Run Down

The Conversation

Emma didn't want to push Regina, but she couldn't hide her curiosity. "So, do you know who hit you? Is there anybody I need to give a black eye?"

"Emma!" Regina scolded. "Nobody is giving anyone a black eye on my watch. And yes, I do know who hit me."

"Who is it?" Emma asked, eager to find out anything else she could about the accident. Regina hadn't exactly been open with information.

"That's for me to know, and you to never find out," Regina replied.

"Regina! I have to know now! Is he cute?"

Regina felt her cheeks redden, so she turned the other way. Instead of answering Emma's question, she said, "Don't you have a husband?"

Emma shrugged. "I might have a husband, but that doesn't mean I can't gossip about cute guys with you."

Regina turned back to face Emma and raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think I want to gossip about cute guys?"

"So it was a guy who hit you! And he is cute!" Emma exclaimed triumphantly.

"I never said that!" Regina protested, but Emma didn't seem to comprehend what she was saying.

"Sooooo, what's his name?" Emma used the same tone a seventh grade girl would use when teasing her friend about a silly crush, and it irritated Regina, but she wasn't going to let Emma get under her skin.

"His name is Robin."

"On a scale of one to ten, how cute is he?"

"Honestly, Emma! You have a husband!" Regina was done with Emma's games.

"Ugh, fine." Emma put her hands up in surrender. Regina had just been hit by a car, but once she was cleared and good to go, Emma was definitely going to figure out who this Robin guy was. "At least give me a reason I shouldn't give him a black eye." No matter how cute the guy might be, Emma was ready to punch him for hitting her best friend with his car.

"He apologized, and he was the one who called the ambulance. Honestly, Emma, it's fine."

"Cute and nice?" Emma couldn't bite back the comment before it was out of her mouth. Regina rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.

After the ice cream was gone and the empty container and spoons were stashed back in Emma's purse, she said goodbye to Regina.

"Call me if you need anything," Emma said. "I don't care if its three in the morning and you want a Hershey's bar because the food here sucks, I'll bring you whatever."

"I'll call if I need you," Regina promised.

"You'd better," Emma replied in a false-threat tone before waving a final goodbye and leaving Regina's hospital room. What she didn't tell her friend is that she'd seen a man walking out of her room before she went in, putting two and two together before grilling Regina for information. It turned out she was right.

Regina laid in her bed for a few minutes, good to finally have some silence. Before she could stop herself, she was drifting off to sleep.