Tensing her jaw so hard that she could feel her teeth protesting against the continued abuse, Regina Mills increased the power of the grip she had on the stainless steel balloon whisk and beat fast at the batter in her bowl.

She did that for a few intense minutes; jaw clenched, wrist moving back and forth in fast and quick circular motions and her mind set on thinking on nothing but the task at hand.

Not that her strategy worked for long, of course, she has only been hoping… because the truth was that no matter how hard she would beat and mix, there was actually no way of escaping her train of thoughts.

"You need to get a grip on yourself. That's what you need to do." She mumbled out loud to no one but to herself. "Just… put yourself together."

Relaxing her jaw a little to try and do just that, she let go of the whisk and took in a deep breath. But as soon as she did it she realized that her heart was thundering so hard inside her chest that she began to fear that her ribcage was going to break with the force of it and in a matter of nothing, the little control she has gained on her emotions started to slip.

It was bad, even the sound of her heart was deafening and no matter how many deep breathes she would inhale through her nose and then release through her mouth, nothing seemed to calm her down.

It was as if everything went to hell… everything did inside her head and as if that wasn't enough, on a physical level her hands were trembling, her legs were weak underneath her weight and her stomach was in constant turmoil.

Swallowing on dry, the brunette smoothed her hands against the fabric of her apron and without even realizing it; she started to rub her palms harshly against her hips.

She did that almost coercively, and when she noticed that the motion didn't make her feel any calmer she grabbed the whisk again and started to beat unmercifully at the batter.

Yes, it would be a hell of a lot easier if she used the electric stand up mixer, but the thing was that she didn't want to do easy.

It was while doing this that she heard the first knock on the door, but ignoring it, she continued to beat and beat until she was sure she ruined the mix.

"Regina?" The voice, annoyingly familiar didn't even make her look up, but as she heard the footsteps approaching, she bit hard on her lips and held her breath.

"Hey. Is everything good around here?"

Blinking, she remained unresponsive; and it wasn't until the blonde and the red jacket she always wore got in her line of vision and that she had no choice but to let go of her whisk to look at her.

With a roll of her eyes and a snarl of her lips, Regina finally spoke. "What do you want, Miss Swan? What is so urgent that you just walked into my house as if you owned the damn place?"

Crossing her arms to her chest, Emma narrowed her eyes and apparently scanning the dozens upon dozens of batches of cupcakes Regina had done, she snickered. "What are you doing?"

Arching an eyebrow and half relieved that now that she had company her heart was behaving kind of normal and that her hands were not shaking so bad, the brown eyed woman ran the tip of her tongue over her lips and adopted her usual brash tone to talk to the woman. "Baking. Isn't it obvious?"

Emma hummed and bounced on the heels of her boots before settling her feet flat on the floor again. "Well this is a lot of baking."

Tilting her head to the right, Regina set the bowl over the granite counter and wrinkled her nose. "Other than to point the obvious, is there a good reason for you to be here?"

"Yup. I'm actually on sheriff duty. Your car has been parked for three days near the school and after a few complains, I came to investigate."

Regina had to puff out a breath at that. Yes, in her haste to flee to the sanctuary of her home a few days ago she has left her car behind. But she was sure that it was parked under all the requirements of the law so that the sheriff received complains about it was completely ridiculous.

"Complains? Is it a crime now to park nowadays, dear? Because I'm pretty sure I'm not breaking any law."

Emma sucked her lips into her mouth and shrugged. "No, I checked the car and you are not breaking any law. But you know…" She shrugged as if the next words she was going to say were going to be uncomfortable. "There are some people in town that believe that the fact that you are hardly seen around as of late has to be because you are planning something 'evil' and well, that's why I am here."

"Oh." Regina said while reaching for an egg, cracking it and adding it to her batter.

Maybe in another time, the fact that people would always assume the worse of her would either anger her or upset her, but in that moment she had way too much in her mind to care about what people may or may not think of her…

Well okay maybe it did bother her; but not enough for her to lose sleep over it. At least she hoped so.

"So…"

"So, tell the people in town that if my car bothers them, then they have two problems. The first one is being bothered by it and the second one is having me not caring." As for her… she had way more than two problems. "Now is there anything else I can do for you?" She asked in an obvious dismissal when she saw that the woman was still standing there.

Clearing her throat and lifting a hand to her head, Emma scratched behind her ear. It was as if she had something to say and she was finding a way to spit it out.

"What?" She asked in a hiss. But when she saw the woman pout as if she was struggling to keep talking, she got worried. "Is it Henry?"

"No… well yes, kind of." Taking in a deep breath, she began talking. "So okay, when I told Henry that I was passing by he asked me to talk to you and here I am."

Regina arched an eyebrow, silently urging the Charming offspring to keep going.

"He says that you are acting weird; that you are forgetting about meeting with him and that you spend your days locked here and he thinks that you may need to talk to someone."

"As in you?" Frowning and eyeing the other woman, Regina snorted. "Why would he think I need that? He knows I'm fine…"

"Well he said that he got you to talk to Archie but that it didn't make you get better so he asked me. He's worried so could you at least humor him?"

Thinking about her son and smiling a little because his worry meant that he cared, she slumped her shoulders and took in a deep breath. "Make it quick."

"Alright… well, um after considering about this for a while, I think that one of two things may be happening with you; one is that you are going mental and if that's the case I need to know. For Henry's sake and all that."

Glancing at her through dark eyes, Regina snarled her lips. "I'm not going mental, Miss Swann." Sure, amidst all her baking and with flour covering her entire kitchen and a good portion of her anatomy, she sure as hell looked like it, but she wasn't.

She was going through something… yes, but it hardly meant that she was going crazy.

"Well good." Emma said while clapping her hands. "Then that leaves me to that other thing I was thinking. Alright so when I got the first complain about the car, I had to go out and do some questioning and that's how I found out that you were last seen in town with Hook; and on the exact same day the car was left there."

Regina, who was adding melted butter to the mix in the bowl froze for a second at the mention of that name.

"I'm telling you this because after your car was noticed there, some people started talking about it and they decided that they were uncomfortable with you two walking around like old pals because apparently, if there's something that screams trouble, is the two of you plotting together; but anyway, the thing is that I went to Ruby and she confirmed that you two went to the dinner but disappeared as soon as she went to look for fresh bread. I found that a little odd so I went to Hook and…"

Blinking her eyes rapidly and feeling her heart starting to beat furiously fast once again, Regina randomly added ingredients to the mix that didn't necessarily belong to the recipe she was aiming for but it served as a distraction to her trembling hands.

"And I basically came to a dead end. I found him at the Rabbit Hole, wasted as shit and not exactly cooperative."

Blowing out a breath she hadn't even realized that she was holding, Regina felt an ache settle in her heart and trying to soothe it, she ran a hand over her chest. "Is there a point to all that rambling?"

"Eventually so please bear with me a while longer. Like I was saying, going to Hook while he was drunk was a waste of time, but because I'm the Sheriff and I have the power, I arrested him and made him stay the night in the drunk tank. I even spend the night looking after him and after he incessantly asked me about who was Graham and what did the two of you had together, I figured it out. It sounded crazy at first but after some thinking I nailed it. You were having an affair with Hook and something went terribly wrong and that's why you two are so miserable." Emma blurted out and at the boldness of the statement, Regina was left without words.

"What-" She started to say as she shook her head. "That's not true…" At least not word by word.

"He told me that was what happened when he sobered up."

"He did?" Regina almost shrieked. No… he couldn't have, right? But apparently he did, even when at the beginning of everything she has warned him not to tell a soul he ranted her out to the worse person he could have told. "I'm going to kill him…"

"Holy shit, Regina… he didn't tell. I was just speculating and I threw that technicality to see if you fell for it! I didn't even… Oh my God so are you two-?" She made a motion with both her hands her fingers and before Regina could figure out what that meant, she closed her eyes and massaged her temples. "Wow." She blonde chuckled. "I can't believe I was right!"

"If you were as efficient at solving real matters, this town would be a hell of a better place. But instead here you are, nosing in my life as if that was something of your concern." Regina said through clenched teeth, barely realizing that she has been the one indirectly ranting them out.

"I know, but besides Sheriff duty I had mommy's duties to and according to Henry, this was extremely important! But anyway, I actually came here thinking that you have gone mental… I didn't actually believe that you and Hook were together. It was just a crazy theory." After saying that, Emma took the liberty to sit down in a chair by the counter and as if that wasn't enough, she even grabbed a cupcake and bit into it. "This is crazy."

Clenching her jaw, Regina watched the woman and placing the palm of her hands over the granite countertop, she leaned a little forward. "Hook and I are not together, so I'll appreciate if you keep this little information to yourself." Meaning, she better not tell Henry or anyone for that matter.

"Hmm," Henry's biological mother mumbled and after swallowing down on the cupcake, she shrugged. "Yeah I figured out as much. He's sulking and getting drunk, you are here going mental and baking like crazy so it's obvious you are not together anymore."

"I am not going mental." Regina claimed in her defense. "And we were never together in the first place."

"So it was a thing of wham bam thank you ma'am? Nah, I don't think so. I can read people and this 'whatever' you two had wasn't just that. You wouldn't be like this if it was."

"Miss Swan…" Regina warned, thinking that she was worse than Archie. Al least the man made the effort to keep things professional instead of being so nosy and crude.

Pursing her lips, Emma looked up and then she sighed tiredly. "Love is a funny thing, you know? Trust me; I know all about feeling it without wanting to… but the thing about love is that once it knocks on your door it's hard to ignore it."

"Love…" And there was that word again, it made her muscles tense and her mind to become a mess. "Who said anything about love?"

She hated that word… she didn't even believed she could feel it in that kind of way. No… what she had with Hook has only been physical and that he messed it up by confusing it with the infamous L word only served to put an end to something that shouldn't have even begun.

Still looking up, Emma clicked her tongue to her cheek. "Its way harder to try to escape it than giving into it, you know? I tried not to feel it, to vanish it and I had all the reasons in this world for doing so. Neal… he broke me when he left me, he broke me in so many ways. He abandoned me to my luck in prison for a crime I didn't even commit and he left me pregnant. I spent twelve years after that learning to put love aside and what happens? I see him after years and as it turns out, I never got over him."

Grabbing the bowl hard against her, Regina sat on a chair opposite to Emma. "Why are you telling me this?" She wondered because they were not even friends and the things she was telling her were a bit personal. True, Henry wanted them to talk, but this was a bit too much.

Lowering her eyes, Emma looked at the other woman dead in the eye. "Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe I just see a little bit of my reluctance in you and since I found it so hard to talk about how I felt with people that would solve everything by saying that I should just forgive him if I still loved him, I thought you could vent a little with me."

"I'm not in love with Hook." The words came out fast and once they were out she wondered if that was even true. Yes, she has been trying to deny it at all cost but in reality she felt something for the man… she couldn't say that it was love because like she said, she wasn't capable of it… but at the same time, she knew that it was definitely more than carnal desire.

She knew because her stomach would always become a knot whenever he was near and because the memory of him was constantly in her mind. But no, that was something she was going to keep to herself.

"Maybe; or maybe you are just too much of a cynic to believe in love and thus why you decided to hide instead of facing it."

"I'm not hiding… I'm just." Shaking her head, she bit hard on her lips.

"Well whatever it is that you are doing has Hook living in a street called sorrow and when he gets tired of dwelling on it, he is going to change lanes into to the moving on highway and who knows where will that lead him. Think about it this way, you can't leave this town and he can, meaning that if he leaves and all of a sudden you decide that you didn't want him to leave, you will have to sit around and like me, move on by force."

Casting her eyes down, Regina thought briefly about that. She hadn't nursed the idea of Hook leaving Storybrooke and at the notion that he could, her heart constricted in her chest.

"He won't leave." He couldn't. Not now…

"Who could say for sure, right?"

Clutching at her hands, Regina drew in a deep breath. "I'm late." She said without thinking, voicing her worries for the first time out loud. Once the words were out she held her breath and watched the other woman.

Now, Regina didn't even know why she was telling her of all people and as she thought about it, she couldn't understand either why were the two of them sitting there talking as if they were longtime friends when they were anything but that.

Maybe it was because she was there and she had no one to talk to…

"No you are not, at least as for this morning he was still around. He's wounded up so it's still too soon for him to try to move on." Emma said, grabbing another cupcake and eating it in one bite.

"That's not what I meant, Swan."

Emma chewed slowly… and then, when realization hit her, she stopped and her eyes went as big as plates. "Wait, what?"

"Do I have to spell it for you, dear? I'm late…" She hissed the last words as if afraid she might be overheard.

Emma swallowed down and shaking her head she pursed her lips. After that she ran her fingers through her forehead and closed her eyes. "Late as in… late?"

"You know what… forget it." Regina blurted out, already regretting that she even attempted to tell the dense woman.

"Oh. Well that doesn't necessarily has to mean anything. I mean it could just be that you are stressed or menopausal."

Rolling her eyes, Regina shook her head. "I'm not menopausal. Gods I'm not that old."

"I was just saying! So how late are you?"

Lacing her fingers together and hating the fact that she was talking about this with Swan, she replied. "A couple of weeks. Maybe a little longer."

"Holy shit, Regina and you haven't gotten tested?"

Shrugging, she looked up. "I didn't even realize I was late until a few days ago." And she has clearly overlooked all the other signs.

What could she say? She just attributed that she tired easily, that she was feeling way too emotional and the fact that the smell or thought of coffee would send her straight to the bathroom to retch her guts out to the fact that she has gone through such an emotional roller coaster as of late.

First it has been her mother's death, then her kidnapping and her close call with death at the mines and as if that wasn't enough, her never ending struggle to keep Henry close mixed up with the Hook thing and it all became too much.

She just overlooked it, she didn't even know how but she clearly did. Not even when she got sick with what she assumed to be an upset stomach did she suspect. No… what opened her eyes had been Miss Lucas and the comment she said to her at the diner.

At first she didn't thought much of the woman's comment, but later that night when she was musing about everything that happened she recalled it and it got her mind to think.

"Does he knows?"

"I don't even know for sure so no, he doesn't." Besides they weren't exactly in speaking terms. After her hurried exit when he said that fatidic word she hasn't heard of him.

"And are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know, Swan." She snapped, getting annoyed but at the same time finding it kind of refreshing that she got to talk to someone about what was going on.

That was a rare commodity, the only person she could talk to was Archie and even though he always made her know that he was happy to do it, she couldn't help but to think that he was doing it out of pity.

"Well you should tell him, and Henry." After saying that she got to her feet and grabbed for a few more cupcakes without even asking if she could, then she started walking to the door. "Get a test, think about how to tell him and you should also consider locking that door if you don't want anyone to break in. Unless you leave it like that for certain Pirate. Gosh this is crazy."

Rolling her eyes and lowering her head until her forehead came to rest against the counter; Regina closed her eyes and wondered what the hell she was going to do now.

XxXxXxX

It wasn't until night came that she fixed her kitchen, took a shower to freshen up and grabbing a box with a few treats, she decided to venture out her house to clear her mind a little. She walked, partly because her car was parked far and part because walking provided her of the time she needed to figure out what she was going to do.

If she told him right away about it, he was either going to freak out or he was going to want to stick around because of the possible baby. Yes, it would probably be the later as he believed he was in love with her. But it could also be that if she told him, he could all of a sudden realize that love wasn't what he felt and next thing she would know, he would be leaving Storybrooke never to come back.

In her mind the two options felt wrong and she wondered how she ended up in that situation.

She wasn't a kid… she knew of the consequences of unprotected sex so why didn't she use precautions? She always did with The King as she hadn't wanted having any royal babies with the man and with Graham she did the same. But then came Hook and she didn't even consider it…

She just let herself be carried away time and time again and now she had to sit down to a banquet of consequences.

Thinking about that, she walked along, her hand automatically going to her stomach to rub it absentmindedly. A baby… she still didn't know what to think about it all. She just knew that the notion of having a baby filled her with terror at the same time that it warmed her heart.

But what if it was true? What is she had a baby and he or she grew up to hate her?

She wouldn't be able to bear that… and what about Hook?

Hugging the box close to her chest, Regina looked around and when she saw that she was at the piers and that the only thing she had to do was walk into his ship, she froze.

She couldn't do it… she wasn't going to. She wouldn't know what to say… the long walk didn't do anything to prepare her so she just sat in a nearby bench and stared into the horizon.

For the longest of time she remained there, thinking about him… wondering what was going to happen now and as her mind got lost once again with all that, she saw him.

He was on the Jolly Roger, standing on his deck and looking down on her. He looked majestically up there, his tall frame even looked imposing in his domain and her breath caught on her throat. It was then, as she saw his hair being carelessly swept by the chilly breeze and his hook shining in the moonlight that she realized where he truly belong.

He belonged to the sea and the wind and definitely not in Storybrooke having a kid with her. With that in mind, she realized how things were going to be and she just watched as he watched her. Even in the distance, she could feel the intensity of his blue stare on her. His eyes were trying to lure her to him, they always did so clutching hard at the box, she tried to remained calm.

For how long he has been there looking at her she didn't know, but as they looked at each other from a distance she felt her stomach turn to water and she knew that she couldn't do it.

It was as if panic was taking hold of her and putting the box down on the bench, she got to her feet and started walking away.

Quickening her steps, the Queen ran her fingers through her hair and clenched her jaw until it hurt. In some way it was ridiculous that she was fleeing from him again, she was aware of that… but even as she knew that, she couldn't help but to let that instinct of running out of her system.

"Regina." She heard him call after her and closing her eyes for a few seconds, she halted on her tracks and waited for him to catch up with her. Staying there took a lot of effort from her part, but deep in her mind she knew that she couldn't keep running.

"I always wondered that if the moment ever came, that if the first thing you were going to show me was your back right before disappearing."

Breathing deeply, she turned on her heels and faced him. "I am not disappearing." Her hands clenched as she said that, but she wasn't going to… not when she didn't know the effects that little act could have on a baby.

"Is that so?" He asked, the full intensity of his eyes fixed entirely on her until she started to feel uncomfortable.

It was in that moment, when she felt his presence capturing most of her senses that she realized that going to him while unprepared has been the worse idea. Going on foot too, and when bad ideas mixed up, bad things were bound to happen.

"What are you doing here?"

Biting down a snarky reply, Regina licked her lips and folded her arms to her chest in a protective manner. "Would you believe me if I said that I have no idea why I'm here?"

Yes, she came to see him. But why?

Blinking slowly, he reached for her and when his hand was at the back of her head, he pulled her closer and kissed her full on the lips.

Now this was definitely not why she came, but the feeling of his lips on hers made her sigh into the kiss and when his tongue found a way into her mouth, she tilted her face to the right to make herself more accessible.

His tongue stroked hers slowly, coaxing her into action and when she reacted, his fingers buried in her hair and all Regina could do was breathe into the moment while sliding the palm of her hand along his stomach and up to his chest.

But before her mind could get too clouded she pulled away and lifted her head to look at him in the eye. "You are drunk." And yes, while they kissed she definitely tasted rum out of his tongue.

Smirking while using his hook to pull her nearer, Hook licked his lips. "I'm not… at least not yet."

At the icy glare she sent him, Hook reached for her hand and grabbing it in his, he made her walk back to the bench she has been sitting on a few minutes ago. Once there he made her sit and then he sat with her.

They did that without uttering a word and feeling the silence to be extremely heavy, Regina cleared her throat, pulled her hand from him and grabbed the small box before shoving it to his chest. "Cupcakes, I made hundreds of them and I don't know what to do with all of them. Just don't eat them now, Gods knows you should not be eating sweets with all that rum in your system."

Using his hook to open the lid of the box to peek inside, his lips curved slightly and then he closed it back again; then he went back to staring at her.

"You came to bring me this?"

She shook her head and looked away. Should she tell him? No… she needed him to be sober and she needed to make sure first. Even when all her instincts were screaming at her that she was indeed with child, she needed concrete proof before telling him.

As she mused about it all, his hand found hers once again and at the contact, she looked at him and as her face turned to his, he went ahead and captured her lips with his once again.

"Don't do that." She mumbled, pulling her face away.

"Why not? I want to kiss you." His thumb traced a series of circles over her wrist and Regina went back to looking up into the horizon. It was just that even though he was voicing a need for her, his tone, calm and smooth differed greatly from the Hook that was always wanted to seduce her into his arms and that automatically made her think on what he told her a few days ago.

Brushing the memory of that out of her mind, she arched an eyebrow and tried to search for a comfortable zone.

"You told Emma about us." She said, just to say something and when he did a double take, she kept on. "I told you not to tell anyone and you did."

"I didn't tell Emma." He said in half a snort and when she moved her eyes to him he shrugged. "I didn't."

"You did, perhaps indirectly but you did nonetheless." The words were hissed in annoyance and she realized that she was using that as an excuse to be angry at him. Being angry was known grounds for her, so she wanted to stay there.

"Is that your excuse to be mad at me now?" He asked as if he has been reading her thoughts. "Why don't you drop the act and admit that you are just upset because of what I said to you?"

Narrowing her eyes, she shook her head. "You didn't know what you were saying that night, you didn't even mean it." There, right to the point. No need to beat around the bushes any longer.

Snorting, the Pirate lowered his head a bit and without taking his eyes away from her, he said. "Oh I knew what I was saying and I meant it. I wouldn't have said it otherwise."

"No you didn't. Yes, maybe you think that you feel that way but you are just confused. You don't even know me and I don't think that a couple of casual sexual encounters are enough for you to feel that way."

Hook shifted on his seat and leaned a bit closer. "First, I think I know you pretty well and second, they were not just a couple of sexual encounters so come on, love… don't say that."

Grinding her teeth, Regina lifted her chin. "You don't know me. If you did you wouldn't claim to feel that way."

His hand moved to her chin and he made her look at her. "I think that it is because I know you that I got to feel like this. Sex, I can have sex with anyone, this town is not lacking on female population and that Rabbit Hole is filled with more than a few that wouldn't mind me dragging them to the next alley for a quick fuck. But I don't want that… I don't want them as I can only think about you."

Pushing the inside of her cheek with her tongue, Regina shook her head. "And still that doesn't mean that what you feel is love." He had a fixation on her, that much was clear, but love?

"It is."

"No, it is not." She spat back. "I don't even get why you are so sure that it is."

"I know it is love because for years, even centuries there has only been one constant thought in my mind and it has been revenge. I lived to achieve it and I would have happily died if it meant carrying my plans of retribution to the end. But now… now I live in the same town as the man I swore to kill if it was the last thing I ever did and yet, all I can think is of you."

Regina bit hard on her lips and shook her head.

"I think of you when I wake up, I think of you when I go to sleep and that you want to run from this is killing me. It kills me that I don't know how to reach to you anymore and that is the only thing I can think of."

Feeling her eyes tingling with unshed tears, Regina tried to blink the feeling away. It didn't work so she kept her eyes closed.

"I've cheated myself of feeling like this for so long and I don't want to do it anymore. Do you want to?"

"It's too late for me to feel like that. I'm too broken and I wouldn't even know how to love even if I wanted to."

His hand found a way to her face and tilting her face towards him, he kissed her closed eyelids. That was a first for her as no one has ever done it before and for some reason that made her want to curl up and cry for the things she would never get back.

"I thought that way too; after I lost Milah my heart was filled with hatred so I didn't even want to think of love. It felt like a betrayal so I denied myself of it. But there's only so much a person can carry on his shoulders and you and me, we've carried this burden for too long. We just need to give into the opportunity of starting over."

"I can't… do that." Her voice broke a little and she opened her eyes only so that a lone single tear could slide down her cheek. "I can't."

"Why not?"

Snorting bitterly and wiping angrily at her eyes, Regina shook her head. She just couldn't… she wouldn't and the reasons were hers alone. But as she felt his eyes on her, her hand automatically settled on her still flat stomach and she thought on the life they could have created.

"I'm scared… of this." The words came out in a broken sob and as she breathed deep to calm down, he wrapped a hand to her waist and pulled her near to kiss her shoulder.

"I know."

"I don't want to feel like this, I can't… I… ruin everything because I plain and simply don't know how to love."

His lips moved up to her cheek and he kissed her there, tracing a warm path down to the corner of her mouth. "Then I'll show you how to." With that said, he kissed her lips and despite everything her mind was screaming at her, she angled her face in the right direction and gave into his kiss and the promise of his lips.

XxXxXxX

Alright so I'm not entirely happy with this chapter. It feels a little flat, rushed and at the end a bit corny, but it was a way to move things along. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, it meant a lot.

Anyway, I'm trying to little by little introduce new characters. So far Rumple was my favorite and I'll try to write more with him. Emma? I don't know, lol, it was weird having her and Regina talking but let's face it, Regina does need to expand her circle or else she'll get too lonely. As for the baby… yup, I totally went down that path…