Sorry for the delay in posting - life once again got in the way! Hope everyone is still enjoying the story, and the direction I'm taking it in
"Miss Blanchard," greeted Regina as the pixie haired woman opened the door, her voice shaking as she shivered.
"Gods, Regina come in!" fussed the older woman, practically dragging the girl inside. "You're soaked!" The girl was more than soaked. She was shivering violently, the hooded jumper she wore torn down one side, as were her jeans. Without having to look too hard, Mary-Margaret could also see the cuts on the skin beneath. "What on earth happened?"
Regina could only shiver, tears gathering in her eyes. "Is Emma home?" she got out through chattering teeth.
"Of course," said Mary Margaret. She called upstairs to the blonde, who made it to halfway down the stairs before noticing her girlfriend, closing the rest of the distance in seconds.
"Regina? What happened?" she asked, her hands frantically flying over the older girl's face and arms as her eyes tried to take in the sight in front of her. "Are you okay?" She watched as the usually articulate brunette opened her mouth to speak, before breaking down in sobs. "It's okay. You're gonna be okay." She wrapped an arm around her shorter girl's shoulders, sending a pleading look to Mary-Margaret.
"Why don't you two go upstairs and get dried up and I'll put on some cocoa?"
Regina let herself be led along by Emma, barely registering they had reached the blonde's room. She stood motionless as Emma tried to tug her wet clothes off.
"Ri? Please, help me out here?" pleaded Emma. "If you don't want to talk, that's fine, but just let me get you out of these wet clothes before you end up with hypothermia. I can go while you change if you want?"
Regina shook her head furiously, gripping the blonde fiercely.
"Okay, I'm not going anywhere," smiled Emma. "I'm right here. Now what do you say we get these wet things off and I'll find you something warm to put on?"
"I'm sorry I ruined your hoody," sniffled Regina as she finally started to pull at the soaking material.
Helping her girlfriend free herself from the saturated clothing, Emma shook her head. "It's a sweater, Regina. I've got plenty more."
"But I liked this one," sighed Regina sadly, looking down at the ripped garment Emma had tossed to the floor. "You let me keep it."
Smiling, Emma continued to peel off the rest of Regina's sodden clothes. "You can keep all my sweaters if it would make you happy."
Regina managed a half smile, shivering even more violently now she was nearly naked. She gratefully accepted the towel Emma brought her, wrapping it around herself. "Can I keep you instead?"
The blonde grinned. "I'm all yours and you know it. Come on, you sit there and I'll dry your hair. You'll feel warmer after that." She directed the blonde the edge of the bed, grabbing her hairdryer and quickly settling herself behind the brunette. Setting to work, she meticulously brushed and dried the short locks, not quite achieving Regina's signature flicks, but at least stopping the brunette from shivering quite so violently. She smiled to the brunette as she stood once more, she set down the hairdryer before moving to her closet, pulling out a pair of thick sweat pants and a knitted jumper. Hesitating for only a moment, she also fetched a pair of her own panties and a thick pair of socks. "Here. I know they're nothing you'd usually wear, but they're warm and dry. Or if you prefer, just pick whatever you want. I'm gonna go down and see how that cocoa's coming along. I'll be back in a minute, okay?"
"How is she?" asked Mary-Margaret as Emma appeared in the kitchen.
"Dry, at least," sighed Emma.
"Have you any idea of what's wrong?"
The blonde shook her head. "Whatever it is, it had her walking over here in the pouring rain looking like she's been dragged through a hedge backwards." Thought she didn't say it out loud, she had her suspicions that Cora was somehow at the root of it all. Few things could inspire such a reaction from the brunette.
"Let me know if you need anything," said Mary-Margaret with a sad smile, knowing Emma wasn't the most comfortable with emotional situations, but glad to see her willing to try for Regina's sake. She pushed the two mugs of cocoa across the table, before quickly reaching under the sink for the first aid kit. "She had a few cuts and bruises," she added by way of explanation when Emma frowned.
"Oh, thanks," said the blonde as she gathered everything up before heading back upstairs. She had noticed the small scrapes littering one side of Regina's body, but none had been too deep. She herself had lived with worse. She tapped lightly on the door, waiting until Regina responded before entering. Pushing the door open, she found her girlfriend curled up on her bed, not wearing the sweater she had given her, but the one she had been wearing earlier that day. Caring only that Regina was comfortable, Emma said nothing, instead silently handing the brunette her cocoa and moving to curl up next to her, wrapping her free arm around her shoulders.
They sat like that for a while, neither saying anything, just sipping their cocoa. Tears continued to trail down Regina's cheeks, and every so often, Emma would reach over and wipe them away with the pad of her thumb. Finally, when their mugs were empty, Emma put them on the bedside table, and lay down on the bed, taking Regina in her arms. She held her close, her heart breaking a little more with each unexplained tear that fell. But still, she wouldn't push.
"I told my mother about us," the brunette finally whispered. "The truth." She shifted so her chin rested on Emma's chest, and she could look up at the blonde's face. "We were having dinner, and we had been talking. I was actually enjoying talking with her for once. She wasn't trying to cut anyone down, or be nasty. She seemed in a really good mood..."