Thank you everyone who read the first chapter and is now reading this one! There is going to be a small bit of Spanish in here and I do not speak Spanish so if anyone who is reading this does and I write something that doesn't make sense PLEASE tell me and I will fix it! Let's continue this adventure shall we?
Regina turns the key to still the engine in the Mercedes after it comes to a stop in the garage for the second time that day. Stepping out of the car a smile breaks out on her face as noises from the house already start to fill her ears and she closes the car door. The weight from earlier that had been pushing her down as she went looking for help for Henry now feels much lighter. She hurries towards the front door of her house to greet those amazing voices.
As she steps through the doorway the sounds of small stampeding feet head her way. She hears her name shouted by several voices as they all attempt to skid to a stop in the entryway.
"Regina!"
"R'gina!"
"Reginaaaaa!"
Many small bodies don't stop quite in time but Regina, having experienced this countless times in the last 5 years, is prepared. Her smile is beaming as she crouches down and catches several of the children in her arms.
"Hello, mis hermosos hijos." Regina says, closing her eyes and taking in the love around her. Belle has reached her first, as she usually does and Regina stands with her in her arms and Phillip is practically glued to her leg. "Who is ready for dinner?" She asks.
"ME!" A collective answer is heard and Regina's smile grows bigger.
"Okay, it's fajitas tonight. Did anyone pick any peppers from the garden today?" Regina asks and several of the children raise their hands and start jumping up and down. "Okay, go pick out the best ones that you picked, we'll need 4, and also pick out an onion. I am going to go check in on Henry and then we can get started, okay?"
"Okay!" Several voices sound as they run off together.
Regina turns to Belle who is still in her arms, not making an effort to follow the others, "Would you like to come see Henry with me?"
Belle nods and tucks her head into Regina's neck. Peter has followed the younger children into the kitchen and Wendy has stayed behind, still standing in the doorway to the living room. Regina places her hand on her shoulder and gives it a squeeze.
"How were they while I was gone? Were you, Peter, and Alice able to get some of your homework done?" She asks, motioning for Wendy to follow her up the stairs.
"They were mostly good. Jeffy is still trying to make Phillip disappear with his new magic wand and hat." Wendy and Regina both chuckle at this. "Peter and I still haven't finished our math homework and I still have some history to read but I think we can tackle that after dinner. I believe Alice also still has some reading left."
Regina places her hand on Wendy's shoulder again and turns to her as she walks. "I really appreciate you and Peter keeping an eye on everyone today. Now that Henry has been seen I think we'll all feel a lot better."
They reach Henry's room, which he usually shares with Jeffy (who is five) when he's not sick, and Regina, Belle still in her arms, walks through the doorway.
Henry is asleep, his breath still slightly labored as Regina approaches the bed. Not wanting to disrupt his much needed rest she holds tightly to Belle as she leans down and places a soft kiss on his forehead, which is still warm and damp.
"Sleep well, Mijo." Regina whispers as she stands back up and walks back to hall. She closes the door most of the way behind her to shield his room from the noises of the house.
"Asleep?" Wendy asks as Regina returns to the hallway.
Regina nods and they make their way back downstairs.
Entering the kitchen, she sees it's a bit of a mad house. Phillip is running around with a green and red pepper grasped firmly in his hands as Jeffy chases him, top hat on his head, cape tied around his neck and wand in hand. Alice, who's twelve, is sitting on one of the stools laughing at the two who are both shrieking and Peter is shaking his head with a smile on his face as he is starting to peel an onion behind the kitchen island.
Regina places Belle down on the stool next to Alice, dodging the boys, and walks up beside Peter.
"Thank you, dear. I can take it from here." She says to him, "Why don't you take the future Houdini over there and set the table?"
Turning to the two wild boys she says to them, "Ok Jeffy, Phillip, help Peter set the table, please. Oh, and Phillip, may I have those peppers you are holding?"
Alice is still laughing as the boys slide to a stop and run to follow the older boy, Phillip placing the peppers in Regina's open hands. Regina turns to her and says, "And Alice, why don't you get everyone's drinks ready."
"But I just sat down." She whines, rolling her eyes.
Regina doesn't respond with words but shoots her a less than pleased look and Alice slowly slides off her stool with a groan and walks to the cabinet containing glasses.
It's a little bit hectic but dinner is successfully prepared, cooked, and eaten. It is delicious and is a big hit. Regina's stomach and heart are both full as they take the last few bites. They go in a circle around the table each reporting their 'highs and lows' for the day, a ritual they do every night around the dinner table.
After Regina has the kids help her clear the table, she says "Okay, everyone with homework you need to be starting that in the next 5 minutes and everyone else needs to be in their pajamas with their teeth brushed in the next 15 minutes. I will be upstairs for storytime then.
The youngest kids all dash out of the room as quickly as possibly followed by the older ones as Regina starts washing the dishes and loading the dishwasher.
She's pouring soap in when she hears feet scuffing into the room. Turning she sees Alice, brown hair falling into her eyes and a book with a "Storybrooke Middle School" sticker on the back held in her hand.
"Um, can I read down here for a while?" She asks, eyes focused on the book in her hand.
"Sure, dear. Anything the matter?" Regina asks, trying to catch her eyes.
"Uh, no. I'm fine." Alice says, hesitantly and Regina doesn't believe it for a second.
Alice sits on a stool and Regina slides onto the one next to her and waits. Alice plays with the corner of her book for a minute before she speaks again.
"I'm just worried about Henry." She finally says quietly.
"I know. Me too. But Dr. Swan gave him the medicine he needs and she's coming back tomorrow morning. I trust her that Henry is going to be okay." Regina responds, partly to convince Alice and partly to convince herself. She looks directly at Alice who looks up at her.
"She's, like, a really good doctor, right?" Alice asks, hope sneaking into her voice.
"The best." Regina says with a confident tone and reassuring smile.
Alice smiles at that. "Okay, good."
Regina peaks into Henry's room to check that he's still sleeping before she makes her way down the hall. Peering into Wendy's room she sees her leaned over her desk and math textbook, Peter in the chair on the other side of the desk. They are in the same math class and often work on their homework together.
"You alright, my dears?" She asks and they both nod and smile.
Continuing her way down the hall she looks into Alice and Belle's room and sees that it is empty. Smiling she ends at Peter and Phillip's room (which is also temporarily Jeffy's room while Henry is sick) and walks in.
Her heart melts as she sees Belle, Jeffy, and Phillip attempting to all squeeze under the covers of Peter's double bed, all three in their pajamas.
"Well this is a rare moment." She says with a laugh. "Everyone brush their teeth already?"
They all nod enthusiastically.
"I picked a book!" Belle says, pulling a picture book that Regina instantly recognizes from under the covers.
"Ah ha. Excellent choice." Regina says, gently sitting down across from the three small children and taking the book from Belle's hands.
"'Blueberries for Sal' by Robert McCloskey." She begins to read and everyone scoots a little lower into the pillows.
Lifting a sleeping Belle from the bed she turns and smiles at the other two, already moved to their beds, both clutching their stuffed animals as they sleep. Regina turns off all the lights, save one, and slowly walks out of the room. After tucking Belle in with a kiss to her head she checks back in with Wendy and Peter who are now ignoring each other to focus on their cellphones.
"Phones off at 9, you can read or head to bed after that." She says and they respond with a grunt.
Regina continues walking down the hallway when she hears a shift from Henry's room.
Slowly pushing Henry's door open she peers inside. In the dark room Regina can see her son shifting and trying to push himself up. Regina switches on the small light on a bookshelf by the door and makes her way over to his side.
"Feeling any better, Mijo?" She asks quietly, placing a hand on his forehead.
Henry shakes his head with a frown and Regina can feel that his forehead is still warm and damp.
"Try to get some more sleep. I'm going to get you some water that I'd like you to drink some of any time you wake up, okay?" She says.
Henry nods weakly as Regina turns to walk into the bathroom across the hall. Returning she hands Henry the glass and he take a few sips before handing it back to her. Placing it on his nightstand she leans down to kiss his forehead before turning to leave the room again, turning off the light.
Making her way downstairs she grabs her Kindle from her purse and walks into the living room where she finds Alice curled up and reading.
"Mind some company?" She asks her, making her way to the couch.
Alice shrugs her shoulders and scoots over, making room for Regina. They both curl up in matching positions on either ends of the couch, legs tucked underneath them. They stay that way for a long while until Regina feels her eyes starting to close involuntarily and she has no memory of the last several paragraphs she has read in her book.
"Okay, time for bed. Did you finish what you needed to read for tomorrow?" Regina asked, stretching out her limbs.
Alice nods with a yawn as she stands. "Goodnight." She says through another yawn and makes her way to the stairs.
Regina follows her soon after and into her own room, quickly going through her nighttime routine, and crawling under her covers. She closes her eyes, feeling the weight of the blankets around her. Sleep comes easy for her that night and unexpectedly the last images that flash through her mind are of a blonde doctor with fire in her eyes with something more behind them.
After the mad dash to get eight breakfasts made, five lunches packed, and three buses caught, Regina grabs Henry's medicine and after checking on Phillip playing in his room she walks through her son's door.
"Hi." Henry croaks out as he scoots to sit up in bed. Regina spots his half eaten toast on its plate on the night stand.
"Time for some more medicine, Henry." She says, starting to twist the cap on the bottle in her hands. "Dr. Swan will be by soon to check on you."
"I like her." He manages to get out before he downs the medicine given to him by his mother. "She's cool."
Regina smiles, "Well, I always trust your opinions of people, Henry." She says, pulling the thermometer that she had grabbed along with the medicine out of her pocket. Turning it on she places it under his tongue and waits for the beep.
As the thermometer beeps there is a knock on the door followed soon after by the thumping of small feet running past Henry's room.
"I GOT IT!" Phillip is yelling as he stomps slowly, yet as quickly as his little leg will allow him, down the stairs.
Sharing a quick grin with Henry she grabs the thermometer from his mouth and makes her way to follow the rambunctious boy to the door.
Phillip is reaching for the handle when he's scooped up from behind.
"Gotcha you little goober." Regina says, propping him on her hip and kissing him on his head. He giggles and squirms in her arms.
Pulling the door open she sees sunlight, blonde hair, and red leather.
Emma is not dressed in her white coat and slacks today but in a red leather jacket, a grey t-shirt, skinny jeans, and tall brown boots. Her hair is loose around her shoulders and in her hand she's holding a takeaway coffee cup and a paper bag from the drug store. Regina's eyes trail down her body quickly and then back up to meet her gaze.
This woman is annoyingly beautiful. Is what Regina would think if she could think of much at the moment.
"Hi." Emma says with a brilliant, yet slightly crooked, smile, her green eyes bright. "I, uh, I brought you coffee. It's from Ruby's." She adds, shifting her weight from her left to her right foot.
"Thank you." Regina manages to get out, placing Phillip down on the floor and taking the coffee from Emma' hand, fingers brushing slightly. "Come in, Dr. Swan." She says. As Emma passes her Regina stares out the door for a moment to compose herself, taking a deep breath. She spots Emma's old yellow bug parked in the driveway. Picturing Emma driving that tin can on wheels helps her regain her bearings a little.
"How is Henry this morning?" Emma asks clearing her throat as Regina closes the front door. "And you can call me Emma."
"His temperature is," She pauses remembering she was taking Henry's temperature when Emma arrived. She looks at the thermometer still in her hands, "His temperature is down a degree this morning and he's still pretty tired. He ate a few bites of toast and took his medicine just now."
"Good." Emma replies, "I'd like to go see him if that's okay."
Regina leads the way up the stairs, Phillip already far ahead and running back into his room. She hears Emma clear her throat again.
"I also picked up more antibiotics and cough medicine for him at the drugstore downtown. He should be set for a while." She hears Emma say behind her.
They enter Henry's room and he's drinking from his water glass looking like he's ready to fall asleep again but his eyes open a little wider when he spots Emma.
"Hi Emma!" He says with the most amount of enthusiasm a boy on cough medicine with pneumonia can manage.
"Hey kid." Emma says in return. "How are you feeling, Henry?"
"Tired." He answers, scooting back down into his bed.
Regina watches Emma pull her stethoscope that she had tucked into the back pocket of her jeans which Regina most certainly did not have her eyes on as soon as she stepped in front of her to check on Henry.
Regina waits for Emma to listen to Henry's chest for a few moments as she sips her coffee (black coffee, just as she likes) before the doctor turns to her to give her an update.
"Well, he's not sounding worse which is important." Emma says, removing the ear buds from the stethoscope and switching into what Regina notes in her head as Emma's 'doctor voice'. "We need to let the medicine do it's job for the next several days with lots more sleep and liquids." She adds.
Turning back to Henry, and switching out of her 'doctor voice' she says, "No slaying dragons for a little while for you, you hear me?"
"I'm more of a potions master, anyway." Henry slurs out as his eyes start to close, drifting back to sleep.
Regina hears Emma chuckle as she stands from the side of Henry's bed, stethoscope in her hand.
They quietly exit Henry's room and move towards the stairs. This time Emma is in front leaving Regina with a not so unpleasant view. Taking another sip of coffee she forces her eyes away, focusing on the railing of the stairs instead.
"Thank you, by the way, for the coffee, Dr. Sw...Emma." Regina says, correcting herself. "Do you need anything to drink? Can I get you anything?"
"I'm fine," Emma answers, reaching the bottom of the stairs and turning around in the entryway to face Regina.
They both stand there a moment, eyes locked, atmosphere slightly awkward. Regina doesn't quite know why but she's not wanting Emma to leave quite yet. It must be her need for some actual adult conversation she tells herself and almost believes it.
Emma runs her hands through her hair and rubs the back of her neck. "So, I still feel awful for the way I treated you yesterday. I made assumptions that were dead wrong and the way I behaved was unacceptable." She pauses for a moment. "If there's anything I can do, if I can help in any way, I'd be more than happy to do it."
Regina is uncomfortable with the awkwardness coming from Emma and it shifts to self-consciousness which turns into self-defence. Regina's walls come up.
"We're not a charity Dr. Swan, we don't need your pity." Regina snaps, almost surprising herself at her tone. She wants to take it back, change her wording but she's still uncomfortable. Nothing bothers her quite like people pitying these children. They don't need pity. They need love.
Emma's eyes widen as she takes a step forward, her eyes don't leave Regina's as she sticks out a hand and then pulls it back.
"Oh no! No no." Emma says, moving her head trying to catch Regina's eyes.
When Regina finally looks Emma in the eyes she searches them, looking for a lie as she continues.
"Look, I…" Emma stammers and then pauses, taking a deep breathe and then letting it out slowly. She runs her fingers through her hair again before continuing. "I grew up in the system. And...and I know first hand how shitty that life can be. These kids here with you, these kids, you love them. Do you know how much I wanted what these kid have? What you give them? Every single day I wanted this." She gestures around. "Regina, I think...I think you're amazing. I don't pity these kids, I envy them."
There is a pause for several minutes as Regina studies Emma's face and Regina can see Emma studying hers, reading her reaction to what she has revealed. Finally, Emma takes a step back and starts to turn towards the door.
"Emma, wait." Regina calls out. "How much do you know about gardening?"
Emma turns with a smile.
"Absolutely nothing." She says with a small laugh through teary eyes.