Regina Mills was the Mayor of Storybrooke. She'd created the town as part of the Dark Curse as the Evil Queen, but she didn't remember that. In order to truly have a fresh start, she too needed to forget.
There were some key things she kept, however. She remembered her awful mother who spared her no affection, her adoring father who had passed, and Daniel, the fiance she had lost. She also remembered to hold onto her dislike for Snow/Mary Margaret. She held onto her ability to instill fear in others when it was needed.
Most importantly, she kept her youth. She would be perpetually 30 for the next hundred years, should the curse last that long.
Storybrooke came to be in 1983, but many of its residents recalled it being their home for as long as they could remember. For as long as Regina could remember, she had been the town's mayor. It was her domain.
Storybrooke life was simple, rather quaint and boring, until she one day found herself to be pregnant in mid-1994.
It was a Saturday in June. The 11th.
It didn't sink in quite yet then. She waited a week. On the 18th, another positive test.
The following Saturday, the 25th, Regina had an appointment with Dr. Whale that confirmed it. By that point, she was 8 weeks along. The heartbeat couldn't be heard, but it could be seen on the ultrasound as a slight flicker if you paid attention.
Regina cried, and threatened to pull Whale's license if he spoke a word of it to anybody. Mayor Mills was not known to be a soft woman. She wanted to keep it that way as long as possible.
The good doctor still managed to get in a, "Congratulations, Mayor Mills," before the woman's glare sent him scurrying out of the room to give her privacy.
A baby. Who the hell in the world decided Regina would know what to do with a baby? She didn't have the slightest clue as to what maternal love looked like.
As if that wasn't overwhelming enough, Regina knew she had to wait another month before telling anyone about it at all, as the majority of things that could go wrong usually happened within the first trimester.
"What the hell am I supposed to do?" she whispered to herself, pressing the heels of her hands into her closed eyes, the tips of her fingers lightly tugging at the hair closest to her scalp.
By early August, Regina was more comfortable with the idea of raising a tiny human. Nothing bad happened in the danger zone of the first trimester. But now... Now she had to tell people. Well, maybe not people. But a person.
"You called, Madame Mayor?" asked the Sheriff, entering her office.
Regina was sitting at her desk, one leg crossed over the other in her habitual way, while she still had that ability. "No need for the formalities, Graham. The call was personal. Have a seat."
Graham cocked an eyebrow at her, taking the seat across from her as told, looking around their surroundings before settling his eyes on her. "Really? Here?"
If the desk wasn't in her way, Regina would have kicked him in the shin for that insinuation. "Did I say this was a booty call?"
Graham smirked in amusement. "You never do. I believe this is the first time I've heard the term come from your lips."
Regina sighed. "Graham, do you want children?"
Graham jolted, surprised. "Uh..." He gaped like a fish out of water. "Excuse me?"
"It's a simple question. Do you want children?"
"Uhm." The Sheriff blinked and tried to concentrate. "I... Well, I guess I haven't really given it much thought."
Regina smiled darkly. "Sounds like you're not ready. Do you see any children in your life five years down the line? Ten?"
"Not at the rate things are going..." Graham swallowed. She was scary. He never knew why - but this line of questioning in particular was especially frightening.
"Fantastic!" Regina chirped. She slid a contract across the desk in front of him. "Then you shouldn't be too hesitant in signing over all parental rights to me."
Graham blinked. "You-You're pregnant?! You couldn't have just lead with that?"
Regina chuckled. "Where's the fun in that? Come now, sign away. You're not ready, and you're off the hook. You don't have to be involved. We're not together, and we don't have to pretend to be. It's actually worse for the child when parents do that."
Graham stared at her. "So... You're telling me I'm going to be a father, except I'm not?"
"You can come to birthdays if you wish. It's all in there. This isn't a restraining order, I'm just not planning on sharing. I will, however reluctantly, if you refuse to sign, but something tells me I don't have to worry about that."
Graham scanned over the words on the contract. The thought of being tethered to the Mayor in such a way for the better part of two decades was as appealing as sleeping naked in a freezer. No, thank you. "No obligations?" he asked.
"Well, if you do plan on attending birthdays, you can't be a stranger to the child. You'll babysit whenever I need, but you will not be known as Dad."
Graham shrugged. "I suppose I can live with that." He scribbled his signature on all the indicated lines, then pushed the contract back across the desk to Regina.
"Thank you. You may go."
"Wait. How far along?"
"Nearly 14 weeks. Why? Doubt my word?"
"Just curious, trying to work out just when exactly I will become a perpetually on call babysitter."
"You go think on that. Bye now." Regina waved, beyond done with him on the matter.
Graham stood and left, knowing how whipped he was, but not particularly eager to do anything about it.
At 25 weeks, Regina was definitely showing. Heels were no longer possible, and her back was constantly aching.
"Mayor Mills!" Dr. Archibald Hopper jogged down the sidewalk to catch up with her. He sat a hand on her shoulder.
"Dr. Hopper," Regina greeted, stopping to look at him. She noticed a distinct lack of paws trying to scale her. "No furry friend today?"
"Pongo's having a nap. I have a break, and I wanted to have a word with you."
Regina's eyebrows drew together. "What about?"
"Well, you're pregnant, and Mayor, usually expecting mothers take some time for maternity leave. I just want to advise you to do so, and maybe start thinking about who to put up as the acting mayor."
Regina frowned. "I know you mean well, but I don't need an acting mayor. This is my town. This is my pregnancy. I will make decisions regarding them how I see fit. I don't need your analysis when it hasn't been asked for."
"Alright, Madame Mayor. It was just a thought." Archie remembered to remove his hand from her shoulder. "If you ever need anything, you know I'll be here. Doing it all alone won't be easy."
"When do I ever choose the easy way? Thank you for the concern." Regina continued on her way.
She had an interesting relationship with the town shrink. He was a good sounding board when she needed to vent, but she wasn't too big a fan of his handing out free advice in every day conversation on the street. He was a good man, but spineless in many ways.
Regina made her way into Granny's Diner. Her need for a burger was embarrassing, but excruciating to the point she no longer cared about image and opinion.
She made her way over to what had become known as her booth, and as she sat she wondered how long it would be before she'd have to switch to a table.
Having seen her coming and knowing what she wanted, Granny silently brought a freshly made burger to the table, setting the plate down in front of her. Pretending it was the first time the Mayor had graced her diner with her presence got old after the first dozen times or so, and no other attendees believed the charade after the first six.
The elderly woman was about to walk away when Regina made a sharp, "Ooh!" of surprise. Granny smirked, knowing only very few things could make the woman squirm.
"Are you alright, Madame Mayor?" she asked, half feigning concern to mask her amusement.
"I -" Regina breathed in sharply, both hands moving to her belly. "I don't know."
Seeing the flash of panic in her eyes, Granny laid a friendly hand on her arm. "Don't be alarmed, it was just a kick."
"Just a... Kick?" It took a moment to click. "The baby kicked?" She was unable to hold back a smile.
Granny dipped her head in a nod. "The baby kicked, and for the first time, too, judging by your reaction."
Joy was quickly replaced by irritation and embarrassment. Her smile dropped. "Thank you for the meal, Ms. Lucas."
Granny knew to let her be, then.
Regina picked up the burger and bit into it, holding back a moan at the taste. Grease had never tasted so good. As she swallowed the first bite, a small smile returned. Her baby kicked!
December 10, 1994 marked the 32nd week of the pregnancy. By this point, Regina had given up the fight for personal space. The baby was rearranging her organs and taking up a whole lot of space, so what were a few hands feeling her belly in comparison? She had no energy to be annoyed anymore.
As the mayor of a somewhat small town, she was practically royalty. At least it would be over soon. Just 8 more weeks at the most. That would make it a February baby, and that would be cute, as Regina's birthday was in February. She doubted it, though. She bet the baby would come a bit early to spite her - or maybe to pity her.
"Don't even think about it," Regina snapped when she saw the doe-eyed teacher approaching.
"Oh, come on, Regina. I'll probably end up teaching them one day!"
Regina shuddered at the thought. "Excuse me?! That is Madame Mayor or Mayor Mills to you, and I said no, Miss Blanchard. Back off. I don't want you to touch me."
The teacher shrinked back at the seriousness of Regina's tone. Apparently the pregnancy mood swings were not going in her favor. "Sorry, Mayor Mills," she squeaked out. "I-It won't happen again." She scampered off, lest she face further wrath from Storybrooke's Mayor.
At least, Regina thought, she still had enough energy to make that little waif stay the hell away from her. There were some seriously bad vibes rolling off that woman, and Regina wouldn't trust her as far as she could throw her - which, in her current state, wouldn't be too far anyway.
Regina tilted her head back, neck arching over the back of the bench she was sitting on, facing the sky but closing her eyes. And there went the rest of her energy.
She had a few seconds of quiet, peaceful bliss before the blip blip of a siren caught her attention, causing her to jerk her head up and open her eyes. Which she then rolled.
There was Sheriff Graham, in the marked vehicle, rolling the passenger side window down. "Need a lift, Madame Mayor?" he used formality, unsure what mood he'd find her in.
Regina sighed. She was too tired to walk it the rest of the way. "Fine. Just don't be weird." She stood and made her way to the car, the door of which already being pushed open from the inside. "How chivalrous."
"I try."
Regina settled in, closed the door, and buckled up.
"How far now?"
Regina whipped her head towards him, staring incredulously. "What did I just say?"
Graham frowned. "What? How is that weird?"
"Ugh. I... I guess I'm just tired of everything being about the baby. Do you think anyone's gonna give a damn when it's not growing inside me anymore? No! Not as much, anyway. And I'm 32 weeks today."
Graham let out a whistle as he started to drive. "Getting pretty close then, huh?"
"The New Year will come in first, but yes. Finally."
"At the risk of pissing you off again, I'm going to ask you something. Just don't take it the wrong way."
"This should be good," Regina quipped to herself.
"Can I be at the birth? I know I'm not going to be the father, just the babysitter, and I don't want to overstep. But I did help make the baby, and since you're going to do all of the hard work, I figure the least I can do is at least be your verbal punching bag and let you break my hand if need be. We're not together, and we barely even like each other most of the time, but we started this together, and I should be there at the finish line with you."
Regina looked at him, stunned, mouth dropping open a little bit. His attention was on the road, but she knew he was listening for her response. A choked noise escaped her throat and her cheeks became wet with tears. Damn hormones, and damn him for being so kind when he had every reason to hate her. "Of course," she managed to whisper before her throat became too tight for the lump residing in it, succumbing to her emotions and exhaustion.
Graham continued to drive until he pulled into Regina's driveway and cut the engine. He looked at her. "Would it be crossing a line if I offered to escort you inside?"
Regina sniffed and wiped at her eyes. "I think that would be alright. Just this once."
Graham unbuckled and exited the car, quickly jogging to the other side to get the door open before Regina could even think to reach for it. He opened it and then offered her his hand.
Regina unbuckled the seatbelt before accepting the Sheriff's hand. She eased out of the car and onto her feet with his help.
Once inside, she closed the door and looked at him. "Thank you. I hardly deserve your kindness, yet you've given it to me today."
"Any other woman would have demanded I stay. You didn't trap me. That is also kindness, believe it or not. You chose best for the child I helped create. Kids shouldn't be bounced between parents who don't get along. Joint custody is messy. I'm still far from ready to be anyone's father. Maybe I never will be. But you're already a fantastic mother, and that does deserve my kindness."
Regina reached up and took his face in her hands. "You keep saying amazing things, and I am extremely hormonal. That's all this means." She pulled his face into her own until their mouths connected.
Graham let out a surprised moan. This, too, he was willing to do for her. Because even if she was the coldest, bitchiest woman on the planet, and their sexual activities were mostly fueled by hate, she was mother to his child, one he wasn't ready to have, and that, despite meaning nothing, meant everything. He was grateful.
They didn't have sex, but they were plenty intimate without it. It was enough for Regina to forget her loneliness for a few minutes before she finally kicked him out.
On New Year's Eve, despite being heavily pregnant, Regina continued on her annual tradition of welcoming the New Year with a town gathering at City Hall. It could be called a party, if her citizens weren't so boring. At least the event caterers always had the best quality appetizers and h'orderves.
At 35 weeks, Regina was just hoping not to give everyone a show by going into labor.
"I do believe I have yet to have the chance to congratulate you, Madam Mayor."
Regina turned front the buffet table trays of sample sized food had been laid out on. "Thank you, Mr. Gold." She gracefully slid what had been impaled with a toothpick into her mouth, withdrawing the pointy stick cleanly. After she swallowed, she smiled. "I'm just hoping they don't decide they really, really want to be born in 1994. I'm sure everyone here would love that show, except me."
"That would certainly be... Memorable." Mr. Gold chuckled, one hand flicking his hair back while the other leaned on his cane. "For your sake, I'll hope your baby's patient enough to wait until 1995. How far along?"
"35 weeks today. I supposedly have another five to go, but I'm not counting on it."
"And you're sure you don't want to dissolve the contract?"
"I am sure, and thank you for making sure Albert Spencer didn't trip me up in the semantics. I doubt he resisted the opportunity to try to score money out of me from lax linguistics."
"Always a pleasure. Deals and contracts are a specialty hobby of mine, as I'm sure you know, otherwise you wouldn't have approached me. Just remember you owe me a favor in exchange."
"How could I forget? I'll have a constant reminder." Regina rested a hand on her belly, stroking over it lovingly.
January 21, 1995 was a regular Saturday. The mark of Regina's 38th week of pregnancy. Two more weeks to go, supposedly. Her due date was, officially, February 4th.
Regina was huge, always had to pee, waddled, and was always tired. She was still just as stubbornly full-on Mayor as she had been when Archie suggested maternity leave.
That day, she wasn't motivated to do much more than lay down in bed and read. But she had to keep re-reading the same paragraphs and pages over again, so she clearly couldn't focus much on that, either.
So, Regina gave up on reading and just laid there, making shapes out of the pattern of her ceiling. She did that until a new sensation tore through her, almost like a cramp, but so much worse. When it passed, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand. She held her breath for a moment, and then relaxed. She put the phone down again and closed her eyes.
She was able to fall asleep and had a little nap before she was rudely awakened by a similar sensation. She grabbed the phone again and looked at the time. It hadn't even been 20 minutes since she'd last looked at it. She took in a deep breath and dialed Graham.
"Regina?" the Sheriff asked cautiously.
"Graham, it's time!"
"It's time? You mean -"
"What I mean, Graham, is get your ass over here, because birthing this baby is the one thing I am NOT doing alone! Come here. NOW!"
Graham hung up so he could get to her faster, where she could then roar at him in person. And at some point drive her to the hospital.
Regina slammed the phone down on the nightstand and then gripped the bedsheets. She was going to be so pissed if her water broke on her satin sheets. She was also going to be pissed if her next contraction beat Graham there.
Luckily, Graham made it to her in 10 minutes, giving him a whole 5 minutes before Regina's next contraction tore through her. He offered her his hand, which she took with a crushing force.
"Anything you need?" Graham asked. "Besides crushing my hand and a trip to the hospital later?"
"Glass of crushed ice. Would suck to... Pass out. I-I didn't make a guardianship plan in the event of my death..."
"You hush. You're fine. You're not dying. You'll be a fantastic mother. I'll be right back with that ice, okay?"
Regina nodded, but still clung to his hand in a death grip.
"I, uh, I sort of need my hand back for that."
Regina reluctantly released it. "Be fast!" she hissed at him.
Graham raced against the clock, wanting to be back well before Regina's next contraction. He was only gone about two minutes.
"That was fast," Regina stated, rather impressed.
"Should we call Whale? Make sure he's prepared? I'm not entirely sure when exactly I'm supposed to take you, anyway..."
"Okay, call him. He'll know." Regina grabbed the glass and took some of the crushes ice into her mouth, savoring it, making it melt. If this was going to be as long as she suspected it might be, this was the only sustenance she'd be allowed, and she may as well get used to it.
Graham was in the middle of his call with Whale when another contraction hit.
"You'll want to bring her in when they're coming every five minutes. Until then... I don't envy you."
"Thanks, Doc." Graham withheld an eyeroll, not wanting Regina to think it was directed at her. When he was off the phone, he took her hand again. "Maybe we should start timing them. He said to bring you in when they're 5 minutes apart."
Regina squeezed his hand hard and let out an anguished wail at the thought of enduring that pain every 5 minutes.
Graham wisely held back the info that they were supposed to get even stronger. He didn't have a deathwish. Even if he wasn't going to be a Daddy, he wanted to see the child he helped create, at least once before he died.
An hour passed.
"You're doing great, Regina." At this point Graham had moved onto the bed with her, sitting behind her, letting her lay against him. One hand was held captive, the other stroked through her hair and along her belly. "You are doing so great. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, ever."
"Graham?"
"Yes?"
"Would you please, please, just shut the fuck up?! You are driving me nuts! Ah-Ah-Owww!" Regina gripped tightly, nails digging in, another, worse contraction tearing through her. She was panting when it was over. "Oh-Oh... My. When was the last one?"
Graham looked at the clock. "Only 10 minutes."
Regina let out a deep, furious growl of frustration. "I should fucking castrate you!"
Graham felt the urge to cross his legs protectively, and might have if Regina wasn't sitting between them. He chose to stay silent, especially given her demand before the contraction hit.
Eons passed, or so it seemed.
"Did you say 6 minutes? Close enough!" Regina was so ready to go to the hospital. Epidural, here she comes!
"No, not close enough. Dr. Whale said 5 minutes, and this is only your first 6 minute apart one. They could still be 6 minutes apart for hours."
Regina looked up and snarled at him, even if her neck was propped on his shoulder. "I really, genuinely, fucking despise you."
Graham smiled. That's how he knew she was gonna be alright.
"Smug bastard." She dug her nails into his thighs the best she could, all the while knowing it was nowhere near the amount of pain she felt - pain that was all his fault. "You're never getting laid ever again. You fucking hear me? Because I'm the only one who would ever get that close, and that's not happening ever again. No one else wants you, you're so boring, you'll live the rest of your life celibate until you die - which might just be another hour, because I swear I am about ready to rip your balls off and feed them to you and watch you die a horrible, horrible death!"
Graham tried not to laugh. The scary thing was, a part of him believed she'd actually do it and lose no sleep over it.
Finally, the contractions were coming every 5 minutes, and Graham drove Regina to the hospital.
Regina was admitted quickly, because she was the most VIP that could ever be, and everyone treated her with equal amounts of respect and fear, as you do with royalty. Her examination determined she was 4 centimeters dilated, and she was ready for the long haul. Regina just hoped she got her epidural before they asked her to start pushing.
The first few moments after Regina received her epidural were blissful, almost euphoric in comparison to the hell she'd been going through. She grinned at Graham, squeezing his hand. "Thank you... For getting us here safe, alive."
Graham kissed her sweaty forehead. "Of course I got you here alive. I told you, you're not dying."
"I... I am never doing this again. I think I really might die if I do."
Graham smirked. "You already said you're never having sex with me again. So, I think you're safe."
Regina grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down into a kiss, more feelings of peace washing over her. She just needed to get through these next however many hours, and then she'd have her baby and everything would be right in the world.
"You, Regina, are the Queen of Mixed Signals."
"I'm in labor and have had raging hormones the past 38 weeks. You can't trust a thing I say or do."
"I'm not sure if I'm relieved or frightened even more."
"Boo." Regina wiggled her eyebrows. She cried out in pain a moment later. So much for euphoria. The contractions were still painful, only a bit dulled. They seemed to be longer, too - she could scream, grunt, and sigh through it, but that was about it.
When the pushing started, she swore they had her push a hundred thousand times before it was finally over. She was so wiped out, she almost missed the first cries of the baby she'd just brought into the world. Her baby.
Her head fell against the pillow, so very, very exhausted, as she struggled to keep her eyes open.
The baby was cleaned up and weighed.
"Madame Mayor." Dr. Whale placed a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her. "You don't want to miss this."
"Hmm?" Regina peered at him through bleary eyes.
Graham squeezed the hand he was still holding. "Hey. You've worked so hard. Don't miss the reward."
Regina opened her eyes more. "I'm up." She squeezed back.
"Congratulations, Madame Mayor. You are now the mother of a healthy 6 pounds, 7 ounces baby girl!" announced a nurse who was wrapping a blanket around the newborn. "Would you like to hold her?"
Regina nodded, unable to speak, tears gushing down her face. A baby girl. She held out her arms, ready to take her, look at her, love her. "Hi," she chokes out with a smile. "Hi, baby girl, how are you?" she cooed as she was placed in her arms.
Graham smiled proudly. He helped make that happen. If nothing else, there would always be that. "Do you have a name yet?" he asked.
"I wasn't sure." Regina stroked a finger along a soft little baby cheek. "But now I think I do." She lowered her nose onto the top of her newborn's head, breathing in that new baby smell. She closed her eyes, overwhelmed with emotion and exhaustion. She inhaled that sweet smell one more time before opening her eyes again and looking at her face. "Your name," she stated. "Is Vanessa Marisela Mills." She smiled. "And I love you so, so much."
It had started as an ordinary Saturday. But it was anything but.
On January 21, 1995 at 5:55 PM, Vanessa Marisela Mills was born, weighing in at 6 pounds, 7 ounces, making Regina Mills, the Evil Queen, unbeknownst to everyone including herself, a mother - and one whom she had already gotten wrapped around her little finger, simply by existing.