Disclaimer: OUAT and it's characters doesn't belong to me.

Thanks to IaMcHrIsSi for betaing and encouraging me. I probably wouldn't have written this as fast as I did without her. THANK YOU!

I updated this chapter after ladywolf101 'changed a few words and added a few small things', that's what she said, I say she worked a wonder. THANK YOU! I'm really glad that you're my beta! If you don't know her story "Broken But Fixable" already, go to her profil and read it, it's one of the best I've read.

Old wounds and new worries

"You sure you're going to be okay Emma?" Mary Margaret asks in a concerned tone. Too concerned if you ask Emma.

"Yeah; it's probably nothing. Stop worrying about it. I'm fine." Emma answers with a weak smile, holding the bag full of hot water- one that Mary Margaret has already given her- in front of her to prove her point.

"Just because you claim it's nothing serious doesn't make everything okay. You could really be sick! Are you sure I should leave you alone?" Mary panics, her facial expression showing her concern. She's been up with Emma most of the night; her friend hasn't been feeling well and obviously needs her. In fact, the blonde has thrown up three times now and Mary knows the fourth time won't be long now. But Emma insists on her going to school and leaving her alone, whether she's sick or not; that scares Mary Margaret to death. She just can't shake the feeling that this sickness won't be like every other stomach bug and won't go away in time.

"You're going to be late if you keep standing in the doorframe watching me. I'll be fine; I promise!" But instead of calming Mary's worries like Emma intends, Mary Margaret knits her brows together, sending the blonde a look of disapproval.

"You can't make promises like that, Emma; your health is something you should be careful about." Mary scolds her out of concern; Emma just rolls her eyes, grinning.

"What are you, my mother?" She tries to joke, but the smile doesn't really reach her eyes. The parent topic was something that Emma would probably never be able to joke about. But she just wants Mary to go so she doesn't catch on to the charade behind the 'I'm fine' act. In fact, Emma feels like she's going to throw up any minute now, but she knows that, if she does, her friend won't even think twice about staying home with her, no matter what Emma says; that is something she wants to avoid. There's no need for Mary to take a day off just to nurse Emma back to health; she's been taking care of herself for years, and she can do it again now. Her friend works too hard to waste her free days off work like that.

"Please go; you'll see I'm fine. I might even visit you at your lunch break." Before Mary can interrupt her, Emma holds her hands up to stop her and goes on. "I said might, okay? Now, get outta here; you're gonna be late." Mary knows it'll be pointless to argue with Emma; she won't let her stay under any circumstance, even though Mary would give anything to stay with Emma and take care of her like she deserves.

"You better call me if it gets worse." Mary's stern voice would normally make Emma laugh, but she knows that if she does laugh, what will come out of her mouth won't be so funny. "Don't worry about my break-times, you can call me whenever you need to; I'll keep my phone on all the time." Her voice turns softer as she smiles at Emma's pale figure.

"I won't need to, but alright." Emma replies nonchalantly. Mary Margaret lets out a deep sigh at Emma's stubbornness and walks over to Emma. Kneeling beside her, she takes Emma's overheated hand in hers.

"Emma, please promise me to call if it gets worse." She pleads seriously, but Emma just rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." She brushes it off with another weak smile.

"I'm serious Emma; do this for me. Please. I'm really worried about you." Emma is taken aback by how much concern really is in Mary's gaze. She sounds honestly worries, something that Emma doesn't fully understand. So she simply nods, her eyes big. Mary takes a strand of hair out of Emma's face and tucks it behind her ear. She can feel the heat coming from her friend's body in waves; her fever still hasn't gone down since last night.

Emma's probably right. It seems to just be a stomach bug that will eventually go away; everything will be fine in a few hours. But Mary Margaret just can't shake the feeling that she's missing something important; the whole situation seems so familiar to Mary, like she's been through this before. She doesn't know when, with who, or how she witnessed it, she just knows that it didn't end very well.

"I'll call you if I'm not any better by lunch, okay; I promise." Emma says after finding her voice; she obviously means it. She can't remember anyone that's ever been so worried about her, so she takes Mary's pleads to call her seriously. "Don't worry too much about me, okay? I'll call if it's necessary." Emma continues, trying to ease the concern in her friend's gaze. "Now, go to your fourth graders, and teach them how to handle a sick roommate." Emma teases lightly as Mary slowly nods, only slightly convinced. But a smile spreads across her face anyways as she moves to stand up, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"You know what, I'll let Peter watch over you." The teacher says, grinning at the confused look on her roommate's face.
"Who's Peter?" Emma's caution makes Mary's smile widen.

"Peter, you know. The bird that lives in the tree by the window." Mary says, grinning like a madwoman. She wants to clear the air and put a smile on Emma's face after her overreaction. And it works. Emma's face lights up with a smile, her eyebrow cocked as she tires to hide her laughter.

"A bird? Really? My faith rests in a bird? You're really going to let a bird decide how healthy I am? And I thought teachers were supposed to be the rational ones." She says with a playful eye roll.

"Oh, I am rational. He's a really smart bird." Mary says, trying to keep a straight face. "And even I know that Peter, a bird, will tell me how sick you really are sooner than you will." The smile slips through when she sees Emma's face fall into mock shock, a hand going over her heart.

"Now I'm insulted. I'm not that bad." Mary chuckles, obviously disagreeing.

"I'd love it if you'd prove me wrong." Mary challenges as Emma lies back with a sigh, feigning irritation. Mary walks to the door, shooting Emma a genuine smile.

"Look after her Peter!" She calls playfully to the bird, who chirps loudly as if answering Mary. She closes the door just fast enough to avoid the pillow that Emma throws at her.

A/N: What do you think? Should I continue, should I stop? Fell free to leave a comment and share your thoughts with me.