Three weeks later, there was still not a day Regina didn't think about Robin. There was not a morning she didn't miss his presence next to her, warmth of his body next to hers. Three weeks later, she still had morning sickness. Three weeks later, many things changed, and she wouldn't believe that the only thing that would explain everything is happening. She couldn't be.
"Mom… Are you okay?" Henry asked, walking into the bathroom and finding her once again bent over the toilet. He assumed what was happening, but she wouldn't talk about it.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Don't worry. Aren't you late for your meeting with Emma or something?" she asked, trying to avoid the theme. She knew Henry was worried about her, but with every word, he alluded on something she didn't want to talk about. So she gave her best to talk about everything except the only thing Henry was really interested in.
"You know…" he came closer, handing her over the red towel "…there is one thing that could explain these morning sicknesses… And that thing is called pregnancy." He finished quickly, before she managed to interrupt him.
"And you are still late." Regina replied, taking the towel and staring at him. "You don't want to piss Emma off. Go. And hurry up." She said, standing up and showing him the way out of the bathroom with a smile. "And I love you. You know that."
"I know. I love you too. But this is not the way to solve…" Henry tried to finish his line, but Regina interrupted him with success this time.
"I know. It's nothing. I'm not… Pregnant." It took her a bit time to say the word. She didn't want to be pregnant. Not because she didn't want the child, she wanted it, she adopted Henry because she wanted one, but the fact Robin left, the fact that child would have only her frightened her. She did a good job with Henry, but with a help of many people. She didn't want to make same mistakes. And it's been a long time… And she just couldn't imagine it. But she knew it was possible. She knew it was easily possible. She did one test. And it was positive. But tests could be wrong, right?
"Regina! Regina!" she heard a very familiar voice calling her name, shouting her name. Emma was probably there for Henry. He was already late.
"I told you to go and hurry up." Regina said silently to Henry, running downstairs to see Emma, pale in face, with her hands shaking. "What… Are you okay? What happened?" she asked, walking to her and pulling her to sit at the couch. She never looked like that before. She was scared, in shock…
"Can you… Can you look outside the window?" she asked, with her voice trembling the whole time.
Regina raised her eyebrows in a surprise. If there wasn't an airplane parked in front of her house, what could be so scary to make Emma like this?
She stood up, moving the curtains to the side, when her heart stopped. She could feel her knees becoming weaker and she tried to blink a few times, like it was gonna make everything disappear from her sight. But it didn't. Everything stayed just the same. Bunch of people, bunch of people she killed, she tortured, were standing in front of her house. And they weren't ghosts. They weren't flying, she couldn't see through them. They were all standing on the ground, holding rocks, sticks, calling her name the moment they saw her on the window.
"This can't be… This isn't possible… They are… Dead." She tried to pronounce, but her voice seemed even more shaken than Emma's just a few moments ago.
"I met… I met Neal. And Peter Pan. They are alive, Regina. They are all alive. Each of them. They are all back." She leaned into the couch, sighing loudly. Everyone was back. Dead people were walking again.
"D... Daniel…" Regina stammered, seeing the one person she never thought she would see again. Seeing one person she loved the most, she cried for the most, seeing one person, after whose death she became what she never thought she would be. She saw her first love. Without thinking even a second, she ran out of the house, followed with Emma's screams not to come out. "Daniel!" she called his name, seeing the familiar face in the crowd.
The stable boy turned around and his lips widened into a huge smile. It didn't take him even a second to run towards his reason of return, towards his one and only love. "Regina!" he pronounced silently, pulling her into a tight embrace, feeling his heart beating faster than ever. It's been a long time since their last meeting. Or at least since their last meeting he was aware of. Since the day he died. "Oh, God, I've missed you so much." He said, squeezing her so hard, she could barely breathe.
"I missed you too." She said, for the first time in three weeks feeling actual happiness. She pulled away slowly, forgetting about all the people standing around them, forgetting about everything that has happened in the couple of years while he was away. It felt like they were in that stable again, like they were young and innocent. But that feeling didn't last for so long.
"She killed me!" she could hear someone's scream. And then other one came. And one more. And more voices started appearing. And more people started coming to her, surrounding her and Daniel.
She couldn't be more confused. She couldn't be more scared. She couldn't be happier. She made a few steps back, not knowing what else to do. These people didn't look like they wanted to welcome the person that killed them or tortured them once. They looked more like people who were looking for a revenge, like people who wanted to kill the one who killed them. She pulled Daniel with her, running into the house and locking the door the moment they came in.
"I need help, Emma." She said, looking at the blonde who was staring at Daniel confused. "Help me protect this house. Henry is upstairs."
"Actually, I'm here, mom" She heard a voice from behind, and then steps of her son.
"M… Mom?" Daniel asked, a bit in shock. He knew Regina kept living her life after he died, but the last thing he expected for her is to have a child. He remembered the days he dreamed of the child they would have on their own. He remembered that day when she asked him to run with her. To leave everything behind. When she offered him happiness, away from everything, away from everyone.
"Yes… This is my son, Henry. Henry, Daniel." She said, introducing the two and after a moment casting a spell with Emma. That should be enough to keep them away for a while.
"Daniel… Daniel – Daniel?" Henry asked, confused. Daniel his mother told him about? The one her mother killed in front of her? Daniel – her first love?
"I haven't heard a lot about you, since I revived half an hour ago." Daniel smiled, offering a hand to the kid that could have been his.
"It's… Nice to meet you." Henry stammered.
There was too much stammering lately. Too many unexpected things, people, feelings, memories.
"Daniel… I know this is definitely not the right moment, but you can't be in bigger shock than you are already. Than all of you are. But, I have to tell you something…" she looked at all three of them, taking a second to find courage in her heart to pronounce what she has been afraid of for last three weeks. "I am pregnant. Or at least I think I am. The test was positive and I…" that was all she wanted to say really. Daniel, the most of all, had to know it. She didn't know why she felt like she had the responsibility to let him know that happened. Because of everything that happened in the past, she guessed. And it was easier if she told it like this, to everyone at once, or at least to everyone she wanted to tell about it.
Daniel raised his eyebrows in a surprise, in shock. It was all maybe too much for him. Did she have a husband now? He couldn't expect her to wait for him her whole life when he died a long time ago, of course, but this was something… He was just hoping she still loved him, she still felt something for him. "Are you… Are you married?" he asked, hoping he will get a negative answer.
That was not the reaction Regina expected, but somewhere deep down, she found it cute because she knew how it felt. "The father of this child is… Gone." She saw the look Daniel gave her, so she explained a bit better, tho not too detailed. "He left the town. And once you leave this town you can't come back. So he is gone for all times and all I have from him, all I will ever have from him is… This." She made a circular move on her stomach, with a weak smile. She didn't want to bother Daniel with her love issues, but it was pretty obvious that he wanted to know. And she didn't want to lie to him. Not after all they've been through together. Not after all he's done for her. Not after the death he experienced because of her.
"Can I talk to you in private?" he asked, taking her hand and pulling her to the side, in the other room. He was well aware the two from the other side of the wall were probably listening, but he didn't care about it. He didn't care about anything but the woman he loved. "Do you love me? Do you love me anymore?" he asked directly, looking straight in her eyes.
That was the question on which she didn't know how to reply. She stared at his eyes, taking his hand and squeezing it gently. "Daniel… It's been a long time. A lot has happened… I don't know if I…" she sighed, looking away for a moment. She knew she still loved him. But she still loved Robin. More than anyone could imagine. She loved him more than she loved anyone in her life.
"Just answer honestly. If you don't, I will take my stuff and go. I will leave you alone. I won't bother you. But… If you do, Regina, I can help you. If you only let me. I could be the father to this child, I could do my best to protect you and this little being inside you. I would do everything it takes. Because I love you. I love you like I loved you the day I died. Because, all my feelings stayed exactly the same. I haven't changed a bit. I still love you more than my own life. And I would gladly die again for you. I would gladly stand in front of your mother, if that's what it takes, and fight her. Fight her till the end." He pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. He thought what he said. He would give his life for her.
She loved him. Not the way she loved Robin, but she still loved him. Nothing could change the fact he was her first love. And she knew how honest he was at that moment. And how much it meant to him. But, apparently, he didn't know how much pressure all this was for her. Finding out she was pregnant, people she killed revived, seeing him again, knowing her mother must be somewhere out there, walking through the town, looking for her… It was too much for one day. It was too much for her to stand. "A lot has happened. I love you, Daniel, I do… But it's been a long time. And… I just need time, okay? To deal with everything."
"You have all the time you need. I'll wait as long as it takes." He replied simply, a bit disappointed. She loved him, but… She loved her child's father more? He understood. Everything. Because he couldn't expect more. Because he couldn't expect her to run into his embrace. He didn't expect a happily ever after ending the same moment. She needed time. And that was really the only thing he could give her. Time. He placed a soft kiss on her lips, pulling away then, with a smile. "I just had to feel them again. Forgive me, my queen." Without a word more, he left the room, joining Emma and Henry.
What was happening? Maybe… Maybe this was Regina's chance for her happy ending? Maybe the writer has decided to give her a happy ending after all. And maybe that was Daniel. Maybe he was the one she was destined to be. At least he was until death separated them. Until her mother separated them. "I will take this chance. I will be happy." She thought, with a smile appearing on her lips. Nothing could erase the pain she felt for Robin's departure, but there was something, someone who could make her forget. Someone who, a lot of years ago, made her forget about every worry she had. Someone who made her feel loved, secure… Someone she was happy with. And she had the chance to have it all again.
I guess some of you hate me now for writing this, especially Outlaw Queen shippers, but I am one too, so don't worry. This is just temporary. And I told you you won't expect this to happen. So you didn't, am I right? And please leave reviews because I wanna know opinions about this!