Chapter Text
The Present
Regina carried a pastry bag from Granny’s and her all-important coffee in one hand and scanned through messages on her phone with her other as the hospital elevator slowly carried her up to Emma’s floor. She greeted the nurses sitting at the front desk as she walked past, most of whom she knew by name after seeing them every day for a week.
The first two days after the warehouse fire, Emma had been in ICU. Regina had stayed with her as much as possible even though Emma had slept through most of it. She’d required two surgeries to repair damage from internal injuries, torn ligaments, and multiple bone breaks. She’d also had a concussion and significant exposure to smoke inhalation along with whatever else had been in the air. But she’d come through everything and been moved to a private room on the third day. Regina was hoping she’d be released to go home soon.
She quietly pushed open the door to Emma’s room to find her wife already sitting up. “You’re awake.”
Emma smiled at her, the scrapes and cuts on her face healing well. “Morning.”
Regina hid her wince at how rough Emma’s voice still sounded as she leaned over the bed rail and kissed her hello. She offered the pastry bag. “Granny sends her best wishes.”
Emma happily pulled out the bear claw from inside the bag but she also eyed Regina’s coffee. “That for me, too?”
“Afraid not.” Regina took a possessive sip of the beverage. “You’re still not allowed to have caffeine.”
“And yet, you flaunt it in front of me,” she grumbled. “You’re just evil.”
Regina ignored her and ran a hand over her hair. “We need to see if they’ll let us wash this today. If not, I’ll bring some dry shampoo back with me this evening.”
“A real shower…” Emma hummed in appreciation at the thought.
Regina thought that was probably unrealistic for another week or so. “I tried calling you last night when I got home to let you know how it went.”
“Oh yeah, I saw!” She leaned forward, reaching for her rollaway table, and immediately winced.
“Will you stop reaching for things,” Regina grumbled, pulling the table towards her. “You’re hurting yourself.”
“Habit,” Emma muttered, then picked up the newspaper sitting beneath her half-full breakfast tray. “I saw it went well yesterday!”
She handed over the paper; the bold headline across the top read “Former Mayor Convicted on Multiple Charges”. The secondary headline included “Former Mayor’s Aide convicted on arson and attempted murder”. Regina unfolded the paper to see pictures of her mother and Sidney as they were remanded to custody inside the courthouse. “Oh, she’ll hate that picture.”
Emma giggled, “Read the last paragraph.”
She would read the entire article later, but she skipped to the last paragraph. “The former mayor was also fined by the judge and held in contempt of court for multiple outbursts post-verdict and resisting officers.”
“Were you there for that? Did you see it?” Emma asked gleefully. “Oh, I would have loved to have seen that!”
Regina had to read the sentence three times. “Oh, my.” An unexpected chuckle escaped her. She cleared her throat. She really shouldn’t find that so amusing, after all, Cora was still her mother. “Uhm, no. I left just after the verdict was read.” Regina had thought her mother would be released until sentencing and hadn’t wanted to run into her outside. Clearly, her mother had not expected to be taken into custody either. At least now she understood the crying-laughing emoji text that Kathryn had sent her earlier that morning.
“Has the doctor come by yet this morning?” Regina asked, tucking the paper away for later.
“No, not yet.” She wiped the crumbs from the pastry off her hands and sat back with a grimace.
Regina tucked some of her blonde hair back behind her ear. “How was yesterday?”
“It was fine.” Emma knew she felt guilty for only stopping by in the morning, but Emma had wanted Regina to be in that courtroom. Just because she couldn’t get out didn’t mean Regina needed to spend every waking minute cooped up with her. “Killian and Ruby came by and watched the game with me. Then I sacked out kind of early.”
That explained not answering the phone. It also probably meant she’d been in more pain than she wanted to let on. Regina decided not to press her on it. “Well, you’ll be happy to know that I wasn’t alone yesterday.”
“Oh?” Emma had assumed Kathryn would join Regina.
“Snow ambushed me outside the house first thing in the morning and insisted on sitting with me in solidarity.”
Emma laughed, then held her arm against her ribs. “Oh, don’t make me laugh.”
Regina winced in sympathy. “Sorry.” When Emma made a motion for her to continue, she said, “I need a new deputy mayor. Kathryn walked into the court room, took one look at Snow clinging to me, and she left.” She shook her head both at remembering the look on Kathryn’s face and the glee currently on her wife’s. “I may have to fire her for being a traitor.”
They talked for a few more minutes. Emma told her about David stopping by. She shook a finger at Regina. “He got reprimanded for letting you talk on the radio, by the way.”
Regina rolled her eyes. “Would the higher ups have preferred to see the Mayor of Storybrooke, grabbing his gear and running into the burning building?”
“Please don’t ever do that,” Emma said, wide-eyed at the possibility. There was a knock at the door.
“I make no promises,” Regina replied. “Come in.”
The doctor came and went, leaving Emma with little hope of escaping the hospital before the weekend. She dropped her head back to the raised mattress with a grunt.
Regina gave her a small smile. “It’s only two more days.”
“Tests and observations.”
“And they want to wean you off the heavier pain medication.”
“That’ll be fun,” Emma grumbled, picking at the sheet covering her.
“Emma, you fell four floors through a burning building,” Regina said, taking her hand and gently sitting on the side of the bed. “A few more days in the hospital is a small price to pay.”
“I know.” Emma squeezed her hand, then kissed it. “I’m sorry I made you so mad at me.”
Regina’s brow furrowed. “Mad? When was I…?” At the warehouse, when she thought Emma was giving up. When Emma was dying…
Emma saw her trail off and realize exactly what she was talking about. “I just…I didn’t want to not have it said, you know? I love you. I wanted you to know.” She tried for a smile. “Even if it did make you mad at me.”
Regina sniffed, wiped away a tear with her free hand. “I wasn’t mad; I was furious.” She exhaled an unsteady breath. “You were leaving me.”
“No, never,” Emma denied vehemently. “Not intentionally. Not if there was anything I could do-”
“I know, I know,” Regina said, trying to calm her down. She patted their joined hands. “Sssh, I know, dear. Just like I know you love me.”
Emma nodded shakily. “I just…I wanted to make sure you knew.”
“Of course, I knew, Emma.” She let out a breathy chuckle. “You walked across a burning building on a broken leg because I asked you to.”
“Ordered me, more like,” Emma muttered.
“Whatever works, dear,” Regina said. “I know you love me because you did everything you could possibly do to keep your word to me. And you know what?” She leaned over until their foreheads were touching. “You did. You came home to me, Emma Swan. That’s all that matters.”
“Swan-Mills.” Emma gave her a quick kiss. “My Queen.”