XXII. Concern
…
A bright beeping sound overlapped Emma's voice on the other side of the line. Regina immediately assigned the unpleasant sound to another incoming call while the conversation was in progress. She asked her girlfriend to hold on for a moment so that she could check if it was an important call that she better had to answer immediately. When she was at home after work, it was usually just Emma and sometimes Robin who called her; beside them, she barely had any private social contacts and had never needed any. She was all the more surprised to read Zelena's name on the display. However, the call had already ended, so she put the smartphone to her ear again.
"Strange," she noted thoughtfully. "It was Zelena, but she hung up right away. That's the first time she's ever used the phone since I gave it to her."
"Must have been by accident, maybe she's playing with it," Emma speculated. "You were about to tell me what for Leroy came to your office today."
"I'll call you back in a few minutes and you'll find out, okay?" She didn't even wait for confirmation from her girlfriend before hanging up and dialing Zelena's number. There was no dial tone, however; she ended up going straight to voicemail. Even on her second and third attempts, it was just the preset monotone female voice that answered her. She was about to try it once more when the smartphone in her hand started ringing and she almost dropped it in surprise.
"Patience really isn't your strong suit, Miss Swan," she reprimanded her girlfriend, annoyed.
A theatrical sigh emerged on the other side of the line. "Yes, sorry, but a few minutes have already passed. Did you reach her?"
"No, she apparently turned the phone off again."
"See, I told you right away it was a mistake. Otherwise she would have waited for you to pick up. So where did we stop? Right, Leroy."
Regina rolled her eyes, although Emma couldn't see it. "He was going to complain about you for blowing him off. You know, about his regular parking spot in front of the diner."
Her girlfriend gave an annoyed snort. "Yeah, because that's ridiculous. The fact that his car is usually there doesn't give him any claim to it. Someone else was just faster today."
"Specifically your yellow death trap. He says that if it hadn't been your car, he would have loved to let the air out of the tires."
"He doesn't dare or I'll bust him faster than he can say breakfast bacon while I'm writing the property damage report on the sheriff's vehicle."
Now it was Regina who had to grin. "That's your own car, dear, you can't declare it as property of the sheriff's office."
"Leroy doesn't know that, does he? What did you tell him, by the way?"
"Well, that the parking lots are public and I could put my horse there, too, if I get a thirst for coffee on my morning ride."
Emma laughed out loud. "Please do that! I want to see the look on his face when the horse is standing there."
"Still Silver Queen to you." She cleared her throat audibly. "Somehow I'm worried. I can't imagine Zelena just turning on the cell phone and tapping on it without purpose."
"Maybe she's on a shift at the Rabbit Hole now and will check in as soon as she has time. If it makes you feel better, I'll call David and ask him to stop by the farm. He's on duty right now."
"No, just don't have him show up there with the patrol car. I'd rather do that myself. But you could find out if she's working right now and if her husband is at the bar, too. Will you do this for me, dear? I know Hook has a thing for you, so take a little advantage of it, as long as you don't give him false hope."
"Jealous?" teased Emma, amused. "He's a good friend, but otherwise not my type. I'm more into poised businesswomen in fancy pantsuits. If you need proof, I could stop by later."
"You'd like that wouldn't you!"
"Quite a lot."
"We'll talk about that as soon as you called Hook."
"Very well, Madam Mayor," she sneered and hung up.
Regina stared on the display for a moment before trying to reach Zelena one more time. Again, only the recorded message answered. She put the phone away and proceeded to unload the dishwasher, whereby Emma had interrupted her earlier. After a few minutes, the smartphone rang again while she was putting the last plates in the cupboard.
"Hi again" Emma began unnecessarily. "Task completed. Hook told me Tink is on duty tonight. Zelena's husband is sitting at the bar right now, getting drunk."
A horror scenario began to play out in Regina's mind, in which Freek had beaten up his young wife so badly that she lay in the house injured and bleeding. She may not have been able to use the phone again because she had lost consciousness. She really hoped she was mistaken.
"I'm going to go there now to check if Zelena is okay."
"Please be careful and let me know when you're back or if something is wrong."
She was touched that Emma cared that much about her as few others did. After she finished talking, she put her cell phone in her pocket and went upstairs to Henry to let him know she was going to Birch Hill and would be back soon. She found him engrossed in the book of fairytales, from which he could hardly tear himself away.
…
Already on the driveway, Regina noticed that the light was on in the lower floor. So Zelena had to be there. The garage door was open, the rusty pickup was gone. She parked the Benz right in front of the house and walked up the porch steps, straight to the main entrance. Her knock, however, went unanswered. She tried again, waiting and listening for the sound of footsteps in the hallway. Nothing.
"Zelena, are you there?" she called loudly to make herself heard. "It's me, Regina!"
"Go away..." it came muffled from inside. The words sounded pressed, as if she was in pain.
Alarmed, she tried to open the door, but it was locked. She snorted in frustration. "Please let me in! I can hear that you're not feeling well."
"I... can't," Zelena replied haltingly. "He locked the door."
"Is there a spare key?" Without waiting for an answer, she hastily lifted the doormat to look underneath.
"Flowerpot... in the coaster."
Zelena's voice was so soft that Regina barely heard it. She lifted the clay pot, with only a withered stem sticking out of its dry soil, and actually found a key there. Her fingers trembled so much from cold and tension that she had trouble maneuvering it into the lock without dropping it. Finally it clicked and she was able to enter the house. The hallway was dark, but a narrow strip of light fell from one of the adjoining rooms. She didn't care about the wet tracks her boots left on the floor as she walked toward it.
"Zelena! Where are you?"
"Here... in the bathroom."
The sound of pain she let out raised Regina's alarm. She pushed open the half closed door, behind which the lights were on, and recoiled in fright. In front of the washing machine, Zelena was crouched on a thin rug, her knees drawn close to her body and her face contorted. Outwardly, she appeared unharmed, as far as Regina could tell at first glance.
"What happened? Did he hit you?"
Zelena pressed both hands on her abdomen. "It hurts..."
Overwhelmed, Regina went down on her knees beside her and pushed her sweaty quivering fingers aside. Her belly felt hardened and she winced under the touch. If her husband had been violent toward her, she might was suffering internal injuries. She had to make sure that the redhead was going to get the help she needed.
"Can you stand up if I hold you?" she asked the redhead anxiously. "I'll take you to the hospital."
"No! I can't...I don't want to. I have to be here when Freek gets home."
Gently she stroked her tangled hair. "I have no idea what he did to you, Zelena, but I can tell you're in pain and your belly is all hard. Maybe you're bleeding internally, you really should have a doctor to check on you. Trust me. I'm certainly not going to leave you here while you're in bad shape. Of course, I can call an ambulance to take you to the clinic."
Zelena sighed in resignation. "Please don't do that. You know we don't have money to pay for something like that."
"Then let me take you there. After all, it's in your husband's best interest that you will get medical treatment, if you are injured."
"You don't know him," snapped Zelena, upset. "And you don't know me. You want to help, but this is none of your business, Regina! Go home to your fancy house, where your son and your girlfriend are waiting for you."
"Yes, it is! My dad taught me that you can't walk away when someone needs help, and I don't intend to do such a thing." She just grabbed the other woman under the arms to hoist her to her feet. At first she resisted, but Regina did not give up, mobilizing forces that her small slender body would not have suggested. Abruptly she felt Zelena tense up and held her tight, whereupon almost all of her weight leaned on her.
"Do you have to be that stubborn to be the mayor?" she commented, breathing heavily.
Groaning, Regina maneuvered her through the door into the hallway. "Yes, you have to make sure that you're taken seriously. It's obviously working on you."
"Do I have any choice?"
She just shook her head, concentrating on not leaving Zelena out as she slipped heavily into her boots and put the olive green jacket around her shoulders. It was a challenge to climb the icy porch steps two at a time, and Regina was sweating profusely when they finally stood in front of the black Benz. She helped Zelena into the passenger seat and hit the gas as soon as the engine roared to life. Normally she adhered almost excessively closely to speed limits, something Emma constantly teased about when they were in the car together, but this time she didn't mind, at least until she reached center of town, so after barely fifteen minutes she pulled into the clinic parking lot.
…
On the way, Zelena had caught herself a little. She tried to breathe as evenly as possible and pushed Regina's hand aside to get out of the car herself. After a few steps, she doubled over again under a wave of agony and was secretly glad that her companion then hooked onto her to support her. In the bright sterile entrance hall, empty at this late hour, they sat down on one of the white plastic benches in the waiting area, their colorful seat cushions providing a bit of comfort and color.
"How are you feeling?" inquired Regina, her concern seeming sincere.
Zelena rolled her eyes. "Wonderful."
"Get some rest, I'll go to registration in the meantime."
"Hurry up, the sooner we get out of here." She still hoped she would be back at the farm before Freek noticed her disappearance.
Because the distance to the reception desk was too far, she couldn't understand what Regina was discussing with the nurse, whose narrow glasses gave her an air of austerity. She returned with a sheet of paper and a ballpoint pen in her hand.
"You're about to be taken to a doctor," she said.
"You better not leave me alone," Zelena hissed, annoyed. Inwardly, the cramps, growing more violent with each passing moment, frightened her more than she was willing to admit in front of Regina. "After all, you insisted on this nonsense."
A short time later, a young man in a nurse's outfit arrived, pushing an empty wheelchair. Staring at the vehicle with deathly contempt, she opened her mouth to point out that she was very much able to walk by herself when the pain overcame her again and she had no choice but to sink into the chair.
"It's going to be okay," Regina said softly, gently placing a hand on her arm for a moment.
The hospital hallways seemed oppressive and confining to her, although they had made an effort to add a few touches of color with pictures and colorful chairs. The last time she had been in such a place had been at the Boston hospital where her mother had died. Freek had just allowed her to visit the doctor in the village back in Kansas after she once broke her wrist, but nothing more. Finally, the nurse stopped outside a room.
"Don't worry, the doc is very competent," he assured her in a reassuring tone.
As he opened the door to slide her through, she reached out to Regina. "I want her to come in with me."
He nodded slightly. "That's fine, I guess. Just don't stand in the way, Madam Mayor."
This comment, and the raised eyebrow with which Regina responded, amused her for a moment before the sight of the examination couch made her swallow hard. Standing The doctor was standing in front of it with an engaging smile on his lips that she disliked from the bottom of her heart.
"Good evening. You are Miss West?" he inquired. "So, what's wrong?"
She tried to focus her attention more on his face than on his ridiculously blonde colored hair, but still she found it hard to take him seriously. "I have a stomachache, it's probably nothing. Miss Mills insists that I need to get examined, so you'd better do your job."
"With pleasure, as soon as you get comfortable here on this cot." Because he made no move to help her, Regina was immediately at her side, glaring angrily at him.
She pulled her sweater and thin undershirt up as high as she could. In front of the doctor, whose name tag identified him as Doctor Whale, and especially Regina, she did not want to undress down to her bra. Surrendered, she lay down to let the examination wash over her. With latex-covered hands, he felt her bare belly, whereupon she winced violently and clenched her hands into fists.
"Actually seems distended, it feels tense and hardened. Does it hurt in any particular location?" He applied careful pressure to various regions of her abdomen, but none of his touches were really painful, so she shook her head. "How long have you been in pain?"
"I don't know exactly, since early this morning. It started out mild, with a twinge in my back. I blamed it on work."
"Physical activity can sometimes lead to back pain if the muscles are not built up adequately. However, the abdomen doesn't get that hard from it. We'd better take a look from the inside." He pointed to a device in the corner that looked like a small computer screen on a trolley. "Don't panic, a sonogram doesn't hurt at all."
Zelena glared angrily at Regina as Whale moved the electronic construct right next to the couch. He spread cold gel on her abdomen, causing her to contort her face, and then took the transducer. Gently, she felt Regina's hand on her shoulder and took a deep breath. She didn't want to be here. With a high-pitched peeping, the screen came to life.
"Everything seems fine here. I see healthy organs, no sign of blood within the abdomen," Whale stated, moving the device further down Zelena's body with an examining gaze. His brows rose in surprise. "Oh, here we go. The uterus is massively enlarged."
"What does that mean?" echoed Regina immediately.
The doctor pointed to the screen with his free hand, which he also used to operate the keypad of the machine, and Zelena propped herself up on her elbows so she could get a better look at the uncharacteristic shapes on it.
"Honestly, you could have at least mentioned something as relevant as your pregnancy. What if I had given you meds that are inappropriate in your condition?" In disbelief, Whale shook his head. "Anyway, we'd better get you to the delivery room quickly, if you don't want to have the baby right here."
"Fumbler!" Zelena groaned between her teeth. "What are you talking about?"
The words she had heard so clearly made no sense and blurred into a swirling vortex in her mind. She wasn't pregnant, she couldn't be! Abruptly, she turned away from the monitor and closed her eyes, just wanting to block out everything around her. The doctor's voice. Regina's hand clasping hers. The ultrasound image that impossibly could be hers. She needed to get out of here right now! Clumsy, she sat up and swung her legs off the examination couch.
"Easy, Miss West, you're not going anywhere in your condition," Whale commented as he pushed her back by the shoulders.
Upset, she tried to bat his hand aside. "Leave me alone! I just want to go ho..."
She groaned as another cramp tore through her abdomen and reluctantly let Regina help her back into the wheelchair. The hospital hallways looked completely the same, but she finally realized that no one cared what she wanted. Reproachfully, she stared at the mayor, whose demanding manner was responsible for this whole mess, before being moved through one of the many identical doors. In the room behind it, she was met by a good-natured-looking nurse who handed her an ugly mint-green dotted cloth sack, which turned out to be a nightgown.
"Let me help you," she offered caringly. "Try to relax, you are in the best hands here with us. Is this your first child?"
Zelena abruptly snatched the robe from her. "I can still change on my own!"
The nurse allowed her some privacy so she could undress without having to reveal the scars on her body to anyone. While she was getting rid of her jeans, she embarrassingly noticed that her panties were uncomfortably damp underneath. She had barely put on her nightgown and let the nurse direct her to the bed when Whale walked in with his arrogant smile. Involuntarily, she tensed.
"Let's see how much the cervix has opened by now," he announced with a raised eyebrow. "Put your legs apart, if you don't mind. I suppose you weren't so stilted when making that baby."
She winced and squirmed as she felt his gloved fingers on her bare thighs. It seemed illusory to be back at the farm anytime soon, so her absence wouldn't be noticed. Her father would probably kill her. He would beat her so badly that she could not leave the house.