Under the scrutinizing eyes of her roommate, Regina had tied her hair into a braid and slipped into the clothes she had worn that night when she had tried to hunt down Gothel. The tight black pants had already been a challenge and had required the assistance of a nurse, but the skintight black top with the plunging neckline was even worse as it pressed painfully against her maltreated torso. Both garments were a little dusty, but at least she could remove the wood splinters from the fabric and anything was better than greeting Emma in hospital underwear. At least the leather jacket she had been wearing over it hadn't been damaged. Even if there was little she could do about her down and out appearance, Regina was still herself and therefore a little vain.

So, gritting her teeth, she slid into the wheelchair, annoyed that she had no other option, and took the elevator down to the entrance hall.

xxx

In front of the main entrance, she chose a somewhat secluded bench from which she had a good view of the revolving door, but where not every passing visitor could immediately spot her and scrutinize her like a zoo animal.

She strained to push herself to her feet with the help of the bench back and then shakily walked the few steps around the bench, where she then took a seat. She could hardly wait to finally feel better and put an end to this constant embarrassment. First, however, she held her ribs with one hand and tried to get enough air while resting the elbow of the other arm on her leg and resting her head in her hand.

xxx

It took about ten minutes for Regina to slowly recover and sit upright again before she looked around at the people passing by so as not to miss Emma. Due to the many bushes and small trees planted around the entrance, the feeling of a big city didn't prevail and even though cars often drove past, they couldn't completely drown out the twittering of birds.

Finally, Regina saw Emma's red leather jacket peeking out from between the predominantly white, gray and black clothing. Her blonde hair stood out from the crowd and even though her belly, around which she had protectively wrapped one arm because of all the people, was a considerable size, it hardly affected her brisk, determined walk at all.

"Emma!" Regina only now realized that she wouldn't be able to catch up with the young woman if she didn't hear her calling. Regardless of the people who were already staring in her direction after the first call, she increased her volume once again and shouted the Savior's name as loudly as she could.

Emma's head flew in her direction and their eyes met. Emma changed her intended destination straight away and turned right towards the bench instead of entering the hospital. "I can't remember the last time I was so happy to see you!" she said, before leaning over to Regina and giving her a brief but firm hug before taking a seat next to her.

Regina stiffened slightly and held her breath for a moment as she squeezed her so tightly and her broken ribs protested, but she said nothing and then just smiled at Emma with relief. "It's the same for both of us."

Emma looked at her. "You've lost a lot of weight and you're scary pale. What's happened? I mean, I know what happened from Henry. But what's wrong with you? Why haven't you healed yourself?"

"You met Henry?" This information was the only thing she was really taking in at that moment. But to her regret, Emma shook her head.

"No, I'm sorry. But I know where he is. He told me about the curse and that you were all trapped here. Well, how can I put it... Everyone's in the Enchanted Forest now."

Regina's eyes grew wide as she listened to Emma.

"Everyone is fine and it looks like we two are the only ones left in the real world. No one can really explain it and now they're trying to create some kind of portal so that they can either come to us or we can come to them... I don't quite understand it myself yet. Our conversations were never really long, Killian had left some crazy thing in our shed," she told her and showed her the silver crystal.

"Message crystals. They're incredibly rare. I don't even want to know who he stole them from," Regina said dryly, as she examined it in awe from several angles.

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Could you maybe stop calling my husband a thief? I'm pretty sure Robin has taken similar treasures into his possession."

Regina's gaze shot to her and bore deadly into hers.

"Regina, I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"That's right, you shouldn't have, Miss Swan." She slapped the crystal back into her palm and backed away from her slightly. She felt as if Emma had plunged a knife into her chest and then twisted it around with relish.

"I'm really sorry. And Killian's still not as bad as you always pretend," she tried to defend her husband further.

"Emma, really?" Regina turned back to her and looked at her, shaking her head. "I don't care what he is. What I find worse is that you obviously think you have to justify being with him. You're better than that."

Emma returned her gaze and saw the pain in it and only then did she realize that it wasn't sadness for Robin. She had given her the same look when she had returned to Storybrooke with Killian. Ashamed, she lowered her gaze to the asphalt at her feet.

"What kind of magical item were you thinking of?" Zelena's eyebrow shot up after her nephew excitedly told her about his new idea like a little child. The spoon she had used to stir the simmering potion in front of her lay forgotten in her hand.

"Well, I don't know. I was actually hoping for your help. After all, you're the expert when it comes to magic, so to speak," Henry pointed out, frowning at the muddy green, bubbling concoction that smelled like rotten fish. "Do you think it's even possible to begin with?"

"Theoretically, they could focus their magic. Whether that would be enough to create a passage between the worlds is questionable, of course. You'd probably have to take a lot of factors into account," she mused. "Has Emma found Regina in the meantime?" she then asked hopefully.

"We'll probably find out soon. She's at least arrived in Seattle, but Hook thinks it's better not to contact her again until tomorrow to give her time to find her."

Zelena rolled her eyes and then glanced venomously at the door. "Since when was the pirate appointed head of the Committee for Profound Decisions? After all, this is about my sister and your mom!"

"And his wife. I think he's right. Bombarding Emma with conversations now and pushing her doesn't help her in her search. Besides, she's in a big city now and has to make sure no one sees her using the crystal. Otherwise it could lead to unpleasant situations."

Zelena forced herself to separate her clenched teeth and stirred the cauldron again.

"What exactly is that?" Henry asked, not quite sure if he really wanted to hear the answer.

"I'm glad you brought it up. It's a search spell of a different kind. When Regina or Emma enter this world, it turns golden-orange and smells of dried leaves," she explained. "That way, we'll know straight away if they've somehow managed to get here."

"Great... That means this stuff will stink like rotten fish until we're reunited. The idea is tantalizing." Henry grinned apologetically at the witch.

"Don't be silly, Henry! We'll put it in little glass ampoules so we can each carry one with us. They're odor-proof."

"Whatever you say, Aunt Zelena. I hope they're shatterproof too, because I don't want to have to explain to Ella why I smell like I've fallen into the harbor basin," he laughed and received a blow to the back of the head before he could duck away.

"We should go inside before they come looking for me," Regina said after the two of them had been silent for a long time and Emma had finally given a detailed account of what she had been able to find out and how she had fared on the way here. Regina had noticed that she had been very careful not to touch on any awkward topics and to keep any emotion out of the report.

Emma nodded and stood up. Halfway to the entrance, she asked due to the late hour: "Can I stay or will they throw me out? You still owe me your story."

"Emma, wait," Regina said from behind her, prompting the blonde woman to pause and turn around once more. Regina had stood up in the meantime. Leaning on the bench, she stood slightly bent over, clutching her middle with her arm. "I'm going to need a little help," she then explained quietly.

The young woman's mind was working and it was only from her current position that she could see the wheelchair standing behind the bench, half concealed by it. Emma immediately hurried back and pushed it next to Regina, who slumped into it heavily and clearly in pain. "Regina, you..."

"Thank you," Regina only replied, releasing the brakes and trying not to look too pitiful as she made her way to the door. "Do you think I would have stayed here any longer than necessary? Right now, it's just that I'm screwed alone. You said something about the stone troll on the phone. Did you find my bar? Surely that's where you wanted to go."

"I... No, I didn't. There's no Roni's Bar in Seattle," she explained quietly, watching Regina's efforts not to let her pain show. "Can I push you?"

"No, you can't." Regina raised her voice slightly at these words before continuing at a normal volume: "I thought so. That means I can't get one damn foot in front of the other and I'm homeless. Oh, and these are the clothes they picked me up off the floor in. Only the pants, shirt and jacket are left though, they cut everything else up so I'm now running around in hospital underwear. No, stop. Running is also a thing of the past. I now only own what I wear on my body. So, yes. It's kind of a blessing in disguise that I got it so bad that they haven't thrown me out yet. And to answer your question from this afternoon: I haven't healed myself because they drilled a fucking hole in my skull and now I have a seizure every time I even try to tie my shoelaces with magic." Regina had talked herself into such a rage that she didn't even seem to notice how she was breaking out in a cold sweat and could hardly move.

"Regina." Emma's gentle hand placed itself firmly around the brunette's shoulder to calm her down and make her stop.

That brief touch was all it took for Regina to collapse. Clasping her hands to her face, all the pent-up tears of the past week broke free and left her shaking and sobbing.

As they were almost at the elevators and there were still a lot of people there despite the time of day, Emma pushed Regina around the corner so that they had a little more privacy and put her arms around her.

Regina winced and groaned, causing Emma to flinch, but Regina shook her head and pulled her closer again. "I've got a few broken ribs," she explained her reaction, which Emma would probably have misinterpreted otherwise.

A few wrinkles creased Emma's forehead as she stroked her back lightly. "Anything still intact on you?" she asked, eliciting a small laugh from Regina through her tears.

Shortly afterwards, she pulled her hands back from Emma and wiped her face dry. "I'm sorry. None of this is your fault. It was just... Emma, it was so awful. I could barely move at first, I didn't know what was going on. And then I could remember again and it only got worse when I realized that no one would ever find me here."

Emma handed her a handkerchief. "I have found you. And I'm going to stay and not leave you alone again," she promised and smiled wryly, what Regina returned.

xxx

So that Emma didn't have to stand the whole time, they had gone to a seating area and sat there in silence until Regina had calmed down completely. Only then did she recount the situation from her point of view, what injuries she had, how they had come about, how she had repeatedly tried to use magic until she had finally realized that this had been the trigger for her seizures.

"I even had a seizure when I was just dreaming about doing magic," she said, lowering her voice as someone walked past them. "I was in intensive care at first and I dreamt about Zelena when I was about to wake up from the induced coma. That's the first real memory I have."

Emma shook her head sympathetically and put an arm around her friend, careful not to hurt her this time. "I wish I could help you. But I'm afraid my magic isn't very good either. I tried to find you with a locator spell, but it didn't work. And even when we used the crystal, I got a headache."

Regina nodded. "Yes, I can imagine that. All magic works with aura energy, among other things. That's why the crystals can also be used by people who otherwise know nothing about magic," she explained to her. "But in your current state, you need your entire aura to protect yourself and your child, and it's the same when you're breastfeeding. And if you give even a little of it away, it will affect you. I ask you not to experiment because you want to help me. It won't do any good, except maybe get you a bed in here too. Other people need to recover without magic, then I'll manage the same."

Emma just sighed in response and leaned her head against Regina's shoulder.

"I'm serious about this, Emma. Promise me you won't do magic to help me!" Regina asked with an insistent voice.

Emma sighed again before nodding slowly. "Okay, fine. I promise."