I wanted to update couple of days ago but Fanfiction seemed to be having a shitfit.

Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews!

Thank you to that guest reviewer who left that suggestion of Regina pushing herself out of stubborness and getting hurt. I'll see if I could add that in one of the upcoming chapters.

Enjoy:)

Chapter 8 Don't Hold Back

The next morning Snow had found them on the couch with Emma sitting up and Regina asleep with her head on her daughter's lap. She knew something must have happened because lately Regina had closed herself off from anyone who tried to help her. Seeing her with Emma meant there must have been some kind of breakthrough last night.

"You got her to leave the room," Snow stated from where she was standing by the curtain that divided her room from the rest of the apartment. Emma looked up at her. She had been lost in thought, running her fingers through the mess of hair on her lap.

"Actually it was all her. She came down the stairs all on her own."

Snow smiled, her eyes lighting up as she approached her daughter and kissed her cheek. She knelt down, caressing Regina's cheek affectionately before looking up at her daughter.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You were really worried for her, huh?" Emma asked, seeing the relief in her mother's eyes. Snow nodded, getting to her feet.

"She's fought her whole life. I've never seen her like this… so defeated."

"I know," Emma whispered, moving her gaze to the woman sleeping on her lap.

"I'll get breakfast started," Snow said, moving to the kitchen and Emma carefully started to move out from under Regina.

"Good idea, maybe I could get her to finally eat something."

"Were you two up all night talking?" Snow asked as Emma carefully settled Regina's head onto a pillow and pulled the throw blanket up over her shoulders a little more. When she was satisfied Regina was comfortable enough and still fully asleep she joined her mother at the breakfast bar while Snow pulled out the things she needed to make pancakes, eggs, and sausages.

"No actually. She was in just too much pain to make it up the stairs so we crashed here."

"Have you come up with a plan yet?" Snow asked, setting the coffee machine and seeing Emma's eyes light up.

"I think so," Emma smiled.

Regina woke up to the same darkness she could never get used to. Only this time it wasn't as devastating. This time it was as if a new kind of hope had been planted inside her. That hope was the blonde sheriff currently sitting at the breakfast bar while Snow stood at the stove.

Of course she didn't know Emma was only sitting a few feet away from her but she did know someone was in the kitchen. She could smell the food and coffee and hear the sizzling from the frying pan. Her stomach growled, reminding her for the first time that she was hungry. The appetite she had lost was back at full force. She sat up.

"Emma?"

Emma put down her forkful of pancakes and both she and Snow turned their attention to the brunette sitting up on the couch. They exchanged glances, not exactly sure how Regina would react after last night's breakthrough.

It was Snow that roughly nudged her daughter back to her senses. She wanted Emma to continue with whatever she had done last night to help Regina out of the deep dark hole of depression she had fallen into.

Emma turned to the unseeing woman sitting on the couch staring straight ahead into nothing.

"I'm right here, Regina. I'm sitting at the breakfast bar. Mary Margaret is making breakfast. You could join us if you'd like."

She stood and Snow's eyes widened in surprise because she had been trying to get Regina to eat ever since she got home from the hospital. They watched as Regina walked towards them with arms out in front of her, feeling for anything that would send her stumbling to the floor. When she was close enough, Emma grabbed her hand and pulled her towards her.

"Are you in the mood for pancakes?" Her green eyes shined with pride because Regina had walked over here on her own without any coaxing or persuasion. She just got up and did it.

Emma squeezed Regina's hand as she sat in the stool next to her. Snow put a plate infront of Regina along with some coffee.

Her gaze turned downwards to the plate and that was when the mood had changed. Regina tensed, her fist clenching. This was part of the reason other than the depression why she hasn't been eating. She didn't know how.

"Regina, are you ok?" Snow's concerned voice was directly infront of her where she stood on the other side of the counter.

"I'm fine," she said through gritted teeth, her temper flaring at the fact that she was having trouble and Snow and Emma were around to see it. Her hand searched the tabletop until her fingers came into contact with the smooth silverware. She held the fork in her hand, but didn't know where to go from there. This was such a simple everyday task. Now that her sight was gone, simple tasks such as feeding herself almost seemed impossible now.

"Regina," Emma was suddenly standing behind her, towering over her. She felt the younger woman's body heat against her back and the warmth of her hand covering her fist that tightly gripped the fork.

"Relax your grip," she said softly and Regina did as Emma slowly placed her fork on something soft and flat.

"This is the pancake and next to it…" She move her hand to the right of the plate and onto a smaller particle of food. "…are the eggs and sausage." A cool slender metal type of object was placed into her other hand and it took her a moment to realize Emma had given her a knife. She stayed quiet as the other woman manipulated her hands into cutting several pieces of pancake. "See," Emma whispered so close into her ear as she pulled her hands away and let Regina continued cutting the food by herself. "You could do this."

"How's the pain today?" Emma asked when they had finished breakfast and were both in the bathroom changing Regina's bandages. The brunette was sitting on the edge of the tub as Emma wrapped the fresh bandages around her ribs. Regina held her shirt up, holding it just below her breasts.

"Manageable," she shrugged even though her ribs were painfully sore from sleeping on the couch. Her chest was no better and it still hurt to take deep breaths. Emma could see the discomfort on her face, her eyes focused on some point behind her. Regina would never admit to being in pain, she knew that which is why she wasn't going to push it. She was lucky that the former Queen even agreed to finally let her help her.

It was quiet for a while, both of them lost in thought as Emma worked. It was Regina that broke the silence once Emma was done and Regina let her shirt fall back into place.

"I want to go back to work."

Emma was stunned for a moment unsure how to answer that because how was she supposed to manage the town when she wouldn't be able to see. There's a way, Emma found herself thinking. Regina's strong and determined and she knew the mayor could do this with or without her sense.

"Of course you can go back, once you're healed that is."

"How?"

"We'll figure it out and Regina, just because you can't see doesn't mean you can't run the town. Don't let this hold you back, ok?"

"Ok," Regina whispered and she slowly stood with a hand on her sore ribs. Regina needed to rest and then later Emma planned to get her a better layout of the apartment so that she had a better picture in her head as to where everything was.

When she woke up later, the pain wasn't as bad. In fact there was something warm and soft snuggled beside her. Regina brought her hand up and her fingers came into contact with a head of short hair and as she mapped out his face, the chuckle she received confirmed her suspicions.

"Mom," Henry laughed. "It's me."

"I know," she smiled and she pulled him close, burying her face into his neck and breathing him in. God, she misses him. She misses his smile, the hope and innocence in his eyes. He's growing so fast and she was missing it.

"Mom," his voice had grown serious with concern. "Are you ok?" She didn't answer. How could she answer? She wasn't ok and even though she trusted Emma, nothing would ever be ok again.

"I'd tell you, you know," he continued. "If I start to look different."

"Good boy," she smiled, holding him in her embrace as she drifted back into a light sleep. The painkillers Emma had made her take this morning were really kicking in and the security blanket that was Henry, made her feel safe enough to succumb to the sleep she didn't have the strength to fight.

The second time she woke up it was evening and Henry wasn't beside her anymore. In fact she wasn't even sure how long she slept or what time of day it was. She sat up, feeling groggy from the meds but the pain was less. She could breathe.

She got to her feet, trying to remember the distance from here to the door. Taking a breath and hoping she wouldn't trip and fall flat on her face, she stood and made her way to the door. She kept her hand on the wall as she walked down the hall towards the stairs.

Her steps were slow and she began to feel that same panic she felt from last night. She tried to remember the distance, trying to calculate how many steps it took to get to that first step. Just when she unknowingly reached the edge of the stairs she stopped. The sound of Emma downstairs laughing with her family helped her realize she was near the stairs.

She reached out, her hand finding the banister and she confidently took that first step down. Henry was standing a few steps infront of her making sure she didn't fall and hurt herself. He had rushed over the moment he saw her on top of the landing. Of course she felt the vibrations of his footsteps and instead of calling him out she decided to humor him and tried to keep the loving smile from gracing her lips.

Emma, Snow, and David grew silent watching mother and son and pride shinned in their eyes because Regina really was getting through this just as they suspected she would. She was strong and they wouldn't let her forget that.

"Count the steps, Regina," Emma suggested, moving to the edge of the staircase. Regina counted in her head and smiled when she reached the bottom floor without even a stumble. She was getting better at this.

"That was great mom," Henry finally spoke and Regina smiled, reaching out and blindly placing her hand on his cheek.

"Thank you honey," she whispered, her eyes focused on him and for a moment he could pretend she was actually seeing him.

"You knew I was there, didn't you?" he asked with an amused smirk and she pulled her hand away.

"Of course I did," she said and then she felt someone taking her hand. Emma.

"Come on, I promised you a thorough layout of the apartment, remember?"

"Of course, lead the way," she said and both Emma and Henry led her to different areas of the loft, counting her steps and making her feel more comfortable in her own skin to walk around knowing she wouldn't crash into anything or trip and hurt herself.

When they were done and after Snow had insisted she'd eat something, she found herself too exhausted to make it up the stairs again. The meds had worn off and she was in pain. Of course she wouldn't admit it to anyone in the room and allowed Henry to pull her to the couch so that he could read his comics to her. His reasoning that she needed to catch up.

Emma however wasn't oblivious to the way Regina's body tensed in discomfort and before she could protest, Snow's hand on her arm silenced her. Her mother shook her head.

"Let them be and once she falls asleep, David could carry her to bed."

"But she's in pain," Emma whispered as they cleared up the dinner dishes. David was putting Neal to sleep.

"She won't admit it to Henry and you know she won't take her pain meds in front of him."

"But…" she protested, her protectiveness for the other woman shinning in her eyes and reflecting in the worried tone of her voice. She only wanted Regina to be comfortable.

"Look at them Emma," Snow said and Emma followed her gaze to mother and son curled up on the couch together. Henry read to her and Regina listened with eyes closed. "She hasn't been this happy since the accident. She wants to be with Henry without the drugs fogging her mind and putting her to sleep before he could even read her the first sentence."

Snow was right. Regina did look happy and content for the first time since the accident and if that meant sitting in pain for a few minutes with their son, then she'll give her that.

"Ok," she relented. "But once she falls asleep, it's up to bed. She shouldn't have to sleep on the couch again."

Regina had ended up knocking out half an hour later and David carried her to Emma's bed. Unfortunately the bandages needed to be changed and so David left both Snow and Emma alone while they tended to Regina and joined Henry downstairs for some hot chocolate with whip cream and cinnamon.

Snow gently pulled Regina into a sitting position, leaning her body against her so that Emma could remove the old bandages. Regina let out a soft cry of pain as she was roused from her sleep. Her ribs, chest, and abdomen were throbbing making her body tremble from the strong pain she was suddenly feeling.

"I know, sweetie, I know," Snow whispered in her ear.

"The bruising is finally getting better," Emma observed as she examined the stitches on her belly from where Whale had cut to stop the internal bleeding.

"Emma…" Regina's hoarse whisper averted her attention to the hurting brunette. Her eyes were open, staring into the direction of Emma's voice. "No meds, please…"

Emma's mouth fell open in shock and she fumbled to find words for a moment. God, this woman was stubborn! "Regina, you're in pain! You're even shaking!"

"You won't be able to sleep," Snow added.

"They make everything foggy. I'm not in control," she said, her voice full of exhaustion and so much hurt and it made Emma wish for the thousandth time that she could just magically take her pain away. Why couldn't she just heal her? If she could, Regina would have her sight back by now. She wouldn't be in pain and she'd be back at work and throwing insults at her like her usual self.

Why did healing have to be such an advanced delicate form of magic?

Maybe she could work on it and someday maybe heal what was taken from the woman sagging heavily in her mother's arms.

"You're in a safe place," Snow tried soothing her fears. "You know we would never hurt you."

"Please, Regina," Emma tried persuading her, her eyes glassy with unshed tears because seeing this strong woman in so much pain and in so much fear of not being in control tore at her heart. "It'll make the pain go away and it'll help you sleep. I'll stay by your side the whole time."

Regina didn't answer and Emma quickly changed the bandages before helping Snow lie her down. They didn't want to force her and so Emma decide to leave the pills and water by the nightstand in case the pain became too much and she changed her mind. When Snow had left and it was just the two of them, Emma took Regina's hand, letting her fingers graze the water and pills she left beside her.

"In case you change your mind," Emma told her and right before she could leave the room Regina stopped her.

"And you'll stay with me?" she asked, her voice shaking and Emma turned to the brunette cuddle under the blankets. She understood where this fear came from. Not being in control. Regina had her freedom taken from her her whole life. The pills made everything foggy and took away her ability to have a focused head. She didn't feel safe to be stripped of her control like that especially when she couldn't see.

"I was going to stay anyway once I get Henry to bed."

Emma could see the relief washing over the other woman.

"Try to get some sleep, ok?" she told her and Regina closed her eyes, her body still trembling under the blankets. As she left the room, she could only hope the two pills she left on the nightstand would be gone by the time she came back.

An hour later everyone decided to turn in for the night and as Henry got ready for bed, Emma entered the room, her eyes instantly falling on the nightstand and to her relief the pills were gone. Regina took the meds and she was now asleep, her body still and comfortable for she no longer seemed to be in pain.

She approached the sleeping brunette, her hand reaching out and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Regina trusted her enough to give in. She trusted Emma would be here when she woke up. So instead of bunking with Henry like she usually did, she climbed in behind Regina and pulled her close.

She just needed to hold her after everything. Regina would probably kill her for even showing this kind of affection but she was out like a light and Emma just needed to feel her breathing and know that she was alive and ok.

She had no idea why seeing Regina hurt and scared affected her so much. It awakened feelings inside her that she didn't even know she had. She wanted to protect her. She wanted to take away her pain. She wanted Regina's trust and she finally had it. She wanted Regina to be happy again and she would do everything in her power to make that happen.