Angst then make up prompt ? “I can’t loose you Regina.”
A continuation of the post yesterday in which Regina was attacked.
TW: mentions of attack, hospitals
They’re no closer to discovering the identity - or identities - of her attacker, Emma has told him but he knows she’s working tirelessly to do just that. It’s shaken the town, the brutality of such a thing but it seems no one knows the truth or are simply very good liars.
Storybrooke is on lockdown. Curfews set in place to keep townsfolk safe from further attacks - they don’t believe anyone else is at risk but still - and from ruining any possible evidence left behind.
He’s walked past the alleyway since that night, unable to keep from glancing down the side of Any Given Sundae and seeing her crumpled form there. There are still dark stains on the ground, police tape blocking entry but he can’t get her out of his mind.
“You probably scared them off,” Emma had explained, both of them standing outside of Regina’s hospital room and gazing at her still form. She’d looked worse without the blood staining her skin, so very small and broken in the bed. “It may not be much consolation but it looks like they just wanted to kill her and not…”
She hadn’t finished the thought, thank god.
It’d been the first thing he’d wanted to know after finding out that she was going to recover.
He wants to kill the bastards for doing this to her.
Telling Henry had been hard, Emma had told him. He’d demanded to see her straight away, had cried and cried and cried himself to sleep that night but he understands - despite his desperation - that his mother needs to rest and get stronger. Seeing her like she is at the moment will only worry him more.
Roland is staying with John, on his own little adventure with his uncle whilst papa works to fight the bad guys. He asks about seeing his Majesty - he always has since the curse broke - but he doesn’t know of her condition and that’s the way Robin wants it to stay.
He moves through the hospital foyer, eyes moving from one person to another as he goes. He trusts no one, has insisted on an around the clock guard if he himself isn’t allowed to remain there - “You’re no good to her exhausted,” Emma had warned - so he, Emma and David are rotating at the moment. Everyone is exhausted but it’s important they remain vigilant this early on.
The corridor outside of her room is silent and empty save for a weary looking David who’s rubbing his eyes as he sits beside the door to her room.
He looks up to Robin, shaking his head as he moves to stand with a tired grunt and rubs at the base of his back. “She’s much the same as yesterday, still unconscious but the nurse believes she’ll wake soon. They’re not sure if she’ll be able to remember much, it could take time or there could be nothing at all. We just have to wait and see.”
Robin nods, looking past David and into the room before he tells him, “You get yourself home, I’ll take it from here.”
He doesn’t put up much of a fight, just says his goodbyes through a yawn and leaves Robin with a pat on his shoulder.
Her hand is small in his own. Small, covered in bloodied scrapes but it’s warm and for that he’s endlessly thankful.
What she’d said before she’d fallen unconscious, about loving him…it had absolutely floored him.
He knew the way he felt for her - had long since accepted the fact that he was madly in love with the Evil Queen of all people even after the curse had broken - but she’d never made such a claim before.
He misses the days things had been so easy for them. Waking up beneath soft, warm sheets with her in his arms. Nosing through her dark sleep-mussed locks to press tender kisses to the back of her neck.
She was so different to the person he’d believed her to be - both as Mayor and former Queen. She’d been surprisingly soft and endlessly affectionate behind closed doors. She was funny, sharp-witted and so very quick. Had him clutching his sides laughing sometimes. And he’d never seen anything as beautiful as Regina in the presence of children.
He’d heard tell of her apparent control issues with Henry but he knew now how desperate she was to love her boy and have him love her in return. Roland had been enchanted by her instantly, just as Robin had been.
She was his dearest friend.
He strokes his thumb over the bruised skin of her hand before bringing it up to his lips and pressing a kiss there. He isn’t sure how long he remains with it pressed to his lips before he feels her fingers move slightly and opens his eyes.
Her brow is furrowed, lips parted as she breathes in jagged breaths, unable to fully fill her lungs with her bruised ribs - not that she knows it yet - and he’s willing her to open her eyes and prove to him that she’s going to be okay. He won’t push her though, despite his desperation. He won’t push her.
She grunts softly - whines more like - as she shifts a little before wincing and she’s definitely awake, he thinks, so he shuffles forward slightly on his chair and whispers, “Don’t move too much, you’re safe. You’re okay.”
Her eyelashes flutter and he wonders if she’s even able to open her swollen eyes. “R-Robin?” Her voice is gruff but clear now as she turns her face towards him.
“I’m here, sweetheart,” he encases her hand within both of his and shuffles even closer to her bed on the chair. “Can you open your eyes?”
Her lashes flutter once more, that crease still in her brow. It takes her a few seconds but slowly, those dark eyes start to open and he feels like he can finally breathe again.
He chuckles softly, trying to fight back tears as he leans forward enough to gently brush his fingers through her hair, smiling down at her with watery eyes and a heart bursting with happiness now that she’s finally awake.
She moves to talk again but winces and he realises that she must be desperate for a drink. He tells her as much as he rises to reach for the cup at her bedside. It’s fresh, out there by David no doubt and he’s glad that he doesn’t have to leave her side to go in search of a drink.
“Here we are,” he tells her, slipping a hand beneath her neck just enough to aid her in sitting up enough to take a tentative gulp. It’s all she can manage at the moment but it seems to help.
His smile falters slightly. “You don’t remember?”
She shakes her head as gently as she can manage, fingers curling around his hand when he reaches for her again and her bottom lip quivering.
“It’s okay, Regina,” he tells her, feeling his throat tighten with emotion. “We’re going to find out and when we do, whoever is responsible will be punished but for now you just need to rest and get better.”
She tugs in his hand as a tear falls from her eyes, asking him closer and reaching for him as best she can to pull him into a hug as she buries her face into his neck and cries, “I’m scared.”
His own tears fall as he holds her as carefully as he can and promises, “I won’t let anything happen to you. I can’t lose you, Regina.”
And it’s a vow he intends to keep.
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