DISCLAIMER:: do not own. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.
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-Chapter 43: You Came Crashing In Like The Realest Thing-
The Evil Queen had been Regina Mills for so long now, she felt as if she was really becoming the disguise. She remembered two separate lifetimes of memories, two very distinct identities, but Storybrooke felt more tangible, more real now that she'd been living here for so long. It was her safe place, her chess game in which she carefully placed every piece. Perfect order.
And then Emma Swan had swept in, knocking all her carefully placed pieces to the ground, like some huge wrecking ball hellbent on her destruction. She'd seen fit to ruin everything Regina had crafted so carefully. Years of work reduced to rubble in less than a month. And she had hated her for it. She hated that she made her remember who she used to be, throwing her former identity in her face. She hated that she had an intimate understanding of all that she'd been through. She hated how she didn't have to try to fit in, as if she'd always been that piece of the puzzle that had been missing and now the picture was whole. But most of all, she hated that she couldn't remember having loved her.
If she were being truly honest with herself, she could see the Evil Queen taking Emma on as a body slave. Her body was enticing, despite its scars, though she believed the majority of them were the result of her years in this world and hadn't existed before the curse. And with a will like hers… just like Regina had here, the Evil Queen would have relished the challenge of breaking her. The willful ones always were the most satisfying once her hands and tongue reduced them to a whimpering mess. Yes, the Evil Queen would have enjoyed conquering Miss Swan. So when had Emma turned the tables and conquered her? Had it been a gradual thing, spread out over months, even years? Or had she been fell with one glance? Her heart had been so far gone by the time she enacted the curse that she hardly could comprehend it had been able to love something at all.
But as she laid there in bed on her side and watched Miss Swan sleep in the dim glow cast from the window, she believed that if the Evil Queen had been capable of giving her black heart to someone, it would have been Emma. The blonde slept soundly on her back, the sheet having been kicked down to pool just below her waist while she dreamed. Regina wondered briefly if the blonde dreamed of her. Did she dream of days long past, of a Queen she believed worthy of saving? Or were her dreams of now, of a mayor and their son? Regina scolded herself for even thinking such thoughts. Emma probably dreamed frivolous musings just like the rest of humanity wherein she was in some impossibly absurd situation that seemed unquestionably real.
She watched the delicate rise and fall of the blonde's chest. Her breasts were encased in a lacy strapless bra, white that seemed to glow blue in the moonlight cast through the window. Regina reached out and ever so gently laid her hand over where the blonde's heart resided. She felt the steady rhythm pulse beneath her hand, beating a soft and even melody in time with the deputy's breathing. Her fingers delicately traced the soft skin, aimlessly drawing a heart shape. If this world had magic, it would be so easy just to reach in and claim it. All she'd have to do would be… She applied the lightest amount of pressure to the skin, digging in softly with her fingers. Nothing came of it. Emma's chest did not allow her hand to sink into it as she had known it wouldn't. Without a thought to what she was doing, she leaned forward and placed the softest of kisses over the skin there. Maybe this would be a heart she'd come to possess a different way.
As if sensing her presence, the blonde's body turned and pressed into hers. She felt her body instantly warm. She'd been reluctant to have the blonde sleep over. Sleepovers were hardly her thing, especially not with Henry in the house, but she had promised Emma she would try.
"I have loved the Evil Queen from the moment when our eyes met."
"I come because I've seen what the walls are hiding. I've seen what your fragments are, I've seen the broken queen."
"I love her… I love you…"
"Nothing in this world, or the next, could ever be more than you."
Suddenly, she knew she wanted to try; she wanted to remember. She looked at the clock. Almost five. She'd go check on Henry, see that he was still sleeping and then she'd come back. She'd wake Emma, she'd touch her, and then she'd let Emma touch her. It was time to let someone in.
She kissed Emma's forehead and slid out of bed. Grabbing her silk robe and throwing it on over her own lingerie, she crept over to the door and opened it. She threw one last look at the sleeping blonde before closing the door softly and creeping down the hall to the door of her son's room. She opened the door slowly, spying the lump under the blankets that indicated he was out like a light. She was about to close the door, her thoughts on the delicious possibilities of how to wake Emma, with her mouth or her fingers, when she saw the window open beyond his bed. She sighed. What had she told Henry about leaving the window open at night? She stepped into the room, approaching the bed. When she was within a couple feet, she noticed how odd the lump on the bed was positioned. She pulled back the duvet and was met with two pillows where her son should be. She moved quickly over to the window, wondering where he'd gone at this hour. She looked out into the night. Her questioned was answered: not far.
"Henry!"
Her son lay on his stomach at an awkward angle at the base of the tree outside his window. His backpack lay a couple feet away from him, a tear along its side and its contents partially spilled out. His eyes were closed. He wasn't moving.
She shot away from the window. Her chest was tightened with fear as she tumbled into the corridor. "EMMA!" She glanced in the direction of her bedroom door but decided her son was her priority right now. She raced down stairs, grabbing the cordless phone on her sprint to the back door. She was dialing the numbers before she'd even reached him.
She pulled Henry into her arms as she called the ambulance. He was breathing; she could feel the faint puffs of air coming from his mouth. She tried not to jostle him, afraid of making anything worse. She said prayers under her breath to every god she could think of. Regina Mills wasn't a religious woman, but she wanted to have her bases covered just in case someone was up there listening.
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Graham arrived with the ambulance in a fine display of lights and sirens, August in tow. The EMTs assessed the damage and loaded Henry onto a stretcher, while Regina stood by and yelled at them the whole time. The sight of her only child having an oxygen mask placed over his little face made her stomach turn violently and last night's dinner threatened to come up.
"Isn't that Granny's car out in front Regina?" Graham picked up Henry's bag, pushing its contents back inside and holding the tear closed in his hand.
Regina remembered the occupant of her bed for the first time since she'd called for the ambulance. "Emma! Wait here, I'll be right back." She was loathe to leave Henry, but she wasn't about to let Graham see his deputy in her bed, clad only in lacy lingerie. She ran back inside and up the stairs. She was honestly surprised the sirens and lights hadn't woken the blonde up. When she burst through the door of the bedroom, she found Emma much as she'd left her. "Emma, Emma wake up. Henry's been hurt." She walked over to the bed. "Emma?" She squeezed the blonde's shoulder. Nothing. She shook her. Still no response. "Emma? Come on. This isn't funny." She shook so hard that the blonde fell onto her back. Regina was panicking now. She put a hand to Emma's forehead. The blonde still seemed slightly feverish, but not enough to cause worry. Still, something was wrong. Very wrong. She took a deep breath and stared at the body on the bed, trying to calmly think what to do. Her eyes caught sight of full lips, slightly parted. Her own lips tingled, urging her towards a solution. If it was true love, if it had been true love in the Enchanted Forest, then it would still be true love here right? Even if she couldn't remember it; it would still be true love here. It could save her. Slowly she leaned down, and the closer she came, the less hesitation she felt. This would save Emma.
"Regina?"
She froze six inches from her destination and looked up at August in the doorway.
He saw her panic and instantly was on alert. "What's wrong?"
"It's Emma. I can't get her to wake up."
He walked over to the bed. "The ambulance just took Henry. You should get dressed. I'll wake Emma."
She looked down at the blonde a moment before nodding and moving off towards her walk in closet.
August looked down at his less than decent best friend and tried to keep his eyes strictly on her face. She was breathing, that was obvious from the rise and fall of her chest. She just appeared to be, well, sleeping. He shook her, slapped her cheeks lightly, called her name. Nothing came of any of it.
Graham appeared in the doorway. "What's the holdup?"
"Is she still out?" Regina reappeared in a pair of wrinkled black slacks and a grey shirt. She looked more put together than most people in this town did on a daily basis, but she was more scattered than Graham had ever seen her in all the years he'd known her, which happened to be quite a few. That, more than anything, convinced him of how worried she was, and not just for Henry.
Graham nodded as he caught sight of Emma unconscious on the bed. "Get something loose to put her in. We'll take her in my car. Storybrooke only has the one ambulance."
Regina ran back into her closet and returned a moment later with the one pair of sweats she'd invested in, purchased for nights when Henry was a baby and content to never let her sleep, and a semi-loose t-shirt. She worked on pulling on the sweats and Graham and August handled the shirt. The second they had her dressed, Graham picked her up in a fireman's carry and they went downstairs. Regina ran to lock the backdoor, grabbing her purse from the foyer table and then opened the front door for them. She locked the door behind her and followed Graham and August to the patrol car.
He placed Emma gently in the backseat and both men were shocked when Regina crawled in the other side beside her. He closed the door while Regina buckled herself in and laid Emma down in her lap. Graham got behind the wheel as August slipped into the passenger seat.
"Hurry Graham." Regina was cradling Emma's head in her hands, looking down at her in complete fear.
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Hospitals were something Regina both respected and loathed about this world. Medical advancements had their benefits, of course. Medicine was a little archaic in the Enchanted Forest. To be able to do a few tests and, more often than not, find out exactly what was wrong with someone, was consoling and something not experienced in her home world. In the land of fairytales it was more a hit and miss kind of deal. But in trade off, ailments were more easily rectified with magic healers than doctors. Once one knew what problem they were facing, it was just a series of spells and potions to make them right again. When one was sick there, they were allowed to stay with their family, healers came to them most of the time. She'd never understood, save for the sake of efficiency, grouping the sick together like herding lambs for the slaughter.
Henry was rushed into surgery. She'd run alongside the gurney as they'd whisked him towards the OR, as he fought in and out of consciousness, mumbling about Emma and a snake, he needed to warn Emma about a snake. It made no sense and both the doctors and herself just believed it to be the incoherent mumblings induced by the situation. The medical personnel had been infuriatingly vague, as medical staff had a nasty habit of being. Here, she wasn't a feared sorceress, able to demand whatever information she required upon threat of death. The fear of her only went so far in this world. Here, she was just another distraught mother worrying after her child. So they'd closed the doors leading to the hospital's operating rooms in her face with an air of finality, condemning her to an anxious wait.
Emma Swan had been taken into the ER, also removed from where Regina could reach her. When she demanded information from the nurse at triage, all she'd say was "Deputy Swan is still undergoing tests Mayor Mills". It had been over two hours since they'd stumbled into the ER lobby, August carrying Emma, while Regina had a hand placed softly on her forehead, needing a tangible connection. What if she died? What if she was in some bizarre coma and never awakened? The thought had flashed through her mind briefly that that was exactly what she'd been asking for since the blonde had decided to stay in Storybrooke, but she had banished the thought as soon as it sprung up. Things had changed, as much as she was loathe to admit it. Just because she wasn't in love with Miss Swan, didn't mean she didn't want her around.
"Regina?"
Her head snapped up at August's voice, trying to keep the worry from her eyes.
He looked exhausted, this morning was weighing on him too. "They've admitted Emma, Room 274. She's still out, but stable."
Internally, she breathed a sigh of relief. At least one of them was okay, for now.
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She didn't open her eyes, just relished in the warmth of the body on the bed next to her, unusually warm… wrong almost but she ignored it. She reached up and delicately traced the face beside hers, the nose, the eyes, the lips, the facial hair… facial hair? Her eyes snapped open.
August was grinning at her. "Morning Sunshine."
Emma shot back so far, her body rolled off the bed and into open air.
August reached out and snatched her back before gravity got hold of her, pulling her back onto the small bed. The really small bed. The 'I'm definitely not Regina's bed' small bed.
She glanced around, taking note of the white walls, the powdery mint green of the countertops, the ugly brown and eggshell curtains. "What in the…. Am I in the hospital?"
It was a rhetorical question but August nodded anyway. "Yep. You were admitted earlier this morning. Dr. Whale has already made morning rounds and checked on you. Mary Margaret came by a little while ago, but had to leave for school. Graham was here all morning until about ten minutes ago when he had to go back to the station to answer a couple calls."
"What happened?"
"You pulled your Sleeping Beauty act and had Graham and the mayor blowing a gasket."
Emma put a hand to her head. "Graham was there? Oh God, Regina is going to kill me."
"She called Graham and the ambulance. Graham and I were at Granny's having coffee at the time. I showed up with him."
"She called the ambulance?" Emma groaned. This just kept getting better and better. She could just imagine how angry Regina would be, not to mention the fact that she'd have to hear about this incident around town. Everyone was going to know before the day was out that the ambulance had to pick up an unconscious Deputy Swan from Mayor Mill's house in the middle of the morning.
"Henry…"
Emma felt her stomach sink even more. "Oh shit! Shit!" Now she really was dead. Was he traumatized? "Where is he?"
"Well, he's here."
"In the hospital? Regina let him skip school?" That was so unlike Regina. Henry must be really traumatized if she allowed him a truancy. But the question was, was his trauma because of his biological mother being rushed to the hospital unconscious or because his two mothers had been in bed half naked together? Man she really wasn't looking forward to that talk. Henry was so convinced Regina was evil. The only reason he'd even been on board with the date was because she had told him it was all part of her plan to break the curse. While that was one hundred percent the truth, she had known he would assume the date was just a ploy to get close to Regina and not legitimate.
August shifted uncomfortably. "Yes…"
Emma raised an eyebrow, just now noticing his deep frown. "August… what aren't you telling me?"
He got off the bed. Smart man, putting distance between them so she would have a more difficult time killing him once he'd said what he had to. "Um… well Henry's in the hospital…"
Emma raised an eyebrow, clearly not getting it. "As you already said…." She motioned for him to continue.
"No Emma… Henry's in the hospital, as a patient."
"What?!" Emma started ripping off her leads and scrambling off the small hospital bed, thankful there were no IV's to remove.
August stepped in front of the door. "Get back in bed Emma."
Her eyes went wide in disbelief. "That is my child! You will move out of my way voluntarily, or I will make you move, but either way I will be leaving."
Wisely, August moved away from the door and she stormed out into the nearly empty corridor, her head whipping from side to side to get her bearings. It looked like any hospital corridor, long and barren, a stale smell of antiseptic permeating the air. A lingering feeling of melancholy clung to the walls. She hated hospitals. Nurses flitted in and out of the doors that dotted the hallway. If any of them noticed her, they paid no attention to her. But there was one thing at the far end of the corridor that caught her attention. A figure in black slacks and a loose grey blouse was standing at the opposing end of the corridor from Emma. Her hair was slightly messy, unbrushed. The slightly wrinkled and haphazard state of her clothing, combined with her hunched shoulders… she looked more out of sorts than Emma had ever seen her. To the casual observer, it might not be cause for alarm, but Emma knew better. Regina valued her image and the way people perceived her too much to let them see her like this. She was in distress.
And then Emma's legs were moving. She walked down the corridor with purpose, striding towards the brunette. She was still twenty feet away when Regina seemed to sense her presence. The mayor turned and immediately brown met green. There was a mixture of relief, fear, pain, and joy mixed in the intense brown gaze. Emma stepped forward and didn't even hesitate to pull Regina into her arms.
The brunette immediately squirmed and tried to break free of the embrace. "Let me go."
"I'm not letting you go." Emma pressed a kiss to her hair and locked her arms around her resolutely.
"Let me go Miss Swan." Regina deployed her don't-fuck-with-me-you-have-no-idea-what-I'm-capable-of tone.
Emma ignored it. "I won't let you go." She kissed her hair once more and then her temple. "I will never let you go."
And that was all it took to crack open the floodgates and Regina's body went limp in her arms, sagging with the weight of the stress she'd been internalizing all morning. Her hands clawed uselessly in the back of Emma's hospital gown, her face hiding in the crook of the blonde's neck.
Emma felt hot wetness against her skin and she knew Regina was crying, though she heard no sobs. One arm stayed around the mayor's back, supporting her, while she brought her other hand up and ran it through Regina's hair, stroking her fingers through brown locks soothingly. She didn't ask what had happened, there'd be time for that. Right now, the only goal on her mind was doing whatever she could to take Regina's hurt away.
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They were alone back in Emma's hospital room. They were waiting for Emma's latest test results and then she'd be discharged. After her emotional display in the corridor, Regina had been tensely silent and Emma dreaded that she may have lost ground with the woman. She seemed to be withdrawing back behind her protective walls once more and the blonde had no idea how to stop it. She felt helpless, as if it was futile to even try, when this was the time where fighting was more important than ever. Regina was near the door, unmoving, not speaking, refusing even to look at her.
Finally Emma sat down upon the hospital bed with a sigh. "Regina I…"
"You scared me half to death Miss Swan!" Regina still wouldn't look her in the eye.
"So we're back to Miss Swan now, even in private?" She tried to keep the disappointment from her voice. Back to square one, surprise surprise. She should have known it wouldn't last.
Regina slowly walked across the room.
Emma could bring herself to look up at her. She hung her head and stared at the floor tiles.
Regina's hands came to rest on her knees, rubbing soft circles. "I do not like being scared. I went to check on Henry… seeing him on the ground like that… I called out for you, I needed you. And you were so still, no matter how hard we tried. I thought I had lost you both."
Emma looked up at the mention of Henry, her guilt momentarily forgotten. "What happened?"
"Henry was sneaking out his window. He didn't know you were in the house and he wanted to go see you. He kept mumbling something about a snake… do you know anything about it?"
"Not a cobra by any chance?" The blonde groaned.
Regina frowned. "That's the one. What is it?"
Emma sighed. "He was just coming to see how the date went I'd wager."
Regina pursed her lips. "Yes well. He fell from the tree."
Emma inhaled sharply, her guilt doubling. Why was he so persistent? Well, he was her child after all. Could she really blame him when she was the queen of persistence? It's the same kind of thing she would have pulled when she was a kid. "Is he okay?"
"Yes, fortunately, it was less than twenty feet, so the damage wasn't as bad as it could have been. His arm's broken and they're repairing it right now. They said he'll be in a cast for a while, but beyond that there are only a few scrapes and bruises."
Emma released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. He was going to be okay. Her kid, their kid, hadn't died trying to get to her.
"Miss Swan?"
"Hmm?" She focused on the brunette who was staring at her intensely.
"Henry's going to need round the clock supervision for the next several days and I was wondering if you'd be amicable to doing it. I can take the time off work if need be…"
Emma held up a hand to stop her. "No, I'd be happy to do it. There's only one mayor. I'm not even sheriff. Graham lasted for how long without a deputy before I showed up; I'm sure he can manage a few days without me."
A look of genuine relief washed over the mayor's face and Emma realized for the first time how tired she actually looked. "I'll work from home as much as I can manage, but there's several meetings that will unfortunately have to be dealt with off-site."
Emma shook her head. "It's no problem. I'll be there in the mornings by the time you leave for work and I can leave after you get home. It'll be nice to have a holiday from the station."
"Don't be ridiculous Miss Swan."
Emma raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware that I was being ridiculous."
"You will stay with us while taking care of Henry. I don't want you driving so much in your condition."
Both Emma's eyebrows shot up so high they met her hairline. This was news to her. "My condition?"
"He didn't tell me all the details, barely anything really, but Mr. Booth told me it was part of your curse."
Emma paled. "He what?" She felt her lungs constricting. All the progress she'd made, all of it, it had all hinged on Regina not being aware of her other half. If she even suspected that Emma was only doing this to save the Regina in the Enchanted Forest, which wasn't even entirely true, then she'd never open up to her. He'd ruined everything!
"Hey, Emma… look at me."
Emma lifted her eyes to look into Regina's, her tears suddenly making their appearance at August's betrayal.
Regina wiped away her tears. "I wish you'd tell me. About your curse. I'd like to know."
Emma sighed. "You don't know what you're asking."
Regina frowned. She wasn't used to being denied. "What are you afraid of?"
Emma reached up and placed her hand over the one that had been wiping her tears away and still rested on her cheek. She turned her face so she could kiss the palm of the hand under hers, her eyes gazing sadly up into the brown irises of the mayor. "Losing you."
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"Is he still asleep?" As she entered the quiet room, Emma looked towards the still form on the bed, his arm, already in its cast, kept protectively between inflated barriers so he wouldn't accidentally jostle it in his sleep. He has a cut above his right eye, encompassed in a blue-black bruise. Another bruise takes up the majority of his right cheek and she knows there are even more hidden under the blanket and hospital gown.
"The painkillers are keeping him pretty much under. It's good. He needs to rest." Regina looked up from the paperwork on her lap, eyeing the bags in Emma's hand appreciatively. "Thank you, for getting dinner. I haven't eaten a thing all day."
Emma shrugged. "It's understandable. It's been an emotional day." She reached into the bag and handed Regina the Styrofoam to-go box that Ruby had placed the mayor's dinner in. She passed her a coffee from the drink carrier, which the brunette accepted just as gratefully. They were keeping Henry overnight for observation, standard procedure, just to make sure he wasn't concussed and no problems arose. If all went well, they'd release him late tomorrow morning. Regina had already insisted on staying the night, despite Graham and August both insisting she should go home and rest. Emma hadn't. Their son was in the hospital, their son… You don't leave your kid in a place like this. It's not what parents, at least decent ones, should do. And Regina had always been a decent parent, an extraordinary one really, if a little strict at times.
Regina bit into her sandwich with a groan of appreciation. She chewed and swallowed. "I could kiss you right now Miss Swan."
Emma froze as she was pulling her own container from the bag, looking at Regina. "Don't make promises you can't keep." Her words were serious, truly meant, but she kept her tone playful. There was no need to jump up and down on the thin ice she was already treading.
Regina set the container aside on the small table provided between the two guest chairs in the hospital room and stood, rolling her eyes. She stepped towards the blonde and Emma rose to meet her, her dinner temporarily forgotten. "How many times must I tell you Miss Swan? I am a woman of my word."
Emma's chest sped up, rising and falling at a slightly more rapid pace as she watched the mayor lean closer, her eyes going wide in anticipation. Was this it? Was this their moment?
Regina's lips connected with her cheek, and then, graciously, with the very corner of her mouth.
She smiled sadly as the brunette pulled away, unable to hide her disappointment fast enough.
Regina grabbed her chin and stroked her thumb across the blonde's lower lip. "Patience dear. We'll get there."
They ate their dinner in silence after that, content in each other's company to just watch Henry, both assuring themselves that he was indeed going to be alright and that the damage had the potential to have been much worse.
Emma discarded their empty containers in the trash when they were finished and then resumed her seat with a yawn, cradling her decaf coffee in her hands.
Regina glanced at her. "You can leave if you're tired Miss Swan. I promise I'll call if any problems arise."
Emma tilted her head and regarded the sleeping boy on the bed. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to stay. For him." She glanced over at the woman sitting beside her. "And for you."
Regina regarded her for a long moment, before finally giving a slow nod. "I'd like that." She reached over and slipped her hand into Emma's before turning her attention back to the bed, taking a sip of her coffee.