Henry waited outside his mother's room, leaning against the wall next to the just slightly opened door. For almost an hour now he had been listening to the sounds of what must have been her throwing up and no matter how much he tried to deny it, concern filled him. As long as he could remember, his mother had never been sick. He had never seen her look tired. He had never heard that scratchiness in her throat that betrayed a virus. She had only been the picture of health. So why had she been up since five in the morning throwing up? He shook his head and pushed off the wall to return to his room. Whatever it was, she was the Evil Queen and probably deserved it. She would get no crackers and ginger ale from him. No matter how many times she had been there when he got sick.
Regina rested her head on the arm grasping the side of the toilet, taking a deep breath to steady herself and fight the wave of nausea that threatened to flare up. Again. Her eyes closed as she continued focusing on her breathing.
Gods, she felt awful. She hadn't felt this bad since before she had started using magic and now without it, she couldn't do anything to get rid of it like she would have in the Forest. And without her magic, she had relied on the curse to keep her healthy. Which it had done. Until now. It was another sign of the weakening of her curse. Frustration wanted to rise but with it came the urge to bend over the bowl of the toilet again and she had a feeling there was nothing left for her to throw up. So she forced it back for the sake of her stomach.
Three days in a row now. And if the soft fall of footsteps on the other side of the wall was any indication, Henry knew about it now too. There went the idea of keeping it hidden from him. Emma would somehow get it out of him and try to use it to her advantage, use it to turn her son against her. Just like every other little thing that shouldn't cause any sort of problem between mother and son. With a sigh, she ran a hand through her hair, pushing back the strands that had fallen in her face as she did. This was all starting to give her a headache. Three mornings was too much.
"Henry!" she called from the floor, putting off getting up for as long as she could. "Hurry up, you're meeting Emma for breakfast." She winced at the excited shuffle she heard at the announcement but shoved the feeling of pain aside; she had much more important things to focus on.
An hour later, Henry rushed through the door of the diner, practically bouncing as he took the seat in a booth next to Emma. "Mom's letting you walk me to school today," he told her, practically beaming.
Emma raised a brow in surprise. Her eyes flickered between Henry and Regina. Regina pursed her lips at the sight of the blonde but nodded in agreement with Henry's words as she stood at the edge of the table. "To school on time. Straight home after school. Is that understood?" As hard as she fought it, her nose wrinkled at the scent of the sausage Emma had on the table in front of her; it was overwhelming. But what about the blonde wasn't?
"Understood," Henry replied distractedly, already reaching into his bag for something to show to Emma.
"Understood," Emma agreed, eying Regina curiously.
"Is something the matter, Sheriff?"
"Not at all, Madame Mayor," Emma answered, pulling her gaze away to focus on Henry. Her instincts told her something was off but she wasn't about to question approved time with the kid.
Regina forced herself to look away before she could grow angry with the woman who was trying so hard to steal her son. Not that she ever wasn't, but now was not the time to start a fight. "I'll be home at five," she called over her shoulder as she turned to head out of the diner. A wave of the scent of lox on a passing tray drew her up short. She covered her nose with her hand while she glared at the waitress carrying the tray. "Is it so difficult to serve fresh food?" she demanded of the old diner owner behind the counter. Without waiting for an answer, Regina shoved the door open and finally escaped the whirlwind of nausea-inducing scents. What a disgusting diner. She should really look into shutting it down.
It was a quick walk down the road to Gold's shop. She couldn't stand the man, but it was nice to have her old mentor to talk to again. As much as she hated to admit it.
The bell jangled over the door, signaling Regina's arrival. "What can I do for you today?" Gold asked, brushing the curtain to the back room aside to help the customer. When he saw who it was he added a condescending, "Your Majesty."
Regina sneered. Her heels clicked with every slow step she took deeper into the shop until she could rest her palms against the glass of a display case to lean forward. Gold didn't even flinch when their faces were only inches apart. "What little trick did you put in the curse to do this to me?" she demanded, voice low and quiet in an attempt to control her anger. "I want it fixed."
Genuine confusion crossed Gold's features. "Whatever do you mean?"
"You know damn well what I mean. What else did you add to the curse that you didn't tell me about?"
"No more than you already know about." Knowing that wouldn't end the discussion but unable to care any less about anything the Queen could spout off at this point, Gold reached into the display they were standing at to pull out the Genie's lamp and a rag from the counter was used to begin cleaning the already spotless trinket.
Regina's countenance darkened at the attempted brush-off. She would not be ignored. "Don't tell me you didn't add something to weaken me as the curse weakened. What next, am I going to die if it breaks?"
Gold barely glanced up through his lashes at the steadily growing volume of the woman. "I would assume most people would be out for your head then, so it is a possibility."
"And at this rate it wouldn't take them much. What. Did. You. Do." It was no longer a question but a demand for an answer.
"The big bad queen can't take care of herself?" Warm breath clouded the gold of the lamp as he breathed on a spot that wasn't there.
"Not when she's too sick to move thanks to your convenient additions. I expect some sort of protection since this would be your fault."
That made Gold pause his cleaning. Lifting his head, he looked the queen over and a brow slowly rose. "You look just fine to me."
"Take another look in the mornings," she muttered bitterly.
"I have better places to be than your bedroom," he replied without skipping a beat.
Regina finally gave him space as the insinuation broke through her anger. Disgust overtook the other emotion. She decided to ignore the comment in favor of pursuing the reason she visited him in the first place which she knew he had to be lying about. "As if putting a loophole in wasn't enough, you make me sick, you make everything in the town smell of overwhelming rot that just makes me want to throw up. Why couldn't you have just left the curse alone?"
Gold set the rag and lamp aside and stood up straighter. "Did I also make your mood swings worse and your clothes fit tighter?"
Regina frowned, a hand smoothing the front of her almost uncomfortably-tight dress. It wasn't that obvious, was it? "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Think about it, dearie."
"Think about what? You did this! Just like you always do!"
"Did I?"
Regina shifted. Gold was trying to imply something but she couldn't figure out what. "Of course you did."
"I do believe this is more of our dear Charming's doing than mine."
"Spit it out, Gold," she spat, sick of the game.
"Give it another..." he wrinkled his nose and bobbed in head as if thinking."Seven, eight months. Give or take. I'm sure you'll have your answer then."
Her insides turned cold at a passing thought. But she couldn't let it take hold. Again she closed the distance between them. "What are you implying?"
"I believe you know exactly what I'm implying." At Regina's continued confused look, he placed a finger against her shoulder and pushed her back straight again. "Congratulations! You finally get to be a real mother." He barely caught the slight drop of her jaw as her eyes grew round, bulging from their sockets, when he began his return to his workshop in the back.
"We're frozen in time! That's not possible!" She still refused to believe it.
"You said yourself, the curse is breaking. Better get the nursery ready. I hear the pregnancy phase can pass before you know it."
"This isn't possible!" she repeated, stomping her foot. But Gold was already gone from the room, leaving only the random tap of his cane to answer her. A scream of aggravation tore from her throat before she could stop it. He was toying with her. Like he always was. She couldn't be pregnant. Yet the thought refused to leave her mind. No. She wouldn't let him get to her like that. There were other things to worry about. Like getting rid of the damn spawn of her greatest enemy.
Bare feet paced the tiled floor of her bathroom. Work had been forgotten for the day. How could she possibly focus after the imp had planted such an idea in her mind?
She glanced at the timer on the counter. Only a minute had passed. She still had to wait another two minutes.
Growling with impatience, she dropped onto the edge of the tub and rubbed the heels of her hands against her forehead. How could this even be a possibility? Had she really grown so lax with the security of her curse that she hadn't even thought of the possibility? It was one night. With Snow's husband of all people. An attempt to keep them apart and nothing more. Certainly not this. He had instantly regretted it the next morning and left her to return to the twit. Just another failed plan on her part.
Another glance at the clock. Another minute passed.
And what if it was true? How could she possibly do this? True, she had always wanted children. But that was with Daniel. After he died, the idea died with him. She couldn't have the child of another man. She only wanted Daniel's
children. And this wouldn't be Daniel's.
Her eyes prickled with the promise of tears at the thought. "I'm sorry, Daniel..." she whispered, staring at the ground between her feet. His face swam in her vision as a tear finally fell from her lashes. "I'm sorry..." Whether it was for his death, getting possibly pregnant by another man, or the inevitable abortion she knew she would have if it were true, she wasn't sure. Most likely all three. But...
The alarm went off. She glared at the timer as if it could hold stop time again, freeze them all where this never happened. But it didn't. Angry hands snatched the thing off the counter and turned it off before throwing it across the room where it shattered against the wall. Still she couldn't look. It wouldn't be Daniel's. Another tear fell, leaving a trail down her cheek. She raised a hand to grab the home test and stood as she raised it up to eye level. Not Daniel's. Not Daniel's. Not...