Prepare for the unexpected in this chapter!
Regina stirred, rubbing her hands over her face and receiving a painful reminder of the previous day's events. She let out a little whimper and pulled her hand back to see the blood coating her fingers, "great," she groaned, leaning over the person in the other side of her bed to grab some tissues from the bedside table. She held the tissue to her nose and sat up, her head bent over, making sure that the blood fell into the tissue rather than on her fresh linen.
She sat like that for a while, hoping that the bleeding would stop, why was it that she was always the one lecture that got stuck breaking up silly domestics; she couldn't believe that a student had actually elbowed her in the face, however accidental it may have been. Looking up, her brain caught up with her eyes and they went wide, her head shot around and she stared at the guy who was in bed with her. She gasped and looked around the room, what the hell was going on? Why was Robin in her bed?!
He shuffled somewhat and she felt a hand on her lower back, rubbing gently, "morning."
"Robin," she looked at him eyebrows raised, he was smiling at her contently and it did things to her to see him in her bed like he was, wearing only his boxers. "Robin."
He slowly opened his eyes and glanced up at her, as soon as he did his smile left his face and he shot up in bed, "god Gina, why didn't you wake me up?!"
"You're the one who's asleep in my bed." She scoffed, he'd obviously put her to bed, because the last thing she remembered was being on the couch in his arms, oh god she had allowed him to hold her, how stupid could she be?
He furrowed his eyebrows and grabbed the box of tissues, "I'm not talking about the whole sleeping over thing, I'm talking about the blood that's gushing from your face." He ripped the tissues out and carefully began dabbing at her face, being gentle around her nose.
"Robin, you are not supposed to be here," she shook her head, "you shouldn't have stayed here."
"Regina, you clearly need someone to look after you, come on, it's gonna take more than tissues to clean you up."
"Robin! Listen to me, you need to get to college now, you need to go to your ten o'clock lecture with Zelena and if you…"
"I already rang in, plus it's eleven thirty."
"What!" She shot up from the bed and grabbed the alarm clock on the bedside table, "eleven thirty! I missed my first lecture! Why didn't it go off, what the hell!" She rushed to her closet and began rifling through it, trying to find clothes.
"Regina stop," he placed his hands on her arms, "I turned it off."
"What?! Why would you do that? I need that alarm, that alarm is what stops me from being late to work! I can't be late to work Robin! I can't believe you turned it off, I really can't."
"You are not going in today."
"Excuse me!" She snapped, "since when do you tell me what I can and can't do?!"
"For one, you got a sick note from your doctor, which in no uncertain terms stated that you were to rest for a couple of days, not just because of your nose, but because of your anaemia; and for two, come with me," he took her hand in both of his and pulled her towards the bathroom. "Okay, take a deep breath and prepare for this, it's not as bad as it looks."
She rolled her eyes and pushed the bathroom door open, moving in front of the mirror, her mouth dropped open, "holy crap! Oh my god." She moved closer and ran her finger around the perimeter of the bruises that covered her face. She looked hideous, the bruises were a deep purple, verging on black and her nose was swollen, covered in blood and more bruises. "I look disgusting." She cried.
"No, you don't," he sighed, "come on, let's clean you up."
"Urgh," she stared in the mirror, not being able to look away from the sight, "I swear I look like a dead zombie."
"Regina, zombies are already dead," he chuckled, turning on the hot tap and allowing the water to fill the basin.
"Well, I look like a zombie that's been killed and then come back to life again."
"I don't think you look that bad."
"Are you blind?" She scoffed.
"Babe, you clearly haven't seen the walking dead then have you."
She sat down on the edge of her bath tub and looked up at him, "we were supposed to watch it together," she sighed. They had planned to start watching it when the summer was over and it was too cold to hang out down at the beach, but none of that had happened, they hadn't been able to see each other and they really shouldn't be seeing each other now, but they were.
"It's overrated," he shrugged, dunking a cloth in the water he had prepared. He carefully ran it over her skin, wiping the blood away, then he reached the cut where the blood had stemmed from and she winced.
"Shit Robin, what the hell is in that water?"
"It's what the doctor gave you to keep it clean, now hold still and stop being such a drama queen." Once he was done, he looked her over, "there, it looks a hell of a lot better now, trust me." He opened her medical cabinet and took out the gauze and tape they had gotten from the pharmacy. "We don't want to knock this so, don't move."
"God, anyone would think I was a child on a sugar high."
He laughed and shook his head, "no, I know you just can't sit still for longer than five minutes."
"Not when I'm in pain I can't, that water stung like a bitch."
"I'm sure it did." He nodded, securing the gauze with the tape, "there."
"Thank you," she smiled weakly.
"Regina, we'll find something else to watch together."
"I'm really not bothered," she shook her head, "I didn't really want to watch it anyone, I had seven seasons to catch up on."
"I don't mind watching them from the beginning again."
"So, you did watch it without me then?" She knew she was being petty, if he wanted to watch a show then he could, it wasn't his fault that he couldn't see her and that they had no opportunities to watch it together.
"Regina…"
"I don't care, I really don't, like you said, we'll find something new, god, there will be loads of new series come next summer."
"Next summer," he nodded reluctantly.
She had only said that because they had agreed, they had agreed not to see each other and that kiss yesterday shouldn't have happened, she knew it shouldn't; the fact that she had to hide him in her bedroom when Archie had come by had shown her that what they were doing was wrong, even if like he said, it felt so god darn right, so perfect. "Yes."
"We can definitely find something new by then," he grinned. "Right you, I think you might want to change out of those pyjamas."
"Why? If I am being forced to stay in all day I might as well stay in my pyjamas."
"Regina, look down."
She did as he said and let out a groan, "you've got to be kidding me, these are my favourite!" they were now covered in blood, pretty much ruined.
"Maybe we need a pyjama funeral for those."
"No, we can't give up on them so easy," she shook her head, "there must be something."
"When you find it, you might want to use it on your sheets too."
"Oh come on," she slammed her hands down on the edge of the bathtub; she had tried not to let the blood drip on her linen, clearly her attempt had been futile.
"Hey now now, violence is not the answer Miss Mills, not unless you want bruised hands too."
"If you carry on being a smartass, we'll be matching." She joked, rolling her eyes as she stood up and headed out of the bathroom and into her room; she looked over the sheets and found them to be clean, whipping around she glared at Robin, "ooh you big fat liar."
"Less of the big and fat." He laughed, "now at least you're relieved that your sheets are fine."
She shook her head and stifled a laugh as she moved over to her closet and removed a pair of slacks and a grey oversized hoody that actually belonged to Robin, one which she refused to give back, she had worn it to death since they had been apart, she would come home from work and put it on, somehow thinking that it brought her closer to him. She'd had to wash it though and now it no longer smelt like him, it hadn't for a while, now it just smelt like her, she still wore it though.
"Hey, is that mine? I thought I'd lost that."
"Yes well, I needed it more than you," she quipped as he walked into the kitchen, once he was out of sight, she began to undo the buttons on her pyjama top. Her whole body was aching, she hadn't realised until now that she actually felt quite ill. Groaning she dropped it onto the bed, the cold air hit her immediately and she looked down, noticing that she'd had no bra under her shirt, she really wasn't with it this morning. "Robin?"
"Hmm?" he came back into the room and stopped in his tracks, his eyes going wide as he looked at her.
"I wasn't expecting you to come in," she glanced down at her breasts, noticing that her nipples had hardened, probably due to their sudden exposure to the cold, it was either that or the lustful thoughts she was having about Robin.
He rolled his eyes, "come on Regina, it's nothing I haven't seen before."
"True," she smirked, pulling a t-shirt over her head, followed by his sweater. Once she had gotten it on she lost her balance a little and had to reach out to stabilise herself.
Robin was there in a flash, "Gina, are you alright?"
"Just a little dizzy that's all, I'm fine, trust me."
"This is the second time you've nearly fainted in two days, it's worrying me." He sighed, running his thumbs across her upper arms, "you shouldn't just be…"
"Robin, we were at the hospital and they told us that it was my iron deficiency."
"Hmm," he nodded, "you look really pale."
"I suppose I feel a little nauseous," she placed her hand on her stomach and tried to quell the queasy feeling that had set in.
"Okay, well, I think you need to rest, you go get comfy, do you mind if I grab a shower?"
"No," she smiled, shaking her head as she watched him leave into the bathroom. Once he left she allowed the sickly feeling to creep up onto her face as she changed into her slacks and padded into the kitchen. She opened the fridge, noticing that it was lacking everything, groaning she grabbed the milk and poured some into a mug, before placing it in the microwave and fishing for the coca powder in the cupboard, she just had a need for a warm cup of chocolate milk.
She leaned against the counter and thought about what had happened in the past two days, she had really missed having Robin around and she was loath to let him leave again, even though she knew she had to let him. He really was the perfect guy, so caring and considerate; she should have known that it was too good to be true when she had met him, should have known something would happen to stop them from having their happy future straight away, stopping her from having her happy ending.
Once the microwave pinged, she took the cup out and stirred in the chocolate powder, it smelt heavenly and she moaned in appreciation. She placed it down and retreated to the bedroom, pulling the covers from her bed and grabbing Robin a towel from the cupboard, "Robin towels on the bed."
"Thanks babe." His muffled voice replied from the bathroom. She really wished he would stop calling her babe, it turned her on too much, more than it should have and it made it really hard for her to not see him. It also showed his affection towards her, she knew he loved her, he was waiting for her and now he was taking care of her, he wouldn't be doing all this if he didn't love her, sure he was honourable, but there was no way he would go to these lengths for just anyone and that made her feel incredibly lucky, but sad at the same time, sad that she was having to miss so much time with him, even if that wasn't exactly the case at the minute, she still missed him.
She shuffled back into her sitting room and laid on her couch, her bedding now wrapped around her as she cupped a mug of hot chocolate. She sipped it slowly and heard Robin coming out of the bedroom, "I feel like death," she groaned.
"This coming from the woman who was complaining this morning about not going to work."
"Excuse me, but now I feel ill okay," she chuckled. "You really should leave though Robin."
"You're right, I was just leaving," he reached out and grabbed his coat from the hanger.
She sat up and stared at him, "you're going?" She asked in disappointment, she knew he should go, that's why she has said he should, but it didn't mean she wanted him to, she wanted him to at least argue with her that he needed to stay and look after her.
He chuckled as he looked in at her, "I am going to get lunch for us from Granny's then I'm coming back; you have nothing in your fridge, what did I tell you about taking better care of yourself. I'm gonna grab some stuff from my apartment too, but I'll be back, don't think you can get rid of me that easily."
She had to fight the smile that was threatening to show on her face, "if you insist," she shrugged.
"What's that?" He asked pointing at her drink.
"Chocolate why?"
"Where's your cream?"
"I don't have any," she shook her head.
"Well that milady is a travesty, I shall bring cream too, and marshmallows."
"Robin."
"No arguments, I want you to sit and relax."
"Can I at least mark my papers?"
Robin sighed, "if you must, I'll be back soon." He waved briefly before heading out of the door closing it behind him.
She smiled as she sipped her drink, she should feel guilty about letting him wait on her hand and foot, but she didn't, in fact she loved it, loved just letting him take care of her, it was just more proof of how much he loved her. She placed her hot chocolate down and stood from the couch, walking to where she had put her papers down the day before, she picked them up, as well as a red marking pen. Sitting down she picked the first one from the top of the pile, at least she was getting the chance to be ahead in her marking, even if she had about five lectures in total that she would have missed by the end of the week.
She spotted her laptop on the console table and picked it up, she could at least send her students some replacement work whilst she was gone, then she wouldn't have to go over the whole topic. Once the emails were sent, she picked up the papers again, "Robin Locksley" she read, running her fingers over the writing. Opening it, she began to read; he was good, really good as she read she was smiling, because she knew that Robin had potential, if his essay was anything to go by, it was one of the best she had read in a long time, coming close to competing with Mary Margaret. Once she had finished reading, she scrawled a grade on the front of it, an A-, she didn't want to make him too cocky, or having him think she was expressing favouritism, she wasn't.
She had the chance to mark another seven papers before he got back, when she heard the door go, she turned to look at him, his arms were full of groceries and he carried them into the kitchen, placing them down on the island before coming back into the sitting room. "How is the patient feeling?"
"Fine," she shrugged.
"I hope you haven't been working too hard," he cast her a worried look as he sat at the side of the sofa where her feet were. He placed them on his lap and began to massage them lightly.
"No," she moaned, dropping her head back as she dropped the essays onto the coffee table and enjoyed the feeling of Robin's hands on her, "oh Robin," she breathed making noises that seemed way too sensual. Her teeth dug into her bottom lip as her eyes closed, his hands moved further up her leg and she knew she should stop him before they did something stupid, but she just couldn't find it in her, it felt too good.
He reached her knees when he stopped, "right, come on, lunch is served milady," he squeezed her knees lovingly before standing up and heading into the kitchen, she didn't know how he had such good self-control, he was most likely having to fight against everything he was feeling inside, just like she was having to. She watched him go and then he was back again with a bag from Granny's, two plates and cutlery. "So, I got you salad, it's green and has extra iron, once you eat that, you can have this." He showed her a burger and fries.
"Seriously? How old am I?"
"Those are the conditions, are you going to follow them?"
"Hand me the salad," she groaned, "I am going to sit here and eat this, but I am not going to be happy about it." She huffed.
Robin then took out his own lunch, a grilled cheese with bacon, suddenly she didn't feel so hungry, dropping the salad down onto the table in front of her, she leapt from the couch and hurried into the bedroom, then into the bathroom where she retched over the toilet bowl.
"Regina," she heard his concerned voice coming from behind her as he leant down and rubbed small circles on her back.
"Robin get out," she coughed, she didn't want him to see her like this, it was embarrassing, "please," she shoved him with one hand, before dry heaving again, she hadn't eaten anything since the lasagne the night before, so there wasn't much to come up.
"No, I'm not going anywhere, Regina, you're sick."
"I'm not, it was just the smell of whatever it is you're eating."
He frowned and moved her so that she leant against him, "sorry."
"No, it's not your fault, my stomach must just be sensitive." She sighed, finding his hand and squeezing it.
"Do you think you might wanna try eat something?"
"Hmm," she nodded, he helped her stand. She knew she was weak, how was it that anaemia could do so much to a person? She let him walk her back to the sitting room and as soon as they were sat down, the phone began ringing.
"I'll get it," Robin stated, moving across and picking up her landline. "Hello." He answered, "yes this is the right number, I'll just put her on. It's for you."
"Well no," she chuckled, it was her house.
"It's the hospital."
"What?" she furrowed her eyebrows and took the phone from him, "Regina Mills speaking."
"Miss Mills, I'm glad I caught you."
"Doctor Whale, what is it?" She asked, sharing a confused look with Robin.
"I'm afraid I missed something in your bloods, do you think you could come down to the hospital, say this afternoon?"
"Of course, is it serious?" She questioned, swallowing heavily, it was probably just that they couldn't deliver personal information over the phone, but she worried nonetheless.
"Well, that depends doesn't it," he chuckled, "I'll see you this afternoon."
"Okay. Good bye." She put the phone down and stared dead ahead.
"Regina, what is it?" Robin asked, taking her hand in his.
"They missed something apparently, something that showed up in my blood work." Regina shook her head, "Robin what the hell's wrong with me?" She was worried now, what if it was something major, surely Dr Whale wouldn't have laughed like he had if it was, would he?
"We're gonna go find out, come on."
Regina and Robin walked down the corridor of the hospital, she really wanted to take his hand in hers, but she decided against it, after all they were in public. She had been over thinking everything since her earlier phone call and now she was really nervous, thinking about everything that could be wrong with her. It must have been something serious in her bloods for them to request her to come back in for a further consultation.
Dr Whale was stood at the nurse's station, flirting with a tall brunette when she approached him, "Dr Whale?"
"Regina Mills, right okay, this way please," he clapped his hands, leading them over to a cubical.
"What's wrong with her?" Robin asked, his hand moving to the base of her back as they walked in.
"You might want to both take a seat, Miss Mills if you would," he gestured to the bed. She followed orders and hopped up, grabbing Robin's hand immediately, it comforted her and god knows she needed comforting at that moment, she was freaking out on another level, what if she was sick, what if there was something insanely wrong with her?
"Come on doc, she's really worried here," Robin protested, standing beside her as he rubbed her shoulder, his hand still holding hers tightly.
"Are you okay with Mr Locksley hearing this?"
She nodded, whatever he said to her, he could say to Robin too, he deserved to know if there was something wrong with her.
"Right then," the doctor clapped his hands together, "once you left yesterday, I had an epitome and decided to run another test on your bloods; I know exactly what's wrong with you, I don't know why it didn't occur to me before."
"Save us the long drawn out speech would you," Robin snapped, reading her mind, if she wasn't so nervous she would have said it herself, she squeezed his hand.
"Okay, Regina, when was the last time you menstruated?"
She furrowed her eyebrows and then it hit her like a tonne of bricks, she hadn't had her period in over two months; her eyes went wide and she looked up, "you mean?"
"You're two months pregnant, congratulations Miss Mills."
This was not happening, she couldn't be pregnant, she just couldn't be, that wasn't on the cards and most certainly hadn't been planned. She didn't know if she was ready to become a mother, she had always known that she wanted to be one, but she had wanted it to be planned, she had wanted to be married and totally in love. She was totally in love, but there was no way they could get married, they couldn't even be together for fuck's sake.
Robin's grip on her shoulder slackened and he dropped her hand, she turned to look at him, he looked as shocked as she did and was literally staring at Dr Whale. "Robin," she whispered.
"I take it this wasn't planned."
"No," she shook her head.
"I'll give the two of you a moment," the doctor bowed out, leaving them alone in the cubicle.
"Pregnant," Robin stated, "well I'll be."
"What the hell are we going to do?" She asked looking up at him, before burying her head in her hands, this was a nightmare, there was no way Robin would want her to keep the baby and she couldn't get rid of it, she just couldn't. She should have known something was wrong when she missed her period, but she had just put it down to stress, being back at work and losing Robin, it had never occurred to her that she might be pregnant. It made sense though, if she put the symptoms together, she was nauseous, dizzy, anaemic, all things that come with pregnancy.
He moved to sit beside her on the bed, kissing the side of her head, he moved his hand to her slightly rounding stomach. She sniffled and looked up at him, she hadn't expected what she was met with, Robin with a huge silly grin on his face. "You're pregnant."
"Yes, I thought we'd established that." She sighed.
"Regina, I'm gonna be a dad, you're gonna be a mom."
"You mean," she gasped, "you want to keep the baby?"
"Of course," he nodded, "Regina, this baby is a part of the both of us, of course I want it, it might not have been planned but… you do want to keep it, right?" He asked, his smile falling somewhat as concern flashed in his eyes.
She looked at him and burst into tears, it was too much, she couldn't deal with it, she was completely overwhelmed, this changed everything, a baby was a massive commitment, a lifetime commitment, something that bound them together for the rest of their lives. Their relationship was a complicated mess as it was, how were they supposed to work it out with a baby involved?
"Gina," he sighed, pulling her into his arms and hugging her tight, "do you want to keep our baby?"
"Robin," she cried.
"You want to get rid of it?" he asked, she could hear shock and sadness in his voice and it just made her cry harder.
"No! I don't," she sobbed, "I don't want to get rid of it, but how are we going to do this Robin?"
"Together." He kissed her head, "we'll figure it out together, I'm here for you Regina and I'm not going anywhere."
"This is crazy," she shook her head.
"What's life without a little crazy?" he chuckled, finding her lips and kissing her lightly.
"Less complicated?"
"Less fun." He amended, running his fingers through her hair.
She choked back a sob as she laughed, "this is insane, it really is."
"Knock knock," Dr Whale opened the curtain and looked at them, "so? Do you need me to check and make sure that your baby is okay, or are you…"
"We want to see our baby," Regina smiled, looking up at Robin.
"Great, let me just go and get the equipment I need."
She sighed nervously, "is this happening?"
"Hmm," he nodded, running his thumb across her cheek. "I can't believe you've been carrying a baby inside you for two months and we didn't know," he shook his head.
"I know," she ran her spare hand across her abdomen, it was definitely bigger, but she had just put it down to her binge eating over not being able to be with Robin, that and she was skipping the gym. "I'm kinda glad to know that I'm not just getting fat."
He laughed and shook his head, "you fat? Never."
"It's going to happen Robin, it comes with the territory."
"Okay folks," Dr Whale wheeled in a machine, "first we'll try a normal ultrasound, if I can't pick up a good enough image, I'll have to use a transvaginal ultrasound."
"What's that?" Robin asked, his eyes going wide as he looked at Regina. She knew what it was, but it didn't seem all that pleasant.
"It's basically a metal rod with a camera that is inserted inside the vagina to get a better view of the baby."
"Will it hurt her? Is it dangerous to the baby?" Robin questioned, his grip on her tightening. She loved that he was so protective and she knew already that he would be a great father to their child, she couldn't even believe she was thinking that, she hadn't fully come to terms with the fact that she was expecting and that she was going to become someone's mommy. What if she was going to be a shocking mother? She hadn't had the best role model when it came to parenting, so what if she ruined her child's life?
She took a deep breath; her brain was working at a hundred miles a minute and she was overwhelming herself. She was aware that Dr Whale and Robin were still talking, his hand was rubbing circles her back as he engaged in the conversation. She wasn't really listening though, she was too distracted.
"Regina babe," Robin's hand stopped and she looked up at him.
"Hmm?"
"Are you ready?"
"For what?"
"The ultrasound."
"Oh, yes," she nodded. "What do you have to do?"
Robin shared a look with the doctor and glanced back down at her, "Regina, are you alright? The doctor just told us what he had to do."
"Oh, sorry, I… would you mind repeating it?"
"Of course," the Dr Whale nodded, informing her of what he needed to do.
"Okay," she took a shuddery breath, grabbing Robin's hand and squeezing it hard.
"Right, we're just going to lift you sweater up slightly."
"I can do that," Robin stated, pulling the hem up over her stomach. She knew he was doing it to make her feel more comfortable, "it's okay," he whispered, coming back to stand behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"This gel is going to be a little cold."
"I just want to see my baby," she breathed, her hand coming up to grab Robin's on her shoulder, "our baby."
"Well then, let's do this," he squirted the gel onto her stomach and he was right, it was cold, she flinched and Robin kissed her hair gently.
The doctor then used the machine and ran it over her abdomen. She and Robin watched the screen and she could have sworn her heart nearly burst there and then, "oh my god," she cried, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. "Oh wow, hi baby, hi, Robin look." She turned to look at him, fresh tears had sprung from her eyes.
"Where?"
"There, look," she pointed out the little figure.
"Hmm, that's your baby," the doctor nodded, "seems we can see the little one just fine using this, the other method won't be necessary. Can you hear the heartbeat? Good and strong."
"Oh," Regina gasped, "listen to that," she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, her eyes transfixed to the monitor. "Hi little baby, I'm your mommy." She sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"That's amazing," Robin shook his head, leaning down to place a kiss on her neck.
"I'll go get you two copies of this shall I?"
"Yes please," Regina nodded.
"I'll leave the two of you to look at this a little longer. Here, if you want to clean yourself up."
"Thank you," She took the box of medical wipes from him as he left.
Robin in turn took them from her and wiped her stomach, cleaning the gel off, "how are you feeling?"
"It's amazing," she smiled as he kissed her stomach and then pulled her jumper back down, "how do you feel about it?"
"I think I can't wait to become a dad," he came to sit beside her, pulling her into his arms as they looked at the screen, "look at that."
"That's our baby," she whispered. "We can do this can't we?" She asked, looking up at him.
"Yes we can, together we can."
"Together." She nodded holding onto him. This was going to be difficult, she knew it was, but in that moment, she was too happy. She was carrying this little life inside her, nurturing it and Robin was going to stand by her; they could worry about how they were going to deal with it later, for now she wanted to concentrate on their child and be happy about it.
So, she's pregnant, which means that there is just another obstacle for them to overcome, I hope you are still enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it. Thank you for reading.