The artificial, automated pulse served as a constant reminder that she was alive. She was injured but not severely and that was something Emma could live with. Initially she'd been outraged that Regina had disobeyed the terms of her punishment but when she'd later checked her phone, she'd noticed the dozens of missed calls and messages from her colleague.
Regina breaking one of the terms of her punishment would still have to be dealt with but Emma would try like hell to make sure she didn't face something too severe. It wasn't as though the woman left her home to carry out malicious acts against the citizens. She'd went to investigate the same thing Emma had. She was doing the job she'd been hired to do and should be rewarded, not punished.
Emma flicked her gaze to her son who sat across from her on the other side of Regina's bed. His head rested on his mother's hip. Emma's heart went out to the kid. She understood the guilt overwhelming him.
Their first argument in months and on the same night when he decided he no longer wanted to spend the weekend with his mother, she was mauled by a werewolf. Not just any werewolf. One that belonged to someone they all loved and trusted.
"I told Ruby I hated Mom." Henry had said last night when the nurses refused to let him follow Regina further where she would be taken care of by the E.R. staff. "I told Ruby I hated my mom and she-" he was overcome with tears and regret, he dropped into a chair and proceeded to sob into his hands.
They knew Ruby didn't do this on purpose but that didn't exempt the fact that it had been done. Ruby knew she would turn so why hadn't she taken better precautions to protect the town from her wolf? Why hadn't David gone to Emma?
There was an inkling feeling, an insecurity really, that surfaced at times like these when Emma questioned her father's decisions not to involve her in important matters. Sometimes she felt he didn't trust her. Part of her knew he wanted to protect her but she'd survived thirty years without his protection, why would she need it now?
There was movement in Regina's uninjured hand, the left one. It tapped Emma's side of the bed, scooching closer and closer, until Emma realized Regina was trying to get her attention.
The former Mayor stared at her with hooded eyes. "What happened?" She whispered, conscious of Henry's asleep form.
"You-" Emma paused suddenly, realizing she didn't know how to explain to Regina what happened to her. Not because she didn't want to stress the woman out but because they hadn't been quite sure what exactly happened other than Ruby was responsible. Granny couldn't explain why Ruby's wolf had even left Regina alive.
"Ruby's red hood was stolen, which left her vulnerable last night. She was out in the forest and we think you went to investigate it. Granny and I were looking for her and we found you."
Regina's eyes flashed momentarily as the memory of last night flickered behind her mind's eye. She swallowed thickly. "And Ruby? She hasn't been…" Regina's eyes settled on the unconscious Henry to make sure he was actually asleep. She briefly wondered how he was handling knowing someone he cared about had attacked her. It didn't mean Ruby deserved to die. She wasn't responsible for her wolf.
"No." Emma supplied quickly so the woman wouldn't have to say it. "Snow couldn't...make the call, I guess. We were waiting until you were able to give your statement. Is there any way that Ruby wasn't the one that attacked you?" Emma thought it was ridiculous and a little excessive that the immediate punishment of a shifter, especially a werewolf, attacking someone was death.
Apparently that was how they'd settled things in the Enchanted Forest and though she'd repeatedly tried to remind the council that this wasn't the Enchanted Forest, they'd already decided they were going to integrate some of their old world's laws with the democratic Storybrooke.
Snow was conflicted, stuck between the town's Mayor and Ruby's friend. She knew what she had to do to keep the town safe and while Ruby hadn't killed Regina, that didn't mean she was harmless. She was still dangerous and the council didn't want to risk it.
"It was her wolf." Regina confirmed with difficulty. Her shoulders ached and her hand was pulsating painfully at her side. "But there was something, someone, commanding her."
Emma sat up straight and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. She gave her full attention to Regina. In the past, Regina had proved to be extremely helpful to her and the town so there was no reason not to trust her...not for Emma at least.
"There's a very complicated spell capable of-" Regina began but was interrupted by her doctor entering the room. He carried her chart in his hands.
"Nice to see you're awake," Dr. Connie greeted as he pulled a penlight from his white coat's pocket and flashed it in Regina's eyes, testing her pupil response. "Do you have any headaches? Any difficulty seeing?"
Regina shook her head. But she knew what signs to look for when one might have been potentially converted by a werewolf.
Fever, aches in the muscles, headaches, tingling and/or pain in the limbs, enhanced vision and hearing and sense of smell, a taste for raw meat (red in particular), moodiness, and increased physical speed.
Dr. Connie continued with his evaluation as he lifted her injured hand gingerly with his own. He inspected the hand carefully, slowly peeling away the bandages. "Are you experiencing any aches in your muscles?"
Regina shook her head as she uncomfortably allowed herself to be examined
"Would you like something for the pain?" The Doctor asked as he wrote something down in his chart.
Henry's head slowly began to rise.
Regina shook her head again at Dr. Connie's question.
"You're awake," Henry said in relief. He resisted the urge to throw his arms around her but he noticed the doctor inspecting his mother's hand inches away from him. "I'm so sorry, Mom." He said quietly enough for just his mother to hear.
"It's okay, Darling." Regina's hand twitched to caress his cheek.
"I thought you were going to-" Henry swallowed thickly, pushing the tears back down. Now wasn't the time to cry. Now was the time to apologize. "I was afraid I'd lost you and the last thing I said-"
"It's okay," Regina promised in a quiet voice. She hadn't exactly forgotten the last thing her son had said to her; but soon, not now, they would have to schedule an appointment with Dr. Hopper to address how cavalier Henry is with those three words that he knew would hurt her feelings.
"The wolf managed not to nick any of the bones in your hand." The Doctor announced, bringing Regina and Henry out of their private moment. "It was careful to stick to the flesh. Do you feel any itching around the wound?"
"Slight irritation." Regina answered with a sigh, remembering that was also a symptom of a werewolf's infection. "Where is Ruby?" She asked Emma as the doctor began rebandaging her hand. She noticed her son's face change from relief to irritation. She made a mental note to remind him Ruby had no control of her wolf and from her recollection of last night, the wolf had no control of itself either.
"Locked up." Emma responded then remembered she needed to inform her parents that Regina was awake. She sent a quick text to David informing him that Regina was conscious and remembered last night. "Are you ready to give your statement?"
Regina looked at the doctor, silently questioning if he was done with his inquiry.
"I'm almost through." He promised as he noted his discoveries in her chart. "Just one more question," he clicked his pen and placed it in his pocket. "The hospital offers confinement for shifters incapable of controlling their dangerous counterparts. It's for the safety of Storybrooke. If you're interested, I can have a nurse come in with information and paperwork."
Three sets of eyes stared unblinkingly at Regina and she almost laughed. She was an Evil Queen. She was in the same league as the Dark One and a threat to the three Dark Queens. She instilled fear in the hearts of those she merely glanced at. Now, commoners were brave enough to offer her imprisonment.
"I'll consider it." Regina answered stiffly, if only to dismiss the doctor. He nodded in understanding then quietly slipped out of the room.
"Honey," the former Mayor turned to Henry when she saw Emma move out of the corner of her eye. "Could you get me coffee? I have a feeling this will be a very long day for me." She tried to smile to alleviate the tension in her son.
Henry looked conflicted. He obviously wanted to hear what happened but he also wanted to respect his mother's wishes and after almost losing her, he didn't want to do anything that might hurt her.
"Okay," he agreed as he stood. "Do you want anything, Emma?"
The Sheriff shook her head. "No, thank you." She smiled gently as she pulled her notebook from her pocket. She slipped him a twenty dollar bill. "Maybe get yourself something to eat. I don't think I'm going to be able to grab Granny's for you."
He sighed, not entirely disappointed at that but at the fact that this entire ordeal happened. Henry left the room with his shoulders slouched.
"I felt an energy," Regina began without prompt. "It was dark and powerful. I was...I was almost attracted to it." It was easy to admit her weakness to darkness to Emma. Somehow, the blonde understood exactly what it felt like to want to give in to darkness. She'd admitted once over drinks that she struggled with it too. Emma's darkness was stealing cars, sleeping with people then robbing them, and just taking whatever didn't belong to her. Her darkness was hurting people in all the ways she'd been hurt.
"I called you." Regina said, knowing that she'd violated the terms of her probation. "I called David as well. Anyway, I decided to go investigate it for myself. I understood the consequences but perhaps I hadn't considered that I was putting myself in harm's way." She watched as nurses and doctors passed by her room to keep from seeing Emma's accusatory gaze.
"When I reached the forest, I could feel the presence of other creatures but they were all relatively harmless. I magicked myself approximately two kilometers into the forest, closer to the source of the presence I was investigating. I felt that I was closer to It and decided to provoke it to show itself. We spoke briefly; it told me it had use for me but wouldn't tell me why and it mentioned Ruby's wolf. I hadn't realized she'd been in the forest considering she had her hood, which I'm assuming is missing?"
Emma nodded, answering the former Mayor's question. "It was reported stolen to David a week ago. We're looking into it now and David and I believe it's linked."
Regina took in the information with a gentle nod. She decided to continue with her statement before Henry returned. "The wolf arrived and I had gotten the impression the Being wanted the wolf to attack me. I noticed something reflect off the light of the moon just before I turned to run but before I could magick myself away, I was tackled to the ground. The Being commanded the Wolf where to bite me." She inspected the bandages on her hand as vivid memories of the attack flickered in her mind's eye. She could still feel the pain from when Ruby's wolf sunk its teeth into her hand.
"The wolf wanted more...artificials are insatiable when they're not properly trained. The Being commanded it to stop and it did with utmost reluctance. I tried to get away but," she closed her eyes at the memory. She'd thought she was going to die and she remembered her last being that the Being had the same pair of shoes as her son.
"It had those shoes Henry loves to wear." Regina remembered suddenly. "The Converse. They were black and worn. I found it a bit peculiar that it could command an artificial werewolf but not wear sensible and stylish shoes in the forest. It stepped on my hand and the pain was so excruciating that I passed out."
She lifted her shoulders in a shrug and felt a stinging pain answer the movement. She hissed in response.
"You have some pretty deep wounds there." The Sheriff gestured to her own shoulders and chest. "The Doc thinks if the bite didn't infect you the claw marks might have."
"Well if I have been changed, I will begin to show signs soon. How long has it been since the incident?"
Emma checked her phone for the time. "About fifteen hours."
"If I don't show a single symptom in the next nine, I somehow haven't been infected. It's highly unlikely." She didn't sound upset at that and Emma wanted to know why. She didn't get a chance to ask. "Can you contact Granny Lucas and tell her I need her here. I would like to be prepared."
For the inevitable.
"I would also like to speak with Ruby." Regina said suddenly, almost hesitantly, though that hadn't been noticed by the blonde.
Emma began to shake her head. "No, I don't think that's a good idea, Regina."
"I wasn't asking for your opinion nor your permission, Miss Swan." Regina turned sharply to look at the woman and ignored the pain that answered the movement. "I was simply asking that you arrange it. I plan to leave the hospital before night falls and I must speak with Miss Lucas as soon as possible. If her wolf has changed me, and I doubt that it hasn't, I am automatically aligned with her and I need her to unclaim me.."
Emma felt a migraine blossoming. She pinched the bridge of her nose in attempt to keep the impending migraine at bay as she tried to gather patience to deal with this situation without alcohol. "Unclaim you?" She tried not to sound patronizing because she'd traveled to different worlds, watched a wraith almost suck the life out of Regina, gotten her ass handed to her by a bunch of immortal teenagers, this shouldn't be that ridiculous to her. Yet she still found all of this to be completely ludicrous.
Regina didn't appreciate the blonde's patronizing tone. "I am not in the mood to explain werewolf colonies to you, Miss Swan. Just understand that it is urgent that I speak with her."
"I'll see what I can do." Emma promised, almost apologetically. Ruby had willingly turned herself in after coming to a few hours after the attack last night.
Of course, Ruby couldn't remember what she'd done but she'd transformed back with the taste of human blood in her mouth and knew she'd harmed someone. She'd asked to be imprisoned until further notice but the council had gone a little overboard with her decision by putting the strongest were-ward Gold had to offer on her.
Henry returned then, carrying tray with a bowl of cereal, two cups of milk, Regina's coffee, and packets of sugar. He placed it on the tray table connected to Regina's bed and shifted it closer so it would be within their reach.
"Two sugars?" Henry asked from the memory of always seeing his mother prepare her coffee in the morning to perfection.
Regina nodded.
He gripped one of the cups of milk and hovered it above the coffee. "How much milk?"
Regina lifted her left arm, since her right hand was useless even if it weren't bandaged, and took the milk from her son's hands. She poured mostly without spilling. Emma understood immediately that Regina didn't want to appear weak, especially in front of Henry.
"I should go call Granny." Emma announced, sensing Henry might want to talk more to Regina and that the brunette might want time alone to think about what her life might be like from now. "I have to get back to the station to help David out. We'll send a deputy by to stand guard."
"I don't need protection, Miss Swan." Regina bit without looking at Emma. She simply stared at the coffee cup like her glare could set it aflame.
Emma bit back her response. She'd wanted to remind Regina that last night was a prime example that she wasn't invincible and needed to be protected like the rest of Storybrooke. "Okay. Then the guard will be here to watch Henry."
Regina couldn't respond to that. Henry didn't necessarily need protection but being the son of the Evil Queen did constantly put him at risk. Some had forgiven but not all. There were some that would never stand the sight of Regina without wanting to burn her at the stake.
Regina had a thought then, one she was too afraid to voice in front of her son, so she tucked it away to discuss with the Sheriff for later.
A/N: Ugh I can tell this story is going to challenge my writing. At this point, with writer's block, everything is going to challenge my writing but I'll try. Anyway, leave a review or PM of what you thought of the chapter and what you think of the story so far. Don't forget to favorite and follow the story if you're liking it and share it. If you choose to do neither, that's cool I hope you're still enjoying it anyway. Have a good day/evening/night where you are and always remember: Regina and Emma are canonically friends. Gal pals. Buddies. (Bisexuals)
