I've been going over this chapter for a while, as I was worried it wasn't right but I've finished it and I am just going to go for it.

Thank you so much to everyone who reads, reviews and supports this story. I love you all :)


'Robin?' Marian called as she entered their tent in search of him, with Roland tagging along behind her.

'Mama, can I go and play?'

'Not now sweetie,' she brushed him off, huffing when she found no sign of her husband.

'Please Mama? Mary and Michael are just outside…'

'I said-' she started harshly, but she caught herself before she snapped at her son. He didn't deserve her frustrations to be taken out on him. Marian sighed, turning to him and crouching down so that their eyes were level. He looked at her with such innocence that it made her heart swell in her chest.

'I'm sorry Roland, I'm just tired. You can go and play as long as you're back before dinner, and you stay where someone can see you. Okay?'

Roland smiled at her and put his arms around her neck in an embrace, before running outside to join the other children. Marian watched where he was going to be sure that he was safe before dipping back into the tent. She was about to go and find Little John and ask him whether Robin was still out working when she heard a phone buzzing on the table.

Although still slightly confused by the contraption, Marian knew the basic function of the device and went over to pick it up. She pressed a button and the screen lit up, much to her surprise, illuminating the message that had been sent to her husband. She read it, her eyes darkening as they moved over the words written by the Evil Queen.

She felt her chest tighten as she wondered what they meant. Regina had something to tell him, but what could it be? And she had mentioned Granny's, yet he had sworn to her that he would not seek her out again; it didn't make sense. Marian could feel her breathing become shallow as she began to panic. She couldn't lose Robin, not again.

'Marian?'

She turned to see Robin walk into the room, and instinctively she slipped the phone into her pocket out of sight.

'You're back,' she breathed, a smile trying to hide her nervous expression.

'Yeah I just got in,' he told her calmly. 'I don't suppose you've seen my phone? I put it down this morning and haven't been able to find it since.'

'No,' Marian answered, a little quickly though Robin did not appear to notice, 'I haven't. Are you sure it isn't in your bag?'

'I checked,' sighed Robin, 'but thank you. Where's Roland?'

'Playing with the other children,' she explained, moving towards him and wrapping her arms around his neck. 'We have some time alone.'

He smiled, but it did not quite reach his eyes.

'I'm going into town with the others, but I'll be back for dinner.'

'Oh…okay,' Marian nodded, trying to hide her disappointment. 'Maybe afterwards we can talk?'

'Maybe,' Robin answered, but they both knew that they wouldn't.

Xxx

Regina was peeling potatoes when Henry came into the kitchen.

'Want some help?'

'I've got it covered dear, why don't you watch some television?'

'Surely there's something I can do,' Henry asked, taking a potato and holding out his hand until she passed him the peeler. Regina narrowed her eyes and looked at him with suspicion.

'Who are you and what have you done with my son?' she teased.

'Nothing! I just wanted to help you with dinner.'

Regina smiled, but shook her head as she took a knife and started chopping onions.

'You don't have to do that Henry, I'm fine really.'

'If you say so,' he agreed, 'but the fact remains that the food will be done quicker with two people making it, and I am getting rather famished.'

'That is true,' Regina grinned. She looked over to her phone, lying silent on the counter, and then returned to slowly chopping. Tears stung her eyes, but she blamed it on the onions.

They sat down to eat and Regina let Henry do the talking while she smiled and nodded along, picking at her food and hardly eating a bite. Her phone was on the table beside her, and more than once she caught herself staring down at it or playing with it absentmindedly.

'Mom?'

Regina snapped out of her daze and looked up at her son with a guilty smile.

'Sorry dear, what did you say?'

'I was just saying that I have a maths test tomorrow,' he repeated. 'Is my company not good enough for you?'

'No of course not,' she said quickly, but as she saw him smirking at her she relaxed a little.

'Chill out Mom, I'm just teasing. He…he will call, you know.'

'Yes,' Regina smiled sadly, 'I'm sure he will.'

But she wasn't sure. The message had been sent hours ago, and Robin never left her waiting. There were many possibilities to explain his silence, but none of them seemed to give her any comfort.

'Are you finished?' she asked, pulling the conversation back to a safer area.

'Yes,' he answered, passing her his plate as she stood to take it away and noticing how hers had hardly been touched. 'You didn't eat much. Is it… is it getting worse?'

'Yes,' Regina admitted reluctantly, seeing no point in lying to him, 'but it's nothing to worried about. I'm just a little sick, that's all.'

'A little?' Henry raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

'Okay, quite a bit,' she gave in, a tired sigh escaping from her lips.

'I can wash up if you want to go and lie down?'

'Henry, you have done more than enough for me today. Did you finish your homework?'

'Yep,' he said proudly.

'Then go and find something on TV and I'll join you in a moment.'

'But-'

'I'll have an early night I promise,' Regina bargained. 'Now go!'

Henry shrugged, still unconvinced but unwilling to have the same argument with her again and knowing he would lose eventually anyway. Regina took the plates into the kitchen and placed them in the dishwasher, finding herself too tired to wash them by hand. She closed the door to the machine and straightened, but as she did she felt a strange sharp pain in her right side. It was fleeting, hardly lasting a moment, but it was enough.

Regina was distracted, however, when a wave of dizziness and nausea almost caused her legs to buckle. She gripped onto the counter to steady herself, and it took a few minutes before she felt as if she could stand straight without falling. The baby felt normal to her, and she was still able to sense her using her magic, but her own body felt weak and tired at the constancy of the sickness only growing stronger.

She lasted another hour, unable to focus on whatever odd game show Henry had picked as the swirling sensation in her stomach only worsened. He looked worried when she kissed him goodnight, but she insisted that all she needed was rest though didn't quite believe it herself. Regina put a hand against the wall to guide her as she made her way up to her bedroom and by the time she had ascended the stairs she was breathing heavily.

Xxx

Robin looked at his sleeping son and smiled sadly. He placed a gentle kiss on Roland's forehead before standing up and walking out of the tent, putting his bag on his back. Marian was sitting underneath a tree in the evening light, humming to herself as she sewed. He knew that this wasn't going to be easy.

She looked up at him, smiling.

'Is he asleep?'

'Yes, he dropped off half an hour ago; too much excitement for one day. He was telling me about this afternoon at the park.'

Marian's smile faded, her eyes ever so slightly darkening.

'He shouldn't have run off. I've told him a thousand-' She stopped midway through her train of thought as she noticed what he was carrying.

'What's that?' she asked, confused. 'Are…are you going somewhere?'

Robin looked at her with sympathetic eyes, and she knew what he was going to say before he did.

'Marian-'

'Don't do this Robin,' she pleaded, casting her sewing aside as she stood and moved towards him.

'I have to,' he sighed.

'You don't have to do anything. We're happy here, aren't we? We have a son, a life together. I know it has been difficult after all of my time away…but we can make it work.'

'I don't think I can,' Robin said gently, wanting to be honest but hating the hurt that he was causing the woman who had once held his heart.

'What is it? What can I do?' she begged, grabbing his jacket and pulling him closer to her.

'It's not you,' he told her, 'it's-'

'Her,' Marian hissed. 'You love her? You would choose her over me, the mother of your child?'

'It's not about choosing, not anymore,' he tried to explain. 'I know that I can't be with Regina, she's said as much herself, but I can't go on living a lie. I buried you, Marian. Perhaps not in a literal sense, but I had to find a way to go on when my world came crashing down; because you were my world. I grieved, I cried, I fell apart over and over again, but eventually I let you go. I had to take care of our son.'

'You think it's my fault? Do you think that's what I wanted to happen?'

'Of course not,' Robin said at once. 'I just…I can't pretend that things can go back to how they were before. It's not fair on you or Roland. I've tried, really I have, but I can't be that man anymore.'

'It's her fault. She was the one who was going to kill me. And yet still you have feelings for her,' Marian spat, anger clouding her judgement as she let everything out.

'No-one is to blame here, Marian. The Evil Queen tore us apart yes, but that's not who Regina is anymore. I've seen the good within her, and I know that if she could take it back then she would.'

'But she can't, can she?' Marian sobbed, clinging desperately to her husband.

'Please…please don't go.'

'I will always love you, Marian,' he whispered, stroking her face gently as tears rolled down her cheeks. 'You are Roland's mother, my wife, and that can never be taken away from us. But I won't go down a path that will only make us both unhappy. I can't love you in the way you want or deserve to be loved. We could kid ourselves for a while, but eventually it would always have come to this.'

'Wh-what about Roland?' Marian gulped, through a wash of tears.

'He can stay with you until I find somewhere permanent and then we can work something out. Just tell him that I love him.'

'Go then,' she screamed, turning away in anger and wrapping her arms around herself, 'go back to that bitch.'

'I've told you, this isn't because of her,' Robin clarified. 'Well…maybe if I hadn't met her, then things would be different; but I did. I fell in love, and I'm sorry if that hurts you but it's the truth. It took me so long to love after I lost you, I thought I would never feel whole again.'

'So you do love her,' Marian whimpered, the anger falling away and leaving her feeling nothing but emptiness.

'Yes,' he breathed, 'and I never told her.'

They both fell silent, the only sound to be heard the chirping of the crickets.

'Promise me one thing,' she asked, her voice cracking.

'Anything.'

She turned back to him, her tears glistening in the light of the setting sun.

'One day,' she requested. 'Just take one day to think about things before…before you do anything that you can't turn back from. I know that you probably won't change your mind, and if you want to be with her… I think that I at least deserve some time.'

'Of course,' Robin agreed, taking her hand and kissing it softly. 'I promise.'

'Then go,' she croaked, her body beginning to tremble as she felt herself crumbling. 'I love you Robin.'

'I love you too.'

Xxx

Closing her bedroom door behind her, Regina felt the surge with just enough time to run to the bathroom. She fell to her knees heavily, knowing with certainty that the nausea was no longer a hollow threat, and emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Acid burned her throat, and the nagging pain in her side returned as if in mockery. Clinging to the porcelain so desperately that her knuckles turned white, Regina tried to stop herself from collapsing to the floor. She wondered for a while if she would pass out, and she began to panic thinking of Henry finding her unconscious in the morning. But Regina would not be allowed the luxury of sleep. The heaving persisted through the night, even when there was nothing left to throw up, and although she was exhausted it did not relent.

In a moment of coherence in the early hours, Regina brushed her hair from her face and lifted her throbbing head. She took her phone out from her pocket; no messages, no calls, nothing. She wanted to cry, but she didn't have the energy to form the tears and she settled instead for throwing the offending device onto the carpeted floor of her bedroom out of sight. She choked out a dry sob before her body betrayed her again, and the rest of the world melted away.

Xxx

The first light of dawn was streaming through her bedroom window, and Regina groaned at the sight of it. She was still on the bathroom floor, her knees sore from her positioning, but her body had at least stopped retching as it realised there was nothing left to bring up.

Her head was spinning, physical and mental exhaustion weighing her down to the point where her attempts to pull herself up from the floor had only ended with her falling back down. The pain in her side had become persistent and settled above her right hip, though it was more like a constant burning sensation which was just an irritant adding to her problems. As she had learned with her first attempt to stand, however, any movement caused it to flare to the point of agony.

As the sun insisted on rising, Regina realised that she could not stay slumped against the bathroom wall for the rest of the day. Henry would come to find her if she wasn't up, and she didn't want him to see her like this. She reached up and grabbed the bowl of the sink, breathing deeply as she readied herself for what she knew would be an unpleasant experience; she wasn't wrong.

With all of her strength, she pulled her body up until her legs could finally straighten and support her and though she still needed to steady herself on the wall, Regina managed to remain upright. It came at a cost, however. Her head was pounding, feeling unfathomably light, and her side had started to throb dangerously; but she was standing.

Cautiously Regina made her way into her bedroom, collapsing into the armchair with a moan when she realised that she wouldn't make it to the bed. She exhaled deeply, running her fingers through her hair and brushing it away from her face. Not wanting to attempt getting up again, she waved her hand lazily and changed into a soft cream silk nightdress and dressing gown and was relieved when she felt no repercussions of using magic.

Sitting there, quietly, she gathered her thoughts and allowed her body time to recover. The comfort of the chair helped to smooth some of the ache that had settled in her muscles through the night and the pain in her side settled back to a dull ache. Regina allowed her mind to drift, trying not to concentrate on the fact that she was more terrified than she would ever care to admit.

Xxx

Henry's alarm woke him up and he groaned at the sound. Half falling out of bed, he dressed without thinking and packed the last of the things in his bag to take to Emma's before making his way downstairs.

'Mom?' he called when he didn't find her in the kitchen, but he received no reply. He started to worry. She wasn't in the living room or the study, and Henry's heart thumped in his chest as he climbed back up the stairs. Her bedroom door was slightly ajar, and when he heard her coughing he wasn't quite sure whether to be relieved or frightened.

Regina looked up as Henry entered her bedroom and smiled, her tired eyes crinkling.

'Mom?'

'I'm sorry sweetie,' croaked Regina, her voice still raw from where the acidity had burned her throat, 'I wanted to come down.'

'Did you get any sleep at all last night?' he asked, as he sat on the bed beside her so that they were level. She shook her head slowly, leaning forwards to brush the hair from his face but retracting as a spasm of fire shot through her side making her noticeably wince.

'You look terrible,' he whispered, his eyes trailing across her features and noticing the waxiness of her complexion and the hollows of her cheeks.

'Thank you,' Regina said dryly, trying to make light of something far too serious for joking.

'I'm serious Mom,' insisted Henry, 'you should go to the hospital.'

'Pregnant women get sick Henry; you know that as well as I do.'

'Not like this.'

Regina gently took Henry's hand and placed it over her abdomen.

'Close your eyes,' she instructed him gently. He did as he was asked, though his brow wrinkled in confusion. Regina did the same, and tentatively coaxed her magic forwards and guided it to Henry's outstretched hand. She could feel the pulse of her child's magic, and she gave her son the ability to feel it as well. It was clear that it had worked when Henry opened his eyes abruptly, his face breaking out into a wide grin despite his worries.

'Woah!'

'Isn't it something,' Regina chuckled. 'She's fine, Henry. This will pass.'

'But what about you? You're not fine, Mom, and don't try and lie to me because I can see that you're not.'

'No I…I had a difficult night,' she said diplomatically. 'I'll call Doctor Whale this afternoon and set up an appointment.'

'You could call now, I'm sure he'd come over-'

'No,' Regina cut him off gently, 'not yet.'

'Mom, you can't risk this getting any worse,' argued Henry.

'I know,' she sighed, 'but I'm too exhausted to even think about what to do now. Let me have a couple of hours to sleep, and then if I still feel this bad then I'll call him as soon as I wake up. Deal?'

Although unconvinced, Henry didn't want to argue further with his mother who looked so unbelievably worn out that he wondered how she could continue to function.

'Okay,' he breathed, and she gave him a reassuring smile. Regina glanced up at the clock on her wall.

'You'll be late for school,' she warned.

'I don't have to go,' Henry insisted.

'You do,' she corrected him, covering his hand with her own and stroking her thumb softly over his skin. 'You have a test today, don't you?'

'Yes, but-'

'You can stay here and sit around watching me sleep, but I don't think that would do either of us any good, do you?'

'I don't think you should be on your own,' he mumbled, eyes looking up at her almost fearfully.

'I'll be alright dear, you don't need to worry about me,' Regina promised him. 'And I won't be alone. I'll call the doctor, and if I still feel unwell this evening then I'll ask Tinker Bell to come over.'

'I should stay tonight,' suggested Henry, 'I don't have to go to Emma's.'

'You've done more than enough for me these past few weeks. I'll admit that I'm not quite feeling my usual self, but that's no reason for you not to go and see Emma and have some time away from all of this. Let someone take care of you for a change.'

'But I don't need taking care of,' her son pointed out, 'and you do.'

'That's what the doctor is for,' Regina answered smartly.

'But-'

'I promise that I will call you this evening, and if anything happens you'll be the first to know,' she said, cutting him off. 'I can't be much of a mother if I can't keep myself standing up, so I suppose I'll let Ms. Swan take the reins for a while.'

Henry didn't like the thought of leaving her. Something felt off to him, despite his mother's reassurances, but he knew that she wasn't about to back down.

'Can I come and see you at least?'

'Tomorrow,' Regina nodded, 'just…just give me a little time to rest, hmm?'

'Okay Mom.'

He leaned over her and hugged her as delicately as he could manage, and Regina relished in the feeling of his warmth. She kissed his forehead, and tried to smile with as much conviction as possible as he moved away from her.

'I love you Mom.'

'I love you too Henry.'

When she heard the door click shut, Regina let out a shuddering breath and let her head fall into her hands. She was exhausted, her head swimming as she fought to stay awake until she could at least move herself into the bed. Gingerly, she rose from the armchair and slowly walked towards her bed. Her right side seemed to have calmed, for which she was grateful, and she slipped beneath the soft sheets with a sigh of relief.

As soon as her head hit the pillow, she could feel sleep pulling her down and she didn't try to fight it. Regina looked across at her bedside table, where the phone she had recovered from her bedroom floor lay irritatingly silent. She picked it up, and without thinking went to Robin's name in her contacts. The phone was ringing before she even realised that she had selected it.

Pressing the device to her ear, she waited with baited breath for him to answer. He didn't. But it was ringing, she thought frustratedly, he must not be able to hear it. Or maybe he was ignoring her call.

'Robin,' Regina whispered, once the tone had been given, 'please…I know that I said I couldn't see you, but I didn't mean it. I didn't mean any of it. I was just scared when you told me you cared about me and I…I suppose I panicked. I need you, Robin. I really need you. I don't want to have to pretend that I'm strong anymore, because I'm not. And I'm so scared.'

Tears rolled down her cheeks as words began to fail her, and she knew that she could say no more. Sending the voicemail, she put the phone back on the table and buried her face into the pillow. Sleep came as a welcome relief, pulling her into a restful place where she could recuperate nothing could hurt her.

Almost nothing.

Xxx

Water. Everywhere, stretching as far as the eye could see, there was only water. Swallowed by an ocean of the deepest blue, Regina kicked her legs trying to keep her head above the surface; but she just wasn't strong enough and every so often her mouth filled with the taste of salt. She felt something brush across her ankle and jerked it away at once, only to be met by a bolt of pain of which she couldn't quite place the origin.

A hand grabbed her ankle, its nails digging into her skin, and pulled her down until her head was covered and the light of the sun above her was a distant memory.

Regina struggled, kicking and screaming and wondering why despite the cold water she felt as if she were burning. It pulled her deeper and deeper, and it became darker and darker, until finally it let her go and she was suspended in the ocean, alone once more.

She tried to kick towards the surface, but it never seemed to get any closer. Her lungs were screaming for oxygen that she could not provide them, but still she fought on. There was a stinging pain in her ankle and she looked down to see little droplets of blood dancing in the water. Fascinated, she watched them for a moment as they moved and spread; only they didn't dissipate.

The water around her ankle turned crimson, a cloud expanding until as Regina looked around all of the water was tainted as such. She struggled, terror gripping her heart, but she felt the hand upon her leg and once more she was being dragged down into the bright red ocean.

Xxx

Regina woke with a start, breathing heavily as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. She made to sit up, but found that she couldn't. Everything hurt. She tried to turn onto her side but gasped as a pain so strong that for a moment it blinded her shot through her abdomen. It took her breath away, and she had to remind herself that she had escaped the clutches of the dream. Yet she still felt as if she were drowning, as if her legs were suspended in water. She could almost feel a droplet trickling down her inner thigh.

It felt strange, to be paralysed by pain and fear in this way, but as Regina started to realise that she was now fully returned to the waking world she could sense that something was wrong. Tilting her head she looked down at her body, and brought a trembling hand across herself to take hold of the duvet. It was as if she knew.

Pulling back the bedclothes, Regina felt her world fall apart in the space of a moment. Everything stopped, nothing mattered. She could see nothing else.

Nothing but blood.


I'm going to hide.

This story is far from over, and there is a lot more still to do. Will aim for a usual weekend update. Please leave a review