Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long but it's been crazy busy also I was wrestling with a decision with this story and I finally made up my mind. I hope you guys like this chapter and you don't hate me too too much. As always reviews are welcome and fuel my writing!
A month had passed since Annie and Jacob had gone riding and a lot had changed. She and Jacob were inseparable and spent almost every day together. As she walked towards the diner she found herself smiling at a memory. The week before she had spent the evening at Jacob's house and while watching a movie had fallen asleep. To her mother's surprise he had shown up on her doorstep with her sleeping form in his arms. She had woken up the next morning in her bed. She made it to the diner and walked in but stopped in the doorstep. She stood horrified and tears came to her eyes as she watched the scene before her. There, sitting in a booth, was Jacob with a girl wrapped around him her mouth entangled with his. He gasped when he saw her.
"Annie!" He said. She turned around and the doors flew open before her. She ran out of the diner and heard him coming behind. She got a few feet away before spinning around.
"How could you?" She asked tears streaming down her face. Jacob looked scared more scared than he had ever been in his life he also failed to notice the thin streams of smoke coming up from her hands.
"Please, let me explain." He said.
"Explain what how you were just making out with a girl whose NOT your girlfriend?" Annie said.
"No it's not what you think!" Annie put her hand up stopping him.
"I don't want to hear it. In fact I never want to hear you or see you again! I hate you!" She turned and continued down the street. Jacob stood stunned for a few seconds before he heard a voice.
"Dude-"
"I told you i have a girlfriend!" Jacob said turning around. He faced the girl who had forced herself on him at the diner.
"I'm sorry I thought you just didn't want me." The girl said.
"Look Jasmine your nice and all but I love Annie, really love her." He turned back to where Annie had been standing devastated and confused. "And right now, I don't think she knows that."
Regina slowly opened her eyes and was immediately aware of the strong arm wrapped around her torso. She was surprised when she looked at the clock and saw that it was almost 9:15. She never slept in that late. But then again after the previous nights activities she had a good reason to be tired. After that day in the diner she and Robin had seen each other almost every day and a few nights too. She had found that he truly cared about her and after watching him interact with Annie and Henry she finally aloud herself to care for him. Suddenly she sprang from the bed and made a mad dash for the master bathroom. She made it just in time to empty what little she had in her stomach into the toilet. She heard Robin stir in the bed.
"Regina?" He said his voice groggy from sleep. She carefully stood up and looked at him from the bathroom doorway.
"Regina are you ok?" She smiled softly at his sleepy form.
"Yeah just got a little sick is all." She said.
"Do you feel better?" He asked.
"I feel fine." She said. And really she did. Whatever had come on so suddenly was just as quickly gone. They heard the front door close and feet run up the stairs at an extremely fast pace they then heard another door slam shut.
"Well wonder who that could be." Robin said.
"Has to be Annie. No way is Henry up before 9:30 on a weekend." Regina said. "But I wonder what that's all about." She grabbed her robe and left her room. She walked down the hallway and when got to Annie's door she heard a soft noise coming from the other side. She pressed her ear against the door and listened. After she a second she could make out muffled cries. She leaned back and tried the doorknob. She found that it was open and walked inside. Immediately she was almost hit by a flying object. In fact a lot of things in Annie's room were going crazy. The books had been thrown off of the shelves and the papers were flying back and forth, small objects were being flung around the room and other objects were moving in their own way. Regina gasped. Gold had said that Annie may have magic and she indeed had it. What scared her was how powerful her daughter was. She decided to push that to the side and comfort her daughter who was currently sobbing into her pillow. She walked over to the bed and gently laid a hand on her back.
"Annie?" She said softly. Annie sniffled and turned her head to look at her.
"He... He kissed another girl." She said. Regina sighed. "Are you sure?"
"I saw it!" Annie said. "I walked into the diner and he was sitting there making... out with... that... girl." She returned to sobbing at the end. Regina sighed.
"I know what you need to do." She said after a minute.
"Rip his heart out?" Annie said in a dark voice. Regina was taken aback for a second at how evil she sounded.
"No" she said slowly. "I was going to say eat ice cream. Everything feels better with ice cream." Annie thought it over for a second. "I guess
so." Regina nodded. "Why don't you get cleaned up a little bit and I'll go downstairs and get the bowls." She stood up and started walking towards the door. She was almost there when she realized that everything in her room had stopped moving.
Flashback
It was just about dark and Regina and Daniel were sitting on a blanket an eaten picnic between them. Annie, who was sitting in Regina's lap, gasped as fireflies began to appear on the hilltop. She jumped up and began to try and catch some.
Regina laughed and watched as her two year old was fascinated by the small creatures.
"She's beautiful."Daniel said. Regina saw the way the twilight caught Annie's face and the way her dark curls bounced softly when she ran.
"Some young boy with think so to one day." She said with a smirk.
"He can think it but that's as far as it goes." Daniel said. Regina laughed. "Aw come on Daniel." She said. "Don't you want a grandson or daughter?" A small smile appeared on his face. Daniel had always wanted a lot of kids and even more grandchildren. "Do you want more?" He asked quietly.
"What?" Regina asked.
"I said 'do you want more?' Children I mean." He said. Regina thought about it for a minute. Did she? She had always been an only child and hated not having someone to grow up with so from a young age she had always said she would have at least two kids. But things were nice with Annie, she was content, happy even. "I don't know." She said.
"Mommy look!" Annie ran over to them her hands clasped together. Regina gasped. "Did you catch one?" Annie nodded her head.
"Well let me see." She gently opened Annie's hand and saw the tiny insect inside its small light flickering. Suddenly it opened its wings and flew out of her hand. Regina watched it fly off into the night but turned when she heard a small yawn.
"Tired are we?" Daniel asked pulling the toddler into his arms. Annie slowly nodded her head.
"I think it's time to head back." Regina said. "It's past somebody's bedtime." Annie snuggled further into her fathers chest and the small trio left firefly hill.
*end flashback
Regina slowly closed the door to Annie's room and took a deep breath.
"What was all that about? Is she ok?" Robin was know fully dressed and had a look of concern on his face. Regina shook her head.
"She found her boyfriend kissing another girl." Robin grimaced. "Ouch. That had to have stung."
"I told her to come down for ice cream." Regina said. Robin was confused. "Why?" He asked.
"It's something girls do in this land when they get their heart broken." Regina explained. Robin nodded. He was about to say something further when they heard a knock on the door. "Are you expecting someone?" He asked. Regina shook her head. "Can you answer that for me? I just need to change and then I'll be down. " Robin nodded and left to do his task. As he walked down the stairs there was another knock. He opened the door to find Emma and Charming on the other side.
"Where's Regina?" Emma asked.
"Upstairs she should be down in a minute." Robin answered. "Did you need something?"
"Not something, someone. Annie." Emma said.
"I'm sorry, but Annie didn't have the best of mornings and I don't think she'll be up to visitors just yet." Robin said.
"I'm sorry to hear that Robin but this is important." Charming said. They heard footsteps coming down the stairs. "Regina" Robin started calmly. "Emma and David are here to talk to you about something." Regina immediately frowned at the mention of Emma's name. She walked up to the door her arms folded against her chest.
"Yes?" She said. Emma took a deep breath. "We feel it's necessary to remove Annie from your care." Regina's eyes flashed red and she took a step toward Emma before Robin caught her arm.
"What?! Why you little-"
"Excuse me but can you tell us what this is all about?" Robin said.
"This morning a few of the residents and I witnessed something. Annie using magic." Charming said. Regina went from angry to worried. "What did she do?" She asked.
"Nothing major." Charming said trying to ease the ease the queens concerns. "It's just when she left the diner she didn't open the doors with her hands they opened for her." Regina closed her eyes trying to calm herself down. "Is that all?" Emma and Charming nodded. "Then I don't understand why that warrants you taking her away from me."
"Well it's not really her per say it's just we feel if your the one teaching her magic you might teach her the wrong things." Emma said.
"You mean I'll teach her dark magic." Regina said. Emma looked down at the ground. "Look it's not something that we want to do, it's something that we have to do."
"Mom?" Annie came down the steps. All of the adults turned to look at her.
"What's going on?" Annie asked.
"Sweetie-" Regina started.
"Your going to stay with us for a little while." Emma said quickly. Annie looked at her mother tears starting to fill Regina's eyes then back at Emma now skeptical.
"Um I'd rather stay here." She said.
"I know but it's for the best right now." Emma said. Annie shook her head. "No. I don't want to leave." David then stepped forward and grabbed her around her torso. Annie started to panic. "No! No please I don't want to go! Please!" Hearing her daughter cry for help snapped Regina out of her daze. "No wait!" She tried to grab Annie but Robin held her back. "Don't Regina if you do anything it will only prove their point." He said. Regina stood tears streaming down her face. She looked at Emma. "Please." She whispered. Emma stared at her for what seemed like eternity. Finally she spoke "I'm sorry." She then turned and followed David back to her car.
Snow stood in the kitchen cutting up vegetables for lunch when the door opened and Emma and David walked in.
"Hey guys." She said. She looked up when she heard sniffling. "What's wrong Annie?" Her answer was Annie walking down the hallway to Henry's room. Snow looked at her daughter for an explanation.
"We took her from Regina." Emma said. Snow shook her head knowing that she had misheard Emma.
"What?" She said. Emma repeated what she had said.
"Why?" Snow asked. Emma sat down. "Well, she used magic in front of a lot of people and they got scared."
"Why would they be scared of Annie?" Snow asked.
"That's just it. It's not Annie they're afraid of. They're afraid that if she learns from Regina that she'll end up being like her." Emma explained.
Snow sat down beside her. "Do you think that?" She asked quietly. Emma looked down at the ground.
"I don't really know." She said. "But what's done is done. No turning back know." She stood up to help finish making the food.
"Here, drink this." Robin handed Regina a cup of tea.
"Thanks." She said. Annie had been gone almost the whole day and while the separation anxiety had most definitely set in Regina had come to realize that when she was with Robin the pain hurt just a little less. Robin walked over and lit a few of the candles. When the scent got to Regina she wrinkled her nose, set the tea down and immediately ran to the bathroom. Robin ran after her but the door was closed before he could get in.
"Regina let me in please! This is the fourth time today!" He knocked on the door repeatedly. "Regina!" He called again. He heard the toilet flush and the door swung open.
"I'm fine. I promise."she said cupping his cheek in her hand. He put his hand over hers and looked into her eyes. "I think you need to see a doctor." Regina saw the concern in his face and it warmed her heart.
"I'm ok." She said again. "Really." She had this feeling she knew what was "wrong" with her and in truth it scared the hell out of her but she couldn't tell Robin until she was absolutely sure.
Snow slowly opened the door to Henry's room and saw that Annie had not moved. Ever since she had gotten there Annie had settled herself in the corner siting with her knees pulled to her chest, her arms folded across and laying on them and her head resting on her arms. The food that she had brought in earlier sat untouched on the desk.
"Guess you weren't hungry." She said quietly. She walked over and sat next to Annie. It seemed like she was being quite the mentor lately. Annie slowly looked up and Snow could see she had stopped crying which was a good sign. Annie didn't look at her just stared ahead. They stayed like that for such a long time that neither one knew how long it actually was.
"He cheated." Snow was startled by the sound it had been silent for so long.
"What?" She asked. This was the first words that Annie had said since she had arrived.
"Jacob. He cheated on me. I was supposed to meet him at the diner this morning for breakfast and when I got there I saw a girl sitting in his lap kissing him." Annie said. Snow gasped as the realization hit her.
"That's why you used magic. You were upset."
"I'm trying to control it, really I am it's just when I saw him..." Annie buried her face in her knees again.
It was the middle of the night when the door to the room Annie was in opened again. She saw a silhouette of a small figure walking towards her.
"Come with me." It was Snow. Annie got up and followed her out of the dark room and into the dark hallway.
"Where are we going?" Annie asked. Snow put a finger up to her lips silently telling her to be quiet. They walked out of the front door to the apartment and into the hallway. Snow slowly closed the door behind them and then turned to Annie. "I'm taking you home." She said. Annie's eyes lit up and she threw her arms around Snow. Snow chuckled. "Ok, let's get you back." Annie released her and they continued down the steps. The air outside was cold, they soon realized, as they walked came outside and got into the car. The ride was short and Annie was out of the car before Snow could even fully stop the car. The front door swung open and Regina ran outside to meet Annie. Snow watched as the mother and daughter held each other. Regina whispered something in her ear and Annie nodded and ran inside. Regina then did something that Snow never dreamed would happen. Regina walked up to her and hugged her. She was startled for a second but soon relaxed.
"Thank you." Regina said.
"I know what it's like to be separated from her kid. I couldn't let that happen to you." She answered. Regina nodded and then went back into the house. Snow was about to leave when yet another person walked up to her.
"Hello Robin." She said with a smile.
"Your highness I would like to ask you for help." He said. Snow raised a quizzical brow. "With what?"
"You see Regina has been sick lately but she won't go to the doctor. I was hoping that maybe hearing it from someone else might make a difference." He said.
"Sick how?" Snow asked with concern.
"Well she's been nauseas for the past week, her appetite has changed quite drastically from when we first met and quite honestly she just seems a bit moodier. I know we haven't been seeing each other for that long but her emotions just seem to be in overdrive lately." Robin said. Snow thought about it for a minute then smiled. "Robin, I'm sure everything is fine just give it some time ok?" Robin nodded disappointed. Snow shook her head and chuckled as he walked away. If only he knew, she thought, if only he knew.
Hey look there's authors notes at the end too! Anyone guess what is "ailing" poor Regina? Guess in the review section! Sorry if the ending seemed rushed I was trying to get it out there since it been so long. Again hoped you enjoyed it!