Part Two
The first few weeks were tough. Regina struggled as her body began to change, more and more clothes weren't fitting her anymore, and she found herself craving food she previously would never have touched. The morning sickness disappeared fairly quickly, which she was very thankful for, both for her own sake and for Henry's. For he was especially protective of his mother now, more so than ever, and even though he knew morning sickness was normal, he couldn't help but worry every time he heard her retching. He constantly was telling her to rest, lie down, sleep. Not to go to work, not to do anything at all. Regina appreciated Henry's concern, and every evening since telling him the news, they would curl up on the sofa together and Henry would rest his head on Regina's stomach as his mother reassured him that she was fine.
The morning of Regina's 12 week scan arrived quickly, and before her alarm even went off, she was out of bed. She stretched as she stood up and walked over to the curtains, pulling them open and smiling as she was greeted by the clear blue sky and the bright yellow sun. The perfect day. As she opened her bedroom door, she was hit by the smell of toast and coffee. Most mornings previously this had made her nauseous, but since her morning sickness had gone, she inhaled this scent deeply and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.
"Good morning, Henry." Regina greeted her son softly, placing a kiss on his forehead as she reached up to grab a glass from the shelf.
"Good morning, Mom. Oh, let me do that!" Henry replied, taking the glass from Regina's hand and pouring her some water.
Regina pouted at Henry, and placed her hands on her hips, sighing but not stopping him. "What have I told you? Henry, I can pour myself a glass of water."
"I know, I know. But, I want to help. Why don't you go and sit down and I'll bring your breakfast to you?" Henry flashed his Mom a big smile and Regina rolled her eyes.
"Ok. You don't need to do this, but I have a feeling that I'm not going to be able to stop you." Regina rubbed Henry on his back as she passed by him, and made her way to the table.
Henry followed soon after, bringing a tray that carried a glass of water, two pieces of buttered toast, a small bowl of porridge, and a banana and an orange. Regina giggled as he placed the tray in front of her.
"Henry..." she began. "This is wonderful, but I'm not going to be able to eat all of that. Why don't you take some of this?" she asked rhetorically, as she handed her son the bowl of porridge and the fruit.
Henry put the items back on the tray and shook his head. "No, come on mom, you need to eat lots for the baby. You're eating for two, remember?"
Regina sighed softly and raised her eyebrows at Henry, who quickly turned and left the room before she had the chance to say anything else.
"Well, I hope you're hungry, baby." Regina chuckled as she looked down at the small bump under her pyjama shirt and began to eat the feast her son had made for her.
"Regina Mills?" the doctor's assistant called out.
Regina nodded and stood up.
"Dr. Whale will see you now." the woman informed Regina, gesturing towards the door on the right of the corridor.
Regina smiled politely and walked over towards Dr. Whale's office, barely knocking on the door once before she heard his voice shout "Come in!" from the other side.
As she opened the door, she was met by Dr. Whale who looked her up and down, beaming with joy and proudly announcing that "You look wonderful! Look at that bump! You're positively glowing! Come and lie down!"
Regina took a deep breath and forced a smile at Dr. Whale who, despite all his best efforts, was still not Regina's favourite person.
"So, how have you been? I hope you've been resting up and eating well?" Dr. Whale asked, as he started to prepare the ultrasound machine.
"Yes, Whale." Regina replied coldly. And then with a softer tone, "Henry has been taking good care of me."
"Ah, yes. Of course. Good old Henry." Dr. Whale responded.
Regina forced another smile and waited for Dr. Whale to do or say something. Eventually the awkward silence was broken when Dr. Whale squeezed the cold gel onto Regina's stomach and Regina let out a shriek.
"Christ, Whale! You could have warned me!" she scowled.
"Sorry! Anyway..." Dr. Whale began to move the scanner over Regina's bump. "There you go! Hello, little one!"
Regina propped herself up onto her elbows so that she could get a better look at the screen. Her eyes widened and her face beamed as Dr. Whale showed her the life growing inside of her.
"So I would say that you are due December 24th. How nice! A Christmas baby!" Dr. Whale informed Regina.
"A Christmas baby." Regina repeated, although she wasn't fully listening. Her eyes were still fixed on the screen, trying to capture every single detail about her child.
"So your next appointment will be in about 6 to 8 weeks, when we will be able to tell you the sex of the baby! How exciting! My bets are on a boy." Dr. Whale continued, switching off the ultrasound machine and handing Regina four images of the baby.
"I'm not finding out the sex." Regina replied, as she ran her fingers over the pictures, her eyes filled with tears. "I want it to be a surprise."
Dr. Whale nodded and helped Regina back up to her feet as she tried to shrug him off and inform him that she could stand up by herself.
"You know, Regina, you really should take all of the help people are offering you. It's good to get as much rest as you can. You don't win a prize for being stubborn."
Regina immediately shot a death stare at Dr. Whale who put his hands up and apologised, "But that's none of my business. See you next time."
"Why am I even doing this?" Regina quietly asked her son, who was pouring everyone, except himself and Regina, a glass of red wine. "I'm sure they all know anyway. Snow probably told them and even if she didn't, it's pretty obvious." Regina rubbed her hand over her bump.
"Mom, relax. They are all going to be so happy! Come on, just come and sit down and tell them." Henry squeezed Regina's hand gently and she reluctantly followed her son out of the kitchen and into the living room, where Zelena, Snow, Charming, Emma, Hook, Belle and Rumple were all sat waiting. Regina glanced around the room and tried to keep her face from showing her confusion and disappointment at some of the people who were here. She knew that Henry would invite everyone in the family, and unfortunately for Regina, that meant Rumple.
"What is this? Why are we all sat in your living room drinking wine? We've never done this." Rumple asked Regina. "And you can't drink that." Rumple quickly took the glass out of his pregnant wife Belle's hand.
"Oh, sorry!" Henry stood up and ran back to the kitchen, shouting "I forgot, sorry, I'll get you some water!"
Rumple glanced over at Regina's empty hand, and then at her stomach. "And why aren't you drinking, your majesty? That's not like you." The corner of his mouth crept into a grin.
"Ok. Look. I didn't want to do this, but Henry did. Can we all just act civil and happy for him, please?" Regina whispered her shouting so Henry, who was still in the kitchen, couldn't hear her.
The group waited in silence for Henry's return, Snow on the end of the sofa, beaming a huge smile and sipping her wine, revelling in the fact that she knew exactly why they were all here. Henry sprinted back into the room after a few minutes, handing Belle a glass of water and apologising ferociously.
"Well, I guess I should tell you all why Henry called you here..." Regina began, looking at the floor and her arms folded across her stomach awkwardly. "Although, I know you've probably figured it out." She continued. "But.." she unfolded her arms and placed one hand on her bump, before smiling and looking up at everyone, "I am pregnant."
Snow immediately shot up from the sofa and ran over to Regina, hugging her tightly before pulling away and congratulating her, winking and confirming that she had actually managed to keep the secret. Charming was next to congratulate Regina, followed by Emma and then Belle who placed her hands on Regina's stomach and proclaimed that "I wish my bump was that small still, just wait until you're this big. It's not fun."
"Thanks." Regina replied sarcastically.
"Congratulations." Rumple finally spoke. "I take it is your beloved thief's child?"
Regina's eyebrows narrowed and her lips pursed into a scowl as she marched over to Rumple. "How dare you! Of course it is Robin's child. And don't you dare talk about him unless you want to lose a limb to a fireball." Regina warned.
"No need, dearie. You can realx. I was simply just asking." Rumple smirked as Regina unclenched her fist and went and sat down next to Zelena, who had remarkably remained silent the entire time.
"Are you ok?" Regina asked her sister.
"You're pregnant." Zelena replied, her voice shaky. Regina could tell she was upset.
"Yes, I am. A little over 12 weeks. Robyn is going to have a brother or sister! And you will have a niece or nephew. Are you not happy?" Regina was confused.
"No, I...I am happy...I just..." Zelena struggled to get any words out.
"What?" Zelena, what is it?" Regina rubbed her sister's shoulder.
"I guess it only really just hit me. What I did. To Robin. To you. I had a child with your boyfriend. Our children have the same father. How are we going to explain that to them? Oh my God, I'm such a terrible person." Zelena exclaimed, tears falling down her face.
"No! No, come on now Zelena. We've suffered enough of this, we fought for so long and finally, now, we are happy. We're sisters. I have forgiven you." Regina grabbed Zelena's hand and looked her in the eyes. "I forgive you." she repeated.
Zelena smiled at her sister before pulling her in for a hug. "I don't understand how you can forgive me, but I'm glad that you do. I'm glad we finally get to be sisters."
"Me too." Regina replied.
The movement woke Regina up suddenly. What the hell was that? She rubbed at her eyes and sat up in bed. Then it happened again.
"Oh my God! Oh my God! Henry!" Regina shouted, repeating Henry's name several times until he ran into her room, panicking.
"What!? What!? Mom, are you ok?! Is it the baby?!" Henry practically threw himself onto Regina's bed and sat close next to her, searching for answers.
Regina grabbed Henry's hand and placed it over her now 23 week old bump. "Can you feel that? It's moving!"
The feeling was like nothing Regina had ever felt before, and her eyes filled up with tears as happiness swept through her body. "It's moving!" she repeated as she looked at her son, who was crying too.
"Wow! This is amazing." Henry gasped.
Regina threw her arms around Henry then, and pulled him in close to her body, kissing the top of his head. "Thank you so much for doing this Henry, for changing my story. This wouldn't be happening if it wasn't for you."
"You're welcome mom." Henry whispered as they both closed their eyes and fell asleep together in Regina's bed.
A couple of hours later, Regina woke suddenly again. This time, breathing heavily and crying. This time, not awoken by the baby. Although she tried to keep quiet, Henry awoke soon after and tried to calm his mom down.
"What happened? Mom?" Henry asked.
"I'm ok. Don't worry, Go back to sleep. It was just a bad dream." Regina to reassure him.
"Was it about Robin?" Henry asked, although he could tell by the look on Regina's face that it was.
Regina remained silent and just nodded in response to her son's question.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Henry offered.
Regina shook her head, informing Henry that "I just wish he was here, that's all. I think feeling the baby move made me realise how much I need him here. How much he is missing out on."
Regina began to cry uncontrollably then, as she mourned Robin once more. Henry couldn't cope seeing his mother like this, and he tried his best to calm her down and comfort her.
"What can I do, Mom? Please, I'll do anything." Henry begged.
"I just want to talk to him." Regina sobbed, her whole body ached with pain.
Just then, Henry had an idea. "Could we try that séance thing you did when you wanted to talk to Cora? Would that work?"
"No." Regina replied through tears. "We don't have the person who killed him, or the object he was killed with. I've searched everywhere for ways to talk to him Henry, trust me, there is no way."
But Henry was adamant that he would find a way. There had to be a way, there was always a way. His brain went into overdrive and he tried to think of a solution. And then it hit him.
"What if...what if I write it in the book?" Henry suggested.
Regina paused briefly to consider it but then looked up at Henry and shook her head. "Henry, we don't know where he is. This is the problem. Hades said that his soul didn't go anywhere, it just ceased to exist. That's it. He's not in the underworld. He's just gone. There's no way to talk to him. Not even all of the magic in the world could help. He's gone forever."
"But can we really trust Hades though? And what's the harm in trying? If he's really truly gone, his soul isn't anywhere, then me writing that he appears to talk to you won't change anything. It wouldn't happen?" Henry tried to make sense of it, tried to predict the possibilites. "He wouldn't show up, right?" He asked Regina.
"I don't know Henry." Regina shook her head again.
"Come on, it's got to be worth a shot!" Henry got up out of bed then, and ran to his room, returning moments later with the book and his pen.
"Henry..." Regina began.
"No. I'm doing this. You need to talk to him. We need to try. If he is in the underworld, then hopefully this will work. If Hades was actually telling the truth, and he is just gone forever, then he won't appear? Nothing will happen. No harm done. We have to try!" Henry wasn't taking no for an answer. He began to write in the book.
And then, Robin Hood's soul appeared in front of Regina and Henry.
Regina closed her eyes and waited, although she knew that nothing was going to happen.
"No...it's not working." Henry whispered. "But, why? Come on, this isn't fair!" his whisper turned into a shout.
"Henry, you tried. I'm sorry, but there really is no" -
Suddenly, Regina's room was illuminated with a blinding bright blue light. Regina and Henry shielded their eyes and once the light had disappeared, they lowered their arms. Their faces dropped in synchronisation when they saw who was stood in front of them.