A/N: For those of you who are following my other stories, I am very sorry. I started a new job that takes a great deal of focus and energy and it's made my muse going into hiding, But the next couple of weeks should hopefully allow me the time to find my muse (Get caught up on this season of OUAT) and get writing again. So new chapters of Cursed, Caught in the Middle and the too-long overdue Queen's Happiness will be coming. Thank you for your patience.

This is a story I wrote over the summer and never posted because I always intended to make it longer and struggled to do so. However, today is my 1 year anniversary from the first chapter I ever posted of my own fiction and I wanted to celebrate by posting something. In the past year, I've written nearly 500,000 words and 12 stories, this is more than I ever thought I would be able to write in my entire life and I have been truly humbled by the response to my writing. So thank you all.

I hope you enjoy and if you have a minute, please let me know what you think.

Baby from the Past

That look of betrayal in her eyes is one that would haunt my dreams for years to come. I hadn't known who the woman was when I insisted she come with us back to present day Storybrook. If I had, I honestly don't know what I would have done. It would have broken something in me to leave a woman to die when I could have saved her. But it would have prevented me from hurting Regina.

Regina, who I had betrayed at the same moment I could finally admit to myself that I loved her. I knew that even if she still remembered that night we'd spent together in the Enchanted Forest; she didn't know that I was the woman she'd spent it with. Gold's glamour was too good. And now she wouldn't even talk to me. I knew that she felt like I had taken away her last chance for a happy ending. And it hurt so badly to see the tears in her eyes every time she saw Robin with Marian. I wanted so desperately to talk to her, to try to comfort her. I needed to tell her that she didn't have to be alone, that there was someone else who loved her. But she would barely even look at me.

And now I was pregnant. Everyone thought that Hook was the father, but he wasn't. I've never even come close to sleeping with that arrogant prick. I'd only kissed him twice in thanks for the things he had done. It was a mistake both times. A fact that became abundantly clear when I found out I was pregnant and he announced he was the father. Before I had the chance to dispute the claim, the news of my pregnancy had spread like wildfire through the town. I nearly lost it when I walked into the diner and overheard Hook loudly boasting that I had obviously been swayed by the charms of his past self. I wanted to puke at the thought. Hook from the past had been too drunk to remember that night, so I was the only one who knew the truth about what happened or hadn't happened.

Hook had never bothered to ask me what had happened to me after I was captured by the Evil Queen at Midas' ball. I wasn't going to offer the information, especially since I had yet to even tell Regina. But I needed to tell her, if for no other reason than because the baby deserved to know its other mother.

That's how I found myself standing on the porch of 108 Mifflin Street, staring at the closed door and desperately trying to gather my courage to knock. It had been nearly three months since I had torn apart her life and it was long past time for me to admit the truth. Especially since the pregnancy was starting to show. I took a deep breath and held it as I rapped my knuckles against the wooden door.

When the door opened, Regina glared at me and bitterly asked, "What are you doing here, Miss Swan? Have you come to tell me that you are stealing the last of my happiness and running off with my son and the pirate to New York?"

I clenched my fists to firm my resolve and spoke in a strained tone. "No, Regina, I've actually come to hopefully give you a little bit of happiness back."

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she asked, "What in the world are you talking about?"

"May I please come in? I'd rather not do this on the porch," I said, trying not to sound like I was making any demands of her.

Her eyebrow shot up, but she stepped aside and let me into her home. Regina led the way into her study and sat regally on the couch she had occupied on my first night in Storybrook. I was too nervous to sit and began to pace the room like a caged animal, trying to remember my carefully prepared speech. It had completely slipped my mind at the first sight of those angry brown eyes that hid a wealth of vulnerability.

Eventually, she lost patience with me and snapped out, "Explain yourself, Miss Swan, or leave and never darken my doorstep again."

I slumped and without giving myself any more time to think about what I would say, I admitted, "There is something I never told you about what happened when I went back in time."

Her anger was palpable. I could feel it radiating along my skin and stealing the breath from my lungs. "What did you do? How else have you betrayed me?" she demanded coldly.

"I slept with you," I blurted out.

Stunned silence met my admission before she laughed. It was the coldest most evil sound I'd ever heard from her lips. "That is impossible, dear. I would remember such an occurrence if it had happened," she sneered cruelly.

I sighed and slumped onto the couch opposite her. Raking my hands through my hair, I met her furious gaze and asked, "Do you remember the woman you captured at Midas' ball? The one in the red dress that you took to your bedroom before you tossed her into the dungeon."

Surprise flashed through her eyes before being replaced by fury. "That was YOU?"

I nodded sheepishly and softly said, "Yeah, it was me."

"How? Your magic isn't trained enough for a glamour that convincing," she stated bluntly.

"Gold did the glamour. He didn't want anyone to recognize Hook and I and have it cause problems in the future," I explained.

"Why? Why did you sleep with me? Was it some form of revenge for being pulled away from the life I gave you and Henry in New York? Or a sick joke you could throw in my face and say you'd slept with me when I didn't know who I had taken to my bed?" This time I could hear the vulnerability under the bitterness in her voice.

"God, no! Regina, I would never do that to you," I insisted, feeling this conversation spiraling out of my control.

She scoffed and quickly stood. "I think you need to leave now, Miss Swan. I don't need to hear your reasoning. You took advantage of me and then kept the truth from me for months. I am finished with you and your betrayals."

I quickly stood and held out my hands in an attempt to placate her. "Regina, please, just let me explain. I'm pregnant," I said desperately.

If possible, the fury in her eyes reached new depths and she was nearly screaming when she said, "Everyone knows that. Don't think that just because you are carrying Hook's bastard child that I won't hurt you. GET. OUT. NOW!"

I stood my ground and said the only thing that came to mind. "Hook's not the father. You are," I stated desperately.

It seemed to work. The hands she had been flexing at her sides as she conjured up her magic relaxed and she gaped at me for several long seconds before she managed to quietly ask, "What did you just say?"

It was the only chance she would give me to actually explain, and I hurriedly said, "I've never slept with Hook. You're the only person I've been with since before I left New York. I didn't know how it could have happened, but Belle confirmed that it is possible to conceive a child through magic, especially when love is involved. And I know that you didn't love me in the past, but apparently my love for you was strong enough to make it happen." I hadn't meant to add that last part and as soon as it was out of my mouth I froze, unsure what her reaction would be.

For her part, Regina seemed to be as stunned as I was. After a long moment, she hesitantly asked, "Y-you love me?"

I swallowed hard past the lump of terror in my throat and managed to squeak out, "Yes." I cleared my throat and said, "I realized I was in love with you the day we stopped the trigger and you asked me to let you die as Regina. That's why I came back for you. I couldn't bear the thought of you dying."

Her eyes searched mine as she slowly closed the distance between us. Only once she was within arms reach, she softly asked, "And you're positive that you're pregnant with my child?"

I nodded and said, "Yes, Regina, it's yours. There's no one else who could have gotten me pregnant. I swear."

When she didn't immediately reply, I moved the final step to close the distance between us and took her hand in mine and pressed it against the slight bump extending from my belly. I searched her eyes and gently said, "We're both yours if you want us."

A single tear slid down her cheek and I lifted my free hand to gently brush it away with my thumb before I cradled her cheek in my palm. Regina's eyes fluttered shut as she drew in a ragged breath. We stayed suspended in that moment until she tensed and her eyes flew open to search my face again. I offered her a small, regretful smile, thinking that she was going to push me away. "It's okay if you don't want us both, or if you only want the baby, or nothing at all. I just had to tell you the truth. I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner. I shouldn't have kept this from you for so long. I just—I'll go, just let me know what you decide," I said roughly, forcing the words past the lump of tears in my throat as I let my hands fall and I turned to leave.

Regina stopped me. The hand that was on my belly, snaked around to my back, pulling me closer to her while her other hand got tangled in my hair as she pulled me into the best kiss of my life. It was tender and fierce, loving and desperate. I melted into the embrace I thought I would never feel again. My hands wrapped around her and pulled her even closer, unwilling to ever let her go again.

We were both panting and flushed when the kiss ended. Regina gazed at me with a look of surprised awe and I couldn't help the happy smile that formed. After a moment, my insecurities started to filter back in and I cautiously asked, "So, does that mean that you do want us?"

Regina let out a sigh of fond exasperation. "Yes, Emma. I want you both."

Immediately, the insecurities vanished and I grinned, "Thank you."

She smiled and wryly said, "I suppose Henry was always right. You were meant to bring back the happy endings."

I chuckled and said, "Yeah, I guess so, even if it did take longer for some." She chuckled and I bit my lip, hesitating before I asked, "Can I ask you a favor?"

She lifted an eyebrow and replied, "You can ask, but I make no promises that I will agree."

"Fair enough. Will you tell Hook he's not the 'daddy'?" I asked with a smirk.

Regina burst out laughing. It was a deep, belly laugh and I had never seen her look more open and happy than I did in that moment. I was so enchanted by her beauty that I almost missed her lighthearted response of, "Oh, I love you, Emma."

When her words registered, my heart skipped a beat and I grinned. "I love you, too."