Poison & Wine
Chapter 43
Hook hung up the phone and rubbed his forehead with a deep sigh. With both Emma and David currently under the knife, the police station receptionist was temporarily promoted to Sheriff. He didn't like it so far.
Zelena's body got lifted off the floor and moved to the morgue area in the hospital. Killian instructed the coroner not to remove the magic cuff until the body was embalmed. He wasn't about to take any chances.
The pirate looked around the waiting room at the anxious ladies. Neal had gone to get Gold back into town. Hook saw Belle across the room comforting a distraught Snow White then his blue eyes moved to look at the mayor. She was sitting with her legs crossed and looking straight ahead. She wasn't sobbing her eyes out like the schoolteacher across the room, but he could tell the woman was completely shattered. He walked over to the former queen and sat down next to her.
Regina closed her eyes when she felt someone next to her. "Whatever you want to say to me, don't." She said sternly.
Killian cleared his throat. "I don't want to say anything." He assured her. "You just look like you need a friend."
The mayor scoffed. "I'm fine, thank you." She lied.
"I called Tink." The man told her, looking at her unmoving profile. "She's picking up Henry from his friend's house and bringing him here." He knew the woman would wonder how much her son knew about the situation.
Regina swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat before she spoke, "Does he know I ripped her heart out?"
Hook shook his head. "I didn't tell Tinkerbelle about it." He insured her. "But just for the record, I'd say it was your best kill of all time." He smirked at her to improve the room.
It didn't work. The woman didn't crack a smile. In fact, she did the opposite of what the pirate thought she would do. She got mad. "Your supposed best friend is in surgery- fighting for her life- and you're making jokes?"
"She's a survivor." Hook reminded her. Was he worried about her? Sure he was, but until he heard news he wouldn't allow himself to fall into the pit of depression both the mayor and Mary Margaret have sunk into.
"She was shot, Killian!" Regina exclaimed. "Her and David both! Don't tell me they're survivors when there's a very good chance they could die in there!"
"Mom?" Henry's timid voice rang in the woman's ear.
The former queen turned her head to the waiting room entryway. There stood her son, looking crushed, and Tinkerbelle right behind her. "Henry." She stood up and braced herself as she ran towards her in a crushing hug. She held him in her arms and lost it. A few tears fell from her eyes as she stroked his dark hair.
Henry clutched to his mother tight. When Tink picked him up from Nick's house she told as much as she knew, which was that Zelena shot his other mother and his grandpa. When he pulled away from his mom he asked, "Did you catch her? He'd been informed of very little regarding the evil witch, but he knew his parents and grandparents were trying to stop her.
"Yes." Regina nodded, wiping some of her tears. "She won't be hurting anyone again." As she said it, she looked to where Belle was sitting with Snow. The librarian didn't look pleased with the woman's explanation to her son.
"I want to see mom and grandpa." Henry told her.
His adoptive mother gave him a sad look. "We can't see them right now, dear." She informed him. "We have to wait until Dr. Whale gives us the okay."
The boy nodded in understanding. "They're going to be okay though. Aren't they?" He questioned.
Regina didn't want to lie to the boy, but she didn't want to worry him too much. After tucking some of his dark lengthy hair behind his ear she said, "I hope so."
It wasn't until one in the morning when Dr. Whale entered the waiting room. He was exhausted, and he couldn't wait to go home but he had some news to deliver regarding Sheriff Swan and her deputy. He stepped into the area and saw everyone was sleeping peacefully but Regina.
Their eyes met and the woman carefully tilted her son's head off of her shoulder and placed it on Killian's before she stood up and walked to the doctor. "How are they?" She asked desperately.
Whale's expression didn't at all give away anything. "Would you like to wake up Mary Margaret?"
Regina shook her head. "What I would like is for you to tell me if my girlfriend is dead or alive." She gritted out quietly so she wouldn't wake anybody else.
Dr. Whale put a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder to calm her. "They're alive." He assured her.
An enormous amount of relief washed over the brunette. "Thank God." She whispered, feeling breathless.
"Emma got about as lucky as somebody could be- both of them did actually. It's been a better night than it could have been." Victor revealed to her. "Emma had a single gunshot wound to the left side of her neck. The bullet missed her carotid artery by half an inch." He said. "It wasn't a clear shot so the bullet broke up into fragments within her neck, but she managed to avoid any damage done to her spine or vocal cords. That's why she was bleeding profusely when you brought her in. But they were removed without a hitch. Now, Miss Swan still has some muscle damage in her neck that she will have to recover from, but if by tomorrow she wakes up and she's talking, I'll be discharging her."
Regina was feeling better than she ever possibly thought she could. Emma was all right. Her baby wouldn't be without his or her other mother. "Okay. Okay." She repeated. "Will you be putting her on any medications? She probably needs antibiotics so she doesn't get sick since she can't fight off infections that well." While she was absolutely elated for her girlfriend to be breathing, she was still concerned about her recovery.
Whale nodded. "I agree. I already put in the prescription for her. I'm also planning to give her some oxycodone when she's discharged. Right now though we have her on morphine."
Brown eyes sparked to life. "Is she awake?" The thought of seeing those bright green orbs staring at her made butterflies flutter in her stomach.
"Not currently, but she should be awake by early morning. You and your boy are welcome to stay in the room if you'd like." The blonde man offered.
"Thank you." Regina cleared her throat. "How's David?" She asked.
Victor looked over at the pixie haired woman who was sleeping. He knew the ethical thing to do was wake her up, but the deputy wasn't going to be awake for a while and he desperately wanted to sleep. "David's injuries are much more serious than Emma's, but he's still stable and recovering. The bullet shattered three of his ribs and then punctured his right lung. It nearly collapsed, but you got him here quick enough to prevent that."
The mayor ran a hand through her dark hair. "Wow." She huffed out. "You said he's stable though?"
Dr. Whale nodded. "Yes. His recovery will be longer than Emma's, however."
"How long are we talking?" The woman asked.
Victor thought about it. "A week or two for Emma, depending on the extent of the muscle damage she has. I'd say it would be at least six weeks until David is back to moving and breathing normally."
Regina cringed slightly, thinking of the man's very pregnant wife in the room, but at least he was alive at all. "Okay." She was honestly amazed that both of the Charming's seemed out of the woods. "I'd like to see Emma now. Which room is she in?"
"She's in post-op. Room 204." Whale informed her. "My shift is over and I won't be back until noon tomorrow but whenever Mary Margaret wakes up, let nurse Stevens know. She'll tell her everything and answer any questions she may have."
The mayor nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Dr. Whale." She said in all seriousness.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Madam Mayor." He smiled politely at her before leaving the room.
Regina turned back around to the room when the doctor was gone and looked towards Killian. She'd have to be quiet about waking him up because her son was sleeping on his shoulder, but she wasn't about to wake up Snow or judgmental Belle and Tinkerbelle went to the mansion to watch the dogs overnight. So Regina had no choice but to silently make her way towards the pirate, kneel down to his seated height and shaking his arm.
"Hook?" She whispered. "Hook, wake up."
Stirred out of sleep, Killian groaned quietly at the crick in his neck. "What?" He asked the woman in a quiet voice of his own.
The mayor motioned to her sleeping son on the man's shoulder. "I don't want to wake him, but Dr. Whale spoke to me about Emma and David."
"What'd he say?" The man questioned.
Regina licked her lips. "Both stable. Emma should recover quickly, thank God. But David had a punctured lung and some broken ribs so his recovery will be lengthy."
Hook listened carefully to every word. "Okay. That's… good." He decided on with a small nod. "That's a relief, really." The pirate let out a satisfied and cleansing deep breath.
"I'm going to see Emma, but I don't want to wake him up. Will you bring him to her room when he wakes up?" The former queen asked. "I know I'm asking a lot-"
Killian shook his head. "Not at all." He gave her a playful smirk. "That's our Swan in there, love. I'd do anything for her."
Regina smiled for the first time that night and squeezed the man's hand. "Thank you. She's in room 204."
Emma felt the pain in her neck before she was even fully awake. The damn beeping from her heart monitor gave her a strange feeling of déjà vu. She cranked her eyes open and let out an audible grumble.
"Emma?" A rough but hopeful voice said in a panic.
The blonde looked to her right and saw her distraught true love sitting in the seat next to her bed. A wide- partially delirious- grin overtook her face. "Baby." She croaked out. It hurt the right side of her neck when she spoke but it was nothing she couldn't handle.
Regina let out a few happy tears when they made eye contact. She had been waiting in there since 1:30 and it was nearly 4:00am now. She stood up and softly adjusted the messy bedhead of her girlfriend. "Hey, honey." She greeted with joy. "How do you feel?"
"A little high." Emma said honestly with a smug face before she reached out for the older woman's hand.
The brunette quickly tangled their fingers together and allowed a chuckle to escape her. "Well that's probably because of the morphine, dear."
"Can you get me some water?" The savior asked. Regina nodded and handed her the water cup that was displayed. After enough, the blonde handed it back. "How's my dad?"
The mayor stroked her lover's hand with her thumb. "He's a few rooms over. Whale said he's in a stable condition."
Emma visibly relaxed. "Thank God."
"You need to retire." The brunette teased with a small smile of her own.
A strained laugh released from the sheriff. "I would, but I'm afraid there's no one else in this town who could handle the paperwork." She joked.
Brown eyes rolled good-naturedly before she turned serious. She licked her lips and looked at the almost invisible freckles across the younger woman's nose. "You scared me."
"It's gonna take more than a bullet to kill me." Emma smirked. When her girlfriend didn't crack a smile, she sighed. "Baby, I'm right here. I couldn't have died. Who would have given you your heart back if I did?"
Regina cracked a smiled and nodded. "That's true." Her beautiful, good-hearted true love was awake and speaking to her like things were normal. "I just can't wait until you're out of here and back home."
The blonde moaned like that was the best thing she ever heard of. "Me neither. I miss our bed."
"It's a good bed." The mayor noted.
Emma cleared her throat. It was rather painful to do and she hoped her neck would stop hurting soon because she was starting to get a headache. She could tell from her girlfriend's body language that there was something Regina wasn't telling her. The savior thought back to the mayor's last words in the clock tower, 'Bring her with you.' It all clicked. "You killed her."
It wasn't said as an accusation. In fact, there was no judgment in her voice at all. It was said to inform Regina that she knew.
The older woman nodded. "Yes."
"I'd of killed her too." Emma confessed honestly with a small shrug before she squeezed her hand. "Do you regret it?" It was her sister after all.
Regina shook her head vehemently. "Not at all. I regret not doing it sooner." She licked her lips. "Belle is rather upset about it though. Apparently it was too Evil Queen of me."
The blonde chuckled. "Her boyfriend is the dark one. If you didn't kill her, Gold would be all up on that shit the second he got back." She scoffed.
"Oh, I'm aware." The mayor said surely. "But she seems to have a blind spot with Rumple and a magnify glass with everyone else."
Emma chewed on her lip. "I love you, baby. I have no blind spots with you. You killed her to protect your family."
"I killed her because she shot you." The older woman corrected.
The savior nodded. "And I killed Sydney because he tried to rape you." She reminded her lover. "Does that make me evil?"
Regina pulled her hand away and sat down on the bed beside her girlfriend. "I'm not saying that killing her made me evil. But Belle seems to think so."
"Fuck Belle." The blonde scoffed. "Let her precious 'Rumple' be shot and see what she does to the person who did it then."
The former queen rubbed the younger woman's arm. "Honey, you're getting worked up and that's not good for you right now." She told her. "How about we deal with that when you get out of here?"
Emma groaned slightly but nodded. "Henry knows I'm okay, right?"
"Henry's here." Regina told her with a small smile. "He's sleeping in the waiting room with your mother and Killian. I told Hook to bring him here when he wakes up."
"Does he know Neal is here?" The sheriff questioned.
Regina shook her head. "Not yet."
"Come here." Emma coaxed, struggling to move over and make room.
"I can't-" The mayor tried.
The blonde cut her off. "Baby, your evil sister shot me. Don't I deserve to have my girlfriend sleep next to me for a couple of hours? You look like you haven't slept at all."
With a fake grumble, Regina went on the bed with her lover and snuggled close.
The next morning, Killian along with Henry stepped into Emma's room. There they saw the mayor and the sheriff cuddled up to one another in the small bed. Henry felt relieved when he saw them.
When he went to wake them up, Hook held him back. "Whoa there, Hen. Let them sleep. Emma's still recovering."
The blonde peeked an eye open and smiled at her boy. "Never listen to a pirate, kid." She teased.
Henry beamed and crawled on the bed next to her, officially squeezing the blonde between her two favorite brunettes. "I'm so glad you're okay, ma."
Emma's neck was throbbing as she hugged her son, but it was worth it. "Like I could leave you behind." She kissed his hair.
Regina grumbled on her other side and saw her son in the tiny bed with them as well. "Henry, you're hurting Emma." She scolded.
"Ma said I could!" The boy defended himself.
Emma smiled at her girlfriend. "This is true."
Henry looked at his blonde mother. "We went to see grandpa." He told her.
"Was he awake?" The sheriff asked.
Killian shook his head. "Not yet. Your mom is in there now with him."
The savior stroked her son's hair as Regina got out of the bed and adjusted her wrinkled clothes. "Did he look good though?"
Henry nodded. "Yeah. When do you get to go home?"
"Today, hopefully." Regina smiled.
"When are you coming back to work is the real question." The pirate laughed. "Because this sheriffing business is not for me."
Emma chuckled. "I'll be back in the next few days."
The mayor scoffed. "You certainly will not be returning to work until at least our anniversary is past."
"Baby, that's two weeks-"
Regina cut her off. "You were shot!" She exclaimed. "I don't feel comfortable with you going back to work so soon after-"
This time it wasn't Emma who cut the former queen off, it was the door opening. All eyes turned to see Neal standing there with a bouquet of flowers.
"Dad?"
Emma and Regina made eye contact. Both were saying the same thing. Shit.
So both Charming's are going to be okay! Like I could kill off either of them :P This chapter was mostly a filler, but next chapter will pick up. As I said before, I'm going on vacation tomorrow. That's why this post took me so long to put up because I've been packing & all that shit. I'll be back to usual posting schedule on Thursday. I'm going to try & post a chapter or two before then but I make no promises!
I'll miss you guys! I love all of your support! Until next time! :*