Chapter 11
Mary was a bit surprised when she saw Zelena still in the waiting room. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes. Mom just asked me to stay and see if you wanted to come over for coffee or something?"
"Sure. I have to stop and check on the kids first. I have your mom's number and can call her if something comes up."
"Bring them. Mom said it's okay. You're Emma's family and so are we, we may as well act like it." She said with a smile. "Do you know where Regina lives?"
"I do. I'll be there shortly. Thank you so much."
"Okay Ryleigh, let's make a tray with some cookies for your aunt and uncle." Cora said when she heard Mary, and the kids would be coming.
When the doorbell rang, Regina answered and smiled. "Come in. Make yourselves at home."
"Thank you. Lilly and Conner, this is Regina."
"I know, mom." Lilly said and smiled. "I've met you before."
"You have. I came to your school. It's nice to meet you properly though." She took them to the living room. "Ryleigh helped my mom get some cookies together for us all. We also have hot chocolate, tea, coffee, whatever you'd like."
Cora smiled as they came in and Mary introduced her kids to her. "It's nice to meet you both. Ryleigh only just found out about you. She may be a little shy, but she's sweet." She then turned her head. "Ryleigh sweetheart? Your Grama is here with your aunt and uncle."
Grama. Mary smiled at the title she internally vowed she'd treat with the honor it deserved.
Ryleigh came running in with a cookie already in her hand. She smiled at Mary as she sat on Cora's lap. "Hi."
"Hello again. Ryleigh, this is your aunt Lilly and your uncle Conner. Guys, this is Ryleigh."
Lilly smiled wide. "You're adorable."
Ryleigh grinned. "Thanks. You're pretty." She then looked at Conner. "Hi."
"Hi." He said, a bit shy himself.
"Do you guys mind if I take a picture? I think Emma would like to see it." Regina asked.
"Sure." Lilly said and looked at Ryleigh. "Want to sit on my lap?"
"Okay." Ryleigh said and sat on her lap. "I have to keep my leg brace on for a little longer. I broked my leg at the park."
"Well, it's good to listen to what the doctors say." Lilly said and the group smiled for Regina.
Ryleigh stayed on Lilly's lap, having fun just talking to her. Mary smiled when they included Conner and excused herself. In the bathroom, she wiped away some tears before coming out.
"Everything okay?" Cora asked from the hall. "It's a lot to take in."
"It is. I never thought my kids would all be together, but I wish Emma was here. I'm so thankful she's okay, but she should be here. Maybe I should have waited."
"No. I know it feels like that, but it's time she has everyone. It's time to have them meet." Cora said. "Emma needs all of us and having them meet now, makes it so she can use her energy on other things."
The two came back in and smiled when they saw Conner and Ryleigh playing Candy Land with Zelena. Regina and Lilly were chatting. "So, I can see her tomorrow?"
Regina smiled. "I'm pretty sure your mom was planning on taking you tomorrow. She's just far too tired today."
"Is it bad?" Lilly asked. "Mom said it's not that bad, but she's a doctor."
Regina chuckled. "It's not great, but it's not terrible. She looks pretty bad, I won't lie. Her face is pretty messed up, but it will all heal. She'll be laying low for a while. I bet she'd love to have your company though."
"Yeah?" Lilly asked self-consciously. "I kinda feel like I want to know her more than she wants to know me."
Cora sat down. "That's not true, darling." She said softly. "Emma hasn't had the easiest life and she takes a bit to trust people. She's cautious at first, but I promise, she wants to know you."
Mary nodded in agreement. "Lilly, you burst in when she and I had our first real meeting together. She just found out about you, so of course she was a little closed off. You have to understand, I left her in a terrible place. I…" Mary's eyes filled with tears. "I was stupid enough to think her father wouldn't hurt her. What kind of man hurts their own child? I should have known he would. I should have…"
"Mary, don't." Cora said softly. "Blaming yourself is not going to change anything; nothing can change the past. You're here now, you want to have her in your life, you all just have to be patient. Believe me, once she opens to you, once she loves you, it's with her whole heart. It's fierce and loyal, it's kind and gentle. She's truly an amazing human. The things she did for me when I was sick, without batting an eye or looking away. She's amazing."
Mary smiled softly and so did Lilly. "She sounds like she should be a doctor like mom."
"She tried taking classes to be a home health aide, but with my illness and raising a child, it was hard for her to make it. I feel terrible about that, but I have told her it's not too late."
"Well, for now we will focus on getting her healed and then see what she wants." Regina said with a smile, trying to hide a yawn.
"Mayor Mills, I think you are supposed to be resting. I think maybe the three of us should let you get to it."
"But we're playing a game." Conner whined.
Regina smiled softly. "You stay. Spend some time with Ryleigh. I'll go lay down for a bit. Mom, if Emma does call, please tell her to call me. I won't bug her, but if she calls, I want to talk to her."
Cora gave a nod. "I will, but I hope she sleeps for a while. You both need it."
"Call me if you need anything." Zelena offered as Regina politely made her way out of the room. She then let out a breath. "What a day. I'm so glad things didn't turn out worse."
"Me too." Mary agreed. "Though I think we all can agree that nothing like this needs to ever happen again." She chuckled.
The group talked for a bit, Ryleigh having a good time getting to know her grandmother before it was time for them to leave.
"Maybe when Mommy's home, you can all come over again."
Mary smiled and hugged Ryleigh. "And maybe you guys can come visit us."
Ryleigh hugged Lilly and Conner. "Maybe I can sleeps over at your house one day."
Lilly smiled and looked at Mary. "Can she?"
"That's up to her mother."
"I'm sure Emma won't mind." Cora said, smiling. "Oh Mary, before you go, Emma wanted to get Ryleigh signed up for swimming lessons. Do you happen to know the schedule?"
"I think that was today but hang on a minute." She got her phone out and made a call. "Hey Jessie, it's Mary. Is it too late to sign a little one up for swim lessons? Her mom was in an accident today and didn't get to do it." She smiled at Cora. "Great. Her name is Ryleigh Swan." She gave the spelling and all the information. "Great, thank you. I'll get the forms to her mother to fill out." She hung up the phone and smiled. "She can start next Monday. Jessie will send me the schedule and I'll get it to you."
"Thank you so much." She smiled at Ryleigh. "I don't know what made it from the wreck yet, but if you need a new suit, we'll get you one."
"I has mine!" She said with a smile.
"Okay, we'll see you all later. Thank you again, Cora." Mary said, getting her kids to the door.
"You're all welcome any time." Cora said and then chuckled. "I know this is Regina's house, but I'm sure she feels the same."
"I do." Regina said coming in. "Before you yell at me for not sleeping, I got a call from the garage and have to go check out the car. Zelena's coming with me to see what is salvageable."
Everyone headed out leaving Cora with Ryleigh. "Want to cuddle?" The little one asked and Cora smiled.
"I'd love to, Sweetheart." Cora said and cuddled on the sofa as they watched some TV. She noticed Ryleigh wasn't really paying attention after a while and she muted it. "Darling, is there something you'd like to talk about?"
Ryleigh nodded but didn't move. "Mommy is gonna be okay, right?" She asked, her voice quiet and full of fear. "I miss her, Nana. I want her to come home."
"She'll be home soon; baby girl and we can go see her tomorrow. Do you want me to try to call her now?" Ryleigh nodded and Cora grabbed her phone, calling the number for the hospital. "Yes, this is Cora Mills calling for Emma Swan. Thank you." She smiled at Ryleigh. "They're connecting me to her room. If she's awake, I'm sure she'll…hi Emma, I hope I'm not bothering you. Your daughter really misses you and would like to talk to you."
"Sure, put her on. Thanks Cora."
"Mommy? Mommy I miss you." Ryleigh said, with tears in her eyes. "I want you to come home, mommy."
"Oh, sweetie pie, I miss you too. I hope I can come home soon. What did you do after you left here?" Emma thought if she could get Ryleigh to talk, maybe she wouldn't be so upset. "Did you play with Auntie Zelena?"
"Yeah. I met Lilly and Conner too. They were a lot of fun mommy, and Lilly said maybe one day I can sleeps at her house. And Grama Mary signed me up for swimming lessons."
"We'll bring in the paperwork tomorrow. I hope you don't mind, Emma. I asked her about it, and she said sign ups were done, but she made a call and got her in."
"I don't mind at all. Oh Ryleigh, that's exciting. Are you excited?"
"Yes Mommy, but I still want you home now." She said with a pout. "Why can't you comes home?"
"Mommy has some healing I need to do before I can come home, sweetheart. I'm sorry, but I know Nana is taking good care of you. Are you taking good care of Nana?"
Ryleigh looked at Cora. "Am I?" She loudly whispered.
"The best care." Cora said with a smile. "She's cuddling with me now so we can both rest."
Emma smiled and wiped away a tear. She missed her baby girl more than ever. She'd never been gone so long before, even if it was just a couple days. "Good girl, Ryleigh. I'm so proud of you."
Cora could tell the two missed each other, so she decided to just ask. "Emma, would you like me to bring Ryleigh later? It's only two right now and we can come around five and bring dinner."
"If it's not too much trouble, I'd love that. I miss you guys so much."
"I miss you, Mommy. Can I sleeps there with you?"
"Oh baby, I'm sorry but there's nowhere for you to sleep here."
"But I'm just little, Mommy. I can sleeps on the floor. Please mommy." Ryleigh asked, tears building up in her eyes.
"Sweetheart, we will take mommy some yummy food and some cookies you helped make, okay? Then we can go back again tomorrow, but you can't sleep there, baby. But you can sleep in my bed tonight if you want."
Ryleigh wanted to argue, but was scared if she did, she wouldn't see Emma at all. "Fine." She said sadly. "I love you, mommy."
"Oh baby, I love you too. It's okay if you're upset, darling. You don't have to act okay if you don't feel okay. Why don't you cuddle with Nana and if you need to cry, I know Nana will let you cry to her, baby. I know this isn't what any of us want and that can make us angry. It's okay to feel angry. I love you with all my heart and I promise, I'll be home soon."
"Okay, mommy. I'll see you later."
"I'll see you soon." Emma said. "Thank you, Cora. I'm sorry for all this."
"Don't you dare be sorry, Emma. I'm just glad I can do this for you after everything you've done for me. Now I know she's a bit upset, but don't worry, we'll take good care of her."
"I know. Thank you. I'm sorry, but I hurt so bad. I need to take some morphine."
"Okay sweetheart. I'll see you in a few hours."
"Bye Mommy! I love you."
"I love you too, Ryleigh Bug."
Cora hung up and stroked Ryleigh's cheek, bringing her close and hugging her. "I know you're upset, Ryleigh. Like Mommy said, it's okay to be upset." She felt the little girl shaking as her tears came.
"I want my mommy. I wanna stay wif her and sleeps wif her. I wanna be next to her." She cried as Cora rubbed her back. Cora knew she was upset because she usually had a very good vocabulary but was too upset to use it right now.
"I know sweetheart. I know. You let it out, baby girl." Cora rubbed her back and after a bit, the girl had fallen asleep. She saw Regina and Zelena pulling into the driveway, so she lay the little one on the sofa, covered her up, and left the TV volume down low as she came out of the room.
"Hi mom. What's wrong?" Regina asked as she came in.
"Ryleigh misses her mom like crazy. I thought it would be good to talk to Emma, but I think that made it worse. We're taking her dinner if you two want to join, but I have a feeling that when we leave, you may witness her having a tantrum and I can't carry her. I hate to ask this, but if she is kicking and screaming, can one of you take her?"
"I hope it won't come to that, but yes, I'll take her if it does."
"I told her she can sleep in my bed tonight, so hopefully that will help. I don't blame her; she's never been away more than one night before. Emma and I have been her world. She kept asking Emma if she could sleep there, even if it was on the floor, poor thing."
"Well, you two go rest and I'll start on dinner. What is Emma's favorite comfort food?" Zelena asked.
"Mac and cheese." Cora said with a smile. "She loves it. Use Grandma's recipe if Regina has it."
"I do." Regina said. "In my cookbook. I'm not tired, Zee. I'll help you."
That evening, the four went to visit Emma, bringing enough food for all of them. Ryleigh opened the door and smiled wide, going over to the bed. "Hi mommy! Aunty Zee and Gina maded you mac and cheese! Isn't that great?"
Emma smiled and took Ryleigh's hand. "It's fantastic, baby. If you're careful, you can come sit up here by me." Emma said, having already shifted to make room for her daughter after asking the nurses if that was okay.
Ryleigh carefully got up on the bed and right way leaned against her mom, not knowing it hurt Emma just a bit. Emma didn't care; this was her daughter, and she was here with her.
"So, how's the car?" Emma asked as she finished what she could eat.
"It's totaled. But everything in the back was okay."
"What about the guy in the truck?"
Regina looked at the others. "He did a hit and run. They're trying to find him, but we were on a county road with no cameras. All I can remember is it was a large black pick up, but that really doesn't narrow it down. The police may ask if you remember anything."
"I don't. But maybe I will after my mind realizes it's okay to relax." She smiled at her baby girl and kissed her head. "These cookies are so good. Maybe when you go home, you can see if the nurses want any."
Ryleigh ignored Emma and just kept playing with her hand before hunkering down more, making Emma wince a bit. "I'm sleeping here. I'm not leaving."
"Honey, you can't sleep in the bed with me, but you can come back tomorrow." Emma said, trying to find a way to sit where it didn't hurt. When Ryleigh moved again, Emma couldn't stop the small noise of pain that escaped her. "Honey, that hurts."
Ryleigh's eyes filled and she moved away from Emma. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Mama. I don't want to hurt you. I just don't wanna leave you, Mama. Please let me stay."
Emma stroked Ryleigh's cheek. "Honey, they don't let people stay overnight. I wish you could, but I promise someone will bring you here to see me in the morning."
"That's right. You can sleep in Nana's bed tonight and we'll come back in the morning, baby. Lilly and Conner may come here too." Cora said softly, feeling sorry for the two.
"I'll be back too." Regina said, going to Emma to kiss her softly. "Don't worry, we'll take care of her." She said softly. "I'll even call you when we get home so you know she's okay, but I may have to carry her out."
Emma gave a small nod of understanding. "Thank you. Ryleigh honey, Mommy is doing everything the doctor tells me to so I can get home quickly." She didn't want to tell her it may be as soon as the next day because if that didn't happen, it would be worse. "I need you to be a brave girl and listen to Nana, Gina and Auntie Zee."
Ryleigh's lip jutted out and tears filled her eyes, but she didn't fight it anymore. "Fine. I love you, mommy."
"I love you baby. I love you so much."
They all walked out, and Ryleigh did give the nurses the rest of the cookies, but she was quiet the whole way home.
Emma sighed watching them leave and wiped at her tears as a nurse came in. "Are you okay?"
Emma nodded. "Yeah. It's just my daughter and I haven't been apart much and she's having a hard time."
The nurse gave a sad smile. "She's a sweetheart. I won't say for sure, but there is a good chance you could go home tomorrow. You're doing so well, Emma, but if that is the case, you'll still need rest."
"I know and that's fine. I have people to watch her, but I hate being away from her."
The nurse grabbed an extra pillow from a cabinet. "I know it's not the same, but maybe if you cuddle this, you'll feel better."
Emma smiled appreciatively. "Thank you. I'll give it a try." The nurse stayed in the room as Emma used the bathroom and brushed her teeth, everything taking longer than normal. She got back in the bed and sighed. "God that hurts."
"I hate to say this, but things are going to hurt for a while. Your morphine is timed to be a little stronger tonight so you can hopefully sleep. Rest is the best medicine for this."
Emma was about to go to sleep when she remembered she was going to call her mom. After talking to Regina - who assured her Ryleigh was sleeping before they even got down the road, she called her mom.
"Hey Emma. How are you doing?"
"It's a bit rough." She admitted, telling her about her night. "I feel so bad for her, mom. She's so young and doesn't get it."
"Oh honey, I can't imagine. Have they said anything about how it's going with you and when you'd get out?"
"Maybe tomorrow, if not, the next day. I want it to be tomorrow. I hate it here. I mean don't get me wrong, they're nice and I'm comfortable, but I just want to be with my baby. I'm also a little worried about recovering at Regina's. The stairs…I am dreading them."
"I don't mean to step in, Emma but I have a guest room on my main floor if you want to stay here for a while. And a doctor and two nurses to watch over you." She chuckled.
"I'll keep that in mind. I don't want to upset anyone."
"Oh honey, don't worry. If you'd rather stay with Regina, it won't upset me. I promise. And you'll still have us visiting if it's okay."
"It is. Honestly. I want that. I…I love having you here, mom. I didn't think I'd ever want to talk to you again, to be honest. I…" She blinked tears. "I hated you for so long. I'm really glad I don't have to hate you anymore."
Mary took a few moments. "I'm glad too, Emma. I don't blame you, I'd hate me too, but I promise I will always be here from now on."
"I know and I believe you. I'm sorry, but I'm getting tired. Bring Lilly and Conner tomorrow please. I'd like to see them with Ryleigh."
"Regina and I did get pictures to show you, but I will bring them. You get some rest."
They hung up and Emma cuddled the pillow after turning the lights off. She couldn't stop thinking about the accident and was mad that she couldn't remember anything about the truck or the driver.