Reset

“And I did,” he replied with a flourish of his hand, “and now we wait, which clearly isn’t your strongest asset.”

“Could it really be as long as a month?” Emma asked him quietly.

He looked at Regina and then back to Emma, “possibly, possibly more.”

“More than a month?” Emma panicked.

“She isn’t a car, there’s no fuel gauge,” Gold explained, “I have no idea what rate her magic is replenishing itself and when she’ll be ready to wake up. This is rather new territory for all of us.”

“Why are you two suddenly such good friends?” Emma asked him as she glared at him and engaged her superpower.

He seemed startled by that question and tilted his head to one side as she considered his answer, “let’s just say I had a change of heart.”

“I didn’t know you had a heart,” Emma looked at him seriously.

“You wound me,” he deadpanned as he covered his heart with his flat palm.

Emma stared at him and he eventually let out a long breath and shrugged his shoulders, “we spoke, at length, we realised that we need each other to get what we want. Agreed that it would be better to work together than apart, she wanted to end the fighting.”

“Just like that?” Emma raised her eyebrow as she soothingly rubbed Grace’s back.

“Just like that,” Gold nodded.

She looked at him and decided she thought it was the truth so she asked him, “and what is it that you want?”

“That’s my business,” he told her darkly.

“So you really can’t help her?” Emma asked directly and when he shook his head she knew he was speaking the truth.

“The hospital staff are well-versed in dealing with coma patients,” he told her as he turned around, “I suggest you redirect your energy into looking after that baby.”

Gold opened the door and exited the room with the air of a man who felt he had wasted his time and brushed past a nurse who shook her head and then looked into the room, “everything okay in here?”

Emma looked at the nurse, Lucille, and nodded, “yep, still no change..”

Lucille entered the room and looked at the chart on the end of Regina’s bed before glancing up at the monitors that were quietly beeping and displaying numbers and graphs that meant nothing to Emma.

Lucille looked up from her paperwork at Emma and commented, “you don’t have to stay, we will call you the second there’s any change.”

that were quietly beeping and displaying numbers and graphs that meant nothing to Emma.

Lucille looked up from her paperwork at Emma and commented, “you don’t have to stay, we will call you the second there’s any change.”

“We’ll stay a little while longer,” Emma smiled back and nuzzled Grace softly.

Lucille nodded and replaced the chart and exited the room. Emma sat on the edge of Regina’s bed as she felt Grace starting to stir a little, “hey, Gracie,” she said soothingly, “sorry, still me and not Mommy.”

Grace’s pudgy hand started to move uncoordinatedly and she leaned back from Emma’s shoulder so Emma turned her in her arms so she was sitting on her lap facing away from her, “see, there’s Mommy,” she said as she turned slightly so Grace could see Regina.

Emma had her hands by Grace’s sides to balance the child and Grace grabbed at Emma’s fingers in her tiny hands and held on tightly. Emma responded by moving her hands around which meant Grace’s arms were moving in rhythm with her movements, “who’s the best Mommy ever?”

Emma pointed at Regina with Grace’s hands and excitedly said, “this Mommy!”

Grace laughed and gurgled and Emma leaned her head down and kissed the crown of Grace’s head, “oh I wish I could explain all this to you, Sweetie but I really have no idea what you understand. Or what you’re saying.”

Grace gurgled again and giggled and Emma laughed, “exactly, no idea what you’re saying at all.”

Emma reached her hand up to look at her watch and Grace’s hand came with it as she was still latched onto Emma’s index fingers, “right, time to go home and get you fed and then maybe a bath? But first we need to get… auntie Mary Margaret? Sister Mary Margaret,” she decided, “step-sister? I dunno, whatever, call her Snow.”

Emma stood up and held Grace in front of her, “kiss Mommy goodbye for today,” she instructed and leaned Grace closely into Regina’s face until Grace placed a very wet mouth on Regina’s forehead.

Emma listed Grace away and plucked a tissue from the bedside cabinet and quickly dried the saliva from Regina’s forehead, “messy but effective,” she told Grace as she binned the tissue and placed Grace in the travel chair and started to affix the various buckles and belts.

“Hat, where did you put your hat?” Emma frowned and looked around until she saw it on the chair on the other side of the room. She picked up the hat and removed a blanket from a bag and put both over Grace to keep the chill of the evening air away from her.

She stood up and put the bag over her shoulder and then picked up the travel chair and looked at Regina, “bye bye, Mommy,” she whispered as she looked down at Grace and then exited the room.

Chapter 39

Emma looked at Mary Margaret in fear, panic, horror and dread.