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Emma was glad she kept her crutch in the passenger seat of the Bug because after she ran out of the diner and up the street to her car she had aggravated her injured leg considerably and could feel it throbbing all the way to the hospital. Once she arrived she pulled the crutch out and used her now-perfected hobble run to get to Regina’s room, it had been ten days since she last saw Regina conscious and she’d been to the hospital several times a day every single day in between.

She was excited but anxious, she had no idea what state Regina would be in. Usually whenever something good happened in Storybrooke it was immediately offset but something extremely bad happening straight after. Her brain raced through possible scenarios, amnesia, sickness, loss of magic, too much magic and she eventually told herself to shut up and just see for herself what the situation was.

The door to Regina’s room was open and she rushed through it to see Regina sat up in bed reading one of the cookery magazines that Henry had been reading to her during his visits.

“Regina?” Emma asked tentatively.

She put the magazine down and smiled in relief, “Emma,” but then she saw the crutch, “what happened?”

Emma glanced down, “tiny problem with my leg but never mind that, how are you?”

Emma hobbled closer and sat on the edge of Regina’s bed as had become so natural during her visits, Regina raised her eyebrow at the friendly gesture but didn’t refer to it as she replied, “I’m feeling better but I have a way to go before I’m fully recovered.”

Emma nodded her understanding and just stared warmly at Regina in absolute relief before shyly asking, “do you know what the year is? Who the president is?”

Regina laughed, “Whale’s done all that, I’m fine. Where’s Grace?”

“She’s with Mary Margaret, she’s on her way and David is picking Henry up from school,” Emma smiled.

“He shouldn’t be missing school,” Regina commented.

“You’ve been in a coma for ten days, he’s been beside himself with worry,” Emma explained with a harsh edge to her voice.

“Why are you using that tone?” Regina asked with a frown.

“You nearly died!” Emma exclaimed.

“And this bothered you?” Regina looked as if she needed the reassurance.

“Of course it did!” Emma raised her voice with frustration.

Regina blanched at the tone, “then shouldn’t you be relieved rather than shouting at me?”

Emma shook her head, “unbelievable,” she muttered.

“If I’m not mistaken, I saved your life,” Regina pointed out.

“Yes, at risk to your own!” Emma argued, “and I never would have agreed to that if I’d known it could have killed you!”

“I’m. Fine.” Regina replied petulantly and then took a deep breath and reached her hand out to take Emma’s, “I wasn’t in great danger, it was a calculated risk,” she said softly.

“You have people who need you,” Emma told her.

“And so do you,” Regina reminded her firmly.

“You have a baby,” Emma reminded her.

“Who I knew would be in safe hands with you,” Regina said before quietly adding in a mumbled voice, “and your parents.”

Emma nodded and looked down at their hands that were still together, “I was worried,” she said in a sigh.

“I know,” Regina nodded her head and examined the blonde thoroughly before asking, “how are you? Really?”

Emma smiled, “I’m not paralysed, thanks to you.”

Regina ignored the compliment and continued, “any adverse effects? Obviously there is a problem with your leg? I thought I repaired all the damage but I..”

Emma brought her other hand over and laid it on top of Regina’s hand, effectively creating a Regina hand sandwich between her own, which silenced the brunette.

“I’m fine,” she grinned, “incredibly well for someone who was going to either die or be paralysed for life. Except for seeing you crash in front of me and then being told you might be unconscious for, like, a month.. that will take a while to get over.”

Regina smiled as she watched their hands, stacked on top of the sheets, “I’m sorry I frightened you.”

“I’m sorry I got myself into a situation I needed rescuing from,” Emma sighed.

“Mom, you’re awake!” Henry ran into the room and launched himself into Regina who pulled her hand away from Emma’s to pull Henry into a big hug.

“Henry,” Regina breathed happily as she held him tightly in her arms.

Emma stood up from the bed as David walked in and they both shared a relieved smile as they turned to watch the two embrace. Henry finally pulled back and they were both crying, Regina cupped his face in her hands and smiled as she wiped at his cheeks with her thumbs and looked at him like she’d not seen him properly for years.

It was then that Emma really looked at Regina, she was crying with relief and looking at Henry so intently, as if she hadn’t seen him in years. Suddenly Emma thoughts went to the potion that Regina had been taking to diminish her feelings for Henry and she wondered whether not taking the potion for the last ten days had caused a relapse of some form.