Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday. Now enjoy this!
Regina made it through the weekend and found herself waking earlier than usual on this Monday morning. Thanksgiving break was over and she had a time getting the boys back on their Sunday night routine. She knew their first Thanksgiving would be unforgettable, she planned it that way. What she hadn't planned on was why their Thanksgiving was unforgettable, and the only person it was truly unforgettable for was Regina. She was carrying a secret and she found it truly hurt her heart to not share it with Robin. She was pregnant. She. Was. Pregnant. She hadn't expected to find herself in this situation ever again. It had taken her three years of treatments to get pregnant with Henry. Henry was her little miracle baby. He made her and Daniel oh so blissfully happy. Their world revolved around Henry. They wanted to give him everything, and they did. She was content with the one child. Daniel wanted one more, a girl. He wanted a daddy's girl. Regina was reluctant to try again. She didn't want to go through all those treatments again. It stressed her out. Daniel was supportive and understood, but he still wanted her to take that chance, and so she did. They were on their second round of treatments when the doctor told them the good news, that Regina was pregnant again. They were ecstatic and yet, Regina was a little frightened. She couldn't shake this terrible feeling that something would go wrong. Daniel laughed it off to try to ease her concerns. He was like that. She was always the serious one and he was the happy go lucky one. They fit that way. Until one fateful early Monday morning such as this. She had woken with a start. A slight ache in her belly. She thought maybe her stomach was unsettled and she perhaps hadn't gotten through the morning sickness phase like she thought.
She decided to stay home that day and sent Daniel off to work. She'd drifted off to sleep sitting in the rocking chair in Henry's nursery. She was reading a book to him, she recalled. And then she felt something warm in her lap. The warmth woke her from her slumber. She looked down and saw her robe stained crimson read. She cried out, oh god, this couldn't be happening. This is what she was afraid of. After shedding a few tears she managed to call her doctor who told her to go immediately to the emergency room; that he would call ahead and wait for her there. Next, she called Daniel and he said he would meet her at the hospital. She grabbed Henry and shoved him in his car seat and headed off to the hospital. She checked in and they took her to the Labor and Delivery ward. She was there for an hour or so before she began to worry about what was taking Daniel so long. He should've been there by now. He wasn't. The doctor came to examine her. He asked if she wanted to wait for her husband to arrive. She shook her head no. She already knew. She didn't really need the doctor to tell her anything. She'd lost the baby. She waited and waited and no news from Daniel. She called to the nurse to see if she knew anything about the whereabouts of her husband. The nurse shook her head and offered to call the police department to see if they knew anything.
Two hours later found Daniel's partner, David, in her hospital room. She didn't understand what was going on. David tried to be delicate, but there was no easy way to tell her that Daniel had been involved in an accident on his way to the hospital. There was no easy way to tell Regina that her husband was gone. She collapsed into uncontrollable tears and David held her tight as she pounded her fists into his chest. Angry at the cruel god who would take both her unborn child and husband away from her in one day. David held her for an hour before the doctor came back in to make sure she hadn't lost too much blood. The doctor apologized for her loss and offered the services of a grief counselor. David shook his head, not now. David called his girlfriend, Mary-Margaret, to come and collect Henry while he stayed with Regina. That was the worst week of Regina's life. She swore to never love again. Her heart was broken. All she had left was Henry and everything she did was for him.
So strange it was nine years later to find herself stranded in a gas station parking lot, dressed in a plum dress with a plunging neckline waiting for a tow truck after yet another disastrous first date. Strange it was to have a dimple-faced British-accented sheriff deputy approach her and offer to keep her company. Strange it was to find herself snapping at him, afraid of his intentions, afraid of how instantly attracted to him she found herself. And how strange it was yet another year later to be married to him and to perhaps be carrying his child. It brought tears to her eyes. This is how Robin found Regina early that Monday morning.
"Hey love, what's wrong? Why are you crying? Are you hurt?" Robin tried to cuddle Regina close.
"No, I'm not hurt. These are happy tears."
"Well, I never thought of tears being happy."
"Oh, they are. I was just thinking about how far I've come since losing Daniel. About how I thought I'd never have this again and how truly grateful I am to have it. I hadn't realized how lonely and in need of love I was until I met you." She leaned over and gave Robin a passionate kiss. Robin returned the kiss with equal fervor and moved on to kiss her tears away. They stayed trading kisses with each other for a while before the alarm went off. They smiled into each other's lips before breaking apart and starting on their morning routine of getting dressed, feeding the boys breakfast and heading off to work and school.
Regina arrived to work an hour early to get started. She was eager to get work done as a means to distract herself from her thoughts. Time seemed to go on forever before the doctor's office opened so she could call and schedule an appointment. She hoped she could get a same day appointment. It would certainly take the stress off of not knowing what was going on with her body. Although, now that she thought about it, everything she'd been experiencing in the past few weeks began to click into place. She had been overly fatigued. She did eat strange food pairings. She was a little extra cranky. And there were those tampons she put in her purse that morning Robin suggested she wear her period clothes; tampons for a period that never started.
She pulled the next manuscript on her desk, took out her yellow high lighter and red pen and began to read. She liked doing corrections on paper. There was something wonderful about physically holding a book in her hand. This story was a science fiction story, not one of her favorite genres but it was interesting enough to distract her until the eight o'clock hour. Her secretary knocked on her office door to remind her of the morning meeting occurring in thirty minutes. Regina nodded her head in understanding and marked her place on the manuscript. She stood up and shut her office door so she could call the doctor's office and make her appointment. She sighed a little in disappointment about not getting a same day appointment. It would have to wait until Tuesday. She supposed that would be fine. Her phone buzzed.
Hey, just woke up, thought I'd see how you were doing. Any news on an appointment?
Yeah, it's for Tuesday at 1000, think you can come?
Me? Yeah, sure. If that's okay.
Well, it was the first available. I would prefer Mary-Margaret.
Thanks, that makes me feel better!
Emma, don't. This is stressful enough for me. Just meet me at the office at 0830.
Alright, I'll be there.
Regina made it through the rest of her workday without too much fuss from her colleagues. They could tell she was in a mood. Whenever Regina was in a mood, everyone did their best to stay out of her way. It was quite amusing, she thought. She wasn't really all that bad. Ever since Daniel's death everyone treated her with delicate hands. She supposed she'd adopted a tough demeanor as a coping mechanism. It served her well. She wasn't sure how to exist without it. She furrowed her brow. Perhaps she should go see a therapist. One thing at a time though, first she needed to get through seeing the obstetrician.
If Monday morning had mad her nervous about getting an appointment, Tuesday found her on pins and needles and Robin a bit taken aback by his wife's behavior. Usually he tried to avoid Regina when she was in a mood because she was on her period. This behavior, however, wasn't her usual behavior when she was on her period. Maybe she was stressed about work. He wanted to do something to ease her troubled mind, but he didn't know what.
"Hey, Regina, what's going on with you?" Robin asked his wife while she was engrossed with which earrings she should wear with one of her new pantsuits.
"Oh, nothing," she let out a small sigh, having finally settled on a silver pair of studs.
"Nothing?" Robin nervously chuckled out. "I've seen you a bit neurotic before, but nothing like this. Are you okay? Are you stressed out about something? Tell me, please. I'm your husband, whatever it is, we can work through it, together." Regina let out a small chuckle and clasped her hand to his cheek. Oh how he picked up on her moods. She had been out of sorts. She wasn't even sure she'd make it to her appointment time and wondered why she was even going to work. She needed the distraction. Robin rubbed her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.
"Oh Robin, you're sweet. I, uh, I just have this manuscript I've been working on at work. The story is kind of having an effect on me."
"Oh? What's the story about?" Robin usually never wanted to discuss her manuscripts, but she supposed since this one was affecting her so.
"Um, it's about a woman whose, uh, whose husband passed away and she's learning to love again."
"Mmmm, kinda like us?"
"Yeah," she smiled. "Kinda like us. Now then, do you think you can finish up with the boys? I want to get in early to the office and get back to editing the manuscript. I'm really excited about it and want to get it out to press as soon as possible." She dropped a kiss on Robin's cheek and headed to peek in on the boys before heading out the door to work.
Regina got into her car and sat for a moment. She wasn't quite sure that she really wanted to go in the office just yet. It was early in the morning, but perhaps Emma was awake. Emma usually required two hours to properly wake herself up. Perhaps Regina could swing by the local donut shop and pick up some coffee and bear claws as an apology for waking Emma up so early. She knew she wouldn't really be able to concentrate on work given the state she was in. Regina pulled over to the donut shop and got Emma a large coffee with two bear claws and got herself peppermint tea with a slice of pumpkin bread. Soon, she found herself seated in her car outside of Emma's apartment building looking like a stalker.
"Get it together, Regina," she scolded herself. She gathered the coffee and sweets, and her bags and headed up the two flights of stairs that brought her to Emma's apartment. She knocked, once, twice, three times for good measure. After a few moments, the door swung open to reveal a towel-clad Killian Jones.
"Regina! To what do I owe this early morning pleasure? You know I'm a taken man, right? But if Emma and I decide to split up, I'll be sure to keep your number in my back pocket."
"Lovely. I'm actually here to see Emma. I was hoping she was awake?" The door swung a little further open to Emma dressed only in a plaid shirt, her hair a mess.
"Hey Regina. I thought I was picking you up at eight thirty. What are you doing here at seven?"
"I um, I brought you coffee and bear claws," Regina said as she pushed her way into the apartment. She set her items down on the coffee table and planted herself on the sofa.
"Sure, why don't you come on in and make yourself comfortable?" Emma shut the door and Killian went back to the bedroom, hopefully to get dressed. Emma followed Killian back to the bedroom and put on a pair of sweatpants and rejoined Regina on the sofa. She grabbed the coffee and started putting cream and sugar in it. She took a taste sip to be sure it was to her liking. She took a bite of the bear claw and sat back against the sofa and addressed Regina. "So, again I'll ask. What are you doing here at seven?"
"I'm sorry, I'm just really freaked about my appointment," Regina whispered to Emma. She didn't want Killian to overhear their conversation.
"Uh-huh, I see. Well, I don't know what you expect me to do. Thanks for the coffee and bear claw," Emma said as she finished off the bear claw and picked a couple of pieces off the second one. She thought about giving that one to Killian. He wouldn't mind a picked over piece. Killian walked back out fully clothed 15 minutes later. He greeted the two women.
"Ladies. Guess I'll head out now, Emma. I'll see you when you get off shift, kay?"
"Yeah, look forward to it. Here, Regina brought you a bear claw."
"I see, thanks, love." And with that Killian left the apartment and left the two women alone.
"Regina, there is nothing to be worried about. Everything will be fine!"
"You can't know that for sure."
"What are you talking about? You're the healthiest health nut I know! You do everything by the book. What's brought this on? You were fine on Friday."
"Not many people know this, but I've had trouble getting pregnant. I went through many treatments before I was able to conceive Henry. Then, when Henry was two, me and my husband, Daniel, we – he wanted another child. I was terrified. I didn't want to go through all that again, but Daniel was so excited about the prospect of a daddy's girl. We got pregnant on the second round, but about 2 months in, I miscarried."
"Oh, Regina, I am so sorry!"
"And the day I was in the hospital receiving what I thought was the most devastating news of my life, David came to tell me that Daniel had been involved in an accident on his way to meet me at the hospital. I lost both my baby and husband in one day," Regina finished off the Cliff's notes version in a sad gurgling mess of tears. She was definitely pregnant, giving over to emotional vulnerability. Or perhaps she'd never actually dealt with the death of Daniel and her baby. Emma pulled Regina into a hug and rubbed circles on her back. Emma wasn't quite sure what else to do. Regina held onto her tight for at least five minutes, sobbing until she had no more tears to cry.
"Oh Regina. I don't know what to do here, babe. I can't promise that everything will be okay, but I have this gut feeling it will be. My gut's never wrong. For instance, my gut told me that even though on the surface you seem like an uptight bitch, I should give you a chance. And you're actually a great person with a great big ol' heart and I wouldn't trade you or our years of friendship for anything in the world. Not even for the few hours of sleep you just cost me." Regina let out a small chuckle. Perhaps it was a good thing Emma was coming with her to the appointment.
"Well, Ms. Swan, I thank you for your friendship and allowing me to barge in a few hours before you were ready to be awake. Now, go get dressed while I clean up my face." Emma sat back and offered Regina a small smile before heading to the bedroom to shower and dress for what was sure to be an eventful morning.
Nine o'clock found Emma and Regina seated in the waiting room, filling out paperwork. Insurance information, drug allergies, height, weight, reason for visit. It was all overwhelming. She couldn't believe it. She was pregnant and she was scared shitless. The nurse called Regina back. Emma stayed seated until Regina gave her a most pitiful, frightened look. She got the hint and got up to follow Regina and the nurse back to an exam room. They stopped by a side room in the front to get Regina's weight and for her to give a urine sample. They proceeded to the exam room and Regina changed into an examination gown. They sat in the room for fifteen minutes, reading through magazines waiting for the doctor. Finally, a knock on the door.
"Good morning Miss, Regina Hood? How are you? I am Dr. Kayla Campbell. What brings you in today?" The doctor asked as she flipped through the papers on Regina's chart.
"Well, I, I uh, took a home pregnancy test and it was positive."
"Oh, congratulations! Was this a planned pregnancy?"
"Well, not exactly."
"Oh, I see. Is this a wanted pregnancy?"
"Yes, yes, very much so. I'm just worried. I thought I couldn't get pregnant unless I underwent fertility treatments. That's how I was able to have my first child."
"Mmmhmm, I see. Well, we can certainly take a look see to make sure everything is going fine. Do you know when your last menstrual period was? So we can have an idea of how far along you are?" Dr. Campbell asked as she put on exam gloves and motioned for Regina to lie back on the table.
"Um, you know, I'm not actually sure. I've been walking around with tampons in my purse for a couple of weeks and never realized I hadn't gotten my period yet. Maybe, maybe two months that I haven't gotten it?"
"Ok, we can work with that. Well, you're not really showing here. But if you're at least eight weeks, we can go ahead and set up an ultrasound, okay?"
"Um, yeah, that would be great. I, um, also I've had a miscarriage. My, my second pregnancy. I had a miscarriage."
"I see, do you know how far long you were?"
"Yeah, I was about ten weeks."
"Okay, well I'll check with my ultrasound tech to see if she can squeeze you in the back. Given your history I'd like to monitor you more closely, okay? Be back in a jiffy."
Dr. Campbell was able to get Regina seen for an ultrasound. Regina held Emma's hand the entire time. The ultrasound tech, Miranda, dimmed the lights and warmed the conducting gel. She squeezed some onto Regina's lower abdomen and focused the transducer to pull up a grainy black and white picture. She took measurements. And towards the end, she offered Regina a wide grin and asked, "are you ready for this?" Regina turned to the screen and nodded her head. Miranda turned a couple of knobs and the sound of galloping hooves filled the room.
"That's your baby's heartbeat. It's strong. Baby looks good. I'll print out some images for you, okay? You can get dressed and I'll meet you out in the hallway." Miranda tossed her a towel to wipe off the gel and left the room.
"See? Told ya everything would be alright!" Emma helped Regina sit up and hand her her clothes.
"Yeah, but it's still early. Anything can go wrong."
"You can't live your life that way Regina. Be positive! Your life is going great! You've got a new husband and now a new, healthy baby on the way. Nothing will go wrong. And for every time you say something will go wrong, you will have to buy me a coffee and bear claw. I will hold you to that." Regina let out another chuckle as she finished getting dressed. They exited the room into the hallway to find Dr. Campbell and Miranda.
"Ah, Regina. I looked over the images and your baby looks great, okay? Don't worry about anything. Here are your images and some informational pamphlets. And you look to be about eleven weeks. Does that sound good to you?"
"Um, yeah, I suppose. Thanks for everything." Regina took the pamphlets and the ultrasound images that she couldn't help but stare at. She felt Emma nudge her in the side and turned to see the blonde grinning, "What?"
"Eleven weeks, Regina? As in eleven weeks ago Robin took you on a romantic two week get away?"
Regina's eyes went wide, "Ah, so it was." Regina let out a chuckle.
"Soooo, how are you going to tell Robin?"
"Hmm, I haven't thought about it, actually. Do you have any ideas?"
"Maybe. Let's go to the bookstore! We can get him "What to Expect When You're Expecting"! You can make him a nice dinner and give him the book as a present, it'll be great!"
"Hmmm, I suppose that would work."
Emma drove Regina to the mall and they headed for the bookstore. Regina picked up the book Emma suggested. It was a newer edition than the one Daniel had gotten her when she was pregnant with Henry. She also vaguely recalled a book that Daniel read throughout her pregnancy, 'The Expectant Father'. Regina scanned the bookshelf for the book and added it to her basket. Then she wondered over to the Children's Books section of the store. Daniel loved books. He'd bought so many for Henry. He even wanted Henry to have his prized comic book collection. Regina thought this new baby needed a book collection of their own. She couldn't help but think this was her second chance. A gift from God, a gift from Daniel. That gave her somewhat a peace of mind. Her eyes drifted over the books displayed on the table and they fell upon a cute little book that Daniel read, well, sang to Henry when he was younger. She laughed at the memory. They read out of that book so often that she had to throw it out because it was so badly damaged. Her eyes welled up slightly and she felt Emma approach from behind.
"Hey Regina, did you find it?"
"Yeah, yeah I did. Got some other books too."
"You did? What else did you get?"
"I got 'The Expectant Father'. I think that would be a more appropriate book for Robin. And I also found this one," Regina held up the book she was looking at for Emma to see.
"Oh wow, I didn't know this was a book."
"Yes, yes it is. Daniel would read this to Henry every night before bed. I had to throw out our copy because it was so badly damaged. I think this baby needs their own copy, don'tcha think?" Emma smiled at Regina.
"Yeah, yeah it does. Whadya say we get outta here? We can grab lunch in the food court and I get to head to work."
"Yeah, that sounds great." Regina placed the copy of 'The Teddy Bear's Picnic' in her basket and the two women headed to the checkout counter.
And did you catch tonight's ep? O.M.G.