"What was wrong with you at noon today?" Regina's fingers traced gentle circles in Emma's palm as she looked at the blonde woman in front of her, who at least had a little more color in her face than a few hours ago.

"What do you think?" Emma asked, looking at her.

Regina tilted her head. "You were pretty upset and thought I was going to kick the bucket. What made you think that so suddenly?"

"I don't know... You said you weren't feeling well. I just blamed myself, I thought I'd made a mistake. Regina, honestly? I had absolutely no idea what I was actually doing. All I knew was that I couldn't wait for someone to tell me that you had died."

Regina nodded and bit her lip. "I didn't mean to scare you. Sorry."

Emma's fingers closed around Regina's, interrupting her caressing movements. "If anything should happen to you... They have no authority to talk to me about it," Emma started, but Regina immediately shook her head to interrupt her.

"It's already settled. I also listed you as my emergency contact after you left me that ominous note."

Now Emma was the one looking apologetic. "I got scared. There really was a lot of blood and I didn't want Hope to end up in an orphanage if I didn't make it."

Regina nodded and rested her head on the edge of Emma's bed. "I can understand that. And it's all because of me."

"I'd do it again," Emma admitted, gently running her fingers over the bandage wrapped around Regina's head. "Are you in pain?"

"A little. Mostly I'm just completely exhausted. I didn't think it was possible that I could feel any more exhausted than I did the day you found me and here I am, wanting to lie down again." She laughed humorlessly and focused on Emma's fingers, which slid through her hair like little more than a breeze.

"You don't have to stay here because of me. You should rest too," Emma said calmly, but she could feel Regina's tension easing under her touch.

The dark mop of hair moved back and forth briefly. "I want to enjoy it while I can."

"Are you starting to think you might die again?"

"No," Regina interrupted her and raised her head to look her in the eye. "I'm just not so sure that moments like this will happen often."

"I've decided for you!"

"I know, but... Don't hold it against me, I can't quite believe it's really going to be like this. You have a child now, so you have a lot of responsibility. And you've admitted that you love your husband, so... I'll enjoy the moment and if it continues after that, fine. But if not, I don't want to have to feel like you've dumped me again. I want to be prepared for that." She shrugged apologetically for a moment.

Emma swallowed hard and couldn't stop her eyes from drifting away from her. She hated this inner turmoil and after it had been a constant companion over the past few years, she had neither the strength nor the desire to feel like this any longer. "I've always had these feelings for you."

"We hated each other," Regina reminded her.

"No. No, we didn't. We started this idiotic power struggle over Henry, that's true. But wasn't it ultimately just about proving to ourselves how tough we were? This attraction isn't new and if you deny that, then you're lying."

Regina was silent for a while. "I only wanted the best for you and that's why I took a step back."

"Until I married Killian." Emma's hand squeezed Regina's fingers again, still wrapped around hers.

"I didn't think I deserved this much happiness," she said quietly.

"Then please don't blame me alone for the way things turned out." She looked at Regina and, after a while, put her hand on her chin to gently turn her head so that they were looking at each other again. "I won't back out, I promise you."

Regina's lips twisted into a crooked, failed smile.

"What's wrong?"

"You just recently broke your promise that you wouldn't use magic, too. I'd like to believe you, but I can't until you've officially left your husband," she replied, "I'm sorry."

"No, I understand," Emma nodded before giving her a startled look before her head snapped around to the window.

"Are you all right?" Regina wanted to know worriedly.

Instead of answering, Emma sat up in bed with difficulty and let her eyes wander around the room. "My jacket, can you bring it to me please?" she asked as she saw a corner of the red sleeve peeking out from under the rest of her clothes, which someone, presumably a nurse, had neatly placed on the chair.

Regina complied with the request and Emma literally snatched the garment from her hands, only to immediately start shoving her hand into all the pockets. She finally stopped and looked at Regina.

"Would you like to let me in on this?" she asked with a raised eyebrow after watching the action wordlessly.

"It's gone! I must have lost the crystal when I fell on the road! I was so worried about you yesterday that I didn't think about the evening's conversation."

Without further ado, they both realized that they had lost their only means of contact with their loved ones.

"Do you think I've suddenly forgotten how it works?" Henry asked his aunt when she insisted on watching him activate the crystal this time, as if it was an operating error on his part that prevented a connection from being established.

"It's magic, and I'm probably more skilled at it than you are."

Henry sighed and tried his luck. He turned the crystal and said Emma's name, which brought up the soft golden glow he was already familiar with. When there was no response, he tried again and then looked at Zelena. "Could it be that it needs recharging?"

But Zelena shook her head and tussled her red curls, which she wore loose in a flowing mane. "It lights up, so it works. Either they don't have it with them or there's something wrong with their crystal. In any case, this one works perfectly."

Henry looked at her with a tilted head and an ironic smile. "You don't say! Then I guess I'm not as stupid as you thought."

Zelena silenced him with a scowl and took the crystal from him to inspect it herself. "It's not like Regina to renege on agreements," she muttered to herself.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Emma may be chaotic and sometimes unpredictable, but Regina is not. If you agree to hear from each other every night, she'll be the first one waiting for news of you, crystal in hand, ready to go. Something must have happened." Her lips quivered as she dropped the crystal on the table as if she had burned herself on it.

"Then you think now is the time to panic?" Henry asked, who had obviously been more worried than Zelena had been since the night before. "What if they're simply incapacitated or don't have the crystal with them? I know it doesn't suit Mom, but you never know," he said hopefully.

However, Zelena was very clear in her answer. "No. If it were possible for them to answer, they would. Over and out. Something's happened."

Henry swallowed hard and looked away from his aunt at the crystal lying on the table between them like a bad omen. "And now what?"

"There's nothing we can do to help them from here. We don't know exactly where they are at the moment, nor what's going on with them. And without being able to communicate with them, we won't know any of that either." She hesitated and bit her lower lip.

As Henry could often tell from such small movements when something was bothering his counterpart, Zelena's change of mood did not escape his notice. "What is it?"

She took a deep breath and, as so often recently, played with the cord around her neck. "I told you about the spell I cast. I brewed a potion that allows me to briefly seek out someone of my choosing, provided I possess something of hers or his."

"I have things of both, that's no problem!" Henry immediately replied, standing up and already halfway to his carefully stowed belongings.

"That's not the problem either, Henry," Zelena held him back and nodded promptly for him to sit down again. "When I tried it last time, it took me a lot of strength to even jump into the real world. I couldn't stay there for long and afterwards I was very exhausted. My strength hasn't fully returned even now. If I try again now, I don't know what will happen. At best, it just might not work." She shrugged her shoulders and looked away from him.

"And worst case scenario?"

She had expected this question, but still rolled her eyes briefly when Henry actually asked it. "I could die trying."

"Then you're definitely not trying!" came Henry's immediate reply. "Because like you said: We can't help either way. We'd only have certainty and that's not worth you giving your life for!"

Zelena didn't say anything else. She was torn between her desire to check on her sister and her common sense, which told her that it was too risky. At that moment, she didn't even know herself which of the two would ultimately win.

It was only with great difficulty that Regina managed to convince Emma to stay in her bed and that she was not to blame for losing the crystal. On the contrary, she actually blamed herself after she had swept Emma aside with a wave of her hand. But it didn't matter if anyone, and if so, who, was to blame, because it didn't change the situation and Regina would have done the same thing again and again.

After stroking the trembling Emma's long hair for a long time, she finally fell asleep. Under normal circumstances, she would certainly not have succeeded, but agitation, blood loss and exhaustion took their toll on even a Savior. Regina watched her sleep for a while longer before making her own way back to her room. Although it was only a short distance, she felt as if she had to cross the entire Dark Forest once. However, as it was getting late and she should have been in bed long ago anyway, she didn't want to ask anyone for help. Her pride forbade her to ask for more help than absolutely necessary anyway and so, after what felt like an endless time, she made it to her room and her bed.

Regina, however, did not manage to fall asleep. Her head was pounding and her back and ribs were aching again after sitting for so long, but none of this was the reason she was lying awake. Her thoughts were racing through her head and the doubts she had already expressed to her were mixed in with her confused feelings and the hope that had sprouted in her when Emma had chosen her. And now there were also the questions that the loss of the crystal brought with it. Would Henry and Zelena now be beside themselves with worry? Was there any other way to let them know that they were alive and well? Should they try to make their way back to Storybrooke after all? But how could they do that now that Emma was also battered and they had to look after Hope? So many questions and Regina had no answers to any of them.