"Found more arrows," Regina announced proudly, holding up her found treasure.
The Charming's Underworld apartment had certainly seen better days. But in a joint effort over the course of several days, they managed to get the bed back up the stairs into the loft, and temporarily patch the roof. Regina, of course, had not been able to help in either of those areas, so in finding more ammunition to help their cause, she felt quite satisfied that her presence there was not entirely useless. And she needed to believe that because otherwise, she was putting her child at risk for nothing.
"You do not want to see what that hell dog left upstairs," Robin said with a sigh as he made his way down the steps and into the living area.
"So, we think we're ready?" Emma asked, anxious to move on from being a part of the cleaning crew and back into the action.
Before an answer came, Gold was walking in through the front door, glancing about in disgust at the chaos around the apartment.
"What are you doing," he asked dryly.
"We're going to get Hook, what's it look like?" David asked, taking the arrows from Regina and carefully loading them into Snow's quiver.
"We know Hades will have him in some sort of isolation," Emma explained with a nod. "Meg told us there's an entrance near by."
Gold only rolled his eyes in disapproval. "So. All forty five of you are going to slip down into the deepest level of detention in the Underworld. Hades knows you're here," he reminded them with obvious aggravation.
"He'll put up barriers toe keep the living out of all the places he doesn't want us going. You walk into his domain, you'll all be puffs of dust."
Emma relented, regrettably. "So, we get a new plan."
"Correct," Gold replied. "The five of you, occupy yourselves as you will. Perhaps cleaning…" he suggested, eyeing the ceiling fan laying tipped on its side in the center of the floor.
Turning to Emma, he continued. "You and I will go in with the assistance of a helpful dead person. I can extend their aura, if you will, so that two living souls can get through Hades' barrier."
"Wait a minute," Emma interrupted, her head rolling to the side — because who here would want to help Rumplestilskin.
"Yesterday you hid in your shop — today you're going to lead the charge to find a man that you hate?" she asked with suspicion in her voice.
"Yes, because I realized that if I don't step in, then we are never going to get home. And I want very much to get home to be with my wife."
"Okay… so how do we get a helpful dead person to loan their aura so we can confront the god of the Underworld himself?" Emma asked with narrow eyes, not quite seeing how this plan was any better than her own.
"You leave that to me. I've got someone in mind. Someone I've known a long time."
With Emma gone, off with Gold to make headway in their plan to find Hook, Snow and David had offered to take Henry to Granny's for something to eat, hoping to give Robin and Regina the chance for some down time. And the pair gladly accepted the opportunity.
Regina's heavy black coat was slung over the nightstand beside the bed in the loft. Her heeled boots were discarded at the foot of the bed, beside Robin's. His bow and quiver hung off of the bedpost, and the two laid close together atop the sheets.
Her grey turtleneck was bunched high beneath her breasts, the top of her black pants tucked low beneath her belly. Her stretched womb was bare, and Robin's large hand was open over the swell.
Regina breathed in slowly, her own hand lost in the pool of her long dark hair against he pillow, and she was quiet, watching him, watching her. This kind of intimacy was reserved for him, alone, and she smiled, silently thanking Snow for allowing them this desperately needed time together.
Letting out a quiet laugh when the baby moved against her in short, strong bursts, she let her eyes meet his.
"She's strong," Regina hummed happily.
"She takes after her mother," Robin replied, his eyes unmoving from her belly, marveling at how it rippled with proof of life.
Regina smiled, but said nothing, and it was in part because she didn't want to disturb his obvious connection with their child, but it was also because she didn't fully believe him. She certainly didn't feel strong.
"Regina," Robin said softly after several more minutes passed in silence.
"Hm," she hummed in reply, her eyes closed peacefully, her body melting into the soft down of the bed.
Robin smiled sadly as he watched her. He knew this would pull her from the obvious bliss she was in, but it had been weighing heavily on him for days now.
"It's been weeks," he said quietly.
And Regina's dark eyes opened.
"I know," she said softly, letting out a sigh. She flinched, obviously trying to move. But pinned beneath the weight of her own belly, she struggled — until he offered his hand.
Pulling against him, using his strength, Regina rolled onto her side — and with the weight off of her back, her belly seemed to expand several inches more.
"Five weeks," Robin added sadly.
"I know," she said again, her hand moving to press against the heavy swell, cradling her own mass.
"Regina, every day we're down here…" Robin sighed, shaking his head — because he never should have let her come. Not when their happiness was already so fragile. Not with their luck.
"I know," Regina hummed, a third time. "But what choice did I have," she asked, her eyes soft and sad as she looked into his.
"I know." It was Robin's turn this time, the phrase hanging in the air between them.
"It will be alright," Regina hummed, her eyes slipping closed again, her body and her mind growing weary.
Robin leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead, inching closer to her on the bed until there was no space between them. His hand found its way back to her hip — then to her belly, always to her belly — and he held her gently, watching over her as she fell asleep, praying that she was right — that this would all be alright.
The idea had come to her during that afternoon of peaceful sleep. Despite her happiness, and deep love she felt for Robin, and the comfort he had brought her that day and every day, she had dreamed of Daniel. And when she woke, she wondered where the young boy — her first love — would be in all of this. She thought of how kind and gentle and innocent he had been when they were in love, and she was sure that he would have moved on to a better place. But her thoughts took her then to her father — because it didn't seem to matter how 'good' you were. This was a place for unfinished business. And having your heart ripped out the evening you were meant to escape to a new life with your young love was likely a qualifier for unfinished business.
Dressing hastily, and then angrily to find that her pants were growing tighter still, Regina left the comfort of the Charming's apartment in search of answers. And much as in Storybrooke, her first stop was Granny's.
"Hey. Where's your boss," Regina asked stepping up to the counter and finding a young — annoyingly silent — girl where the Blind Witch should have been.
Her only reply was a nervous finger pointed upwards.
"No," Regina sighed, rolling her eyes. "Not some deity. Your boss here," she clarified. "The Blind Witch?"
But no sooner had her words left her mouth, Regina was turning over her shoulder at the sudden clip-clop of high heels. She turned just in time to catch a glimpse of black and white and fur.
"Nevermind," she offered to the girl, already pushing away from the counter to go after her well known villainous acquaintance.
"YOU." Regina demanded, stopping Cruella in her tracks.
"Hello, Darling," the lanky woman spoke, obviously regretting not moving more quickly.
"You can help," Regina admitted.
"I can? — I mean. Of course I can."
"Tell me about the graveyard," Regina prodded, hoping to gain a better understanding of how the Underworld worked — and who its residents were. "I need to find someone."
"Oh, it's just a chat you want," Cruella breathed out almost in relief. "Well, if you're looking for someone, simply use your magic."
Regina's strong gaze faltered, and she pursed her lips together — her telling sign of weakness.
"Ohhh," Cruella crooned, quite pleased with the revelation. "Having trouble are we? Magic's a little tricky down here, isn't it, darling?" Cruella asked with a smile.
In truth, Regina hadn't been able to use magic since the first day they'd arrived. She'd felt it leave her as they crossed the docks into the Underworld. She'd said nothing, hoping it would return to her as she adjusted. But as the weeks passed, her hope was dwindling.
"Let's sit down and be civilized," Cruella suggested — and Regina cast aside her reservations for the comfort of being off of her feet once again.
"The way in is here?" Emma asked, staring up at the Underworld version of her own home. Gold, and his past wife, Milah, were following behind. It was Milah's aura they would borrow to mask their presence in rescuing Hook.
"So, what. The gates of Hell are in my house?" Emma asked with thickly layered annoyance.
"As was the Stone of Excalibur. The pirate has a back for targeting real estate with hidden value," Gold chided.
They entered the house, and Emma moved instinctively to the basement door — where she had happily kept her secrets as the Dark One in Storybrooke. She opened the latch with ease — and without need for magic — but she was stopped by a white pulsing magic.
"There's a barrier, alright. So, what's she going to do?" Emma asked, turning over her shoulder to look at Milah, wondering how this was all going to work.
"Joining hands will be fine," Gold explained.
And Emma rolled her eyes, but did as she was told — and she should have known that he would have an answer.
The three linked together, joined by their hands, and passed through the door without issue, proceeding down, deep into the furthest depths of the Underworld. Each step brought them closer to their mission — and each step rewarded them with the growing stench of death.
"I see you admiring my fur," Cruella sang with a smile, reaching to her shoulder to stroke the thick white pelt.
"Doe skin, of all things," she hummed, clearly quite pleased with herself. "I'm not saying it's Bambi's iconic dead mother…but I'm not saying it's not," she laughed.
"Just tell me about the graveyard," Regina sighed, leaning back into the booth in an effort to stretch out her back and to allow her child room to move. She swore she was being bruised from the inside out and she blamed Robin for such a restless child.
"If I find a headstone, does that mean that person's here…in…'Underbrooke'?" she asked, ignoring her own cleverly coined term for the promise of information.
"Underbrooke," Cruella laughed. "Oh, you are clever," she encouraged. "But no. It just means they're passing through, that's all. Or have passed through."
"Who are you looking for," she pressed further, leaning her gloved elbows on the table, her heavy fur slumping forward.
"Nevermind who," Regina answered with narrowed eyes. "I just… I wanna know where they are."
"I have a map here," Cruella offered, lifting a hideous fur pouch up and setting it on the table. "Now that I've been made Mayor — oh. Thanks to your recently departed mother — it's got a list of cemetery plots," she explained, unfolding the map and spreading it out between them.
"And you have to know how to interpret the headstones," she added. "You see, there's three — what would you call them… — settings," she decided on.
"If the headstone is upright, it means the person is still here, in town. If it's tipped over, it means there soul has gone on to a better place. Happy person, tippy stone," she hummed cheerfully.
"And the third…'setting'," Regina asked, leaning into the question.
"If it's cracked, well…that's bad news for them."
"How so," Regina pressed. "They got pulled under to…wherever is worse than this place?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yes, but. No one who's anyone goes there anymore," Cruella answered with a tight smile, her laugh unconvincing that there was any humor in her words.
With enough information to take Cruella's map to the graveyard, Regina had reluctantly set aside years of complicated history and asked Snow to accompany her. Together, the two walked in silence almost the entire way, every so often making small talk and avoiding the looming topic of why they were there.
"Thank you for coming," Regina said softly, finally, as they rounded the path to the next set of plots.
"Of course," Snow answered, offering the older woman a tender smile. "I couldn't let you do this alone."
Looking down, map in hand, Snow counted softly, her eyes lifting to each tombstone — until her eyes settled on the one they'd been searching for.
"I found him," Snow announced with weight in her tone.
Regina stood a few paces off, her body turned away, afraid of what she would see. She breathed slowly, her anxiety rising along with memories of a darker time — and deep, deep regret.
"It's okay, you can look," Snow promised, gently encouraging her once-stepmother to face what they'd come to.
Regina turned reluctantly, swallowing hard and lowering her eyes to the stone — which was tipped over on its side. She let out a heavy exhale as she read his name aloud. "Daniel Colter."
She pressed a hand to the top of her belly and stepped forward, a smile replacing the tight, nervous frown she'd held until then. "It's tipped," she whispered, relief visible in her face. "He's not…here…" she hummed, and her eyes were filling with tears.
It was a bittersweet revelation — because of course she wished him well. She wouldn't have wanted him here, stuck in the middle, unable to move on, another soul suffering at her hand. But she wanted to see his face one more time. She wanted to show him who she had become, the woman she'd grown to be. She smiled sadly, her head rolling to the side, unable to help but imagine that in another lifetime, they would have lived happily ever after. That they would have shared their days far away from castles and magic and mothers. That they would have had a family — children running happily up and down the hillside, where she'd watch from the doorway of their humble home. Another lifetime indeed.
"He's moved on," Snow promised softly, stepping in to lay a hand against Regina's back, slowly leaning in to rest her head against her shoulder. "He's happy," she added, that truth bringing comfort to them both — because Snow knew that she carried this burden, too.
Snow gave Regina's frame a gentle squeeze, and pulled back, looking into her eyes with love. She said nothing, but nodded, and walked ahead a few paces — enough to be out of ear shot, giving Regina time alone.
"Daniel," Regina breathed out softly, a sad smile on her lips. "I'm so glad you're somewhere better. But…I'm also sorry I missed the chance to see you." Fighting her body's reluctance, Regina knelt down with some struggle, reaching forward to lay her hand against the face of the stone.
"You were my first love, Daniel," she hummed. "And you will always live in my heart."
She drew in a shaky breath and let a few tears escape as she exhaled, her smile brightening. "I found happiness again," she promised him. "And I met someone. His name is Robin. And he reminds me of you, sometimes," she hummed, thinking of the first time he'd made her feel safe again — as Daniel once had. "And…we're going to have a baby," she added, this admission bringing more tears to the surface — because it was more complicated than that, but this monologue was just that — it was more for herself, for her own healing, than to explain anything to a man who couldn't hear her.
"I came because…" Regina hummed, her eyes surveying the landscape around her, truly taking in where she had come, all in an effort to help a friend in need. "Because…I just…needed to know you were okay."
And that felt like enough. The years she'd spend avenging this boy's death were at an end. He was at peace, and so was she.
Letting out another sigh, Regina rolled forward to stand, but realized her agility was somewhat compromised. She tried twice more, each time ending in an unsuccessful grunt.
"Snow?" she called out, and the woman was quickly trotting back to her side.
"Regina, you alright?" she asked, already reaching down to offer her hand, helping to bear her weight and pull her to her feet.
"I'm fine — I'm…that's gotten significantly harder," she sighed, gesturing to the ground.
"I know that feeling," Snow confessed, one arm still around Regina's back.
Arching her back against the dull ache, Regina pressed forward, allowing Snow to keep her hand against her, and she laughed to herself at how much their relationship had changed even in the past year alone. She might even consider her a friend.
"Snow —," Regina began with hesitancy in her tone.
Snow just turned to look in her direction, her eyes smiling, as they always did, ready and waiting and willing to do whatever Regina asked.
"Have you checked the drawers in your hell-hole apartment," Regina asked dryly.
"What?" she asked, Snow's lip curling in confusion.
"My magic still hasn't come back to me. And there's only so much stretch left in these pants," she lamented, hating herself for having to say any of this out loud.
Snow only laughed and nodded her head — another aspect of pregnancy she was able to relate to all too well. But she could feel the shift in Regina's tone, and didn't want to add to her humiliation, however unnecessary it was.
"Well, at home in Storybrooke, I have a whole bin of maternity clothes. So far everything here has been some twisted duplicate of home," she offered, hope in her voice that there might be something available for her.
Regina rolled her eyes. "'Twisted duplicate' is the operative term, there. Who knows what we'll find. Probably a bin full of maternity clothes meant to fit 'My Teen Barbie'," she spat angrily.
And Snow bit the inside of her cheek, only partially successful in hiding her laugh.