Notes:
I came back very very early as I didn't want to keep you waiting for the chapter I was most excited for.
I advise you to prepare your handkerchiefs! (bad laughter in tears)
This chapter complies with the prompts from OQ Prompts:
#15: OQ as parents
#48: Regina makes Robin cry
#49: Robin can't forgive himself for something
#70: one of them is sick/injured & a bad patient
#147: Robin and Henry bonding
#170: A kiss to heal
#294: One of them almost dies before they get together.
This chapter contains a description of threats, violence and blood. Please skip if it is not suitable for you.
In the previous chapter
That moment when she couldn't stop all her intense feelings from overflowing after she talked to his mother at home days ago... -To hell with giving each other time; to hell slowness and sure-footedness- When Regina said she loved him, Robin had drowned his blue eyes in deep browns, and although he didn't respond with words, the love in his eyes had penetrated deep into the woman's heart and soul.
But now… Were they word that she had lived to hear again for years? Did he just say he loved her?
"There can only be one valid reason for me to leave you here! For anyone to take you from me again, they would have to rip my heart apart! Do you understand? Stop acting like you're the only one willing to risk of death for the family! Stop acting like you're the only one in love in this relationship, Regina!"
The blue spheres broke away from the darkness surrounding the tunnel of light formed by the car's headlights and met with a deeper darkness. Robin wasn't afraid of getting lost in the night as much as he was afraid of getting lost in Regina's eyes. Like a child reaching out for a fire even though knows it will hurt, he was extending his heart to the love of that woman, knowing that it would burn like hell. He is disappearing, He is burning...
"I love you, Regina Mills, I am in love with you as if my life depended on you!"
Before she had a chance to process his confession, She was shaken by the blow to the back of the car. Robin's voice, screaming her name, began to humming as the glass she had hit her head on shattered.
Most cases require deep research after admission. Residences, assets, criminal records, many personal life information of the persons concerned... Health records are one of them.
Robin has read numerous hospital reports throughout his professional life; he saw pain, he saw joy. He watched the passing of a life in lines.
He wants to look at the stack of papers he is holding as a case file he has undertaken, he wants to think professionally. He wants to be a lawyer, not a man whose heart has been torn to pieces.
But no matter how hard he tries, he can't help but think emotionally as the letters on the file have turned into the name Regina Mills. He knows he has to change his decision that he wanted to take the case a few hours ago and contact a colleague he trusts. He will. But not before reading.
Flu, general control, vitamin supplement, cold, throat infection, blood checks, general control, wrist injury...
He stopped turning the pages and approached the letters, thinking he had misread it. He continued to traverse the lines as his blue orbs expanded.
Could there have been a mess? Or misunderstood? He wished it wasn't true, but deep down he knew there was more to it.
There was only one way to understand. He took the file with him and left the room. He continued his steps without stopping until he found the person he was looking for.
He stopped right next to the woman sitting in front of the door, which contains all the heartache at the end of the corridor.
"Zelena, I'm going to ask you something and I want you to tell me the truth."
She lifted her head from her phone and looked at the disheveled man with tangled blond hair and the same shirt and trousers he had been wearing for three days.
"What's going on Robin?"
"Was Regina pregnant?"
He watched a deeper pain spread into the sad eyes of the red-haired woman, whose pale lips parted and let out a small breath of surprise.
"Where did you learn that?"
Three days ago
As her world began to fall into place again as she drifted all alone in the pitch black before her eyes, the first thing she noticed were the fingers on her face.
"Regina? Can you hear me?"
She tried to pull up her eyelids, which felt heavy as if they were hundreds of tons, and tried to turn back to herself, but regaining consciousness was only possible after her eyelashes bumped into each other several times.
"Robin?" She forced her choking voice out.
"God, you scared me so much. Are you okay?" The first time she could keep her eyes fully open, she realized they were still in the car and trying to escape, the glass on her side shattered by the force of the blow. Broken pieces were still hanging from the car's mechanism.
Her hand rose to the throbbing part of her head, and when she felt the warm liquid on the tips of her fingers, she could guess that she had a deep wound without even looking.
"Turn towards me, let me see."
"Drive, Robin, I'm fine." Looking behind her, she could see the lights of two cars about a hundred meters behind them.
"Are we bypassing them? How long have I been unconscious?"
"It's only been a few minutes. I've managed to put some distance, but it won't take long. Is there a phone signal?"
A severe nausea hit her as she bent to pick up her dropped bag, and she leaned back again as her hand closed over her lips. Even from behind her closed eyes, she could feel her world spinning faster than the car.
"We need to get you to the hospital right away, I think you have a head injury. Don't sleep! Regina! Do you hear?!"
"I'm trying." She said in a whisper. "But it's very strong…"
She was going to tell her dizziness was so strong that if a car hadn't suddenly jumped out of the trees in front of them. She was interrupted by her scream and Robin's swear.
"... under the seat... I..."
Through all the confusion in her mind, she tried to hear the voice of the man she loved, but she could barely perceive. The beam of light shining before her only increased everything that already existed.
It was like she was in some kind of fantasy world, probably the head injury she had had started to play with her perception of reality. Only her heart pounding wildly in her body knew that their escape was over, that the people who wanted to kill her were very close. And Robin...
"Regina! I said get under your seat!"
As the stunned woman slowly turned her head towards the man, she didn't even know when or where he had taken the knife, which he held tightly in his hand.
Robin jumped on Regina as a handgun went off, forcing her to bend over.
"Baby, please listen to me, I need you to bend into the empty space. Hide and don't come out until I tell you, got it?" His heart fluttered with fear as he ran his trembling hands through her hair. When he felt her shake her head even though he couldn't see her face, he slowly released her. He hurriedly unbuckled her seat belt and pushed her from behind so that she could slide down into the seat opening.
He unbuckled his own belt and shielded his head, opening the door. He clutched the metal tightly, knowing that the small blade would be useless against the guns. He would use himself as a shield if necessary to protect Regina.
"We can talk calmly! I am going out!"
"We have no business with you, hand over the queen and go on your way." A Russian accent that he couldn't see through the intense headlights answered.
"How did you decide that the Queen is with me, probably she is in her palace. You're just scaring my friend!" He walked slowly in front of the car, so he could get to Regina's side.
"Don't move, you would-be lawyer! This isn't one of your cases, and we're not stupid like them! Regina Mills, if you want to save your son and your lover, get out of the car; I am not your mother or your husband, I am not leave my work unfinished!"
Damn it, damn it, damn it! Regina, I beg you to be unconscious and not have heard this!
He was too possessed by fear to think that people blocking roads, shutting down networks, would study their lesson about the woman they were after. Of course, they knew all about Regina, her whole life, her weaknesses, her priorities...
He screamed when he saw a body rising from behind the glass in front of the chair. "Don't get out, Regina!"
He knew that when shards of broken glass fell through the open door, he would never be able to get her back in. Despite being ordered not to move, he threw his legs forward and ran in front of the woman who got out of the car.
"If you want to get her, you will have to go through me first!"
"Robin, go home." A hand reached his arm and gave it a secure squeeze.
"I'm already at home Regina, I'm with you. Don't ask me for the impossible." He whispered.
Their timeless romantic moments were interrupted as three shadows floated from the light. Robin realized that the one in front of them was the one speaking to him, and he could clearly see the suspended parts of the guns as the men approached. He squeezed Regina even tighter between him and the car.
"You won't sign that agreement! With your own choice, or your death, your majesty."
"All this fanfare because of a simple agreement?" Robin spoke for Regina.
"My whole being what you call a simple agreement! I won't let a bought woman cost me everything!"
"Watch what you say about her, bastard!" His anger and protective instinct overcame his logic, and he took a few steps to confront the man.
An explosion followed by the scream that followed broke the silence of the night. The lawyer's steps forward were reversed.
"Robin!"
From that moment on, life turned into a movie effect, although everything happened in seconds.
8...
Robin was shaken by the bullet that hit his arm, Regina wrapping her arms around his waist as he reached into the car for his balance.
The Russians' plans to kidnap the queen and have her do whatever they wanted were thwarted by the prolonged chase. Probably the networks had already returned to normal, and the extent of the danger had been revealed. Damn lawyer!
7...
The queen's rescue team, could be heard, and the approaching police lights appeared from the head of the road.
The damage from Regina's bleeding wound was replaced by heart damage. Even though she didn't even have the strength to support herself, her arms continued to hold the man in front of her.
6...
Another explosion broke the night. Robin staggered back as he waited for the deep pain to spread through his body... He waited... He waited... The pain didn't come...
5...
The arms around his waist got loose... And the pain he expected came from his heart. He wished his whole body to be adorned with holes, to writhe in pain; as long as the pain he feels in his heart is not real.
4...
But it was all real when the hands on his stomach slipped out of place… His first reaction was to put his hands on her hands and put them back in place and have them stay there. He asked her to hug him tightly, asked her to hold her breath on his neck. He didn't want to feel her arms losing strength. He didn't want to go back. He didn't want to admit what he had noticed.
"Regina…" He turned around as his voice cracked with fear.
3...
His eyes met with deep browns glowing in the tear-filled moonlight as the front of her dress, which he had thought of how flawless she had looked in it a few hours ago, was quickly being painted red.
Before the slamming doors and the roar of engines, she took another blow with a final thud that revealed her whole life before her eyes.
2...
Her breath came from behind, drowning out her voice as her velvet voice rose from her throat to seep slowly through her parted lips. Just as her mind is focused on the weapon in front of them while suffocating those in the other cars behind them that they are not empty-handed.
1...
And just as Regina thought she had closed all the gaps in her life, she fell into Robin's lap with two gaps, one in her stomach and one in her waist.
Exactly 8 seconds...
One full rotation of the Sun in the Milky Way Galaxy is equivalent to 255 million earth years. This means that when you look at the Earth from the perspective of the Sun, the average human life span is 8 seconds.
How would people live their lives if they knew that their life is like a flashing light?
Would Regina wait sixteen years to run to her loved ones if she knew that her life would be stolen from her in 8 seconds?
Well, wouldn't Robin fight harder if he knew that his reason to live would be taken away from him in 8 seconds?
Wrapped in darkness and cold, half of her body who covered in her own blood is in his arms that protecting her for minutes. She knew even if she didn't say it, that he couldn't protect her. It's not because she doesn't trust him. Regina did not trust her choices, she did not trust her life. She did not trust herself.
She had to think again as she brought them into her dark world, she should know that they would never be at peace. She had no right to hope, she couldn't be happy. If she had stayed in her own miserable life, she wouldn't have caused the pain she saw in the eyes she's in love with now.
"Breathe, my love, stay with me." Tears fell on her from the blue orbs he hadn't clipped. "The cops are here, an ambulance will be here soon. You will be fine."
"Robin, I… Do you know my biggest fear?" The echo of her pain pierced his heart.
"You don't have to be afraid of anything." He took her cold hand in his and rubbed it to warm it. He didn't let her blood run cold, he didn't let her leave him.
"I was afraid to die... Before I could hug Henry, before I could see you-looking at me like this aga-in." Her breath was interrupted by a cough. She struggled to fill her lungs, she wanted to let him know, even if it cost her the last of her strength. "I was afraid to die as... Regina Blanchard, queen of Storybrooke."
"Regina, you're not..."
"I'm not afraid anymore, Robin. I'm not afraid to die just as Regina."
"You're not just Regina. You are the bravest, strongest woman I know." He placed his hand on her slowed heart. "You are merciful, conscientious, kind, intelligent, funny, noble. You are a go-getter, you do what no one else can do, you light up the whole world with just your smile. You are the most beautiful being on this world, Regina. You are our son's mother... You are my soul. I can't live without you, I can't breathe in a world without you. Don't leave me, I beg you, don't go."
Her lips which seemed to have faded even behind her red lipstick curved upwards.
"Live for me, live for our son."
The sound of the siren announcing the arrival of the ambulance was a glimmer of hope in the heart of the man who was overwhelmed with despair.
He carefully closed the distance between them as if she was porcelain that would break at any moment. His arms were wrapped tightly around her, and he pressed his lips to hers, but he didn't move, leaving only a little kiss of life; he froze as if he wanted to scrape his feeling into his memory.
"I love you so much." He said.
"Robin…" He turned his head to see Graham, who he hadn't even noticed he was there. He was trying to explain that he needed to let Regina go, he should let the paramedics; but he was terrified that if he pulled his arms from around her, he wouldn't be able to hug her again.
As the stretcher was prepared, a doctor knelt down beside them and lifted her eyelids to see her eyes, and a small sigh was heard from the woman in his lap as the doctor touched around the wound on her head.
"Watch out!" Robin involuntarily pulled Regina to himself.
"I will if you let her go!"
When Robin realized that he was hurting her more when he was actually trying to protect her, he slowly put her down, but didn't stop holding her hand for a moment.
Regina squinted as a white light shone around them, neither Robin nor Graham could tell what their source was, but despite her condition, she made her queenhood speak and realize everything at once.
"Don't let them take photo... I don't want Henry-Henry to see it."
When the man, whose white shirt was covered with the blood of his love, turned his head, he saw the press accumulated behind the police barrier. His blue eyes were burning with anger. He cursed anyone who wasn't there for them when they needed them while they were in the line of fire while they were being chased for 20 goddamn minutes. Where were those who came to the scene as soon as they heard the news that their queen was wounded, when she wasn't covered in blood?
"I will handle it." Despite the storms within, Graham remained cool and stood up to do his queen's will.
Robin knew in the depths of his soul that he had entered a process that started with the woman placed on the stretcher being transported to the ambulance, which would make him forget every day he drowned in grief... But he didn't want to accept it.
"Regina! Where is my sister?!"
The man, who had slumped against the wall in front of the operating room, lifted his head from his knees when he heard a familiar voice screech.
"Zelena…" He tried to raise his voice, so she could hear it, but even he could barely hear it.
"Robin!" Fortunately, the woman noticed him.
His darkening eyes made him lose his balance as he forced himself to stand up, his dried blood-covered hand searching the wall for a place to hold on, but his body fell to the ground as his world collapsed when they took Regina from his arms.
My Regina...
Did he have a reason to stand on his feet anymore? What was the need for air to circulate in his lungs?
Everything is still half, my love. You haven't lived the life you dreamed of yet.
He didn't even make an effort to get up as Malory and Zelena forced his curled-up body off the ground; his hands found his stomach that the last place where he felt a sign of life, of his heart beating. If he could still feel her warm fingers there, it was because he had commanded his mind and heart not to feel anything else, he couldn't afford to lose that feeling.
You haven't seen your sister's happiness with her love yet.
Another pair of hands caught the weight of his lethargic body. Graham pulled the two women aside and picked the man up and set him on the seat. His glassy eyes were blank.
"What happened, how did it happen? I beg you, say something." The red-haired woman knelt before him and begged for information, it was extremely difficult to focus on his face and not the shirt soaked in her sister's blood.
"I couldn't protect her."
You didn't understand yet that I can move the world for you.
"Robin…"
"I couldn't protect her."
While the man was repeating a single sentence as if in a trance, the blonde woman noticed the light wetness on his arm, unlike the drying red on her friend's face.
"Robin, your arm…"
Malory shouted as the three pairs of eyes met the wound on his arm. "Graham, call the doctor!" She stopped holding Zelena's waist, who couldn't even move, and jumped to her feet, carefully grasping the bullet-ripped fabric and enlarging the slit. When she saw the blood oozing from the deep abrasion, she was horrified at how the slumped man on the seat could stand like this.
But Robin didn't even feel the pain in his arm, his whole body was numb except for his heart choked with grief...
Graham was approaching with a doctor by his side, as Emma entered the hallway trying to catch up with her son, who had jumped out of the yellow beetle and started running.
"Dad!"
Everyone in a panic stopped, all sounds stopped. Zelena stopped begging, Malory dropped the fabric, Graham interrupted his conversation with the doctor, Emma stopped running.
And Robin took his dull eyes from the white wall... The blue orbs met the hazel ones... All the fears and anxieties were shared without words.
"My son..."
The man, whom tens of people would not lift even if they came together, stood up again with a small voice, he had to.
Live for me, live for our son.
He had to stand up for his son, he had to stand up to protect their son for both of them until his mother returned. He had to stand up straight, so Regina could feel she had to fight.
A familiar feeling hit him as Henry wrapped his arms around his father's waist, which had recently been emptied by his mother. He hugged the child, who was fluttering a part of his mother inside him like hugging Regina, like holding on to hope."I want my mom." His voice was heard through the sobs that sank into his neck.
His tears were triggered by his son's mention of Regina as 'mom' for the first time rather than he called him as 'dad' for the first time. He was hugging his son not only as a father but also as a mother now.
You haven't heard Henry call you mom yet.
"Mr. Locksley, you are losing a lot of blood, we must take care of your wound."
Hearing that he was hurt, Henry tried to get out of his father's lap, but Robin wouldn't let him. "I'm okay, just a scrape."
Without leaving his arms, he turned his head and saw the seriousness in his bleeding arm. "Please let them look. I can't lose either of you."
The last thing he wanted was to add a new one while there were enough reasons for the tears to flow from the boy's hazel eyes. He forced his lips to give his son a small smile. Although he was not successful, Henry nodded and agreed.
"I'll be right back. If there is any news, let me know immediately."
After removing one debris and leaving the other for his mother, Malory has returned to tending to her lover in the same situation in Robin's armchair.
Robin left with the doctor, even though his mind was stuck behind the door at the end of that hall. Supplements were deemed appropriate as he was weak from blood loss, but he refused to go to bed, only to receive the serum if he returned with it to the front of the operating room.
In a short time, the white walls were filled with people who had been sitting together around a cheerful table a few hours ago, now filled with the opposite feelings.
You haven't felt how much everyone you love loves you too.
Although he felt as if he was reliving every moment, every fearful heartbeat, he told the curious and worried crowd what had happened. The silence fell as soon as the blond man's words were finished as. The weight of the reality of the events that you will tell maybe by starting the sentence "I watched a movie recently..." while sitting with your friends, has dropped in the middle of the corridor.
Before their senses could return to normal, the operating room door opened, making the two anxious nurses visible. Even though it was wrong both legally and ethically for them to return to the hospital with so much blood on their green gowns wrapped around them, every second was worth a lifetime at that moment, to hell with the rules and ethics, the queen is dying!
We are not a family yet.
Even though those walking down the corridor, sitting in rows of seats, gathered together and started talking in one voice and trying to get information, as the two women passed by them without stopping, they said "The doctor will give information!" loud enough that they could hear.-which meant shouting to drown them all-
Everything is still half, my love...
Don't go, don't leave us.
Notes:
Oh my... I'm just running away. I promise to be back soon.
Please let me know what you think in the meantime ❤️