Hi, beautiful readers. First, I'm so sorry I took this long to update. My college is getting me really busy, time is running away. Sorry again, but here is your chapter.
I need to warn you, though. One part of this chapter has to be rated M, there's mentions and/or insinuations of rape, so I'm putting a RAPE TRIGGER WARNING!
Also, this chapter is sweet at the end and past the middle of it. Regina, Archie and Henry are going to the hospital to see their girls. I think you won't want to miss it.
So, for all of you who don't want to read the part where the story is rated M, I'm putting a warning in the very beginning of it and then in the end, so you can jump over that part and won't miss the rest of this chapter, which will be very important to the next chapters.
The usual replies to your reviews are in the end of this chapter.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER 43 – SOMEONE WAS THERE
As soon as Archie entered the room, he knew Regina was already asleep, the silence and the lights off ensured that. He made his way to the bathroom as quiet as he could to not wake her. Then he walked to his side of the bed, but when he tried to lift the sheets so he could get under the covers, he just couldn't. Finding it odd to have extra weight on the sheets, he turned on the light just to find Regina lying down with a very bad dog lying comfortably by her side. The dog had her head resting on her paws and pressed against Regina's belly while Regina had her arms wrapped around the dog.
Archie took his phone and took a quick photo.
"Perdita, come on. Get out of my place." Archie whispered. The dog looked at him, but made no attempt to move. He could almost say that her owner's stubbornness was reflecting on her. "Come on, Perdita. Pongo is out there. Get out of my place." He said and pushed the dog just a little, who only now decided to leave the place on the bed.
The movement in the bed made Regina mumble something, but Archie was faster. He turned off the light and got under the covers, wrapping his arms around Regina.
"Good night, my love." He said and gave a small kiss on her forehead. In response Regina just snuggled deeper into her beloved's arms.
This part is rated M. So, you have been warned in the beginning of this chapter and then now. If you want to, you can just jump to the next warning where this part will be done.
The sensation of the hand caressing her belly was what awoke her from her sleepy state. What time was it? Where was she? The confusion was soon gone when she remembered that she was in her bedroom and it was Archie who was caressing her belly, it was always him.
Even with her eyes closed she breathed deeply and it was then that she realized something was wrong. The smell wasn't weird, but it wasn't as familiar as every morning. She frowned.
"Archie?" She asked in a voice still thick with sleep and it was then that she heard it.
"Who is Archie, Regina?"
Her heart stopped and she felt her whole body paralyzed. She widened her eyes only to see him staring at her. But how was that possible? He was dead. She herself had ordered someone to kill him.
"I asked you a question, Regina. Who is Archie?" Leopold said with angry voice and grabbed her arm, squeezing it as he spoke.
Only now she could move, she still didn't understand how it was possible, but he was there.
"What are you doing here? Get off of me." She asked with her voice full of fear.
"I'm your King and I have rights, but rather I want to know who is the man you were calling for in your dreams?" The old man commanded, returning to squeeze her arm as he spoke.
"Do not touch me!" She yelled, getting rid of his grasp and striving to reach the other side of the bed, as far away from him as possible. "How is that possible? What are you doing here? You're dead."
"How dare you?" He says even angrier. "Don't run from me, Regina. Come back here."
"No." She screamed. She was starting to get nervous. "You are nothing, you are just a nightmare. Get out!"
"Regina, don't force me to hurt you. After all these years you haven't learned anything? When I give you an order, you obey and now I'm telling you to come here and explain to me who is Archie."
"He is the man I love!" She almost screamed.
Angrily, Leopold walked around the bed to reach her. She saw him approaching and she had to keep him away. She was terrified. The only way was to go over the bed again and run to the door, because if she ran to the other side now he would reach her.
Unfortunately, she wasn't as fast and she couldn't, the huge belly proved a hindrance. Leopold managed to grab one of her ankles, causing her to fall onto the bed. She cried out in pain, but that doesn't stop him from pulling her.
"I told you not to run away from me." He said and pushed her back to bed. He climbed onto the bed and approached her, holding her two wrists so that she was almost immobile.
"Please, Leopold, please. I'm pregnant, you're hurting me." She asked desperately.
"It's my son, and you hav-"
"No! It's not your son. These are my daughters, mine and Archie's."
"How dare you?" He slapped her face. "This is my baby, you can't run away. Once he is born, I'll take him out of your arms. Now..." He climbed on top of her and started kissing her forcefully.
Her screams only increased. She didn't know if it was the pain she was feeling or fear and despair, but she abruptly closed her eyes and tried to remember Archie's voice.
"It's just a nightmare, just a nightmare. You are right. I'm here. You are safe." She kept repeating it in her mind, but every time she opened her eyes, she was still there and he was still there.
"Please." She cried and begged again, but to no avail.
It was then that she opened her eyes again and she could see it. Someone was watching her from across the room. It wasn't the person itself that caught her attention, but the glow coming from its chest. An intense purple light, a light she knew very well. She recognized that necklace instantly. It was the necklace that her father had shown her, the necklace that contained her magic. Someone she knew, but she just couldn't remember who it was. His eyes weren't strange and had malice in it. The smile on his face showed only that the person wasn't there to help her and that made her even more desperate.
"Stop struggling, it's okay. It's just a nightmare, just a nightmare. It's okay."
She blinked. It was all it took for her to find herself again in her bedroom in Storybrooke, but those eyes were still there, watching her.
It's over! The next few lines are still related to the nightmare above, but it's not rated M anymore. It will get softer as the chapter progresses.
Archie woke to the intensity of the screams coming from Regina. He had never seen her like this. None of her dreams or nightmares had messed with her like this was doing. He tried to wake her up a few times, but it seemed like she was trapped in her own mind.
She was thrashing wildly, screaming and crying. When she finally opened her eyes, Archie was there trying to calm her. Her breath was out and she was covered in sweat.
"What is happening? Mom?" Henry invaded the couple's room frightened. Pongo and Perdita came running as soon as the door was open. The screams had woken them. "Archie, what's happening?"
Archie didn't respond though. He looked at the boy for a few seconds and turned his attention to Regina, who was still struggling and trying to get rid of his hands.
"There is someone there. There was someone there." She spoke with difficulty as she pointed to an empty space in the room.
They looked at the place she was pointing, but as it might be expected, no one was there.
"It's okay. It was just a nightmare, Regina." Archie said softly, trying to gain her attention, but he failed.
"No! No! There is someone in the house. There was someone standing there."
"Mom, there's nobody here."
"But I saw it." She said exasperated.
"It was just a nightmare, Regina. Please, you need to calm down." Archie tried again.
"You don't understand... Someone was here... someone was in the house..." She tried to keep explaining, but she just couldn't because she couldn't breathe. She panted without success.
"Regina?"
"Mom?"
"I don't... I can't... breathe".
Archie and Henry's eyes widened with fear and worry. Knowing that Henry had never seen his mother in such a state, he didn't want the boy to be scared, but the truth was that he himself was terrified.
"Henry, go get water for your mother."
"But-"
"No buts, Henry. I need you to help me."
And with that the boy ran from the room.
"Regina, look at me. I need you to focus... you are having a panic attack. This is not good for you or for our girls."
"I... can't." She said with difficulty. Her face was now stained with tears.
Seeing that his words weren't working, he pulled her into a hug, knowing that it wasn't advisable at this time. He knew she needs space to breathe, but the truth was that he didn't know what else to do.
"Please, Regina. Listen," He began to whisper in her ear. "Listen to my breath. I'll help you. We can do this, you and me. We can breathe together." He insisted. "Just breathe in and out. In and out."
Over time she began to calm down, he pulled her head and rested it on his chest, that way she could hear his heart. He had one hand around her and the other on her face as he breathes, or tried to breathe quietly.
"You see. We can do this." And again he breathed in and out.
They stayed like that for a long time. Henry had returned with the water, but Regina hadn't noticed his presence yet. When Archie was sure that her breathing had calmed down, he let her go a little and looked into her eyes. "It's okay. It's okay." He assured.
She hid her face in his neck and started crying again. "There was someone there," She said between muffled sobs. "I saw it. Please believe in me."
"You were having a nightmare, the dogs didn't bark, Regina, and Henry entered the room just then. There's no way someone could have gone so fast."
"What if Greg came back? What if he is here again?"
"Mr. Gold would have felt it, and, besides, Greg doesn't remember anything."
"But I saw it." She whispered, her eyes filled with fear.
"We do so. You stay here with Henry and try to get some sleep while I look around the house to make sure no one came in."
"I won't go back to sleep." She insisted.
"Okay, then. I'll look at the house. I'll be right back, okay?"
She nodded and spoke. "Take care."
"Don't worry." He said and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead. "Henry, you stay here while I look at the house, okay?"
The boy nodded and climbed into bed next to Regina.
"Let's go Pongo, come on Perdita." And with that, he left the room.
A few minutes later, Archie returned to the room only to find Henry and Regina fast asleep. They looked tired and Regina still had her face red from crying. He looked at the watch and saw it wasn't even 4am. He turned off the lights and lied down next to Regina. Sleep didn't come over that morning.
Later that day.
Archie was the first to rise up, not that he has slept. Regina has always been the type of person who wakes up early and on a day like today she would wake up even earlier, but there she was sleeping with Henry by her side.
When Henry awoke, Archie was sitting in the room, looking at them with tired eyes. As soon as he saw the boy awake, he put his index finger in front of his lips and motioned for Henry to be quiet.
"What time is it?" The boy whispered as he got out of bed.
"7am." Archie replied promptly.
"Mom will be upset if we didn't wake her up. She hates to be late."
"I know. But the query is only at 9am. They need rest. What do you think of breakfast for them and let them sleep a little later?"
The boy nodded and the two left the room in the quietest way possible.
"Good morning, Regina. Good morning, Archie."
"Good morning." They both said in unison.
Henry, then, came out from behind the couple and grinned at Dr. Whale. "Good morning, Dr. Whale."
"Good morning, Henry. So we have a special guest this morning, huh?"
"Yes," The boy said excitedly. "I came to see my little sisters."
"This is great. Let's see how they behave with their big brother around." The doctor said with a broad smile.
Regina was lying down while Henry and Archie vied for space with Dr. Whale in front of the ultrasound screen.
"You see here, Regina?" The doctor asked pointing to the screen. "Isabella already has her little head down but not Lillian. Because you are at 32 weeks, it's likely that this is their position until the delivery, because they don't have much more space to move. For the same reason, it's likely that they will be more quiet and their movements won't be as noticeable as they were before."
"There's no problem with Lillian not being with her head down? Isn't it dangerous in childbirth?" Archie asked with concern.
Dr. Whale gave a quick laugh, but soon recovered himself. "There's no problem, Archie. If Regina had chosen to do a normal delivery, we would have to worry a bit about it and we'd have to do some maneuvering to put Lillian upside down, but as she opted for C-section, there's no problem."
"Are you sure?" Regina asked uncertain.
"I'm sure." He replied quickly. "Now, I'll clean the gel and I'm gonna need a little talk with you two." Then the doctor turned to Henry who was still excited by seeing his sisters and said. "You can wait outside there, Henry. I promise I won't take too long."
"There's something wrong with them?" The boy quickly asked.
"No, they are great. I just need to have an adult conversation with them." The doctor replied.
Henry looked at Regina for a moment and the smile she gave him was reassuring.
"Okay, but don't take too long."
"We won't." She said giving a quick wink to her boy.
Once Henry was out of the room, Archie helped Regina out of bed and the three made their way to Whale's office.
"So?" Archie was the first to ask.
"The tests are normal, most of them. Your girls are fine, but your pressure is a little high, Regina. Since you are 32 weeks pregnant with twins, I'm putting you on bed rest now until the end of your pregnancy."
"What?" Regina's mouth fell open in shock.
"You should have stopped working a few weeks ago as I had recommended."
"But I can't stop working. I won't stay home all day for more than two or three weeks." She said angrily.
"Actually, at least one more month." The doctor interrupted.
By saying these words, both Archie's and Regina's mouth opened in utter shock. It would be hilarious if Regina hadn't recovered herself from the shock so fast and hadn't taken it to the downside.
"What? Are you kidding me?"
"No, I'm not kidding."
"But you said that the delivery would be at 34 or 35 weeks." Archie questioned.
"Yes, I know what I said. Twins tend to be born around 36 weeks, but I think it's better for them if they have a little more time to develop. They are still small and the-"
"But you said they were fine." Archie said again and the worry in his voice didn't go unnoticed, much less the fact that he was squeezing Regina's hands.
"And they are. Twins are always born a little smaller than single babies. They are well developed by now, but at 32 weeks they still need to develop their little lungs. If they were born now, they would have a great chance of survival, but would have to stay in the hospital until they fully developed."
Regina let out a tired sigh. She was losing this fight. "But I can't leave City Hall this way. I need to get everything ready for my maternity leave."
"Regina, unfortunately I'm not giving you a suggestion. I'm your doctor and this time I'm giving you a medical order. I advise you to choose someone to replace you in the coming months."
"But-"
"Regina, it's the best for them." Archie said softly. "If that's what they need to be born healthy, that's what we'll do, right?"
Regina sighed in defeat.
"One more thing. When I say rest, I mean absolute rest. Without taking work home, doing things at home and no sex."
Whale had to control the sudden urge to laugh when he saw redness invading Regina's cheeks, but mostly Archie's.
"The rest must be strictly adhered. It reduces tension and uterine contractions, which causes babies to develop more, favorable for increasing the time of pregnancy."
"So that's it," She moaned. "I'll have to stay that way for at least another month."
"It's for a good reason, Regina." Archie said.
"I'm going to explode." She said, more to herself than to the others in the room.
"You'll be fine." The doctor said with a smile and Regina just growled angrily.
The rest of the day had passed quickly. Regina had to, against her will, choose one person to replace her for the coming months. Even though Regina and Snow's relationship has improved significantly, Snow wasn't an option for Regina.
The truth was that Regina had already spent some time thinking about who might replace her and even though she has reached the conclusion that no one could do her job as she did, a name came to her again and again. Belle. After a long conversation with her, Belle eventually accepted Regina's request.
Henry was sleeping with Emma and her parents and now Regina and Archie lay silent. Archie had one of his hands around Regina's belly, they were there just enjoying each other's presence. The calm, peace and love that the presence of the other transmitted. After some time in silence, Archie wondered if Regina was already asleep.
"Regina, are you sleeping?" He whispered.
"No."
"I was thinking. We need to buy a new car before the girls come."
"Yes, we do." Regina replied calmly, but she was quiet and thoughtful and Archie knew something was going on in her mind.
"Ruby came to talk to me. She said that if you want, she can come spend some mornings with you while I'm at work." He tried to get her attention.
"No need. I'll be fine." She answered and the silence returned.
"Regina?"
"Yes?"
"About today... about the nightmare," He began to speak and felt her shiver a little. "What happened?"
"I already told you. There was someone in the room, I know there was."
"No, I mean... the nightmare... about who were you dreaming?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"When I was trying to wake you, you pushed me. You kept trying to get away from me as if I was hurting you."
"I... I..." She started to stutter. "I don't remember."
"It was the King, wasn't it? King Leopold." He asked and this time she trembled in his arms even more.
"Please, Archie. I don't wanna talk about it."
He considered asking a little more, but he knew Regina and he knew that these memories were painful to her. All he least wanted was her to suffer. Then he let it go. If one day she wanted to talk about him, he'd be here to hear her.
"Alright, then." He spoke quietly and the silence came back, again.
After a few minutes like this, Regina wasn't sure if he was still awake, but she called him anyway.
"Archie?"
After a few seconds, he replied. "Hm?"
She, with some effort, turned and lay down so that now she was staring at that beautiful pair of green eyes.
"You know I love you, don't you?" She asked and even though she already knew the answer, her voice was full of uncertainty.
He lovingly took a stray hair that was falling on her face and placed it behind her ear. His eyes could be as expressive as Regina's. His eyes were full of love, pure love.
"I know, Regina, and I love you too much. The three of you." He said with a huge smile gracing his lips. "And that's why I'll be here. When you want to talk, if someday you want to talk about it I'll be here to hear you. And if you don't want to talk about it, not now, not later, no problem. Because it can't change what I feel for you."
She just smiled and whispered. "Thank you."
Then she snuggled into his arms and they were both asleep minutes later.
So, what you think? Let me know, please. I really want you to know that I won't stop writting this fanfiction. I love doing it, but as I said before, time is really running away, but that doesn't means I won't update as soon as I can.
Next chapter will be sweet and cuteness will be all over there, but I feel like next chapter is the beggining of the end of this fanfic. But don't worry, we still have some chapters coming before it.
To emanu cristina; Ei, eu senti mesmo sua falta no capítulo anterior, mas você apareceu novamente com esse comentário e eu fiquei boba de novo. Muito obrigada! Então, Regina tem seus motivos mesmo para detestar a Claire e eu acho que de alguma forma a Claire acabou se apaixonando por Archie haha As tão esperadas novidades sobre a gravidez estão nesse capítulo e eu espero não tê-la decepcionado. E sobre o drama? O que eu posso dizer? Eu amo um drama e ele não pode deixar de aparecer aqui nessa história, ainda mais nos momentos certos. Apenas espere. Ah, um milhão de desculpas pela demora, eu dependo da minha beta reader, então... já sabe né? Demora na certa, mas ela é maravilhosa e eu não posso reclamar. Evil kisses ;*
To EvilRegalTwinnies; Haha, I don't know what to answer, you won't be able to really know what kind of birth she will have until the girls want to make an apparition. See ya ;*
To CCangel; I know right? Ariel is a mess hahaha and Regina have all right to hate her. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Kiiiisses ;*
To Anonymouse; haha I'm glad you liked last chapter and I do hope you like this chapter too! Let me know. kiiisses :*
To anapcmesquita; sempre atrasadinha, né? Velho, tu já tá um capítulo atrasada! hahah ;* mas eu vou deixar passar, tá? parei de te pressionar pra ler a minha fanfiction! kkkkk ;****
To livialittleliar; eu já ameeeeei sua irmã kkkkkk ficar fazendo drama no quarto foi ótimo. Mil desculpas pela demora, de verdade! Eu espero que você tenha gostado desse capítulo. beijões :D
To Guest; OMG! You really read all chapter in one day? I can't believe in you! Pleeeeease, let me know you name. Thank you thank you thank you! Your review make me really happy. :*** Sorry about the long delay.
To Britney; Sorry I took this long to update. Here is your next chapter. I hope you liked it! kiiiiiissses ;* and thank you for being always around.
To opheliafrump; Haha, you're ok! I haven't being around for a while too. Ariel really have this coming! haha ;** I hope you liked this chapter.
To mihpuretachi; Ariel é uma fofa! Só lá no seriado kkkkkk eu ainda assim adoro ela aqui! Espero que você tenha gostado do capítulo de hoje. Beeeijos ;***
To Kristy; THANK YOU, beautiful :* I can't stop saying that I couldn't do it without you! ;** kisses.