be gone for a few months at the most before you'll want to go back."
The eye contact was almost becoming too much, too intense, but neither looked away. "You sound very certain about that."
The sheriff leaned forward and they met for a brief kiss. "It's a simple matter of fight or flight," she said, bringing a hand up to cup Regina's cheek. "You know which one I always choose. When things get too hard, I run. But you? You never back down. You're a fighter."
Regina smiled just slightly. "Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?"
"You're the strongest person I know. And I completely understand if you need to run this time. I just don't think you will."
Regina rolled onto her back, breaking the gaze between them but still keeping close. "I used to run when I was younger. But it always ended badly, so I had to learn how to stay. How to protect myself."
"You'll have to teach me." Emma pressed a kiss to Regina's cheek, and the brunette turned her head to meet her lips. "I'm not running away again."
The car slowed to a stop just before the town line, the barrier that kept Regina safe. "Are you ready?" Emma asked.
Regina stared ahead at the Storybrooke sign, at the road stretching before her. "No."
She felt Emma's hand on her shoulder. "Do you want me to turn around?"
Regina bit her lip and turned to look at the blonde, the one person who would understand if she wanted to run. The one person who would stand beside her if she stayed. "No." She glanced back towards the road. "This is my home."
Emma started up again slowly, well under the speed limit as she waited for any signal that Regina wanted to turn back. Regina just looked straight ahead, tensing every muscle as they came closer to the town, aggravating every injury.
"I need to stop at Gold's," she said softly, earning a strange look from Emma.
"Gold? Are you sure?"
"He has something I need." And Regina wasn't frightened of him. What he'd done in the hospital basement was far from the worst he'd ever put her through. "Besides, he's not going to stir up any trouble in front of his girlfriend."
"Since when does he have a girlfriend?"
"Long story."
Emma parked outside of the pawn shop and walked around to Regina's door to help the still-shaky brunette out. She kept a hand on her gun as they went up to the store, nervous not only about Gold but anyone else who might be inside.
But the store was empty, aside from a girl in the back who was straightening up a display case. Emma tightened her grip on the handle, but the girl looked considerably more frightened than Regina did. "Belle," Regina said coldly. "Emma, this is the girlfriend I was telling you about."
"It would be best if you..." Belle stopped short once Regina came close enough for her to see all the remaining injuries. "So it's true, what they've been saying."
Emma stared Belle down. "What have they been saying?"
"That the Queen was attacked." Belle frowned. "Are you all right?"
"Have you heard any details?" Emma cut in. "Names, maybe?"
Belle shrugged. "I'm afraid I don't get out much."
Regina held up a hand before Emma could press further and the blonde quieted immediately. The gesture was pure Madame Mayor, and Emma was so pleased to see it that she wasn't about to protest. "I'm looking for a book," Regina told Belle.
"I've just finished organizing them. What's the title?" Belle couldn't help smiling as she picked her way to the shelves.
"No title. It's a spell book, jeweled cover."
Belle found the book on the bottom shelf and brought it over to Regina. "No charge."
Emma thanked her before picking up the book and putting an arm around Regina's waist to guide her out. "Magic?" she asked, worried.
"It's the only way I can protect myself."
Regina stood in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom, looking over her naked form. She'd peeled off all the bandages, even the ones she wasn't supposed to remove yet, so now she could fully inventory each injury.
She knew this was risky. Magic was unpredictable here, and she was weak. Still, she held her hand just above the yellowing bruise from her broken ribs and dug into her fury. Her hand briefly glowed purple, but the light faded almost instantly.
If she couldn't do a simple healing spell, how was she supposed to be able to protect herself? To fight back? She picked up the spell book open on her dresser and flung it across the room, wincing when it hit the wall with a thud.
Emma's footsteps on the stairs were instant. "Regina? Are you all right?"
Regina inhaled deeply, Emma's presence on the other side of the door immediately relaxing her. Emma would be there when she called. Emma would protect her when she couldn't protect herself.
She almost didn't notice that her hands were glowing again. As soon as she did, she brought them back to her torso and watched as her bruised skin returned to its normal color. She could feel the ribs move back into place, a brief flash of pain before everything was as it should be.
"Regina?"
"I'm all right." She moved her hands over the surgical incisions, the bruises, the scabs, watching them all vanish.
The final step was to hold a hand before her face, watching in the mirror as the cut on her lip closed and her skin returned to flawless.
"Seriously, what's going on in there?"
Regina pulled on her robe and opened the door to find a worried Emma. "I'm fine. I promise."
Emma studied the brunette's face, puzzled by the sudden absence of injuries. "What were you..."
Regina knotted her robe tightly and offered Emma a slight smile. "I healed myself."
"Magic?"
"Yes," Regina breathed out, so relieved to have it back.
Emma shifted her weight from one foot to the other and leaned against the doorjamb. "Right," she said a little uncomfortably. "Let's go get our son."
"Oh, now he's our son?" Regina asked. "I think I'd better stay here."
"I don't feel right leaving you." Emma took Regina's hands in hers. "And what's wrong with ours?"
"I like ours," Regina admitted quietly. "Emma, I'm not ready to see them yet."
The blonde reached up to stroke back Regina's hair. "Okay. You're sure you'll be all right alone?"
"I have a plan." Regina retrieved her book from where she'd thrown it. "A protection spell."
"And you're sure it'll work?"
Regina glanced down at the book and then back at Emma. She wasn't sure of anything anymore. "I'm going to try," she said softly. "I have to try."
"Please be safe. Lock the door behind me." Emma led the way downstairs, pausing in the entranceway. "I'll be back soon."
"Stop fussing," Regina said with a smile, leaning in to kiss her. "I'll be all right."
"I don't fuss," Emma protested. Regina just arched an eyebrow. "What? I don't!"
"Of course not." Regina opened the door to let Emma out and closed it behind her.
"I don't hear locking," Emma called almost immediately.
Regina turned the lock with a click, staying by the door to listen to the sound of Emma's boots going down the walkway.
This was the first time she'd been truly alone since Emma had found her almost a week ago. She couldn't decide how she felt about that. She turned around, back to the door as she looked up into her house. It was a relief to have some quiet, but the quiet soon echoed with all that had happened, all that had changed. The memory of recklessly throwing open that door and charging out there, sure of herself, never imagining that her people would fight back.
Regina heard the car pulling away and came away from the door, holding up her hands for the magic that wouldn't come.