A/N: I don't own anything you recognise, only my characters and the plot. I apologise for any errors or slip ups, I'm Australian, we say Mum instead of Mom, and other stuff like that. Thank you for all the follows, comments and favourites, and I'll update soon.
Erin slept for another couple of hours, before the nagging churning in her stomach returned to her. She groaned, and rolled over to face the door, although her eyes were still closed. Inside, she debated whether to go out of her room, and talk to Belle, or to stay inside and continue to feel horrible. It was clear that there was no possible way that she could completely avoid talking to Belle all day, because at some point sooner or later she would come into her bedroom. Erin sighed, and moved to get out of bed, slowly taking a few steps towards the vanity table, and pulling a brush slowly through her walnut brown hair, forming light bouncy curls, after she'd curled it a few days ago. As she looked in the mirror, she noticed that she didn't look as bad as she had before, with her hair now looking what she classified as presentable.
Reluctantly Erin opened the door, and walked into the lounge room, sitting across from Belle, who was reading a book that she couldn't see the title of from where she sat. She thought that it was best to get the conversation over now, rather than later. Belle and Rumplestiltskin had gotten married after the whole ordeal with the Wicked Witch of the West had died down, a few months after Erin was born, she didn't remember it, but there were photos of her being there as a four month old, being held by most of her family. Awkwardly, Erin sat on the other couch opposite from the one that Belle was sitting on, curling up and laying her head against the armrest gently.
Belle looked up from her book at Erin, and smiled. "Hey, er, I was going to come and check on you once I finished this chapter." She said softly, placing her bookmark in the book delicately.
"Or the rest of the book." Erin laughed slightly, knowing how Belle was like with books.
Belle laughed slightly. "Maybe. You look better than Baelfire described." She observed.
Erin rolled her eyes slightly and nodded. "Don't let Dad hear that you called him Baelfire, although you're his step-mother so you can call him whatever you want, and he won't object." She laughed a little bit. "What book is it?"
"Jules Verne, The Mysterious Island. Although that's not the point Erin…" Belle sighed, putting her book down on the coffee table. "How're you feeling?"
"The same as yesterday really. I guess Mum told you." Erin shrugged.
Belle nodded, and looked at Erin. "Emma mentioned it yesterday." She said in agreement. "But I'm asking you now."
Erin sighed. "I'm just tired, and nauseous, and I feel like crap." She defined.
"Do you want me to get Rumple?" Belle asked, sitting next to her.
Erin shook her head quickly. "No, don't bother Grandpa, he's busy at the shop, and I'm fine."
"You don't sound fine, but it doesn't seem like a fever. You know he'd come here if you wanted."
"It's more like a stomach bug." Erin sighed, getting up and went to the bathroom.
Belle followed Erin, after the door closed, and stood there. "Do you need anything Erin?" She asked with concern.
Erin vomited, kneeling by the toilet. "No, I'm okay at the moment." She mumbled through the door, before flushing and standing up again. A couple of minutes later she opened the door again, clearly paler than she was before. "I'm going back to bed." She said, taking one look at Belle, before walking back to her bedroom and climbing under the covers.
Belle nodded, and watched the girl who was really her step-granddaughter, but she considered more like her niece. After watching her go back to bed, she got her mobile phone out of her bag and rang Emma. She'd figured it out, but wasn't going to talk to Erin about it, clearly the girl knew, or suspected otherwise her guard wouldn't be put up so much. Ringing Emma was simple, she picked up on the first ring, and said that she was coming back home, after doing a lunch run at Granny's. Belle hung up afterwards, and opened the door slightly to check on Erin, before continuing on reading her novel.
About twenty minutes later Emma came through the door holding a bag from Granny's containing three grilled cheeses and milkshakes. Dumping her keys on the table by the door, she put the bag down on the coffee table gently. "Belle? Is Erin asleep?" She asked.
Belle nodded, looking up from her book. "Yeah, she's asleep. She came out of her room for about five minutes before she had to throw up, and went back to sleep." She replied.
"No more lashing out at people?" Emma asked, unpacking the bag.
Belle once again shook her head. "She just seems a bit more guarded." She told her, standing up.
Emma nodded, and was reminded of how she used to have her guard up all the time. "I'll talk to her when she wakes up again. Grilled cheese?"
"No thanks. I'll go get a hamburger or something on the way back to the library." She said, packing up her bag.
"Okay…Thanks for staying, and watching her."
"It wasn't a problem." Belle replied, smiling at Emma before heading towards the door. "I, um, better go." She said before leaving.
Emma sighed, and watched Belle go, before grabbing a grilled cheese and a milkshake and starting to eat her lunch while watching television quietly, careful not to disturb Erin.
Erin woke up groggily a couple of hours later, hearing the television make a large bang. She groaned, and reluctantly pulled herself from the warm, comfortable bed, and walked back out into the living room. Her hair was a mess again, she gave a small nod at her mother, and resumed her previous position from when Belle was reading. She didn't want to say something, just leaving her alone with her thoughts, but her stomach had other ideas. As she smelt the grilled cheese, her first instinct was to grab some, being one of her favourite lunches other than hamburgers, fries and tacos, but after inhaling the aroma, her stomach churned, and the young woman got up, almost running to the bathroom, and shutting the door behind her, starting to vomit.
Emma looked at her daughter running to the bathroom, she hadn't expected it. She stood up with her half a milkshake in her hand. "Erin?" She asked softly, knocking at the door. "Let me in kid." She sighed, opening the door.
Erin looked up at the door. "I'm fine Mom." She replied weakly, knowing it wouldn't do much.
"No, you're not, let me in." Emma was firmer this time.
"Can I just not?" Erin asked quietly, hoping she wasn't heard.
Emma rolled her eyes, and found a bobby pin to unlock the door with. About a minute later she was in, and held Erin's hair back. "A simple thank you would be enough." She mumbled.
"Thanks." Erin mumbled. "I didn't need to open the door, you did it yourself." She muttered bitterly, prior to the rest of her stomach content being emptied.
"Erin…" Her mother sighed, rubbing her back slowly. "It would've been simpler if you'd left it unlocked, or unlocked it for me."
"Alright, you win. Now can I be left alone?" Erin asked weakly, sarcasm laced in her first sentence.
"No." Emma replied, stroking Erin's hair. "I'm taking you to the hospital."
"Mum, it's not like I ate an apple turnover, trying to prove a point." Erin rolled her eyes, flushed the toilet, sitting on the floor and wiped her mouth on her sleeve.
"That has nothing to do with this." Emma still felt a little bit guilty about that, and several other things. "Something's wrong."
Erin sighed. "It's a stomach bug or gastro." She shrugged, shaking her head. "I'll be fine in a few days Mum."
Emma rolled her eyes. "If you're not any better by tomorrow I'm taking you to the ER."
"Stupid stubbornness." Erin muttered, and nodded. "Fine, whatever."
"Come on." Emma said, holding out a hand to Erin to help her get up.
Erin looked at the hand sceptically, and stood up with the aid from her mother. "Thanks." She muttered, and walked back to the couch, and lay down.
Emma followed her and sat back on the couch. "You can go back to sleep if you want."
Erin nodded, and walked back to her bedroom, the aroma of cheese and milkshakes making her feel nauseous again. "Okay." She mumbled, keeping the door open.
Erin climbed under her striped, vibrantly coloured bed sheets, thoughts looming around her head, too many to allow her to go straight back to sleep. Her mind wandered over various topics involving her pregnancy; she wandered how she was supposed to tell her mother, maybe she'd be supportive and understand considering that she'd been in a similar position. How was she supposed to tell everyone? How was she supposed to raise a baby? How was she going to tell him- her heart skipped a beat, Erin couldn't believe she was so stupid that she'd forgotten all about the baby's father.
Erin's brain started to go into overdrive. William Herman and her had slept together a few times, they got on, and were friends mostly. Secretly, she liked him, and she knew he liked her, but the family tree had already been complicated enough before the new development. William was the younger brother of Alexandra, older brother of Seraphina, and son of Ashley and Sean Herman, also known as Cinderella and Prince Thomas. Will was loyal, kind, handsome, funny but could also be insecure and had issues with defending himself.
As she lay in her bed, she dreaded the idea of going to the ER tomorrow, or going to see Doctor Whale, and having to tell Will about the baby before he heard it from someone else, or her family found out. She considered sneaking out of the house and hot-wiring the yellow bug to go and talk to him, however there was no way while her mother was in the living room, and she felt too sick to even try. In that moment Erin decided to hide for as long as she possibly could, even if it only ended up being another few hours.