7- Survival of the Fittest

Quick knocks on the door Brought Dorothy groaning out of bed. The brunette stumbled sleepily to the door and opened it to a panicked redhead. "Dottie I don't know what to do!" Dorothy stared at her best friend as she threw herself across her bed.

"What happened? Don't tell me you're pregnant." She said with a chuckle. Zelena was much too smart to get caught up like that. But when the redhead only began to blubber she realized just how distraught she was. "Oh my god, Zee… How did this happen?" When the crying girl looked at her incredulously she amended. "Okay I know how it happened, but when? With who?"

"I slept with Robin a few times… and-"

"Whoa you slept with your little sister's boyfriend?" Dorothy asked incredulously.

"Why not? Regina wasn't going to!" She whined and lay in Dorothy's bed.

"Geeze Zelena, what are you gonna do?" Dorothy asked.

"Dot… This wasn't supposed to be able to happen to me… When I was younger Mother had taken me to the doctor for severe pain. I was diagnosed with fibroids so severe that the doctor told me I'd probably never have children. Here I am… If I have an abortion now, Will I even get this chance again?"

Dorothy sighed and sat with her friend in solidarity. "Do you want kids someday?"

"Yes… No…" Zelena sighed. "I don't know…"

"Don't you know?" Dorothy asked placing a hand on her shoulder.

Zelena was quiet for a long moment. She knew, and there was no other choice for her right now. "Mother's going to kill me."

***888***888***

"The nub of every partnership is compromise." The teacher said at the next activity after lunch. Emma and Regina had spent it apart. Regina glaring off by herself, and Emma with Ruby and her partner."That means accepting quirks, forgiving shortfalls and respectfully collaborating on practical solutions." the blonde glared at her sister as she sat back down next to her partner.

"This next game is the all tied up challenge. You will tie your right arm and your partners left arm and between the two of hou, you will have to hands free with which you will attempt to complete a task.

Emma turned to her partner who seemed a little perturbed at having to be tied up to her. She sighed and held out her right hand to be tied, as she knows that Regina would want to have the dominant hand freed.

The brunette smiled at her partner appreciatively an took the hand . As they held them out to be tied, the blonde murmured "I wish I were left handed."

Regina could only hope that the task was simple.

***888***888***

"Relax, Zelena," Dorothy said as the redhead paced at her stepfather's study's door. "You know your dad will be cool. It's your mom that will trip."

"I know… I know," Zelena said and took a deep breath. "Okay." She turned and knocked gingerly at Henry's office door.

At the sound of a muffled yes? Zelena turned the knob and was greeted with a fond smile. Henry never treated her as anything but his. That is why he was her Daddy. Better than the man that had abandoned her mother the moment he found out mother was with child. Henry had been there at her birth and had always been daddy. He also knew her better than anyone except maybe Regina. "What's wrong Zelena." He said his smile fading as he set eyes upon his little girl.

"Daddy, I'm in trouble… I need your help." Zelena finally said. He looked at Zelena then at Dorothy and had the girls sit at his desk.

***888***888***

The cheers went up as the final task the two tied partners had. The task had been several different tasks that included getting dressed by pulling on a gigantic shirt. Brushing teeth, eating without spilling and finally folding a paper airplane.

The class had eliminated the slowest from each round and the final round was Ruby and Lance, Regina and Emma and two other sets of partners. Ruby and Lance had a vibrant synergy, and were halfway done with their plane as Emma worked on trying to hold the paper down from flying off with the wind.

Regina complained most of the time as she listened to Emma's instructions as she had never in her life built a paper airplane. "Fold both top corners to mit in the middle of the paper. Good fold the paper in half… no not like that… here hold it down a second." She moved her left hand to make the fold, and the paper flew off.

"What are you doing!" Regina said going to run after it.

"Regina!" Emma stated trying to stop her as she reached for a new paper. "Let's just start over."

The latina turned back and repeated the first step again. "Hold the paper down Regina, I'll fold this next one," The blonde said. The brunette listened and finally with no further bickering the two finished their plane, shortly after Lance and Ruby. Regina was not happy.

"The winners are Ruby and Lance!" Mrs. Nolan said. "You may now untie yourselves."

Emma sighed. She had to count on Regina to set her free. Great. She reached for the hem of the shirt they wore and lifted it over their heads as regina quickly reached for the tie that bound them. "Help me," She hissed at the blonde.

"Gladly," She mumbled reaching for the knot herself. They never worked better together than when they were trying to set themselves free. Regina turned her eyes toward the bathroom cabin. She had been needing to go for a while and could no longer hold herself. When she turned to speak with her partner The younger girl was gone. Regina sighed and headed toward the bathrooms.

***888***888***

"Henry, this is unacceptable. How am I supposed to win the reelection with a daughter with such loose morals?" Cora roared as the three tell her the news.

"Now Cora, The deed is done." Henry said. "Now you know this could be the only chance Zelena gets to be a mother and she isn't about to throw it away."

"This is my body Mother, not yours." Zelena said. "I wasn't born to serve your desire to control all of storybrooke. I'm sorry I'm not Regina okay? I'm sorry I am not your perfect little girl. The biggest mistake you ever made. I just wish you could love me as I am."

Cora stopped her anger ebbint to something more like pain. Is that what Zelena thought of herself? She sighed letting go of her righteous anger in favor of loving her daughter through this. She threw her arms around her child and pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "You are the best mistake I ever made," The middle aged woman cooed into her ear. "I'm sorry I ever made you feel unloved and I love you and your perfectly imperfect little sister."

Zelena cried but as she heard her mother mention regina she pulled back and looked at her mother then at Henry and back hoping she hadn't said anything about Regina in her anger. "I'm not blind." Cora said. "I'm just going to let her come to me."

"I'm sorry…"

"We will be okay."

***888***888***

Emma sat staring up at the stars. Leaned back on a log away from her sister and her partner. There were nights like these that she couldn't help but think back on her parents. THe little backyard campouts they did and she and Dad would sit by the firepit telling stories while roasting weenies.

A tear slipped down her cheek at the memories and it opened the floodgates. She hadn't cried when Mom and dad died. She hadn't cried because she had been in that car and all the impact had been in the front and she was in the back seat asleep she hadn't heard their last words. She hadn't seen their faces and every one kept telling her how lucky she was to have come out of the accident mainly unscathe. Scratches and a concussion because she had not tensed before impact.

So since she was lucky, she couldn't cry about it. She couldn't feel bad because she no longer had them. Then Mary told her that she could cry and Emma decided that she wouldn't. Because it was already too late. One year and a half ago she was a happy kid with a mom and dad and now she had a sister doing the best she could by her. She wasn't ungrateful she just missed them.

Now she was crying. The tears just wouldn't stop coming just because she remembered dad roasting weenies. She dried her face roughly angry at herself for breaking down. But the pain wouldn't stop. Why was this happening right now? "Emma?" she heard, it was Regina and she tried really hard to stop but she couldn't'. "What's wrong?"

The words wouldn't come only sobs and tears and Regina ran as fast as she could to Mrs. Nolan's tent. "Hey, Regina," The young teacher said with a smile which faltered the moment she saw the girl's alarmed face.

"Your sister is in tears. I don't know why." Regina said.

Mery didn't really wait for an explanation she started moving. "Where?"

"Ner the firepit." Regina said and watched the woman run to her partner's aid.

"Oh she told you eh?" The sheriff asked with a smirk. "She must really like you."

Regina blushed and ducked her head. "I better uh, go get some rest."

"You do that." he said, and Regina took her leave. Emma never made it back to the cabin that night.