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Unfortunately, I do not own OUAT.

After the past couple of days she had had, Regina was the last person Snow wanted to come face to face with. She was grateful to her of course for taking care of Henry and distracting him from Emma's condition and, to be fair, for saving them from the fire but Regina wasn't exactly a person with whom one could stay happy with for long. When she did something good it was usually counter-balanced by something truly terrible; take the good with the bad as they said. And in the emotional state Snow was in leaving Emma's room, she just wasn't in the mood for a snarky passing comment or a wrinkle of the nose from the mayor.

It was hard to look at the woman now without visualising the list of grievances she had committed in all the years Snow had known her; the shorter hair and wholly different dress sense couldn't mask the person she was both back in the Enchanted Forest and in Storybrooke.

Regina didn't move, didn't make a sound. She just looked right at Snow, her face a cool façade. Noticing the empty seat beside her, the brunette wrestled with whether to sit down next to her enemy or not. She crossed her arms uncomfortably, narrowed her eyes and puckered her lips in thought.

Not surprisingly, Regina was the first to initiate. "That whole hospital gown look doesn't really suit you, Snow," she commented. It was such an odd conversation starter that Snow found herself inspecting what she was wearing: a white hospital gown that fell to just past her knee, a grey cardigan and a pair of very plain, very drab slippers that felt like cardboard boxes on her feet. Yeah, sure she'd looked better but worrying about her appearance was not nearly a priority right then. "I guess we are a far cry from home," Regina continued with a sigh, crossing her legs.

Sensing that Regina was trying to make small-talk instead of using the opportunity to rile her up and express any qualms she has with her family, Snow slinked onto the edge of the chair, leaning that slight bit forward in case of a need to escape. She couldn't help it – Regina just put her on high security alert.

The mayor made eye-contact with her yet her expression was soft…if Regina had a soft expression. Snow hadn't truly seen that side to her since she was a child. "That we are," she replied, her tone detached.

"I mean, look at what I am wearing," she declared, gesturing to her set of clothes that included a red blazer, a black blouse and skirt combined with black knee-high boots. "Don't get me wrong, these are much easier to manoeuvre in but I miss my dresses."

This was such a strange conversation to be having. Regina actually sounded like she wanted to talk which was just a mind-boggling concept. Never had she ever displayed any kind of desire to spark a chat with Snow over something as trivial as clothing; their conversations generally whittled down to the basic surrender-or-not war. And both parties were very clear on which side they were on. "Regina what are you doing?"

That caused her eyes to steel. ""What do you mean what am I doing? I'm trying to make conversation."

"Since when have you ever wanted to make conversation with me?" Snow challenged, exasperated from, well, everything. Regina's sincerity was just too forced and the last thing Snow needed was another headache. She could barely breathe as it was; the walls were caving in on her, the ground shaking underneath. Nothing was right – her world was flipped on its axis.

The mayor pushed some stray hair off her face and clasped her hands together. "Since I know…" she exhaled sharply, "what it's like to see your child in hospital."

Snow's reply was devoid of emotion. "So, what, you're sympathetic to my situation now? That's rich considering not too long ago you tried to put Emma under a sleeping curse and let's not forget that you cursed an entire population just so you could pull the strings and see us all suffer, so excuse me if I'm a little sceptical of your empathy."

"Look I know that it sounds phony coming from me but I'm trying to be different. I'm trying to change, to be a better person for Henry's sake. He believes in me and all I can do is give it a try and right now I'm attempting to overlook our tremendous history and focus on the fact that your child is unwell. And when I think of it that way, I feel sorry for your situation because I've been in that dark place when you don't know if your child will survive and…it's a scary place." She straightened her blazer as she finished as if remembering who she was and who she was talking to. She did sound genuine, however; Snow had to acknowledge that.

Snow felt cold; what was it about hospitals that just made people feel sick? The dull, clinical colours of white and pale blue added nothing to the already dire, despairing atmosphere and the sting of industrial bleach lingered in the air.

She suddenly turned to face the stern brunette who was now looking everywhere else except at Snow. "Thank you for looking after Henry."

"You're welcome."

That response signified the end of their conversation and Snow's dismay at the woman was superseded by her anxiety creeping to the fore yet again. Henry and David were still in with Emma and it was so important for Henry to have that moment with his mother. The poor kid had been through so much over the past while – it was amazing he was still as chipper and still as enthusiastic and excitable as ever. He really was a special boy - something Snow had always known – and he proved that again and again in the way he handled himself in such peculiar circumstances.

David could see that Henry was awkward and unsure of what to do. He decided not to say anything in case of further flustering the boy so instead he shot him a cheering beam in the hope of giving Henry a boost. Still relatively new to the world of parenthood, and indeed grandparenthood, he was happy to see that his smile had given the boy enough courage to take his mom's hand.

"Can she hear me?"

"You bet she can, buddy."

Henry dropped his stare to his hands. "Then why can't she wake up?" Such a simple question that David didn't have the answer to.

Absentmindedly stroking the scar on his chin, the man raised his eyes to the sky as if posing the question to a greater force. He knew there was a perfectly good convoluted medical term for it but since he knew as much about medical conditions as Henry knew about advanced calculus, there was no point in attempting to explain it in a professional way. "Your mom is very special Henry; you know that right?"

Henry nodded. "Yeah she's the saviour and she has magic." It was easy to see how proud the kid was of Emma; he spoke about her with deep awe and admiration – not to mention the fact that, since David had really gotten to know him, Henry had called Emma 'so cool' about a million times. Give or take. Though not very skilled in kid vernacular, David was pretty sure that was a good thing.

"Right; and you know how she always has to know what's going on around her?" The boy nodded again with a smirk, knowing all too well that Emma was an information well who, by being sheriff, was privy to the goings-on in Storybrooke. "Well just because her body is taking a rest doesn't mean her ears are," David shared with a whisper and a wink.

Henry finally directed his gaze toward his mother, removing his scarf with his free hand in the process. He tossed the red and grey scarf onto the head of the chair and left his hand drumming against his knee. David assumed he was nervous.

"What should I say to her?"

The Prince racked his brain, clamping his lips in thought. "How about sharing a favourite memory with her? I bet she'd love to hear that."

"Yeah, okay." The kid licked his lips and threw his eyes up to the ceiling, scrunching his forehead.

"Just talk to her directly to her; as if I wasn't here," David suggested.

That seemed to help Henry who pulled his chair closer to the bed with his face pinched in concentration. David sunk back into his chair, staying quiet.

"Hey, mom. Gramps said that I should tell you about my favourite memory with you. Well, one in particular comes to mind and I think it'll surprise you. My favourite memory is when I went to Boston and met you for the first time. I remember being so excited to meet you and to tell you all about me and about your parents and who they were and about your destiny but the look on your face when you opened the door was the best part," he laughed. "You look…scared, I think. I'm not quite sure. You definitely didn't look happy that I barged into your apartment – which was nice, by the way. I've never seen so many windows in one place before. Anyway, then you said you were going to call the cops because you thought I was lying but then I asked you to come home with me…and you did. I mean, it took a little longer than I thought and there was a point where I was sure you were going to throw me back onto a bus but then you said you'd drive me. That's when I knew you liked me." He smiled mischievously, turning his head to catch a glimpse of David who was smiling along with him. Henry was clearly doing better at talking to Emma than he and Snow were. He was so natural. "And we drove all the way to Storybrooke and you started to become interested in my book and what I was saying even though I knew you thought I was crazy like everyone else did. But I knew that if you stayed in Storybrooke, you'd know that I wasn't." His tone became serious and David inched forward in attention. "I'm really happy you stayed. When you did, I felt better; like someone else cared about me other than my mom, or Archie. Or Snow – but she was just my teacher. It was like I had a new friend; someone I could hang out with and talk to. And you're my mom, too. And you're really good at it even if you think you're not. So, will you wake up for me? Please? 'Cause I want you to be my mom again. I need you to be my mom again. You deserve your happy ending."

His story was so simple yet so moving. The air was thick with emotion and David, using his parental instinct, rose from his chair, encircled the bed – slowly, because he still felt the pain emanating from his ribcage -and draped an arm around his grandson's shoulder, pulling him in close to him.

"Do you think she heard that?" the boy asked softly.

"I know she did, kid."

The clacking of boots against the linoleum floors dragged Snow from her thoughts and she snapped her head around to see a concern-ridden Ruby stalk her way down to her. It was funny to see Ruby dressed in such different attire than what she donned back home in the forest and the brunette couldn't help but crack a smile at her best friend's fashion sense; leather was a far cry from her red hooded cloak. Snow rose to meet her, so relieved to have her friend here for support at such a horrible time for all of them. A loyal friend to the end, Ruby had been there for Snow through the many highs and the countless lows she had experienced in the years following their first meeting and Snow was thankful every day that she had her back in her life.

Greeting her with the warmest smile, Ruby crushed Snow in a back-breaking hug, swaying them side to side. "Um, Ruby…can't breathe," Snow choked out with a giggle.

"Oh, sorry," the woman apologised, releasing her iron grip.

Feeling Regina's icy stare on them, Snow told a hold of Ruby's wrist and guided her down the hall. "Not that I'm not thrilled to see you, but how did you get down here? Whale was explicitly clear that only family were allowed."

"Like Whale could stop me from checking up on you or my goddaughter," Ruby scoffed with a smirk. "We made an agreement; he lets me see you guys as long as I promise not to eat him," she winked mischievously.

"Ruby," Snow laughed – it was nice to share a laugh even if was briefly, "you'd never eat him no matter how horrible he treated you."

"Yeah I know. But he doesn't know that."

The brunette rolled her eyes and shook her head at her friend's faux threat. One of the best things about Ruby was that she wasn't afraid to laugh or crack a joke or just be herself no matter how hard life tried to knock her down. Being a wolf was initially something she feared, something she was ashamed of; but now she was freer and able to see the good in what she had. And if the good happened to coincide with threatening Dr. Whale then so be it.

"How are you feeling?"

"Physically I'm on the mend; the dizzy spells seemed to have passed, but emotionally? I'm a wreck." She smiled sadly and clenched her jaw tight trying not to get any more upset than she already was. "I don't know what to do Ruby," she whispered, pulling the end of her cardigan, "there's been no change and with every minute that passes I can feel my heart constrict even further. It's like someone is just chipping away at it until it can't take anymore and it just crumbles and I…I…I'm trying to rein it all in and look on the bright side and Charming keeps talking about having faith and I just…I just can't keep it all together."

Desperately trying to console her, Ruby drew Snow into another hug, rubbing circles on her back. "It will be okay."

"You sound like Charming," Snow said into Ruby's jacket.

"And he's right."

The brunette remained quiet for a few seconds, piecing together the thoughts in her brain into something relatively coherent while the tears dripped rhythmically onto her friend. "It feels like…like it's not real; like it's happening to someone else, to some other family, you know? Whale checks up on us and he gives us updates and it just feels so fabricated, make-believe, and then I go into that room and I see her…" she trailed off, unleashing a timid sob, "and I know that it's real and that there's nothing I can do and nothing Charming can say that will make a difference." Waiting for her to continue, Ruby held her tighter, releasing a few tears of her own. "I don't know what I would do without her, Ruby. I mean, I know I haven't even known her all that long but the moment I remembered who she was and what she meant to me, I've never looked back; I wasn't prepared for how much I loved her."

This outpouring of despair and affection was really taking its toll on Snow and, needing to relax, she broke away from the woman and leaned back against the wall, pushing all her weight onto her legs. She had to stop this; she had to quit bearing all her feelings out for the world to see. She was just…she was just broken. That was the only way to describe the feeling that encapsulated her being and nobody else around her would ever understand that. Sure they'd supply her with enough words of encouragement and reassurances to last a lifetime but they'd never truly grasp the emotional state she was in. Charming might; but he was too good at projecting an image of being in control for anyone to notice it. No, Snow was the weak link, the one that was teetering on the brink of falling to pieces and she knew that the only thing stopping her from doing so was telling herself that Emma's heart was still beating, that she was still fighting, and that she would always fight.

Ruby's expression was compassionate and she didn't say anything for a while but she stood next to Snow and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder to mark her presence.

"Thank you for coming; it means a lot to me."

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be, Snow. You guys are my family."

As far as Snow was concerned, Ruby was like the sister she never had; that was why she chose her as Emma's godmother.

"When are they letting you go home?" the woman asked tentatively.

"Tomorrow I think. Not that we have a home to go to. How bad is it?"

Ruby narrowed her eyes and clucked her tongue. "Pretty bad," she surmised, "but don't worry about it; you guys have a room at Granny's for as long as you need it."

"Thank you," Snow smiled which invited one from her friend.

"You're welcome."

There was a light shining from somewhere. And there was a sharp pain expanding and contracting. Expanding and contracting. Constant relief and torture. Suddenly, the light got brighter and fuller, melting away the remnants of the darkness that had held her hostage. She jolted upright.

The last things she remembered was…being in the hospital? Maybe? And yet here she was in her room, back in the apartment. Her eyes darted to all four corners of the area, making sure everything was where she left it. It was all there. Every single piece of clothing and every insignificant possession. Well, maybe some important ones.

She heard voices rising from downstairs and, eager to figure out what was going on, she threw on a pair of boots that lay next to her bed and rose to her feet, clutching her side as if by holding it, her insides wouldn't spill out.

Stumbling down the steps one by one, one hand sewn to her side, the other gripping the bannister for support, she saw Mary Margaret and David laughing over the stove. The sound of her feet landing on the floor alerted them and, still giggling, they turned to face the blonde.

"Emma, are you okay?" Mary Margaret inquired, licking a spoon she was holding that was covered in chocolate.

"Not really," she answered honestly, shuffling over to the counter. "What's going on here?"

"Well Snow is baking – or should I say butchering – a chocolate cake," David said wryly, tensing himself for the blow that was inevitably to come from Snow.

"Hey!" the brunette defended, hitting him in the ribs.

"Ow, that hurt!"

"You deserved it," she teased, sticking her tongue out at him.

Emma was just confused. "When did I get back from the hospital?"

That caused her parents to stop their little games for the moment. "What do you mean?" her mother asked, tilting her head to the side.

"The last thing I remember is being in the hospital…" she trailed off as a lunge of pain throttled through her body and she leaned over the counter in agony.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret yelled, rushing to her side and holding her. "Emma, what's wrong?!"

The blonde released a scream of pain before exhaling through her teeth. "I was in the hospital. Something happened. When did I get home?"

"You weren't in the hospital. We have no idea what you're talking about," David said, rubbing her back to calm her down.

"David what are you talking about?"

Her parents exchanged worried glances. "What?" Emma questioned, the pain decreasing.

"Nothing," David recoiled, "it's just that…"

"You haven't called him David in months," her mother finished.

"What do you mean? I've always called you David."

"No, you haven't," Snow said, bemused. "You've been calling him 'Dad'."

What was going on here? "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." She gazed at her mother and father separately and it proved clear that it was them that were looking at her as if she was crazy. "When did we get back?" she directed at Mary Margaret.

"Get back from where?"

"The Enchanted Forest."

More apprehensive looks. "Emma, I don't know what kind of dream you've had but we've never been there together except when you were a baby. We don't even know if our land exists anymore, never mind knowing if we can get there."

"No, we fell into a portal the day the curse broke," Emma challenged. "When did the curse break?"

"About six months ago."

Six months?! She threw her hands over her face and tried to concentrate. Nothing they were saying was making any sense. "Where's Henry?"

"He's in Regina's. He's always there on the weekends," David informed, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms as he scrutinized her.

"Since when?"

"Since you and Regina decided that it would be best for him to split time between here and his own home."

Everything they said was sending Emma's heart into overdrive and it pounded erratically as if it would never beat fast enough to pump the blood around her body. The pain was starting again from her core and spreading through her limbs like poison. "This is a dream," she whispered, falling to her knees. "It has to be. None of this makes sense."

Mary Margaret was by her side in an instant. "Emma please tell us what's going on," she begged, her tone coloured with concern.

The agony was increasing and she fell onto her back, her eyes facing the fan that rotated on the ceiling. "We got back from the Enchanted Forest because I used magic. Regina came over. We had a fight. I used magic again. I woke up in a hospital. I closed my eyes and now I'm here. This is a dream. This isn't reality; I'm not really here. I'm still in the hospital. I'm dreaming." All her thoughts came out in quick sentences as she felt the draw and tug of the darkness taking over her again.

Mary Margaret swam into her view; her hands holding Emma's face. "Go back to sleep. Let it take you."

"Wha-what?"

"It's going to be okay. You can go."

A tear escaped the brunette's eyes and landed on her cheek as Emma succumbed to the pain and the darkness.

Eating lunch was impossible. David sat opposite her, playing with his food and Henry was in the corner flicking through the fairytale book and sighing every now and again as if he was losing hope. Snow prayed he wasn't; they all needed to keep the faith. Whale had told Ruby that she had to leave while they were eating but that she could swing by later – much to Ruby's distaste. Her interactions with Whale were the only light-hearted moments Snow had shared the past couple of days.

God knows where Regina was. She disappeared while Henry was still in with Emma and Snow didn't question her when she asked for them to keep an eye on the boy until she came back. She probably left to get air. The hospital was stuffy as it was and add that to the fact that she was sharing the same space with two people she couldn't stand, it was quite obvious why the mayor left for a break.

Just as Snow was about to discard the rest of her food, Whale came bursting through the door into their room.

His expression terrified Snow.

"What is it?" David demanded, standing upright, ready for whatever the man had to say.

"It's Emma," the doctor replied.

Snow paled.

Ooh, a cliffhanger! I wrote that dream sequence for Emma because, well, when am I ever going to be able to write a dream for someone while in a coma? Haha too good an opportunity to pass. I hope it wasn't ridiculous or confusing ( it was a dream haha); I just wanted to try something new. Anyway, I really hope that you all did enjoy the chapter and any feedback would be so appreciated! If you have time please review and let me know what you thought :)