Firstly, I want to apologize for the long wait. But I am a college student and it is drawing to the end of the semester. And given my history of being a REALLY bad updater, I have also placed a new rule on myself. I do not upload a new chapter until I have completed at least half of the chapter that will come after it. It's my way of making sure I actually finish in a more timely manner. Because I will have at least have a start of each chapter. So, thank you all for understanding.. Now, about the chapter… It am not very happy with how it turned out.. it's more… rushed.. than I had hoped but.. oh well I guess. I don't really know how to fix it. So, I hope it's okay and doesn't disappoint you too much.
As always…. Happy reading!
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Snow, Charming, Emma, Hook, and baby Neal where sitting in a booth inside Granny's diner, having some lunch.
"Any word from Regina?" Emma asked. "It's been a few hours… maybe we should go out and look for her?"
" I'm sure she's fine, love." Hook said.
" When I spoke to her this morning, she seemed pretty determined to handle whatever it was on her own," Charming said.
" We're just worried about her. I mean, what if Zelena or Elsa already found her?"
" That's a big assumption, Mary Margaret; especially since we don't know for sure if Elsa was telling the truth about Zelena." David said in reply.
"Well, we can't just assume the best when it could be the worst."
" We also can't assume the worst when it could be nothing," he replied to his wife without missing a beat. This was a total role reversal; usually Snow was the one to be overly positive.
" Well, if you two are so worried, why don't we use that talking contraption to contact her?" Killian offered.
'That's a good idea," Snow said, a little surprise in her voice.
Emma smiled a little at the unamused look that Killian gave his mother. She pulled out her phone and pressed the contact for 'Regina.'
The phone rang once…. Twice…. Three times…
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Regina and Robin were now at Regina's house. Regina had teleported them there shortly after their confrontation with Zelena. She currently had her back pressed against the door of her bedroom, while she and Robin were kissing hungrily. She pulled away from Robin when she heard her ringtone. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. He placed his hands on either side of her face and continued placing kisses on her neck and face while she attempted to shoo him away with a sassy smirk on her face. Regina looked at the screen before accepting the call.
"Hello?" she answered slightly breathless.
"Regina! It's Emma."
"I know who it is Ms. Swan… I do have caller ID."
"Right. Well... I was just calling to make sure you're okay. Dad told me you never showed up this morning; that something came up."
"It did, but it'll be resolved soon; but only if you let me get off the phone. I'll be at the meeting tonight, but I'm a little busy at the moment."
"Oh… well, okay. If you're sure…."
"I am."
"Alright. I'll see you tonight."
Regina hung up the phone and pushed it back into her pocket.
"Who was that?"
"It was Emma. She was calling to check on me," Regina replied with a slight eye roll.
"Oh... Remind me to thank her later," he said while resuming his kisses to her neck. "Now where were we?"
"Hmm," she hummed, "I believe we were right about…" she positioned herself against his body and moved her face very close to his, "here…" she breathed. He leaned forward and kissed her passionately on her lips.
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That night, they were to have a meeting in order to have a status update. Rumple and Belle were to attend this time as well. They were on their honeymoon during the first one, but Emma called and left them a message about the situation, which they received when they returned. Belle had insisted they call back and see what was going on. During that phone call is when they arranged this meeting. They needed all the help that they could get with Elsa. And now, with the possibility that Zelena might still be on the loose, it is really important for them to discuss that and come up with a plan of action for her.
Emma, Snow, Charming, Hook, Belle, and Rumple were waiting in the mayor's office at town hall. Regina had still not shown up. She was supposed to be there over an hour ago. Emma and Snow were pacing back and forth at this point.
"That's it. I'm calling her again…"
Right when Emma was pulling out her phone, the door to the office opened and Regina and Robin Hood entered.
"I was just getting ready to call you. You're late."
"Well, I'm here aren't I?"
"And we're glad to see you're alright," Snow jumped in.
"I told you, I'm fine."
"Well, we were just worried since-"
Just then, Regina's cell phone rang and she lazily pulled it out of her pocket. She flipped her bangs before answering the phone and placing it on her ear.
"Hello?"
"Regina! What did you do?!"
"Tink? Calm down… What are you talking about?"
"Rose! She's… she's-"
"She's what? What's the matter with Rosie?" Regina asked, feeling panic rising within her.
"She's… back."
"What?" Regina choked out.
"She's returned to her normal form. She's not disappearing any more. How did you do it?"
Regina could hear Rose's voice in the background, "I'm better mama!"
Regina's eyes were filling with tears of joy and she smiled.
" I just took you and Blue's advice."
" So you and Robin…"
" Have reconciled like we had done in the first timeline."
" Regina, that's great! I know you said you had a meeting tonight but I just had to call and tell you the good news; ease your mind a bit."
" Well, thank you Tink. I'll come by and see her tonight if that's alright."
" That's perfectly fine. I'll see you then."
The two friends said their goodbyes and Regina turned to Robin, forgetting everyone else in the room.
"She's back. We did it."
Robin smiled and hugged Regina before kissing her on the forehead.
"Wait… Are we missing something here?" Emma asked.
Regina and Robin were so entranced by one another; they didn't even hear her question. They stared at each other lovingly for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality it as probably less than a minute, before Regina let out a slight gasp.
"What is it?" he asked her, his voice laced with concern.
"Do you realize what this means? If she's come back, it means that we…"
She looked down at her belly and placed her hand on it.
Robin looked down at her hand and understood.
"She's there?"
Regina smiled, "Well, probably not yet, but she will be soon." Robin placed his hands on her stomach and looked into her big brown eyes before kissing her lips.
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"Oh.. kay.. We are definitely missing something here," Emma said.
"What's going on with you two?"
"As I'm sure you've gathered, Robin and I have made amends."
"We see that, but what about Marian?" Snow asked.
"There is no Marian." Regina said.
"I'm sorry, but I'm bloody well confused." Hook interjected.
Regina sighed. She knew she needed to tell them what was happening but, she honestly didn't know where to start.
She looked to Robin and he gave her an encouraging smile and a nod. That was all she needed. She told everyone about what was happening with Rosaline the best way she knew how.
"Oh my goodness! Is there something wrong with Rosaline?" Snow asked.
"Not anymore. I told you I would handle it."
Robin nudged her in the side and she corrected herself, "We handled it."
"So… if she's not disappearing anymore, that means that you two-" Charming spoke up.
The couple nodded as Robin wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.
"And now she's…" Emma said pointing to Regina's stomach.
They nodded again. They had conceived their child… Best pregnancy test ever.
"Bloody Hell, could this get any more hectic, first we have this snow witch to deal with, then Zelena returns, and now this?" Hook asked.
"Snow looked to Regina to gage her reaction, but she didn't seem shocked by the mention of Zelena.
"Regina… you guys don't look surprised to hear Zelena is alive at all."
"That's because we're not."
"Have you seen something?" Rumple asked.
"Something? Try someone. The bloody witch attacked Regina in the woods." Robin answered.
"She did what?" Snow asked.
Regina sighed again. She was beginning to have a newfound appreciation for simple spells like showing memories on a reflective object. She explained the whole situation to them, about how Zelena had been fooling everyone.
"So Marian was Zelena?" Snow asked.
"When I said, there was no Marian, I meant it."
"This could be very bad I take it?" Hook said.
"Well of course it's bad!" Snow said.
"Yes, but I'm referring to the fact that this witch can now change her form. How do we know she won't use someone else as a disguise?"
"He has a point." Regina replied. "I only figured her out because she knew something about me that Marian couldn't have."
"Well, maybe we should focus on Elsa for now. She's the aggressive one at this point, she is easily recognizable, and we already have a plan for dealing with her." David suggested.
"Not to mention, the deadline for her threat is fast approaching…" Snow added.
"Wait... What threat?" Regina asked.
"Elsa threatened to freeze the entire town, starting with us, if you don't reveal yourself to her by 8 AM tomorrow."
"She wants to fight me?" Regina asked.
"Actually, from what she said, it sounds like she wants to turn you over to Zelena," David answered.
"I have no doubt that that is exactly what she's going to do," Rumple chimed in.
"So… I'll go confront her. If it's me she wants, that's an easy fix."
"But Regina… You're pregnant now… Or very soon to be… You can't just go face Zelena like you did last time." Snow pointed out.
"She's right Regina. We just saved Rosie; you can't just put her and yourself in danger like that," Robin said to her.
Regina hated it, but she knew Robin and Snow were right. She had to be careful now. Her sister already tried to stop her from conceiving her child. She failed, obviously. But she couldn't risk Zelena hurting her daughter in any way, shape, or form. Because of this, she felt pretty useless to the mission.
"Well, what do you propose I do then? I'm open to suggestions."
Everyone looked around the room. They had no ideas. Even Rumple was silent. The safest thing for Regina to do would be to stay away from Zelena and Elsa at all costs. But, they also knew that they would more than likely need Regina's help to defeat them. They were stuck; and their options were minimal.
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Zelena was pacing back and forth in her cabin deep in the woods.
"She dodged my magic. That damned archer." Zelena was basically talking to herself, since the only other person in the room was a robotic Elsa, whose heart was safely tucked away were only Zelena could find it.
"No doubt they have already conceived the child."
Zelena was rethinking her plan. She was really counting on Rosaline disappearing. That child was very powerful, and she could very well be the deciding factor in any confrontation that she had with her sister and her "family."
"So… I can't stop her from conceiving the child… but perhaps I can make her miscarry it."
Zelena smirked a little and turned to Elsa. "Perhaps you could help me with that my dear…"
"Maybe my sister should catch her death of cold."
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After failing to come up with a course of action for Zelena that would be both safe and progressive, they decided to sleep on it. Everyone went to their respective homes and as they were leaving, Regina invited Robin to come with her to see Rosie. Robin agreed, and suggested that they even bring their sons to meet their future little sister. Regina was reluctant to that idea at first. She didn't want to do anything that would mess up the timeline for the future, but after contemplating it for a few minutes, she decided that not much more damage could be done, and Rosie was safe; that's all that mattered. She agreed to explain the situation to Henry and Roland tomorrow and then let them decide if they wanted to meet Rosie.
Robin held Regina's hand as they walked to the convent to see their daughter.
"So…. When do you think it happened?" he asked.
"Hmm?"
"Do you think it was the first, second, or third time?" he asked while smirking at her.
She smirked too and bit her bottom lip.
"Perhaps the third time. It was simply invigorating."
"Hmm. Really? Because I thought it might have happened the first time."
"Your ego is too big for your own good," she chuckled a bit.
When they arrived, Regina knocked on the door and Tink opened it almost immediately.
"Hi Regina! Oh… Hello Robin. Lovely to see you again."
Robin smiled and gave Tink a slight bow.
"I suppose you two want to see Rose, not me," Tink smiled and chuckled a little before opening the door a little wider so they the parents could step inside.
"She's in the living room."
"Thanks Tink," Regina said as she led Robin inside.
Rose looked up when she heard voices at the door.
"Mama!" Rosaline jumped up from the couch and all but tackled her mother.
"You did it mom! I knew you could! You can do anything!"
Regina smiled, and blinked back her happy tears as she kissed the top of Rose's head. When Rose opened her eyes, she noticed her father.
"Papa!" She yelled and wrapped her right arm around her father, leaving her left around her mother. Robin felt an overwhelming love overcome him when he saw Regina with their daughter, and when she hugged him…. Words can't describe it. It was something he had only felt twice before; when he held Roland for the first time, and when he kissed Regina for the first time. He put his hand on her back and rubbed it in circles.
"I love you guys."
"And we love you, darling… So much," Regina told her.
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While the new happy couple was busy visiting their daughter, Zelena watched her magical crystal ball in anger. Her skin had begun to tingle and she knew that if they were in the Enchanted forest, she would have a green patch on her neck. She knew that now that Regina and Robin were back together, officially, she'd have to get rid of him. It was critical that Robin be removed so that Elsa could get to Regina. Rosaline must not survive. And Zelena was thinking she knew exactly how to do this. Because Regina now had a weakness and she knew it… Love.
