Silver Lining

Saviour

Regina felt numb while he forced himself on her. Each time was the same, and yet she was still not used to allowing another person to strip her of her dignity in such a way. She knew the drill: Leo would use her body until he got bored, then he would fall asleep and allow her to lick her wounds like some sort of an animal. Regina could not cry anymore, she could not fight him and did not want to annoy him any further. She closed her eyes when she felt his weight over her, crushing her probably broken ribs and pressing them further into her lungs. Regina was not sure what hurt the worst, but she certainly had a few options to pick from. Was it the lack of air she got while under his body? Was it the miscarriage she might have been going through? Or was it the friction between her legs that caused her to bleed even further?

The thoughts of her baby made her eyes water again, and no sooner were the tears running down her face, than he simply covered her face with his hand, leaving her with little air to breathe.
"Just shut up and take me," he said while he continued to thrust into her weakened body. After a couple of minutes, Regina passed out, still feeling him inside of her. Over the years, she wondered if it was easier on her when she fainted. She knew he would not stop, but at least she got a few moments of numbness before his slaps brought her back. Regina was still arguing with herself whether she wished to be unconscious while he did it, but it never crossed her mind that it should not be a problem a healthy relationship would encounter.

She woke up when he pushed her off the bed, onto the floor. Her body did not even make more noise than a silent thump when it collided with the carpet.
"I am done, I do not need you anymore," he said.
Regina felt disgusting and broken, and the fall from the bed somehow put her in more pain than she already felt. Even after all this time, she still felt ashamed and humiliated after each time he slept with her. This time, however, she realised her baby might still have a chance if she got to the hospital in time. Maybe she was not going through a miscarriage and the bleeding had some other cause.

Regina watched him fall asleep, making sure he stopped stirring, then she walked as fast as she could down the stairs and left the house. She could not steal his car, nor any money for a taxi. After a brief moment, she figured her only option was to walk to the nearest hospital, and so she did. She had less than 10 minutes to walk, but each step sent shivers of pain through her body. Every time her feet connected with the ground, the vibrations rummaged through her, making her contort in pain.
"Come on, you have to do this," she said to herself, somehow managing to get to the hospital.

Just as she entered the building and saw a bunch of doctors and nurses, she calmed down. The number of people Regina met those days could be counted on the fingers of one hand, but the uncertainty of not knowing the ones around her was not as pronounced as she was expected it to be. The most important thing for her was the baby, and the possibility of having the doctors save its fragile life. Regina vehemently refused to think of what would come next, when she had to leave the hospital and possibly return to Leo's house.

Regina let go of any power she had left and collapsed to the floor, hearing loud voices around her as the staff rushed towards her.
"I'm losing my baby", she whimpered, gazing painfully into the eyes of the man next to her stretcher. The instant care and warmth in his eyes made her strained muscles relax as much as possible, and his soothing voice managed to make her believe that something might finally turn out well for her.

"Milady, you will be alright," he answered in a low voice before looking at the nurses, "get her ready for a pelvic exam, measure her hCG and progesterone levels and book an ultrasound."
For the first time, she felt completely safe. Even though she only knew the man for a solid minute, the certainty with which he divided the tasks showed a huge amount of professionalism, which soothed her fears.

Regina took one more look at her doctor before passing out again, noticing his name tag: "Dr. Locksley Robin, OB/Gyn".