A/N: To the reader who asked about why Robin, Roland, and Daniel are using the name 'Gina: Roland, first of all, is a toddler and so therefore I do not see him calling her by her full name, but rather using a shortened version, as many kids I know do when they are referring to adults. Robin and Daniel use it as terms of endearment for her. Many people that I know who have close relationships to someone use nicknames for them, as do I when I refer to my close friends and family, or significant other, I'm sorry if this distracted from your enjoyment of the story in any way, but I hope now you can see my reasons for doing so.
That being said, this will now be a four-shot lol so I hope you all enjoy this next installment! Thanks to Charlotte Ashmore for all her help!
Disclaimer: Once Upon A Time and all character's and familiar dialogue from the show belong to Disney/ABC and the show's brilliant creators and writers. No profit is being made from this just having fun with my favorite show.
3
I'm Still Looking Up
"I'm afraid you're going to have to leave now," Dr. Whale's voice resounded through the room. Emma and Gold both jumped, whirling around to see the doctor leaning against the door frame. They'd stayed with Regina for a little over an hour after casting the spell, resting and chatting about this and that while anxiously waiting for any sign of the former Queen waking up. Rumple's eyes narrowed, but Viktor just shrugged apologetically, "The hospital will be closing up soon, and technically, visiting hours are long over. I've sent the other's home to rest, you two should do the same."
The pawnbroker stood up and faced Whale, nostrils flaring as he tried to maintain his tenuous hold on his temper. "Do you really think I care what bloody time it is, Viktor?"
Emma stepped between them before Gold's ire could rise any further. "Alright, guys, let's not argue. Gold, you need rest. If Regina needs more of our help, we won't be any good to her if we're too weak to stand."
Belle pushed past the doctor's shoulder and glared at her husband. "Are you alright? I got here as soon as I could," she said, moving to his side and taking his hand in hers to offer a measure of comfort. He looked haggard and drawn and she wasn't pleased to find him in such a state.
"I'm fine, dearest, just a bit tired. Did you lock up the shop?" he asked, hoping to evade her questions until they were alone. A conversation with his Belle usually brought his emotions to the forefront and he didn't feel comfortable showing any vulnerability in front of Whale or the savior.
Belle jiggled the keys in her pocket and smiled warmly. "I did. And now I think it would be wise to listen to Viktor and go home. You need rest, Rum, and we can come back first thing in the morning to check on Regina." She dropped a quick kiss to his cheek when he nodded.
Emma breathed a sigh of relief that the sorcerer hadn't come to blows with Whale. She said goodbye to the doctor and walked out into the waiting room, groaning when she saw Robin sitting in one of the uncomfortable chairs, a sleeping Roland on his lap. "Hey, Hood, shouldn't you be getting him home?"
Robin nodded groggily, but didn't make a move to rise. "Are you done? Is she alright? When can i see her?"
Emma bit her lip, "She will be," she responded, trying to sound confident despite her churning stomach as Whale's words came back to her. But really, what else could she say? "Whale said she'll probably sleep for a while yet. Magic doesn't work as fast as you'd think, Hood. Her body needs to rest. And so should you."
Robin signed, knowing Emma was right. He hated to leave Regina, but he knew the others would be wondering where he'd gone. Just as he turned to leave, taking one last longing look through the door of Regina's room, Marian barged in, eyes flashing. Little John came in just behind her, casting an apologetic look at his leader. Apparently the man had been elected to bring her to the hospital against his better judgement.
Emma glanced back and forth between the two of them, and quickly decided to slip Roland's hand away from his father's and into her own. She gave Robin a small smile and a curt nod before bending down so she was eye-level with Roland. "Hey buddy, whaddaya say I take you back to my place for the night? You can have a little ice cream and I'll read you a book before you go to bed, ok?"
The little boy nodded enthusiastically , "You gots Rocky Road?" he asked, taking her hand and leading her toward the door.
"We'll see what we can find, kid, ok?"Emma laughed and glanced back at Robin, smiling helplessly as his son pulled her out into the night, laughing all the way to the car.
Marian looked as if she wanted to object, but she felt as though she could trust Emma. The woman didn't have to save her and bring her to this strange land, but she had. She'd rescued her from certain death at the hands of the queen and reunited her with her True Love and her son. Roland would be more than safe in her capable hands. She stared at her husband worriedly, noting the muscle ticking away in his jaw as he clenched his teeth.
"What are you doing here, Marian?" he asked, half angry that he'd been ambushed by his wife and half hoping he wasn't about to get pummeled to a pulp. He ran a hand through his hair nervously, unable to meet her gaze.
"What do you think I'm doing here, Robin?" she asked in exasperation. "You leave me at the diner with your men and just take off with my son. I didn't know where you were and no one was telling me anything. If i hadn't overheard Tuck and John talking about an accident I would still be in the dark."
Robin's mouth opened and closed, but nothing would come out. Finally he stuttered, "I- I'm sorry dear, everything just…happened so fast and I guess. I just…forgot," he finished lamely.
"Forgot? Forgot?! How do you forget your wife?" she choked. "What are you even doing here? Why would you care what happens to the Evil Queen. If it wasn't for that sheriff woman, I would have died...at her hands!"
"She's NOT evil!" Robin fumed, "I know she was once, but not any more. And her name is Regina." he retorted, unable to bite his tongue at her last comment, "I know you know nothing of this world yet, but here, she's not the Evil Queen, she's just Regina. She was hurt, I had to help her."
Marian relaxed a bit. Her husband had always been too noble. "And I'm sure you were the only person available in a town this size to help her? Robin, love, you don't have to be a hero all the time."
"I wasn't being a hero, Marian. If anything, I was being a villain…" he paused, unsure how to continue with what he really wanted to say, "Regina got hurt because of us- me. I had to do something."
She closed the distance between them and smiled patiently up at him, cupping his face in her warm palms. "Robin, I don't believe that. You're a wonderful man. You always put the good of others ahead of yourself. I won't believe that you intentionally set out to harm that woman...no matter who she is."
"Of course I never meant to harm her! I...I love her." His eyes widened in horror as he realized what he'd just admitted.
Marian gasped, releasing him and stepping back, her mouth twisted in disbelief. "What? You l-love her? How could you love someone like her? Not to mention the small fact that you're married to me!" she cried, her voice rising several octaves.
"Marian I...I thought you were dead!" he nearly yelled the last word, his voice rising to keep tempo with her own. "I never expected you to come back. I accepted your passing long ago, back in our homeland. For almost 30 years under this curse I lived without you, forever searching for some part of myself I never thought I'd find again. A part I found in Regina." At that his voice lowered again, begging her to understand, and daring her to try and convince him differently.
"You expect me to believe that you don't want to be with me anymore? That you've chosen that vile creature over your True Love?" she asked, the tears that had begun stinging her eyes, spilling over to trek down her ashen face.
"She's NOT a creature Marian! And the fact that you think that shows how little you know of her. She's a woman. A kind, wonderful woman who knows the scars of life better and more deeply than you or I ever will. I won't deny she's done horrible things, but had you been in her place, I dare you not to feel as though the world had turned against you. She built walls around herself because it was the only way she could keep from being hurt again. She was a dark person once, but she's changed. Try to know her, to really know her, not as the Evil Queen, but as Regina, and you'll see what I do."
Before she could stop herself, her hand lashed out and struck his left cheek. "How dare you! That woman would have murdered me. I don't care what you see in her, Robin...I don't want to see what you do. All I know is that I'm alive...I'm here and you don't care. All you can think of is this woman who helped to destroy our lives." She drew herself up to her full height and cast him a fulminating glare. "When you decide what it is you want, please let me know." She turned on her heel and stalked out of the emergency waiting area, John fast on her heels.
Robin drew his hand up to cup his throbbing cheek, stunned that any of that had even occurred. He still cared for Marian, truly he did, but it wasn't the same. She wasn't the first person he thought of when he awoke in the morning, or the one he wished to sleep beside when he climbed into bed at night. He didn't feel his body lighting with joy and passion when they kissed, and he wasn't forever searching for ways to make each moment he had with her more memorable than the last.
Once, that had been true. But she had passed on long ago. For countless years he mourned her, but alas he made peace with her death, trusting that he was in a better place, and that he and Roland were meant to follow another path in their lives, wherever it led them. When she'd come back to him, the shock of seeing her after being parted for so long had simply overwhelmed him. It wasn't until he'd seen the car nearly cost Regina her life that he once again realized that their paths were not meant to cross again. At least, not the way they had before. He'd chosen a new path; and this time, it was Regina.
It was then that he decided he wasn't going to leave her side, rules be damned. Yes, he needed sleep, but he needed Regina so much more. He knew Whale had said it could take days for her to wake up, and he'd overheard Emma and Gold talking about the possibility that she might never come back, but Robin refused to believe it. True Love transcended all. And Robin knew his love for Regina was truer than anything he'd ever felt before. Regina might not believe it now, but she would. If it took Robin every minute of every day for the rest of his life to make her see what she meant to him, then so be it. She was his. And he would walk through the fires of hell and back for her, no matter what anyone said.
He waited patiently until everyone had gone home, and the only ones left in the hospital were the night staff and himself. The security guard, Luca, who, despite his past reputation back home as the Big Bad Wolf, was surprisingly gentle and protective when it came to patients at Storybrooke Hospital, was fast asleep in his rolling desk chair. A half empty coffee cup was dangling from his hand, its contents dribbling onto the linoleum and leaving a milk chocolate colored puddle. The outlaw slipped past him easily, cautiously inching closer to Regina's room, and tiptoeing to the bed.
Robin gulped audibly when he looked down at her still form. It was eerie for him, seeing her like this. The color had returned to her cheeks, and her chest moved up and down in rhythmic, steady breaths. Her raven hair was spread out on the pillow, billowing away from her face in a delicate wave. Her sable eyes were closed, and her rosy lips were resting slightly open. She looked, almost peaceful, like she was just getting a good nights rest, rather than being trapped inside her own mind. Robin leaned down and brushed a stray piece of hair away from her face, heart aching with guilt as he watched her. A part of him was tempted to kiss her, to wake her from this timeless sleep as Philip had woken Aurora so long ago.
Instead, he pulled a chair close to the bed and sat wearily upon the hard seat, realizing he would get little sleep due to discomfort. But it would all be worth it to remain at her side. He twined his long fingers with hers and rested his elbows upon the bed as his eyes searched her face for any sign of awareness. "I'm here, Regina. I'm here and I won't leave you, love. Please wake up," he whispered, not expecting a response, but praying for one regardless.
"We have so much to talk about, you and I. I'm so sorry I hurt you, Regina. Truly, I never meant to. It's just... everything happened so fast, and I couldn't...I was just in shock Regina..." He laughed a bit, that sounded pathetic, even to his own ears, despite how true it was. "I know it's nothing close to a good excuse 'Gina, but it's true. Seeing her...I wasn't thinking straight after that. I let my emotions take over…" Robin sighed, regret filling his chest as he pictured her limp form lying there on the sidewalk…nearly dead...he shut his eyes tightly, trying to banish the horrific imagine. "I should've never let you leave. I'm so sorry it took this happening to make me see...but 'Gina, it's you I love. Not Marian. It was never Marian...not since that day 30 years ago when she passed on...I've moved on Regina. I know that now. My heart is yours, love. And it always will be."
He squeezed her hand a little tighter as a silent tear slipped down his cheek. The machines that were still hooked to her to monitor her vital signs beeped at him mockingly and he sighed, the emotional toils of the day more than his sleep deprived mind and body could endure. He rested his head on his folded arms and said a prayer for his love, her hand still tightly clasped in his. He was asleep before he could finish.
Regina was still reeling from Robin's declaration the night before as she watched through the mirror as Roland bounded through the automatic doors, dragging a tired, but happy looking Emma behind him.
"You see?" Daniel prodded, smiling widely, "He really does love you."
Regina bit her lip, it certainly seemed that Daniel had been right, especially after what Robin had told her...still she wasn't sure if that was enough...Yes, Robin appeared to love her, but the rest of the town still hated her...If she returned, would they hate Robin to? For loving her? She couldn't put him through that...could she? Quickly, Regina shook the preposterous thought from her head and turned back to the mirror. Emma was now trying to sign in at the reception desk, but Roland's bouncing form was proving to make that rather difficult. Regina smiled softly, realizing how much the young boy reminded her of Henry at his age.
"Emmie?" the boy pleaded, mispronouncing her name in that cute toddler lisp of his.
"Yeah squirt?" Emma yawned, turning to face him.
"Is we gonna see 'Gina today?" he asked, big eyes sparkling in anticipation as he bounced up and down on his toes. Regina's smile widened hearing him say her name so eagerly. Daniel playfully elbowed her, but she ignored him.
Emma chuckled and ruffled his hair, "In a minute bud, first I gotta finish filling out these papers so the doctors don't come kick us out, okay?"
Roland shook his head vigorously, black mop falling adorably in his face.
"Great," Emma smiled.
For a few minutes, the child stayed still and allowed the sheriff to finish filling out the visitor papers, but as they walked closer to Regina's room, Roland's eyes became slightly afraid, and he looked around cautiously before tugging on Emma's hand as they sat down in chairs in the waiting room until it was time for visiting hours. "What is it bud?" she asked, noticing the anxious look on his face.
"Emma, is that scary lady gonna come visit 'Gina again too?' he asked nervously.
The blonde cocked her head and scrunched her brow in puzzlement, "Whaddaya mean, bud? What scary lady?"
"The lady!" the young, boy insisted, as if that explained everything, "You broughts 'er to see Granny las' night. She was huggin' Daddy and squishin' me. She made 'Gina leave." he huffed the last sentence. "An' then she comed to the hospital when we went to see 'Gina get better. She started yellin' at Daddy a'fore you taked me home."
Regina's eyes mirrored Emma's as they widened in realization. Was he talking about Marian? Did he really not know who she was? Regina knew Marian had died when Roland was young, but last night they'd looked so happy, she'd just assumed…
Back in the waiting room, Emma said gently, "Roland, buddy, I think that was your mommy. Do you remember her?"
But the little boy shook his head stubbornly, "Nuh uh! That lady's not my mommy!"
"She's...not?" Emma asked, unsure how to respond to that.
"Nope." Roland shook his head again, "'Gina's my mommy!"
"She... is?' Emma said.
"I...am?' Regina repeated, stunned at the boy's honesty and obvious love for her. A thick lump began to form in her throat, "Oh…" From the moment they'd met, she'd instantly taken a liking to the little boy. He reminded her so much of Henry, and soon enough she'd started to think of him almost as though she were his mother. But to hear that he felt the same...that innocent as he was, he loved someone as dark as she...tears of happiness pooled in her eyes and she was rendered speechless as Daniel squeezed her arm encouragingly.
"See?" he repeated.
Regina said nothing, but her smile widened as she turned back to the mirror.
"Uh huh!" the little boy explained, "An' Daddy said he's gonna marry her, so there!" he finished triumphantly.
Regina gasped and her hand flew to her heart. Robin wanted to marry her? Could it be true?
"Still think there's nothing to go back for? Daniel asked.
Regina averted her gaze "Well..maybe…" she whispered, not quite daring to let herself fully admit it yet. After all, two people weren't much against a whole town.
At that moment, one of the nurses came in and announced that visiting hours had begun, "Does that mean I can go see 'Gina now?" Roland asked.
"Yes scamp," Emma chuckled, "but you gotta wait for-" but the little boy scrambled down from her lap and through the door before the blonde could finish, almost knocking over the poor nurse as he bounced toward his "mother's" room, shrieking excitedly. "Roland wait!" Emma scrambled to gather her belongings and took off after the eager toddler.
Regina watched as Roland bounded into her room and scrambled next to her still frame on the bed, barely waking his father, who despite all the jostling, was still sound asleep, drooling unconsciously on his forearm that was subbing for a pillow. Watching the little boy, she revelled in his boundless energy and contagious enthusiasm. He was so innocent. so full of life. Would she miss that if she stayed here with Daniel? Would she even remember him if she chose this eternity? She turned back to the mirror, hoping to distract herself from those pressing thoughts. Sooner or later, she'd have to choose….
Roland crawled closer to Regina's face, smiling down at her with his cheeky little grin that she'd come to know well. "'Gina!" he giggled, nuzzling his nose with hers in an adorable eskimo kiss that made Regina laugh out loud, "'S mornin' time! You gots to get up." Regina's heart broke a little as she watched the toddler's expectant face slowly change, first into confusion, and then, was that just a bit of fear...as the minutes ticked by and he got no response. Finally, he wiggled away from her still body and shook his father's arm.
"Daddy! Daddy!" he called, trying to rouse the outlaw.
"Huh, what?" Robin blinked as the harsh light blinded him. Where was he? And why were his back and arm so stiff? He looked around, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he attempted to get his bearings. White walls...a sink...large fluorescent lights...had he fallen asleep in the bathroom at Granny's?
"Daddy!" At the sound of his son's voice, Robin's world came into focus. He was sitting in a relatively soft, albit stiff, hospital chair. His head jerked to the right, where Regina was still lying motionless. But next to her, starring very intently with large brown eyes at his father was…
"Roland?" he stuttered, "Roland, son, what are you doing here?" he asked, picking him up and settling him on his knee, "Is Emma with you?"
"Here I am Robin," Emma interrupted just as he finished the question. Her blonde curls were flying all over the place, and she was slightly out of breath, but she smiled fondly at the little boy, "Next time, wait for me. Okay little man?" she asked, only somewhat sternly. Roland shook his head obediently nonetheless.
Robin turned his son to face him, "Son, have you been making trouble for Sheriff Swan?" he asked, shaking his head, "I'm sorry Emma, sometimes he gets a bit...impatient."
Emma just laughed and waved her hand as if to say, forget about it, "Really Robin, it's fine. He just got a little ahead of me, that's all."
"I just wanted to see 'Gina, Daddy!" the little boy piped up, "Why's she still sleepin'? 'S mornin' time!"
Robin scratched his neck nervously, "She's sick, buddy. She's sleeping 'til she gets better." he didn't know how else to explain it.
Roland huffed, "Well she gots ta hurry up! She gets ta wake up sos you can gets married and she can be my mommy!"
Robin coughed and blushed in disbelief, how did Roland know these things? "W-what?" he stuttered, looking pleadingly at Emma.
"Ok scamp," she chuckled, "That's enough for now. Let Regina rest ok?"
"Awww!" the little boy pouted, "do I hafta?"
"Yes," Emma said, biting her lip to keep from laughing. It was obvious the little boy adored Regina, and again, Emma couldn't help but wonder how the brunette could even think of leaving behind all she had. "Come on, bud," she coaxed again, "Belle and Mr. Gold just got here, maybe she'll take you to get a present for Regina when she wakes up, ok?"
"Kay!" the little boy chirped, hopping off his father's lap and slipping his hand into Emma's.
"Good. And Hood? Go home and get a good night's rest."
Robin shook his head in a mirror image of his stubborn son, "I'm not leaving until she wakes up," he insisted.
Emma raised an eyebrow at his challenge, "Do I need to send Gold in here Hood? He and his cane can be quite persuasive."
Robin reluctantly agreed to leave, but only to go get coffee, and then he and Roland would be waiting in the waiting room.
Emma flopped down into the chair Robin had vacated and yawned widely, her night with Roland catching up with her. He was a good kid, but maybe she shouldn't have given him ice cream before bed. She had her fake memories of Henry at that age to fall back on, but she'd apparently forgotten how rambunctious kids got after such a high dose of sugar. Still, she'd done her best. And Roland really was a very well behaved little boy aside from the hour between consuming a much too large bowl of Rocky Road and when he finally crashed. Now, she took advantage of the quiet in the sterile room to think about what Regina must be going through and couldn't fathom the pain she be in. Heartache was so much more painful than physical pain.
She had grown closer to Regina over the past few months in their common goal to save Henry from Pan and then again to destroy the threat of Zelena and she was happier to call her a friend rather than the sworn enemies they'd been at the beginning. "I'm so sorry, Regina," she said, cringing at the pathetic sound of her voice. "I know that doesn't make up for what I did, but truly I didn't know. I was just trying to help." What more could she say? She felt terrible now for bringing that woman here and thereby leaving a devastating hole in Regina's life that had ultimately led to tragedy.
Regina watched intently, not sure how she felt about Emma's stumbled apology. On the one hand, she knew Emma had been trying to do the right thing. She meant to save a life, not ruin another. And truth be told, Regina wasn't sure what she would've done had she been in Emma's shoes. Much as she hated to admit it, she probably would've let Marian die. Not because of who she was, but because as painful as it would've been to see the person she used to be, she knew that the smallest change to the past could alter everything in the future. But had she not known that, had she not been so hardened to emotions by her past, had she been Emma, would she have saved Marian? She didn't know.
As much as she understood Emma's dilemma, there was still a small part of her that blamed her. Why was it that a Charming always seemed to get in the way of her happy ending? First Snow with Daniel, and now her daughter with Robin. But they tried to fix it, a pesky voice in the back of her mind whispered, They didn't know any better. They were just trying to do good. At that, Regina sighed. Her conscience was right. The past was the past and there was no way to change it. Now she just had to decide if she wanted to look toward the future.
Emma's head jerked up, her melancholy thoughts interrupted by a soft knock at the
door. She was surprised to see her mother poke her head through the opening. "Hey," Mary Margaret said softly as she came into the room. "How is she?"
Emma shook her head. "Still the same. Her body is healing and Dr Whale says she's out of danger, but her mind doesn't want her to wake for some reason."
"How long do you think she'll be like this?" Mary Margaret asked, sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the bed and taking Regina's hand in hers. "Can't he do something to help her?"
"He says we just have to wait for her to wake up. He suggested that we talk to her, that she can hear us."
Emma watched her mother worry her lip as she nervously crossed to the bed and took a seat on the opposite side of Regina. She cast a watery smile at her stepmother and moved to take her other hand. Emma could tell there was something her mother wanted to say, and so she moved to get up to allow them some privacy. But as she stood, her mothers eyes widened and she subtly shook her head, silently begging for her daughter's companionship Emma was slightly shocked, but didn't make any move to protest, instead moving around the bed and placing a supportive hand on her shoulder. which instantly relaxed under her fingers. Snow let out a relieved breath and smiled widely at Emma, who simply squeezed her free hand and waited for her mother to say whatever was on her mind.
Snow sighed, unsure exactly what she wanted to say, but knowing she had to say something. Finally, she took a deep breath and just started talking. "I don't know if you can hear me Regina," she began tentatively, "...but I just wanted you to know I understand what you're going through...I get it."
Regina fought the urge to scoff as she watched her step daughter though the mirror. How could she understand anything? Her life was perfect; it always had been...even when Regina tried her hardest to see that it wasn't, Snow had never had to experience her pain. Charming was always there to save her.
No one saved Regina.
She was about to turn away, uninterested in hearing another one of Snow's "good always wins" speeches, but Daniel gasped her arm and made her watch, "Just wait," he insisted.
Regina snorted, but obeyed.
Snow closed her eyes and took a deep breath, determined to plow ahead with what she wanted to say. "I know you don't think I could possibly understand," she admitted, "but I do." Emma eyed her mother, surprised, but said nothing, instead deciding to just listen, and offer comfort.
"I know you probably still haven't forgiven me for killing Daniel, even though you say you have. And I can't say I blame you. You tried to take David from me more than once, and each time, my heart broke, and I realized why you must the me so much. You meant to take David from me, to rid me of my happy ending as I did to you. But you never could. The one thing you tried for so long to do without any success, I did on the first try, and all by accident. I wanted you to have your mother, because I knew the pain that losing mine had caused and I wanted to save you from it. But instead of saving you, I inadvertently destroyed you. And later, I took the one relationship from you my younger self had been trying to save. I can't tell you how sorry I am for that, for both of the people I caused you to lose. I can only imagine how you survived for this long after all you've been though. Being denied your happy ending 20 times over while I reveled in mine. But you can't give up." She squeezed Regina's had as a silent tear trekked down her face.
"You've done so much to change Regina. I know how dark and unfair the world must look to you, but if you give us, if you give me, just one more chance, I know you can see the good in it again. You're my mother too Regina, and I need you just as much as Henry and Roland and Robin do. ...I- I love you Regina. I've never stopped. Even when you were out to kill me, I loved you as much as I loved Eva. Please...don't...don't give up on us." Then Snow did something that shocked the former queen even more than her tender speech. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on her stepmothers forehead, before leaning into Emma, who simply hugged her from behind, not caring that her mothers slow tears were staining her precious leather jacket.
After a few minutes of silence, Mary Margaret wiped her eyes and gently placed a hand on her daughter's knee, "Thank you sweetheart."
Emma smiled back, "Anytime Mom."
"We better go check on your father honey, he's out in the waiting room all alone with the baby and he looked as though he were about to panic when I left him there."
Emma rose to her feet, her knees still a bit shaky from the stress she'd undergone yesterday. "Yeah, we don't want to leave dad unsupervised for long." She followed her mother out into the waiting room, leaving Regina alone in the unsettling quiet of her hospital room.
The sight that greeted Emma and Mary Margaret as they emerged into the waiting room brought an amused smile to their lips as they struggled to keep from laughing. Her father had an armful of baby, the tiny prince waving his arms as a wail pierced the room. He had spit up all over his father's shoulder and the look on David's face made Emma want to retrieve her phone from her pocket to snap a picture to preserve the moment. Charming was holding him at arms length, looking as though the full diaper clothing his son was a bomb to be disarmed. Henry looked equally as disgusted, glancing desperately around the room like he expected help to appear out of thin air.
"Need a hand there, Dad?" Emma smirked, walking over and taking her baby brother from his arms and picking up the diaper bag before heading toward the bathroom, diaper bag in hand.
Snow sat down beside her husband, laughing hysterically, "I'd say you looked like you needed a S.W.A.T team. What happened? Prince Charming afraid of a little poop?" she chuckled with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, you're just a riot, aren't you, Snow?" he asked dryly. "I am not afraid of a little poop or spit up, but does he have to do both...at the same time?"
"He's a baby, David! He can't help it."
David just rolled his eyes.
"How is she, Gramma?" Henry asked, changing the subject, his eyes pleading.
"She's the same Henry," she replied gently, "But Dr. Whale said talking to her might help wake her...would you like to go see her?"
Henry said nothing, but nodded as he got up from his chair. Charming gave him an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder, but managed to keep his wife from following the boy back through the door. "He needs to do on his own," David insisted. Mary Margaret started to protest, but then Emma came back with a now contently gurgling Neal and she reluctantly sat down.
Henry hesitantly made his way into the room, his heart clenching at the sight of his mother's prone form lying so listlessly still upon the bed. He moved to her side, taking her hand in his, ignoring the burning in his eyes from his unshed tears. "Mom? Mom, can you hear me?" he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. "You have to come back to us, Mom. To me. " He reached out to brush a lock of her ebony hair away from her face, taking a moment to compose himself. "I need you."
He leaned forward and brushed his lips against her pale cheek, the tears that had been threatening falling unchecked down his face.