Notes: Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm so happy that you've kept reading this far. Work was kind of silly this week and Friday nights are the worst for new chapters, but oh well. Happy weekend. :)
Huge thanks again to Race and Wapwani, because they are such help making sense of my universe.
It was a strange and awkward little group that huddled together in the sectioned-off corner of the Storybrooke school cafeteria currently serving as a triage area. Whale - upon seeing Emma and Regina and having more than enough to do without tending to Mal - left them alone to concentrate on bandaging and stitching others.
Emma and Regina knelt beside Mal and Lily where they still sat on the floor, both heedless of the blood seeping through Mal's torn clothes as they clung to each other. In Mal's case, heedless of the wounds themselves. The pain, the smell of blood, this unattractive human building, Mal felt and saw none of it as she held Lily to her. Holding her daughter overwhelmed everything, after all this time, her little girl, her Lily was here, alive and whole in her arms. It felt at once as if Mal was flying and falling and she couldn't quite tell which way was up (a very distant part of her conceded some of that might be blood loss). She had waited so long for this, it almost didn't feel real, and so she focused on her senses, on the slender strength in Lily's arms, in her scent, in the sound of her breathing. Her daughter was here, and that was all that mattered.
It was only when Regina started healing one of the claw wounds that had cut nearly down to her rib that anything pulled Maleficent's attention away from Lily.
Hissing softly at the sting, she shifted, moving instinctively away from Regina's hands and the power they held.
"Hold still," Regina admonished her, voice trembling. Mal looked up, tightening her hold around Lily even as she finally looked at Regina, taking in just how pale and shaken-looking she appeared. It softened Mal, turning her ire to dust and so she just sighed, shifting carefully back to grant Regina more access to her wounds.
"It stings," she muttered gracelessly, not because it truly did, but because Regina expected - needed - her to be grumpy, so Mal was grumpy.
"I can't heal you if you keep moving," Regina shot back, but she looked a little steadier, so Mal sighed in aggravation.
It made Regina's lips quirk upward just enough.
Emma and Regina's magic spread over her skin, slipping below to knit tissue and muscle back together. It itched and stung and was a relief all at once. Mal said no more, just looked at her daughter who still hadn't left her. In truth, Lily looked shaken and pale herself, her eyes a little too wide, but she was smiling and still holding on to Mal and that was all that mattered. There would be time to explain everything soon.
"This one's deep," Regina said suddenly, resting her hand next to a long wound along Mal's spine. "It'll be over in a moment."
Mal sensed more than felt Regina reaching for Emma, their fingers entwining and magic coming together, bright and lovely and strong. Regina's fingers were warm against Mal's skin...very warm. Concern flickered through Mal's mind and was gone, just as quickly as it came though, as substantial as a wisp of smoke.
Her whole world was her daughter and Mal stroked Lily's face, wiping away the drying tear tracks on her face. "I'll hold still."
"I remember you," Lily whispered, awe making her voice tremble. Her glance flickered down as if suddenly embarrassed and oh, that was more than she dared hope - that her little girl would remember her after all these years. Joy surged through Mal, stronger than Regina's magic because this meant that she hadn't failed totally as a mother. She and Lily might have had scant time together, but the dragon in Lily had already been strong enough to know her mother and hold on to that memory...even in the cruel, magic-less world of humans. The shame and fear in her daughter's eyes told Mal all she ever wanted to know about how that genetic memory had been treated by the humans. With their narrow minds and magic-blind eyes...she wanted to destroy every single one of them who had ever hurt her little girl, made her doubt her own heart and mind.
But she couldn't. They were long gone, out of her reach where she sat - because she was too weak to stand.
Mal pressed her forehead to Lily's and softly breathed in her scent and the anger faded away, a wave washing back out to sea. Lily was here, forever out of the reach of those fools and no one would hurt her again. Regina and Emma would say that was all that mattered and Mal found she almost truly believed them.
"I know, I know, it's all right, you're here now," she whispered, holding her tight.
Lily lowered her head to Mal's shoulder, resting against her. "Why do I remember you? How can I remember you?" And there was confusion and shame and fear in her voice. It made Mal want to snarl.
"You're a dragon, sweetheart," Mal said, trying not to wince. Emma had her hands on her knee, and the thin flesh there resented being mended.
Lily lifted her head, looking at Maleficent's injuries as if she'd only just noticed them. "Are you all right?"
"It stings," Mal said. "A little, it's nothing."
"If it's nothing you should stop squirming," Emma said, shaking her head.
"You should hold still," Lily said. The concern on her face was warmer than the fire in Mal's chest.
"I am holding still," Mal retorted.
Regina touched her shoulder. "I just need to get the marks in front." Her hands were too warm. She had a fever. Regina couldn't- but she could- oh she could.
Mal let Lily move away from her but held both of her hands, tight. Regina's healing magic and her fingers moved across Mal's belly, then her chest, closing the last of her wounds. Smiling at Regina, Mal let go of one of Lily's hands just long enough to stroke Regina's cheek. "Thank you." Emma returned with a blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Thank you both. You brought her back."
"We said we would," Emma reminded her. Her eyes went to Lily, then to their clasped hands, then to Regina. Emma would take care of her. Emma loved her. Were they ready? Could they possibly be ready?
The emergency blanket itched, but she clung to it, because it was warm, and didn't smell of sheep. Woollen blankets always smelt of sheep in the old world.
"We'll try and find you a shirt. My mom keeps some spare clothes in her classroom." Emma winced as she mentioned her mother, but she buried it deep. "Stay here, don't push yourself. We'll get you some food."
She disappeared behind the curtains. Maleficent didn't know what the townsfolk would consider food, but it would probably be hot dogs or some other terrible thing that in no way resembled something she'd eat. Lily stayed with her, letting Mal pull her under the blanket and hold her. She didn't know what to say, maybe she didn't need to, because Lily didn't need words. Lily was hers, and she was home. She had so much to explain, about her powers and her other mother, but for now, it was enough that Lily was here.
"Are you hungry?"
Lily smiled again, so shy. "We got drive-thru. Regina didn't eat much, but she's been sick."
"Oh?" She tilted her head. Worrying about Regina was a new concern, almost out of place, yet not, because this was important. Maybe Mal could help. Emma would be able to help more, but Mal could make it easier. What was that spell?
"Emma said she doesn't leave town much, so I guess driving all that way must have given her plenty of time to catch something." Lily's eyes flicked to Regina. "She didn't complain. I would have been a lot less patient if I was throwing up in a ditch."
Regina stood only a few feet away, with Henry on the other side of the blanket wall. She stole a look back at Mal, then followed Henry towards the cafeteria. With her wounds healed, Maleficent's senses were keener, less distracted. Henry smelt of concern and relief; he was healthy. She was accustomed to him now, fond of the scent of him and the reassuring strength of his heartbeat. Maleficent turned her senses to Regina and tried to focus. It was more difficult than it would ordinarily be, because she'd lost blood and much of her was still healing, even though her wounds were closed. It always took longer to heal internally: for flesh and muscle fibres to knit back together.
Once she concentrated on Regina, Mal knew. The spark pulsed within her, a faint, but growing knot of magic, unique, yet tinged with Emma and Regina both. Magical pregnancy was rare across species, and rarer still to between two humans. The dragonfire spell might have made things easier, boosted both of their magic, and made them open, vulnerable to the strength of living magic. and they were powerful. They had the strength, and the deep emotional connection between them would have only made it easier. More than that, they were bound to each other, so there was a strange sense of rightness to it. She couldn't sense the author's meddling in this, so, with luck, he was still trapped and they were safe. Emma and Regina had made life on their own, without the overbearing hand of fate.
She had to tell her, because this precious, tentative life needed to be protected. . Regina wouldn't guess, potentially not for weeks, and she needed to know. Emma could help manage her symptoms and they'd have to talk, because they wouldn't be certain, not yet. Potential lives that began in magic could be flicker out of existence as they'd come in. The cold fear from when she'd carried Lily caressed her spine like an old enemy. Lily's start had been precarious, and the days when Mal had feared that her little life wouldn't take, wouldn't grow, had been the longest of her experience. She could save Regina from that. She could tell her later, when this life was established and well on the way to becoming a child. Regina could live in ignorance of the flicker she carried until it burned within her, safe and secure.
That was wrong, and Mal hated that she couldn't do it. She wanted to protect Regina and Emma, keep them both from the chill of fear. Yet, if she only had a few moments, a handful of days, perhaps she deserved that. Maybe what time she had with this hint of a life, would be precious to her, and Emma.
Emma returned with clothing. It was too pale, pastel blue and the wrong shade of grey, also too short and not what Mal would have ever chosen, but it had no bloodstains, so she put on Snow White's gym outfit. The top was fluttery and the bottoms only came to her ankles, but Maleficent's socks were still wearable, so she allowed herself a small sigh of gratitude as she changed.
No longer bloody and terrifying, she was allowed out of the triage corner and that smirking doctor and the fairies started bringing in the others. Their injuries were relatively minor compared to hers, but humans could be delicate. Watching Emma and Regina volunteer to treat the townsfolk, Mal had to nod her agreement as well. It would aid Lily to learn healing magic, because often that was a type of magic that came easiest.
Mal reached for Lily's hand and beamed at her daughter when she took it. "We can help these people."
"How?" Lily asked, watching as they shifted the stretchers and the bodies on top of them, filling up the little corner of the room that had been precious left to Maleficent alone. "No one has ever wanted me to help them.."
Mal knelt next to one of the injured that the harpies had burnt, because she still couldn't trust herself to stand. Harpy fire was weak compared to her own, and taking that heat from the damaged skin of a human was simple. Holding that fire within her would help increase her own strength, so helping these people would be useful twice over.
"Feel that?" she said, guiding Lily's hand to float over the burn. "The quiet fire, in the background, the simmering sensation? That's her life spark, all humans have a similar feel to them, bright and full of hope. The angry energy, the red and orange, the fire that's screaming? That's the wound. You can take the anger out of it, pull it into yourself."
She took the burn slowly, letting the blisters and scorched flesh heal. Dragons were made of fire, and fire came to them easily. This fire would be much happier within her, not fighting her nature and being part of her, than it would be within a human. The blisters slowly faded and new pink skin rose in their place, smooth and unmarred.
"See?"
Lily stared, wide-eyed. Maybe she was going too fast, trying to teach her too much, but there were so many injured and she could help. Helping would make her feel like she belonged, like she had a purpose, maybe that would make her less scared to be part of this new world.
"There are good people here," she told Lily, keeping her voice low as they moved towards another injured person. "Brave people."
"And why does that matter to you?" Lily asked, curious. She leaned closer, and her presence changed the way Mal's heart beat. She'd been without her so long, and now she was here, with her, and nothing could be better than that.
"I have a weakness for humans," Mal said, smiling at her daughter. "Always have."
"So that's why you try to heal them? Because they're cute? Like cats or something?"
Mal reached for her daughter, touching her cheek. "Not like cats, not exactly. You'll see."
Shaking her head, Lily smiled. There was something so shy about her, so gentle. Her dragon side was buried deep, but she'd find it. She had so much strength, making it as far as she had by herself. She was proud of her yet sad that Lily had needed to be so strong on her own.
"They all have stories; these intense, brief lives that they fill with so much before they end," she said gently, keeping her voice low enough that Regina's people wouldn't hear her. It was too sentimental for them to understand. "There's a beauty in that. Healing them, protecting them, maintains that beauty. You'll see. Here, heal him with me."
Lily's fingers wound with hers, following her hand. "Okay."
Regina kept her arm around Henry's shoulders, for her own balance as much as reassurance that he was with her. Mal had Lily and she beamed at her daughter- their daughter- as she instructed her in basic healing magic. There were certainly more than enough burns, scratches and cuts to provide her with plenty of practice, and Lily seemed to share both of their magic, so she'd pick it up easily. Lily had enough to take in this evening without learning that she had two mothers. They'd talk about that once things had settled down. They could wait. Lily would be safe here.
Keeping her distance until Lily was more comfortable in the strange place they'd brought her to, Regina scanned the large room for Emma. Her head hurt and she needed her. Perhaps she'd forgotten what it was to be ill. During the curse, things hadn't changed, so she'd never been sick, never missed a day of work because of a minor ailment of her own. Henry grew, changing and ageing, so he was ill with the usual childhood diseases (which in Storybrooke were not life-threatening as they might have been in the Enchanted Forest). She had held him and rocked him, wishing she still had the magic to heal him, but able to trust that he'd recover. He always had.
In all that time, all those years, she'd only ever been the caretaker. She was deeply grateful that she'd never needed to depend on anyone else while he was young, because she wouldn't have been comfortable knowing she couldn't care for him. Now he was nearly as tall as she, yet she still kept up her smile, hid the pain in her head as she hid her nausea, through sheer force of will.
She wasn't sure how long she'd be able to maintain the facade. The storm howled all around the sturdy walls of the school and the rain pounded on the roof above, and both of them were so loud that her ears had trouble making out the voices around her. Granny, Mulan, Belle, David, Snow, Grumpy, Ruby- most of the town- surrounded her and Emma, filling them in on what had happened. The harpies had risen from the depths of the mine, setting themselves alight as the sun set. Maleficent had tried to fight them off, but there was so many that they swarmed her, overwhelming her. She'd held them off as long as she could, but in the end, only Ursula's storm had been able to stop them.
Emma did all of the talking, because standing up and appearing to be listening was the limit of Regina's endurance. Emma must have been right: she'd caught some virus out there in the world without magic and she'd just have to wait for her immune system to beat it back. She'd be fine in a few days, once everything stopped aching, (for some strange reason even her breasts ached), and her fever broke. She pulled her jacket tighter, hoping that would help against the cold, damp air, but she couldn't get warm. It couldn't be that cold. It was late spring, almost summer, yet the room seemed frigid, even with so many people.
Emma stopped an argument about the harpies and where they were coming from, because that was less important than stopping them, then listened to all the theories about why they'd chosen that afternoon to attack. Then Emma had to take a moment, because she'd coughed herself breathless, always hiding her mouth behind a tissue. She glanced at the tissues before tucking it away in her pocket, and Regina suddenly knew what it was. The remnants of the Chernobog had gotten into Mal, taking her when she was weakened, and the same black dust now had both of them. It made sense that it was only a nuisance for Emma, she'd only had magic for a short time, and she was the saviour, that had to help. Regina didn't know why it was affecting her stomach, not her lungs, not her lungs, but that was the only thing that made sense. Had she swallowed at the wrong time or in some other way been unlucky?
Emma insisted she was fine, and her parents hovered just close enough for Emma to glare them back. It was just the town line, which held the power of the Dark Curse and now the Chernobog: all the loose dark magic that line had to keep in. Emma didn't have a fever, and Regina could tell from her eyes that when she said it was just a cough, that's all it was.
"It's barely a cold," Emma insisted. Her expression was gentle when she looked at her parents, and maybe having Lily back, knowing she was safe, would make it easier to mend that relationship. "I'm fine," Emma promised again. "I'm going to go check on Ursula, make sure she's all right with the storm, then we can start planning for the clean up and how to deal with the harpies, if any of them survive this."
Regina released Henry with an weak squeeze, then followed Emma, focusing on her back as she led them through the crowd. Out of the packed cafeteria and the warmth of the bodies around them, it was even colder in the hallway. Trying not to wince just from the temperature change, Regina fell in step with Emma, and pulled her coat tighter. She touched Emma's arm once they were around the corner, and really out of sight of everyone. She'd promised to tell Emma the next time she was ill, but this wasn't just honesty, Regina needed her, wanted her to promise it was all right and to just be here, so she didn't have to fight alone.
She touched Emma's arm, drawing her closer.
"I'm fine," Emma promised, covering her hand with hers. "It's just like I got a lungful of dust, nothing like what happened to Mal." Her fingers squeezed Regina's, then she stopped. "You're too warm." She turned, halting in the corridor. She touched Regina's cheek, then pulled her hand back, surprised. "Regina-"
"It wasn't this bad-" she started to protest, but she was too tired. "Emma, everything hurts."
Taking off her jacket, Emma led her to the stairs and they sat together on a step, Emma's leather jacket wrapped over Regina's shoulders. "You should have said something."
"They needed you," Regina answered, shutting her eyes. She held her forehead, trying to stop the pounding behind her eyes. "There are harpies-"
"And we have a dragon, a magical half-octopus witch, fairies and a few werewolves, I think they can handle the town for awhile..." Emma let her words drift and kissed Regina's forehead, nearly making the pain bearable, if just for a moment. "I'm sorry you have Chernobog dust in your stomach instead of your lungs. That has to suck."
If she felt better, she'd laugh, but Regina smiled. "Do you think that's it?"
"Mal had a fever, and her lungs were a wreck. Something definitely got to me and I've coughed up black gunk twice. You have a fever, and it's your stomach instead, but maybe that's not so bad?" Emma held her tighter. "Or maybe it's worse. After I check on Ursula, we'll get you to bed, okay?"
"We don't have beds here," Regina reminded her, already comfortable by Emma's touch.
"We have cots, and all the mats from the gym. It's kinda cozy," Emma said, actually sounding slightly nostalgic.
Emma hasn't been camping, Regina assumed she'd hate cots and sleeping in a big room with many people, but maybe all of her group homes weren't bad. Mal and Henry already seemed to have a corner picked out, and having them would make it okay. Would Lily join them? Would she want more space? The school cafeteria was already pretty full, but they could spread out to some of the other rooms to give families more space.
"How's your stomach?" Emma asked after they'd sat in silence.
Regina didn't want to mention it, or think about it, because her stomach refused to be on her side. She couldn't remember being this nauseated, at least, not since they lived Enchanted Forest and suffered from a complete lack of understanding of food hygiene. Maybe she was tougher then, because she didn't remember being this fragile. "I'm not going to throw up on the floor, if that's what you're worried about."
"I worry about you," Emma corrected. "It's an elementary school floor, I'm sure it can handle whatever you throw at it."
The second part of what she said made Regina smile again, and it was hard to be miserable with Emma, even when she was. "You worry?"
"A lot," Emma reminded her, kissing her forehead again. "But you told me, and that, well, that's-" Emma hugged her, letting her rest her head on her chest. "I'm sorry I can't make you feel better."
"Who says you can't?" Regina wasn't sure Emma even heard her, but she wasn't going to let her go.
"Everyone's safe," Emma reminded her, kissing her head again. "Henry's here, Mal and Lily are together, everyone's all right, even my parents and the little guy. When the storm's over we'll clean up and figure out how to harpy-proof the town, and I will drink ginger ale and watch bad movies with you until you feel better."
"Why does it have to be bad movies?" she asked, still against Emma's chest. It was so safe there, so warm. She didn't know how she was going to let her go.
"You don't mind if you fall asleep during a bad movie," Emma explained. "If it's good, you might try to stay awake, or have to keep up with the plot, but if it's really bad, I mean Swamp Monsters from Planet X bad, it doesn't matter what kind of strange dreams your brain comes up with. It'll all blend together."
She forgot for a moment how terrible the churning of her stomach was. That title was ridiculous. It couldn't possibly exist. "Someone actually made a film called Swamp Monsters from Planet X?"
"They made three," Emma said, oddly proud of that strange little fact. "The second one's the best."
Slowly lifting herself from Emma's chest, Regina swallowed, then met her gaze. Emma's eyes were so bright and familiar. "This is what you and Henry do when I have meetings at night? Watch completely terrible cinematic nonsense?"
"And play violent video games," Emma answer, her tone light even though her concern had furrowed her forehead. "What do you do when I work late?"
"Read, play chess."
Emma kissed her head again, still full of warmth. "Okay, look, when we get through this, we'll go home and we'll wait this out. I'll let you pick the first two films, and it'll Just be you, me, and a bucket, just in case."
There shouldn't have been anything romantic about the idea of lying on the sofa with Emma, trying not to vomit, yet sitting with her on the stairs had a kind of peace to it that Regina craved. Emma was home, as Henry was. Knowing they were both safe and nearby made struggling through her body's long list of complaints a little easier. She still didn't understand why her breasts were so sore. They'd never been as part of another illness. Even moving her arm too quickly across her chest was painful. Could the remnants of the Chernobog really do all of that? Had whatever magic he possessed found a synergy with the Dark Curse to have survived, even in the form of dust or some kind of blackness? Maybe she should be grateful that it had hit her less hard than Maleficent and stayed out of her lungs, because she didn't have time for weeks of coughing.
"Deal," Regina agreed, kissing Emma's hand. "Now go see the Sea Bitch and remind her that we need a town to come back to."
Emma stroked her cheek again, then kissed her, her lips gentle and cool. "I'll be right back."
She didn't take her jacket. Ursula had unleashed the wrath of the sea on Storybrooke and Emma went upstairs without her jacket. Regina got up to follow her and stopped, hanging on to the railing while her stomach calmed down. She was not going to be sick in front of Henry, or anyone else from the town who needed her to protect them. She would hold herself together, even if it was by will alone. Giving in to the way her the contents of her stomach seemed to press at the back of her throat, she sat back down. Shutting her eyes, she put her head in her hands and thought about her breath. She was fine. It was just the Chernobog and the terrible darkness of his. She could fight darkness. She'd done that before. She had Henry, Emma, and Mal and Lily. She had a family now, as odd as it was, and she'd beat this, even if she did end up watching Swamp Monsters with Emma.
"Regina?"
That wasn't Emma's voice and she looked up reluctantly. Forcing her mask back down, Regina steeled herself. "What is it?"
"I'm sorry," Snow said, immediately retreating a step. "I didn't mean to disturb you."
"Emma will be down soon," she said, getting to her feet. She had to hold the railing again, and her hand came up, covering her mouth by reflex. She would not be sick in front of Snow. She couldn't. She wanted Emma back, more than anything, as she stood facing Emma's mother.
"I came-" Snow stopped, for once sensing that she wasn't wanted. "Maleficent asked me to check on you."
Since when were Mal and Snow on speaking terms? Perhaps the combination of blood loss and having Lily back had softened her. "She what?"
"She asked that I check on you," Snow repeated, and she took a step forward. "She was concerned that you expended too much energy healing her."
Regina rolled her eyes. Mal knew she and Emma were fine, which meant she'd sent Snow because forcing them to speak would spend the mending of their relationship. Mal was meddling, of course, and she never appreciated how difficult some discussions could be. After she'd lost Lily, she saw everything differently.
"Healing her wasn't a problem," Regina promised, holding tight to the railing. If she didn't move, she'd be fine until Snow gave up and left her alone.
"No, I suppose it wasn't." Snow's eyes fell, and she took a step back, starting to retreat. Regina had outlasted her for the moment, then she advanced again, too close this time. "She looks so much like you."
"Maleficent?" Regina asked, letting her tone bite.
"Lily," Snow answered, meeting Regina's eyes with grief in her own. "She has your hair."
"Which will do her no good in this humidity," Regina replied, keeping the walls firm between them. "We haven't-"
"Of course, right," Snow said, hurrying through the words. "That's a lot for her to take in. Her mother being a dragon is probably enough of a shock."
She wanted to hate her. If she could dredge up that familiar desire to see Snow suffer, this conversation could be easier and over much quicker. Regina couldn't. Snow and David had taken her daughter, made her live a life of doubt, but when Regina looked at her, she only felt weary. Maybe that was her stomach. "Lily remembers Maleficent. Dragons have a kind of genetic memory. Lily spent all of her life knowing her adoptive parents weren't her parents and that she had a mother, somewhere. Of course, in a world without magic, that meant she was crazy and had to be convinced otherwise."
"I'm sorry."
Regina nodded, and moving her head only made her nausea that much worse. "I know." She swallowed, fighting the rising in the back of her throat.
"You're sick, aren't you?" Snow ventured forward, and then she was too close. Regina couldn't retreat up the stairs, and Emma wasn't back yet. "Maleficent is worried about you because you're sick."
"I'm fine."
"You're not," Snow argued, and she lifted her hand, presumably to touch her. Regina flinched, as she always did and Snow's expression softened further. "You didn't say anything when we were discussing the town."
"Emma-" she started, but Snow interrupted.
"You're flushed," she said. Her hand still hung in the air, halfway to Regina's forehead. She knew better than to touch her, but she wasn't going to give up. "May I?"
Where was Emma? Why wasn't she back? The last person she wanted to fuss over her was Snow, but she wasn't leaving. "Crossing the town line made me ill," Regina admitted. She lowered her eyes and allowed Snow to touch her forehead. Her cool fingers did help with her headache, just for a moment.
"I thought-"
"I didn't cast the curse this time," Regina said. "It's your curse, not mine, and we used it to kill the Chernobog. An echo of its power is still present. At least, that's what seems to be. Maleficent was affected much more seriously, and Emma less so."
"I'm sorry," Snow repeated. She reached for Regina's hand, holding it as Regina stiffened. Emma's touch was different, as was Henry's; she was safe with them. Trusting Snow was harder. "You have a fever."
"I do," Regina answered, trying to make her tone short and clipped. "It'll pass."
"You should sit."
"I was sitting," she protested, frustrated that Snow hadn't left. "I'm waiting for Emma."
"I'll wait with you."
Which was the last thing she wanted. Regina wanted to be angry. To hate Snow and David both for the hell her daughter had been through, yet, she'd always hated, and not hated, Snow White. She'd defended her, protected her from Cora and Zelena. Hate was over.
"Emma takes care of you, doesn't she?"
"Yes."
Snow's tiny smile held such pride. "I'm glad."
She stared straight ahead, and after a while, Regina shut her eyes, because it was easier not to have to focus on anything.
"How did she know you were sick?" Snow asked.
Regina kept her eyes shut, rubbing the centre of her forehead. "She can probably sense it, or guess."
"Dragons can sense that?"
Wishing she could thrust one of the old books about dragons into Snow's hands, Regina sat in silence. Snow would figure out the answer to her question.
"She's spent the whole week with Henry, even took him flying-" Snow paused, "-sorry, I don't know if you were meant to know that."
Swallowing again, Regina didn't look up. "I trust her."
"You loved Maleficent, didn't you?" When Regina didn't answer, Snow kept talking. "You must have, and now you have a child, and she's back."
"She's not dangerous," Regina insisted, needing to protect Lily from being labeled a villain before she'd even met the town. "She's so much like Emma. So lost, and lonely. All she wants is her mother."
"Both of them," Snow reminded her. "She'll need both of you."
"Not yet," Regina said. Lowering her head stopped some of her nausea, but it only got worse. She couldn't remember the last thing she'd eaten, and perhaps it was her own fault that her stomach was now so sore. What was the point of eating if she was only going to be sick?
"You're a good mother," Snow said. Regina shuddered at her touch, but accepted the hand Snow laid on her shoulder. "It's hard to parent someone who's already grown, but you've done such a good job with Henry."
"Thank you."
"And I know it was difficult for you, but you were a wonderful mother to me," Snow said, and her tone was surprisingly soft.
Regina had to open her eyes, because she hadn't been anything of the sort. She'd wanted Snow dead for years as her step-mother and they'd never gotten along. She'd faked most of her affection, hadn't she?
"You can't have lied about all of it," she insisted, rubbing Regina's back. "You did try to kill me, and declare me a traitor, but you taught me about love, and held me when my father died. I know it's strange and complicated between us, but my daughter loves you, and I- well, I guess I always have, it's just easier now. Everything's out in the open. We've hurt each other, more than anyone should, but Emma loves you, and you're my grandson's mother. Family is complicated, and ours is uniquely so."
Regina turned to study her face. Snow's lack of malice used to be so frustrating, but now it only felt honest. They'd hurt each other greatly, but helped each other just as much. Making their family work with the addition of Lily was just another challenge.
"I'm so sorry, Regina. I'm sorry you've just met your daughter, that leaving Storybrooke's made you so sick, and that you have to get to know an adult, when you should have held her as a baby." Snow leaned closer and this time when Snow touched her, Regina didn't flinch. "I'm glad Emma's with you, and I'm so happy that you're so good for each other. You do know that, right?"
"I-" Regina began but had to stop. Did she know that? She'd been a pawn in her mother's plans when she'd married Leopold, and Cora had hated Daniel enough to kill him. She'd kept Graham and Maleficent both secret, and now, with Emma, Emma was the first relationship she'd had where anyone had been genuinely happy that she was in love. "I love her."
"I know." Snow leaned closer, and she wasn't Emma. Her presence didn't have the same calming effect that Emma's did, but she wasn't unwelcome. "And you love Lily."
She nodded, not trusting her voice until she'd had a breath. "She and Emma were friends, years ago. They- they understand each other."
"That can be helpful in a step-parent relationship," Snow said with a hint of humour.
"She's older than Emma."
"And there's a thirty year gap between my children." Shrugging, Snow rubbed Regina's back. "My grandson is nearly fifteen and my son's not even fifteen months. My daughter's dating a woman that's become like a sister to me, and I'll have to find some other word to describe it, because that just makes it sound terrible, and it's not. We're family. We're a very strange family, and that's okay. We'll be able to have the strangest Thanksgiving dinner this year, and I'm already looking forward to it."
Wincing a little as Snow called them sisters, Regina smiled and finally began to relax. "I think it should be in our house."
"Yours and Emma's," Snow agreed. "Of course, you have the dining room for it, and Lily and Maleficent have to come. They do eat human food, don't they?"
"They do. Mal's not a fan of vegetables."
Snow smiled and there was no pain in it at all. "I did wonder why Henry always seemed to have twice as much salad at Granny's when they ate together. They get along so well, don't they?"
Her ex and her son were friends, her daughter and her - partner- was that the word she wanted for Emma? Her Emma and Lily were connected, as were Regina and Mal, and Snow, Charming and the little Neal. It was a strange mess, just as Snow said, but family, nonetheless. Emma and Lily had both been without a family for years, and now they had an overabundance, including a sociopathic, drunken aunt and another who could throw up a thunderstorm whenever they needed and teleport through realms.
"They're kindred spirits, both obsessed with books and stories. Maleficent knows more stories than anyone I've met. She used to-" Regina halted, trying not to reminisce too much but Snow's patient expression held no disdain, no recrimination. Regina loved Maleficent, and Emma, and the rest of their tangled knot of family. Snow understood that.
"What did she do?"
"Told me stories, all the stories I'd never read, or even heard of before. I'd lie in bed with her and she'd just talk, making words into pictures and music from far off lands before I fell asleep." Losing herself in the past almost made her forget how angry her stomach was, and how much she ached. Snow's arm went around her, and it stayed, holding her close until Emma returned.
Late that night, after nearly everyone was asleep, Henry and Lily sat just a little away from them, reading his book of fairy tales with a flashlight. He'd been happy to explain who everyone was, and to introduce her around. It seemed that the story Emma's parents had been so worried about, something about a destroyer and a saviour, wasn't in the book and no one knew it. It was easier for the precious prince to take the half-dragon around the townsfolk. No one doubted Henry's sincerity. Some may have still wondered about Maleficent, because her reputation was apparently quite fearsome, but no one shied from Henry when he took Lily around the town.
The fairies had been uppity, but Blue had always been aloof, so Mal had told Lily not to worry and suggested Henry take her through the book. She'd been so proud of Henry when he explained that the book was biased, poorly written in parts and left out many stories. He'd learned well, and listening to his clear voice tell Lily her history made her heart warm and content. It was good that they got along. That he accepted her so readily. She'd be comfortable in her strangely wrought family, once she learned how it worked, and that the kind young man was her brother, that the couple with the young baby who looked guilty whenever she passed were both her kidnappers and kin.
Emma had been on the roof with Ursula nearly an hour before she returned, her hair and clothes dried with magic. Ursula's storms were beautiful, rich and full of power, and Emma had been captivated. Maleficent knew that kind of wonder. She'd seen firestorms rage through forests as if they were twigs, and Ursula call a great maelstrom so powerful that it had left the sea bed dry as it passed. Cruella would be up there with Ursula, because there was nothing she loved more than destruction. They were an odd pair, but Ursula mediated most of Cruella's dark impulses and kept her reasonably tame. Ursula could be relied on, and Cruella could be distracted by power or pain. She'd been helpful in the battle against the harpies because she could turn them against each other, making them tear each other to shreds.
Mal would have to have quiet words with Emma and Regina, explaining how best to keep Cruella's demons reined in.
Maleficent sat on the strange blue mat, that was not straw, but soft, blankets all around her. The dwarves and fairies had made themselves useful, making sure everyone had bedding. There was little privacy, but the water was still running in the toilets, so by the standards of the old world, all was well. She watched Lily and Henry talk about the book, only half listening because she was tired and she knew the stories Henry told. She'd spent most of the night healing, and guiding Lily through the basics of repairing a human. Collecting all of that fire made her comfortable, even sleepy, but her mind still whirled.
She had to tell Regina, to let her find the words to share with Emma, before they lost their chance. Part of her heart protested again that she could wait, if this child were not to be, it might be better to let Regina's illness pass, unrecognised. Emma would hold her, she'd heal, and she would not have to know what might have been.
Maleficent sighed, resting her head on her knees. Even though her heart was heavy, she owed Regina the truth. Turning from Henry and Lily, she caught Emma's eye. She sat against the wall, Regina's head on her shoulder and a blanket wrapped around her. Emma would have watch soon, and Mal would have time to tell Regina.
Snow and Emma walked Regina over together, carrying some fizzing drink and some of the plain, dull crackers that tasted of parchment. Apparently they were easy to eat, but Regina hadn't liked them earlier. Emma and her mother were civil as they mutually fussed over Regina and got her settled on the mat next to Maleficent, not far from where Henry and Lily sat reading. It must have been harder to let go of her anger for Emma, without the unstoppable love Mal had for her daughter to burn it away. Lily consumed her, like her own inner blaze. All that mattered was the future, and what they could do together. Snow White and her prince's mistakes were nothing compared to having Lily now.
Once Snow had retreated and Emma had kissed Regina goodbye to take her turn on watch, Mal lay down beside Regina, offering to share her blanket.
Regina looked at her, confused.
"You're freezing, aren't you?"
"It's not that bad," Regina insisted, and Mal shook her head.
"I'm warm, and I promise Emma will not mind if I help keep your teeth from chattering."
Regina looked at her for a moment, then slid over, letting Maleficent wrap her arms and the blanket around her. Inside of being a cold shape against her, Regina was warm, too warm for one of her kind. Her hands were dry, so her fever hadn't broken, and once they were settled, she sighed, and Mal heard her discomfort.
"It might get worse before it gets better," she said, holding Regina with one arm around her stomach. "And I'm sorry."
"Sorry? Sorry for what?" Regina didn't turn, just nestled closer, because the heat of Mal's body must have been closer to the temperature the baby needed. Magical pregnancy always demanded so much before it settled.
"I didn't want to tell you until I was certain," Mal began. She rested her hand, palm open, against Regina's belly and this time used magic to feel for the tiny hint of life. It glimmered back at her, barely more than a trace of magic separate from her mother.
"Certain of what?" Regina wondered, half turning to try and see Maleficent's face.
"You're pregnant, dear."
Regina went rigid against her, as if Maleficent had threatened her, or if she'd been injured. "What are you talking about?"
Mal stroked her hair, wishing she could do something to make this easier for Regina. "I feel it in you: the change in your magic."
"That's not possible," she said, her words final, even though she didn't sound like she believed herself.
"With your magic, and Emma's, it's the only thing that makes sense." Mal argued, trying to be gentle. "And you know that. Let me guess, you're cold when you're not, your head hurts, your breasts hurt, you're nauseated all the time, and nothing you do makes your stomach settle. You want Emma, more than anything, just to be near you, and when she's gone, all your symptoms are worse."
She stopped turning towards Mal, and instead rolled down, hiding her eyes. "How do you know that? How could you? I'm just sick, crossing the town line-"
"It's not that," Mal insisted. "When I was pregnant with Lily, whenever you left me, my stomach turned to waves and knots," Maleficent said, remembering the cold in her castle without Regina's presence. "And I hurt. Magical pregnancy takes so much of your energy, not just the physical, but your magic as well. The headaches never really go away. At least, mine didn't."
Still stiff, as if she feared being struck, Regina said nothing, but one of her hands found Mal's wrist and held tight.
"I didn't think you and Emma could. Not really, I would have made you be so much more careful, but you were so happy together, and it's rare, extremely rare with humans." She continued to stroke Regina's hair, her other hand still flat on Regina's belly. "I knew you were special. You had to have such strength to get me pregnant, and Emma, she has the same kind of strength. She's dauntless, like you are. Together, well, you've made life, dear."
Mal felt Regina's shudder, perhaps it was a sob, more than she heard it.
"You gave me Lily, I should have realised that Emma could give you a child as well. Humans usually don't, not together, yet you did, my dear, oh my dear-" her words trailed off, because her throat had gone tight. Regina and Emma deserved so much happiness, not the uncertainty and exhaustion of waiting to see if Regina's pregnancy would continue.
Regina's warm hand caught Mal's, and drew tight, clutching her fingers. "It's not set, is it?"
She wouldn't lie, or soften the truth. "Magic's treacherous, hungry and wild. It'll feed on you, taking what it can, before it settles and starts to grow. This is another life, almost like a parasite, and your body will take time to adapt. Mine did."
"You could have lost Lily," Regina realised, her voice almost breaking. She understood that this pregnancy would also be precarious.
Mal blinked back tears, almost relieved that Regina couldn't see them. "The spark doesn't always catch, even with dragons. If you're this sick, it's a good sign. It's starting to burn, and once it's caught, it's easier."
"I can't be pregnant," Regina whispered, more to the universe than to Maleficent. "I can't. You, Emma, Snow, you have children, I, I have Henry."
"And Lily," Mal said, smiling into Regina's sweet smelling hair. "And maybe this one too."
"And you feel it?" There was hope in the question, and Mal held her tighter.
"I smell it. Emma and you, together, wrapped up into a single flame." Regina's shoulders finally began to relax against her. "She'll be so beautiful."
"I can't imagine," Regina said, stroking Mal's fingers instead of crushing them. "How do I tell Emma?"
"Joyfully," Maleficent said, lifting her head to see Henry and Lily, still talking over his book in the darkness. "Gently. I imagine the prospect of having a child with you hasn't crossed her mind, even though you already share one."
Regina's breath shudders in her chest. "Henry's not magical."
"Of course he is," Mal teased. "He's wise, and having that so young is gift." She brought her hand to the back of Regina's neck, and reached out with her magic, trying to remember the spell. She found it like a half-remembered song. Her magic could help quiet Regina's stomach, if temporarily.
"What are you doing?" Regina asked, more relieved than concerned.
"Something I remembered, it'll help, and it'll feel even better when Emma does it, but-"
"It'll be hard," Regina repeated. She turned her head and her dark eyes seem to stretch into forever. "But I'll have Emma."
"You will, and she'll have you." Maleficent couldn't even be jealous of them, because she had grown too fond of them as a pair. They deserve to be happy. "And you're both so very stubborn."
Regina sighed, and her tension faded. "Does that help?"
Mal shut her eyes, focusing on relieving Regina's symptoms so she too could get to sleep. "It helped me."
"Will she look like Emma?" Regina asked after the silence had grown soft and comfortable. "Lily looks so much like me. I'd like- I mean, it would be nice if she-"
"She'll be both of you," Mal promised, letting her magic seep gently into Regina to ease her stomach. "So she'll be extraordinary."
more notes: and Regina's pregnant, which was the plan since the first chapter, so I ignored the potion from the show. Apologies if that's not what you wanted for this story, it's what I wanted to explore.