Reset

“A lot,” Gold emphasised.

“But she’ll be okay?” Emma moved back to a more important topic.

“Yes, as I say, she will awaken,” Gold agreed.

“That’s quite vague,” Emma pointed out.

“That’s because I don’t know when she will awaken, it could be tomorrow, it could be next month,” he shrugged.

“Next month?!” Henry and Emma exclaimed at the same time.

Gold shook his head at their lack of understanding, “magic,” he began, “is life. Your life force dictates how much magic you have and how strong it is. If you use all your magic, you will die. If you nearly use all your magic you will need to heal. No one can say how long that will take, it’s individual to each magic user.”

“There must be something we can do,” Emma pleaded with the man for further information, any form of hope.

“This is one of those occasions when I’m afraid I cannot wave a magic wand, Miss Swan,” he shook his head.

“But she told us to call you, she said that you were be able to revive her,” Emma pointed out as her memory came back.

“It is true that the healing process can be somewhat.. accelerated.. and that is what I have done,” Gold told them, “but even my powers are limited in this world and I have no idea how effective it has been.”

“I’m supposed to be the Saviour, can I help?” Emma asked in desperation.

“Your magic is unruly and difficult to manage, I would sincerely doubt that you would be able to assist in the healing process,” Gold said with a sigh.

“What about true love’s kiss?” Henry asked hopefully.

Gold smiled sadly down at the boy, “that would work if she was cursed, Henry. But she isn’t cursed, in effect she is very, very tired. But I’m sure she would still appreciate a kiss from you.. she is effectively asleep so there’s a chance she can hear you.”

Chapter 36

Emma had only seen Regina’s sleeping form for ten minutes before a panicked Ruby and Doctor Whale had located her and insisted that she go and be checked out. She left Henry with Ruby in Regina’s room while Whale conducted a number of tests to ascertain her level of health.

After Emma had explained what had happened in the fall and Regina’s healing of her injuries he surmised that the problem with her leg was residual nerve damage. He prescribed her pain medication, supplied her with a hospital-issue crutch and informed her that she would need to start physical therapy with immediate effect if she was to get full movement in her leg back. He did begrudgingly advise her that he suspected she would have a full recovery but he still pressed the importance of the therapy in that diagnosis.

Emma had then hobbled back to Regina’s room where Mary Margaret and David were now also in the room with Henry and Ruby and Emma somehow felt annoyed at their presence, she wanted to have Regina to herself. She wanted to talk to her, to explain her gratitude and to shout at her for being so damned pig-headed.

Mary Margaret had placed Grace in her chair on the bedside cabinet so Regina could hear her and Grace could see her, even though she was so young no one really knew if she could recognised Regina from that distance. David told the story of how they suddenly appeared near the woods and how he and Sean had run to the rescue, Emma had a vague recollection but nothing much.

Soon Emma began to fidget with her hospital gown and David offered to take her home so she could shower and change. It was only then that Emma realised she was still filthy from the dirty water and the dust and mud in the cavern. She didn’t want to leave Regina but she also didn’t want Regina to see her in the state she was in when she did wake up so she hesitantly agreed.

She hobbled towards David’s truck and she could feel David’s eyes on her and could tell he was smiling that wide grin he seemed to always have on his face.

“What?” Emma laughed at him.

“I’m just relieved,” he admitted, “you had us all scared there for a while.”

“I know, if I’d been conscious I would have been scared too,” she admitted as he opened the passenger door of the truck and held his hand out to help her lift herself in.

As soon as David got in the truck he started asking questions and Emma told him what had happened, the spray painting and the teenager, the chase and then the fall. She made him promise to not take any action, she had to consider what she was going to do with the boy in her own time and she didn’t want David rushing in.

Once she’d had his agreement she told him about Regina and he filled in the gaps, he told her about the location spell Regina had cast and how they had found Emma. Neither said it but both were surprised and thankful for Regina’s actions, it seemed so different and out of character that they didn’t really understand it and as they couldn’t explain it, they didn’t discuss it, merely accepted it.