Hello Sweet Doves! Thank you so very much for all of your wonderful reviews and follows.

I am prepared for the outrage, but it had to be. On that note, enjoy and leave me some hate!

Songs: Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus


Regina glared up at the intrusive knock that sounded on Emma's hospital door. Her nurse had been in not ten minutes ago, so she knew it wasn't time for another shot. Emma slumbered lightly still so she moved to the door and opened it a crack.

"Can I help you?" It was a boy no more than 17 with a red shirt and ball cap that read Darren's.

"Yeah, I have a pizza for… umm… Mayor Tight Pants," the boy mumbled, clearly embarrassed now that he knew to whom he was delivering. Regina rolled her eyes.

"If Miss Lucas ordered it, then you have the right room. How much?" The boy waved his hand and shoved the pizza at her.

"Paid for," he mumbled and then scurried down the hall.

Regina set the warm box on the wheeled tray beside Emma's bed and stared at it. She'd never eaten pizza without utensils. She turned on her heel and stomped towards the nurse's station. She leaned over and caught the eye of a giant Amazon in light green scrubs. She had harsh features, dry skin, and frizzy brown hair.

"Excuse me?" Regina started politely.

"Your Majesty!" The woman jumped up and bowed her head, desk chair skittering into the open space behind her.

Regina recognized the straightened spine, the unique positioning of the woman's hand over her chest. She'd been a soldier in her army.

"What was your rank, Soldier?" Regina asked curiously. Had all of her servants received a job at the hospital?

"Calvary Captain, Majesty," the woman clipped efficiently.

"May I call you Captain or do you prefer your curse name?" Regina glanced around nervously when the woman still bowed her head and held that ridiculous pose she'd forced upon all of her troops while in her presence.

"Captain is fine, Highness. I'm proud of who I was," the woman answered. her toned muscles bunched and released, stretching the thin fabric of her scrubs. An anxious tick, Regina decided.

"Fantastic. First, Captain, please call me Regina or Ms. Mills and stop bowing. That isn't our life anymore. Secondly, would you possibly have a plate, fork and knife I might borrow?" She thought she'd enjoy seeing someone bow to her again, but it only left a sour taste in her mouth. She wasn't that person anymore and honestly never wanted to be again.

The tall, stout woman nodded at an aid, clearly dismissing them to the task. The younger girl hopped to the task and flitted down the hallway. Regina grinned, pleased that she'd given one of her military leaders an authority role in this world.

"Thank you, Captain," Regina offered graciously, even though her eyes glanced at the other nurses self-consciously. She only wanted to eat with dignity, not be adored or stared at.

"I see you windin' and grindin' up on that pole. I know you see you me lookin' at you and you already know I wanna fuck you. Fuck you! You already know I wanna fuck you. You already know."

The horrible lyrics and pop music blared from her pocket, and Regina turned away from the nurses' confused and shocked faces. Her ears burned when the lurid chorus began repeating over and over as she struggled with the phone in her tight pocket. Finally, she pulled it out and punched the receiver button.

"Miss Lucas, you've eaten people. Tell me, what does human flank steak taste like?" Regina snarled into the phone, glancing back at the people in the lobby doubled over with silent laughter. It was endearing, and she allowed one small chuckle to slip from her throat. Everyone lost it, and suddenly the room filled with giggles and laughter, smiles and smirks. It was intoxicating.

"Hey Mayor Sassy Britches, do you like your new ring tone?" Silence. "I just wanted to make sure your pizza made it." Ruby said on the other end, clearly not worried about another threat of cannibalism.

"It did as did your lurid obsession with songs about exotic dancers," Regina clipped.

"You're totally eating it with a fork, aren't you? Hands, Regina. It's a finger food," Ruby encouraged.

"Miss Lucas, I will not…"

"Hands!" More than one voice yelled, and she jerked the phone back at the sudden assault on her ear.

"See, Henry and Belle agree with me. Hands, Tight Ass. Loosen your girdle," Ruby used her son against her.

"How is Henry?" She asked, suddenly serious. She and Emma desperately needed to explain everything to him, to ask how he felt about it.

"He's surrounded by more love than a kid knows what to do with, Regina. He'll be fine. I talked to Archie and set up a meeting with him tomorrow. I hope that's okay. Henry agreed as long as Belle could come with him. Shit, sorry, I should have asked first. Is that okay?" Ruby babbled nervously. Regina grinned despite her slight irritation about a decision being made in regards to Henry without her approval. Ruby acted out of love for her son and for her and Emma and in support of their relationship.

"That will be fine, Miss Lucas. You're the kind of aunt I would have wished for my son," Regina said, not really pausing to consider her words. The line went silent, though Regina still heard breathing and the faint rumble of a large group of people.

"Ruby?" She questioned nervously. Had she said something wrong?

"Yeah, I'm here," the wolf's voice was thicker, and Regina's forehead bunched in concern. She recognized that voice from spending almost every waking second with the young woman for nearly a month. It was almost crying but not quite.

"Did you just refer to me as your sister?" Ruby coughed and then cleared her throat.

"From another mister," Regina quipped, hoping she'd said the pop culture phrase properly. Ruby's sharp bark of laughter told her that she had.

"I know. I know, don't be surprised. You got moves," Ruby muttered lightheartedly, but her voice still reflected deeper emotion.

The silence stretched on, both caught in their own thoughts. They loved other people, but there were things they couldn't share with them yet, not in relation to their dark urges. Somehow in the middle of this mess, they'd come to trust each other implicitly. It was one thing to think it and feel it, but hearing the words out loud stirred deep emotions neither were comfortable with yet. They had a true friend, a sister, one who would never leave them. Ruby cleared her throat.

"Okay, well, I'm going to get back to the party. Enjoy your pizza, and give Emma a kiss for me. Uhhh, on the cheek or forehead because otherwise, awkward," Ruby fumbled for the natural lightness in their usual conversations.

"Of course. Take care of my son, Wolf Pup," Regina whispered and then ended the call.

A plate and sealed plastic bag of utensils were shoved into her hand before she turned around. She'd completely forgotten about everyone listening to her conversation with Ruby. Uncomfortable, she returned to Emma's room and shut herself behind the safety of the door. They couldn't possibly have known what Ruby had said, and her end had given next to nothing away, but the softness in her voice and demeanor said enough.

Regina primly cut into the cheesy mess that Ruby called food. She made a mental note to feed Henry something green tomorrow. Another knocked tapped at the door, and she rolled her eyes. If it was a member of the staff or her family, they'd enter on their own. Her irritation dissipated, however, when Dr. Zambrano's head popped around the sturdy wood.

"Dr. Zambrano," Regina smiled and stood.

"Hello Regina, how are you?" The kind doctor asked quietly, very aware of Emma's closed eyes and even breathing.

"Exhausted. How are you?" Regina answered cordially. They still hadn't quite reached friend status, but she trusted the doctor.

"I'm… ready to forget," Eva smiled sadly and then moved to Emma. She raised her gown lightly and studied the incisions for a minute, measured the size of Emma's bruise.

"She's strong. Her bruise is already smaller than this morning. It's a good sign. How's your knee?" Eva glanced up at Regina as she lowered Emma's gown.

"It's sore. I haven't been taking things very easy," Regina answered sheepishly. Eva smiled and then knelt in front of her.

"A lot has happened," the doctor commented absently and slipped her hands up Regina's pant leg. It took some maneuvering and patience, but they managed to get it hiked over her knee. She massaged it, pressing harder in her certain places to judge Regina's reaction to the pain.

"You'll be fine. It will heal faster on crutches. Make sure you keep the brace on it at all times, even while sleeping. Basically, everything is stretched out from the dislocation, tendons and muscles. We want to make sure they heal properly before you try to go unaided."

"Okay," Regina conceded easily, having no intentions to go without the brace in the first place. She may have had a high pain tolerance, but she needn't cause more unnecessarily.

"Doctor, how are Emma's other wounds?" Had she made a difference?

"Miss Swan has a long recovery ahead, physically and emotionally. Her heart is lighter, but it isn't healed. Whatever you've been doing, keep doing it. Her parents' return has helped as well, but she doesn't trust it. She's waiting for everything to fall apart. One misstep, and she may end up right back where she started. Also, please refrain, if you can, from mounting post-op patients," Eva added sardonically, and Regina grinned at the memory.

"Consider my lesson learned, Doctor," Regina admitted with an appropriate amount of of humility.

"Regina, I…" Dr. Zambrano started and then shook her head. "I know I promised that I'd wait until Emma fully recovered, but I'm in constant pain. Every person I touch… I just set a little boy's arm in the emergency room, not an hour ago. His father broke it by twisting it behind his back, and you know what the boy told me? He fell off his bike. He lives in fear everyday, and there is nothing I can do about it because he won't admit to the abuse." Eva shivered.

"Yesterday, a woman came in begging me to tie her tubes so that she might never have children. When I asked her why, she told me that she and her husband couldn't afford it. What I saw, though, was her father molesting her as a child. She's terrified that her husband would do the same to her children." Eva's eyes darkened, and she allowed Regina to see the pain she kept inside.

"Eva," Regina touched her shoulder and then pulled back. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't touch you." She gasped when Eva grabbed her hand, clutching it painfully.

"Regina, think of Emma. Think about kissing her, please," the doctor begged.

Regina bit her lip and closed her eyes. It took a moment, but she conjured the night they'd kissed forever, promising themselves to each other. It naturally drifted to this morning when Emma called her a fool. She smiled into the happiness when she heard Eva sigh in relief. She cracked her eyes momentarily. Tears rolled shamelessly down the young doctor's face, and her shoulders sagged as the weight was lifted.

"Think of Miss Lucas," Eva asked softly, and Regina complied.

Her first thought was those stupid ring tones she managed to slip onto her phone without her knowledge. The day when Ruby held her in the barn, the relief and comfort that simply hug inspired within the dark-hearted woman. Their nicknames for each other, their trust, their easy banter. Regina calling her Henry's aunt. The understanding that they both had an uncontrollable darkness that connected them in a way most can't even dream of. Regina gave it all to Eva, hoping that it erased some of the anguish she felt on a daily basis, anguish that belonged to others.

"Thank you," Eva whispered and opened her eyes. She held Regina's hand a moment longer, and then the touch slipped away. "Thank you, Regina."

"Eva, if you think Emma's care will not suffer, then you should cross the line. No one should live like this, and I cannot in good conscience ask you to do so, especially when you've helped me as much as you have," Regina offered earnestly. She loathed the thought of losing the woman she'd come to respect and trust, but she also knew that woman would be destroyed by the torment of her gift. She'd rather remember her this way.

"Thank you. I'll consider it," Eva replied as she stood. With a small smile, she slipped from the room.

Regina slumped into the chair, fidgeted, pushed herself to her feet. She leaned over Emma's face and touched her cheek lightly. Green eyes cracked lazily, heavily influenced by the chemicals in her body.

"Hello Darling," Regina smiled. She kissed Emma's nose lightly. "I'm going to take a walk, clear my head. Is that okay?"

Emma nodded, eyes already closed. Regina smiled widely, happier than she ever believed possible. "I love you," she whispered, not expecting an answer from the dozing sheriff. Emma hadn't said it yet, but Regina hoped she would soon. If not, she accepted that, too, as long as Emma continued healing, getting stronger, becoming the woman she'd fallen in love with again.


Regina breathed in the cool night air, her mind reaching higher clarity with each step. The town was dark except for streetlights every 15 feet or so. Before the curse broke, she used to leave Graham to watch Henry and walk around for hours in the middle of the night. The solace of being surrounded by peacefully sleeping citizens and crisp night air was a simple joy in which she partook often. She'd not had the chance since Emma Swan crash into her life like a bull in a china shop, and it irritated her to no end.

As much as she sought love and acceptance, she'd become very much an introvert. Constantly interacting with people inundating her with asinine requests or complaints for 28 years had forced her to seek creative ways to avoid them. One way was simply by staying awake at night while everyone else slept.

"Regina?" A confused voice called to her. She stopped as the body moved towards her from the other end of the street.

"I thought you were with Emma at the hospital?" Regina smiled at the familiar concern.

Wide eyes stared at her in terror and pain when her hand sank into a chest. Regina sneered, clearly enjoying the quaking of the body around her wrist. She jerked the heart from its nest and stared at it. Tendrils of black floated through the mostly bright pink organ.

"Why? You changed," the voice was tortured in more way than one. Regina squeezed the heart until dust slipped through her fingers and gusted over the body now lifeless on the ground, eyes staring at the dark sky.

Regina leaned over the body, studying the features carefully. A wicked and satisfied smile spread across her face.

"Regina's not home, Wolf Pup."