"What now?" Will asked.
"I am pregnant, with your child." Regina said slowly.
"And I am pregnant with yours." Marian added with a nervous glance at Robin.
"What now?" Will repeated.
Regina rolled her eyes. "I am going to have your baby. Aren't you happy?"
He scratched the back of his head furiously. "You're gonna have my child." He said. "You're gonna have my-" he suddenly tackled her and spun her around in the air. "I am elated, ecstatic, enthusiastic, some other word that starts with an e that means happy, about this entire thing."
She smiled as he placed her gently back on the couch. "I'm happy you think so."
Robin still seemed to be processing the news. "Both of you are pregnant."
"Yes." The women said in unison.
"Then...I am happy to extend the family of outlaws." He smiled and hugged his wife, but it was clear that he'd lost his chance at regaining Regina's heart. There was no way Will was going to let go of her now, not with his child on the way. A part of him dared to hope that Regina was carrying his child, but it'd been too long since they were together for her to be pregnant with any child of his. Otherwise, Regina's stomach would probably be as big as Roland. He was happy, truly happy to be having another child, and he did love Marian. But Regina would always have his heart, she would always be his soulmate, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that she was meant to be with Will.
"This deserves a celebration." Will said. "We should party."
"We should." Regina agreed. "But I have to meet Henry later on for lunch, so try to make it after that."
"Let the Queens throw us a party. I like them."
"They like you too." Regina muttered. "Look, if you guys need a place to stay."
"We're fine." Robin cut her off. "We're staying at Granny's bed and breakfast and we really should go check in. Right love?"
"Actually," Marian said as Roland returned with a comic book from Henry's room. "I would like to speak to Regina. Alone." Regina smirked at her dismissive tone and nodded to Will. He, Roland and a confused Robin went outside on the front porch. Marian sighed. "What do you think I should do?"
"About what?" Regina asked, raising an eyebrow.
"His heart is yours, and yours alone. He is in love with you, he clearly doesn't want to be with me. I don't want to force him to be with me if he doesn't want to."
"Robin will stay with you because he is an honorable man and he does still love you. He just..." She sighed this time. "At the end of the day, regardless of what we are, he will stay with you because, you are still married and you are raising his children. Don't worry. I know we don't have the best history with one another, but you have a friend in me, and if you ever need anything, you can come to me."
"Thank you Regina." Marian smiled.
"You are quite welcome." Regina returned the smile and they both rose to go to the door.
"I suppose I'll see you later then." Robin said.
"I hope so." Regina smirked and closed the door after saying goodbye to Roland. Will immediately started grabbing her and kissing, pressing her up against the front door. "Will." He growled in response. "Will." She laughed as he hugged her and crouched down in front of her.
"Listen up in there, little one. This is your Da speaking. Be good for your Ma, don't give her no trouble. I don't know if you can hear me yet, but I want you to know that I'm going to be the best dad I can be. Hopefully I can be a good match for your Ma."
"Will." Regina smiled, pulling him back to his feet. "You will be a great father, I know it."
"Thanks love." He sighed. "Love is so messy. It's all about arguing and making up, and laughing and crying and struggling, and sometimes it just don't seem worth it. But it is. With you, it is." He smiled and kissed her forehead. "At the end, no matter what happens, you forgive each other. So Regina, right now, I want you to forgive me for anything I've ever done to you that you haven't liked. Anything at all."
"Okay." Regina said with a nod. She could feel her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. Will continued stroking her cheek, looking into her eyes.
"We've both lost our first loves. My Anastasia."
"My Daniel."
He nodded. "Regina, I want you to tell me exactly what you want."
"Forgive me too then." She said at once. "Forgive me for all the times I was insecure, or crying my eyes out over Robin, or locked you in the pantry."
"Why do you keep bloody doing that?"
She laughed. "Because you cursing with your accent was hilarious. But please do forgive me for it."
"I do."
"Then the only thing I truly want...is to be yours."
Xxxxxxx
"Hi Mom." Henry said cheerfully as she walked into Granny's.
"Hi Henry." She said excitedly, sitting down.
"You seem happy. Something happen with you and Robin?" Henry asked, watching his normally calm and collected mother bounce around in her chair.
"No, well yes, but that doesn't really apply to me. I have some big news."
"Really?! What?!" He asked.
"How would you like to have a little brother or sister?"
"You're pregnant?!" Henry immediately came around to her side to hug her. "That's wonderful, Mom! That's great."
"Thank you so much, Little Prince." Regina smiled, hugging her son tightly before going back to his seat.
"Im really happy for you, Mom. Does Robin know?"
"It's um, not Robin's child." She said slowly, gauging his reaction.
Henry tilted his head. "Then whose- Will? Is it Will?"
"Yes."
"That's great too. Will is a lot of fun, especially when he argues with Hook, and the way he says "bloody" all the time. That's hilarious. What about Robin? I thought you two were getting back together."
"Marian is expecting as well, and Robin is going to stay with her. It won't work out with him. I realized today that I loved Will too and that I'm going to be with him."
"So you've made your decision? Have you told Robin yet, because he clearly still has a thing for you." Henry pointed out.
"He still wants us to be together because we're soulmates and although I do love him, there are a lot of factors keeping us apart. If it was real love, those factors shouldn't matter." Regina said.
"Well, if you truly loved him, then you wouldn't have fallen in love with Will at all. Right?" Said Henry. "Everything will be okay Mom. This baby is going to be in the best hands possible and I'm gonna make sure of it." Her son said with a firm nod of his head.
Regina smiled and took his hand. "This child will be very lucky to have such a wonderful big brother."
"And a wonderful mother." He added.
"Thank you, Little Prince."
"Do you think it'll be a girl or a boy?"
Regina shrugged. "I don't know, dear. I would like a girl and I haven't asked Will yet."
"Have you told everyone else?"
"Not yet. I might tell the Queens when I get home. Will is gonna ask them to throw a party."
"That's gonna be awesome." Henry grinned.
"It will." Regina agreed with a grin of her own. "Now, let's eat."
xxxxxxxxx
When Regina walked into her office that afternoon, extremely late but quite happy, she was shocked to find Ursula and Cruella at each other's throat. One of Ursula's tentacles was around Cruella's neck and Cruella had her pistol against Ursula's forehead. "What the hell is going on here?"
"Same thing, different day." Mal said from behind her desk. She poofed herself directly in front of the former queen and hugged her tightly. "Congratulations on the wonderful news."
"Thank you, dragon." Regina smiled. "Also, I wanted to ask you if you would be the godmother."
"Of course, I would be honored."
"You are my greatest friend after all."
"You're gonna make me cry." Mal scoffed and hugged her again. She took a step back and allowed the other Queens to have their hug. "We should go. Will asked us to prepare an awesome party for you guys."
"What, tonight?" Regina asked.
"Perhaps." Mal smirked.
"This baby will be the most fabulous child in all of Storybrooke, dahling." Cruella announced. "She will have diamonds and furs and-"
"She? How do you know it won't be a boy?" Ursula asked.
"Because I can feel it. I have a bit of a sixth sense."
"I thought your sixth sense was detecting gin." Ursula retorted.
"You know what-"
"What-"
Both women started arguing once again and Regina and Mal exchanged annoyed looks. Mal snapped her fingers and poofed both women away. "Much better. I'll see you tonight, Regina."
"See you." Regina smiled as the dragon teleported away, and she decided to get to work. It was only an hour later when the doors of her office burst open and she looked up as Robin walked inside. He crossed the expanse of her office quickly and grabbed her and kissed her for all he was worth. "Robin, what are you doing?"
"What I should have done the moment I came back." He said.
"Robin, stop." She pushed him back and looked into his eyes. "I know you came back to be with me, but obviously this isn't going to happen with us."
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "But I love you."
"I love you too, you know that."
"So you've chosen him?"
"Yes."
"I don't know what to do now." He said.
"You go home, and you be a husband and a father. I appreciate that you came all this way for me, but Will and I are gonna stay together, raise our family. I'm really sorry, but it's final." As soon as she said the words, something clicked within her. She was truly giving up her soulmate, her fated other half. But she didn't feel wrong at all. She loved Will and she wanted to be with him. Robin had his family, she could have her own. She didn't need fate to tell her who to love. It was time she took her happy ending instead of waiting for one. Pain suddenly lanced through her heart. Everything went black. She could hear Robin calling to her, but she couldn't respond.
Xxxxx
"Where is she?" Will demanded as he walked into the hospital waiting room. It was already filled with the Charming clan, the Queens, the Lucas, Tink and the Hoods. "Where's Regina?"
"She's fine. They're running tests to find out what's wrong." Emma said.
"You should sit down, try to relax, mate." Said Hook.
"You want me to relax while the mother of my child is lying in a hospital bed?" Will snapped.
"Scarlet, she's fine." Mal placed a hand on his shoulder. "The baby is fine. Everything will be okay. Do you honestly think something is going to happen to Regina? She has the Heart of the Most Resilient, and now she has a child and someone who loves her. Whatever this is, Regina is gonna fight or she's gonna go down swinging. Don't even worry about it."
Will slowly nodded. "You're absolutely right." He took a deep breath and sighed. "What happened?"
"She just collapsed. Robin brought her straight to the hospital." Mal said.
"Robin? She was at work, what the hell was he doing there?" He turned angrily to the outlaw but before he could move, Ursula wrapped him in two of her tentacles. "What were you doing there, Hood? Huh?! Couldn't take a hint?"
"I just came to talk to her, Scarlet." Robin said lowly. He wasn't happy about what Maleficent had said. As though Regina had never had someone else who truly loved her.
Will settled down and Ursula released him as a doctor approached them. "Are you here for Regina Mills?"
"Yes." Mal said.
"She's awake now, and she wanted to see you. She asked specifically for Maleficent."
Mal nodded. "Show me the way to her." The doctor motioned for her to follow and lead the way to the room. Regina looked weak, but extremely pissed and was currently asking, or rather commanding one of the nurses to release her. "Regina." The brunette smiled at her, but scowled at the back of the nurse's head as she left. "What happened to you, dear ?"
"The doctors can't find anything, but I think I know what happened. I rejected Robin, completely. Will said it could cause me physical pain if I did."
"It can." Mal nodded.
"Will it keep coming back?" Regina asked.
"We all pay a price for our happy ending." Mal sighed.
"And this is the one I have to pay?"
"No." Mal chuckled. "Your happy ending my dear, is long overdue. Fate does not command all of us. People like you and me command our own destiny."
"Then how do I get it to stop? I don't want to be dealing with this when it comes time to dealing with labor and contractions. And I don't want to be passing out randomly for no reason either."
"I know a healing spell that can help. You must understand that this spell will sever your connection with Robin. You won't be soul mates anymore, and once it's done, your soul will be healed."
"And the catch?" Regina asked. "What, I won't be the same or something?"
"No, it will just severely weaken you for a while. You won't be able to use magic for a bit. But you and the baby should be fine since it's so early in the pregnancy."
Regina nodded. "I should talk to Will about it first. Thanks Mal."
"Of course, anytime. I'll go tell the others you're okay and send in Will."
Regina leaned back on the bed and sighed. She ran her fingers through her hair and stared up at the ceiling until Will came in and kissed her repeatedly.
"Are you alright? I can't leave you for two seconds and you end up in the bloody hospital!" He said, kissing her again.
She smiled and pushed his head away. "I'm fine, Will. I just fainted." He leaned his head against hers and she kissed his cheek. "We need to talk."
"That's always a fun way to begin a conversation." He muttered, pulling up a chair so he could sit and hold her hand.
"This happened because I rejected Robin as my soulmate. Mal said this is common and she knows a way to stop it but I won't be Robin's soulmate anymore and it will severely weaken me. I didn't want to make a decision without your input. And Mal said the spell won't hurt the baby, and I'll have plenty of time to recover by the time the baby is born."
"You are talking about ripping your own soul in half, Regina. I love you, more than anything, but do you have to go through the pain?" Will asked. "I couldn't bear the thought of it. I do want you to myself, but at the expense of your health."
"Mal said I would be fine. You know she won't let anything happen to me." Regina searched his face for an answer. "I won't do it if you don't want me to." He frowned and gave her a look as though to say "Yeah right." She laughed. "I'm serious. Your opinion matters."
"I just don't want you to be hurt." Will said finally.
"I know." Regina sighed. She kissed his hand. "We don't have to make a decision right now, but I'm sure as hell not going to stay here overnight."
Will smiled. "Wouldn't dream of it. I'll go get you released from your prison. Get dressed." He stood up and did just that, but was surprised to find that everyone had left the waiting room. Only Henry was still sitting in a chair, looking worried. "Where is everyone?"
"They went to the mansion. They're going to surprise Mom with her party." Henry said.
"Then we should ASAP, huh?" They discharged Regina and drove her home.
"Thank the gods. I just want to curl up in bed and pass out again." Regina sighed as Will helped her out of the car, struggling not to laugh. Henry lead the way into the house and as soon as Regina walked through the door, she received a handful of confetti thrown in her face by none other than the Savior herself. Regina glared at Emma as the others came out of hiding, cheering and laughing. "Thanks everyone, but you really didn't need to do this."
"Well, we did. A little too late to stop it now." Lily said.
Mal stepped forward. "Congratulations, not only to Regina, but to herself. Marian. Congrats to both of you."
Everyone cheered and Regina sighed. She wouldn't be getting to sleep anytime soon, might as well enjoy herself.
xxxxxxxx
"Ugh, I am exhausted." Regina said, walking out of the bathroom in her silk nightdress.
"You should be." Will commented, folding his arms behind his head. He was shirtless and already in bed, awaiting his queen. "You are full of surprises. I had no idea you could dance quite like that."
She smiled and climbed into bed, laying her head on his chest. He put his arm around her and pulled her close.
"How do you feel?"
"Much better, now that we're alone and there is peace and quiet."
"We still have an important decision to make."
"I know." She let out a contented sigh, nuzzling his neck. "We can worry tomorrow."
He was silent for a few minutes before asking, "What did Robin want when he came to see you this afternoon?"
"To talk about us, but I told him I was with you."
"That it?"
"Mmmh, he kissed me."
"What?!" He started to sit up, but she growled and pushed him back down.
"Kick his ass tomorrow please. I am quite comfortable and in no mood to move." She commanded. "Please go to sleep."
"I'm going to kick his ass."
"Have fun, now go to sleep." Regina snapped, already drifting away.
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