A/N: This chapter is a bit different in style from the others as the bulk of it is written in the 1st person from Emma POV. Don't worry we will get Regina's perspective of the accident in the next one. There are also a few 'Dream Sequences', again from Emma POV. I hope the format isn't too difficult to follow. Let me know if you think I should change it to make it easier to read.

I'm not a trained medical professional, so there will probably things in this chapter that are medically incorrect. I've done a bit of research to try and make it as accurate and realistic as I can, but there could still be some inaccuracies. You have been pre-warned. (Bit of extra info for you. There's a mention later in the chapter of the prefrontal cortex- my googling found it to be an area of the brain responsible for long-term memory. So, make of that what you will.) If you have any questions about the chapter, feel free to ask. As always, I appreciate your support and feedback. Enjoy!

" I got caught up in the moment. I'm so sorry," Emma repeated as she stepped further away, stumbling over the edge of the kerb.

"Miss Swan, I-" Regina was cut off by the sound of tires squealing, Emma's head whipped around to see a yellow taxi heading straight towards her. She was already falling backwards, and the car was approaching too quickly. At that point, she was unable to do anything other than bracing for the inevitable impact.

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"Pupils are equal and reactive, and the patient is conscious." A bright light shines in my eyes as an unfamiliar male voice starts speaking. "Hello my name's Michael, I'm a paramedic. You have been in an accident, can you tell me you name?" Okay so I'm still alive then, that's good.

Emma, my name's Emma Swan.

"The patient is unresponsive."

Hey, Buddy, I just told you my name- it's Emma Swan.

"Her name's Emma Swan, can you help her? Please." That's definitely Regina speaking; I can't see her, but she sounds pretty shook up. I can't believe she stayed with me after I acted like such an idiot- what was I thinking? Oh God, I must look like such a mess right now.

"We will do everything we can," the paramedic replies a bit too ominously for my liking. "Emma, blink if you can hear me?" That shouldn't be too much of a problem. Blink. Yes, I can easily do that. "Okay, that's good Emma. We are going to need to move you now so we can put you on a stretcher. It may be a bit uncomfortable for you. Do you understand?" Blink. "Okay on the count of three. One - two - three!"

Fuck, fuck, fuck - ouch! You bastard, you said a bit uncomfortable…

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"This is Emma Swan, a 30-year-old female. She was a pedestrian in a road traffic collision. She has sustained damage to her head and left leg. Her vitals are low and there are signs of internal bleeding. She has been in and out of consciousness since our arrival at the scene; seems to be aware when conscious but is unresponsive." That sounds like the paramedic again. I guess I must have passed out after they moved me.

Where am I? Is this a Hospital?

There are three people standing over me wearing blue scrubs and white coats; this is probably an Emergency room, so that would make sense. I try and take in my surroundings to get a clearer picture, but my head seems to have been restrained.

"Emma, you need to try not to move okay; you've been in an accident. You are in the ER at New York-Presbyterian. I'm Dr Cooper. I'll be looking after you." A woman with long black wavy hair, friendly eyes and a tired smile says. I blink to show her that I understand. She squeezes my hand reassuringly and turns to address her colleagues. There are mentions of tests and scans and paging Neuro, but I can feel myself drifting back into unconsciousness again.

xxxxxxx

Standing in a garden wearing my white tank top and skinny jeans, I hold a chainsaw in my hands. Turning it on, I cut off the branch of the apple tree in front of me which falls to the floor. Game on, Regina Mills. Looking up to her office, the proud grin that breaks out over my face upon seeing her shock and anger is impossible to hold back. A matter of moments later, the woman in question is striding purposefully across the lawn in her grey dress. I rev the chainsaw a few more times just to antagonise her some more. "What the hell are you doing!?" She shouts, the anger radiating off her is palpable.

"Picking apples." Is my nonchalant reply before dropping the chainsaw to the floor. What is it with this woman and apples?

"You're out of you mind!" She's right in my personal space now, but I don't back down. In fact, it only spurs me on more.

"No, you are if you think a shoddy frame job's enough to scare me off. You're gonna have to do better than that. If you come after me one more time, I'm coming back for the rest of this tree. Because, sister, you have no idea what I am capable of." Walking away from the shell-shocked woman I add over my shoulder, "Your move!" with a smirk.

xxxxxxx

Wow, that was a hell of a dream. I have no idea why Regina would be so upset over an apple tree, or why I would want to cut it down in the first place for that matter? Why is she trying to frame me? More importantly, why am I trying to analyse a dream? I dunno, it just felt so realistic though, like déjà vu or something. Great, now I'm having a conversation with myself in my head; I blame the shitload of pain meds they must have me on. The short hair really suited her, though… wait, is there someone in the room?

I try my best to listen to what's happening around me, but it seems just out of reach. I'm only able to catch some of what a female voice says, "…performed emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on her brain…partial splenectomy…will require further surgery…she will wake up when she's ready." That must be the doctor speaking. I can't open my eyes to confirm it, but it's fine because I need to rest now anyway.

xxxxxxx

"Hey Ma, I don't know if anyone's told you yet, so I thought I'd let you know that the Doctor says you're in a coma. But that's just so your body has a chance to recover from the accident and the surgery." Henry says softly, it sounds like he's trying the hold back tears, but the emotion still seeps through every word. "You really scared me you know."

I'm so sorry, Henry.

"I don't know if you can hear me, but talking to you can't harm right? I'm sure that some people say that sometimes when a person is in a coma, they can still hear you."

Yes, I can hear you, Kid. Keep talking to me, I really need to hear your voice right now.

His quiet sobs are all that can be heard in the silence, well that and the incessant beeping of the bloody heart monitor.

"I'm staying with Paul and Mable while you're in here, but I really need you to wake up soon, okay? I need you to do that for me."

I'll try my best, Kid. I promise. I love you, Henry.

"Please just wake up. I love you, Ma." He adds in a broken whisper.

xxxxxxx

I'm standing in a dark tunnel, the main source of light is coming from Regina's hands. Henry and his young Grandparents are huddled together. "I can't contain this much longer" Regina manages to say, her whole body is shaking with effort as she focuses all her energy on stopping the trigger. The realisation that we aren't going to make it hits us all.

"Mom... Dad…" It's the first time I've said the words to them. On the brink of tears, I head over to the young couple and my son; embracing the three for the final time. Now that I have them in my arms, I'm unable to stop the tears from flowing.

Henry breaks away to go to Regina, who tearfully says, "I love you, Henry. I only wish I was strong enough to stop all this. I'm just not."

Then an idea hits me; I let out a small gasp. Pulling away from my parents, I walk over to Regina, "You may not be strong enough, but maybe we are." We look at each other for a moment, while the others move further away. Stepping forward, I raise my hands causing beams of light emerge from them and into the trigger. The strength it requires leaves my whole body trembling. Eventually, our combined efforts work. We both get blasted backwards and the now harmless stone falls to the floor.

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"The Surgery was a success, we managed to repair the fractures to her left legs and we see no further complications arising. With some physical therapy, she should have full mobility." I don't recognise this voice, it must be a different doctor. It sounds like I've been for more surgery. That must be why I had another one of those weird dreams, does anaesthesia do that? Are dreams, or hallucinations, or whatever the hell they are a side effect? Maybe it's the morphine that's causing it- I'm probably on plenty of that right now. That would explain it because I have no idea why I would dream of having parents; let alone one's my own age. Maybe its like one of those physiological things; when you are sick you want your parents no matter what age you are- or even if you don't have any. Yup, I'm pretty sure that's a thing. Are there still people speaking? I should probably be listening while I still can.

"… do you have any further questions?"

"No, I don't think so. Thank you, Doctor." That's Paul, it doesn't suit him to sound so serious. There's the shuffling of feet and then a few seconds later Paul is speaking again, "Ems? Uh…It's Paul."

Yeah, no shit Paul.

"Umm…So… God, I feel like a total idiot; I am attempting to have a conversation with an unconscious person."

I am mentally rolling my eyes at you right now, just so you know. At least, tell me how Henry is, or something else useful.

"If someone could see me they would be like- who is that fucking lunatic talking to the comatose lady?"

Seriously Paul? I would slap you right now if I could. I will probably black out again in a few minutes and you are wasting my time by rambling about how stupid you feel.

"But Henry's convinced that it will help so here goes…"

… any time today will do.

"So, it's been just over a week now Ems. You haven't woken up for over a week and we're all starting to get a bit freaked out about it."

A week! Over a week! How has that happened? What about Henry? Paul, please talk about my son. Tell me how's he's coping. If there was a way to wake myself through sheer will power alone, I would have woken up by now. Some form of divine intervention would really good at this point? Nothing? Fine.

"Henry's coping surprisingly well, probably better than I am to be honest. He's a good kid Ems, you did a good job with him, you should be proud. I'm staying at your apartment with him.I thought it'd be better for Henry to say in his own home."

Thank you, Paul. I don't think I tell you this enough but we are lucky to have you. I honestly don't know what we would do without you right now.

"Don't worry though, I promise I won't trash the place- much." I can imagine the grin on his face. "Gran looks after him while I'm working, and stays most of the evening too. I don't cook - full stop. So he would be living on takeaways and microwave meals without her."

Why doesn't that surprise me? I'm smiling on the inside if that's a thing.

xxxxxxx

"Who's going to present?" A stern sounding woman asks abruptly. A few seconds pass before an unfamiliar male speaks.

"Emma Swan, Female, 30 years of age. Presented to the ER three weeks ago with internal bleeding, a Subdural Haematoma and multiple fractures to left Tibia, Fibula and Femur…" He continues to list off more information about other minor injuries and my surgeries so far, but I stop listening. It's the same routine as usual; nothing's changed. I'm still in a coma. They still have no idea what to do to wake me up, and neither do I.

xxxxxxx

"Happy Thanksgiving, Ma." That smells like turkey, and I'm pretty sure there's stuffing too… this is torture. "We decided to have Thanksgiving dinner here with you," Henry adds, which clarifies the reason for the smell.

"We figured if anything would wake you up, it would be the thought of missing out on a meal."

Very funny, Paul. I'm totally laughing right now.

"Paulie, don't be so insensitive." Mable chastises him.

Yeah Paulie, listen to your Grandmother.

It's such a touching gesture for them all to spend their Thanksgiving with me in my comatose state. But let's be honest, it's kind of a bit morbid too. I wonder where Regina is, maybe she's here and I haven't heard her yet.

"We asked Regina if she wanted to come too, but she couldn't make it," Henry says.

It's as if the Kid can read my mind sometimes. I can't help but feel a little disappointed that she's not here. I would have liked it if she were here too, all the important people in my life in one room. My periods of awareness are quite random and fleeting, but I'm yet to have one with Regina; not since the night of the accident itself. It's most likely because she hasn't visited. Not that I expect her to or anything. I'm hardly the most riveting company in my current state.

"She has been asking about you, though. I see her a quite a lot. She comes round to make sure I'm alright and to see if there's been any news about you." At least, she asks how I am- that's something. I can work with that. She's keeping an eye on Henry too which is nice of her; she seems quite fond of him.

The three happily chat amongst themselves while they eat their meals; it would be a normal Thanksgiving if they weren't spending it in my hospital room with a heart monitor as background music.

xxxxxxx

The Doctors are back again. Some random intern is giving the same list of injuries and surgeries as per usual. The only difference so far is that it has now been five weeks since the patient, being me, first presented.

"What were the findings of the most recent MRI scan, Jacobs?" The stern one asks the flustered intern. This is a new development, I should take note of the answer.

"Umm… I'm just looking…give me a sec."

Come on, Jacobs. She's gonna tear you a new one if you don't get it together...I would also appreciate the info.

"Jacobs, we don't have all day."

"I have them here. According to Dr White in Neuro, there is a very small Haematoma in the prefrontal cortex. He thinks this could be the reason the patient isn't waking up. They plan to operate tomorrow morning to remove the bleed and will reassess the situation from there." This sounds promising. There's a chance that by the time tomorrow I'll be awake, but it's best not to get my hopes up too soon. I've had too many disappointments in life to let myself get carried away with wishful thinking. Let's just wait and see.

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Regina approaches me as I stand apart from the rest of the group at the town line, "Emma. There's something I haven't told you."

"What now?" I sigh, isn't the fact that I have to leave behind the people I care about enough?

"When the curse washes over us, it will send us all back. Nothing will be left behind; including your memories. It's just what the curse does. Storybrooke will no longer exist. It won't ever have existed. So these last years will be gone from both your memories. Now we'll go back to being just stories again." She explains sombrely.

"What will happen to us?" I ask, unsure how Henry and I will be affected.

"I don't know."

"Doesn't sound like much of a happy ending." I thought that I was supposed to bring back the happy endings, some saviour I turned out to be.

"It's not. But I can give you one." Regina replies.

"You can preserve our memories?"

"No, I can... do what I did to everyone else in this town. And give you new ones." That doesn't necessarily sound like a better alternative to me.

"You cursed them and they were miserable." I retort, stating the obvious.

"They didn't have to be," She says with a smile. Regina is kinda beautiful when she smiles; who am I kidding? She is all the time.

Then, Regina does something that completely catches me off guard; she takes my hand in her own. Before now my physical contact with this woman generally involved one or both of us getting punched, or sucked into portals. This is a caring gesture- it has a warmth to it that Regina usually reserves only for Henry. "My gift to you is good memories, a good life for you and-" She indicates for Henry to join us. I'm having visions of the three of us as a little family unit now, which is really not helping matters. I can barely hold back the tears that are threatening to flow,"—Henry. You'll have never given him up." Neither can Regina, "You'll have always been together."

"You would do that?" Is my awestruck response to the amazing gift I'm being given.

"When I stop Pan's curse and you cross that town line, you will have the life you always wanted." I'm not so sure it is anymore.

"But it won't be real." and my family won't be there, I add mentally.

"Well, your past won't. But your future will. Now go. There isn't much time left and the curse will be here any minute."

Oh shit, I think I'm in love with Regina Mills. I should hug her or something, right? What the hell, I may as well kiss her. Maybe it'll break Pan's curse in the process. No, you are being an idiot Emma, that only works with True Love. Before I have a chance to do either my mother strides over, she holds my face and kisses my forehead. Way to spoil my moment with Regina, Mom. Would it be super awkward for me to go kiss her now? What to do, what to do…? I know, I'll run from my feelings; it's what I do best. It's not like I'm gonna remember any of this anyway.

Henry and I get in the Bug and drive over the town line; leaving our family, Storybrooke and a fast approaching green and purple cloud in our wake.

xxxxxxx

"Everything went well in Emma's surgery. There were no complications and we managed to remove the bleed successfully. Emma's vitals are stable and the initial post op checks are looking promising." Dr White said reassuringly to the three worried faces at Emma's bedside.

"But will she wake up?" Henry asked-it's the only thing he needed to know. It had been five weeks of hospital visits to a non-responsive Mother. He had tried his best to be strong; he knew it was what she would have wanted, but the ordeal was starting to take its toll on the young boy.

"I am optimistic she will wake soon, there is no medical reason for her not to at this point. However, I can't be certain there won't be any deficits when she does wake."

"Deficits? What sort of deficits?" Paul asked anxiously, his mind starting to fill with unpleasant images of a potential future for the strong woman lying motionless in her hospital bed. She was all Henry had, his only family. Of course, Paul and his Grandmother would be there for the pair too in any way they could.

He was interrupted from his musings before he could get too carried away with himself again. "Honestly, there could be any number of issues, her speech or vision may be affected. There may be some memory loss; it's best not to speculate until Emma wakes up and I can assess her." This did little to ease any of Emma's visitors' minds.

"How long will that take, Doctor White?" Mable queried, holding Henry around the shoulders. She had done her best over the past weeks to be supportive to the young boy, and Paul had really stepped up to help out. But Henry was still a child and she knew that he needed his Mother.

"It could be a few hours. It could be a few days; Emma has been through her third major surgery in just over a month. So, it may take a bit of time." Henry, Mable and Paul nodded their heads in understanding. "Do you have any further questions?" Dr White addressed all three tired looking faces- they declined and so he left the room to allow them time to process the information they had been given.

xxxxxxx

"How about we head home for a bit - take a shower and get something to eat?" Paul asked Henry, who hadn't left his mother's bedside for the twelve hours since she came out of surgery. "We won't be long."

"No, I'm not leaving," Henry said adamantly. "I don't want her to be on her own when she wakes up. You can go if you want, but I'm staying." Mable had reluctantly left a little while earlier to get some sleep, so it was just Paul and Henry with Emma. Despite how much he needed a break, Paul wasn't going to force Henry to leave his mother's side.

"I will stay with Henry, Mr Peters," came a familiar voice from behind the pair. "You go home and rest. We will inform you if there's any change in Emma's condition."

xxxxxxx

Once Regina had arrived, it hadn't taken long for Henry to fall asleep in the cot beside Emma's bed. Paul had left about an hour ago; Regina had told him that he needed to get some sleep, which he eventually relented to - despite his insistence that he would be back after a short break. The room was silent other than the sound of a steady beep from one of the machines. Regina walked to the other side of the bed to check on the sound asleep boy, she pulled a blanket over him to keep him warm. Making her way back to the seat at Emma's bedside, she started to speak to the unconscious blonde, who looked much better than the last time Regina had seen her.

"I'm sorry I haven't been to see you more, Miss Swan - Emma," Regina corrected herself, there wasn't the need for formalities to create a distance between them in this situation. "It's just…" She trailed off for a few moments, letting out a breath."Before I arrived in New York I wasn't the sort of person who felt any remorse for my actions and for the most part, I still don't. But seeing you in this state because of me, I just couldn't face it. If it weren't for my actions that night, you wouldn't be here; Henry would still have his mother at home. I shouldn't have pushed you away after you helped me, but you see, I'm not a good person like you, Emma. I'm selfish and cold-hearted and extinguish any potential for light and happiness in my life." Regina began laughing to herself, "Do you know what's so amusing? The whole reason I'm here is because apparently this old compass-" She held the gold compass between her fingers, which had now been replaced on her neck. She had taken it off after her first day here, and hadn't thought to wear it again. "-Would guide me to where I needed to be, and where do I end up? In an elevator with you and Henry on the other side of the door. But that's not the punchline, oh no. The irony is that when you kissed me, and I hoped for a moment that this compass had led me to you, you go and get hit a car. If that's not a sign that something isn't meant to be, then I don't know what is!" The brunette went quiet for a moment, before adding, "I think maybe it's too late for me for to get my happy ending…" Coughing from the bed drew Regina's attention.

Emma was choking. Panic-stricken, Regina ran out to the corridor to find help. At the sight of the distressed women, a man in blue clothing approached Regina to offer her help.

"She's choking…Emma's choking… do something." Regina managed to spit out during her moment of hysteria. The man calmly walked past Regina and into Emma's room, he approached the blonde who lay on her bed and began to remove the tube that was in her mouth.

"W-what's happening?" a sleepy Henry said, stretching after he woke up due to the commotion.

"Your Mom's waking up," the smiling man said as he continued to check the machines around Emma. Henry's eyes grew wide, and he bounded from his cot to stand next to Regina. "That's why she was choking on the tube; she's breathing on her own." Regina remained rigid, she was still recovering from the sight of the blonde gasping for air.

"Ma, can you hear me?" Henry asked his now serene Mother as he approached the bed and grasped her hand. "Ma?" Regina and Henry stood silently and watched as the woman on the bed began to slowly crack open her eyelids, before closing them again. "She opened her eyes, did you see Regina?" Henry said excitedly as he turned to face the brunette. He looked at her with a radiant and hopeful grin, which Regina reflected back towards the young boy who she had become so endeared to during the past weeks.

"Yes, Henry I saw. Maybe you should try speaking to her again?"

"No, I think you should," the young boy replied to a confused Regina, "You were the one talking to her when she began to wake up, weren't you?" How did he know that? Regina was certain he had been asleep.

"Oh, I'm sure it would be better if it were you, Henry," She tried, but the look she received from the boy made it clear that his stubbornness was not going to waver. Regina stepped closer to the bed and placed one hand on Henry's shoulder; with the other, she gently ran her fingers across Emma's cheek. "Emma…" she began in a soft tone, not quite sure what to say. "Henry's here and he would appreciate it if you woke up now. We all would…" the brunette looked back over to Henry, who urged her to continue. "Do you think you could open your eyes again for us, Emma?" There was no response, not even a flicker of an eyelash.

"I think you should kiss her," Henry stated matter of factly. "That always works in the books and on TV."

"What? Who? Me?" Regina spluttered out, shocked at the boy's statement. After pulling herself together she replied to the boy, "Henry, this isn't a fairytale. Emma's not under some sort of curse. A kiss isn't going to help your Mother."

"It might…" Regina's head whipped around to where the croaky response had come from, Henry's face lit up with a wide smile, "Hey, Kid. Regina…what the hell's going on?"

Additional A/N: the episodes referred to in this chapter are 1.2,2.22 and 3.11. I'm just going to leave you to ponder on their significance for now. But it will all make sense later, you have my word :)