So, I decided to write my own version of season 6. It's clear the producers don't give a damn about Robin or OutlawQueen, it's clear there was still a lot more to see about them. This is basically my way to prove to Adam that even now, after everything that happened, there was still many ways to fix this ugly mess. So... yeah. This story starts a few weeks after 5B ends.
She placed a hand over her swollen belly, afraid for what was going to happen next. The Evil Queen was right in front of her, pretty much alive.
"You're incredibly silly if you thought you could get away from me so quickly. You thought crushing my heart, just like you crushed so many others, would kill me? I'm a part of you, dear." she smirked evilly and walked forward on Regina's direction.
Regina was scared to death, but she was not a woman to show fear. She knew very well how to put up a brave front, and she was sure she could do the same in the situation she was in. Before she could lift her hand to use her magic, her alter ego grabbed her arms. The mayor knew exactly what her evil self wanted to do, and truthfully, she expect to feel pain. She waited for it, waited for the injury and the wound, but it didn't come.
However, the surprise of having the evil woman touching her was such that it woke her up from the nightmare she was having. Her eyes went wide open, feeling her heart beating fast and sweat gathering on her forehead. Her hands went to her forehead as she took in her surroundings, noticing the sun was almost rising and it was with a sigh of relief that she realized she just had a bad dream. That it wasn't real. But as she was starting to feel calmer, she felt something soaked between her legs, something more consistent than water. She brought her fingers between the middle of her legs, and her suspicious were right. It wasn't water; she thought as she lifted her fingers stared at the red fluid. It was blood. She looked down and before she could even think she was on her period, she noticed the differences. The color of the blood was not as vivid as normal, and the amount of blood was much smaller than normal as well.
She tried her best to not freak out and she got up from bed and went to the bedroom. After she checked, she noticed the blood had stopped and that seemed to calm her down. But she was still frightened to the point of wanting to go to a doctor. She looked to the watch beside her bed, it was almost 7am. By her calculations, the secretary of her doctor would be arriving at the hospital any minute now.
She took a deep breath and went back to the bathroom, deciding to take a shower to clean the last remaining blood impregnated on her body.
Sometimes you get so engulfed by your own misery, by so many tragic things happening (and not having enough time to deal with it) that you start to lose focus on the world around you. You start to skip meals without noticing it, you start to throw up and get sick… but you're unaware of that.
That's what was going on with Regina Mills. They say soul mate is someone who understands you like no one else, someone who knows your past and never judges you for it. How do you cope with the loss of such a person in your life? How do you cope with not having their bodies wrapped around you all night, keeping you warm? Regina was not sure if she was handling it well. In fact, she wasn't sure if she was dealing with it at all.
After she lost Robin, her son ran away and she got so scared she was going to lose him too that for a few moments she forgot the pain she was feeling towards Robin's death. But she found Henry, and found a way to bring the Evil Queen out of her once and for all. At first, it was a relief, really. However, without the dark thoughts and the anger, pain and sadness was all she had left in her.
Deep down she knew she was living in an autopilot and it wasn't healthy. But she couldn't bring herself to stop. She couldn't bring herself to care. Because of that, she was missing the symptoms and she was clueless about what was occurring to her.
The water started to get cold, warning her it's been a while since she was there. She sighed and turned off the water, pressing a towel around her body and getting out of the bathroom. She put the first clothe she found and called the doctor, the secretary answered and was able to set an appointment to 9am.
Henry was sleeping on his bedroom and even though Regina was well aware he wasn't a kid anymore, she didn't want to leave him all alone. Not if she could prevent it. She called Snow, and though it was early her stepdaughter didn't mind going to her place.
She appeared with David and a sleepy Neal in her hands. Regina thanked them for coming and said she was going to the hospital. Snow immediately got concerned. She didn't even know what the older woman had, but she was damned if she was going to let her go to the hospital alone. After much insistence, Snow convinced Regina to let her go with her. David stayed in the house with Henry and baby Neal.
They went to the hospital, Snow took her bow and arrow with her, making Regina frown.
"We haven't heard anything from Hyde and his gang from weeks now, but it doesn't mean they have forgotten about us. I want to be prepared in case they try something."
Regina figured that made sense. They waited to be attended by a doctor and soon Regina was sat in a chair in front of one (Whale, much to her displeasure) while Snow waited outside the door. She told him about the bleeding and he started to ask if she had thrown up or felt nauseous lately. When she thought about it, she realized that yes, she had. He smiled. And she realized exactly where his train of thoughts was going, but it just wasn't possible. He asked her to take a blood test to confirm his suspicious and she knew it would lead nowhere, but she decided to play his game. He would find out soon the truth anyway, and maybe there would be something in the results that would make him realize what was happening to her for real.
"The result of this kind of exam takes at least 1 day to go out, but since I know how impatient you're and I like having my head above my neck, I'll have the results in 1 hour for you." he said playfully.
She thanked the man, did the exam and waited for the results with Snow. One hour went by quickly and it didn't take long for her to be back face to face with the doctor. He was smiling after seeing the results and Regina frowned, confused. She was absolutely sure he was wrong.
"Regina, you're pregnant."
She kept staring at the doctor, as if he had just said the craziest thing ever.
"I'm sorry; I don't think I heard you well. Can you repeat?" Regina said as calm as she could.
"You're pregnant, Regina. You're carrying a baby inside you."
"I knew I shouldn't have expected you to be competent." Regina hissed. "You probably took someone else's exam by mistake."
"Hey there, I know it's a lot of information to take in, but that doesn't give you the right to say things like that to me." He said trying to remain calm."Why it's so hard for you to believe you're pregnant?"
Her legs felt numb and the world threatened to try spinning around her and she sat in one of the chairs before she fell. She closed her eyes, breathed in and out.
"It's just… not possible, Whale." she said when she felt a little better. "I took a potion back in enchanted forest that made me infertile."
"And how do you know it worked?"
"Trust me, I know it worked."
The pain she felt after she took the potion was still fresh and livid in her mind.
"Well, I think the only logic explanation is that somehow you found a way to reverse the potion."
"But that's the thing, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find a way to undo the potion."
"I don't know about potions so I can't really help you to understand, whoever what I can do is to set up an ultrasound right now. You won't be able to see much of the baby, but it'll help me to make sure your procreators organs are working perfectly."
They went to the room where the ultrasound machine was placed. Regina wanted to be able to say she got emotional or thrilled with seeing the baby for the first time on screen, but that was not the case. She was still in shock, and to be quite fair there wasn't much to see about the baby yet. She has only been pregnant for three weeks. After they were done, the doctor assured her everything was fine with her and the baby. Regina remembered of what initially brought her to the hospital, and she told Whale of her bleed. He said it was normal, that pregnant women bleed sometimes but it didn't put the child in danger.
She went out of the room, her expression indecipherable, and she found Snow waiting for news.
"I'm pregnant." she told Snow, her voice trembling.
And then the reality hit her. Her eyes went wide open and her knees suddenly were not strong enough anymore and she felt like falling, but two arms were around her in an instant, holding her in place.
"Snow…" Regina said looking to the shorthaired brunette. "I'll have to raise a child alone again. He won't get to meet our child." her voice cracked up in the end and the younger woman held her tighter.
"I know it hurts he's not here, but I hope you know you won't be alone."
She nodded and whispered a weak "Thank you."
Regina bit her lips, forcing herself not to cry.
"I have to go to Gold's" she said after taking a deep breath. "I need to get some answers."
"What kind of answers?"
Regina was afraid she was going to asked that. She sighed and started to play with her own fingers nervously.
"I shouldn't be pregnant, Snow." she said trying to explain. "I took a potion, sometime ago, that made me barren. I regretted it, tried to find a way to cure it, but I didn't find anything. And now I'm pregnant. I hope Gold will help me to understand how that's possible."
"Regina, there aren't a lot of people who knows this, but I took a potion that made me barren too."
"But… you have Emma and baby Neal! How..?" Regina thrilled off.
"I found the cure. I discovered a lake whose water had magical powers. The rumors said with just a cup from it waters had the power to grant eternal life." Snow shared. "David took me there along with Lancelot. The lake was extinct but they were able to find a drop. One single drop was enough to heal me, Regina."
"I'm glad the lake healed you, I'm glad we both have that in common but that doesn't solve my mystery." Regina said sighing. "This lake isn't here. I didn't drink or do anything to undo the potion.
"I can't help you to understand." Snow got up from the chair and Regina followed her. "But I can take you to Gold. You're right, maybe he can help you."
She opened the front door as Snow waited in the car and heard the soft ticking noise of the doorbell, announcing her presence. She went inside and saw Gold behind the counter, holding a dagger that no longer had any kind of magic on it.
"Does it feel nice to be finally free of the power of that dagger?" Regina asked as she approached the imp.
"Hello to you too, dear." Gold replied lifting his eyes and facing his former student. "I have to admit it feels good indeed. But it's not nice to have that at the expensive of Belle. You know, without any magic I won't be able to wake her up."
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure soon enough you'll find a loop, a way to bring her back. Even if you have to step on someone's foot for it."
"You know me well" Gold confirmed shameless. "But I take that you didn't come here to talk about me and Belle?"
"You're right", she agreed. "I'm not here because of that. Gold, I'm here because… I'm pregnant." she says hesitant.
"Well I guess congratulations are in order then."
"Cut the crap, Gold." she said feeling rather uncomfortable with the subject, but knew it was necessary to talk with him about this. "You know my previous condition; you know I drank a potion. And I didn't do anything to change it. I wasn't supposed to be pregnant. How can you explain this?"
"Well I see you haven't lost your temper by letting the Evil Queen out." Gold joked, and Regina rolled her eyes.
"This temper is a part of me. Now do you have an explanation to what happened to me or not?
Gold sighed and brought his hands to his forehead, thinking.
"There's only one explanation I can see." He lifted his hands and looked at her. "When you drank the potion, you were the Evil Queen, right?" Regina nodded, and he continued to share his thoughts. "Therefore, she is barren, not you."
It made sense; Regina had to give him that. And that opened a whole new world of possibilities; possibilities Regina thought it was lost to her. Happiness was threatening to take over her, but then she remembered of the dream she had just last night.
"Gold, what would happen if the Evil Queen gets inside me again?" she voiced her fears.
"What do you mean by that? I thought you crushed her heart?" she could sense how confused he was by the tone of his voice.
"I know, I did." she sighed, trying to find the words to explain what she was feeling. "But what if somehow crushing her heart didn't kill her because… she's a part of me? What if she's still alive and wants to be inside me again? Would that hurt my baby?"
"That's a lot of If's you've got there."
Regina's angry eyes in his direction made it clear she wasn't in the mood for jokes. Gold continued to speak, trying to abate her anger.
"If she finds a way to be inside you again, I don't think it would hurt the baby. The baby is already inside you, growing. The seed has been planted. Her barrenness wouldn't be able to hurt you or the baby."
She knew she couldn't really trust on that man, but deep down she knew he was telling the truth. It was a unique situation, your barren alter ego trying to come back to you while you're pregnant, and Gold couldn't know if he was completely right, but based on what he knew no harm would be caused to the baby in case the Evil Queen was back inside her.
Regina let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and her hand went up to rub on her belly, a smile forming on her lips at the thought that no matter what her baby would be safe.
"But if she's back, we're screwed anyway. You know her, you know what she would want to do, right?
A shiver ran through her body just thinking about it. Yeah, she knew exactly what the Evil Queen would want to do.
"She would want revenge. She would want to ruin everyone's happy endings." she whispered.
Gold nodded, and she tried her best to push her fears to back of her mind. They would be able to find a way to defeat the Evil Queen. All of them, together.
She tried to reassure Gold everything was going to be okay, and then she said goodbye. As she went inside the car, an overwhelming feeling took over her. She just missed Robin so much. She couldn't believe Robin would never get to see their baby smile for the first time, or walk, or anything related to the precious soul inside her. He was going to miss it all. She told herself to keep it together for at least a few more minutes, and she asked Snow to take her to the park after she told her what Gold said to her.
Snow noticed how shaken Regina was but didn't say anything and just did what she was asked. She stopped at the park and told Snow she could get back to her husband and son. She was going to stay in the park for a little while and then she was going to take a cab to go back home. Snow saw the clear message there. Regina wanted to be alone. And she wouldn't deny her that. So she agreed, said goodbye and left
She sat in the bench where she previously sat with Robin. Exactly the same place where he said he'd choose her over the woman he thought it was his ex wife. Memories, happy memories, flooded in her mind. She closed her eyes; felt the cold wind hit her face, the smell of the forest located right behind her invading her nostrils. It was the closest she felt with him after his death. Before she knew it, the tears she was holding back all day started to fall freely. She rubbed her belly and stared at the empty spot beside her. Where Robin sat the last time they were there.
"I wish you were here…" she whispered weakly.
She closed her eyes and kept them closed for a few minutes as she caressed her belly. When she opened her eyes again, she saw on the other side of the park a blonde man looking at her. She got up immediately, her face growing pale. The man turned around when he realized he was caught and entered in the woods, getting out of her sight.
Regina blinded followed the man as fast as she could. As soon as she got inside the forest, she felt her back being pressed against a tree and her mouth being assaulted by some luscious lips. She instinctively brought her arms up and felt two strong toned arms around her fingers. She knew the taste of that mouth and those arms very well. She opened her eyes in shock and there he was, right in front of her.
"How are you here?" she questioned breathless, stunned, happy and confused at the same time.
She saw a small scar beside his left eye, a scar that she was sure it wasn't there before. What the hell they did to him? What did they do to her man? Whoever it was, she swore right then and there that she was going to make them pay. Unconsciously of her act, she lifted her hands to touch his face. She touched the scar, and realized it was deeper than it seemed.
"You brought me back." he replied easily.
"What do you mean?"
If it was possible, she was even more confused. But he didn't answer her question. He just stared at her, at her lips, making her feel needy in inappropriate places. She wetted her lips and locked her eyes with his. Her lips parted, her breath growing uneven. But then something changed in his expression and he broke their visual contact. He removed her hands from his face.
"What? You think you're the only one who can play the seduction game?" he asked sharply.
"Alright, I admit I used to seduce people to get what I wanted but I never did that again… after I met you."
"Is that supposed to mean something?" he arched an eyebrow.
If she said his words didn't hurt her feelings, she would be lying.
"Yes, it's!" she yelled indignant.
"Sorry love, but it doesn't." he bloody smirked and picked up a rope from the ground and started to fasten it around her legs very loosely. "I just wanted you to know that I'm back. I need to go now and I can't have you following me."
She tried to fight him. She did. But he was physically stronger than she was. She ended up alone, in the forest, with a rope around her legs. It wasn't too tightly per se, but by the time she freed her legs, he was already gone and only one thought crossed her mind. The love of her life was back. But it wasn't really him. It was the dark version of him.
I hope you liked this! If you got confused about something, please do not hesitate to ask me! You can send me a pm, a review or talk to me on twitter. I'm inlovewithlanap there ;) I'll post another chapter next Saturday!