Chapter 2: Let's do it
The room was completly empty. No nurses, no doctors, just the redhead woman lying on the hospital bed, unconscious. Regina was once again looking at her from behind the glass wall like she was an ilusion. Like a program on TV she can just switch off and forget about. But there was no such option for them anymore.
Zelena was a problem from the moment they found out about her existance. It all have just gotten worse when she deceived Robin and got herself pregnant with his baby. Back then Regina thought she can't possibly do worse than this, but her sister proved her wrong. Raping someone for revenge was one thing, but wanting to kill an innocent life that was the result of it was an unforgivable act. She was very close to succeeding – this is what scared everyone the most. And this is why no one even thought about protesting. No one had anything againtst their plan, because why would they? They're not stealing this baby, they're providing a solution.
Regina sighed and pushed the door.
Why did she feel like she's doing something wrong then? Why was she hesitating? She wasn't scared of the physical process of all of this at all. To be honest, she barely thought about it yet. She wasn't scared she wouldn't love this baby either. She already did. So what was it?
She entered the room and the only thing she could hear was the quiet beeping noise coming from the machine that Zelena was connected to. She walked across the marble tiles, her heels disturbing the peace of the room with each step. She stopped when she was close enough to see her sister's face up close.
„If there ever was a chance for us to become sisters, there isn't one now."
This is what she told her when she first attempted to hurt this baby. The first time wasn't even that drastic, they all thought she was bluffing. But now it was clear that the witch has no feelings for the life she's carrying whatsoever. Someone could say this wasn't fair. Regina was once the Evil Queen, she used to murder people for fun… Why did she deserve a second chance and Zelena didn't? She couldn't answer that question now. She wished she could say she's never hurt children in the past, but that wasn't true either. Maybe she has never killed one with cold blood, but she did hurt some... and this shouldn't even be a competition. In the end they were the same... All she knew for sure was that this baby was Robin's, not hers. And as much as she deserved such form of punishment, he certainly didn't. Nor did the baby, obviously.
Regina's hand hovered in the air in hesitation. She wanted to touch Zelena's stomach but only realised how stupid this was.
This is when she finally realised why she's feeling like it's wrong. She was a mother. And, whether she liked this concept or not, Zelena was about to become one too. And… she was talking her child away from her. It was the right thing to do at the moment but it didn't necessarily mean it's good. It was just what had to be done and the worst thing about all of this was that... she was excited. She wanted this baby to be hers so badly. And it was going to be in a way. What's more - everyone's gonna be happy for her and content with the situation. It felt good. To everyone but one person.
Because deep down Regina knew Zelena could grow to love this baby. Maybe. Some day. If it survived long enough that is. And maybe, jus maybe, it would change her for the better... After all she only wanted to hurt it to hurt Robin and Regina. But they had to take this chance away from her and give a chance to the baby instead. By doing so they will possibly sentence Zelena to madness for the rest of her life. And Regina still cared. Why?
„I thought I'd find you here."
Regina quickly closed her hand and lowered it by her side. Gold. How long has he been observing her?
„Where else would I be?" She asked a rhetorical question.
Regina looked back at her sister's face, not sure what more she could say. One second later she heard Robin and dr. Whale approaching them. They walked into the room and Whale stopped suddenly.
„What is HE doing here?"
„I could ask you the same question." Regina spoke with a frown. „What we're about to do has nothing to do with medical procedures."
„I insisted." Robin spoke with apologizing tone, he knew she wouldn't like this. „I need to be sure that you're both fine. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you, Regina. It's just a matter of precaution."
When Robin spoke of the „both" of them, he certainly didn't mean Regina and Zelena. He was talking about the baby. She could understand that.
„Well and I insist we let Gold help as well." As much as it was a surprise to everyone, including her, she really meant it. Rumple was always the one to teach her magic and there was never more important spell than this in her life. What's more, she really trusted him and felt better knowing there isn't only one magician around. Even then, she didn't quite understand what he would get out of it.
Regina's head turned right to once again look at the redhead.
„Is she gonna stay unconscious?"
„We gave her so many sedatives she's not gonna wake up for hours." Said dr Whale.
„Alright then." Regina looked at them. „Let's get started."
Dr Whale nodded and walked towards the other bed, turning on a similar machine Zelena was connected to. He pointed at the bed with inviting gesture. Regina opened her eyes widely, only realising it was meant for her.
„Oh, absolutely not..."
Regina had to admit, she haven't given it much thought. She wanted to do the spell but she had no idea how it was actually gonna look like from their perspective. She shouldn't be very surprised they'd want to medically monitor her as well, after all it wasn't just about her anymore, the baby was the most important.
„Please just don't waste our time, your majesty."
She was about to throw a fireball at him but she just sighed. She was really getting soft. Or maybe deep down she agreed that one more precaution wouldn't hurt.
„Okay then." She raised her eyebrow and took off her jacket. She sat on the bed and dr Whale started sticking needles into her arm. She was facing Zelena and realised she's actually really nervous. Her life was about to change forever.
Robin walked towards her to kiss her. She saw it in his eyes, he was scared beyond words. He said nothing, just kissed her lips and then her forehead.
„That's very sweet, lovebirds, but your thief can't stay here. None of us can." Gold spoke with irritation.
„Why not?"
„How do you think? This spell is very dangerous. We don't want the baby to be put into one of you, do we?" He asked this question looking at both Whale and Robin. Regina could almost laugh at the ridiculousness of that statement, but the more she thought about it, the more serious it seemed. Gold certainly wasn't joking.
Robin just nodded, realising Gold was serious. They walked outside to stand behind the glass wall and then Gold turned towards Regina and handed her a bottle.
„Drink this."
„What is that?"
„Trust me, you need this. The fetus is small, but either way it's still gonna hurt like a motherf-"
„Okay, okay, I got it." Regina stopped him and took the bottle. She wasn't scared of the pain at all.
„Oh and more more thing." He said. „No matter what happens, don't break the spell. Under no circumstances should you break the bond created between you two. If it's unfinished, it can do more demage than you can possibly imagine."
Regina gulped. Now she was scared.
xxx
What seemed like a simple spell written on a small scroll turned out to be a very complicated ritual with lots of words and gestures. Regina was already tired of performing it and it was only a beginning. Before she released magic from her hands, she quickly glanced at three men standing behind the wall.
"There it goes."
She released a wave of light from her palm and pushed it towards Zelena. A soft green light started building around her. She felt warmth and felt the air getting thick, but other than that she was fine. She was expecting pain, she was ready for it. Even Gold warned her about it. Maybe it's because she took that potion? Maybe it was it.
She smiled as the warm feeling inside her stomach intensified. Her one hand was busy with the spell but the other immediately ran towards it. She touched her belly, not really feeling a difference yet.
Then it all started to change.
The warm feeling became unbearable. It was burning her. She grabbed her stomach a little bit harder, trying not to look like she's in pain, well aware Robin is watching her every move, but with every minute she felt like she can't take this anymore.
A sudden burst of light in the room made her lose all focus, as she felt a sharp pain inside.
"Ahh!" She screamed. Up until this point she was still sitting, but the pain knocked her out of the bed on the floor. She dragged all the tubes behind her. She must have still been connected though, because she could hear her own heart beating rapidly.
Another burst of light. This time a green one. It hurt. She heard a scream again but this time it wasn't her own. She still had enough strength to keep up the spell, so she could move as well. She used that strength to look up.
"AAAHH!" Zelena was screaming in agony. She was tied to the bed with belts to she just kept tossing around on it.
"What's happening?! What's - YOU!" Zelena noticed Regina on the ground.
They were now connected with a beam of light. This is is, Regina thought. It's happening. She can't be awake. Not now.
"What are you doing?!" Zelena screamed and kept tossing on the bed, trying to free herself. "I'm going to kill you for this! Do you hear me?! I'm going to make you suffer!"
Something pushed her back down on the bed. Regina barely could keep her head up, but she noticed a silhouette on her left.
"N -no..." She whispered, holding her burning abdomen tight. "Don't. Break. The spell."
„That's not my intention."
Gold was holding Zelena with some kind of magical grasp. He entered the room even though he specifically told everyone not to do it because it's dangerous.
Regina looked back to find Robin behind the glass but she couldn't see him. There was too much light in the room and her eyes lost the ability to see anything beyond the floor she was lying on, but the fact that he wasn't already by her side could only mean one thing. Gold needed to knock him down as well.
She did not have the strength to think about it right now. The baby. Think about the baby.
"Remember, whatever you do, do no break the bond! You can do this, Regina!" Gold screamed to her, as if he could read her mind. "Don't give it up!"
As if it was that easy.
She was drained and in more pain than she could imagine. She didn't even think she could hold on much longer. Then Gold spoke again, this time not directly to her.
"This is how it felt like, witch." He said, looking at Zelena with an evil smile. He still was holding a hand in the air, probably muffling her screams. "You feel that? Do you feel how this child is leaving your body? Remember how much it hurts to lose it, because it's all you'll ever get! This is for what you did to me and my son!" He tightened his grasp, Regina was almost sure he was close to choking her. She wanted to prostest, she wanted to scream and stop him, he could hurt the baby... But she needed to keep the spell going as long at it takes. She literally felt something being pushed beside her intestines, growing unnaturally fast.
She couldn't take this any longer. She didn't hear Gold anymore, she shut her eyes once more and with the next sharp pain she screamed, giving out the last ounce of energy she had.
She broke the spell. And then... everything went black.
xxx
Everything looked different from Robin's perspective. What Regina didn't see was the fight he had with Rumple and the broken nose he gave to dr Whale. He wanted to stop all of this the moment he saw she's in pain. If they didn't catch him soon enough, he would burst into the room and drag her out of there. Somehow, whatever she felt, he felt it, too. When she was suffering on the other side of the glass, he was feeling almost physical pain as well. He couldn't bear looking at her like this.
Rumple was furious. He kept saying „Stay here!" but he looked like he saw a ghost as well.
„This is all wrong."
„Let me go! Stop this! Regina!" Robin screamed.
Dr. Whale managed to hold him in place until even he said the situation is getting bad and it's time to interfere. This is when Gold froze them both with a simple wave of his hand. They were unable to move or speak, they could only observe now. This is also when they all heard Zelena's screams. She shouldn't be awake. She shouldn't.
That's what stroke Gold. He didn't see Regina anymore, he only saw the witch who took away his son. He went in, even if he knew it was dangerous. He didn't care anymore. Two frozen men heard everything he said to the green witch. At least now his motives were clear…
"This is how it felt like, witch. You feel that? Do you feel how this child is leaving your body? Remember how much it hurts to lose it, because it's all you'll ever get! This is for what you did to me and my son!"
There was even more light in the room now. Gold glanced at the queen on the floor.
„Regina?"
She screamed suddenly and there was another explosion. Gold lost his balance and fell on the ground, lifting the grasp around Zelena's neck. Both Zelena and Regina fell down unconscious, as if someone cut strings of two dolls. The freezing spell he put on Robin and Whale was down as well, so literally everyone involved into this situation fell on the ground at the same moment.
„Regina..." Robin whispered and got back on his feet quickly. He rushed into the room, running past Rumple, straight to his fiancee. He got down next to her and took her into his arms gently. She was unconscious and very pale but she was breathing. Robin hugged her and closed his eyes.
„I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
„Let me."
Robin looked up. Dr. Whale was beside him, he looked quite concerned as well. They all heard the machine beeping, so at least they didn't have to be afraid Regina's heart stopped. Whale checked her pulse and pupils.
„She passed out. But she's gonna be fine. Help me get her up on the bed."
Robin just nodded and did what the doctor asked.
„I don't understand."
Honestly, Robin already forgot Rumple was still there. When the Dark One spoke, he felt a sting of anger, because it was his spell after all and he was supposed to help here.
„What don't you understand?"
„It wasn't supposed to be like this. Everything was measured up. This doesn't make any sense."
Robin didn't understand it, either. Regina was good at magic. And he also didn't think Gold would deliberately want to hurt her as well. Not anymore at least. Something must have gone very wrong here, so he was afraid to ask the next question.
„Did it work?"
Gold just looked at him with a frown.
„She broke the spell in the end. I don't know."
And then he just left the room. Robin almost broke into tears. Whale put a hand on his shoulder to calm him.
„We'll know soon. Let's just take care of Regina first."
xxx
It took a little while for Regina to wake up. After about an hour the waiting room was full of friends and family who were desperate to find out if their plan worked. Robin refused to leave Regina's side until Snow eventually convinced him to go and get something to drink. Henry was angry with Robin for putting Regina in so much danger and he couldn't blame him. He blamed himself. Snow kept saying they both made this decision and they both decided to take that risk despite of the possible outcomes, so it's actually no one's fault. It was the best choice they could make.
Regina wasn't really asleep anymore. She was just so incredibly tired, she barely remembered what happened. She heard some muffled voices and conversations people carried, probably about her. On the top of that she was dazed and drugged with painkillers, which she realised only when she finally opened her eyes slowly, feeling every inch of her body starting to hurt again.
„Hey." Robin said softly and touched her hand.
The room was too bright. Her eyes only found him after a couple of seconds.
„Hi."
It all was coming back to her now. She had many questions and many things she wanted to say first. She noticed she's been moved to another room, changed into hospital gown and it was already dark outside.
„How long have I been asleep?" Her voice was very weak and more quiet than she intended.
„Almost 5 hours." Robin responded immediately. „It's late, everyone left home already. Snow said to call her when you wake up."
„Ugh. I never wanted for this to end up in such a fuss." Regina was actually really moved that so many people cared about her, but she still rolled her eyes. It was a mistake. She winced in pain.
Robin touched her face.
„Please tell me… How do you feel now?"
„Honestly..." She smirked. „Like I've been run over by a truck. Twice."
Robin laughed. It was very relieving to see him like this. Happy.
„I take it by your mood… It was worth it? It worked?"
„Well, at first I was sure it didn't. Gold said you broke the spell and I freaked out. But I trust you and I... trust the blood tests. We were only waiting for you to wake up so we can do an ultrasound."
„Wait." Regina started breathing faster. „Dr Whale did the blood tests already? It… it actually worked?!"
„Don't look so surprised." Robin frowned. „It was your idea. I thought you were certain."
„No, I wasn't." She raised her eyebrows in shock. „I was scared like hell… Shit, I'm actually pregnant."
She never in her life felt such a mixture of feelings. Joy. Relief. Fear. Excitement. Love. This baby was inside her… She touched her stomach through the sheet.
„That's insane."
Robin laughed as she felt tears of joy running down her cheeks. Robin wiped them but he was close to crying as well. He couldn't imagine loving Regina more than right now in this moment.
The door opened so they both looked to the right. Dr. Whale walked into the room, carrying a folder and a cup of coffee. He had a bandage on his nose and something white was sticking out of his nostril. He stopped when he noticed what he just interrupted.
„Oh, you're awake. Great."
„What happened to your face, Whale?" Regina asked.
Victor just looked at Robin annoyed and Robin looked down.
„Let's just say it was a long day for all of us." Doctor put his coffee on the desk and kept reading through his folder. „How do you feel, Regina?"
„Tired, but okay, I guess." She shrugged. She wasn't exactly honest, though. She was ecstatic and overjoyed but she could presume Whale didn't ask about her feelings.
„What is the last thing you remember?"
„Um… I finished the spell and… I passed out. So pretty much everything."
„And how would you describe the pain you felt?"
Regina winced again. She looked at Robin. She didn't want him to know about the pain, because it honestly didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was that the baby was safe. She would go through all of it again with pleasure if it meant protecting it.
„Why are you asking me all of this? It worked, didn't it? So why does it matter?"
„Because something really doesn't add up here." Doctor spoke. „When you passed out I noticed Zelena looks just as drained as you. Almost like the spell affected you both the same way. And there's no way she'd wake up from the drugs we gave her."
Regina knew the reason to all of this too well. They were linked already. The spell connected them for life. Whatever happened to her, happened to Zelena as well. But this wasn't something she could share with anyone.
„As I said, this has nothing to do with medical procedures, so we shouldn't focus on it so much. It's magic. It's unpredictable. The most important thing right now is that I'm alright and the baby is safe… isn't it?"
„Right." Whale put away the folder. He pulled a chair and the ultrasound cart over towards Regina's bed and turned it on. „So I can see you already know the blood results came back positive."
Regina smiled widely and nodded. She still couldn't believe it.
„Yes."
„Now we'll see what going on in there. Once we see the baby, we can finally call this a victory."
Regina pulled the sheet down and then pulled up her shirt. He stomach looked rounder and swollen. She was still sore but she could already tell it worked, no one had to confirm it to her. Whale just looked at her and frowned. Robin noticed it but didn't say anything. Regina was the only one who didn't find anything strange about it.
„It's gonna be a bit cold."
He placed the tip of the wand on her stomach and moved it around in search of her uterus. As soon as he found it he moved his head closer to the monitor and looked even more disturbed.
„What the..."
„What is it?" Robin asked what Regina was unable to. She was trembling. „Whale!"
"This doesn't make any sense." The Doctor finally spoke.
„Is the baby alive? Is it in there?" Regina went to full evil queen mode in the blink of an eye. She demanded answers. Just a second ago she was so happy, nothing would take it away from her. „Yes, the baby is very much alive and heathy. Your spell worked, but..."
„But what?!"
„This isn't two-month-old fetus. In fact, you must be at least… 16 weeks pregnant. But this is just impossible." Whale moved the wand a little and they all heard a loud heartbeat which resounded around the room. A strong, healthy baby. „I swear to God, I examined Zelena yesterday, this baby right here is twice the size. No wonder you almost died casting the spell. Your body wasn't prepared to get this pushed inside you."
„I… I don't understand." Regina was never more confused. Robin was already walking around the room in panic. „Zelena must have cloaked this baby… She must've cast some spell on it so it looked smaller. But… why?"
„Regina…" Robin spoke to her from the other side of the room. „Think about it. She wanted us to believe this is my baby. That this is what she got from pretending to be Marian and sleeping with me. If this fetus was conceived more than 16 weeks ago… there's no way it was made during the time we've spent in New York.
The horrible realisation just hit her. Zelena's child was bigger than she claimed all this time. She used magic to fool the medical machines as well. She still wanted to hurt it and it was still a good thing they saved it from her, but if it was conceived before New York... then it was conceived back in Storybrooke. It must have been around the time Elsa was still in town and when everyone thought Marian had a frozen heart. But it was her all along. Now she realised that when they all tried their best to find a cure for Marian, Zelena was probably just pretending to be sick. And when they weren't watching she was plotting behind their back how to get her revenge on them.
She came up with all of this a long time ago. It was all her plan. This wasn't the baby she had with Robin...
And if it wasn't his then... who's child did Regina just steal?