Familial Ties

AN: Warning for some serious issues foreshadowed (but is it still really foreshadowing when hinting at the past? lol) And thank you so much for all those who followed, favored, and reviewed, as you really made my week, which is why I was bad about hmwk and got this out before Sat :-)

Chapter 2

Regina woke in unfamiliar surroundings. She was first clued in to this fact due to the thin plastic mattress, and the even thinner, scratchy sheets that were pinning her to that mattress. It was very different from the pillow top queen bed and luxurious satin sheets that were in the master bedroom at home. The smells were the next thing that she noticed and were nearly overwhelming. A harsh smell of cleaning products over a lingering odor of illness was mingled with the smell of over boiled cabbage. She wrinkled her nose and opened her eyes to see what hell hole she had landed in. She first saw a blinding fluorescent overhead light. She blinked away the spots that seared onto her retinas, and when her eyes finally cleared she gazed around more. She saw and then felt the needle that was in the back of her hand, and she followed the tubing up to see it connected to a hanging bag of clear fluid. Looking down, she cringed at her attire. The flimsy cotton gown that tied in the back was demeaning, and she pondered for a moment wondering who had changed her. She scowled, thinking that they better not have cut the designer dress she remembered wearing earlier. She saw a device near her hand, but she assumed if she pushed that button for help, most hearing it would just cross their fingers and pray for the Evil Queen's demise.

As her eyes focused in front of her, she saw where the horrible food smell was coming from – a tray of bland looking congealing masses sat on the small wheeled table beside her bed. She mused that not even she was that cruel to feed this slop to those in her dungeon. Not wanting to even try and figure out what was on the tray, but feeling hungry, Regina grabbed the roll. She ripped off a small piece and tentatively placed it in her mouth. She was surprised at how soft the roll was until she thought of those in the hospital who could only now gum their food. Finishing the roll, she looked to the one redeeming item on the tray - a small cup of juice, and she smiled seeing that it was apple. She planned to drink it like she was taught during her afternoon teas with her mother, but she was too parched to sip it slowly like a lady. Regina heard someone at the doorway clear their throat and she glanced up to see Emma Swan.

Emma gave a small smile, "Uh…hi." She shifted slightly on her feet and nervously shoved her hands into her jean pockets. "How are you feeling?"

Regina placed the glass back down and folded her arms over her chest. Not having her usual impeccably picked out armor, this at least gave her a little feel of protection; even though a small part of her wondered if she really needed protected from the woman in front of her, but it was too ingrained in her not to be cautious anymore. "Are you going to come in? Or are you just planning on exchanging pleasantries from the doorway?"

Emma walked across the room, sat down, and tried to figure out how to talk to Regina about what was going on.

Regina watched as the blond nibbled on her bottom lip, wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans, and shifted in her seat, all while remaining mute. She decided to put Emma, and in turn herself, out of their misery. At least she was nicer about it than she would have been to others in the past. It now just involved a verbal lashing, and not the semi-quick, not too painless death that might have even included a physical lashing beforehand. "So how did I end up here?"

Glad for at least somewhere to start, Emma answered, "you passed out."

Not liking the explanation Regina countered, "No, I momentarily lost consciousness."

"How is that any better?" Emma wryly shook her head.

Regina oddly for once didn't have her usually great comeback as her brain was still a little muzzled from sleep, so she was left with the tried and true method of belittling the woman's intelligence. "Anything is better with a higher than one-syllable vocabulary, dear."

"Yea, well…tough….I like passed out." Emma mentally counted in her head and realized that they were still all one syllable words, Crap. She saw the smirk on the brunette's face and knew Regina had done the same, Double Crap. She wondered how it was that even when on the same eye level from her seated position, Regina still managed to make it seem like she was looking down at you and about to squash you under foot like a bug.

Regina could see that Emma was holding back something, and getting annoyed with their usual banter, she finally puts her foot down, "Out with it, Miss Swan."

Not wanting to jump right in yell 'Surprise, you're pregnant,' Emma decided for some tack, or what counted as tack for her. "Is there a new man in your life?"

"The only man in my life is Hen…was Henry?" Regina swallowed back her emotions at that statement, and hid the hurt behind her sarcasm, "Why the sudden interest in my love life Miss Swan, thinking of batting for the other team?" She raised an eyebrow in question.

Emma quipped back as it was easier than just telling Regina the truth, "Oh if I planned on doing that, you'd know it." She mentally smacked herself in the forehead as she couldn't believe she just implied what she did, and hoped against hope that Regina didn't catch it.

"Who's to say you're in my league, Dear," Regina said as she ran a suggestive look down the blonde's body in order to throw the other women off. Silence descended on the pair, and they just stared at each other for a few minutes before she threw out in an annoyed tone, "Enough Miss Swan, why did you ask?" She could feel her heart rate increasing as she knew that Emma would only be asking for a reason, and since it was the first thing she said when Regina opened her eyes, other than annoying pleasantries, she knew it was important.

Knowing there was no easy way to say it, Emma cringed and just spit it out, "You're pregnant." At least it lacked the 'Surprise,' in the telling, but looking at Regina's face she knew that it was very much a surprise.

The words pierced into her brain, and Regina froze wondering how this was possible. While she understood how a child was created, there was no time period, at least that she could remember where that could have happened. She almost wished there would have been a drunken night in her recent past so she could write this down as the cause and so it would all somehow make sense; if not understandable for her usual behavior, at least it would help her know something other than the horrible gap in her life. Thinking of her usual behavior, especially from her life previously in the Enchanted Forest, she feared what could have happened over there. Her breath started coming out in shorter gasps as she pondered the situation. What did she do? Did she do something unthinkable for wanting a child in her life again? She had ruined one child thirty years ago from that desire…Would losing Henry, or even just returning to her old haunts cause her to revert to old ways? She was hyperventilating thinking of all the possibilities in the unknown year, and wanting to get away from the worried gaze of the woman next to her, she raised her closed right hand in front of her and tried to do a two part spell…tried being the operative word.

Emma was startled when the scared woman blinked out of existence in front of her. She berated herself for not seeing that coming. She wondered where Regina might have run to - her house being the first place she would look, the mayor's office second - when a commotion pulled her thoughts away from any other possible hiding places. Hearing a racket outside the tiny room, Emma hurried to the door to see what was going on. There across the brightly lit white corridor was a nearly frantic Regina.

This was the second time in as many hours that Regina had trouble with her magic. She landed outside her hospital room…far away from her bedroom at home where she had hoped to barricade herself from the public eye, and fall apart in private. At least the part of her spell to change out of the horrible hospital gown worked as she found herself in a pair of black slacks, a red silk shirt, and her usual tall black heels. The latter did nothing to help, as the magic seemed to drain her like never before, and she stumbled into a nearby tray of medical equipment and knocked it down to the ground around her. She cringed as it clattered to the floor, and all eyes in the hallway turned to look at the fallen queen. She was severely out of breath, and had a strong urge to lose the little she had eaten from what the hospital had termed lunch. She wanted to get up, to run away, but she knew she couldn't run from this truth…just from the people who looked at her like she was still the Evil Queen, and maybe she was. She was starting to understand a bit more about the helplessness she had made the entire town feel when they had no clue who they were. She didn't like these thoughts and feelings at all: the added guilt, or the unknown. Her thoughts were pulled back when she saw Emma come out of the room across the hall, and even though she hated needing the help, Regina was grateful to see the blond hurry over to help… no one else was.

Emma approached slowly, as if fearing the cornered animal might bite the hand that tried to help, bolt for safety, or a combination thereof. But as soon as she helped the woman stand and walk back toward her hospital room, Emma knew she was just happy to be led away from the prying eyes. Emma was worried about the amount of support she had to provide as the two shuffled back into the small room. She helped Regina back to the bed and tried to say something witty to make the brunette smile, or at least pull her away from the bleak thoughts that she could see were eating the woman up. "Well, this kid likes you doing magic about as much as Henry does…um, did? Man this is confusing…well at least I know you can't up and leave in the middle of a conversation for a while." From the glare she was now receiving, Emma knew it wasn't the best thing to say, but it did get Regina out of her own head for the moment; however, she watched as Regina almost literally erected a wall between the two of them. Emma tossed her hands up in surrender and turned around to go back to her chair, "okay, I was wrong."

Regina all but snarled like the caged animal Emma had compared her too earlier. "What does that mean?"

Emma gestured toward Regina with her right hand, "what you just did…that mask you throw on in order to try and protect yourself when you don't like how a conversation is going."

The pair just sat in silence again, and this time it was not the comfortable silence like it was earlier before Emma had dropped the bombshell on Regina. Regina just kept picking imaginary lint off of the sheet, and every once in a while she would gaze around the room as if to look for the nearest escape route. Emma wondered if she said too much, too abruptly. She worried how to salvage the situation, but luckily she was saved from having to do all the work as a light knock came at the open doorway. They both looked over at the noise, and saw a smiling doctor, "Hello, I'm Dr. Rosemary Parsons."

Regina saw the doctor and gave a light smile remembering the older woman. The doctor was one of the few people she had respected in the Enchanted Forest before she had cast the curse; therefore when she keyed her thoughts to changing everyone else, she had tried to spare Rosemary as much as possible. Regina was glad to see that her name and profession hadn't changed, even though her once jet black hair had grayed slightly at the temples since they had first met.

Dr. Parsons walked toward her patient and asked gently, "Did Emma inform you why you are here?" Seeing the pained look on the blonde's face, and the nervous one on Regina's as she asked the question, Rosemary had her answered, but she still waited for the small nod from the brunette before she went on. "I've been assigned as your doctor, Regina, as this pregnancy is high risk…You haven't been taking care of yourself." Rosemary watched as her patient cringed at the word pregnancy, and she worried how Regina would handle all of this.

Regina closed her eyes briefly and then locked eyes with the doctor, "there's more to that assessment than just diet isn't there Rosemary?" She asked, sadly remembered the time she had known her before in the Enchanted Forest.

The doctor also found herself remembering that harrowing time, and so didn't even realize the honorific she gave to the woman sitting in the bed, "Yes, your Majesty."

Regina just nodded. Too stunned with her past and future to be able to do much more.

Emma listened to the conversation for a few and then sat up straighter as she all but saw the tension that draped over the room. She looked between the two, and at their serious expressions she stated, "Why do I have the feeling I'm missing something here?"

Regina just turned her guarded gaze on the blond. "How very astute of you, Miss Swan."

Emma tried to continue, and ask what was going on, but the harsh word, "Enough!" stopped her. It was definitely a royal command.