A/N: Hey, guys. I've been working diligently to get you this chapter. Things have been busy and I am preparing for midterms, so the next chapter probably won't come for a while, but I shall try my best. Enjoy!
Storybrooke – Present Day
There were noises all around; doctors and nurses yelling, machines beeping, and ambulances wailing so loudly that he could barely hear his own thoughts, though he knew that the only thing that mattered in that moment was Regina and the baby. His eyes remained locked on her as a handful of doctors rolled the gurney down the corridor.
So many thoughts wandered through his head in that moment. What had caused this? What would happen? So many fears that he had tried to suppress so long ago were once again rising to the surface of his mind.
He stared at her blank expression as she just lay there, unconscious, a mask covering her face to help her breathe and several monitors already strapped to her body. He couldn't do this again; he couldn't bear to watch the woman he loves on the brink of death. Not again. The longer he looked at her as they briskly walked through the hospital halls, the deeper he sank into his worries and these terrifying conclusions.
"I'm sorry," a familiar voice seemed to make him snap out of his thoughts. He suddenly felt a hand on his chest, holding him back as Regina continued rolling on. "You can't go in."
As the doctors took Regina out of his sight, Robin instantly began to struggle. He turned and saw that Doctor Whale was the man blocking him. He looked to him furiously and replied, "What the bloody hell are you doing? That is my wife and my child in there! I need to be with them!"
"I'm sorry," Whale repeated as he firmly held Robin back, "but only doctors and nurses are permitted in the operating room, especially in a situation like this." He felt as the man simply pushed harder, trying to run after his wife while calling out her name. With a forceful shove, Whale stared directly into the panicking man's eyes and raised his voice. "Calm down and listen to me! You need to back off and let me do my job as Regina's doctor. I know that you are worried about her and the baby. I get it, but my job right now is not to accommodate you; it's to see to it that that baby and the mother are safe!"
Whale's loud and forceful response made Robin quickly back off. His furious expression instantly disappeared, leaving only his look of distress behind. His light eyes stared down the hall where Regina had disappeared only moments before. He didn't like this feeling of not being able to do anything to help her, and it seemed that Whale could see that very clearly.
He placed a hand to the anxious man's shoulder, doing what he could to comfort him. "I will do my best to take care of your family," he spoke softly before leaving Robin and quickly making his way to the operating room.
0-0-0
They arrived at the same time; all of them possessing the same worried look. They saw him sitting in the waiting room, his face buried in his hands. Mary Margaret was the first to approach him.
"Hey," she asked, "what happened?"
Robin looked up at her; his stress very apparent in his face. "I don't know," he replied with a confused tone of voice. It was raspy and filled with exhaustion. "She was fine only moments before and… it all happened so fast."
The young brunette placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, though she knew it could only help him so much. She understood how he felt; the sheer worry for his loved ones and their well-being. She knew the confusion and conflict he was struggling with. And she knew the pain he felt in knowing that all he could do was wait and hope.
"They," Robin finally mustered up the strength to explain to the rest to them, "they are performing a Cesarean section right now and then… they are going to try to stabilize Regina. The doctor just came out and told me this. I don't entirely understand it."
"I'm sure they are both going to be fine," Mary Margaret calmly replied with a smile as she continued to rub her hand up and down the nervous man's arm.
"Sorry to interrupt," Emma chimed in at an awkward moment, "but if we know that they are delivering the baby as we speak, then shouldn't we be preparing for Zelena?"
"I don't think there is a reason to do anything," Belle quickly replied. "The prophecy said that the baby would be her undoing. I think the best thing to do is to allow Zelena to take her."
Robin's eyes widened as he stood and quickly refuted, "I am not going to just hand my child over to that witch. You are insane if you think I'd ever allow that!"
"I believe I agree with the outlaw," Hook added. "It might not be the best plan to allow her to simply take the child. She'll know that something is up."
"Then what do we do?" Mary Margaret asked.
After a short pause, David replied, "We need to fake a fight. Make Zelena think that she's winning."
Robin's eyes panned the group. They could all tell that he was still hesitant about this plan. Who wouldn't be? So much had been happening in just that hour; he could barely think straight. He could feel his head spinning; that image of Regina collapsing in his arms just continued to repeat over and over again. He couldn't stop seeing the blood, couldn't stop hearing her screaming in pain. The last thing on his mind was worrying about Zelena or a plan. He just wanted to know that his family was alright.
Mary Margaret could see it in the way he nervously looked at everyone. Again, she placed her hand to his arm reassuringly. "They're going to be okay," she said softly. "You just have to have faith."
Robin didn't reply verbally, rather only with a nod of his head. As he did, Hook asked, "Should we prepare ourselves for this little battle then, mates?"
Emma, taking the lead, replied, "Let's do this."
0-0-0
The Enchanted Forest – One Month Earlier
"That is the most idiotic idea I've ever heard," Regina was quick to respond after hearing Snow and Charming's so-called plan.
Snow replied, "It's the only way to get back there and get to Emma."
"You don't seem to get it," the pregnant brunette refuted stubbornly. "I explained this to you last year and I will do so once again. The Dark Curse requires the caster to sacrifice the heart of the thing he or she loves most." Giving the princess a look, she asked, "Are you willing to kill your prince? Because I am not going to. I refuse to give up my loved ones again." Shaking her head as she placed her hand to her back, she continued, "If someone has to die for us to go back there, it's too steep of a price."
Instantly, Snow replied, "And if we do nothing and Zelena succeeds, we all die anyway, Regina. There is no way for us to stop her in this world. We know that now, and she has made it very clear that she is willing to do anything. We need to show her that we are prepared to do the same."
Regina suddenly felt a gentle hand rest on her shoulder. As she turned her head, Robin came into sight, his face possessing a similar expression to Snow's. She could tell right then and there that he agreed with the princess. "We must do it," he said softly. "You know what Glinda said when you three visited her last year. Emma is the only way."
Shaking her head and trying her best not to lose control of her emotions, Regina replied, "The only way that we know of."
Robin then placed a hand on his wife's bulging belly, reminding her of the small amount of time they had left and what was truly at stake. "We tried to avoid this the last time, but it failed. We don't have time to find another way, love."
Regina could feel herself drowning in her current emotions. She simply continued to shake her head as the tears began to fall from her eyes. "I'm not going to kill you," she let out. "I can't."
They had come too far to lose each other now. She had already lost him so many times, on so many occasions, because of her stubbornness or because of her fears. Not again; not this time. She wouldn't let him go.
"Regina." Robin tried to reason with her, but could barely get out a word before Regina responded.
"No." The look in her eyes quickly shifted from sadness to determination. "I won't." Placing her hands over his chest and stepping in toward him, she continued, "When we first met, you told me that Roland had already lost his mother and that he couldn't lose his father too. That can't change, especially not now," she said, giving her stomach a quick glance. "Neither Roland nor this baby should have to grow up without their father." She stared into his light eyes, tears staining her pink cheeks, as she whispered, "And I can't lose you."
"I'll do it," a voice interrupted. The couple, without parting from one another, turned their heads toward the light-haired prince. "I can do it," David repeated.
Robin gave the other man a confused look as he replied, "But, mate, you are the same position as I. You have a wife, a son. I can't ask you to sacrifice that when I cannot."
"He won't be," Snow replied. She noticed the other couple give her a strange, questioning look. Nodding her head confidently, she glanced over at her husband with a smile and took his hand. She explained, "David and I have shared one heart for a long time now. I'm confident that if you split my heart, he can survive."
"Snow," Regina replied with a sigh, "if we go through with that and it fails, there's a chance that you'll die too."
The princess walked over to her dear friend with a sweet smile and took her by the hand. Giving her an honest look, she said, "I have to believe that it will work. And…" she tilted her head slightly, "if it doesn't, I trust that you and Robin will take care of our son and Emma." Before Regina could respond to Snow's statement, the princess stepped back and said, "Now we need to prepare for this curse." She nodded her head and grinned. "Because we are doing it and we are going home."
0-0-0
Storybrooke – Present Day
The sound of an infant's cry echoed throughout the operating room, bringing the anxiety level of all of the doctors and nurses down a bit. She had made it, and was a healthy seven pounds and eight ounces with no irregularities or problems. Doctor Whale was relieved to see this. Losing a child or an infant were most definitely the worst moments he went through as a doctor. He was happy to know that this moment was not one of them.
Her cry was strong, as were her little movements when she wiggled around on the table. Whale was quick to swaddle the baby girl and hand her off to a nurse so that he could return to Regina, who, unlike her daughter, was having a difficult time through all of this. He listened carefully to the heart monitor as it beeped. Though Regina's heart was not technically inside of her, the monitor could still read it as if it were. Collecting his focus once more, he continued to operate.
As Whale returned to his work, the nurse who had taken the newborn went to exit the room. Before leaving, she stared back the at child's unconscious mother with a pair of green eyes. With her free hand, she removed her facemask, revealing her wicked grin. Turning back, she heard the baby in her arms let out another cry. With a calm shushing noise, the nurse then said as she walked out of the operating room, "Shh, my pretty girl. It's alright. Auntie Zelena's got you."
Though I really wanted to have Regina and Robin do the curse and heart thing that Snow and Charming did in the show, I decided to keep it as is because Regina needed a full heart for Zelena's curse. It wouldn't have fit well if Regina only had half of her heart. Hope you're all looking forward to the next chapter!