So, it isn't Mother's Day here in England but hey, the story is set in the US so, this is the Mother's Day chapter, there is a little angst and a little fluff. Hope you like it! Also, there is a little twist and a new character, I wanna see what you make of them!
Enjoy! :) xoxox
Just incase you want to know, I have a new Instagram for my manips: Lunaandtwilight07, my twitter is the same if you don't follow me already and want to.
Regina was laid in bed, her hand caressing over her tiny little baby bump, she wasn't really showing all that much, it was literally a little pouch that hadn't been there before, something that to anyone other than herself Robin and Tink wouldn't be noticeable. Even if they did notice, she could easily pass it off as a lapse in her usual diet and having a little too much desert after dinner.
She and Robin knew differently, they knew that it was their baby that was causing her stomach to grow, their little foetus.
A smile danced on her features and it had been a permanent fixture there lately, apart from when she was leant over the toilet bowl chucking her guts up. It was, however, a sacrifice she was willing to make, she told Robin she was happy to go through it knowing that their baby was still there and that foe as she was calling it was just reminding her before there was a real sign of baby's presence in her life.
She looked at the ring on her left hand, now that she could show people and she was obsessed with it, her friends and even a couple of patients had caught her staring at the solitaire, but who could blame her? It was a beautiful ring and she was engaged! Engaged to the most amazing man imaginable, she had been absolutely awe struck when he had proposed to her at the same time she had told him she was pregnant and it was safe to say that it had been the best day of her life to date, even better than the day she and Robin had first admitted their feelings for one another, the Christmas that started it all, their whole relationship. That Easter overshadowed all of that because it showed how far they had come together since that point, to now be living together, engaged and expecting.
She wouldn't have believed it if she had been told that she could have all this, that she could be happy in this way, have everything she'd ever dreamed of and more. She'd never expected to find a true love, never mind having a baby, but she was over the moon that it was happening because they were her everything, Robin and her baby, they were her happy ending, her family.
She glanced over at Robin who was still sound asleep beside her and smiled, he was tired out bless his heart, he'd had a couple of long shifts in a row and had literally fallen into bed when he got home, groaning at her and blaming her for giving them to him. She knew he was joking and he didn't really blame her, sure she had some say over the rotas, but she wouldn't give him something that she wouldn't give any other doctor on her staff. Well, when it came to work hours that was, obviously, he was getting a lot more from her at other times, he was her fiancé.
She rolled a little and reached her fingers out to simply play with his hair, her fingers twisting it gently, to be honest, he needed a haircut, it was beginning to get a little long, but she didn't mind, she liked to mess around with it, but she had her limits and she didn't want it any longer than it was already. She pressed a kiss against his shoulder and cuddled up to his side, wrapping one arm around him as she stifled a yawn and looked at the clock on his bedside table. They could afford a lie in, she was sure of it, she didn't want to get up just yet.
So Regina allowed her eyes to fall shut again as she sighed happily, feeling Robin adjust to accommodate her, pulling her closer to him; even in his sleep he couldn't get enough of her and she loved it. She let out a contented hum and allowed sleep to draw her back in again.
When she next woke again, it was to the feeling of Robin pressing kisses along her temple, skirting down the side of her cheek and across her jaw before his lips found their way to hers and he kissed them ever so gently, causing her to smile against him, her eyes not opening just yet as she basked in the feeling of being lavished with loving gestures. "Good morning," he whispered, kissing her again, "someone's sleepy. Are you still asleep?"
She knew that he knew full well that she was awake, of course he did, this was just his way of trying to get her to open her eyes and look at him, it was a game they played often, but most of the time she wasn't able to fool him by pretending to still be asleep.
His fingers had slipped under the quilt and were tenderly brushing over her abdomen, his fingertips drawing small patterns on top of the silk of her night dress. It was a simple deep purple silk thing with a low cleavage where the hem just about reached the middle of her thighs. She felt him push it up so that he could touch her bare stomach, but she couldn't help opening her eyes and letting out a laugh as he did so, "you're tickling me," she protested, her hands finding his wrists.
"Ah, so you are awake then."
"Yes," she yawned, seeing that he was stood at the side of the bed, leaning over her, "you knew I was awake," she shoved him playfully as he chuckled and leant in to kiss her again. "Stop it," she covered her mouth with her hands and sat up.
He stood up a little straighter and grabbed something off the bedside table before handing it to her, she grabbed the tooth brush from him and began brushing her teeth, he knew her so well, it was a strange habit, but she was conscious and she liked to be able to brush her teeth before indulging in proper morning kisses, especially if they were going to be more heated than simple pecks. Morning breath was hardly attractive. Once, early on in their relationship, he had caught her off guard and she had literally pushed him off her and escaped to the bathroom.
Once she had finished with the brush, she placed it in the pot and looked up at him to see him laughing at her, "what?"
"You crack me up."
"Oh haha, isn't it better to kiss me now though than it would have been before?" she asked, rolling her eyes at him before casting him a smug smile.
"Yes, I suppose your right," he nodded leaning down and stealing her breath away as he fastened his lips to hers, his tongue running across her bottom lip, asking for entrance to her mouth, entrance that she granted without a question, her arms wrapping around his neck as he moved onto the bed with her so that he could get closer to her.
She continued the kiss, not wanting to let go of him, her fingers entangling in his hair as his explored her body. When he pulled back to look at her, he grinned and shook his head, "happy Mother's Day," he quipped, moving off the bed and taking something from his top draw. It was a box wrapped neatly in paper that was covered in little chicks and had a bow on the top.
She looked at him in confusion, "Mother's Day?"
"Is today," he nodded, "and you are technically an expectant mother, which means you get a gift."
It was Mother's Day? She felt a guilt rise within her, she hadn't even realised, hadn't even given the day a thought, she hadn't spoken to her own mother in over two months, not since the failure that was New Year's Eve where she said things she couldn't come back from, insulting things about Robin and their relationship. She swore to herself that she wouldn't let her mother back in again, wouldn't even think about her and apparently, she had succeeded, but still, it didn't take away that little bit of guilt that maybe she could have done something more to salvage whatever relationship they once had.
She ran her fingers over the little bow and a small reluctant smile played on her features, it was a cute gesture from Robin, it really was and she loved that he had even thought about the day, considering he had technically celebrated on the English date which had been a few months prior. For him to buy her a gift was something really touching and it really did mean the world to her. "Thank you," she whispered, continuing to simply look at the present on her lap.
"Are you not going to open it?" He chuckled, his hand finding her knee and running across it lightly.
"Yes," she nodded, realising she was probably acting really strangely. She couldn't let him know that it had affected her that much, the relationship with her mother had just been strained too much and it hurt, as much as she didn't want to admit, it did hurt her that her mother seemed to disapprove of her life, the life she loved so much.
"Gina? Somethings wrong."
"No," she shook her head, bringing her hands to cup his cheeks, "I'm fine," she smiled, pecking his lips, "thank you for my present."
Her hands dropped from his face and went to the bow on the present, she was about to undo it when he took hold of her and frowned, "you're not fooling me lovely. I know you better than anyone, talk to me."
"I want to open this first," she quipped, moving her hands from his and pulling on the ribbons, removing them before unwrapping the present carefully, making sure not to rip the paper, she wanted to keep it as a reminder of the first Mother's Day present she ever got. Robin was watching her intently, she could tell part of him was eager to see her reaction, whilst at the same time she could see an edge to that, he was worried about her. Once she had taken the cute wrap off, she lifted the lid from the box to find a white leather-bound book with little chicks dotted all over. She laughed and lifted it out, "this is beautiful," she breathed, running her fingers across the front of it, tracing the little birds.
"Well it's a book where you can record your pregnancy and the baby's progress day by day," he gestured for her to pass him the book and she did, resting the precious object in his hands.
He shuffled up on the bed and she snuggled next to him, noticing the hot cup of chocolate on the bedside table, she picked it up and cradled it in her hands, allowing the heat from the mug to warm her.
He opened it and she saw that something was already written in it, she recognised it to be his writing straight away and looked at him curiously, "you already wrote something?"
"Yes," he nodded, "I found it a couple of days after you told me you were pregnant, whilst you were on shift and I had a day off, since then I've been writing in it until I could give it to you today."
"What did you write?" she asked, looking up at him in wonder.
"Just little bits about you, observations really."
She grinned and glanced at the page, "can you read me something you wrote?" she questioned.
"Yeah," he ran a hand through his hair and flipped to a page finding something to read to her, "okay, I'll read you this. May 4th, 2017. She's doing it again, she thinks no one can see, but I keep catching her. I'm sat in the staff room and she's beautiful, just standing there at the nurse's station, reading over something or other, probably patient notes. But her hand is resting on her stomach as she mindlessly caresses her abdomen and it is the most amazing thing to see, she probably doesn't even realise that she's doing it, her fingers simply dancing across the material of her scrubs as she holds the notes in her other hand…"
"Was I really doing that?" She asked, flashing him an amused smile because he was right in what he said, she couldn't remember doing it.
"Yes, you were now listen. She is doing so well with the pregnancy and I am so proud of her, she really is just taking it all in her stride, even the sickness. The bump isn't visible yet, but I can't wait to be able to see our little one grow. I just love Regina and our child so much, I can't wait to see her holding the baby, who she keeps calling Foe which is short for foetus, it's cute really. Something else I have recognised she is always doing is looking at the ring on her finger, the ring I put there as a symbol of our love and commitment to one another, not that you could get a bigger symbol than our baby, but none the less that engagement ring looks perfect on her finger, as though it was always meant to be there."
"Robin," she laughed, wiping her eyes, she didn't even realise she was crying until he had stopped reading, but the thing was she didn't really know why she was crying, it was her hormones getting the better of her and making her emotional.
"Hey you," he swiped the tears from her face and slid his hands down her arms. "What?"
"That was lovely Robin, I really love it," she breathed, running her fingers gently over his words, tracing the letters, "I know you said that this was for me to write down things about the pregnancy and how baby is progressing, but, would you continue it for me?"
He cast her one of those dimpled grins as he nodded, "sure, but how about, we do it together, we both write in the book whenever we feel like it?" he suggested.
She smiled at him as she looked at the page, "that sounds like a very good idea," she stated, continuing to trace the little letters, before flicking through the rest of the pages, seeing a few random notes here and there. He had even stuck in some pictures that she hadn't known he was taking for this purpose. There was one of her laid on the couch, one of her legs strewn up over the back of it as her other dangled off the edge. She'd had a bad day at work and come home to dramatically flop on the couch, pulling their (not so little) kitten onto her lap and immediately she felt better.
There was also the first sonogram picture that she had got from Tink when she found out that she was pregnant, he had clearly copied it as she knew the original was tucked up in his wallet with other pictures of her. He said he wanted to carry the two people he loved the most with him everywhere he went and that he could hardly pick her up and take her along.
"Come on then," he nudged her as she gently closed the book, carefully placing it back in the box and moving it to the bottom of the bed. "Are you going to tell me what it is that was bothering you?"
"I guess I just hadn't realised that it was Mother's Day," she shrugged, looking at the tray beside the bed and picking at the cereal in one of the bowls.
"And you were thinking about Cora? Am I right?"
"Of course I was thinking about Cora, she may be a conniving witch, but she's still my mother and I just feel like…"
"Maybe we should go see her."
Regina froze, dropping the little piece of cereal back in the bowl and turning to look at him wide eyed, "go see her?"
"Regina…"
"Robin the woman doesn't care about me, she hasn't spoken to me since New Year, she couldn't care less about our relationship, so clearly she doesn't give a damn about her own daughter. She hasn't even attempted to make things better to bridge the gap, why wouldn't a mother want to make things right with her child? It baffles me, it really does, she just, she's a snake okay." And breath, she rubbed a hand over her face and turned to glance at him, he had a poignant look on his face and wasn't meeting her eyes. "Robin?"
"Well…"
"Oh," she narrowed her eyes at him, "what?"
"Don't you think that maybe there are two sides to…"
"Really? Are you saying that I am to blame for this?" She asked, casting him a glare, "because if you are…"
"No, I didn't say you were to blame," he quickly added, "I'm simply suggesting that neither of you made a step towards healing your relationship and maybe you could have been the one to extend the olive branch so to speak."
"But she was in the wrong, she was the one tearing into you, into our relationship, she tried to break us up Robin, tell us that we shouldn't be together, what about that is okay?" she asked, she knew to some extent he was right though, she could have done something more than what she had done, she could have tried to make amends with her mother, but she hadn't, she had just allowed it to fester and get worse. "Why should I have been the one to go to her, if she cared about me, even a little bit she would have tried to make thing better between us."
Regina watched as Robin stood up from the bed and walked to the closet, picking out a shirt and some smart jeans, laying them down on the bed. Then he moved to the chest of drawers and opened the bottom one, removing something which Regina identified immediately. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, he was trying to make her feel guilty for taking it down, but she wouldn't, why should she? Her mother smashed her photo, her favourite picture of herself and Robin, why should she then keep up any of Cora in her house?
"Robin, I don't want to look at that," she shook her head, reaching over and grabbing the bowl of cereal, apparently, she was hungrier than she first thought.
"But I think you should, here," he dropped the frame beside her and at first, she refused to look and simply brought a spoon full of her breakfast up to her mouth, but the picture of her father was what caught her attention, she had been punishing him too, not just her mother and he hadn't deserved it. By refusing to speak to her mother, she seemed to have forgotten that her father hadn't done anything wrong, not at all. She dropped her spoon again and picked up the picture, it was on graduation day, she was in the middle wearing her cap and gown and her parents were on either side of her sporting the largest smiles she had ever seen.
Suddenly she began welling up and tears began streaming down her cheeks, "I need to fix this," she whispered, sniffling as she wiped her nose on the back of her hand, "I need to see them." She couldn't believe all it had taken to break her resolve had been that picture, that had been the day when her mother had told her she had never been prouder of her and it was one of the only times she had ever said that she loved her. Her mother was never one for emotion or sentiment, but that day she had been.
"Okay," he moved and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight, "I'll be with you the whole time, okay, holding your hand, I promise."
"I love you," she whispered, her arms going around his neck as she buried her face into his shoulder. She knew that he would be there for her, that he wouldn't leave her side and she had a feeling she was going to need the support more than ever.
Regina had rung her father and after a heartfelt conversation with him, she had mentioned maybe coming over to see them that afternoon, something her dad seemed extremely keen on, even excited about. He told her how good it was to hear her voice and how much he had missed her and she had cried again, apologising that she had stayed away for so long, stating that she hadn't been doing it to punish him, but she couldn't bear to look at her mother. He understood, of course he did, that was just the man he was, he was simply quite the opposite to his wife and she had no idea how they managed to work together, but somehow, they did.
Now though she was twisting her thumbs as she starred out of the car window, Robin was driving them to Portland to visit her parents and she was nervous, what if her mother didn't even let her in the door, she had practically disowned her the last time they had seen each other, what if she meant it, what if she never wanted to see her again?
"Penny for your thoughts?" Robin's voice caused her to turn from the view of cars outside and back to him, he was still looking at the road but turned every now and then to glance at her.
"I don't want to go," she whispered.
"Well, we're halfway there now."
"I don't want to go, Robin," she shook her head, her hand coming to hold onto the little handle above the car door as a bought of nausea suddenly washed over her at full force, "pull over."
"What? We're on the freeway!"
"Pull over Robin!" she yelled, her other hand coming to cover her mouth as she began gagging.
"Regina!"
"I'm going to throw up!" She stated, "pull over!"
"Fuck," she could see him looking frantically at the other lanes, before indicating and trying to move to the hard shoulder, "just try and hold it okay? I'm pulling over now." He managed to stop the car at the side of the road and as soon as he had, she was moving out of the door and heading towards the grassy area. She dropped to the floor and lost her breakfast, which wasn't an unusual occurrence due to the pregnancy, it was just she had managed to keep it down longer than usual today and normally she would have been throwing up a lot earlier, she knew however that it wasn't just baby contributing to her sickness, it was also stress.
She felt Robin's hand on her back and sat up to take the tissue he was holding out for her, "thanks," she muttered, using it to wipe her mouth.
"Baby or stress?" he asked, his fingertips swirling on her lower back.
"Both, definitely both," she sniffled, turning to look at him.
"Are you done or is there more?" he asked, taking his tissue back and lovingly cleaning her up a bit more.
"I think I'm done, I just want to get off the side of the road, it's embarrassing."
"Come on then," he stood and helped her up, then back into the car. She sat there and closed her eyes, she was so ready to just get there and get it over with, whatever way it might go, she just wanted to put an end to either their feud or their relationship. "Babe, do you want me to just take you home?"
"No," she sighed, "you're right, we're half way there, might as well carry on now."
"You sure? I'll get off the freeway and turn around, we can go out for a meal or something." He rubbed along her arm gently, "it's clearly affecting you."
"I think I'll be okay," she offered him a weak smile, "as much as I would love to just go for a meal with you the two of us, I really need to sort this I think."
"Good decision," he ginned, kissing her shoulder lightly as he did his seatbelt up and indicated to come back onto the road, edging closer to something Regina knew would be one hell of a confrontation.
They pulled up in front of the large white mansion and Regina stared up at it, taking a deep breath as she felt Robin squeeze her hand. It felt like it had been years since she had been home, it hadn't, not really, she had taken Robin home for a late Thanksgiving celebration the year before and even then, Cora had been less than welcoming to him, which was a shame. She daren't even imagine her mother's reaction to the fact that they had a baby on the way, she would probably go insane, start smashing things and shout about her job and ask how she thinks she can manage being clinical lead when she had a child to look after.
Knowing Cora, she would accuse her of throwing her career down the drain, throwing away her whole future and if she tried to say that, Regina didn't know if she would be able to keep her cool, because yes, her job meant a lot to her, but it wasn't as important as her baby, as her family.
"You gonna get out or are you just going to keep staring at it?" Robin chuckled.
"Can I stare a little longer?" she quipped, casting him a small smile as she undid her belt and opened the door. As she did she saw the door to the house open and her father came out. "Daddy!" she squealed, practically running towards him and hugging him tightly, closing her eyes as she basked in the feeling of hugging her dad for the first time in months. "I missed you," she whispered.
"I missed you too my dear," he stated, stroking her hair gently, she pulled back to look at him, casting him a bright smile as she held onto his hands.
"I'm so sorry daddy, I didn't mean for it to last this long, do you forgive me?"
"There's nothing to forgive sweetheart, at least not with me."
"Is she really angry at me?" Regina asked, straightening up as she cleared her throat and looked behind her for Robin who had just grabbed some things from the back seat, a bunch of flowers and a bottle of wine. Then he was back by her side, he shook her father's hand before placing it on her lower back.
"Henry."
"Robin, hope you've been looking after this one for me," he gestured to Regina.
"I'm in safe hands," Regina chuckled, leaning he head on his shoulder, "once we have this conversation with mother, we have some exciting news to tell you," she ginned, casting Robin a cheeky smile.
"Well then, I suppose we should get inside and find her then shouldn't we," Henry nodded squeezing her hand gently as he gestured for them to follow him inside.
Robin stopped her and looked into her eyes, "okay?"
"I will be," she leant in and kissed him lightly.
They ventured inside, it still looked the same, it always had done, the white walls and wooden floors, the décor modern yet vintage and not a thing out of place. Robin took Regina's coat for her and hung it up on the hook in the hallway as she removed her shoes. She had opted to wear a dark pair of skinny jeans with a floaty bright yellow strappy top. Her dark hair tumbled down over her shoulders and grazed the top of her breast, she was happy with the length, it was longer than she'd had it in a while, but she liked it long and so did Robin.
There were frames filled with family photos documenting Regina's childhood decorating the walls, she glanced at the side board and spotted a frame holding a picture of someone she didn't recognise. She furrowed her eyebrows but didn't question it, maybe she would later.
As they made their way into the Living room, they were met by her mother who was sat on the couch, she appeared to be drinking some kind of martini, which was strange because she had a rule about never drinking before six in the evening and it was only half three. "Mother."
"Regina," she acknowledged, placing the glass down on the coffee table, "long time no see."
"Hmm, I could say the same to you."
"I do not want to start some sort of conflict between us," Cora held her hands up, "so please keep your sarcasm at bay."
"Happy Mother's Day," Regina whispered, feeling obligated to say it.
"Thank you."
She felt Robin move behind her and squeezed his hand harder, "Cora."
"Robin."
It was awkward and Regina knew that he was bound to be feeling it, he shuffled closer to her and whispered in her ear, "do you need me to stay with you or do you want some space?"
She really wanted to yell at him to stay with her, that he promised her he wouldn't let go of her hand, but she knew he was right, "I think I need to talk to my mother alone."
"Okay, I'll be in the kitchen with Henry," he pressed a light kiss to her cheek before relinquishing his hold on her hand, she was very reluctant to allow him to move his hand from hers, but when he did she watched him walk out and close the door behind her, leaving her with her mother, alone. A silence rang through the room as they simply avoided looking at each other or saying anything.
"Are you just going to stand there or do you think maybe you might want to take a seat at some point?"
"If I have to shelve my sarcasm, why don't you?" Regina snapped, taking a seat opposite her regardless.
"Regina, why did you come here today?"
"I wanted a resolution to this, whatever it is that's between us, enough is enough," she breathed, looking up at the older woman and meeting her eyes, she saw something shining there, something she couldn't quite work out.
"Okay, well…" Cora picked up the alcoholic drink on the table and downed the last of it, "I apologise for my behaviour on New Year's Eve, I was out of line."
"Yes, you were," Regina whispered, "you really hurt me mother. Some of the things you said about Robin, not just Robin, but me also, it was something that cut deeply and then to smash my photo like it meant nothing. It meant so much to me, you might have thought it was just a picture in a frame, but it was more than that, it was the first thing that belonged to me and Robin, the first thing we owned together as a couple. You just broke it," she breathed, "did you care, did you even feel sorry that you had done it?"
"Yes, I did."
That was a start, a little bit of regret was heading in the right direction, but that frame getting smashed hadn't been the only thing to happen, there were other things she needed to apologise for, not just to her, but to Robin also. "And what about the things you said about him, about him not being good enough for me, despite being a highly-qualified doctor, do you regret them too?"
"Of course, I do," Cora looked down and played with the glass in her hand before dropping it back down again. "Regina all I've ever wanted is what is best for you and clearly I have been blind to the truth, trust me, I have been meaning to come to you for a while since that day, to make amends for the things I said to you."
"Why didn't you then?" Regina asked, not believing that this had been so easy, that she had received an apology from her mother just like that, "why didn't you make the first move?"
"Pride, I was too proud to admit I was wrong and I know now that I was foolish, that if I had simply sucked it up and come to you, we could have resolved this much earlier and saved months of torment."
"Yes, you could have," Regina moved to sit beside her.
"You look beautiful dear," Cora stated, reaching out and pushing some of her hair behind her ear, "you're almost glowing."
"I'm happy," she laughed.
Her mother's hands clasped hers and squeezed, "you forgive me then?"
"Yes," she nodded, casting her a watery smile.
Then her mother's eyes widened and her eyes dropped down to their joint hands, she lifted Regina's left and looked at the band and stone that shone on her ring finger, "you're getting married?"
"I am," she breathed, "Robin proposed around a month ago."
"You didn't even tell me, or your father."
"I wanted to, but we were still in a bad place then, one I didn't know if we'd be able to come back from." She stated truthfully, she felt bad having kept that from her parents for so long, she really should have told them sooner. "I'm sorry, I know I should have told you both, but I couldn't."
"It's alright, I understand." There was a long pause in conversation where they looked at each other now and then, why was the tension back? All of a sudden the air was feeling just as thick as it had before they had resolved their issues. "Regina, there is something I have been keeping from you also."
"There is?" she narrowed her eyes, waiting for her mother's confession, a million thoughts going through her head, what if one of her parents were sick? What if they were losing the house? Or getting a divorce? There were thousands of possibilities, but from her mother's tone it seemed serious and she didn't know how much more serious she could handle, she hadn't even told them about the baby yet. "What is it?"
"I should have told you this a long time ago, I had meant to, it just never felt like the right time, I didn't know what was the right time."
"Am I adopted?" she laughed, trying to joke, then she saw her mother's face drop, "no, I'm not adopted, we look the same."
"You aren't adopted Regina, you're mine and your father's."
"What is it then? Why did you make that face when I mentioned being adopted?" this was really strange, she already knew she wasn't adopted, mainly because she was a rare blood type and when she was younger she'd had an accident and had to have a transfusion, her mother had been the only match.
"Well…" just then there was a loud knock on the door and she saw her mother take a deep breath and close her eyes, "I wanted to tell you this before now, this is exactly what I wanted to avoid."
"Avoid what?" Regina asked nervously, "who's at the door?"
"Regina…"
She stood up and swanned out of the sitting room, heading to the main door, she was going to find out for herself.
"Regina! Stop, don't."
She pulled on the handle and came face to face with a tall red-headed woman with pale blue eyes, "who are you?" Regina asked, recognising her as the woman she had seen in the photograph, so obviously, she was someone friendly with her mother, not that she looked old enough to be, she looked more the same age as herself.
"Zelena Green," she quipped, looking past her to Cora, "Happy Mother's Day mom."
Regina's mouth fell open in complete shock, "what?!" she turned to look from her mother to this complete stranger on the doorstep, mom? She had called her mom, mom? Why was she calling her mother mom? "Would someone please like to explain this to me because I am failing to understand here," Regina stated, one of her hands holding onto the wall for support.
"You must be Regina! Oh my, I have been looking forward to meeting you," the woman smiled, before catching her off guard and pulling her in for a hug. She remained like a statue as this strange person just hugged her a little too tightly for her liking, she cleared her throat and attempted to bring her hand in between them, her main aim being to protect the precious little one that was practically trapped in the middle.
The woman seemed to sense her reluctance and pulled back, turning to Cora, "you haven't told her about me, have you," she scoffed accusingly, casting her a look of annoyance.
"I was just doing it, I told you to come at half four."
"Well I'm sorry, I thought you would have been more prepared, I mean it's not as though you haven't had thirty or so years to tell her," the woman moved into the hallway and Regina turned to stare at her mother.
"What is she talking about? Mother!"
"Regina?" She turned to see Robin coming from the kitchen, passing the woman on his way towards her.
"Who is she mother?! What haven't you told me?!"
"Regina, she's your sister."
"I don't have a sister," she shook her head, backing away from Cora, into Robin, immediately reaching out and grabbing him.
"Oh you see I'm long lost," the woman informed her, "mommy here put me up for adoption."
"You gave up a baby?" Regina asked, not meaning for her voice to come out as accusatory as it had, her hand coming to rest protectively over her own child as she stared at her mother in shock. Her mother had just given her sister away? Was she older or younger? Was she her dad's child? She was guessing not, the new-found family member didn't exactly resemble any of them, Regina, on the other hand, was the spitting image of her parents.
"I wasn't old enough to be a mother, I wasn't ready for it."
Regina shook her head as Robin held her tighter, his one hand joining hers on her stomach. She couldn't actually believe that she had a sibling all this time, all the time she thought she had been an only child she'd had a sister, but she hadn't because that had been taken from her, the chance to grown up with someone and not be so alone had been stolen away by her mother. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? What if I wanted to find her, know her!"
"It was a closed adoption she shouldn't have been able to find me," Cora confessed, looking down, she seemed ashamed and sudden Regina felt guilty for yelling at her. It had probably been a hard decision to give up a child, as a doctor she had seen it happen before, young mother's giving up their babies because they didn't have the right means to support them and decided that the child would be better off with someone who wanted and would give it everything it needed. The thing was her mother had been rich, her family were wealthy, they had enough money to support her and her baby so why had she found the need to give her away?
"How did you find her?" Regina asked, turning to look at this person who was her sister, she supposed there was the slightest resemblance, it was the mouth and the mannerisms, although they had grown up apart, apparently, they still managed to gain the same body language. "She's right, a closed adoption means no tracing, no finding out any information about the birth mother."
The woman looked at the floor and shrugged, seeming almost shy now, "I need some surgery and well, I need a match otherwise…"
"Oh, I see," Regina nodded, knowing that was one exception when they would open the adoption files. "So what? You came for a kidney or something?"
"Precisely."
"But I'm not a match," Cora shook her head.
"No," Regina stated point blankly, realising to what her mother was suggesting, "no. I'm sorry I can't."
"Regina," Cora gasped looking at her in shock, "your sister might die and you're saying no?"
"I don't know her mother, I am not being cut open to give her one of my kidneys." She rejected, that wasn't the reason she wasn't doing it, there was not a chance in hell she was ever going to go along with it, she was a doctor and she knew exactly what would happen.
"Regina…"
"No! I said no!"
"It's fine," the red head nodded, "she's right, she doesn't know me, why should she give me a part of herself?"
"It... it's not that," Regina shook her head, "I promise if I could, I would, but I can't," she looked up at Robin, seeing the anger on his features, knowing exactly what he was thinking and it was the same thing she was, he knew what would happen.
"You do know your sister will die if you don't do this."
"You do know that my baby will die if I do this!" she shouted before she could even stop it, one hand clasping over her mouth as she recoiled from them straight to Robin so that she was pressed tightly against him. "They won't do the surgery on me because I am pregnant, doctors do not remove kidneys from pregnant women." Well, that hadn't been the way she wanted to tell her parents that, but they had provided her with little choice. What was she really supposed to say? She wasn't a heartless bitch who would just let her long lost sister die when she had a chance to save her, she had a major reason why she couldn't.
"How long have you been on dialysis?" Robin asked, his fingers skimming over Regina's arm, whist his other hand was literally glued to her abdomen. She knew he was fiercely protective of both her and their baby.
"Around two years."
"The average life expectancy on dialysis whilst waiting for a kidney is five to ten years," he stated, throwing a glare at Cora, "so don't you dare tell Regina that she is killing her sister by not giving her a kidney, because she isn't, why don't you leave the diagnosis to the real doctors?"
Regina squeezed his arm, this had escalated quickly and she really needed to calm the situation down, "Robin," she whispered, "come with me."
"Regina, you're pregnant?" Her mother and father asked at the same time.
"One of you at a time please, Robin with me, now," she took his hand and lead him upstairs, heading to her childhood room where she closed the door behind them and sat down on her bed. She watched as he paced the length of the room his hands going through his hair. "Robin?"
"Regina, she wanted you to put our baby in danger! Go through something that has an insanely high miscarriage rate!"
"Robin! She didn't know I was pregnant!" she shouted, standing up and placing her hands either side of his face forcing him to look at her, "no doctor in the whole country would do that surgery and you know that! Stop it!"
"Sorry, she drives me crazy," he breathed, "your mother, she just… what is wrong with that woman?"
"I have no idea," Regina sighed, hugging to him, "to think we'd just gotten over one major argument, this might just break us for good."
He brushed a finger through her hair, placing it behind her ear, "she can't just ask you to do something like that, just out of the blue."
"Well, we're blaming mother but what if Zelena…"
"I don't think so Regina, she seemed to understand, your mother on the other hand," he scoffed, shaking his head as he let go of her and moved to sit on the edge of the bed burying his head in his hands. She took a deep breath and moved onto the bed behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist, burying her head against his shoulder, her cheek pressed to his shirt.
"She looked scared," Regina whispered, nuzzling him as she closed her eyes, just holding him tight, his hand came to rub her upper thigh gently, "I think she was worried that she had only just found her daughter and was going to lose her again, she thought I was being selfish in denying her the chance to get to know Zelena, in denying myself that chance."
"Still, doesn't mean she can just use you as a human organ farm, just ask you like that straight away."
"She didn't ask me, Robin," she sighed, dropping her arms from him, "I jumped to conclusions at the way the conversation was going."
"Because that's where it was going!" he snapped, "it's probably the only bloody reason that your mother has made up with you in the first place, so she can use you! It's all she ever does Regina."
"Stop it, Robin," she muttered.
"Come on, try tell me that you don't think that too, that deep down you weren't questioning why she had just made up with you so easily!"
"Robin, stop it!" she yelled, standing up and glaring at him.
"It's bad enough that she is trying to take over your life, but our child's too!"
"Please stop it," she cried. She hated it when he got angry and when they fought, it was a rare occurrence and had been since they had been together. If they had argued, it had only been over small things, little squabbles.
He took a heavy breath, "I'm sorry Gina, I am, hey, come here," he reached out to her and she went to him. God, she was crying again, she was sure that it was the pregnancy hormones because she had never been as emotional before. "I'll be quite now okay, please don't cry," he whispered.
"I have a sister," she breathed.
"Yeah, you do," he chuckled, rubbing her back gently.
"I can't believe it."
"Come on then, let's go meet her, properly shall we? Without all this pressure on you."
"Okay," she smiled, leaning in and kissing his lips gently.
"I'm sorry I made you cry."
"No you didn't," she shook her head, brushing her hair behind her ear, "you didn't make me cry, I'm just… you know…" she rubbed the back of her hand over her face. "I want to go meet my sister."
"Let's go," he pressed his lips to her cheek, before squeezing her hand and pulling her with him. Just as they opened the door, they bumped straight into her mother and father.
"Regina? You're pregnant?" Cora asked, it was clear that tears had been streaming down her face because her cheeks were red and puffy. Regina couldn't remember ever having seen her cry in her life, ever. The truth was, Cora Mills didn't cry.
"Yes," she whispered, "we wanted to tell you, and for it to be a happy time, but that obviously got ruined."
"I'm going to be a grandmother," she stated, a watery smile coming onto her face.
"You're happy?"
"Yes, of course I'm happy," Cora pulled her into her arms. Regina was slightly stunned as she looked over her mother's shoulder to see her father shaking Robin's hand and congratulating him. She hadn't expected her mother to take it so well, she half expected her to be telling her not to keep the baby, so she was over the moon that she was happy.
Once she pulled back her father hugged her also and they all looked at each other, "how far along are you?"
"About eleven weeks," Regina stated awkwardly as they both touched her stomach gently, the look on their faces, however, reassured her and she smiled and shook her head as she put her hands on top of theirs.
"I take it you're happy too," Henry stated.
"Really happy daddy," she smiled, "we both are," she looked at Robin who was stood just behind her, his hands on her shoulders.
"Well, congratulations to you both. And happy Mother's Day to you madam," Henry smiled, stroking his daughters face tenderly, "I can hardly believe that my little girl is going to have a little one of her own."
"I know," she bit down on her bottom lip, "trust me, you are just as surprised as we were by this tiny miracle. Mom, I need to know about Zelena," she stated, her mood returning to its once serious one, "tell me everything before I meet her properly please."
"Okay, I will, I promise."
It turned out her mother had given birth to Zelena at the age of eighteen, she had fallen pregnant and her high school boyfriend had upped and left her, saying that he wasn't going to be any sort of father to the child and that his education had been more important. So he had abandoned her, left her to cope alone. She had decided that there was no way she could get rid of the baby, but as the pregnancy progressed, she found that couldn't do it, she didn't have it in her to be a single parent with no income and no education.
Her parents had also said that they wouldn't support her any longer unless she gave away the child, so she had done the best thing for her child, which had in turn been the hardest thing she had ever done, she had given away her baby as soon as she was born, with the hope that she would have a better life than the one she could offer her.
Cora had also explained this to be the reason she was so protective over Regina because she felt that she needed to prove she could do it, that she could give her child everything they would ever need and more. There had been more crying and Regina felt as though finally she understood, she finally got why her mother had always acted the way she had, why she had pushed her to become her best self.
Now she had to meet her sister and she was nervous, she didn't want to talk about her illness, that was something for another day, something she didn't want to get in the way of the rest of their evening. She stood outside the sitting room and took a deep breath, trying to talk herself up to it. Her mother had told her that Zelena was a high school teacher who taught English, she was five years older and apparently, she wasn't bitter about being given up. She'd had a great child hood with amazing adopted parents who she loved dearly.
Regina straightened her top and her hair, before pulling down on the handle and walking into the room, seeing the woman sat on the couch with a glass of orange juice in her hand. As soon as Regina was in the room she stood up, "hi, sorry about the way we met earlier," she rushed, "I feel absolutely awful about it."
"It's fine," Regina smiled.
"You're my sister."
"Seems that way," she nodded.
Zelena placed the glass down and walked over to her. Regina really didn't know what to do, she wasn't very good with things like this, she wasn't really a people person, especially not with people she didn't know and had only just met. Unless they were patients, but Zelena wasn't a patient, she was the sister she hadn't even know existed until that day. Nevertheless, she decided to walk towards her.
"You are so beautiful," Zelena laughed, looking at her in awe.
"So are you," Regina smiled, letting out a nervous chuckle.
"I can't believe it, I always wanted a sister."
"Me too."
The red head moved closer and took her hands, squeezing them friendly, "we have so much to catch up on."
"Yes, we really do. Mother tells me you're a teacher."
"Yes, but you're a doctor! That's amazing."
Regina bit down on her bottom lip as she looked at this person, this stranger, but it was weird, she didn't feel like they were strangers anymore, not really, it felt like they were closer, like they were a part of one another. "It's so good to meet you," Regina gushed, a sudden wash of emotion flowing over her as she hugged her properly, making up for earlier. Zelena held her back and it was strange, actually, just all of it was a really surreal experience.
"Congratulations by the way on your baby."
"Thank you." She pulled back, "I'm really sorry about…"
"Stop it, let's not bring up that nastiness," Zelena shook her head, "I want to know you and I don't want to talk about horrid things like that. Please."
"Okay."
The rest of the day went really well, Regina and Zelena seemed to just bond straight away, she had been so surprised at how lovely she had been. Mother had been quiet over dinner, mainly because she couldn't get a word in edgeways because of Zelena, which Regina thought was hilarious, because mother hated it when people talked too much over dinner, but clearly, this new addition to the family couldn't care less.
After a happy good bye, Regina was sat quietly in the passenger seat as Robin drove them home; it was dark out, later than they had planned and she had tucked her feet underneath her as she rested her head on the seat, watching Robin as he drove, a lazy smile on her face as she played absently with the tassel of the sweatshirt she was wearing. It was Robin's but he'd left it in the back seat of the car and because she had been cold she put it on.
"What?" he grinned, looking at her quickly before back to the road.
"Nothing, just noting how handsome you were looking tonight."
"Oh, you were?" He chuckled, indicating off the freeway and taking the smaller road which led back to Storybrooke.
"Hmm," she nodded, "thank you for being my rock," she whispered sleepily.
"I think there might have been points where I lost it a little bit."
"Hmm, I suppose, but still Robin, I wouldn't have been able to cope today without you so thank you."
"You're welcome beautiful, I think you did amazing today considering."
"Yes, but all I want to do is go home and go to sleep."
"And that you shall do my Queen."
"Will my King be kind enough to give his Queen a foot rub?" she asked cheekily.
"I'll rub whatever part you want me to," he laughed, turning off down the narrow road which lead to their long driveway.
"Is that a promise?"
"Yes."
She smiled and closed her eyes momentarily, knowing all the little turns off by heart so, therefore, knowing that he was turning onto their drive. Once he parked up she looked at their cottage and released a deep breath of relief, as much as she had enjoyed the day she was happy to be home. He opened her door for her and they walked to the entrance together.
As soon as they pushed open the front door, the tell tale sound of a jingling bell came running down through the hallway and Regina lent down a little, her arms awaiting her cat. Lola jumped into them and nuzzled her lovingly, "hello there my sweetheart," Regina laughed, lifting her up as she purred against her.
"Seems Lola wanted to say happy Mother's Day too." Robin chuckled, locking the front door behind them as they ascended the stairs to get ready for bed.
"Yes she did," Regina smirked as she placed the cat down on their bed and it curled up at the bottom.
Robin came up to her and placed his hands on her hips, caressing them gently, "just think, next year we will be able to celebrate properly," he leant down and lifted her shirt kissing her abdomen, "when this little one will be here with us."
"I can't wait," Regina giggled as he continued to lavish her in little kisses that tickled her stomach. She really couldn't wait for them to hold their baby in their arms and start their life as a family and not just as a couple.
Hi! I hope you liked it. So I was thinking that the next chapter might be flashback based either a year or maybe even two years prior to the current setting. Let me know what you think I should do and if you like that idea or want me to carry on in the present!
Thanks for reading! xoxoxox
