Author's note: I don't have much to say about last weeks episode other than I wanted to see Robin put Regina's heart back. I mean, come on!
Anyways, lots of Enchanted Forest in this chapter because this is more of a filler, I didn't want you guys to wait until after the finale because that's when I can finally figure out how I'm going to do this whole curse thingy (and if I'm even going to do the curse).
Oh and the Enchanted Forest has the same months as our world, so just roll with it ;)
Just to clarify: two moths have passed in the EF since last chapter.
...
~ The Enchanted Forest, Past. ~
"So," Robin smiled as he drew invisible patterns on Regina's bare arm that was splayed across his naked chest. "Are you almost finished gathering all the ingredients for the Dark Curse?" He asked softly and placed a kiss on the woman's shoulder.
Regina surpressed a giggle when the skin of his lips tickled the sensitive caramel skin there. "Almost." She sighed and moved her body so that her chin was resting on his chest, that way she could look into his sparkling blue eyes. "We still have some things left, I guess it will take another month or so. Traveling to get the ingredients takes up most of our time."
"Don't you have magic? You know, to 'poof' your way around the Enchanted Forest?" He asked softly and moved his arm so his hand was flat on her lower back, just above the naked curve of her behind. Regina was now mostly laying on top of him, and it felt amazing.
"Yes, that would be a possibility." Regina smiled. "But, seeing that most things we need to acquire for the Curse are protected by magic, that wouldn't work. For all I know we could appear in the middle of the Infinite Forest, and even your knowledge of woods wouldn't help in there."
She cocked her head slowly when she saw something else appear in his eyes. It almost looked like- like a mix of relief and disappointment. Why would Robin be relieved?
"Is something the matter, dear?"
He looked surprised by the question, but quickly covered it up. "No, it's just that- I just want it to be quick so that I won't change my mind."
Regina furrowed her eyebrows in thought as she lifted her head so she could look at him more fully. "Change your mind about what?"
"I don't know, whether I want to leave I guess." He smiled somberly. "I want to go, really. I want to go because it's safer for Roland- and for you. I want to go because I know I would never want to live without you again, Regina. But there is also a small piece of me that hates the thought of leaving the Enchanted Forest. Because it has always been my home, Roland's home." He bit his bottom lip, afraid he had hurt Regina's feeling somehow by confessing that he wasn't a hundred precent behind the idea of leaving, but the soft and gentle smile that curved Regina's beautiful, full lips told him another story.
Regina placed both her hands flat on his hard chest and she softly pushed herself up higher so she could place a soft kiss on his lips. "I understand."
"You do?"
"Of course I do." She smiled softly. "I felt exactly the same way when I first arrived in Storybrooke. I was somewhat missing the Enchanted Forest, because it has always been my home. But I was also so glad that I had left, because the things that had happened here- just being here in this castle brought back bad memories every day. But in Storybrooke I could simply forget. Move on from here and it became my new home. I didn't miss this place because of all the power I had, I missed it because of all the good memories, like riding horses and drinking tea with my father." Regina let out a quiet chuckle. "I guess, what I'm trying to say is that; I understand, and I wouldn't be mad or dissapointed in you just because you're not a hundred percent sure whether or not you want to go."
Robin looked at the woman as pure love filled his heart. "I love you." He said softly before even realizing that it was the first time those words were said between them.
Tears filled her eyes just as fast as happiness and warmth filled her stomach. She hadn't heard those words from someone other then Henry since Daniel.
Her response was almost automatic as she didn't even feel the need to think about it.
"I love you too."
...
One week later...
She had no idea why the Charmings of all people wanted to speak to her. But still, Regina was walking towards the door that let to the council room. In a slower pace than usual, might she add.
She had been feeling terrible all week long, and even now, her vision was spinning and she even had to reach out a hand towards the stone walls to keep herself from crumbling to the god damn floor a couple of times. But she couldn't let the royals wait, that would be so unladylike.
Ugh...
Cold sweat was adorning her back and the tight corset she was wearing was digging painfully in her breasts. Which had been more sensitive then normal.
Damn the gods for making her come down with a fever. Now was definitely not the right time for such... human things.
Finally, the big wooden door that was encraved with a shield - which was still painted black, to Regina's amusement - was in front of her.
Taking a moment to make sure the contents of her stomach would remain a mystery to both Snow and her prince, Regina opened it and stepped inside the council chamber.
"Regina." Snow greeted with that sickly innocent smile on her face, but the smile quickly turned into an expression of worry.
Double ugh...
"Are you okay, Regina?"
"Yes, I'm fine Snow, why don't you worry about the problem at hand?" Regina lied through her teeth, letting out a quiet sigh as she lowered herself into one of the uncomfortably hard wooden chairs. At least sitting was better than standing or walking.
Snow softly shook her head with a look of irritation. "Alright."
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Regina questioned as she placed a hand on her stomach, hoping it would stop the constant turning and twisting it was doing. "More simpleminded questions you could easily answer yourselves?"
"How do we gather the tear of a red spotted viper?" Charming questioned as he chose to occupy the seat next to his wife.
Regina rolled her eyes as she moved to sit back, but quickly decided against it when her stomach made a particularly nasty twist causing the burning bile to rise that much higher. "Like I said: simpleminded." She snapped and the hand that had been resting on her stomach formed a fist, taking some of the black silky fabric of her dress in their wake. "You make it cry of course. Maybe show it some of your sword fighting skills and it will laugh so hard those tears will come easily." She smirked at the prince.
"That's enough, Regina." Snow snapped and she placed both her hands on the table.
Regina stared at her and anger filled her chest. Did Snow White just- oh she did! "I am not some child, Snow." She uttered in a deadly silent tone. "You do not get to scold me as if I am!"
She knew Snow had to be put back in her place, but Regina still wished she hadn't, because before she knew it, she was jumping off her chair and running towards the closest flowerpot, only to drop down in front of it as the sickness finally got ahold of her.
Snow, as sickly kind as she was, was behind her in an instant, rubbing her back holding back the long hair Regina had been stupid enough to let mostly loose. Her back shook as she heaved up the small amount of breakfast she had eaten just a few hours earlier. Her throat burned and tears pricked behind her eyes when Regina finally leaned back, looking at the flowerpot in disgust. The shame that she felt didn't color her cheeks and Regina used the back of her hand to wipe away the cold sweat that had formulated on her eyebrows.
"Shall I call for Doc?" Snow asked with concern as she looked at the ghostly pale woman. Regina shook her head as she reached out for the wall, trying to get back on her feet even though her stomach harshly protested. Being on her knees in front of Snow White wasn't something she'd ever wanted to do.
Maybe Snow shouldn't have, but she still shot a quick look towards her husband, who quickly grabbed ahold of the brunette's arm and helped her back up.
"No, I just need to get back to my bedchamber." Regina said in a croaked voice as she tried to keep the shame from her voice. She was unstable on her four inch heels, but still managed to get out off Charming's hold and move towards the door.
Like hell she would ask someone to help her do something as easy as walking.
And so she stumbled throughout the hallway, hoping no one would see her in this state; too sick to even properly walk.
Like she'd said: damn the gods.
...
~ Storybrooke, Present. ~
"You really want to come home with Robin and me?" Regina asked in slight surprise but also hope. She couldn't really understand why Henry wanted to come home with her. Sure, she was his mother but now she was also the mother of a five year old boy and an unborn baby. In her mind she'd always thought that if Henry got his memories back he would remain living with Emma.
Apparently she was wrong. And she couldn't be happier about that fact.
"Yeah mom." Henry smiled. "I want to meet my little brother- well I already met him but not as a brother, you know."
Regina's eyes filled with tears as she stepped away from Robin and instead wrapped her arms around the now only slightly smaller boy.
"Mom? Are you crying?" Henry asked in surprise when he felt his shirt becoming damp by her tears. He'd never seen his mother cry, so this came as somewhat of a shock. Henry was sure he'd missed way more then his mother was letting on.
"Hormones." She said with a teary chuckle and pulled back to push some of his hair back and behind his ear.
"Let's go home then." Robin spoke up from behind them and put an arm around both mother and son.
...
"Roland, we have a surprise for you sweetheart." Regina's warm voice echoed throughout the house and immediately after the words were said, a soft tapping noise of little feet on wood could be heard.
"Is it my little sister?!" Roland yelled in excitement as he ran towards them from the living room, followed by a smiling Tinkerbell.
Roland's smile fell however when he noticed his mother was still as big as she was when she left this morning. "No sister?"
"No, honey." Regina smiled softly and bent down as far as she could to place a kiss on his head. "No sister yet."
"Thank you for stepping in so quickly, Tink." Robin thanked the fairy.
"Sure no problem, you know how much I love babysitting this little man." The blonde smiled as she turned around to grab her coat from the hanger. "I must be going though, Blue said she needed me for something."
"Of course, thank you Tink." Regina smiled and embraced her friend.
The moment the door closed Roland started talking again. "Well then, what is the surprise?!"
"Well, because we couldn't get you a baby sister yet, we instead got you a big brother." Robin smiled and stepped aside to reveal the grinning teenager.
"Hi Roland." Henry smiled and crouched down in front of the boy who wore a beaming grin on his face.
"You're my brother?!"
Henry chuckled and sneaked a quick glance at his mom and Robin. Robin had one arm around his mother and his hand was on her stomach, both he and his mother were smiling down at them with joy.
"Yeah, I guess I am."
...
~ The Enchanted Forest, Past. ~
Another week had passed without any improvement in her condition. The only thing that helped Regina through this... - whatever the hell it was, though her bet was on food poisoning, because truly, one could only stomach that much chimera meat - were Robin and Roland. The latter being in her bedchamber again to tell her a story.
He was such a good boy.
"... And then daddy screamed really hard because the snake bit him." Roland giggled and he buried his head further into her chest - something Regina had first objected to because she didn't want the boy to get sick too, but Robin had just smiled at her, telling her Roland was somewhat immume to simple fevers -. "It sounded really funny."
"How come?" Regina asked with a smile as she tried to swallowe the constant nausea she was feeling.
"It sounded like a little giwl!" He chuckled.
"It did not, it sounded very manly!" Robin said in shock as he dropped down on the large bed, next to the woman and boy.
"No, it did not daddy!" Roland chuckled and lifted his head from Regina's neck to stick out his tongue towards the man.
"Oh, is that right?" Robin asked with a grin. "You would betray your own father like that, what about the cool present I promised you for your birthday? Don't you want that anymore?"
Roland giggled. "Silly daddy! I like 'Gina, she wouldn't tell anyone else!" He poked out his bottom lip. "Can I still have my big boy arrows, daddy?"
"Mhmm. Alright then." Robin smiled and kissed the boy on his forehead.
"And when is your birthday, Roland?" Regina asked with a smile.
"In two weeks!" He smiled and held up two fingers. "The first day of October!"
Regina's eyes turned as wide as saucers. October? That meant it was already September.
And that meant- god she didn't want to think about what that meant.
"I need to go." Regina said quickly as she got out off bed and snapped her fingers to dress herself in a dark gown. "I'll be right back."
And then she stormed out off her bedchamber, leaving behind two very confused boys.
She hoped she still had the ingredients for the potion.
She needed to find out if she was pregnant...
...
~ Storybrooke, Present. ~
"Robin, can I talk to you for a moment?" Henry asked the man who was standing in front of the sink, doing the dishes. After dinner Roland and his mother had decided to watch some cartoons in the living room, claiming that it was Robin's turn to do the dishes, and when the man had objected saying he had to do it yesterday too, his mother had told him that she was the one who was carrying his child. Nothing was said after that, only an annoyed grunt coming from the man and a victorious grin forming on his mother's face.
"Sure, is here good?" Robin asked with a smile as he pulled his hands back from the sink and dried the on the towel.
Henry nodded and leaned his back against the kitchen counter. "You love my mom, right?" He decided to just go for it. He needed this reassurance and it would be no use to go around it. That was what his mother always told him.
Robin could easily guess where this was heading, and to be honest he found it the most adorable thing he'd ever seen, even though Henry was already a teenager. "Yes I do." He said softly, feigning a slight confusion. He would allow Henry this moment.
"And you love my sister?"
Robin nodded. "Yes I love your mother and your sister more that you would ever now."
"Good." Henry said as he narrowed his eyes, trying to look at least a little intimidating to the taller man. "And you're not going to hurt my mom?"
Robin shook his head and looked serious. "No, I will never deliberately hurt her."
"Well that's good, because if you do, I know how to use a sword. Prince Charming himself taught me." And then the boy turned around, leaving behind a smiling Robin Hood.
...
~ The Enchanted Forest, Past. ~
Thank the gods for finally turning luck to her side. The spell was fairly easy and it didn't require much. It didn't take Regina long before making the potion and before she knew it, she was standing in the kitchens, looking around for a knife sharp enough that would do the trick.
"Finally." Regina muttered under her breath and smiled softly as she held up the knife. The blade was long and thin but more importantly, sharp. Exactly what she needed.
She placed the flask filled with the dark red potion on the counter and closed her eyes for a moment, fighting the oncoming nausea. She was praying to god she wasn't pregnant, because she just couldn't- it would hurt too much after Henry. It felt like she was replacing him. But somewhere, hidden deep in her mind, there was also hope that she was pregnant, that she would become a mother again. And maybe she shouldn't feel so guilty because it wasn't as if Henry would ever know, right?
She placed the knife on the inside of her forearm. This spell required blood, and quite a lot of it. A simple prick in the finger wouldn't be enough. It didn't hurt as much as she thought it would, and she let out a relieved breath when the thick droplets of blood rolled down her arm, then her hand and then her finger, falling into the flask with a constant dripping sound.
"Oh my god, Regina!" Snow shrieked in horror as she stared at her former stepmother. "What the hell are you doing?!"
Regina sighed loudly and moved her hand over the cut, healing it with a simple glow of her fingertips. Of course Snow White would choose exactly this moment to come barging into the kitchens. "Nothing that concerns you, Snow." She snapped and grabbed the rag next to her to clean the blood from her now again unblemished skin.
"Nothing that concerns me?! I just saw you almost bleeding out!"
"Oh calm down, princess. It wasn't that much blood." Regina said and turned her back towards the younger brunette. She picked up the flask and softly shook it, making sure the blood thoroughly mixed with the potion. And now she needed to wait, just wait until the potion turned either black; which signaled that she wasn't pregnant, or light red; which signaled that she was.
To be honest it wasn't that much different from a pregnancy test back in Storybrooke. Other then the magic... and the blood.
Alright, it was very different.
"What kind of evil magic are you doing, Regina?" Snow questioned suspiciously as she had finally managed to calm herself down.
"I can assure you, Snow. It's certainly not evil." Regina said and her gaze remained concentrated on the flask. Waiting on the smallest hint of black that could have her heart sing with relief.
"It's your magic, Regina. That can't be good." The princess stepped closer and sneaked a glance over towards the suspicious flask.
Regina didn't react, instead her eyes widened as she felt fear, joy and pain fill her heart all at once. The potion was turning light red. "This can't be." She started to say, repeating the words again and again until she finally grabbed the flask and hurled it towards the stone wall, the glass breaking and raining down onto the cobblestones. The light red liquid dripped down the wall and leaked onto the floor.
"Regina!" Snow yelled out in surprise as she stared at the woman who was now trembling with fear.
"This can't be!" The brunette screamed again and placed both her hands on the counter, bowing her head and sucking in deep breaths to calm her twisting stomach.
"What can't be? Regina what is happening?!" Snow asked in frustration as she rounded the cooking island so she could look at the woman's from instead of her back. "Tell me now or I'll-" The princess furrowed her brows in confusion when she watched how the salty tears rolled down Regina's unusually pale cheeks and landed on the wooden surface.
"I can't do this." Regina sobbed out and clenched her hands. "This can't be happening to me, I can't do this to Henry!" Her face scrunched as she leaned her head further down. "Oh my little baby boy, please forgive me." She whimpered in a soft voice and Snow had to strain to catch the words.
"Regina." She said softly and reached out a hand to place it on top of Regina's. To her surprise the Queen didn't pull hers away immediately. "Why would Henry need to forgive you?"
"I'm pregnant." Regina sobbed silently. Saying the words aloud and to Snow of all people made it so much more real, so much more confusing. She really didn't know how she was supposed to feel about this pregnancy. She was happy, of course she was. But it felt like she was betraying Henry in some strange way.
"But Regina, that's wonderful." Snow said with a smile as she squeezed the brunette's hand.
"I don't know if it is, Snow."
...
She'd left the princess the moment those words were out. Running back to her chamber before she could even think about who were still sitting there.
Robin and Roland.
She knew she had to tell Robin about the baby, and what better time then the present? A thing her mother used to say. The only piece of advice from Cora that was actually useful.
"Regina." He said with a smile but it dropped immidiately when he saw the state his lover was in. She was ghostly pale and her eyes were empty and a dull brown instead of their usual sparkling brown.
"Where is Roland?" She asked softly and chose to sit down on her bed, next to Robin.
"He fell asleep so I brought him to his room."
Only now did Regina realize how much time there had actually passed. "Oh, alright."
Robin furrowed his brows in confusion and closely looked the woman up and down. "Something is bothering you." He said softly and carefully moved his hand to her softly shaking shoulder. "Will you tell me?"
Her brown eyes looked up and she met his blue ones. The love that shone in those sparkling orbs were enough to convince her that he wouldn't run if she told him. That he would maybe even be happy. Just maybe.
"I'm pregnant." She said solemnly and looked at him anxiously.
But the brilliant smile that curled his lips was enough to tell him that he was happy. And for the first time since finding out she was pregnant, Regina allowed herself a smile too.
...
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