"I may be a witch Mrs. Lucas, but I can assure you I cannot read minds!" Regina said in a clipped tone. She really needed to get back to what she was doing before Roland burst in.
"Oh come on, Regina. I thought you were smarter than that!" Granny snapped, one eyebrow arched knowingly at the seemingly oblivious brunette. But when all Regina did was stare at the woman in wait, Granny impatiently added. "You really think you can hide something like this from a wolf! I can hear the heartbeat!" she deadpanned, and watched in surprise as all the color drained from the younger woman's face.
Regina felt like someone just threw her into a freezing cold lake, and let her drown. The wind was knocked out of her, and she couldn't seem to be able to breathe, or think, let alone speak. Her hand silently fell to her stomach, as she lowered herself onto her chair, her eyes staring vacantly at Granny as she made her way over to the dumbfound mayor.
"You didn't know," she whispered softly, eyeing the discarded box on top of the desk, and all Regina could do was nod. "But you suspected it?" she asked, her eyes moving to the box next to Regina's hand.
Regina's eyes followed Granny's gaze, and she wordlessly reached for the box, allowing for the stick to slide out, gasping softly at the small plus sign that appeared. She was right, her suspicions were correct, the impossible did happen…she was pregnant!
"I….I…." she stuttered, still too shocked to form a comprehensive sentence. She was grateful when the older woman started to rub her arms up and down in an effort to calm her, since she suddenly realized that her entire body was shaking like a leaf caught in the wind.
"It's Robin's?" Granny asked softly, and Regina once more nodded. Still staring at the plus sign, and trying her best not to faint.
"You look more shocked than you did when you saw Marian," Granny pointed out, not entirely sure what to make of the reaction she was getting from the brunette.
"I….I….I didn't think it was possible," Regina just blurted out, almost inaudibly, and Granny's eyebrows shot up her forehead in surprise.
"I'm not quite sure I understand."
"Leopold…..he….uh…he didn't want me to have kids, so that I don't end up having a boy who can take the thrown away from Snow," she stammered, obviously still not quite in full control of her faculties, otherwise she would not be opening up to Granny like that. "And since he didn't exactly believe in abstinence, " she growled, but the pain was not lost on Granny, and she could feel bile rising to her throat, as well as a sense of dread of what Regina will say next. "He cursed me so that I would never have kids," she finished, as a tear now made its way down her cheek.
Granny's heart sank at the last sentence, and her stomach wrenched for the pain the woman before her endured till she snapped. If the King went as far as rob her of her right to have a child, not to mention force himself on her, then she was sure he did many other things to Regina that she was sure the brunette didn't deserve at the time. No wonder she killed the bastard!
"Well, you know better than anyone that love can break any curse, especially a true one," Granny reminded her softly.
Regina scoffed, more tears now falling down her cheeks. "It happened once," she whispered tearfully. "And we never even….."
Granny interrupted her, "you broke a curse without your heart! You don't have to say it out loud, if it's there, it's there!"
"It's just that I …"she took a shaky breath. "I searched for years for a way to break it, and I always came up empty!" she told her.
"That's because you were probably looking for a counter potion, it never occurred to you that the solution was much simpler than that," Granny said.
"I never thought I would feel this way about someone ever again! I didn't want to feel that way about someone again," she ranted.
Granny just nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry I spoke so harshly, but I thought you knew and was still running around with my dear granddaughter looking for that creature," she reprimanded pointedly, and Regina's eyes widened.
"Ruby knows about this?" Regina asked incredulously.
"I don't think so, or at least I hope she's not stupid enough to let you go on that hunt with her with a baby on board," she countered sternly.
"You know about the creature?" Regina wondered.
"That's actually why I came to talk to you, or at least that was one of the reasons I came. But then I got distracted," she quipped, as she looked down at Regina's hand that was still covering her stomach.
"If you didn't know about this before you came, then what's the other reason?" Regina asked.
"Well, like I said. The creature is one, I know that you and Ruby have been running around for the past few weeks chasing it," she started, and Regina nodded. "And I was just coming to tell you to give it a rest, that thing has been around since before either of you were born, and no one has ever been able to see it, let alone catch it," she informed her.
"That's reassuring!" Regina said sarcastically.
"I know, and that's why I came to you. It's powerful, it's dangerous, but if you stay away from it, it won't harm you. So you and Ruby need to stop, especially now," Granny explained.
"I appreciate the concern, but it's came here for a reason, and I can't just sit around and wait for it to make a move, when I know absolutely nothing about it," Regina retorted.
Granny sighed in exacerbation, before she decided to go a different route. After all, Regina was a strong-minded woman, and she doesn't respond well to being told what not to do.
"Listen, I know that you're used to doing things on your own. That it never worked out well for you to trust others, but you don't have to do it anymore. You're not alone, not anymore. You defeated Zelena when you believed in yourself, when you allowed yourself the chance to believe in others as well. I know that it didn't just come here for fun, that it must be up to something, and that waiting around to find out isn't an option. All I'm saying is, let us help. You can't keep running around in circles chasing it, not anymore," she appealed, and as much as Regina hated to admit it, Granny was right. She smiled reassuringly at the still shocked brunette, and was glad when she saw her nod.
"Can you keep this between us? Till I get a chance to tell Henry," Regina asked pleadingly, and Granny nodded.
Regina smiled appreciatively at the older woman. "So what's the other reason you came?"
Henry was supposed to meet Regina at her office that day, she hadn't been feeling all that well lately, and he thought that he could treat her to something nice at Granny's instead of making her cook a meal for the two of them. But he had told her that he was going to spend some time in the library to finish his homework first, that way they can spend the night together however they want. The library had opened its doors again about two weeks ago when Rumpelstiltskin and Belle returned from their honeymoon, and he had been meaning to go talk to his grandfather about something that had been nagging him for a while, he just never had the chance. So in reality, the library excuse was that his mother wouldn't worry if he was late after school. He wasn't going there to finish his homework, not just for that at least. He needed to have a serious talk with his grandfather about something his mother said a very long time ago.
And so, once he got off the bus, he quickly made his way over to the pawn shop, knowing that his grandfather would probably be there. He sighed in relief when he saw the sign said 'open', and he pushed the door open. To his dismay, the store seemed empty. His grandfather wasn't standing behind the counter like he usually does, and despite the fact that the bell over the door chimed, he did not hear the distinctive sound of footsteps coming from the back.
"Grandpa?" he called tentatively, as he stepped inside, and closed the door behind him. He was about to call once more, when the rushed clicking of heels reached his ears, and soon enough, Belle emerged from the back.
"Henry," she exclaimed in surprise. "Is everything alright?" she wondered.
"Yeah," he assured her. "I just wanted to talk to Grandpa," he informed her.
"Oh, well, he's not here. But if you would like to wait, he shouldn't be very long," she told him.
Henry opened his mouth to say something, when another set of footsteps could be heard, followed by the familiar site of his grandfather. "Henry, is everything alright?" he wondered, unknowingly echoing Belle's earlier words.
"Yeah, I just wanted to ask you about something if you don't mind," Henry said hopefully.
"Of course," Rumple immediately answered, his worry not deterred.
"A few weeks back, Mom said something about how she can't have any regrets about what she did back in the Enchanted Forest, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to save me," he started, and Rumple nodded. "That she feels sorry for her actions, but that she can't wish to take them back," he added, and once again Rumple nodded. "And I know that that's not entirely true, she does feel regret, and I know she probably felt it back then as well. So I guess I was just wondering if you knew what she meant by she wouldn't have been able to save me if she did?" he finally asked.
"Well, the only time your mother had to put her feelings aside in order to rescue you, was in Neverland. But I can't say that I know what she meant by that regret comment, I'm afraid," Rumple informed him regretfully. "However," he added, once he saw the disappointed look on the boy's face. "There were four other people with her on that journey, why don't you ask one of them? Maybe they'll know." He suggested, and Henry merely nodded.
"If you want, Belle and I are going to Granny right now for lunch, we can swing by the Sheriff's station and see if Emma or David know anything about it. I'm sure Snow will be there as well, and maybe they can shed some light on your mother's words," he explained, smiling when he saw the renewed excitement in the boy's eyes.
"Sounds good."
The walk to the station was a peaceful one, Rumple had used the time to ask Henry about the year he spent in New York, and intently listened to the boy's excited reciting of that year. He was glad when Henry told him that even though New York was exciting, that he was still glad to be back, and that he wouldn't want it any other way. They stopped outside the station for a bit, when Henry eyed it uncertainly. Rumple, having missed the angry exchange at Snow's apartment, didn't know why Henry was suddenly wary about meeting his grandparents. But since Belle had already heard the story from Snow, quickly explained, along with Henry, what happened that day.
"You still haven't talked to them since that day?" Rumple asked in surprise.
"No, of course I did. But it was tense and awkward, and I still can't seem to let it go because they haven't really admitted they're wrong. They just wanna apologize for saying what they actually had in mind," he grumbled, and Rumple smiled sympathetically at the boy.
"Well, how about we get the answers that you seek this time, and when you are ready, you can go talk to them about that day and try to bury the hatchet?" Rumple suggested, one hand rubbing Henry's shoulder comfortingly.
Henry just nodded at his grandfather, took a deep breath, before he entered the station.
Snow had just arrived at the station with baby Neal, and some lunch food for Emma and David, when she caught sight of her husband and daughter sitting across from each other on a desk, deep in conversation. And since neither of them looked up, she realized that didn't know of her presence just yet. So she decided to stand there for a few moments, and just enjoy the view.
But it seemed that Neal was feeling left out of this bonding moment, and chose that moment to start gurgling, attracting the attention of both his father and his sister. They both wore equally big smiles when they saw mother and son, and immediately abandoned their seats, and made their way over to greet them.
"What are you guys doing here?" Emma asked good heartedly as she hugged her mother.
"Well, I finished early at school, so I figured we can have a late lunch together," Snow explained cheerfully.
"That sounds great," David told her, as they both looked proudly and happily at Emma who was goofily cooing at the baby.
They all looked towards the door when they heard the sounds of footsteps, and were all surprised to see not only Henry, but Belle and Rumple as well.
"Gold!" Emma exclaimed in surprise. "What brings you here?" she asked.
"Good afternoon to you too Sheriff!" Rumple replied sarcastically.
"I asked him to come, I wanted to ask you all something," Henry interrupted, before his mother and grandfather fall back into their banter routine.
"Is everything okay?" Snow wondered, and Henry looked briefly at her, before moving his eyes back to his mother. He once again recounted what his mother told Robin the day he came over to the house, and asked them if they knew what it meant. And judging by how they both became interested in the number of tiles on the walls, they did.
"After Pan took your heart, he lured to what he called 'the tree of regrets'," Snow started the tale, and Rumple nodded.
"The tree feeds on any ounce of regret you have, no matter how buried it is," he explained to a confused looking Henry and Belle.
"We were all caught by it, and no matter how hard we tried to break free, it seemed that it made the vines wrap even tighter around us," Emma picked up where Snow left.
"But then Regina broke free," Snow continued. "She said that despite the fact that she destroyed lives, killed, and even cast a curse, that she doesn't regret any of it," she added.
David snorted, "Surprise, surprise!" he remarked snidely.
"Actually," Emma jumped in to Regina's defense. "She said that she can't regret any of it, because it all led her to Henry," she clarified her mother's statement. "Then she broke free, jammed her hand into Pan's chest, and took your heart back." She finished.
"But the tree captured her as well?" Rumple sought confirmation, to which both women nodded.
"Then I'm afraid our Queen's statement wasn't entirely true," he stated, and they all looked confused.
"You see, if she truly didn't have any regrets, then the tree wouldn't have had any power over her to begin with. That's why my dear father was sashaying in front of it without a care in the world," he explained.
"Then how was she able to break free?" Belle wondered, and Rumple smiled, as he looked Henry in the eyes.
"Because her love for her son trumped any regret she may have. She broke free not because she doesn't regret her actions, but rather because she wasn't going to let that get in the way of saving you. So she pushed them aside, and focused on her love for you. And it worked. No one has ever been able to put their hands inside Pan's chest, it takes some real strength to pull that off," he elaborated.
"Or darkness!" David retorted snidely. He was shocked when the one whose murderous glare nearly incinerated him where he stood was not Henry's, but rather Rumple's!
"Believe me, Dearie, no one is darker than I am. Whatever it is you think Regina had done, I can assure you I have done far worse. But even I can't put my hands inside his chest. It had nothing to do with darkness, and everything to do with love. For at that moment, Regina was not the Evil Queen anymore, but rather a very pissed off mother!" he almost sneered.
So a few pointers to clear a few things up:
I was planning on using the whole barren potion twist they did on the show, but have Leopold be responsible. I actually did like that Regina was the one to drink it since it showed how damaged she was, but it didn't really fit in here that way.
The second thing is Rumple, since I am not going to be using the show's storylines, I wont make him out to be the jerk that he was on the show. Here, he held up his promise to Neal, and is trying to be a better man. So he wont be cunning, and looking to make deals left and right. I know it may seem like OOC for some of you, but I think that if he has no agenda, he can really be a nice man.
Anyways, I do hope this chapters makes it up for the long wait, but if it makes you feel better, I've been completely blocked with my other story, that I haven't updated in about six months! But I have to admit that with my other OUAT stories, I usually finished them in six months, so this is a first for me, for a story to last a whole year.
For those of you who are still baring with me, thank you very much, and I do hope you enjoy reading this. Let me know what you think of it. The more reviews I get, the more motivated I am to write and update faster.
Please excuse any mistakes, I will re-read this tomorrow morning, and correct any errors.