And here is Day 4! I hope you guys enjoy it!

Day 4: Free Day

She is sitting in her office when the pain hits. Hard. It's indescribable, not like anything she's ever felt before and she can't stop the heavy gasp that escapes her, followed by a whimper. What the heck is happening?! It's as if someone is crushing her heart inside her chest. No, not crushing it, ripping it apart. Regina can't breathe, is grasping for air but it won't fill her lungs. In a last desperate attempt she dials for the sheriff station and hears David pick up.

"What can I do for you Regina?... Hello?"

Tears are brimming in her eyes and she wants to call for help, wants to tell him she thinks she's dying but her voice is gone. This is not how she imagined her death to be, not at all. With a last whimper and feeling how her heart is ripped into shreds she loses consciousness.

Regina wakes in the hospital with a headache and a dry, fairly scratchy throat. The light of the neon lamps is blinding her, making her close her eyes once again. Through frequent blinking she manages to adjust her eyes to the bright light.

"Mom!" Henry. Her hand is wrapped into his, a slightly wet kiss pressed against it. She finally manages to open her eyes. He's worried her little prince, and that's something she hates to see, especially when she is the one to put this look onto his face. "Mom thank God. What happened? Are you okay?"

"Give Regina a chance to fully wake up, Henry," another voice says. Snow. Regina feels the need to sass her, to not tell her clearly worried son what to do, but all she manages is an unidentifiable rasping sound. Her hand loses Henry's warmth, a loss she regrets immediately, but instead, he's holding a cup of water with a straw toward her lips.

"Here, you should drink something. It'll make you feel better." Ever so attentive her son. Regina smiles her thanks and leans forward to catch the end of the straw with her lips. She takes one, two, three little sips and pulls her head away. It hurts, her whole throat hurts… and this headache and heartache… what the hell happened? Her confused eyes must have given away her question because Snow is quick to answer.

"David found you unconscious in your office yesterday around noon. You tried to call him, but when he picked up you didn't say anything. He decided to check it out and when he found you collapsed on your desk and you weren't responding, he called an ambulance. Can you remember anything at all?"

Regina shrugs helplessly. "I just…" She clears her throat, hoping her voice won't sound so hoarse the second time. "I was in pain. My heart… It was as if someone was ripping it into shreds." A hand goes up to where her heart is located. Snow is about to protest, but she reaches inside her chest and pulls it out in one swift move. It doesn't hurt as much as she expected, but when she sees it, her breath catches in her throat once again. The surface of her heart is… shattered. Shattered like a mirror, looking as if it's about to fall apart any second.

"What the…" Snow and Henry look equally stunned. Regina has seen many hearts over the years, too many maybe, but she's never seen anything like this. It's scaring her more than she wants to admit because she doesn't know what's wrong, has no idea which force could have done that to her heart. All she knows is that she needs to find out before something far, far worse is going to happen.

Xxxxx

It's been a week since she's collapsed and pulled her heart out of her chest and Regina finds herself in her vault waltzing through every one of her mother's books she can find. Belle has done some research as well in Rumple's library of books about dark magic. There's a lot about hearts, about forms, shades and spells, but none of the texts she's found even mentions a shattered surface like she has it. All she's found is that a heart shatters right before it's turned to dust.

Zelena has come up with her own theories regarding her sister's condition. She's sure someone wants to kill her or has at least tried to do so unsuccessfully, but again, Rumple her and Emma have tried to find traces of any foreign magic here in Storybrooke without luck. Something has happened, Regina knows, but she cannot put her finger on it. Her magic is still working as always and her body feels like the collapse never happened. Only her heart stays tainted.

Sighing, Regina shuts the last book, ready to head out of her vault in order to meet the Uncharmings for dinner, when the reflection of her mirror starts to first blur, then swirl. The magic is creating wind, blowing out her candles and letting loose pages of her books fly around. And cold, it's suddenly turning so cold. Since attack has always been her best defense, she conjures two fireballs up, ready to unleash them against whoever is using her magic mirror as a portal to get here. The moment a cloud of purple smoke appears she can immediately sense her own magic. What the hell is happening? "Queenie?!"

There's no answer, but she can hear an ear piercing scream from the other side as well as the purple cloud slowly forming into a figure. No, no, it's not one figure, it's one and… a half? As fast as the portal opened, it tears off again, leaving a pile of shaking clothes and limbs huddled on the floor. With a quick wave of her hand, Regina lights up the vault again, almost stumbling backward when she finds two very familiar faces staring at her.

"Robin…? And… Roland? What on earth?" Their faces are a tearful mess and it's Roland who acknowledges her first, crawling up to wrap his arms around her legs. He's grown so much in the past one and a half years, she almost doesn't recognize her little knight. "What happened? Robin…?"

But he isn't answering. It's only then that she sees the tiny pink bundle he is cradling in his arms, rocking it softly as his sobs echo through the vault. She doesn't even need to ask what happened, she can put two and two together. Her collapse, the portal, Robin, Roland crying… Slowly, very slowly she sinks down to the ground and pulls Roland into a hug while tears are starting to stream down her face as well.

Regina doesn't know how long they have been sitting in her vault, all she knows is that she has to take matters into her own hands and move them. It only takes a wave of her hand in order to move them into her living room, with all of them landing on the couch together. Roland is fast asleep from exhaustion against her hip, but Robin is still fully awake, his eyes focused on the ground.

"She didn't make it," Robin whispers. Regina almost doesn't hear him. Her hand reaches out for his shoulder, surprised he's letting her comfort him. The pink bundle lets out a soft cry and Robin shushes it, holds her even closer and rocks her from side to side. "Shhhh, sweetie." It's a little weird to see him like this, especially because of all these times she's imagined her Robin holding their daughter. She wouldn't say it hurts… but she'd be lying if she said it doesn't at least sting a little. There's another soft cry and Robin presses his lips to the baby's head. "I know. I know you miss her."

Only now Regina gets a glimpse at the face of the infant in his arms. A soft patch of brown hair and bright baby blue eyes. She's beautiful, even now that she's started crying. Just like she's always imagined. Her hand reaches out but she pulls it back, not sure if she has the right to touch the child. For the first time Robin looks at her, an unreadable expression on his face. The air catches in her throat when he shifts closer to her, carefully placing the infant into her arms. To both their surprise, the baby stops screaming immediately.

"She's so beautiful," Regina whispers, eyes brimming with tears. "What's her name?"

"Rosalie," Robin answers, watching them carefully. He takes a deep breath, rubbing his face with the edge of his cloak. There are so many questions in Regina's eyes when he looks back at her, none of which he feel ready to answer.

"The Queen… She… Regina… She said you would take care of us?"

"I would never turn you away, Robin. None of you."

Robin nods, still watching as Regina rocks his child, her expression a mixture of joy and sadness. Sucking in air, he says: "She died protecting us. Just like your Robin died protecting you."

She doesn't know what to answer, just knows how much pain he must be feeling right now.

"I'm not her."

"And I'm not him."

It's not fair, not fair at all they both have to go through the pain losing their loved ones. All she can do now is hope that their story of loss and pain has once and for all come to a full circle.