A/N: I know that it seems like I'm always apologizing for the late updates but I do have good excuses every time, I swear. This time I have been pretty sick and it won't go away. And yes, that's a pretty lame way to start the holidays...
To answer two things I read in the reviews: Doing a paternity test before the baby is born is kinda risky so I don't think they would go with it. And it would be a little too easy. As for discovering the sex of the baby, that's actually something I might do soon. However I have no idea if I want it to be a boy or a girl, so if you have any preferences just tell me. As always, thank for the reviews, it's always greatly appreciated, and enjoy this new chapter! I tried to make up for the lateness by making it a long one. Don't forget to tell me what you think! :)
Regina took a deep breath before opening the door to the pawn shop. She reminded herself one more time of the promise she had made to David. It was the only thing keeping her from turning around immediately and going back to the safety of her newly established routine. But she had promised to talk to Gold and he had promised to talk to Henry. This was the only way they were going to make things work and she would not back down.
So she pushed the door and entered the shop. The little bell made her presence known and the imp instantly made his appearance behind the counter. He immediately grinned upon recognizing her. "If it isn't her Majesty herself. What brings you here on such a nice day?"
Apparently their last encounter had ended all pretence between them. She wasn't Dr Mills anymore and he wasn't a pawn shop owner anymore either. She was the queen and he was Rumpelstiltskin. She did not know what to make of it though. Was it better to deal with him under covered words or to have everything out in the open? Probably neither. Dealing with him never ended well.
But she was here so there was no backing down now. "I came here to inform you that I'm pregnant." She almost reveled in the surprised gasp he didn't manage to hide. It was rare to catch Rumpelstiltskin by surprise. She knew however that it would only be a brief victory.
"And why would you-" Suddenly he froze. "Oh." Little by little a devilish smile started to appear on his face and she couldn't help but shiver at the visual. "I see."
She knew that if she stayed silent too long he would take advantage of the situation. She needed to show him that she was the one in control here and that he wouldn't manipulate her or her child anymore than she had already allowed him to. She righted her posture and stood tall, standing before him as the queen that she was. Not that it had ever intimidated Gold but it gave her courage and right now she needed some.
"There is only a slight chance that this is yours but there are some people who think that you should know. It's probably David's anyway. And even if it isn't, I'm raising this child with him. I don't want you anywhere near this baby, no matter how entitled you think you may be. You've already hurt my family enough."
He was about to retort that she had been the one hurting her family. After all he hadn't been the one pushing her mother through a mirror or plucking his heart out of her father's chest. But he held back, the wheels spinning inside his head. He remembered very well the spell he had cast on her so that she wouldn't be able to bare a child. How could she even be pregnant? And what was he to think of this new development anyway? Did he want this child to be his?
His first reaction would have been to scoff at the notion. He certainly didn't want any child of his former student. However the more he thought about it, the more he could remember how amazing it had been to take care of Bae when he was only a baby. How much love he had felt. Since his son had fallen through a portal, everything he had done had been to get him back. This whole curse was because of the love he had for his son. What if on the way he could gain another child? Bae had often mentioned his desire to have siblings. What if he could not only find his son again but also grant one of his wishes as well? They could be a family.
But one look at the former queen told him that she didn't want that. She was planning to play house with her prince and completely erase him of her family. There was no way he would let a child of his be raised by that Charming idiot. It was bad enough that he would have to deal with Regina- at least he had some respect for her on some level- but Charming was just out of the question. He couldn't let that happen.
Not to mention that allowing her to have her happy ending with Charming, Henry and the baby would seriously slow down the process of breaking the curse. He wasn't certain of the specifics of how it was meant to happen but he could tell that this wasn't the way. And he needed the curse broken.
After some quick thinking a gleam appeared in his eyes. He had found a solution. He would find a way to have everything he wanted, he always had. "Tell me, dearie, how do you think you were able to conceive after you made me curse you?" At her apparent lack of answer he continued. "Because the way I see it, it must have been the kind of curse that doesn't affect the caster. Which means that this is my child. Not David's."
"Or it could be true love breaking any curse." She just blurted it out without thinking about it. She didn't even know where it came from and apparently neither did Gold because his eyes widened suddenly. He quickly recovered though and bursted out laughing.
"You think that you share true love with Snow's prince?" More laughter came out of his now gleeful face. "Oh my. I didn't know that you were that delusional."
She didn't know she was either. She really didn't know where that had come from. Was is true though? Did she really think she shared true love with David? That would surely complicate things even more. She hadn't even admitted to loving him yet. She brushed those thoughts away quickly. It was not the time to concern herself with such things. She hadn't come here to discuss her relationship with David. And even if she had wanted to discuss it, she definitely wouldn't have come to Gold for it. He was only ever trying to hurt her.
Still, she couldn't help but feel a little bit hurt at his dismissal and his now maniac laughter. Was the idea of her and David so ludicrous? She could understand that the idea of Prince Charming being the Evil Queen's true love seemed ridiculous. But what about Regina and David? Was it as absurd? She suddenly realised that she wanted it to be true. She wanted for them to share that special link.
Guilt instantly replaced her confusion. How could she be thinking that after Daniel? For almost fifty years all she had done had been for him. Or at least that was what she had been telling herself. It was what made it all bearable. Now was not the time to throw it all out the window.
She was quickly interrupted from her thoughts though. Gold had seen the beginning of a long and confused reflexion emerge on the queen's face and he didn't really want to stick around for that. He was already glad that he had planted some doubts in her mind. Maybe he could try and give her some more. "Does he know that I could be the father? Because I sure would love to see how he reacts to that."
"Yes, he does. He was the one to convince me to tell you." His grin fell for a few seconds. He quickly recovered but she had seen it anyway. She smiled inwardly. Another brief victory for her. Not that it really changed anything but she would take her victories where she could find them.
"And he is okay with it?"
"Well, he is not your biggest fan, but we worked it out, yes."
He could see her lips curling upwards and he felt like he was losing the upper hand, and that would definitely not do. He laid both his hands on the counter and answered her smile with one of his. "Let's hope that it lasts then. Who knows what could happen after the breaking of the curse?"
Her face paled for a few seconds before she could school her features. Her curse breaking was definitely a problem she hadn't been able to fix yet. And a big one at that. Everything would crumble and the imp knew it quite well. But he was probably just saying that to scare her and she wouldn't let him get under her skin.
"Save it. We're not even sure that it will break." She threw him one last hardened glance before taking her leave.
She was gone so fast that she missed his last words and the look of pure mischief on his face. And it was probably better that way anyway. She didn't need anymore worries than she already had.
"Oh it will, dearie, it will."
Later that day, in the Mills mansion, David was trying to have a talk with Henry. He was standing in front of his bedroom door and was trying to figure out what he was going to say exactly before opening the door. He knew that Henry accepting them was a vital part of his relationship with Regina and he was afraid to screw it up. Especially since she had kind of set him up for failure when she had told him what Henry already thought of them as a couple.
Nevertheless he wasn't about to give up on his first relationship that felt right because of a ten-year-old. That's with this new resolution that he finally knocked on the door and opened it to find Henry sitting on his bed with a large book on his lap. He closed it sharply when David entered the room.
The gesture allowed David to see the cover of the book and the big once upon a time printed on it. It certainly looked as an odd book to find in the room of a ten-year-old. He would have thought that kids his age were done with fairytales. But he should have expected it. It was probably the reason for the Evil Queen and Prince Charming comparison that Regina had mentioned.
He saw it as an opener to the conversation he wanted to have. Maybe he could try to understand why Henry was so opposed to the idea of them having a child together. So he just plastered a smile on his face and got ready for the conversation they were about to have. "What are you reading?"
Henry looked at him suspiciously. Ever since he had found out about the paternity of the baby he had begun to doubt David as an ally. He was afraid that he had fallen prey to the Evil Queen. However he was the only person that he could confide in and he had always felt comfortable in his presence. And maybe if he could get him to understand what was happening, he would realise that Regina wasn't to be trusted.
That's why after a minute of arguing with himself he finally let out a deep sigh. "Can I trust you?"
David's brows furrowed. He hadn't expected the book to be such a big deal. Nevertheless he knew that it was probably the key to their problems. He smiled to the kid. "Sure."
"You promise you won't tell anyone about what I'm about to tell you?"
"I promise."
"And you won't just say I'm crazy? You will actually consider it?"
"I promise."
Henry gave him another suspicious look before patting the space next to him on the small bed. David chuckled at the gesture. "God, kid, you make it look as if you hold the key to the universe."
"Maybe not to the universe but at least to Storybrooke."
"What do you mean?"
And David listened as Henry told him about the curse. About the Evil Queen and all her wretched deeds. About Snow White and her never-ending goodness. About all the other people in town that had been robbed of their happiness. About him and his destiny as Prince Charming. About the savior and the curse breaking. He listened to it all, trying to bear an open mind.
But it was just pure madness. The kid sure had a good imagination and David was way out of his league. He couldn't just tell Henry that he thought he was crazy. That certainly wasn't what Regina had in mind when she sent him there. She wanted to make sure that Henry would not hate her any more than he already did if she openly dated David. And for that he needed to have Henry on his side. He just wasn't sure of how to go about it.
Once he was done with his explanation, the ten-year-old looked up at David with a gaze full of hopefulness. "Do you believe me?"
No, he didn't. How could he? Nobody sane would. But he held his tongue and sighed. "Honestly Henry, I can't really imagine your mother being the Evil Queen."
The kid instantly dropped his gaze, disappointed, and mumbled. "She's not my mother."
This time he wouldn't hold his tongue. This was definitely something he couldn't let go. "Of course she is! She has raised you for ten years and she will keep taking care of you until she can't anymore. She loves you, Henry. You can't go around thinking that she is not your mother. And you can't tell her that she is an evil queen."
"But it's the truth!" He sounded so more like the little kid that he was in that instant. Frustrated because grown-ups wouldn't take him seriously. Annoyed with adults not believing what was right in front of them.
"Would an evil queen go to all your soccer games? Would she make your lunch every day and slip the little notes that I know she puts in it? Would she comfort you when you have a nightmare?" Henry's gaze dropped and he started fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. "Would an evil queen work at the hospital all day long to try and make the lives of everyone better? Tell me, Henry, would an evil queen be at all like your mother is?"
"She could be faking it."
"You can't fake that."
"Why do you care anyway?"
David couldn't help but notice the resemblance between Henry and Regina when he saw the inquisitive raise of the eyebrow. Henry might not want to admit it but he was more Regina's son than he could ever imagine. And that meant that the time had come for David to spill the beans. "I love your mom and I would like you to be okay with us dating."
The only reaction he got was a wide-eyed Henry with a mouth wide open. He stayed like that for a few seconds before finally getting back the use of his tongue. "You- you love my mom?"
David nodded at the question, a small smile on his lips. "With all my heart."
"But- You're Prince Charming. And she is the Evil Queen."
"I don't care about who I am, kid. The only thing I care about is that I love your mother and I want us- you, me, Regina and the baby- to be a family. Wouldn't you like that?"
"But it's wrong."
"Why?"
"Because you belong with Snow White. You deserve to have your happy ending with her."
"But I want my happy ending with your mom. Don't you want us all to be happy?"
"I guess but-"
"Then quit arguing. Stop calling your mother the evil queen and help me make this family work." Probably not the smooth conversation he had wanted to have, but he had never really been good with words anyway.
Henry was confused, very confused. He wanted the curse broken, he wanted the whole town to know the truth and the evil queen to be punished. But he would be lying if he said that the idea of the family they could be wasn't at least a little bit appealing.
David could tell that Henry was thinking hard and even though he could see that he wasn't ready to drop his fairytale theory, at least he had managed to get his message across. So he left his spot on the bed and walked to the door. Just before he could walk through it he heard Henry's small voice. "I'll try. But I won't stop trying to break the curse. You'll see that I was right and that you shouldn't trust her."
David sighed and closed the door.
Later that evening David was awaken by the sound of keys being turned in the lock. Soon after he could hear Regina's heels in the entryway. He had dozed off in the couch after his conversation with Henry, waiting for Regina to come home from work. He liked the idea of Regina coming home to him after a long day at the hospital. This was definitely something he could get used to.
Soon after he had started entertaining these thoughts, Regina appeared in his peripheral vision. She took off her coat and her heels and went to sit next to him on the couch. Quickly enough she was snuggled onto him and he was rubbing her back absentmindedly.
"Where is Henry?"
"In his room. He had some homework to do." He was probably reading his book but she didn't need to know that.
"Thanks for watching after him. I couldn't get out of work earlier."
"Don't even mention it. I don't mind really."
She snuggled up even closer and he kissed her hairline, loving the intimacy of their embrace. Months ago he wouldn't even have dreamed of sharing such a tender moment with the brunette and now it seemed as if she had always belonged in his arms. He could only wonder what had changed. But in the end it didn't matter anyway as long as she was there and nowhere else.
"Did you talk with him?"
"Yes. And you? Did you talk with Gold?"
"I went to see him this morning."
He could tell by the silence that followed that it probably didn't go any better than it went for him but he thought he would ask anyway. You never know, right? "How did it go?"
She sighed and he tightened his embrace. "It could have gone better. You?"
"It could have gone better." They both chuckled. At least they both had each other. It was always something. "At least I think he won't call you the Evil Queen anymore."
"Well, after today Gold might be the one calling you the Evil King. He isn't your biggest fan." He laughed and she couldn't help but join in. When they finally calmed down she rested her forehead against his torso and sighed. "We make a pretty lame team, don't we?"
He gently put his fingers under her chin so she would look at him. "We make the best of the circumstances we're in." And he filled the mere inches separating their faces by pressing his lips onto hers. It was sweet and comforting. Loving. Everything she wouldn't have thought possible after Daniel's death.
She took advantage of their parting for air to straddle him completely and whisper in his ear. "Stay the night." It was more of a timid question than a veritable request but he was glad to grant it anyway. He captured her lips once more, sliding his hands under her thighs. He got up from the couch, taking her with him, and manoeuvred them towards her bedroom. Gold and Henry could protest all they wanted, they wouldn't give up so easily. Not when it felt so right.
