Warning: this will probably make you cry at some point or another.
Five years.
It had been five years since Regina went into remission. Five years since she married her true love and finally became convinced she deserved a happy ending. Five years since Robin and Roland moved in and her house changed into a home. Regina was finally getting her happy ending and nothing could change that...
"Mom! I'm home!" Henry slammed the front door behind him, dropping his backpack off by the front door and plopping down onto the couch. He grabbed the remote and switched on the television. Regina was rushing around the room, searching everywhere for her other heel. "Why are you in such a hurry?"
"I have a doctor's appointment and I can't find my other shoe," she complained, still searching.
"It's by the front door," Henry recalled.
Regina thanked him and kissed him on the cheek before telling him that his after school snack was on the kitchen counter. "Love you," she called as she was headed out the door.
Henry had a mouth full of peanut butter and apples as he mumbled back, "love you too."
At the doctor's office, Regina was sitting anxiously inside the office of her oncologist, Annie. She could feel her nerves on fire, preparing for the worst but trying to hope for the best. Annie folded her hands across her desk before showing a small smile. "I have your lab results."
Regina swallowed thickly, she could feel that bad news was coming. She should have known; she had dealt with bad news her whole life. "It's back, isn't it?"
"I'm sorry," Annie admitted honestly, "your breast cancer is back."
Regina was silent for a moment. Thinking of how she was going to break the news to Robin and to Henry… to Mary Margaret. The first time was hard enough but now she would have to tell them again?
"What do we do?" she asked quietly, "more chemotherapy? Surgery?"
"I'd like to start with radiation," Annie explained, "we'll target the affected area and the side effects are minimal when compared to the chemo."
Regina nodded, feeling the tears pool in her eyes. "I have to go," she said suddenly. She grabbed her purse and rushed out of the tiny office, forcing air into her lungs as she ran to her car.
Robin was at Mary Margaret's house, sitting in the living room and drinking a beer with David. They had become good friends over the years and got together almost every weekend. Roland was sitting at the kitchen table in front of a plate of cookies, sneaking one whenever he thought nobody was looking. Mary Margaret was just about to make another batch when there was a knock at her door. She took off her apron and sat it aside, smiling warmly when she saw Regina. "Come in," she welcomed, "how was your appointment?"
Regina stood in the doorway, too lost in her own thoughts to move. Her tears pooled again no matter how hard she fought to keep them at bay. She opened her mouth to deliver the bad news but no words came out. Mary Margaret knew…
"Oh, Regina…" Mary Margaret threw her arms around her best friend, letting her tears fall freely. She hated that Regina had changed her life to be good only to be dealt the worst hand the world had to offer. "It will be alright. You beat it once, you can beat it again."
"I thought that when I proved that I was good that things would change," Regina admitted, staying in the doorway, unprepared to tell Robin the news. "I thought that it was finally my turn for a happy ending but, here I am… again." She laughed at the absurdity.
"You will still have a happy ending," Mary Margaret stated firmly, "you will. If anything, this just shows how strong we all know you are."
Regina didn't say anything. How could she? If Mary Margaret wanted to believe that Regina's happy ending was still out there… who was she to crush that hope? She wasn't that person anymore. "Is Robin still here?"
Mary Margaret nodded. "He's in the living room." She stepped aside so Regina could come in, calling for David to give Robin and Regina some private time.
When Robin laid eyes on her he knew that something was wrong. He could tell by the way her shoulders hung and by the pink that rimmed her eyes. "Love, what's the matter?" He stood up, walking to her side. Reaching for her hands and holding them in his own. She stared into his eyes, too scared to say anything, too hurt. Instead she let her tears finally fall and the sob finally escape from her throat as she leaned into Robin's embrace.
The first diagnosis had been awful. Regina hadn't wanted to take her medicine or allow herself any time to rest and Robin knew very little about current treatment. He had stayed up for days on end reading books on cancer and things he could do to help her feel better. When the treatments progressed, she had finally eased up on her daily activities until the cancer was gone; remission was achieved. Now, standing in the middle of David and Mary Margaret's living room, Robin knew that this was just another obstacle. This was just another horrendous rock thrown into Regina's path. Fate had a funny way of playing it's cards.
"It will all be alright," Robin assured her as he rubbed her back soothingly, "you beat it once and I know you can again."
"Can we please go home?"
Robin nodded as he pulled away. He reached his hand to her face and gently wiped away her tears. "Yes, we can go home and we can tell Henry together. We can do this; together, okay?"
Regina sniffed and then nodded. She was glad that Robin wanted to fight because if she was being honest, she wasn't sure if it was worth it anymore. Why fight so hard to prove yourself worthy when it was only thrown in your face in the end?