July 25th 2015
Regina moaned and stirred in David's arms, prompting Sarah out of the armchair she had spent the night in, looking over the woman she considered her daughter. Before she could move forward, a hand lightly landed on her shoulder. She turned around to face Archie, who had arrived later in the evening. "We should give them some time alone." He whispered to her.
The nurse nodded at the psychiatrist, sitting back in the armchair. Her eyes wandered over the crowded living room. Jonas and Whale had fallen asleep on the floor. The two doctors had spent most of the night monitoring David's and Regina's life signs as best they could without moving them. The Dark One had been right: David was literally healing Regina in front of their eyes. Her heart rate had stabilized within the hour after being reunited with the Prince and the faint marks of what looked like electrodes had disappeared an hour later.
The nurse locked eyes with Gold, who was caressing the hair of a sound asleep Belle: did the man ever sleep? After casting several protection spells around the loft, including one that should shield Regina's and David's magic from prying eyes, Gold and Belle had settled on the couch. "Almost." He said cryptically as if reading her mind. He had been able to feel the strong magic pulsing in the air and he knew that David wasn't simply healing Regina. He was also healing their baby, finally providing the much needed magic.
Sarah nodded at him before looking toward the stairs. Granny and Red had brought Henry back once they knew Regina was safe and it had taken all the power of persuasion from the adults in the room to convince the kid not to disturb the couple. Sulking, Henry had gone to bed, followed by Granny and Red.
Neal and Emma had left shortly after Jonas had declared Regina out of the danger zone in an attempt to locate and hopefully, arrest Greg Mendell and his accomplice. Gold had given them a potion that should lead them directly to the place from which David had poofed Regina out. Alas, they were too late: the place had been cleaned up, save for the gurney and the device he had used to torture Regina. Taunting them further, Greg had left them a short handwritten note: "The Queen didn't get what she deserved. I'll be back." Since then, the couple had organized search parties, convinced that Greg was still in town, hiding possibly with the help of Regina's enemies.
Regina's eyes fluttered open and she whimpered in pain. Every muscle in her body was screaming at her. She squirmed in David's arms, burying herself further into him. He was taking her pain away and she just wanted to feel the warmth and safety he represented. David tightened his embrace around Regina in his sleep.
She could feel the restored connection between them and Regina drew strength in the feeling of love. She cried out in both relief and pain, wrapping her arms around David and holding on to him with all her strength. The sobs woke the two doctors and catapulted Sarah out of her chair. She was the first one at Regina's side, sitting on the edge of the bed on the other side of David. "Shh… you're safe, Regina."
Regina buried her face into David's chest, deeply inhaling his scent. She needed him but was also afraid of him. Did David really remember her? Or was their bond restored simply because he was unconscious? Would he wake up accusing her of being the Evil Queen, with eyes filled with hate?
"Regina, it's over. It's over, honey." Sarah rubbed Regina's back soothingly. "You're safe with us."
Regina fisted David's shirt, unwilling to let him go, unwilling to let go of the feeling of love. "David…" She whispered.
Sarah's heart broke at Regina's reaction. She locked eyes with the people who had been in the living room just a couple of minutes ago. Viktor nodded at her, a silent nudge to wake David up. The nurse gently shook the Prince, much to Regina's dismay. The Prince stirred and scrunched up his nose, slowly rising from his sleep. "Someone is here to see you." Sarah coerced him. The Prince turned his head in the voice's direction.
David felt safer and warmer than he had since he had woken up from his coma. Regina! Last night's events were replaying in his mind. His eyes shot open and he turned toward the woman safely tucked against him. As soon as his baby blue eyes settled on her chocolate ones, David saw all the doubt and pain reflected in them and he instantly knew he was the cause of so much suffering. His eyes filled up with tears as he gently cupped her cheek. "Regina…"
All Regina could feel was the immense guilt. She knew they would have to talk but she wasn't ready. She leaned toward him and crashed her lips on his. They fought for control of the kiss, each wanting to feel more of the other. It was sloppy and messy but they didn't care. All they wanted was the other.
The people assembled in the small bedroom shifted uncomfortably, trying to find an excuse - any excuse really - to leave the couple alone. Belle inched toward the staircase. "I should get Henry."
"Good idea!" Jonas said in earnest.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry." David blurted out in-between tender kisses.
"It wasn't you." Regina whispered against his lips. "You're back." She nuzzled against his cheek, just needing to be in his presence. Having caught her breath, she kissed him again hungrily.
The Prince returned the heated kiss, tangling his fingers into her dark locks and bringing her impossibly closer. "I love you." He whispered. "I love you so much." He kissed the tip of her nose before peppering her face with tender, soft kisses.
"MOM!" came a yell and a thunder of footsteps down the staircase. Before Regina and David had time to part, Henry jumped on the bed and hugged his mother tightly.
"Henry." Regina held her son. "Baby." She whispered to him, her mind bringing her back to the cold place where Greg had kept her hostage, where she had almost died. She pushed the memories back to the darker recesses of her mind. She was back with her family. That was all that mattered.
"Henry, let your mother breathe." Sarah chastised with a laugh.
The kid immediately released his mother, remembering the other life inside her. "Is the baby ok?"
Regina placed her hand on her small baby bump. "The baby is fine, sweetheart. I managed to erect a protection spell... around the both of us." She lied. "We're both fine." She cupped his chin between her thumb and index finger. David placed his own hand over the one Regina had on her stomach. He could feel the magic awakening inside Regina's womb. She turned to face him, releasing Henry in the process, and gave him a bright smile. "You feel it too?"
He nodded at her. "It's so pure… and powerful." He said in awe.
"Born from our magic." Regina laced her fingers with his.
"The baby is ok." He announced with certainty, feeling the life inside Regina as if it was developing in his own body.
"Would you mind if I were the judge of this myself?" Jonas asked gently.
The couple turned their attention to the doctor and Regina nodded, repositioning herself in David's arms so that Jonas had access to her baby bump. She was now half laying on top of him, her head resting on his shoulder.
To her surprise, the doctor pulled a portable ultrasound near the bed. "We tried to have a look at the little one during the night but you were pressed against David and we didn't want to move you." Jonas offered as an explanation. "Henry, do you mind?" He motioned for the kid to get off the bed. Henry scooted up the bed, sitting on the pillow near Regina. He had no intention of leaving his mom's side.
"We should give you some privacy." Belle offered, shooing Rumple, Archie, Viktor, Granny, and Red out of the way.
Regina smiled at her friend before pulling her shirt up. She gasped as Jonas applied the cool gel on her skin. "Sorry." He grumbled.
"That's ok. I was just nice and warm." She turned to face David and pecked his lips.
Jonas moved the wand around, looking for a perfect view of Regina's baby. As soon as he found who he was looking for, he let out a deep breath. "Perfectly fine!" The baby was moving around and seemed unaffected by what Greg had put Regina through. The doctor flipped a switch and strong heartbeats filled the room immediately.
"The little one has grown so much!" David's eyes filled with tears. He had missed so much! He would never been able to have this time back, to be with Regina in the first few critical months of her pregnancy. He had abandoned her. After the promises he had made to always be by her side, he had left her to face the demons of her past on her own. Regina had never been able to carry a child to term. And he knew that the prospect of another miscarriage frightened her. And he had left her deal with her fears.
Regina cupped David's cheek. "It wasn't your fault. You're here now. You were here when it mattered." She whispered. "You saved both of us." David leaned down and kissed her softly. He would never have been able to forgive himself if anything had happened to Regina. But something did happen and as much as she would try not to talk about it, the elephant in the room would eventually have to be addressed. But not today. Today was about finding each other again. Today was about enjoying their growing family.
"The baby is ok?" David asked Jonas. "And so is Regina?"
Jonas smiled at the Prince. "Regina's vitals are normal and your…" He stopped himself. "Would you like to know the gender of your baby?"
"YES!" Henry exclaimed.
Regina chuckled at his reaction. She looked into David's eyes, already knowing his answer. "Yes, we'd like to know."
"Your little girl is as resilient as her mother." The doctor smiled at the family. "She is doing perfectly fine."
David's and Regina's eyes were glued to the monitor. "A girl?" David asked. "A little Princess!"
"I told you it would be a girl!" Henry bounced excitedly.
Regina looked toward her husband. "Are you happy?" They never had the chance to talk about their child. At the beginning of her pregnancy, Regina had refused to entertain the idea that there could be a child. Then, David had lost his memories.
"Of course!" David replied defensively. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Regina shrugged. "We never had a chance to discuss it."
David opened his mouth to protest until he remembered where she was coming from. Leopold had wanted a child but not any child: a boy. One that he could have called the heir to the throne. "Regina…" He kissed her forehead. "I'm happy that our little miracle is ok. I'm happy to have a child with you and to expand our family. I'm happy to be with you." He kissed her again, feeling her tears run down her cheeks and on his own.
Jonas stopped the ultrasound and wiped the gel off Regina's stomach before pulling her shirt down. The mayor immediately snuggled against her husband, kissing the spot over his heart. "A little girl." She whispered with a smile.
"What's her name?" Henry asked, spooning Regina.
Regina chuckled and turned around in David's arms to hug her son. "I don't know baby. We… We never discussed it."
"You named me after your father." Henry started. "Should you name her after somebody from your past? Somebody who meant a lot to you?"
Regina gave him a small smile. The only woman that had meant a lot to Regina had been Maleficent and they couldn't very well name their child after the dragon. "How about Ruth?" She asked David. "After your mother?"
David tried to move to spoon Regina against him but the motion sent waves of pain down his lower spine. He bit his lips to contain the hiss but the gesture hadn't gone unnoticed by Jonas. "Let me get, Viktor."
Regina nodded at the doctor, having felt the pain too.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Henry looked at his mother worryingly.
"Nothing, sweetheart. I'm fine. But Viktor needs to have a look at David."
Henry looked at his grandfather. Their relationship had been strained ever since he had told him that they should have executed Regina for the Evil Queen's crimes a long time ago. Why would David need to be checked out? "You're ok?" The kid asked tentatively, unsure of whether he should forgive his grandfather.
David smiled at him. "I'm ok, kid. I promise."
Unconvinced, Henry nonetheless joined the others in the living room while Viktor was examining David.
EC
"Thanks for staying with them." Emma whispered to Granny as she entered the loft around 8pm. They had spent the entire day looking for Greg. Even after receiving the call from Archie that Regina and David had woken up, she and Neal had continued their efforts. Neal had finally coerced her into going home to see her Dad when all hopes of securing a lead had been extinguished by sunset.
"Of course." The old woman started reheating some of the soup she had prepared for the group earlier.
"How are they?" Emma looked at the unmoving forms of Regina and David on the bed.
"They are both ok, Emma. Regina is having a little girl." She smiled.
Emma sat at the bar and returned the old wolf's smile. "Yeah… Sarah told me earlier today."
"Are you excited about having a little sister?"
Emma snorted. "This family tree is so screwed up. My sister happens to also be my son's sister. Which means she's also my…" Emma stopped. "I'm not even sure! I'm getting a headache just to think about it."
"Then don't." Granny shrugged. "What matters is that she will be welcomed into this world by a family who loves her."
"I'm worried about them." Emma confessed.
Granny served the soup into a bowl with a piece of bread on the side and pushed the plate toward Emma. "They're both fine. Whale said that the pain is most likely due to the tension in his body while…" She didn't finish her sentence. She didn't have to: Emma had witnessed the intensity of her father's convulsions. "He gave him something for the pain and they helped him move. It has seemed to help… that and the very long bath with Regina."
Emma chuckled. "I bet that did help a lot."
"Now that their bond is strengthening again, Regina thinks she should be able to help him heal with magic."
"I know. I just hate to see him like this. I know it's hard on him to be dependent on us for all his needs." Emma looked at Regina sleeping peacefully on top of David, her baby bump safely resting on his abdomen. "I guess it will be easier with Regina."
"They enjoyed their first day together, that's for sure." Granny looked at the couple on the bed. "After the bath, Henry insisted on playing board games most of the afternoon. They fell asleep about two hours ago. Whale will be back around midnight to check on both of them and adjust David's pain medication if necessary."
"Thanks, Granny." The blonde smiled. "Is Henry already in bed?"
The old wolf nodded. "He fell like a rock right after the two lovebirds. Red carried him upstairs before going back to Whale's place." She snorted in disdain.
Emma bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing. Red's choice for a boyfriend definitely hadn't met Granny's approval. "Gold?"
"He cast a couple more protection spells around the loft before going back to the store with Belle." Granny pulled her cloak from the nearby stool. "I should get going. I'll be back in the morning with breakfast." Before Emma could protest, Granny raised her index finger. "Hum-um! No arguments! Your job is to find whoever wants Regina harm. Let the rest of us take care of them." She nodded toward the bed with her chin. "Regina is growing stronger. Soon her magic will be no match for whatever Greg and Tamara planned to do."
Emma smiled. Who would have thought that Granny would become Regina's most ardent defender? "I'll stay down here tonight, in case they need anything."
Granny shook her head. "No, girl. That's Archie's job. Your place is upstairs getting some rest."
As if on clue, the psychiatrist opened the loft's door. "Emma." He greeted. "I hope I didn't interrupt you."
"Not at all. Granny was telling me of your plans to take care of David and Regina." Her eyes brimmed with tears. As an orphan, she had no one to watch her back. She had learned to trust only herself. But here, she had found a family and she didn't only mean her mom and dad.