Mente Sonum

Chapter 11

Emma sat in the waiting room, not very patiently at all. She constantly would get up and ask the nurses how the surgery was going, to which they would of course say that they didn't know because they weren't on that service.

She sat back down and thought to the days before when they were bombarded with information.

"The tumor is causing her to believe these delusions to be real and it's skewing her reality. Probably why she can't remember any actual facts about herself."

"She knows her first name though?"

"This tumor causes mental deterioration, yes, but it causes swelling to occur in the brain, in other areas. Memory loss is a symptom of this tumor too. So it's highly possible that she just can't remember right now and when we remove the obstruction, she'll remember perfectly once more. We'll have to see."

"There's a lot of what ifs."

"Correct, nothing is certain, especially when it's involves the brain."

So she waited anxiously. It'd been hours and the blonde was not known for her patience. Regina had been so down, which made sense. She was told her entire reality was a sham. Emma tried her best to keep her spirits high but it was no use. When she told Henry, she noticed his shoulders slump a bit.

When she asked, he simply grinned, "Kinda wanted to believe in magic. Funny, huh? I made fun of you for beginning to believe and here I am wishing for this stuff to be true."

In a way, Emma did to. In Regina's false reality, she had a mother and father that cared about her, was in a 'will they, won't they' type thing with Regina, and was revered by the town of Storybrooke. It actually didn't sound too bad. Plus, being able to do magic would've been cool.

She sat imagining until a voice broke her line of thought.

"Miss Swan?" Emma looked up at the doctor before jumping out of her seat.

"Yeah, is she okay?"

"We were able to remove the entire tumor fairly easily. No further surgery will be required. We sent the tumor for a biopsy and we'll get the results soon. As for now, she's in ICU and won't be awake for a while but because of her circumstances, you can go in and watch over her."

"Thank you, Doctor. Thank you so much." He nodded, a brief smile lifted his lips.

"I'll check on her tomorrow."

"Thank you. Have a great day."

With that, the doctor took his leave and Emma practically sprinted to the nurses station, "Regina?"

"Does she have a last name?"

"Uh, I think they put her down as Regina Doe."

"Seventh floor, Room 108."

"108, like her cell." The blonde made her way to the ICU and quickly found Regina's room. When she saw Regina pale, with tubes all over, Emma almost fell to her knees. The brunette was a powerhouse. To see her look so small was terrifying.

Even more terrifying? Watching Regina sleep for days, wondering if maybe she wouldn't wake up. But she did.

Three days after the surgery, Emma found herself telling a comatose Regina about Henry. She had been telling her that he was running for class president when she felt Regina's hand squeeze her own. Emma jumped up, one hand holding Regina's and the other lifting to caress the brunette's jaw.

"Regina? Sweetheart, can you hear me?" The brunette squeezed her hand again. "Yeah, it's me. Open your eyes for me, Regina."

Seeing those brown eyes again made Emma exhale with such relief.

"Calm down, okay. I'll go get the nurses." After the nurses flew into the room, removed tubes, asked Regina about her pain level, and brought her ice chips. They left the two women to their own devices and Emma slowly placed some ice chips in Regina's mouth, the brunette's eyes not once leaving Emma.

The blonde smiled at her, a feeling of euphoria at simply seeing her awake flowing through her, "Hey, how're you feeling?"

"I'm not crazy." Emma nodded.

"I know, sweetheart. You had a brain tumor--"

"No, Emma. I'm not delusional," Regina rasped, her voice low. "We need to get to Storybrooke."