Ahhhh! I should've kept up with this and I'm sorry it's been so long since I updated. I've been on Spring Break and have been soaking up some wonderful rays and relaxing by the pool. So, here's the next chapter.
Zelena and Birdie come outside after the sun rises high above the houses surrounding the mansion. Zelena puts Birdie into Regina's arms without saying a word. Regina smiles as she grabs her cup and goes back into the kitchen to make two cups of coffee. When she comes back out, Roland is sitting at his small table vigorously coloring on a piece of paper. She sets a cup of coffee down next to Regina before sitting next to her asking, "How much sleep did you get?"
"Enough," Regina says off-handedly as she takes a sip from her coffee.
Zelena nods as she yawns. She turns her attention to the rest of the backyard, enjoying the silence and calming atmosphere. She can't remember the last time she's felt this relaxed and carefree. Actually, she can't remember any time she's felt this calm and relaxed. She focuses her attention on the flowers planted along the fence, watching the dew slowly evaporate from the petals. Once her coffee is gone, she turns back toward her sister and smiles when she notices Regina sending small magic sparks between her fingers as Birdie coos.
"Gina lookit!" Roland shouts as he stands from his table and runs over to stand in front of Regina.
"Wow!" Regina says in delight, "That's beautiful, Roland." Her smile grows as she sees how excited Roland is about his picture.
"Lena lookit!" Roland says again as he turns to show off his picture.
"Oh. My. Goodness." She says putting emphasis after every word. "Let me see that," she beckons him closer and lifts him on her lap so they can look at it together. "This is wonderful, Roland. What is it?"
Roland smiles triumphantly and starts pointing out who's who in the scribbles of his artwork. "Dis is Granny," he says about the red blob. "Dis in Hen-reee," he enunciates the r sound and points to the blue blob. "Dis is you," he points to the yellow blob. "And you's holdin' Baby Sister," he says when he points to the pink blob. "And dis is me and Gina," he says, pointing to the green and purple blobs.
"Wow! You've got a lot of people in there," Zelena says with a smile.
"Mhmm! Dis my fam-leee," Roland says as he stares at his picture with a big grin.
Zelena's heart stops and her breath catches as she realizes how quickly this little boy wormed his way into her heart. Roland calling Zelena his family shouldn't have been surprising but for the little girl inside of her that always wanted a family, it means everything. She turns to Regina to see her looking the same way. She reaches out with her right arm and catches Regina's hand in her own and chuckles as her eyes fill up with tears.
"That's right, Roland," Regina says as she tries to blink away her tears and smiles.
Zelena and Regina both regain their composure and Zelena asks, "What's this, Roland?" She draws his attention to the brown color that is scribbled all around the edges of the paper.
"Dats Papa," he says without looking up. Zelena quickly turns to look at Regina when she hears an audible gasp. She turns back to Roland when he continues, "Hen-reee said Papa is always with me but I want him to be with all of us, so we all have him."
"That's very sweet, Roland," Zelena says as she squeezes Regina's hand and smiles at the little boy on her lap.
Regina clears her throat and says, "Would you like to hang it on the fridge before we make breakfast?"
Roland gives her a puzzled look before he remembers that the fridge is the big machine with snacks and nods enthusiastically, "Den everybody sees it!"
Regina nods her head and says, "Alright, let's go inside and hang it up so we can make breakfast."
The smell of pancakes is what draws Henry downstairs that morning. "Pancakes?" he asks as he walks into the kitchen to see Roland and Zelena sitting at the island, his mom at the counter, and Birdie in her bassinette sound asleep.
"Hen-mee" Roland says with a mouthful of pancakes.
Henry smiles and even chuckles when his mom half-heartedly says, "Don't talk with your mouth full, dear." She places 2 pancakes on a plate and hands them to Henry.
"Thanks Mom," he says as he walks up next to her and wraps an arm around her back, giving her a side-hug.
"You're welcome," she says as she tries to tame the bedhead Henry has. He groans and moves away, sitting next to Zelena at the island.
Breakfast ends and the dishes are done quickly. They all got for the day before heading back outside. It's going to be a relaxing day Now, Henry and Roland are outside playing-well Roland is playing and Henry is trying to set up the new water table that his mom magicked this morning, "Geez, she can create it with magic, but can she make it when it's already put together? Noooo," he grumbles.
Regina takes pity on her son when the pieces continue to push a part. "Making it harder is just mean," she admonishes as purple magic swirls around the pieces and puts them where they need to be.
"Mom!" Henry yells as he turns to his mom.
"Do not get angry with me. It was your aunt that was pushing the pieces a part."
Henry growls and Zelena looks away whistling. "Ugh! Not cool Aunt Z. Not cool."
Zelena just smirks and says, "You would've thought it was funny if I did it to your mother."
Henry tries not to smile when he thinks of his mother growing frustrated when the pieces continue to move around. He just shakes his head and moves over to where Roland is playing around in the garden.
Regina and Zelena sit on the patio chairs and watch the boys play around the yard. Eventually, the doorbell rings and Regina moves out of the chair to answer it. Roland comes barreling after her and clings to her leg as she opens the door.
"Kathryn, Jim," she greets as she opens the door wider to allow them to answer.
"Hi Regina," Kathryn says with a smile as she gives her a hug. Jim nods his greetings with a smile as he carries everything in his arms. He gestures toward his full arms and Regina points him toward the kitchen. Kathryn moves further into the house so Regina can close the door behind her. She smiles again and looks down at the young boy hiding behind Regina's legs. When he peaks out to look at her she says, "Hi Roland!"
"Hey Kat," Henry says with a smile as he walks in from outside to see who's at the door. He winks at Roland as he comes to stop next to his mom.
"Hi Kat," Roland says quietly, still standing behind Regina but now has a smile on his face.
Kathryn smiles at her godson and Roland as she says, "Good morning."
"Come on Ro, let's go see if Jim needs help," Henry says as he holds his hand out to Roland. Roland looks unsure at Henry's hand before grabbing Regina's leg again. She gives a quick shake of her head towards Henry and he nods his understanding, "I'm going to help Jim and then start setting up the sprinkler." He smiles again and heads back toward the kitchen.
Regina and Kathryn stand in the entryway making small talk about their day when Kathryn finally asks, "You haven't mentioned that lawyer of yours; did you get ahold of him?"
Regina nods and looks down and Roland, who is still clinging to her leg. "Let's go outside and see if anyone needs help," she says with a smile as she holds out a hand for Roland to grab. He gives her a look before taking her hand in his and they walk out to the backyard with Kathryn following behind them. They pause in the kitchen to see Jim had taken everything outside and was currently trying to figure out how to start the grill on the patio.
Regina reaches into the fridge and pulls out two pitchers and places them on a sleek serving tray before reaching into a cupboard and pulling out glasses, placing them next to the pitchers on the tray.
"What are we drinking?" Kathryn asks as she sits on one of the stools and helps Roland crawl up onto another one.
"Wem- wem-" Roland's eyebrows draw down as he looks away from Kathryn and towards Regina.
She smiles at the young boy, with his elbows on the countertop staring at her, waiting for the right word. She places her hands on the countertop, focusing solely on Roland. "Le-mon-ade." She enunciates each syllable.
Roland smiles and turns back to Kathryn, "Le-mon-ade," he says just as slowly.
Kathryn chuckles and says, "Sounds delicious! Did you help make it?"
Roland nods his head excitedly. "Gina and me made da yellow one and den da purple one!"
"Wow!" Kathryn says to him as she watches him point to both the pitchers.
"What was dat one Gina?" he asks as he points to the pitcher holding purple juice.
"Pomegranate-"
"Purple Yummies!"
Regina laughs and nods her head, "That's right, Roland, Purple Yummies. Let's take these outside. Do you think you can carry your cup?"
"Yes Gina," he slides off his stool and reaches up to grab his green, swirly straw, dinosaur cup off the counter before running out the patio door. Regina chuckles and turns to Kathryn who is still sitting on the counter with a smile on her face.
"What?" she asks with a raised eyebrow.
Kathryn's smile grows, "Dinosaur cups, and making things with 'Gina' reminds me an awful lot of dragons and 'Mama' stories." Regina shakes her head but can't keep the smile off of her face. Kathryn feels the happiness as if it's contagious.
"Except I've actually spent time with dragons; stories and making lemonade are easy. I know nothing about dinosaurs."
Kathryn laughs, "I'm sure you've already started learning about them." Regina shrugs and rearranges the cups and pitchers on the serving tray. "Hey," she says as she reaches her hand out on the countertop. Regina pauses and looks up at her blonde friend. "You're doing great, Regina. That little boy adores you; and I can tell the feelings are mutual."
"He needs me, Kathryn."
"You need each other," Kathryn says quietly.
Regina nods and blinks quickly, "Yes."
"It's okay, Regina. You are allowed to need people, to reach out. You're allowed to feel."
Regina scoffs, "What is it with everyone telling me how to feel lately?"
Kathryn just gives a soft smile and says, "Not how you feel, but how you can feel. We care about you Regina. We're here for you." Regina nods again and looks up to the ceiling. Kathryn can see her walls rebuilding, so she sits back on her stool and says, "Let's get these drinks out back, I think I'm going to have to try that Pomegranate Yummies drink."
This causes Regina to chuckle, "Pomegranates, pineapple juice, coconut water, a bit of mint and a splash of vanilla in the blender."
Kathryn's smile grows "The blender makes it yummy?"
Another chuckle, "Something about that. A sweet drink with extra fruit and fizz", she puts the word in air quotes, "were Henry's request. Roland's one and only request was a purple drink."
Now it's Kathryn's turn to chuckle, "Any specific reason?"
A pause, "He…he wanted it to match my magic."
Kathryn's eyebrows raise, "Really?" When Regina nods she says, "It's great that he isn't scared of magic."
Regina takes a deep breath, "What if it happens, though?"
Kathryn stands up and moves around the counter to stand in front of Regina, "He loves you, Regina. You've been there for him when his life has been chaotic. You've been the one stable person in his life. You two already have a strong bond. That little boy thinks you hung the moon. Let's not worry about things that might happen. Don't worry about tomorrow or the next day, they'll bring their own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today."
Regina nods and gives her friend a small smile. Kathryn rests her hand on Regina's forearm before squeezing and grabbing a piece of fruit from the top of the purple drink, winks and walks out the patio doors. Regina just shakes her head fondly and grabs the serving platter, carrying outside and setting it on the table.
I want to take a minute to thank all of your who constantly review and comment. I love hearing your thoughts on the show, the story, life itself ;) you're all wonderful 3
