She could feel the cold metal digging into the soft flesh of her temple. She could feel her throat burning as she kept forgetting to breathe, having to remind herself to keep the air flowing. She could feel that her hand was already broken, a piercing pain shooting through her wrist and up her index finger every time she moved it. She squeezed the pistol tight in her good hand, shaking as she held it to her head.
She saw the barrel of the other gun in front of her. She stared at his finger on the trigger, the smirk on his busted face where she had tried to fight him.
"Pull the trigger, Regina."
He was making her play a game, Russian Roulette. He had forced her to pick the gun up and place it to her head, telling her that one of the chambers had a bullet and one of them wasn't going to make it out alive. She had no choice but to play the devil's game, as he held another gun directly at her face. Maybe by some chance she would be lucky and he would be the one getting killed…
Her face contorted as she thought of Henry, of never getting to see him again. She thought of Robin and Roland, her family. Family; if you would have told her that several years ago, she never would have believed it.
"Three chambers left. Pull the trigger, Regina, now!"
The gun shook uncontrollably in her hand as she brought her finger to the trigger and squeezed. Her eyes slammed shut as the trigger clicked and she remained standing. She took in a deep breath and cried when she opened her eyes.
"My turn." The man snatched the gun from her hands and placed it to his temple. He had no hesitation in placing the gun to his own head and pulling the trigger quickly, his face held no reaction.
Then everything went black. Regina wasn't in the granary anymore and the man wasn't in the room with her. She could feel that she was lying on something soft but, she couldn't force her eyes open.
"Regina, it's Emma, I've got you, you're safe. Come on, Regina. Open your eyes."
Regina struggled but she blinked her eyes open and couldn't believe it. She was saved. "How?"
"It doesn't matter," Emma promised as he began growing emotional, "you're going to be okay. We're on our way to the hospital and everyone else is already there waiting."
"I don't know how to say thank you."
"Then don't."
It was late in Storybrooke and Regina had decided to let Robin sleep and go for a walk. She grabbed her coat and slipped on her only pair of tennis shoes before heading out. She wasn't sure where she was going, she just walked. The night air breezed slowly past her as she watched one foot walk in front of the other. She thought about the day she was rescued. She didn't remember much, she remembered having to play the game and then she remembered Emma. She vaguely remembered asking Emma how she had found her but, she didn't remember if Emma had ever answered. Maybe she just forgot or maybe Emma decided not to tell. Whatever the answer, Regina wanted to know.
"Regina?"
She stopped, looked to her left to see that she was standing in front of the Charming's place. Snow was sitting on the front porch swing with a mug of hot chocolate in her hands. It looked like Regina wasn't the only one who was having trouble sleeping.
"Hey."
"Is everything alright?"
Regina contemplated her answer. She could lie and say everything was fine, say that she just needed fresh air but, this was Snow White. This was her friend, her best friend. She slipped her hands in her coat pockets and joined Snow on the swing.
"My hand is bothering me which means it's going to rain," she commented lamely. When she received an annoying glance from Snow, she elaborated, "I had another nightmare and I didn't want to wake Robin so, I just decided to go for a walk. I guess my conscious brought me here."
"You feel safe here," Snow commented.
Regina shrugged. "I'm trying," she whispered, "to feel safe. I know that he can't come back here because of the protection spell but…"
"You don't have to explain anything to me," Snow said before taking a sip of her fresh cocoa, "and this house is always open for you to come, any time you would like."
"You can't sleep either?"
Snow shrugged. "Neal has been up all night. He's pretty fussy, I think he might be coming down with a cold."
"I think I have some children's Tylenol left from when Roland was sick last week," Regina offered, "he's fine so he doesn't need it anymore."
Regina and Snow sat in silence for a short while, staring at the sky as the stars began disappearing while clouds rolled in. The sweet smell of chocolate made them both comfortable and the slight breeze was welcomed.
"Snow," Regina spoke after a long time, "can I tell you something?"
"You know you can."
"The morning I was taken," she swallowed heavily, "I took a pregnancy test. I had missed a period and I just thought… maybe fate would be on my side after all."
Snow stayed quiet, her heart physically aching for Regina.
"I didn't get a chance to look at it," Regina admitted, "before… I didn't look and now, even if I was pregnant… I was hurt… I didn't tell anyone."
Snow's eyes grew wide. "Regina, you didn't tell the doctor?"
She shook her head, "I was scared, Snow. I was so scared and I wasn't even thinking and-"
"It's okay," Snow promised, "there's no judgement here but, you should get looked at. I can go with you and nobody will have to know unless you want them to."
Regina nodded, feeling relieved that Snow had been awake. She wasn't sure if her intentions were to end up on the Charming's porch but, she was glad she had ended up there. "You'll stay with me?"
"You have my word."