The Gift of a Prince and a Thief
Chapter 25

A/N - Thank you so much for the kind reviews, I really appreciate it! Everyone loves a cliffhanger... right?

"Regina, can you hear me? Regina, you've gone into labour."

A searing pain was shooting through Regina's body, she didn't dare cry out, she was stronger than that. A sudden image of when she had been tortured by Owen, or Greg as he was then known, shot through her mind. She had tried so hard not to break her armour and not show how much pain she truly was in, she couldn't give him that satisfaction. This pain was similar, she was being punished for changing the way life should have been. She should never have had children of her own, and this was her prize for changing fate. This was worse than any usual contraction, she was sure of that, she needed help and fast.

"She looks like she's in pain! Regina? Are you alright?"

She couldn't make out which of the women from her baby shower was speaking to her. The words were muffled, and all her vision was blurred. She was moving against her will that's all she knew, and she was lying on her back, staring up at a white ceiling. Was her ceiling white? She couldn't remember.

Too soon.

That's all she could think. It had only been seven months. Something was wrong, the price of magic was being paid.

She attempted to relay this to whoever was closest to her, but her words would not leave her mouth the way she intended. They were barely heard over the loud noises around her and there were unspoken parts of her sentences.

"We can't hear you, sis."

Zelena, right, that's who she needed. Regina managed to croak out her sister's name loud enough to grab her attention.

"Need you... stop this. Something... wrong."

"Stop it? How? I'm no doctor-" She could just about make out the blurry outline of her sister's fiery red hair leaning over her, moving with her.

"Ma-gic."

There was silence for a moment. "Regina, I haven't got my powers anymore, remember?"

"My vault... stop it... Emma... magic... need- to be...you."

With that Regina's eyes dropped shut in exhaustion from whatever was happening to her body. Her friends continued to trot alongside her like obedient puppies as she was whisked on the trolley through the hospital. It was then that Dr Whale appeared out of nowhere in full scrubs and inserted himself between the trolley and the gang of concerned women.

"Mayor Mills needs to be examined to see what induced this premature labour. Need I ask if magic was used?"

"No!" All five women cried. As almost all of them were familiar with the magic used to speed up pregnancies, none of them would have touched the stuff to have it anywhere near their friend who they knew was being extra careful to ensure nothing went wrong. Unless, of course, someone else laced one of the drinks or food they brought.

"Could Gold have done this?" Snow asked Belle quietly as Whale disappeared into the room after the nurses wheeling Regina.

She shook her head firmly, "what would he have to gain from Regina giving birth? We all know he only used magic in the past for gain. Anyway, neither Zelena or I experienced the current symptoms she's showing. We just went straight into labour. This may seem natural but there may be some kind of magical element."

At that, Zelena shuffled thinking of her sister's request, and her actions did not go unnoticed by Emma. "What did she say to you before she went in?" she asked directly, drawing the attention of the others.

Zelena sighed, bouncing her daughter in her arms. Due to the severity of the situation she hadn't had time to source a babysitter at such short notice. "She said this was the price for altering the story," she explained as the women huddled around her, desperate to help their friend anyway they could. "She wanted me to find magic in her vault to stop all this and get Emma to use it seeing as I'm powerless." The last part was said through gritted teeth, she wondered if she would ever stop being bitter about her lack of magic.

"Okay..." Emma mused, trying to formulate a plan from the vagueness of Zelena's words. "But I guess she wasn't any more specific about what kind of magic, was she?"

"Maybe I can help with that, I can see if there's something in any of the books that can give you any clue," Belle suggested with a slight shrug, trying to offer some assistance.

Tinkerbell stepped forwards and nodded towards her encouragingly. "Good idea. In the meantime, you two go to the vault and start searching. Me and Snow will stay with Regina and update you on any changes."

"Thanks, Tink, we'll be back as soon as we can."

With their plan in place, Emma, Zelena and Belle turned and headed towards the door when suddenly it swung open. If the effects of the alcohol they had been consuming through the night hadn't started to wear off they could've been hit by it and then none of them would be able to help to Regina.

"Mom?!"

Henry ran straight into his mother's arms with Hook jogging behind to catch up with him. After everything he had been through in his short life, this was the first time in a long time that Emma could say she had seen him on the brink of tears with genuine fear in his eyes.

She held her son tightly, forgetting for a moment that he was nearly a young man who was almost as tall as her, instead seeing the little boy she met aged just ten. "Kid, calm down, everything is going to be alright."

"What's happening?" he asked, breaking out of the embrace. "Hook said something has gone wrong with the baby, this is all my fault!"

Emma held him at arms-length and looked at him seriously. "This is definitely not your fault, Regina collapsed during the party, so we brought her here but we're sure she'll be fine."

"But all magic comes with a price, this is the price!" Henry was on the brink of hysteria, he knew he'd been reckless when he changed the course of the story, but he hadn't cared. His mother's happiness was all that mattered to him and yet now there may not be a happy future for her to experience.

"We don't know that," his mother sighed, shaking her head. "Me and Zelena are going to find a solution, the best thing you can do is stay with your mom. She's been in and out of conscious, it'll do her good to know you're there."

Henry, being the ever-relentless teenager that he was, could not help but protest in a desperate attempt to do everything in his power to fix his mistake. "But I want to help too!"

"I know you do, but Regina needs you here. She'll want you by her side."

Henry knew she was right and so didn't attempt to argue anymore, instead, he silently walked over to his grandmother who wrapped her arms around him. Killian looked towards his wife, silently requesting answers, Emma took his only hand. She gave him a look that he understood well. He knew how much she had enjoyed not being the saviour for everyone anymore, this was just too reminiscent of a part of her life she had hoped she'd left behind.

"Look after him, I'll be back soon."

Hook pulled her towards him and kissed her forehead gently, "always, luv."

It was then that Zelena growled impatiently, this was no time for romance. Her sister could lose her miracle baby, they needed to find that magic now.

The night was eerily quiet as the two women approached the slightly overgrown vault which held magical secrets for so many years. The silence was a stark contrast to just a few hours earlier when they were laughing and joking with their friends, not a care in the world; the lack of noise now represented the gravity of the situation.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Emma asked as they hurried down the stone stairs, each step echoing as they went.

"I'm not sure..." Zelena admitted, entering the main room of the vault, looking around aimlessly. The last time she had been in there was when she sacrificed her magic. The pain was still quite raw, but she needed to put it aside to help her sister.

Emma looked around just as lost as her companion, everything looked magical to her. "Maybe a locator spell? Or it might have to be old-fashioned looking."

The words were deaf on Zelena's ears, old wounds of jealousy were creeping in. It wasn't fair that Emma had magic and she didn't, it wasn't fair that she was powerless to help her sister after everything she had done for her. Zelena began to grit her teeth angrily when her glance fell upon Regina's mirror; just on the very base of her neck under her fiery red hair was a tiny patch of green skin.

Zelena gasped and jolted so suddenly that Robyn awoke her slumber and began to cry. Perhaps she should've left her with Snow or Tinkerbell, but she felt calmer when her daughter was with her. However, it was late, and she wasn't a newborn anymore, she wanted to be toddling around and this adventure might ruin her routine.

"I'm just going to give her some fresh air," she quickly told Emma, rushing out of the vault before she could hear her response.

Feeling utterly helpless, Zelena sat outside her sister's vault cradling her baby back to sleep but she just kept burbling and wriggling in her arms. Her chubby, little fingers wrapped in her mother's hair and tugged gently, that was her new favourite game. Oh, how she wished she could magic some food or a toy, in her hurry to be with her sister she hadn't considered taking supplies.

A single tear slowly trickled down her cheek, but she was too distracted to notice. It had been a while since she had last cried. Usually, she got emotional and angry a lot, but crying wasn't her usual reaction to situations. The thought of her sister lying in that hospital bed while she could nothing to help the situation, however, had caused tears.

She knew that Emma would be able to do something, even without the magic Regina spoke of. She's the saviour, saving people is in her job title. Zelena was nothing more than a former witch with nobody by her side but that little one dancing about in her arms.

Suddenly, she heard a rustle in the trees, but she was too emotionally exhausted to even stand up and investigate. With little effort, she merely raised her head towards the noise and peered into the darkness. The large outline of someone familiar came towards her with a look of relief on his face.

"Zelena, are you alright?" John asked, crouching in front of her to meet her eyes. The striking blue met the dull brown. Tears desperately clung to her lashes as she looked at him.

"Regina is in the hospital and there's nothing I can do to help her." As she admitted her feelings sadly, John could feel that she was finally letting her guard down, even if it was just for a moment. An excited squeal from his unofficial niece shattered the beautiful moment of vulnerability between them, and Zelena immediately broke eye contact and turned herself away from him as Robyn climbed into his arms.

Disappointed, he smiled at the little girl and went to sit beside the woman he had come to call his friend, though she would probably never return the sentiment. "I heard. I had to drop Roland with Granny and then I headed to the hospital, but Snow said you were looking for a cure." He paused, suddenly realising that he admitted wanting to find her, and such intentions were not to be revealed. "I wanted to know if you wanted to look after Robyn," he added gruffly.

Zelena barely noticed his change of tone and just continued to aggressively spout her feelings. "I was looking for a cure, but I left Emma to it. Regina wanted me to find magic in her vault, but I have no magic, I can't help anyone."

"That's not true," he countered softly. "I've been helping you with your law training and I'm not magical."

That finally made her turn back towards him but only to glare at his idiotic statement. "That's different, Regina could lose the baby. That would destroy her."

The pain in Zelena's voice shocked him, she really cared deeply for her sister. This was certainly a changed woman from the wicked witch he once knew and feared, even hated.

Out of instinct, he took her hand and squeezed it affectionately. "Zelena, the love you have for Regina will help her get through this. She asked you to find the magic, not Emma. She trusts you, you're her sister, you understand her."

Then it hit her. Regina's words, 'need to be you', they didn't mean Emma at all, they meant her. Wherever she had hidden this magic, it was sealed so only someone of her family could access it. She wouldn't have enchanted it with blood magic as that would require her to have her powers. No, after Wish Robin had stolen magic so easily last time she would've been more careful, and she would've put in a fail-safe so only her sister or her son could retrieve for her.

"Mum's box," she breathed aloud, standing up suddenly, quite forgetting about John's presence.

"Pardon?"

A smile suddenly spread across her face, "that's where she's hidden it, she wanted me to find it, not Emma. You were right."

"I was?"

"Look after her for me," she said as more of a statement than a request, kissing the little red tuft on top of her daughter's head. The bewildered look never left his face as she turned away from him.

"Oh." Zelena turned as if remembering something she had forgotten. John assumed it would be something about Robyn, but his brain was working slower than usual trying to keep up with this strange woman's thought process.

The last thing he expected was to find her lips on his. So tender, so soft, and so quickly they were gone. "Thank you," she whispered with a smile before disappearing back into the vault leaving John quite flabbergasted but also quite giddy.

"We've got it!" Zelena cried, running through the doors of Regina's hospital ward, with no consideration at all for any other patients. The tiny vial was exactly what she needed, Zelena knew it well, it was a healing potion, she had brewed enough of them in her time. It was easy to spot once she had found her mother's box in the vault. Not only was it enchanted to only open at her touch, but it was also enchanted with a sort of Mary Poppins spells as it didn't contain one potion but dozens and dozens which Regina had stored over the years.

Regina raised her head slightly and gave a weak smile. Henry was lying into her side on the hospital bed, he didn't dare move in case it hurt his mother, but he looked towards them hopefully.

"The potion?"

Zelena nodded and gave it to Emma before taking her sister's hand. "You're going to be alright now, and so is that baby."

With great difficulty, Regina craned her neck, so she could whisper in her ear. "I knew you'd understand… But be careful, sis, anyone would think you look smitten..." she croaked, a smile flitting across her lips. Zelena tried to hide the fact her cheeks were going red, but it was no use. Regina would find out about her stupid decision to kiss John eventually, but there was no point in dwelling on it presently.

"No I am not! I think whatever medicine they've given you has sent you loopy." Regina simply raised her eyebrows slightly before her eyes dropped shut once more.

"What has Whale said?" Zelena asked Snow as Emma channelled some of her magic into the potion, following the former wicked witch's instructions she had given earlier. She was better versed in magic than the saviour.

"They don't know what has caused this, but they may have to perform surgery if her condition worsens."

The word surgery caused all of them to look a little alarmed, especially Henry who held onto his mother a little tighter. "Then we need to give her the potion now."

Emma quickly poured the potion down Regina's throat and they waited patiently. She coughed twice and her eyes bulged in an alarmed manner before closing again. She was still for a few moments before her body started spasming.

"Is that supposed to happen?" cried Henry as Hook pulled him off the bed to give her some space.

Before anyone could answer, the machine monitoring her heartbeat suddenly stopped its steady rhythm and began beeping erratically.

"Mom?!"

The irregular heartbeat alerted Whale immediately and he and a team of nurses burst through to door towards Regina's bed.

"Everybody out of the way! We need to perform an emergency caesarean immediately!"

The last words Regina heard before she completely lost consciousness was the desperate screams of her son being dragged out of the room.

"No! Mom!"