The Divorce

Chapter 16

Emma's eyes fluttered open and she had to adjust them to the bright light. She saw Regina and closed her eyes again, too tired to communicate.

Her throat was sore and her nose felt dry, but snotty at the same time. She groaned softly when the events of the previous night kicked in and she regretted going out in the storm.

"Open your eyes and sit up," she heard Regina say, but she couldn't find the strength. "Emma, listen to me. Open your eyes and sit up, now."

Regina's authoritative tone woke her up and she quickly did what was asked of her. She hoped Mal had gone home and she wouldn't have to face two people. Emma opened her eyes and saw Regina alone, so she assumed Mal had gone home.

Emma was surprised to see Regina holding a bowl of soup. The brunette carefully placed it in Emma's hands and looked at Emma. Emma looked down at the soup and swallowed.

"Is this for me? Aren't you angry with me?" Emma asked and looked at Regina.

"Of course I'm angry with you, but I do want you to be okay," Regina replied. "What the hell were you thinking last night?"

Emma looked down again and started eating her soup as she shrugged. "I'm sorry," Emma said and let the hot soup warm her body. She was still lying on the couch and she'd slept terribly.

She'd been coughing all night and her body had been way too hot during most of the night, but toward the morning she'd felt like she was freezing.

"You humiliated both me and yourself in front of Mal and then dared to spend God knows how long outside in the storm. Don't you know how worried I was?!" Regina said and sighed.

"I wasn't even gone that long," Emma muttered and Regina rolled her eyes.

"This is the second time this week that I have to take care of you because you're acting irresponsibly," Regina said and Emma shrugged.

"You don't have to take care of me, it's your choice. It is highly appreciated, though. Thank you," Emma said with a sincere smile. "I'm not really sick, though. I just sneeze at times, but that's about it."

Regina raised her eyebrows and looked at Emma. She sat down on the edge of the couch near Emma's waist. "You had no reason to get so upset. Mal was only trying to help."

"I know," Emma quickly said. "And I apologized to her, last night."

"Really? When? She didn't tell me she'd talked to you."

Emma furrowed her eyebrows. "When she was going to the bathroom. I figured she would tell you. It was around eleven, I think."

Regina nodded slowly. She had no idea when Emma had come home the previous night. She and Mal had watched a movie together, but she hadn't been able to enjoy it. Not as long as Emma wasn't safe inside the house.

She'd seen Emma sleep on the couch when Mal went away, but it had been past midnight. She'd heard Emma coughing constantly throughout the night, so she wasn't surprised to see Emma now, with a red nose and tired eyes.

"I sat in the rain for three hours, and.."

"Three hours?! Are you completely out of your mind?! No wonder you're ill. I thought you'd at least gone to some cafe or bar, but you've been sitting outside the entire time?"

"The sea was relaxing to watch," Emma lamely defended. "Anyways, it gave me a lot of time to think."

"You could've done that inside as well."

"Will you please let me finish?" Regina nodded curtly and Emma continued eating her soup for a moment, before she cleared her throat, which resulted in an extreme coughing fit. "At first, I started thinking about our life before the divorce. Then, I reminisced about the time we were divorcing and the past four months. After that, I started thinking about the time ahead of us. How I see our lives going from now on. And I spent the last hour wondering why "bologna" is pronounced "bolon-y", but "lasagna" isn't pronounced "lasan-y"," Emma said.