Chapter LIV

Aftershocks

Author's Note:

It has been a long time since my last update. I got married, went on my honeymoon, and then had an extended (33 days) stay in the hospital. It has been a wild ride for me. There are more details on my Tumblr if anyone is interested.

This story has not been abandoned, only postponed.

There were many benefits to the clocktower apartment. There were plenty of windows to let in light. It was in the middle of town so she could walk anywhere she wanted to be. The best part was definitely that it was close to work.

The library opened tomorrow and there was so much to do. She'd spent the morning checking what felt like one hundred things. She'd tidied, she'd straightened, she'd hung a community board and tacked flyers to it. There were so many things to do. She was so excited!

Belle hummed one of the songs Ruby played for her as she went upstairs. Honestly? She wanted to go to Granny's for lunch, but her budget didn't allow for that. Besides, it could not be healthy to eat burgers and fries every day. Of course, living off of her culinary experiments wasn't healthy either. She hadn't mastered cooking yet, and some of her dishes had been less than palatable. Not to mention Ruby was there and not here.

Belle let herself into her flat, toed off her heels, and fetched a container out of the refrigerator. Her casserole hadn't been an absolute disaster, but it wasn't a success either. Mulan had inhaled it so fast she couldn't have tasted it. She mumbled that it was good. Mulan was kind, but a terrible liar.

Belle knew she was a bad cook. She'd never cooked for herself before. She'd had servants until she went to Rumple's castle. Even then she had never worked in the kitchen. He'd always made meals magically. After that, she'd been a prisoner.

Now she was teaching herself with very mixed results. She hadn't thought to boil the rice before mixing it with the other ingredients. It was crunchy, a little scorched, and tasted odd. Still, it was edible and there was cheese. Cheese made everything taste better.

Mulan was out. She had been quieter and more restless than usual. Her absence made it too quiet. Belle hated silence. It reminded her of interminable nights in the asylum. It reminded her of the long weeks in the tower dungeon. It reminded her of the first horrible months after her mother's death.

Belle shook the gloomy thoughts away and turned her attention to lunch. She plopped a portion of the casserole onto a plate and popped it into the microwave. While her lunch re-cooked, she turned on the television for background noise. She kept a careful eye on the microwave, though. She couldn't afford another one if she blew this one up too.

While the microwave did its magic, she poured herself a drink. Mulan had developed a taste for orange-colored soda. It wasn't bad, but it did not taste like oranges. Belle preferred iced tea, but she had forgotten to make it that morning. So Mulan's soda would have to do.

She needed to go to the grocery store soon. Shopping was tricky. She needed to make a list or she would come home with everything but what she needed. Belle was behind on so many chores! There was laundry, dusting, and cooking, and she still had the library to think about. Being independent was much harder than the television showed. She did not understand how The Friends got everything done and still had time for coffee.

The microwave finally dinged. She'd alloted herself a full hour for lunch, and wanted to read over her book. She'd ordered from the American Library Association. She'd gotten through only twenty pages so far. Information Services for Diverse Populations was not very interesting. It was enlightening and useful, though. Ruby teased her about reading it, but Belle wanted to be the best librarian she could be.

She slipped her bookmark, a picture of herself and Ruby at the Diner, and she got up to fetch the plate. It was hot, and Belle hissed and juggled the plate from hand to hand to keep her fingertips from blistering. Sometimes the plate was hot and other times it wasn't. Modern technology was so confusing!

She was two steps from her couch and coffee table when the television made a horrible screech. It was ear-piercing to the point of painful. She dropped the plate to clap her hands over her ears. She saw, but could not hear the plate shatter on the floor.

Belle fell to her knees and felt the hot foot smear all over her knees. She didn't care, couldn't, care. She couldn't hear anything but the screech. It was awful and unending. She felt like her head was splitting open. She could taste metal and bile on her tongue and dry-heaved. She smelled something foul, far worse than her cooking. It smelled like sickness and rot. She had her eyes squeezed shut. Explosions of white and red flashed behind her eyelids.

The hellish sound, like a banshee's shriek, finally stopped. Belle's shaking muscles couldn't hold her up. She almost fell flat on her face. Belle took a few shaky breaths and backed up on her hands and knees. Away from the mess. Away from the horrors on the television. Her back hit the couch. She pulled her knees to her chest and tried to control the rising panic in her chest. She was too scared to do anything else.

The television showed a chaotic, almost unbelievable, scene. At first, she thought it was a movie. One of the horrid, scary ones that Ruby loved so much. It wasn't. Belle wished it was fiction, but it was real. So real she could now feel the air popping with dark magic.

The screen showed the picture at an odd angle. Belle had to tilt her head to recognize the scene. She was looking at Main Street. Storybrooke's Main Street! Her main street!

Belle couldn't look away. There was a woman in the middle of the street screaming. Had she caused the awful sound? Belle had never seen her, but she knew that had to be Cora Mills.

Cora, the Evil Queen's mother, had finally made her move. She had attacked the heart of Storybrooke.

Belle could see that there were people on the street, but everything was skewed and confusing. Belle was frightened. Her heart was pounding painfully against her chest and her breathing was ragged.

Everything happened so fast! Bright flashes of color, loud sounds, and she could feel the building shake around her. When Cora disappeared into a cloud of crows, Belle could see the horrid birds fly by her window. She thought, and prayed, that was the end.

Then she saw the ogres.

Ogres!

Ogres in Storybrooke!

Frantic, racing thoughts. Terrifying memories. Disturbing nightmares. Cold sweat, full-body shivers, and more dry heaving. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe!

One fleeting thought passed through her mind. Was it real or was she mad? Were they hallucinations? Was it some sort of shell shock brought on by the screech?

The ground shook and the voice on the television confirmed that the creatures were real. It was no less terrifying than the idea of delusions.

Ogres!

She couldn't believe they were here. Couldn't understand how or why. She couldn't look away. It was awful. It was horrifying. It was really happening!

She could see and feel the beasts stomping around, destroying the town. People were fighting. Fighting for their lives and Storybrooke with magic and weapons.

Belle had one crystal clear thought. This was impossible. She had sacrificed herself, traded herself, to Rumple to stop this. To keep the ogres away. To keep people safe. How had Rumple allowed this to happen? It was impossible. Ogres and magic and tigers and destruction. Impossible!

Ruby! Belle scanned the screen frantically. She had to find her. She had to be okay. Where was Granny? Mulan? There were so many people in danger! Where were the children? Was the school safe? Where was Rumple? Why wasn't he stopping them?

Ogres. Ogres all over again. They would destroy her world. This new world that she had fallen in love with. Her sacrifice, her deal, everything she had done and lost, was worthless. She was helpless. She couldn't fight them! She wasn't able to do anything. Her friends were fighting for their lives and she was shuddering like a cowed dog.

Ruby. Ruby could be hurt. Ruby could be dead.

"And there!"

The reporter narrated the scene.

"It looks like the injured Deputy Lucas is now inside. Sheriff Swan and Mayor Mills-"

Injured? Injured but not dead Not yet, at least. She fought nausea back and clamped her hand over her mouth. She tried to control her breathing because she felt panic taking over again.

Belle knew how ogres injured people. They tore off limbs and snapped spines. They crushed skulls and ripped out intestines. Not Ruby. That couldn't happen to Ruby. It just couldn't!

She watched, too afraid to look away, as ogres raged through town. The news anchor gave a gruesome blow-by-blow explanation of what was happening.

Emma blasted one with her long gun. The flash of magic that came with the boom was so bright that Belle clapped her hands over her eyes. She watched the rest of the broadcast from between her fingers.

Belle's stomach somersaulted, soured, and she felt sick again.

The television scene abruptly changed. It showed several archers on the top of a building. They cut an ogre into shreds with arrows. Belle flinched at the roar of a chainsaw. Bile crawled up her throat when the picture changed again. She lost her battle with nausea when she watched a man decapitate the beast. The spray of blood, the creature's death rattle, the horror of it all was too much.

Belle felt an almost immediate rush of relief when Regina slaughtered the last ogre. Her relief was short-lived.

A series of explosions rocked her home and town. Each bang made her heart skip a beat. Then her electricity went off, and Belle let out a little scream. Then everything went quiet. It was all over, but she still sat shaking like a terrified child.

No. Belle was not a child. She would not cower and hide. Belle stood up. Fear be damned, she had to go to Ruby. She was only a few blocks away from the diner. She had to go. She had to help.

She used the couch to push herself up and off the floor. She brushed off her knees, straightened her clothes, and stepped over her own sick. She opened the door to the outdoor stairs and gagged again. If she had anything left in her stomach she would have vomited again.

The air was thick with smoke, the stench of blood, and she could taste death on her tongue. She could hear screams, shouts, and groans echoing up and down the streets. It was worse than she'd feared.

The town's two ambulances screeched past her. The sheriff's car chased them. The red, white, and blue lights were flashing fast and bright. The sirens were loud and drilled into her temples. They were mechanical screams to match the human ones. The ambulances headed into the worst part of the disaster area, the diner. She had to follow them.

The closer she got to Granny's Diner, the worse it was. Chaos. It was complete and utter chaos. The streets, the buildings, everything, was torn asunder. The television didn't do the destruction justice.

"We need help over here!"

Two men carried a third between them on a makeshift stretcher. The stretcher was a warped wooden door (probably ripped off its hinges). The man on the door was pale, struggling to breathe, and covered in blood. Belle could see metal and glass sticking out of his face, chest, and stomach.

Another shout made Belle look away from the mutilated man.

"I need a medic!"

Mister Marco struggled to carry a much larger man out of the ruins of his hardware store. The man was bleeding profusely from his head. He didn't seem to be aware of his surroundings and was barely shuffling along.

"Please!"

Marco looked around, frantically.

"One of the displays fell on him. I-I can't. I'm not strong enough-"

Someone, Belle didn't recognize him, hurried over to help Marco support the injured man.

"Get out of the fucking way!"

Another man shoved her to the side. He had a limp and bloody thrown over his shoulder. He moved with wide, hurried steps towards the far side of the street, towards Granny's Diner.

The diner, always the social center of town, was a buzzing hive of activity. The ambulances and several other vehicles crowded around. People ran in and out. Only a few people were still. They lay on the ground, covered in table clothes.

She didn't see Ruby anywhere.

"Ruby!"

She couldn't find her. Couldn't see her. Didn't know what to do.

"Ruby!"

Belle carefully stepped through the hole that used to be Granny's door. The restaurant was a mess. There was broken glass and wood everywhere. There were injured people everywhere. They were laid out on counters, tables, and booth seats. Some were groaning, some were crying, and some were frighteningly still and silent.

There were others too. They were trying to help and care for the injured. They wrapped towels around bleeding wounds. They used pieces of wood to make splints. Some sat and some tried to soothe their hurt and scared friends.

It was all so overwhelming! This disaster belonged in the old world, not Storybrooke.

A hand fell on her shoulder, and Belle jumped. She spun around, hand balled into a fist, ready to strike. She came only inches away from punching Ashley in the face.

"Woah!"

Ashley held up his hands in defense. She was shaking, pale, and terrified. There was blood smeared on her hands, cheek, and clothes.

"Easy, ladies." A calm voice, barely audible over the chaos, tried to calm them down. Archie Hopper, the town's conscience and counselor, smiled at them. "We've seen enough fighting."

Alexandra squirmed in Archie's arms, cheeks wet with tears.

"Sorry!"

Belle was ashamed of herself. She logically knew that she hadn't traumatized the baby, but felt guilty about the tears anyway.

Alexandra didn't seem upset at her. The baby girl launched herself away from Archie. She had grabby hands and her big blue eyes were locked on her took, caught, the little girl. She sat with Alex often. She had learned far too much about Doc McStuffins and Blues Clues with her.

She looked over at Archie and Ashley. They seemed physically okay, just shaken up. Still, she had to ask.

"Are you two okay?"

Archie was missing his spectacles. He shrugged one shoulder.

"Better than some others."

Ashley tried to nod but looked away with tears in her eyes.

Belle bounced Little Alex on her hip and tried to stay calm. It was difficult. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her head was spinning. She felt nauseous again but swallowed it back.

"Ashley?"

Belle touched her arm.

"What happened?"

Ashley shivered.

"I-we-were walking down the street when it started. Coming back from the pediatrician."

She shivered again.

"When I saw the ogres-" Her voice broke and she looked away again.

"Sean took the day off to go with us. He went to help." She hiccuped.

"He's hurt. His legs and back and-"

She started to weep in earnest. Belle pulled her into a one-armed hug but felt powerless to soothe her pain.

Archie looked uncomfortable, shell-shocked. His lips twitched, his brows furrowed, and his face went blank. He looked lost, and a little confused. After a moment he stiffly patted Ashley's other shoulder.

Alexandra squirmed in Belle's arms, upset because her mother was upset. Belle bounced the baby a little and tried to calm her down.

"I have to go to the hospital. Everyone-Sean and Ruby and-and-"

Ashley wiped at her eyes and tried to pull in deep breaths.

"Ogres killed my father and I can't! I can't deal with this! They weren't supposed to be here!"

Ashley wasn't even trying to wipe her tears anymore.

"This wouldn't have happened-"

She sounded borderline hysterical.

"-if Regina was still in charge!"

"Hey-"

Both she and Ashley jerked around, startled by the sudden shout.

Ashley!"

Both she and Ashley jerked around, startled by the sudden shout.

Emma Swan gave a weak wave.

"Sorry-"

She tugged on her ear and smeared blood on her cheek.

"-still can't hear right. I wanted to let you know that Sean's in one of the ambulances. They're about to go."

Emma looked grim. She was pale, splashed with red human blood and the tell-tale green and black ogre blood. She winced every time she moved and didn't seem totally in the moment. She blinked, and Belle saw that one pupil was much larger than the other.

"Oh. Belle."

She furrowed her brow.

"Are you okay? When did-"

Emma trailed off like she had forgotten how to speak. It took a moment, then she blinked several times.

"Yeah. Sorry. I just wanted to let you guys know."

Emma looked over her shoulder at the ambulances.

"Ruby's going too. They tried to get the most critically injured loaded up first."

Belle's face must have betrayed her fear, which triggered something in the savior. Emma's eyes fluttered, she rubbed her hands over her face, and she finally seemed to focus.

"Shit!"

Her eyes widened when she noticed Alex.

"I mean shoot! Sorry. I mean-"

Emma's eyes darted back and forth. "I don't know what I mean."

She sighed, obviously as scared and overwhelmed as everyone else.

"The ambulances are coming right back to get more people. We're looking at about a fifteen-minute turnaround time. Next, they want any children and broken bones okay?"

No one answered her, but people started scurrying around again.

"Belle."

Emma turned to her.

"Ruby-she's okay. Regina healed her some but Granny and the Medics are taking her to the hospital just in case."

Thank God. It felt like a too-tight corset had finally been uncinched and she could breathe again. Ruby was okay. The world around her was in ruins, but Ruby was okay. She felt a moment of shame wash over her. She was celebrating Ruby being okay while When people were hurt, people died.

"Emma-"

Belle didn't know what to do.

"-are you okay?"

Because she needed to make sure that all her friends and loved ones were okay. Selfishly, she hadn't given anyone else much thought. Now that she knew Ruby was okay, she had to make herself useful. Even if all she could do was check on people and calm down babies.

Emma pushed her hand through her hair and smeared even more filth into it.

"Me? Yeah. I'm fine."

That was a lie if she'd ever heard one. She had never seen Emma so out of sorts.

"I-uh-you can't drive."

It was a non-sequitur and Belle didn't quite follow.

Emma took a deep breath, winced, and tried again.

"Sister Astrid is taking a load of family members to the hospital if you guys need a ride."

Ashley didn't immediately say anything but she did take her daughter back into her arms. She didn't move towards the door, though.

"Belle, can you-"

Emma looked like she was on the verge of collapsing. She hadn't stopped moving or talking the entire time. The Savior and Savior was doing her part and more.

Helping Ashley and the others got to the hospital and stayed calm was the least Belle could do.

"Of course."

She put her hand on Ashley's back to gently lead her away. They walked back outside into the chaos. Alex, already overwhelmed, started to cry again. Belle wanted to cry too. She felt helpless, useless, and completely out of her depth.

Emma's back, shoulders, and arms hurt. Her muscles burnt, her bones ached, and her skin was slick with blood. She would rather die than put down Regina, though. Regina was limp in her arms. Her breathing was shallow. Her skin was pale with dark brown and gray bruises. This, seeing Regina fall and not get back up, scared Emma more than a million ogres.

Sean Herman, Mulan, and Andy Tremaine went in the first ambulance. Esmeralda had gone with them because she was, somehow, using magic to stop Sean from bleeding to death.

How Esmeralda still had a spark of magic in her was beyond Emma. She had barely been able to stand up on her own. Still, Sean was in bad shape and needed all the help he could get.

Emma watched the medics load Grumpy on the gurney and then into the ambulance. He cursed, coughed, and then went silent. His arms and legs were mishappen, swollen, and definitely dislocated.

Next was Claudia Mae, one of the people who had shot arrows went next. Part of the building fell and she'd fallen with it. The medics lifted her on a backboard. They moved in perfect sync, probably from twenty-eight years of practice. They strapped her to the padded bench that ran along one side of the ambulance.

Granny half-carried Ruby and one of the medics strapped her into the passenger seat. Her head lolled and she was the same ashen color as Regina. Luckily she was at least half-conscious.

"Rubes."

Emma braced some of Regina's weight against the heavy vehicle.

"You okay?"

Ruby looked up. Her eyes were blood red, like every blood vessel in her eyes had popped. Her green eyes swirled with gold. It looked like she could only barely see.

"That's Deputy Rubes to you, Boss."

She chuckled then coughed hard. It took her a moment to catch her breath.

"Hey, Emma. That was a helluva fight."

Speaking seemed to exhaust her and it took more deep breaths for her to recover.

"She okay?"

Emma didn't know. She was a bounty hunter, not a damn doctor. She needed to get Regina to the hospital as fast as possible. She was about to commandeer the next nearest vehicle to Regina to the hospital herself.

"Sheriff."

One of the medics, the tag on his uniform said Mendoza, held out his arms.

"It isn't ideal, but we can strap her to the airway seat. I'm going to be working on Leroy and Claudia the whole way so I won't need it."

Emma hesitated and took a step back. She didn't recognize him and wasn't sure if he wanted to help or hurt Regina. There were still way too many people who wanted to kill the Evil Queen. Emma didn't want to let her defenseless girlfriend out of her sight.

Ruby lifted her head again.

"RJ and Anopa are good people. I'll make sure she gets to the right people at the hospital too."

Mendoza (RJ?) held out his arms again.

"My father served under her father in The South. I won't hurt her. I swear on my honor."

Handing Regina to a stranger was the hardest thing Emma had ever done. It was like hearing Henry's newborn cries fade away all over again. Mendoza carefully maneuvered Regina into the ambulance. He used the seatbelt and velcro straps from one of the many cabinets to secure her to the seat.

Emma fought back tears. She closed the ambulance's double doors and thudded her fist on the door. She watched the ambulances go until they turned the corner.

"Fuck."

Emma took a moment to pull herself together. When she felt like she was in control again, she went back to work.

She ducked back into the diner to let Ashley know what was going on. Granny's was a makeshift hospital. There were still injured people flowing in. So many people.

The outside wasn't any better. There were ogre parts everywhere. It was like a tornado and an earthquake had made an apocalyptic baby and dropped it on Storybrooke.

Her radio crackled so she started to move again. Doing her duty to protect and serve. She didn't know what else to do. So she kept moving, reacting, and for lack of a better word being the Sheriff-Savior.

Another round of injured people, all in cars and trucks. They headed to the hospital. Emma watched for a moment, then kept moving.

There were buildings and parts of the street that had to be cordoned off. There was debris to clean up and lists to write, calls to make. So many things. So much destruction. So many were injured and dead. Emma didn't even know where to start.

Ashley was right. If Regina wasn't at the hospital unconscious, she would be here running the show. She would know exactly what to do. She wouldn't be flying by the seat of her pants. Regina would make it all okay again. Only Regina wasn't conscious and she wasn't okay.

Emma reared back and kicked a dead ogre.

Regina would be okay.

She kicked the ogre again.

She had to be okay.

Emma kicked the ogre again.

This was supposed to be a normal day, damn it. She was supposed to do some kind of ye olde bonding with Snow. Henry and Regina were supposed to hang out and have time to be mother and son again. Things were supposed to be good! All this fairytale bullshit was literally killing them!

The initial adrenaline was wearing off. Everything hurt. Emma was worried sick. Her stomach twisted and turned. Her skin was coated in blood and it burned. She could not hear from one ear. All she could taste was bile. All she could see was Regina falling and laying still.

Everything was a mess! Cora was still out there somewhere, plotting more horrible shit. She was so damn powerful and cruel. She was a fucking psychopath with, according to Regina, no heart.

Regina. Regina was hurt. She could be dying. She could already be dead.

Ruby was hurt. She had almost died. Cora had tried to execute her on the street like, well a dog.

Mulan was hurt. Cora had wrapped her up like leftovers to torture and kill later.

People were dead!

Emma kicked the ogre's body again. Cora had brought these monsters. Fucking Cora!

Her knee popped and burnt and a sharp pain shot from her toe to her thigh.

"Stupid Fucker!"

Despite the pain, she kicked it again and again.

She didn't know who she was cursing. The ogres? Cora? Herself? The twisted powers that be who decided she was in charge of this circus!

"All right, Swan." A hand came down on her shoulder. "It's already dead."

Merida, the fire chief, was behind her. Her shirt was covered in blood, dirt, and dust. She smiled and inclined her head. "I'm driving some of my guys over to the ER. You can ride shotgun."

Emma shook her head. "I'm fine."

Merida rolled her eyes. "You're covered in so much blood that you're leaving a trail.

Emma sighed. She'd ground her skin off on asphalt. She looked behind her and could see blood boot prints on the broken sidewalk.

"Your ear is still oozing too."

Emma could hear again, sort of. She was fine.

"I'll take care of it."

Merida scowled. "Swan. You've got two options. Come with me now, or I will call your mother and she can take you."

That was a low freaking blow.

"You wouldn't."

Merida flashed a crooked smile that told Emma she definitely would. Bitch.

"Everything is more or less calm. You need to get that ogre blood off of you. It's caustic. You're wearing one hell of a chemical peel right now."

Oh. That sucked.

"Besides, Her Majesty will want you at her side."

Bringing Regina up was another low blow. She wanted nothing more than to be with Regina. Hill was using Regina to manipulate Emma. Double bitch.

Emma sighed. The bitch was right. She really wanted to be there for Regina.

"Fine."

"Nolan, Ishida." Emma's Deputy and, presumably, her own second in command. "This is Hill."

Hill spoke on the walkie-talkies like she knew exactly what she was doing. The way that Emma wanted to sound but did not.

"I'm headed to the hospital. Taking a load of people in my van. Swan is going with me. You two are in charge." She paused then chuckled. "Play nice."

When Hill said van, she'd assumed the woman meant a fire department vehicle, not the mini variety. Hill strutted over to a slightly beat-up maroon van. It had several dings and a Human Rights Campaign equal sign sticker on the back. It even had fake wood side panels. Emma tried to hide her guffaw of laughter.

"Hey."

Merida smirked and closed the side door.

"You are one or two more kids from trading your yellow shitbox for one of these."

Triple bitch.

She waved Emma to get into the passenger seat. The van was packed with people, all injured.

"You know my brother-in-law Jack."

Emma did. The huge blonde nodded at her. His face twisted in pain and bright red. He was holding one arm in the other. There was a bloody and makeshift splint holding his arm together. He was squeezed in the van's middle bench between two booster seats but didn't seem to mind. He was getting blood, human and ogre, all over the upholstery.

"And the Popovs, Ivan and Anya. Their jewelry store was hit pretty hard."

There were two people in the third row. The man, Ivan, was half-naked. He had his tee shirt held to his head. The shirt was rust red and blood was still coming. The woman, Anya, had her legs draped over her husband's lap. Her left ankle was wrapped up with a flannel shirt. Her right leg was wrapped in another tee shirt from ankle to knee. Emma couldn't see them well, but from the grimace on Anya's face, they weren't pretty.

"Let's get you guys over to the hospital."

The van rumbled to life and followed a pickup and an old sedan, both loaded with hurt people. Emma wasn't an expert, but it didn't take an FBI agent to see that this was nuts. This was the biggest catastrophe in the history of Storybrooke. If any other town had suffered damage like that in the US, they would be on CNN.

She'd read over Graham's files. There had been a few car, boat, and household accidents. There had been plenty of drunk and disorderlies, DUIs, and domestic disputes. There were always scuffles, fistfights, and the occasional bar brawls. Storybrooke had never seen anything like this. Arsons, apocalypses, and actual civil war. Storybrooke had left fairy tales behind. They were now in the middle of Stephen King territory.

Emma hated it. Her son's perfect life in a perfect town was gone. All because she was the fucking savior. Storybrooke wouldn't need to be saved if she hadn't broken the curse in the first place. There would be no magic. No ogres. No bullshit. It would be an idyllic town in Maine. This was yet another thing Emma Swan had ruined.

The hospital was already swamped when they arrived. Emma and Jack worked together to help Ivan stagger into the ER. Merida carried Anya bridal style. Moving her out of the van had been so painful that Anya had blacked out. Emma wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

The ER waiting room was overflowing with people. Some were hurt, and others looked worried. Some people were trying to patch their friends and loved ones up as best they could. They covered wounds with extra shirts. Some had pilfered gauze they must have stolen from the nurses. It was like an episode of Gray's Anatomy on meth.

Several medical workers and patients were wearing armbands. She saw blue, red, white, and yellow. It had to be part of the hospital's triage system.

She wondered what color armband they'd given Regina. Which color was the most serious? Emma figured that Regina must have gotten that color (red?) and that she would get whatever color meant the least messed up (white?).

She flopped down in a very uncomfortable chair.

Step One: Find Regina.

Emma winced and pulled the ragged scraps of khaki fabric away from the gory mess of her knees.

Step Two: find a bandaid or forty. She would kill for some primo pain meds right now! Even a couple of Advil would be nice.

Emma felt like she'd been hit by, well, a big freaking ogre. Everything hurt. Even her hair hurt. It would be nice to know Regina's healing trick right about now. Magic was kinda handy.

All magic had a price, though. She'd somehow made her shotgun do magic. She'd had magical super speed. Emma felt like crap. When Regina had healed her she'd been exhausted too. Now, after healing Ruby and fighting the ogres, she had to be hurt-hurting. Emma was worried. She didn't understand magic but knew that it could be bad.

Emma sighed. She wanted to shoulder her way back through hospital doors to find Regina and stay with her. To keep her company, to make sure the doctors and nurses were treating her right.

Emma worried Whale would refuse to treat Regina. Worse, he might hurt her on purpose. Not to mention the other doctors and nurses who might hold a grudge against the Evil Queen.

She couldn't, though. There were countless people in the waiting room waiting for help or news. Emma couldn't pull rank (sheriff or savior) to skip the line.

Granny was pacing, going between people, checking on them. Rory leaned against the wall, lost in her worries. She had bitten her nails down to the quick and was now twirling her hair into oblivion.
Belle was trying to comfort Ashley and her baby. The young mother was beside herself and the baby was about a second away from a meltdown.

They were all in the same shitty boat. If she were a good sheriff, she would be up and walking around. She would be checking on people and reassuring them. She'd be making lists and checking in with people. She wasn't that great of a sheriff, though. Emma was just as sore, tired, and scared as everyone else. So she sat, waited, and hoped for the best.

The only tiny ray of sunshine was that almost all the children were safe at the school. The hoodoo Regina had cast kept them safe and sound. They had the generators running. They had food, and plenty of adults to protect them if something went sideways.

At some point, a woman in scrubs came and asked about ogre blood. That was how Emma, Jack, and several others ended up in a locker room full of showers. The nurses took their clothes (even their underwear!). They were all given paper-thin blue scrubs instead.

Emma still hurt everywhere but she was no longer filthy and sticky. The water had washed away any clotting. She was bleeding again. She wrapped a couple of towels around the worst of it and limped back to the waiting room.

The room was thinning out a bit. There were finally enough empty chairs to spread out a little. Emma grabbed a second chair to prop her legs up. She tried to get comfortable. She was going to be stuck for a bit. No one had updated her on Regina. A lot of people were still waiting for word about their loved ones. She had to be patient, which had never been her strong suit.

The TV blared the Storybrooke evening news. The Storybrooke Evening news was on the TV. They were running and re-running footage of the fight. Emma looked away from the carnage, huffed, and wished she had her phone.

She watched Belle read a storybook to the several kids gathered in the waiting room. They were all tiny humans, too little for school. Emma wondered what Henry had been like at that age. According to Regina, he'd been an angel with a mischievous streak. So, the same as he was now.

Belle was a great story-reader. She showed the kids the pictures, used different voices, and made sound effects for the story. She had the kids hanging on her every word. It was a nice little slice of normal. Belle's voice, sweet and accented, helped drown out the constant buzz in her jacked-up ear.

Had Belle been barefoot the entire time? Emma had no idea, and it didn't matter anyway.

"Emma!"

Emma jerked up, her feet fell to the floor. She bit back a curse (because the babies nearby didn't need to hear those words) and only groaned. The loud, shrill, scream drilled into her head. Emma pressed a hand over her shitty ear.

Snow, bow and arrows still on her shoulder, made a bee-line for her.

"Sweetheart! I've been looking everywhere for you! Are you okay!"

Snow looked her up and down.

"You're hurt!"

She looked around frantically.

"Why are you in the waiting room!"

She stormed over to the reception desk, manned by a single overwhelmed candy striper. The girl was probably barely eighteen and scared shitless.

"Where are the doctors? My daughter is hurt! Where is Doctor Whale? Doctor Miles? Doctor Robinson!"

Snow was screaming again. When the girl had no answers for her, she stomped back to Emma's chair.

"I can't believe they made you wait! It has been hours! You are injured! You are their princess and you are suffering!"

Snow's neck and ears were scarlet red. She was still on the warpath.

"Look at you! I can't believe they let you sit out here! Doctor! Nurse!"

The entire waiting room was not-at-all-subtly watching them.

"Snow."

Emma caught the other woman's flailing arms and held her still.

"Chill out. I'm fine. The doctors are taking care of people who are way worse off."

Snow shook her head and tried to pull her arms free. Emma held on tight.

"You're a princess, and the Savior and the Sheriff. You're important, and you need-"

Snow was not getting it. Emma gave her a little shake.

"I need to wait my turn. I'm the Sheriff. That means prioritizing everyone else above myself. I can't demand attention when there are critically injured people that need the doctors way more than I do. There are concussions, broken bones, and major injuries. Ruby almost died. Sean and Grumpy are in surgery right now!"

These were her friends! There were so many hurt people! Where was Snow's head at? What was going on with her?

"I get that you're my mom and a queen, but come on!"

Emma sighed and rubbed her ear.

"Grab a cup of crappy cup of coffee and wait with me."

She really wanted to get off her feet. Her knees were killing her. "I haven't even heard if Regina is okay yet."

She wasn't even sure if the hospital would talk to her about Regina. They weren't exactly an official couple. Technically her next of kin was Cora. If Cora stepped foot in the hospital, Emma would rip her throat out with her bare hands.

"Regina?"

Snow physically reeled back like Emma had slapped her.

"She's the reason we're all here! She's evil and-"

Was Snow kidding? She had to be kidding. This was a joke.

"Did we fight in the same apocalypse battle today? Regina's psychopath mother was the one causing the issues. Regina was there to stop her!"

"Emma, you don't understand. The Evil Queen-"

Why did every argument have to be a public spectacle? Emma didn't have any fucks left to give. Her knees hurt, her back hurt, her ear hurt and her skull felt like it was cracking open. She did not have the energy or patience for Snow's dramatics.

"Stop calling her that!"

Emma let Snow go and threw her hands up in pure frustration.

"She's the mother of my son and-"

She was on a roll and the next words slipped out before she thought better of it.

"-my girlfriend!"

The waiting room was silent so even Emma's whisper-hiss sounded like a shout. Not exactly how Emma planned to come out of the closet and announce her and Regina's relationship.

"No!"

Snow jerked like she'd been shot. She grabbed Emma's wrist and squeezed it hard enough to hurt.

"Oh My God, Emma no!"

Emma jerked her arm back. She could not deal with this right now. She was thirty seconds away from punching her mother.

"Mary-Snow-Whoever! I am not having this conversation right now!"

Snow opened her mouth to keep arguing, but was cut off before she could let out so much of a squeak.

"Sheriff Swan."

Emma turned around and winced as the rough scrub fabric grated against her shredded skin.

A tall, willowy woman in gray scrubs with no-nonsense glasses regarded her.

"Come with me, please."

Thank Fairytale God!

Snow rushed forward and caught Emma's hand. "I'm her mother and-"

The woman (Doctor? Nurse?) stared Snow down and didn't flinch.

"And you can wait here with all the other mothers."

Snow, surprisingly, backed down. She huffed and puffed, but didn't say another word. She walked over to sit with Ella.

Emma knew that their little mother-daughter "bonding session" was far from over. At least the doc hit the pause button. Emma hoped she was going to get pain meds soon. She shuffled along behind the woman. She winced with every move.

"Um. Thanks for that. Snow can be a little-"

The woman slowed down and directed Emma to sit on a small camping cot. It was only separated from the next cot by what looked like an old shower curtain.

"I know all about Snow White. I delivered the girl."

The doctor's tone was neutral, bordering on amused.

"My name is Doctor Amancia Malcolm."

What? She recognized the name, even if she hadn't recognized the woman herself. She was Storybrooke's coroner and pathologist. She signed off on every autopsy, death certificate, and forensic investigation.

She was nothing like Emma had imagined her. Maybe crime dramas had broken her brain. Emma had imagined a lady with frizzy hair and limited social skills. She had never imagined the woman (Graham had called her Dr. Death in his notes) would look like this.

Emma looked the doctor over. She would have pegged her at thirty-five, tops. Her dark skin was smooth and her hair, wrapped in an elegant bun of braids and coils, didn't have a single gray in it.

Emma sat down on the cot and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from cursing or whining out in pain.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Malcolm. I-"

Emma fumbled around for words while the doctor washed her hands.

"-don't think I've seen you around."

The doctor smiled, and a single gold incisor glimmered under the light.

"I usually spend my days with far quieter patients."

Emma smirked a little. Doctor Death had jokes.

"Don't worry, I remember how to work on the living too."

Emma was still reeling from the idea that Doctor Death had delivered her mother. Talk about a blast from the past.

She removed the towels from Emma's knees. Her face didn't reveal anything.

"I saw the footage, and honestly was expecting worse."

She carefully prodded at Emma's knees. Emma grit her teeth and didn't say anything.

"How's your pain?"

Emma shrugged a single shoulder. She immediately dropped her number by two out of habit. When you were homeless or looked like it, it was way too easy to get classified as a drug seeker.

"Like a five-ish?"

Dr. Malcolm met her eyes.

"You're as stubborn as Her Majesty. The two of you make quite a pair."

The doctor pulled over a stool and started cleaning Emma's legs and knees. It hurt, but Emma could deal with the pain.

"You mean Regina. How is she? Is she okay?"

She craned her head to look around.

"Where is she? Are you her doctor?"

She had been a fancy royal doctor healer person so she had known Regina.

The questions flew out of her mouth one-after-another. It was like she couldn't stop talking even if she wanted to.

The doctor paused and looked up at her. There was a small smile on her face.

"I don't know what Bastian was on about. You do care about her."

The pieces, jagged and blurry as they were, fell together. She hadn't just known her, Doctor Death was part of Regina's crew.

"I have been Her Majesty's physician for years-"

The doctor cleaned Emma's knees with what felt like battery acid.

"-and I've never seen her in worse shape."

Anxiety and dread stabbed at Emma's chest and twisted in her guts.

"How bad-" She could barely squeeze the words out of her throat. "-is it?"

"There is very little research on how magic use affects the body."

Doctor Dea-Malcom kept working on her knees, her head down and hands moving.

"But from what I've pieced together, she drained her magic during the battle. Combined with the severe heavy metal poisoning-"

Wait, what? Heavy metal poi-

"You mean the silver? I thought that was only for werewolves!"

The doctor finally looked up at her. Hazel green eyes were flat and deadly serious behind her glasses.

"Sheriff Swan-Emma. She absorbed seven to ten ounces of pure silver. Deadly doses of heavy metals-any metals- in humans are measured in micrograms. She expelled a lot of it, but there is still far too much in her system."

Emma wasn't a doctor, but that sounded fucking bad. Her heart dropped into her stomach and dread replaced pain.

"Is she-"

Emma couldn't even say the word. Her mouth couldn't shape it. Her lungs couldn't get enough air to supply it. Her throat was too tight to vocalize it.

"She's in stable but critical condition right now. Whale wanted to send her out as soon as she regained consciousness, but I put my foot down. I forbade him from going near her. He's a slimeball, but he has a strong survival instinct."

Whale hated Regina. Regina hated him too, for very good reasons. Emma didn't know why Whale had a bug up his franken-butt, and honestly, she didn't care. As long as he stayed away from them, and didn't break the law she was happy to not deal with him.

"So you're her doctor then."

The logical parts of Emma's brain, which had been silent since the battle, started to work.

"Good. Good."

A million things zipped through Emma's mind. What she should say, what she shouldn't say. What next? What was she going to do? Would Regina be okay?

The doctor slowly pulled out a shard of jagged glass from Emma's forearm. The pain was sharp and made her bite the inside of her cheek so hard she tasted blood.

She wrapped Emma's arms, shins, and knees in gauze.

"We're gonna need to get an x-ray on your knees. I want to make sure your patellas aren't chipped or cracked."

She held up a hand to cut off Emma's protest before she could protest.

"But the techs need a break and you're not critical. If you agree to go in a wheelchair, I can take you up to Regina's room. Let's look at your ear first."

Emma squirmed, twitched, and grit her teeth while the doctor poked at her ear. To Emma's total not-surprise, her eardrum was ruptured to the point of non-existence. She sort of tuned out the rest. Lots of antibiotics, rest, and yadda yadda yadda. All she cared about was seeing Regina.

First Emma had to listen to the longest medical lecture ever. Then Doctor Malcolm got a wheelchair. She rolled Emma to another part of the hospital. It was quieter here, dim, and calm.

Every room was occupied by at least two, sometimes three or more people. Nurses and doctors darted in and out.

After several rooms, they finally arrived.

Emma had spent a long time imagining what shape Regina would be in. She had watched plenty of tv, been in plenty of hospitals, and she thought she was ready.

When the doctor wheeled her into the cramped hospital room. Emma felt every fiber of her being frozen in place. Emma couldn't process what she saw. She was not ready.