Thump. Thump. Thump. Black to black. Regina reached out, eyes closed, feeling the chalky stone pavement below her. Thump. Thump. What the hell was that? Her throbbing head? Or the racing of her heart? Turning her head to the side so she could bring her hand to her forehead, Regina opened her eyes to peek at the world and immediately closed them, the piercing sun burning her eyes as felt blood staining her head. Startled, she jolted her hand to just below her chin and opened her eyes once more to check, squinting to see less of the sun. Yes. That was blood trickling from her fingertips, running down her palm. Panic set in. And, her heart raced more. How had she gotten here? It was all so foggy.

“Momma,” Elizabeth called in the distance, running to her mother’s side. “Momma. What happened?” She felt her the squeeze of her hand as Elizabeth clung to her. Finding the slightest bit of comfort, Regina closed her eyes once more.

“I- I’m fine, Elizabeth. I’m going to be fine,” she whispered, her voice hoarse as she suddenly found it hard to speak.

“Yes. Yes. I don’t know. I just fond her. I- I don’t know. Look I don’t know how much time she has,” Elphaba ranted over the phone, pacing back and forth. She stopped dead in her tracks, however, when she saw Elizabeth hovering above her mother, tears starting to form in her eyes. “I called 911. They’re on their way,” she swallowed hard, nodding reassuringly at Elizabeth. “I’m Elphaba by the way. You’re mother is quite tough.”

“I- I know. I’m Elizabeth. Her daughter.” Elizabeth tried to force a smile, choking back tears. “Do you know what happened to her?”

“I thought I saw the pawnshop owner lurking with some scantily clad brunette.” Elphaba turned her gaze to a dark alley across the street, hoping to still see them there as proof.

“Bel- Lacey and Rumpelstiltskin,” Elizabeth drawled, gritting her teeth as her eyes trailed from the alley to her mother. “Why did they do this?”

Wee-ooh. Wee-ooh. The ambulance raced up to them and the EMTs frantically placed her on the stretcher as they saw that she had now passed out before wheeling her into the ambulance. In the background one of the EMTs reached for the defibrillator and Regina felt herself slip into a dream state.

It was all so clear now. She heard Belle, now Lacey, yelling at Rumpelstilskin and screaming, “This is the woman. This is the woman who locked me up.” Her memories during the curse coming back. “Kill her,” Lacey hissed, pointing at Regina. From there, the image grew hazy and Regina slipped into another dream state.

She saw nothing but white walls and her body felt, heavy, constricted. Off in the distance she thought she saw Captain Hook, but she couldn’t be certain as she felt a shock surge through her whole body. It grew more intense each second and she could barely handle it. She tried to call out in pain, but soon fell back into darkness.

The EMTs voices returned once more and seemed muffled by the chaos as they tried to reassure Elizabeth and Elphaba. As they finished, they raced back off into the distance toward the hospital.

Elizabeth and Elphaba nodded at each other as Elphaba waved Elizabeth over, offering to drive her there. With the tension high, they rode together in silence, each panicking on their own. They knew there wasn’t much chance for Regina’s survival, but they hoped that if they didn’t verbalize any of it, they wouldn’t jinx the chances. And, as they arrived at the hospital they spent many hours in the waiting room, taking turns pacing about and searching for food to stay awake. Finally, a doctor emerged with a grim look on his face. She had slipped into a coma and most likely wasn’t going to come out of it. However, he told them that they could go visit her and that he would lead them himself.

In the room, they took a seat on either side of Regina, both their eyes gleaming with hope, but knowing the truth. Finally, Elphaba broke the silence, her eyes glistening with the start of tears. “Your mother isn’t as evil as everyone says. In fact, she was the first one to ever apologize to me for being startled by my green skin.” She tried to force a smile as she tried to lock eyes with Elizabeth. “’Evil’ is just a title just like ‘Wicked’.”

Elizabeth let out a little forced chuckle as she turned her focus from her mother to Elphaba. She didn’t know what to say back. Thank you didn’t seem like enough, so they fell into silence once more. This time, however, Elizabeth was the one to break it as she dug into her purse and pulled out a plump red apple. “I brought this for her. They were finally getting ripe and I wanted to show her,” she swallowed hard, her gaze falling back to her mother as she began to sob.

To keep from sobbing as well, Elphaba spoke once more, eyes focused on the apple. “You know, people like to reach for the lowest apple on the tree without realizing that they are missing out on the best ones. If only they just reached a little higher. That there is where the most magnificent apples live,” she half whispered, leaning over Regina to tell this to both Regina and Elizabeth. She paused for a bit, forcing another smile as a tear trailed down her face. “And that is where your mother lived.”

Elizabeth fell back in her seat, sobbing harder as she stared back at her mother through the tears. “Why is she still hanging on?” she whispered, almost inaudibly.

“Sometimes people need permission to leave,” Elphaba sighed; rubbing her eyes a bit to stop any more tears from falling.

Elizabeth continued to sob, squeezing her mother’s hand for a sign of life. There was nothing. This wasn’t her mother, this lifeless, quiet, almost peaceful shell of a woman. Her mother was stubborn and bitter, yet full of love. So, Elizabeth sighed, taking in the memory and choosing to be like her mother, strong. She wiped away her tears and forced a pained smile. “You promised me you wouldn’t leave me, but you’re not. I promise. I’m letting you go, mother. I’m taking care of you.” She continued to force a smile, staring at her mother through a distant gaze as Regina displayed the hint of a smile in the corner of her mouth before taking one last monitored breath.