Chapter 20: Birth
December 16th 2015
"Regina, on the next contraction, I want you to start pushing."
Regina pushed with all her strength. "Ahhh!" She screamed in unison with David, to everyone's surprise.
"You're… You're feeling it?" Viktor asked his friend in awe.
"YEAH!" The Prince answered as Regina was pushing one more time. It felt like his insides were being torn apart.
"You're doing great." Sarah encouraged Regina, sponging the sweat from her forehead. She turned her attention to the Prince: his teeth were clenched and he was grabbing the railing with all his strength. Taking pity on the man, she also sponged his forehead. "This is truly amazing. You're actually giving birth." David rolled his eyes in a similar manner as Regina, prompting a soft chuckle from the nurse.
Regina pushed as she felt the next contraction approaching. "You're never touching me again!" She yelled at David, who was unable to maintain the healing magic through the amount of pain she was currently experiencing.
"I have no intentions to ever have sex with you again!" He yelled back to the astonishment of everyone in the room.
EC
"Regina's been pushing for over an hour already." Belle whispered her concern to Emma.
The blonde looked at the clock in the waiting area and nodded. She remembered from her own birthing classes that the pushing phase could take over two hours for first-time mothers. "I'm sure that they are all fine. Viktor, Jonas, and Sarah are with them." She answered with more confidence than she felt. Belle rubbed Emma's arm in understanding before going back to help Red and Granny with the coffee and food.
In the corner, Gold had witnessed the exchange. He knew that Emma was worried for her family but he needed to talk to her. Her family wouldn't be safe until they put Mendell and his band behind bars. He slowly approached Emma. "We need to talk." He whispered to her.
Emma wasn't surprised by the poor timing and couldn't help but wonder if Gold's lack of tact was due to him being the Dark One or a remnant of the man he once was. "Let's go outside. I don't want Henry to overhear us." She looked at her son, sitting in-between Archie and Jacob, pointing to the new storybook he had been making for his little sister.
Gold nodded before exiting the waiting area, followed by Emma. Once they reached the end of the corridor, Emma was the first to talk. "What have you found?"
"It's rather what I didn't that's interesting." Emma rolled her eyes; she was losing patience with the riddles. "See, magic can't be transferred easily." Gold continued, ignoring the Savior's attitude. He couldn't fathom how someone born with such a high capacity for magic had so little interest in its properties. "So moving the magic from the talisman to another recipient would be risky."
Emma frowned. She remembered having this discussion before when Gold had transferred some of his own magic to Regina. "So whoever the recipient is, he would have to be compatible with his victims!" Emma said excitedly. If she could find what the victims had in common, they may be able to identify Mendel's mysterious employer.
Gold raised his hand to stop Emma's enthusiasm. "That's what I thought too. So I looked into the magic being transferred. See, the color of one's magic reveals a lot about the practitioner."
"Regina's used to be purple but now it's more lilac." Emma paused. "And the magic for each of the practitioners on the videos had a different color."
Gold nodded. "Color alone is not the only sign of compatibility. But I would have expected to see a certain pattern, with maybe one or two oddballs. Which means that the talisman itself could change the nature of magic."
"Did you find anything to support that theory?"
"That's the thing, Miss Swan. I couldn't find anything about the talisman in any of the books I own." Emma shook her head, not understanding the point. Surely, there were other magical books that Gold wasn't aware of. The man cocked his head in annoyance. "I mean no mention at all!"
"Regina said she did some research in her vault but couldn't find anything either. She said that no magical beings would be foolish enough to study it."
Gold nodded. "The talisman hadn't been seen in ages. I personally thought it destroyed, long before your father did."
"What are you thinking?"
"I think the person who sold the talisman to your parents had been waiting a long time for the opportunity to take the Queen's magic."
Emma gasped in shock. "You said you've never seen the talisman in your lifetime… and you're... what... 400 years old! Which means that…"
"... whoever had the original talisman in their possession predates my ascension as the Dark One. Rare but possible." Gold nodded toward the waiting area. "Neal."
Emma closed her eyes. She had asked Neal several times how he could have survived for 400 years but he had only given her a vague answer. "Do you know where Neal could have spent years without aging?" She turned around to face the waiting area, her back now to Gold.
"I have an idea." Gold answered cryptically between clenched teeth. He just hoped he was wrong. "No." He enunciated for Emma's benefit. He wasn't ready to share his hunch yet. The time would come but he would be the one to fight this particular demon. His demon.
"Whoever this person is, he or she would have had years to study the talisman. To know exactly how to replicate it. And how to transfer magic from it." Emma mused.
"He, Miss Swan." Rumple murmured to himself low enough so that Emma couldn't hear him. "He."
EC
"I can't do this!" Regina screamed as she pushed on her contraction before relaxing against David. "I'm too tired." She cried out.
Jonas exchanged a quick look with Whale. Regina had been pushing for two hours and was completely exhausted. Both doctors had broached the subject of a C-section but with the magical link between Regina and David, they didn't know if the procedure was safe. "Regina, just take a break from pushing on the next few contractions." Jonas encouraged her. "You're almost there."
Regina was crying in pain and exhaustion. She could feel David's own tiredness through their bond, adding to her feeling of hopelessness. What if she wasn't able to deliver their baby? How long could she be pushing before it would affect her baby? "Regina, you're doing amazing." Sarah reassured her. "Olivia is going to be here in no time." Regina and David screamed through the next contraction but Regina didn't try to push.
"Sarah is right." David whispered to her. "You're doing great."
Regina looked up at David. She could see the pain in his eyes from the intensity of her contractions and all she felt was love. David had never asked her to find a way to separate them for the labor. He had promised her that he would be with her every step of the way and he was keeping his promise. All she had to do was to keep hers and push their baby girl into this world. With renewed vigor, Regina pushed on the next contraction with all her strength.
"She's crowning!" Jonas announced after a few more contractions. "Just one big push, Regina and we'll see the head!" Regina ignored everyone and just concentrated on pushing. After a while, she felt the little body slipped from hers and relaxed against David, utterly exhausted. A gush of air spread through the entire town as a bright light illuminated the hospital.
Jonas lifted Olivia up for her parents to see. The little girl immediately started squirming and screaming as the doctor placed her on her mother's bare belly. "Ten fingers, ten toes, and one set of healthy lungs." He joked. Of course, Whale would examine the baby thoroughly but he wanted to give the parents some time with their baby.
Jonas clamped the umbilical cord and handed a pair of scissors to David. "Want to do the honor?" The proud father followed the doctor's directions as his baby girl fussed from the bright lights and loud sounds now surrounding her.
Sarah placed towels on top of Olivia and put a hat on to keep the baby warm. Olivia quieted as soon as her parents started talking to her soothingly. She looked like a mini version of Regina: dark hair, small nose, and thin lips. "She is beautiful." David caressed his daughter's cheek with his index finger, prompting the newborn to scrunch her nose up. "Just like her mother." He added not only referencing her looks but also her mannerisms.
When Oliva opened her eyes to take her first peek at the world, Regina's smile widened: those were all David's and Olivia was looking at her mother with the same intensity as her father always did. "I think that's all you." Regina said to her husband. "She has your eyes." The same eyes that looked at her with love and trust.
David placed his forehead on Regina's temple and just smiled. Words couldn't begin to convey the joy and pride he felt in this very instant as he was looking at his daughter. The infant cooed in response, feeling the magic she'd grown accustomed to in her mother's womb. Regina gently extended the magic toward her daughter.
Jonas and Sarah exchanged a small smile. They had never thought that this day would come: Regina was holding a perfectly healthy baby girl, surrounded by love. The nurse turned her attention back to the small family as Jonas prepared himself for delivering the placenta. "Do you want to try to feed her?" She asked Regina. Newborns were generally more alert and receptive a few moments after birth and the nurse wanted to make sure the baby would receive her mother's nutrients.
Regina nodded quickly and followed Sarah's instructions. Olivia immediately latched onto her mother's breast, enjoying her first meal. "Definitely a Charming!" She joked as Olivia fed greedily.
EC
The waiting room erupted in cheers as the gush of magic swept through the corridors of the hospital. "Welcome to the world, Olivia!" Emma whispered to herself as she hugged her son.
"Can we see Mom?" Henry asked.
"In a few minutes, kid!" Emma smiled. She remembered Henry's birth: how she had refused to even looked at her son in fear that she would change her mind if she did. She had convinced herself that she was giving him his best chance. She had been a kid herself then, not ready to take on the responsibility of a newborn. She had also been in prison with a few more months on her sentence to serve. A baby's place wasn't behind bars.
In the following years, Emma had often wondered what had happened to her son but she had never tried to find him. She hadn't wanted to learn that her son had suffered the same fate as she had when going through the system. She had been a coward and today she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she had held her son in her arms as Regina was surely holding her daughter now.
Emma jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "There is no point in living with regrets." Neal whispered to her. "Henry is happy. He has a family."
Emma looked up at him. "We have a family." She corrected as she encircled Neal's waist with her right arm. "One big, loving family."
Whale entered the waiting area half an hour later with a bright smile on his face. "Mother and child… and father," he added with a frown, "are doing well. Olivia is a healthy 7lbs, 2oz baby." Another round of loud cheering followed the doctor's announcement.
"Can I see Mom?" Henry looked up at Whale expectantly.
The doctor smiled. "I was coming to get you, Emma, and Neal. Ready to meet your little sister?" The boy nodded quickly, already rushing in the direction the doctor had come from.
"Mom!" Henry ran the last few steps that separated him from his mother.
"Henry!" Regina looked up from her baby girl toward her little Prince, who was already climbing on the large bed. Regina repositioned her daughter to make room for Henry and wrapped her arm around his shoulder before planting a kiss on his temple. "My little Prince." She whispered. "I wanted to thank you for helping David and I this morning."
But Henry wasn't listening, his attention has already refocused toward his little sister asleep in his mother's arms. "Olivia, meet your big brother Henry." David said while caressing the infant's head. "Henry, this is Olivia."
Henry just stared at his sister. He had imagined this moment before: of course, he had asked his mother about having more siblings when he was younger, when he didn't know he had been adopted. As he grew older, he'd even resented Regina for not having a daddy that would give him the siblings he had wanted. It wasn't until he turned seven that Regina had told him that she couldn't have any more children. He had been disappointed but had never pressed her further after that.
"Do you want to hold her?" Regina asked her son softly, still afraid of Henry's reaction at not being an only child anymore. Henry nodded quickly and Regina helped him sit up next to her before transferring the baby into her brother's arms. "You need to make sure that you hold her head… just like this." Regina observed her children for a few moments before turning her attention to the conversation next to her.
"How are you feeling?" Emma asked as soon as Regina's eyes settled on her.
"Tired. Happy. Nervous. Excited. Sacred." The brunette admitted.
Emma was taken aback by the confession. Regina was a very private person and it was usually near impossible to get her to open up about anything, least alone her feelings. "You just gave birth." Emma answered awkwardly while exchanging a glance with her father. Unlike Regina, the man was usually wearing his emotions on his sleeve but tonight, he seemed withdrawn, much like Regina usually was.
Putting the odd behavior aside to the back of her mind, Emma leaned toward her son holding his little sister. Their little sister, Emma corrected. She was beautiful and although at first glance she looked like Regina's little clone, Emma noticed some of her father's features in the newborn. "She is beautiful."
Olivia scrunched up her nose and settled herself more comfortably in her brother's arms. She could still feel the powerful magic from her parents, signaling to her that everything was well in the world. "Can you still feel her?" Emma asked Regina. "Through magic?"
The brunette nodded quickly before exchanging a worried glance toward her husband. Emma caught it but decided not to press the subject further. At least for now. Emma took her little sister from her son and held her close. The baby didn't fuss about being moved around, perfectly content to just be held. "Hello, beautiful." Emma greeted the newborn.
The family was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. "Sorry to interrupt." Sarah walked inside the room. "But I have a room full of people waiting to meet their new Princess. That is if you're up to it?" She added quickly.
Regina smiled and nodded her approval. She was tired but she knew sleep wouldn't come. She wanted to spend every hour with her child, the little miracle she'd given up on so many years ago.
Soon the room was filled with people Regina had considered enemies for most of her life; each here to wish their Princess happiness. As the focus of attention switched from the parents to the child who was being passed from arms to arms, Regina turned in David's embrace so her face was buried in his neck. "You can feel it too?" She murmured against his skin.
The Prince nodded. Their bond deepened the moment Olivia had been born. Although he had grown accustomed to feeling Regina's emotions at all times, this was different: he could no longer tell the difference between him and Regina. He knew he should be scared but he felt a strange calmness and his mind told him it wasn't his own. David held Regina tighter against him and kissed the top of her head.
"I don't know if it's the hormones and if it will be permanent." The brunette continued. "I don't know if Olivia needs it… David, I don't know what will happen to us."
David closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I trust you, honey. I trust our magic."
"Regina?"
The brunette jumped. "Blue?" Her voice trembled slightly. The fairy raised her wand, which was glowing with magic. She had gotten the call; Olivia would forever be protected by her fairy godmother. Regina let out a breath of relief: she had never been assigned a fairy godmother. The dark path ahead of her had been foretold. She had been deemed unredeemable from birth. Although Regina had proven the fairies wrong, Olivia came from the same line of dark witches, one that couldn't receive a fairy godmother. But Regina's redemption saved her child from the fate of facing the world alone. Blue would always be with Olivia.
David looked back and forth between his wife and the fairy, not understanding why his wife seemed so relieved that Blue would be protecting their child. After all, didn't all children have a fairy godmother? Besides, Blue had given Regina a pendant that would protect Olivia.
Regina looked up toward David. "She has no darkness in her, David. Otherwise, Blue wouldn't be here. Her future is filled with light. She won't have to fight the darkness like I did." The new mother didn't notice the tears running down her cheeks until her husband wiped them away.
"You are good." David cupped her cheeks. "You just got a little lost…"
Regina chuckled. "Just a little?"
David planted a soft kiss on her lips. "Just a little." He whispered to her. "But you found your way back."
Olivia cried out in Archie's arms. "I think someone is getting tired." Sarah said as she took the newborn from the psychiatrist's arms. "And I think her parents are also ready to get some rest." She placed Olivia in her mother's arms.
The crowd filed out of the room, leaving only Henry, Emma, Neal, Sarah, and Jonas behind. "We'll stop by the mansion to get Brownie." Emma began. "Anything else you'd like from the house?"
Regina shook her head. "Thanks Emma, but we have everything." She turned her attention back to the sleeping baby in her arms. She still couldn't believe her eyes. She was holding a healthy little girl, her healthy little girl.
"Get some rest." Emma smiled at her father and stepmother. "And ask us for any help you need."
"Thanks, Emma." Charming smiled tiredly. He was ready for a good night sleep… or at least, wishing for one. "Thanks for coming to the hospital so quickly." He looked at Neal with gratitude.
After another round of goodbyes, Emma, Neal, and Henry left the new parents' room, utterly exhausted themselves by the day's events. Once the family was gone, Jonas turned his attention to Regina. "How are you feeling?" He asked her. "Would you let me examine you?"
Regina shook her head. "David healed me." David felt the fear gripping Regina, one he had never felt before. Had she always been afraid of Jonas? Was she afraid of him too and just forcing herself to quiet her mind?
To his credit, Jonas didn't insist. "How about you get some rest while this little one sleeps?" The doctor smiled at the infant.
"I can take her up to the nursery so you two can get some sleep." Sarah offered but Regina shook her head. She had no intention of being separated from her newborn daughter. "Call me if you need anything." Sarah gently transferred Olivia from her mother's arms to the crib next to her parents' bed. "And don't try to get up on your own." She said in a firmer tone, looking at David directly to make sure he would at least follow her orders.
Regina didn't respond. She was already half asleep in David's arms. Sarah rearranged the blanket around the couple before leaving the room with Jonas. David watched Regina sleep peacefully. "I love you." He whispered to her. "You're my soulmate, Regina. My True Love. I will always choose you." He kissed her temple. "Never doubt that." He tightened his embrace around his wife and with one last look at their beautiful baby, David fell into a peaceful slumber.
EC
The gush of air swept through the warehouse where he had been hiding for the better part of the year. "It's time." He announced.
"Time for what?" Greg asked surly. He was losing patience with his employer's plans. Why did they have to wait for Regina to give birth to destroy magic? Surely, it would have been better to destroy both of them at the same time.
"Time to collect my dues." The shadow Greg had grown accustomed to suddenly stepped into the light and the man couldn't suppress a gasp at the youthful appearance of his employer.
"You…" He began. "You're just a boy! How?" His thoughts jumbled together. How could his employer be a simple teenager? He'd known him since he'd been a teenager himself! Greg already knew the answer to all his questions but wasn't ready to admit it: magic. The man had magic. And he wasn't intent on destroying it. Rather, his employer was using it and he needed more. Greg had been duped but he knew that there was no turning back now.
"Doesn't matter." The boy responded. "It's time for me to collect what should have been rightfully mine ages ago. Regina was gifted something she can't comprehend; something I need." His eyes narrowed. "It's time for her to give it to its rightful owner."
"And what makes you so sure that you can defeat Regina?" Greg looked at the boy with contempt. Although he wanted Regina dead, he also wanted her to defeat the man who had betrayed him.
"Because Peter Pan never fails!" The boy smirked before returning to the shadows.