Thank you so much for all the reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. I'll update soon!

Disclaimer - I don't own anything!

Chapter 2 She Will Be Queen

It was late when Jason got home and he didn't see Regina anywhere. He went into the kitchen and found the lasagna she had made. Once he was done eating he went upstairs and the moment he saw her lying on their bed he knew something was wrong.

"Regina, what's wrong?" he asked, going over to her and kneeling down beside her. He lovingly brushed the hair from her face and she opened her eyes at his touch. She gave him a weak smile and slightly turned her head to kiss his hand that was on her cheek.

"I'm fine," she whispered. He knew that wasn't true and he looked at her sternly.

"Are you sure?" he asked, trying to get her to open up. Even though she was more open with him now, she still had her moments where she would still try to bottle everything in. He moved to sit next to her and she turned so that she was lying on her back.

"I don't know… I've been feeling nauseas all day." At those words he placed the back of his hand on her forehead.

"You don't seem to have a fever. Maybe it was something you ate yesterday."

"Yeah, maybe," she agreed as she suddenly reached out and pulled him down so that she can kiss him. She missed him today and all she wanted was for him to hold her until she felt better. When the need for air became too strong they finally pulled away, Jason's lips just inches away from hers.

"Change honey so that you can come to bed with me," she whispered. He didn't need to be told twice. He quickly changed and got into bed with his wife, holding her close and hoping she would feel better.

Regina woke up later in the middle of the night and instantly felt the urge to throw up. She pulled away from Jason's embrace and practically ran to the bathroom. When she was done, she sat back against the wall and tried to think what could possibly be making her sick like this. She knew what food poisoning felt like and to be honest this wasn't it. If this didn't clear up by tomorrow then she was making an appointment at clinic tomorrow. She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there and after two more rounds of vomiting Jason suddenly came in.

She was sitting by the toilet, her breathing labored and he knew she had just finished throwing up. He flushed the toilet and knelt down, his hand rubbing her back in comfort. He hated seeing her like this and like Regina he thought about taking her to the clinic in the morning. Even if it was just food poisoning, maybe the doctor can prescribe her something to keep the nausea under control.

"It's ok, deep breaths," he whispered as she tried to control her breathing. He pressed a loving kiss to her hair and he could feel her shaking against him.

"I feel horrible," she whispered as she leaned against him, letting him embrace her.

"I know, I'm sorry," he said, his voice soothing. "Do you want to try getting up?"

"Give me a few minutes," she said, closing her eyes and bracing herself just in case she was going to be sick again. Fortunately, she was fine and Jason slowly helped her to her feet and led her back to their bed.

"I'm driving you to the clinic tomorrow," he said as they got into bed and he pulled her close against him. She snuggled into his chest, her eyes closing in exhaustion.

"No, I'm fine," she murmured stubbornly. She thought maybe it was just food poisoning and she really didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Besides she was far too busy with running this town and she had a day full of meetings tomorrow. She didn't have time to be sick.

"Gina, you just threw up everything you've eaten today. Are you sure you don't want to get a checkup?"

"Yes," she said, her tone leaving no room for argument and Jason simply just let it go. He knew once she made up her mind there was no changing it.

"Ok but if you do change your mind call me ok, even if I'm at work."

"I'm not going to change my mind but yes I'll call you if anything." Her voice was hoarse and she was tired and instead of pushing for more out of her he gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek instead and held her, comforting her until she fell into a restless sleep.

Don't be sick, don't be sick, don't be sick…

Those were the words that Regina was repeating over and over in her head as she listened to the droning voices of the town council. She was in City Hall and as they were discussing the budget all she kept thinking about was the fact that she felt like she was going throw up the little breakfast she had eaten this morning. She had felt a little better this morning but now the nausea had come back with a vengeance.

"Madame Mayor?"

Crap, she had no idea what she was just asked. She looked up to see everyone looking at her. She opened her mouth to speak but immediately felt the bile rising in her throat. Her hand flew to her mouth and before she knew it she was rushing out into the hall and vomiting in the closest trash can she could fine. She could hear the council and the present townspeople murmuring in the room. She didn't care what they thought.

Just as she thought she was done she took a shaky breath before she once again heaved and at that moment she suddenly felt a hand holding back her hair, while the other rubbed soothing circles on her back. It was Emma and next to her was a concerned looking David. Being the town sheriff and deputy, they were required to come to these monthly meetings whether they liked it or not.

"It's ok, let it out," Emma said softly before looking at her father. "Can you please go find her some water?" He nodded and was glad to be given something to do as he rushed to find the nearest water cooler or vending machine. Emma knew Regina's pride was hurt and even though she and David were family she knew that never in a million years would Regina even allow them to see her in this state. She knew something was up the moment the meeting had started. Regina was looking paler as each agonizing second went by and it wasn't until she was addressed towards the end then she had run out of the room.

"Do you want me to call Jason?" she asked when Regina was done and stood straight, desperately trying to salvage whatever pride she had left.

"No Emma I'm fine, thank you," she said but really she felt worse. She felt as if the room was spinning and when did it get so hot in here?

"Are you sure?" Emma asked, her hands reaching out as if to steady the other woman. She was even paler than before and Emma thought she might just pass out any second.

"I said I'm fine Sheriff Swan," she snapped, suddenly losing her temper but instantly regretted it the moment she saw Emma's shocked face.

"Emma… I'm sorry… I just…" She couldn't even find the words to apologize. Emma's annoyed face soften and she reached out, placing her hand on Regina's arm in comfort.

"Hey I get it. Puking in the middle of a town meeting can make anyone snap. Why don't you go home and rest? We were just about finished in there anyway."

"I can't, I need to get back to the office. I have a ton of paperwork that needs to be done today."

"When are you going to slow down and take a breather? You haven't stopped since my parents gave you your job back and now that you're obviously sick, maybe it's your body's way of telling you to take it easy." Her voice was stern as she tried to get the message through to Regina.

"I assure you I'm fine," she said. "However we'll postpone the meeting and your magic lesson…" Emma's face perked up for just a moment before Regina finished her sentence. "…just for today. Tomorrow you'll have to make up for the lost time."

Damn, Emma couldn't help but think. The lessons were hard especially since there were no results and no results made Regina even stricter with her student.

"Come on, let's adjourned the meeting and stop pouting."

"I'm not pouting," Emma stated just has David came back with some water which Regina gratefully accepted with a thank you. Once she was able to maintain her composure and was sure she wasn't going to be sick again the trio went back inside and adjourned the meeting till next week. Regina could only hope that whatever this was, she would be better by then.

She hated when Emma was right. Maybe she should have gone home after all because now Regina was lying on the couch in her office with the door locked and the curtains drawn. She felt so dizzy she doubted she could stand let alone drive home. She hadn't realized how late it had gotten until she heard someone knocking on the door. She had been lying here in the dark for hours and groaned in discomfort. Her eyes flashed with annoyance when she opened the door to her secretary. Didn't she say she didn't want to be bothered? Instead of telling her off like she normally would have done, her eyes were suddenly glued to her secretary's very pregnant belly and that was when it hit her. Could she be pregnant? It would explain the sudden nausea. She didn't know why she didn't think of it before but then it wasn't possible. She was barren. She couldn't have kids…

When was my last cycle? That question flashed through her mind and for the life of her she couldn't remember. She's been so busy lately that she couldn't even remember whether she skipped her cycle or not.

"…and he would like to speak with you as soon as possible," Katie finished whatever it was that she was saying. Regina didn't even register the message. Her eyes were still focused on Katie's belly as if it were a foreign object to her. There was an awkward pause before Katie started to get nervous.

"Madame Mayor, are you alright?"

"What?" Her gaze snapped up to Katie's confused expression and even though the young woman was afraid of the former Queen, Regina could see the concern in her eyes.

"Are you alright," she repeated. "You seemed like you were distracted."

"No I um…" she stammered, not being able to think straight. She was terrified that she might have a baby inside of her too. "I'm just tired."

"Are you still feeling sick. Would you like me to call Jason to come pick you up?" she asked, noticing that her boss had gone rather pale. The terrified look in her eyes unnerved her. Regina never showed weakness like this in front of people who weren't her family. She was still the hard ass Mayor that everyone feared except this time she didn't abuse her power like she had done in the past.

At that question, Regina glanced at the clock in her office and noted that Jason's shift didn't end till an hour from now. If she left now then she would had plenty of time to stop by the pharmacy and pick up a pregnancy test. With that thought in mind, she put on the mask that was only reserved for the townspeople these days and sternly met Katie's gaze with emotionless eyes. All the fear and shock that reflected upon her face had vanished.

"No need dear, I'm capable of driving myself home. However I don't appreciate you ignoring my orders. I told you I didn't want to be bothered." The poor girl looked away sheepishly and mumbled an apology and something about pregnancy brain but Regina didn't notice and sent her away. All that was on her mind was the possibility of being a mother for the second time.

The moment Snow got the call she was out the door in an instant. Regina wouldn't tell her what was wrong but she could hear in her stepmother's distressed voice that something had happened plus she had heard that Regina was sick during the meeting this morning. Regina wouldn't tell her what was wrong and had insisted for Snow to meet her in the pharmacy. Snow thought it was a strange place to meet but never would she have thought that she would find her stepmother standing infront of shelves full of different pregnancy test brands. She just stood there, looking so lost that she didn't even notice Snow approaching her.

"Regina?" She heard her, Snow knew she did but her gaze remained on the items before her. She didn't even answer and Snow could see the fear in her eyes so she simply stood next to her, her gaze roaming over the different pregnancy tests that Regina was staring at as if she were in some kind of trance. It was silent for a while until Snow heard Regina take a shaky breath.

"I can't remember my last cycle." Snow looked at her. Regina's voice was barely above a whisper but yet it was emotionless as if she were trying to keep herself from feeling anything. She was in some kind of shocked trance mixed with fear and panic.

"And now you think you're pregnant?" she asked, realizing this could explain why she was sick this morning. She didn't understand why Regina seemed to be panicking. She was great with Henry before the whole curse thing but now she was trying to be a better mother to him and doing everything in her power to fix their relationship which had greatly improved. Why was she scared of having another baby?

"Any idea which one to get?" Regina answered with another question. Snow moved her gaze to the pregnancy tests once more and randomly grabbed one.

"No idea but we have to try one," she said as she handed it to Regina and noticed just now how her hands were shaking. "What's wrong?"

"I just… I mean I…" She took a breath, trying to get the words out before finally turning to face her stepdaughter. "Snow, why do you think your father never got me pregnant? My uterus is hostile which means I'm barren. I can't have kids and Jason and I accepted that. I don't know if it's true love or magic or whatever, all I know is that I might or might not be pregnant. Maybe I really do just have food poisoning. Maybe I did just miss my cycle because of stress. All I know is that I can't give Jason false hope. I can't do that to him."

"And you? You want this baby as much as he will. Is that why you're terrified right now?"

"Yes," she said quietly and Snow took her hand.

"Come on, let's get you home and you can take the test but just know that if anything I'm here ok." Regina nodded and without anything else said, she let Snow lead her to the cashier.

Regina had never been so nervous in her life and now here she was pacing in Snow's bedroom as they waited for the three minutes to be up. Snow sat on the bed and Regina could feel her watching her.

"Honey, please sit down."

"What if I'm not pregnant? What if I get a false positive?"

"Then we'll deal with it but for now would you please sit down and stop pacing." Regina sat down in defeat and it was a tensed silence until the alarm on Regina's phone went off and she rushed to the bathroom without a second thought. Snow followed her, too nervous to say anything as Regina picked up the test from the sink. Her back was to Snow so she didn't see the smile that had lightened up her face or the sudden tears that were streaming down her face.

She was pregnant. She was going to have a baby… Jason's baby. She turned to Snow with nothing but happiness shinning in her eyes.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered.

"Regina! I'm so happy for you!" she cried as she lovingly embraced her stepmother. Regina laughed, her voice full of happy tears. She was terrified that it was going to be negative because the moment she realized she might have a baby growing inside her, she knew she wanted it. She wanted to have Jason's child. The fear of it being a false positive suddenly came back and she pulled away from her stepdaughter.

"What if it's a false positive?"

"Well despite your symptoms I don't think it is."

"But…"

"Hey," Snow said, as she comfortingly took Regina's hand in hers. "I have a feeling it isn't but if it helps you can make an appointment to confirm it."

"You really think it isn't false? That there's actually a baby in me?" Snow nodded and placed Regina's hand on her flat stomach.

"I do," she whispered, her voice soft as Regina looked down at her stomach. Snow was right and although she planned on making the appointment, her heart swelled with love for the unborn baby growing inside her.

The next four months were hectic for Cora. Not only did she have to interview nanny's, she had to get ready for the party that her husband's family was throwing in honor of Regina where she'll be introduced to the family for the first time. When the day finally came she had Regina dressed in a beautiful white gown. She still hasn't found the right person to hire for a nanny so lately it was either her or Henry tending to Regina's needs. She knew Henry would always take care of Regina himself whether they hired a nanny or not and that made her envy the bond he already had with their daughter.

"It's been four months Henry. What was wrong with the last girl we interviewed?" Cora asked, her voice full of annoyance. Everytime they met with a girl that seemed qualified for the job, Henry continually turned them down. It was as if he didn't even want to hire a nanny.

"Do we really need to hire someone to take care of our baby. We can do that ourselves my love." Cora who was checking her appearance in the mirror of their sleeping chamber closed her eyes in annoyance at the pet name he just called her before turning to face him. He was holding Regina who was staring around the room in wonder. She didn't love him and it angered her that he thought he could just call her that.

"Of course we need to hire someone. I'm not going to be here alone with her while you're out during the day making business arrangements with your family." Her voice was cold and final and Henry had the sense to keep quiet. He discovered a long time ago it wasn't wise to put Cora in a mood let alone go against her wishes.

"Very well," he said. "Now let's go. We wouldn't want to be late."

It wasn't long till Cora found herself standing before her husband's family in his throne room with Regina in her arms. Beside her stood Henry as well as the King. She was the fifth in line to be Queen making Regina the sixth in line but she knew one day she well get her daughter to greatness. Regina will be Queen. She knew without a doubt she was going to make that happen. People were going to bow down before her daughter. She was so lost in her thoughts as she stared down at her baby, Regina looking up and meeting her eyes. It wasn't until the King spoke did she look up.

"Princess Cora, please," he said and she stepped forward, showing him her child. "Tell me daughter, what's her name?" Regina looked at him and the King smiled at his baby granddaughter just as Cora turned her to face the royalties below.

"Her name is Regina for one day she will be Queen." She raised her daughter in the air and watched with a cold kind of satisfactory as everyone bowed before her. Yes, one day she will be Queen and Cora will do anything it takes to get her daughter to greatness.