Chapter Seven
The gasps around Emma were condensed into a pounding in her ears as Regina Mills slammed into the dirt.
"Mom!" crashed through her temporary deafness and she launched forward after muttering 'call an ambulance' to whoever was in her general vicinity.
She fell on the other side of Henry who had grasped Regina's shoulder and was shaking her helplessly.
"Come on, mom, wake up," he begged, blinking back tears. Emma saw a little boy terrified for his mother and her suggestion of a custody battle had never before made her feel so guilty.
Emma's hands independently started the medical checks she'd learned in her attempts to become an actual good sheriff.
"Regina?" she asked, shaking the woman with more purpose than Henry as she turned her head to the side as she understood it would stop her from swallowing her tongue.
She was breathing but wholly unresponsive.
"What the hell?" Emma muttered unconsciously.
"Kiss her!" Henry demanded not letting go of Regina's shoulder, in fact, he was practically gripping her for dear life.
"What?" Emma asked.
"She did this to make you believe, so kiss her and you'll see!" Henry insisted.
"She needs actual help, kid," Emma said, finding Regina still completely unresponsive.
"You saw what happened!" Henry begged, "Kiss her or she'll stay under the sleeping curse!"
"I don't know what I saw."
"Then why won't you kiss her!" Henry cried as doors slammed to part the amassing crowd.
Even if they weren't somewhere as sleepy as the town of Storybrooke, this had to be extremely interesting for any group of people.
The paramedics asked a string of questions as Regina was placed onto a stretcher and her vitals were checked.
They were normal much to their confusion, so they accepted the apple before loading the mayor into the ambulance.
Henry didn't say a word again until they were in the waiting room staring at the door to the staff-only section of the hospital.
"If you don't think she's under a sleeping curse, what else could it be?" he asked, his voice edged with more than just frustration now.
Emma tried not to take it personally, how could she when she was so worried too?
She did stare at the white ceiling for a few moments, however, praying that it would give her the answer that she needed to convince him he was wrong.
As long as he thought it was a sleeping curse he would never accept that there was a chance that she wouldn't be okay. How could Emma take that away from him? Especially when she didn't know for sure that his mother wasn't awake and well behind that infernal door.
Still, she couldn't sit there and give him that kind of hope.
"I don't know," she sighed, "the apple could have been poisoned with something else, or she could be allergic to it."
"You think my mom is allergic to apples?" he asked doubtfully.
Emma gritted her teeth, that did sound implausible and she was trying not to factor in the hat's vision into that.
Sure, the Evil Queen being allergic to apples would be weirdly ironic but that didn't matter, Regina Mills was not the Evil Queen!
"Whale will come out soon and explain everything," she replied.
Henry narrowed his eyes but ultimately slumped into the hard plastic, his worried irritation palpable.
As it turned out 'soon' was an hour, a full agonising hour, until Dr Whale emerged wearing a concerning frown.
Henry leapt away from Emma and ran up to the doctor and she dragged herself over once she registered his expression. How could Henry be so hopeful when the doctor was so obviously not?
"Is my mom okay?" Henry demanded and caught Emma's eyes, she nodded to tell him to not sugarcoat it too much.
"She's stable, but I'm afraid that we don't understand her condition. She rates highly on our coma scale and is completely unresponsive but we do have a number of other tests to perform that could explain this," Whale detailed.
"None of your tests can explain this! It was the apple, it had a sleeping curse on it!" Henry announced and Emma worked hard not to roll her eyes.
He needed to believe right now, she could understand that even if she wasn't able to herself.
"Then why would she eat it?" Whale asked.
"That's a long story. I don't think mom would want Frankenstein to know it."
Whale's forehead creased and he mouthed 'Frankenstein' to the sheriff; she shook her head and came to grab Henry by the shoulder but he shrugged her off.
"We're testing the apple, Henry," Whale promised. Was it to placate the boy?
"In the meantime, can we see her?" Emma asked.
Despite everything, she couldn't even question her desire to see the mayor. Everything was confusing but one thing she knew for sure was that Regina Mills had to be okay.
"Of course," Whale replied, relieved to be free of Henry's withering gaze, "Right this way."
Once they arrived at the private room, Henry was stunned out of his disdain for the unconvinced doctor instead opting to race over to the bed.
Regina appeared asleep, it was a sight Emma had beheld once before.
Of course, neither of them had planned for her to stay the night or to sneak out of the mansion long before Henry woke up, but she had woken up with Regina firmly in her arms that morning.
It had been exceptionally comfortable and it wasn't just the expensive bed. Regina Mills was breathtaking when she was at peace.
It didn't have the same effect when she was in a hospital bed.
She was beautiful obviously, but being in this building filled Emma with a dread that she had never experienced before. It was for this reason that she lingered on the heart monitor beeping steadily and it hit her that Regina dying was simply wrong.
She cleared her throat as Henry sat beside his mother and decided that it had to be that Henry Henry would be in pain if that happened.
She hung back unsurely as Whale excused himself to arrange an MRI scan.
The moment the door closed, Henry asked, "Would it really be so bad if mom is the baby's…other parent? Look at what she did for you, for both of you!"
Emma wiped her hand over her face and drifted to the bed, hesitantly taking the other seat, up close she could see that there was definitely something wrong.
"Your body will be your tomb and you'll be in there with nothing but dreams formed of your own regrets'.
The queen's voice almost forced Emma to take Regina's and comfort the woman, but she refrained and forced herself to think about what was happening in reality, even if she did not understand it in the slightest.
"Henry," she sighed, "I'm sorry that your mom is sick and I get that you need to believe in this fairytale stuff to deal with it but you should have told me sooner."
"Mom is not sick!" Henry said, scandalised despite her position, "I've never even heard her sneeze! You have to believe that there's something scientifically wrong with her instead of the easier option!"
"Magic and fairy tales are not the easier option!" Emma retorted, a moment from raising her voice.
"What are you going to tell the baby when they find out that they didn't get to meet their mom because you wouldn't just kiss her?!"
Involuntarily, Emma touched her flat stomach, picturing deep brown eyes asking what happened to Regina. Apparently, her son knew exactly what buttons to push.
"If I kiss her once, do you promise not to ask again?" Emma asked, resignedly.
Henry perked up and nodded eagerly and Emma puffed out her cheeks.
It felt incredibly creepy to do this to a comatose woman but she was pretty sure that Regina would be fine with it if it helped Henry to deal with what was happening.
Leaning down, she brushed her lips against Regina's and without any pressure being returned, it was the shortest kiss that they'd ever shared.
She dropped to the seat, watching her face the same way that Henry was.
Expectantly.
She was the first to frown, however, as the seconds stretched and the woman remained unmoved.
Eventually, Henry did crumble and pressed a kiss to Regina's forehead, but it had just as little effect. He fell against her shoulder and mumbled, "Mom, please. I promise I do love you. I'm sorry if I made you think I didn't."
Emma slumped as he sobbed, she had no reason to feel personally responsible, but she somehow did.
S
By the next day, Emma found that there was such a thing as worse than terrible, not that she had the mental capacity to find the correct word to put to the feeling.
Henry wouldn't leave the hospital so naturally, she hadn't seen daylight in over twenty-four hours.
They went outside the room when Whale performed his tests but they never got too far away from the comatose woman.
Somewhere along the way, they discovered that the mayor was not capable of breathing as effectively as before.
Seeing her intubated couldn't be easy for Henry if the hand that had been gripping her arm was anything to go by.
Emma hung back, feeling like an intruder even after all of the hours that she had spent on the hard plastic.
The door opened at her back and saved her from figuring out how long she should wait before disrupting the moment between mother and son.
"Sheriff, can I have a quick word?" Dr Whale asked timidly, a little too timidly for him and Emma felt her throat constrict further at the way that the doctor was looking at Henry.
He was far too worried, weren't doctors supposed to be better at masking emotions?
"Sure," Emma said, "We'll be right outside kid."
"Okay," Henry mumbled, barely moving as they left and closed the door.
Emma crossed her arms and demanded, "Have you figured it out yet?"
Whale shook his head regretfully, "None of the tests explain what happened to Mayor Mills."
"Then do more tests!" Emma exploded, unsure whether the reaction was because she was anxious, sleep deprived or pregnant. No matter what, she could think of one thing that could help and Whale was apparently ill-equipped to provide it.
Her short temper only made a muscle jump in the doctor's jaw though.
"There are no other tests, we may not know why this is happening but we know what is happening."
"And what's that?" Emma sighed.
"Her cognitive function has decreased with each scan…the odds of her waking up are becoming slim."
Emma passed her hand over her face. How could she explain that to Henry when he was still talking about poisoned apples and sleeping curses?
"So just keep her on life support until you figure it out?"
Whale shook his head.
"That is precisely the problem, Regina's advanced directive states that life-sustaining measures can only be maintained for a month."
"Advanced directive?" Emma asked accusatorily, "So I was right? She was already sick before I got here?!"
"No," Whale replied, "Regina has been nothing but well in all the years I have known her."
"And how many years is that exactly?" popped out of Emma's mouth, though she was unsure as to why the answer felt so important.
"I don't…know precisely," Whale replied, suddenly thoroughly confused and Emma longed to know what was going through his mind but it was hardly the most important thing here.
Hadn't Whale already proven that he didn't believe in the curse?
This was why she disregarded his dissonant mood and asked, "Can't someone override the directive?"
Apparently giving Whale the change of topic was all he needed as his expression returned to normal and he said, "Henry is too young and she has no family."
"She does have a family!"
Emma and Whale both jumped to find that they hadn't noticed the door cracked open with Henry's nose poking out. He had flung it open to shout at them and was taking deep breaths as his eyes flicked around the hallway.
Emma didn't know him very well but she was well aware of what his thought process would be, his desire to run seemed to be his most prominent genetic trait.
He apparently thought better of it though and rushed back into the room to sit beside his mother, presumably holding on more tightly than ever before.
"Thanks, Whale," Emma said between tight and exhausted, "We still have a month so just…keep trying? Please?"
"I will try," Wja;e replied doubtfully as Emma slipped back into the room, closing the door behind her.
Henry tensed as if she didn't have the right to sit down beside him.
Emma wet her lips in preparation for the conversation that she was wholly unqualified for and then asked, "So you heard all of that?"
"I heard that my mom is going to die in a month because you can't believe," Henry mumbled, pulling his chair closer to the comatose woman.
The steady heart monitor filled the silence between the pair until Emma replied, resignedly, "I did what you asked, Henry; it didn't work. What else do you want me to do?"
"I want you to save my mom!" he snapped, but Emma didn't bother wincing under his ire any more.
Resolutely, she argued, "I'm not a doctor."
"You don't need to be for a sleeping curse."
Emma could practically hear both Archie and Mary Margaret telling her not to roll her eyes at the boy, so she focused hard on saying evenly "I thought we agreed that…"
"I'm not going to agree to my mom dying!"
"I don't want that either, Henry," Emma sighed and glanced over to assure herself that Regina's chest was still rising and falling, even if it was with assistance, "You believe that right?"
The crack in her voice must have been what softened the boy who finally let go of Regina and inspected Emma with great interest, was he evaluating her position as the saviour? The possibility made her shift in her seat uncomfortably.
"Well," Henry offered, "If you don't believe it's a curse, you could try and find another explanation, you should speak to Mr Gold."
"Mr Gold? Why?"
"Because he's Rumplestiltskin, he knows everything," Henry said as if it should be obvious.
"I thought that you couldn't figure out who he was?"
"Mom told me, she told me who everyone is," Henry explained.
Emma's eyes fluttered shut with one clear thought, dammit Regina.
Something crept around this, however, and she asked, "How about I talk to someone I'm sure was involved?"
Henry appeared sceptical but nodded, probably at least pleased that she was doing something more active at last.
S
"What exactly am I under arrest for?"
Emma dug her fingers into her arms where they were crossed on her chest. She was leaning against the two-way mirror, not wanting to get too close to the man who believed he was the Mad Hatter.
Henry was currently being watched by Ruby in Regina's room and Emma had to block out his frown when she told him who she was going to talk to. She was looking into the matter in a way that had to be more effective than speaking to a pawn store owner that she didn't trust in the slightest.
Jefferson appeared completely nonplussed by the events of the day before and it was very much pissing her off. He hadn't asked about Regina's condition, which wasn't actually a crime so Emma had to reply, "You aren't under arrest, you are a witness."
"You saw everything that I did," he shrugged and Emma peeled herself away from the mirror and sat down opposite him.
"But you can explain it," Emma insisted, hopefully.
"As far as I can understand the queen is so desperate for you to believe that she destroyed her first love's engagement ring to show you the day that she poisoned your mother," Jefferson replied, unfortunately not showing any hint that he was lying.
Emma's superpower hadn't dinged in days and it was starting to drive her crazy!
Despite this, something struck her and she had to ask, "For love? Daniel?"
"So you were paying attention," Jefferson mused.
A million questions flew into Emma's mind but asking this man felt far too intrusive, Regina had promised to tell her after all. It was for this reason that she asked something more pertinent, "So you believe in this curse crap?"
"Twenty-eight years of conflicting memories are not 'crap'," Jefferson replied passionately, "It's torture that I want to end so what's the hold up exactly?"
"So what, you'll be happier if the curse breaks?"
"Of course," Jefferson replied, "I'll get my family back, you could recognise that you'll get the same?"
"Regina?" Emma asked sceptically with a hard scoff.
"And your parents. They would probably help with your son should her majesty die," he said casually.
Emma took a moment to compose herself before she put on her best sheriff voice and asked, "The apple was in your hat, tell me what it was poisoned with."
Jefferson nodded and gestured with his fingers for her to lean in closer to whisper in faux conspiracy, "It was a sleeping curse."
Emma rolled her eyes and pushed back the chair to once again get away from him, "This was a waste of time."
"Do you believe that the mayor and Mary Margaret recorded that little show for you? Do you think that your roommate is in on all of this?" Jefferson countered.
Emma bit her lip and considered this, during the brief interaction she had witnessed between the schoolteacher and Regina there was no indication that they could stand to be in the same room for more than five minutes.
Besides, Emma was confident that she would pick up on her roommate having ill intentions with all of the time that they spent together.
That didn't leave much other explanation other than finding out whether she had a twin.
"I don't know why I'm asking a crazy guy about this. I just need a second opinion, an actual medical opinion," Emma decided as she went towards the door.
"You should hurry up and let go of this rationality that is the real waste of time," Jefferson called after her.
Emma closed the door and leaned against it with a huff, trying to imagine how she was going to prepare Henry for what was about to happen to his mother.