Chapter 2: By BleachOutAllTheDark
07:55AM. Regina stared at her alarm clock in silence as she watched the small hand of the clock whirl round with each tick. How long had she been awake now? Three hours? Maybe four?
07:56AM. She thought hard again to think if she had encountered any other fairies in the last week. Nothing. It couldn't be fairy dust. She would know by now surely?
07:57AM. Maybe it was poison. She felt her throat close tight with the prospect. She was hated enough for it. Yet, people seemed to have moved on even just slightly from the days of the Enchanted Forrest. Yet here she was facing another sleepless night. Another morning she wakes up before her alarm clock.
Regina huffs and turns on her side to her source of warmth on this frosty morning that was giving her the strength not to scream with frustration. She smiled as she watched Robin's peaceful face. The rise and fall of his chest and the sounds of him breathing deeply relaxed her. She turned off the alarm and moved closer to her slumbering thief. Gently she traced the slope of his nose and down over his lips. Cupping his chin, she gently met his lips with her and planted a series of soft kisses till she felt him begin to stir. She stopped and looked in to the sleepy eyes that greeted her.
"Good morning, my thief." She whispered smiling softly.
"Hmmm…. I think you should wake me like this more often. I never did take to that screeching box" Robin joked wrapping his arms around her waist and pushing the soft strands of hair out of her face.
"It's called an alarm clock, dear" She laughed and slapped him playfully on the chest.
"Did you sleep?" Robin questioned now looking serious as he stretched his arms.
Regina bit her lip and looked down. She couldn't worry him. Hell even she didn't know what was going on with her body recently. She needed to get to the bottom of it and she needed to get it done today.
"Yes I did… eventually" she lied.
"Eventually? You sure were tossing and turning a lot?" Robin questioned locking his hold on her.
Regina averted his gaze while slowly unclasping Robin's hands from round her.
"I better get the boys up." Regina stated simply while slipping out of his embrace and grabbing her night gown off the end of the bed.
"I wish you would stop that" Robin stated flippantly throwing the covers off of him and grabbing his jeans and shirt he had lain out the night before.
"Stop what?" Regina asked finger combing her hair in her mirror while trying to ignore the question.
"Stop pushing me away when I can clearly see there is something bothering you, Regina. We're meant to be a team in this family. You need to open up to me and we can face whatever is bothering you head on together." Robin said while getting up and standing behind her. He brushed his fingers down her bare arms. Both of them stared in silence at each other in the mirror. She watched his eyes flash with hurt as a lump began to form in her throat.
"Nothing is wrong Robin…" She whispered looking down at her fingers so as not to see the pain his eyes.
"Right… I'm sure, Regina. I'll take the boys to school today. When you feel like you can actually trust me for once and make this work, you know where to find me."
Regina flinched as her bedroom door slammed and felt tears prick her eyes. What the hell was wrong with her? She couldn't hurt him more. Regina felt her determined attitude take the wheel as she strode her way to her en suite bathroom. She was going to find out what had caused this today. If any fairy or traitor was to blame for this she would make sure they suffered. She sighed in frustration as she felt her anger begin to rise inside her more. She splashed her face with the icy water and there it was again. Her heart raced. The swirling purple haze in her eyes. Magic
"How is this happening!?" Regina whispered in a panic pulling her bottom eyelids down and frantically searching to see what could be causing it but seen nothing. She heard a bang at her bathroom door and jumped.
"Mom?" She heard Henry shouting. She couldn't go out not while her eyes were like this. She spun round staring back at her reflection again.
"I... uh… I'm just about to go in the shower honey what is it?" she asked trying to stop the shaking in her voice. Calm down, Regina.
"I'm staying with Emma tonight seeming I'm staying here at the weekend. Robin is wondering if you will you be okay to pick Roland up from school today?"
Regina held her shaking hands together and pressed her back to the bathroom wall before slowly sliding herself down the tiles. The feelings of nausea and dizziness troubling her the last week returning to her.
"Mom?" Henry pressed her for an answer and snapped her out of her daze.
"Of course honey… I can do that…." She said her voice shaky.
"Are you sure you're feeling better?" He asked through the door. His concern evident. Henry was smart just like his Mothers. If she didn't get him away soon he would seek to find out the real answer.
"Yes, Henry I'm fine. Now you get off to school before you're late." She instructed sternly.
"Okay Mom. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you!"
Regina slowly released the breath she had just realized she had been holding. She heard her bedroom door click. He's gone.
She put her head into her lap and closed her eyes as the all too familiar wave of nausea hit her again. Her palms began to get clammy as a sweat broke out over her body. She sat on the cold bathroom floor willing her breathing to settle. She felt weak and exhausted. Then she felt it rising up her throat. She groaned and dragged her exhausted body over to the toilet as her stomach heave violently letting the contents of last night's dinner make its way back up.
As she puked she let the tears in her eyes run freely. Making a mental note that whoever did poison her, as she suspected this was more likely the case now, was going to suffer under her wrath.
Fourty five minutes passed and Regina was still lying on the floor panting as her body once again tried to violently be sick. She could barely keep her eyes open. Her bones screamed in protest and her throat burned from the stomach acid now spilled in the toilet. She lay again on her cold bathroom floor praying for her body to rest. Her vision was blurry and she could hardly think straight. Regina knew she needed help. Her mind flashed to Robin but the stubborn voice in her head stopped her from grabbing her phone and pressing dial. She lay on the floor shaking as cold sweat began to sit on every area of her skin. She crawled to the counter and grabbed her phone while debating phoning him. Her head swam feeling light headed as she fell back barely able to keep her own balance. Her hands shakily trying to find the contact on her phone. Emma Swan.
She heard the phone ring and ring and let a tear spill down her cheek as another wave of nausea gripped her. She sent a silent prayer up that for once the blonde who irked her so much would actually pick up.
"Hello?"
Regina felt a weight lift off her shoulders at the sound of her friend's voice coming down the line.
"Em-Emma…I can't stop-" Regina hoarsely choked the words up before slamming the phone on the floor and throwing up what now just looked like bile in to the toilet. She grimaced at the sight as she slumped down on the floor. Her ears began to ring and her body shook uncontrollably.
"Regina!? Regina!? I'm on my way. Stay where you are!"
Regina's chest heaved as her breath staggered out of her. Her eyes heavy as she slowly gave in to the darkness that willed her to sleep.
*-*-*-*
"Regina? Regina, it's Emma"
Regina stirred as she felt someone gently shake her shoulders. Her throat burned and her muscles stiffly adjusted to her position on the floor. She opened her groggy eyes and was met with the blonde crouching down beside her. Her face was a painting of concern and worry as she applied a cold cotton flannel to Regina's head. Regina adjusted herself slowly to a sitting position again. Relief flushed through her to realise that her body had finally stopped with its advances. She could finally think straight again. Regina sat motionless staring at the wall trying to make sense of what the hell she had just experienced.
It must have been poison. Regina was rarely ill but when she was she knew it was nothing like what she had just experienced. This was no pixie dust. She had to be poisoned or… she stopped herself. There was no way. Even as she thought it she had to stop a twinge of hope. She had stopped that possibility years ago. It was her own fault.
"You may be a queen but your puke is nasty… what the hell did you eat last night?" Emma laughed and then suddenly stopped as she caught sight of the death glare she got from her friend.
"Okay sorry. Regina, you know what I'm going to say though, right?" Emma said tentatively before helping the older woman to her feet.
"Yes… it's not a bug. Save me the lecture." Regina sighed as she stood to her shaky feet. Emma smiled at her friend sympathetically as they stood in silence. Neither wanting to make the first move.
"I doubt that it is fairy dust. I mean it could be poison… but surely we should rule out the… um… other option?" Emma suggested shyly not daring to look Regina in the eyes.
She rolled her eyes. There was no way. Not a single shred of a possibility. If she had to take a test just to shut up the blonde, then so be it.
"Fine." Regina snapped flippantly.
Emma whipped a pregnancy test out of her bag and handed it to the former Queen who frowned at the blue and white stick. She had never used one of these. Never had to. It felt strange and foreign in her small, shaking hands.
"You just have to take off the cap and then pee on the end and-"
"I know how to use a pregnancy test, Emma! I may not have used one before or be from this world, but, I am not stupid!" Regina snapped.
Emma's mouth shut quickly as she backed out the door slowly to give her friends privacy.
"I'll be downstairs once you're ready" she said softly while clicking the door shut.
Regina stared back at the test in her hand. Silence finally greeting her.
"This is so stupid." She whispered to herself. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she thought about how she could never give a child to Robin. She wondered if he compared her to Marion. She was a baron, evil, vengeful villain and Marion was a saint and loved by all. Maybe Robin would realise this one day and leave her. Regina watched as her knuckles went white as she gripped the test in her fist. She ruined everything all because of her own selfish attitude.
She sniffed and pulled herself together. She had to get this over with today. Her hands shook as she slowly pulled down the bottoms of her silk pyjamas. This was ridiculous. Why was she taking a pregnancy test when she knew for a fact she couldn't ever conceive? Regina closed her eyes and counted to 5 slowly in her head before bringing the test back up and closing the cap. She sighed as she washed her hands and looked at her tired, pale complexion in the mirror. She needed to eat and get a grip of herself.
She made her way down her wooden, polished stairs and followed the smell, as what she could only describe as heavenly, coming from her kitchen.
"What are you doing, Swan?" Regina questioned as she seen the blonde bustling about in her kitchen.
"Making a New Yorker bagel I'm starving and judging by how you just threw up last night's dinner, you probably are too." Emma answered with her back turned to Regina as she concentrated on cooking.
Regina perched herself on the kitchen island seat and watched as the blonde presented a slightly burnt bagel in front of her. Regina smiled weakly but was unable to take a bite. She stared helplessly down at the small window on the screen before her. A line and its negative. A circle and its positive. Regina stared at the screen intently waiting for it to reveal her fate. It had to be negative. This was all a ridiculous thought.
"It'll be okay you know… whatever happens we will get to the bottom of it, Regina." Emma said giving her a sympathetic smile.
Regina felt her eyes prick with tears and choked back on the hard lump that rested in her throat.
Emma's eyes suddenly widened as she stared down at the test lying on the table between them. Regina sucked in her breath and sat motionless as she sees the screen glowing and swirling with a dark purple magic before going completely blank. Nothing.
Regina's mouth dropped open as she looked up at Emma who was wearing the same look of shock on her face.
"What… what the hell just happened?" Regina whispered hoarsely.
"I don't know… but whatever it means… we maybe need to get you to a doctor instead." Emma stuttered.
Regina looked up once again from the now blank test feeling fear begin to engulf her.
"Regina your eyes!" Emma gasped.
Regina grabbed her phone and stared at her reflection in shock as she was once again met with the glowing swirling purple magic in her eyes.
Ooooh Regina what's going on!?