Poison & Wine
Chapter 41
Regina took Henry to school and was scheduled to meet her true love and the rest of the Charming clan at Granny's, but she had to make one stop first. She walked into Dark Star Pharmacy and smiled at Tom Clark behind the counted as she headed towards the personal aisle.
Ironically pregnancy tests were smack dab between the condoms and tampons. If she weren't so stressed she would probably have laughed. As she looked over the various brands of pregnancies test she was at a loss of which one to choose. Should she get more than one? She had heard of false positives. Pressed for time, she chose the First Response box that came with two early result pregnancy tests that was advertised to be over 99% accurate.
With the package in hand, she made her way to the counter. Thankfully no one else was in the store so she didn't feel the need to hide her purchase. "Good morning, Mr. Clark."
The man sneezed into his tissue. "Morning Madam Mayor." He greeted back and looked down at her item. He froze momentarily.
Regina cleared her throat. "I expect you keep this quiet." She told him firmly.
"Of course." Tom nodded frantically and rang it up before putting it into a brown bag. It was common knowledge who she was dating and it was no secret the two women both possessed magic. "$21.49." He told her simply.
She dug in her purse and handed him twenty-five dollars. As he was counting out the change she took the box out of the bag and read the back. That's when the bell on the door chimed. Regina turned her head to see Neal staring at her, his brown eyes moved down to look at the pink box she had in her hand. Before the mayor could even speak, the former lost boy left.
"Shit." Regina muttered under her breath and shoved the box back into the brown bag. "Keep the change." She told Clark before running after Neal. It was surprisingly difficult in heels. "Mr. Cassidy!" She called after him as he powerwalked away from her. "Neal!"
Seeing no other choice, the woman used her magic to force his body between two buildings and followed in suit. "Stop." Neal gritted out as he was pinned against the brick wall.
Regina let him down when she stood in front of him. "I need you not to say anything about what you saw." She said.
"You mean you don't want me telling Emma." He hissed out. "She deserves to know you cheated on her!" Neal went to move by her.
The mayor furrowed her eyebrows. "Cheated?" She asked and grabbed his shirt, pinning him against the wall with her hand. "I didn't cheat on her, you idiot."
Neal scoffed. "Please. You brought a pregnancy test!"
"Shh!" Regina panicked and looked around. Thankfully no one had walked by the space between the two buildings they were in between. "There's a possibility I might be with child." She admitted to the man. "But I assure you that if I am, no one but Emma is responsible and you won't tell her because she's under enough stress right now."
Neal didn't say anything for a moment and the older woman release her grip on him. As he rubbed his wrinkled shirt he asked, "How… how is that even possible?"
The former queen was confused. He was born in the Enchanted Forest. He- he left at an early age. Regina rubbed her forehead. "I forgot that you were like eight when you went to the world without magic." She said mostly to herself. "If two people both possess magic, conception between the two is likely." She explained.
"So…" Neal's expression was complete perplexity. "So you might…" He motioned towards her stomach. "With Emma's kid?"
Regina cleared her throat and nodded. "It's a possibility."
"Have you two been trying?" He questioned.
The mayor huffed a laugh. "Not in the least." She told him. "It's actually quite difficult to conceive when both parties are trying to and know what they're doing. It's nearly impossible for an untrained magic being to conceive a child without being aware of what they're doing."
"Do you think she did it on purpose?" Neal wondered.
"No." Regina shook her head with a slight smile. "I think she's more powerful than any of us could have predicted and I think she could help me defeat the witch we're after with a little training, but in order to do that she'll have to be focused."
The man nodded his head in understanding. "So you want me to keep your secret."
"Just until things get back to normal." Regina added. "If she thinks there's even a possibility I could be pregnant then she'll treat me like I'm incapable of doing anything even remotely physical and with this witch around I'll be needed at some point. I can't have her coddling me. She does that enough now. I can't imagine she'll relax if I'm carrying her child."
Neal knew the former queen was right, but a part of him was worried that she'd put herself in danger. Not only could she be carrying Emma's baby, but that would be his son's half sibling and adoptive sibling at the same time. "When do you plan on finding out?"
"Sometime before the day over." The woman stated.
"I'll keep your secret, Regina." He told her honestly. "And I hope you get whatever result you're wanting."
The mayor offered him a polite smile. "Thank you mister, Mr. Cassidy. I'll see you at your father's around lunch."
"Get them out of my restaurant, Sheriff!" Granny demanded waving her wooden spoon at Chief and Boss as they lied by the blonde's feet.
Emma gave the old woman a charming grin. "They're being good, Granny. Come on."
"No animals are allowed in my diner!" The woman said firmly.
A blonde eyebrow rose. "You let Ruby in here every day."
"Hey!" The brunette said from behind the counter.
"Just proving a point, Rubs!" The savior assured her.
Granny gave the woman in leather an unimpressed look. "Would you like to join the list of things not allowed inside this place?"
Her threat held no value, but Emma acted scared either way. "You know I can't live without your grilled cheeses!"
The diner owner rolled her eyes. "They better not get anywhere near the food, Sheriff." She told her as she went back into the kitchen.
Emma grinned as Red pointed to her. "Lucky." The waitress said.
"I'll have my usual." The blonde ordered in a smug tone. David and Mary Margaret stepped into the diner and greeted their daughter before sitting down. Snow's belly was huge so she had to sit rather far away from the table. "How are you feeling, dad?"
David rubbed his daughter's shoulder and gave her a slight smile. "I'm fine."
"Where's Regina?" The schoolteacher asked her daughter.
"Dropping the kid off at school. She's meeting us here." Emma informed her and reached out to rub her mother's baby bump. "How's my baby brother or sister doing?"
Mary Margaret allowed the hand to glide along her stomach. "He or she has been kicking me all hours of the night, but beyond that whoever is in there is perfect."
The younger woman smiled at the news. "It's due soon. Right?"
"A couple more weeks. Hopefully not until all this witch business is handle." Charming said.
"Hopefully." The pixie haired woman repeated.
Killian and Tinkerbelle entered the diner and joined the group at the large table Emma reserved when she came in. "Morning Charming's." The pirate greeted with a grin and sat down across from the deputy, his girlfriend sitting across from Snow. "Where the Evil Queen herself?"
"Dropping our son at school." Emma told him as Ruby brought her breakfast and gave the other's menus.
"Now remind me. Why are we here exactly?" Hook asked curiously. "I can't imagine the dark one will be meeting us here for breakfast."
"We're giving him time to rest." The sheriff explained. "And casually eating breakfast here is less likely to alert the bitch who took Gold."
Killian furrowed his dark eyebrows. "You think she's watching us?"
The savior shrugged. "Possibly. I don't know who this woman is or what she wants, but it's definitely not anything good."
More than ten minutes passed until Regina stepped arrived. Green eyes met brown, but Emma could sense confliction in her girlfriend's eyes. She stood up and walked over to her.
"Hi dear." The mayor greeted with a smile and hugged the younger woman.
When they pulled out of the quick hug Emma placed a tender kiss on her lover's lips before asking, "What's wrong?"
Regina's eyebrows creased together. "What do you mean?"
"You look worried." The sheriff noted.
The former queen waved it off. "I'm fine… just a little uneasy about this witch, but we're going to fix that."
Emma didn't believe her for a moment, but shrugged it off and accepted the answer. She looked down at her the older woman's purse. A brown bag that was advertised with Dark Star Pharmacy was sticking out. She lightly poked at it. "What'd you get?" She wondered curiously.
Brown eyes widened slightly as she shoved the poking out bag back into her purse. "Just… tampons." She lied with an embarrassed smile. Tampons were about the exact opposite of what she bought.
After thinking back to it, the blonde found the pieces fit together. "Okay, well come on. Eat breakfast."
"I need coffee." Regina said and made her way to the bar to sit as she waited for her drink. The sheriff headed back to the table to finish eating and wait for her coffee obsessed girlfriend to join them. When the bell on the diner entry rang all heads turned to see a redheaded woman holding the dark ones dagger casually. Everyone stood in fear, preparing themselves to run in case things took a turn for the worst.
She smiled a fake smile at them all. "Lovely morning. Isn't it?"
Emma saw red and went to lunge, but her girlfriend and mother both held her back. "Emma, don't." Snow said. "There are too many people here."
Zelena smirked at the blonde. "Listen to your mother. She's right." She took a step forward and Charming protectively stepped in front of his family.
"Don't come any closer." The prince growled.
The witch looked at him. "Don't worry. I'm not here for your baby. That will be another day." She gave him a wicked chuckle.
"Then why are you here?" Regina was the only one who didn't stand up when the woman walked in, but as the redheaded woman made her way over, she slowly stood up and prepared herself for a fight.
Emma didn't like it at all. "Baby-" Her dogs growled at the redheaded woman.
Zelena cut her off, glaring at the brunette woman. "Well now that you have the dark one- and yes I'm aware it was you and your savior girlfriend that took him from me and cleverly took his magic- I figured my cover was blown. No worries though. He's already given me what I want. However I think I'll keep this dagger until my plan goes through. Just in case." She smirked. "But while I wait for the last few pieces of the puzzle I thought, why not pay a visit to my little sister?"
Regina paused for a moment before asking, "Who the hell are you talking about?" The redheaded woman had a smug look in her eyes that didn't sit well with the former queen.
"Why you of course, Regina." Zelena revealed.
The blonde across the room furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What?"
"I'm an only child." The mayor said confidently.
The witch snarled at her. "Cora lied to you, Regina. I'm your sister. Half if you want to get technical."
Regina scoffed slightly and waved her hand around. "And why should I believe anything you say?" She asked, raising a challenged eyebrow.
"Oh you shouldn't." Zelena told her, taking a step closer to her. "Which is why you should take this day to dig into our mother's past. And once you've done that… meet me on Main Street at sundown."
The mayor huffed. "And then?"
"And then I'll destroy you." The redhead revealed simply before turning towards the group watching. "And I want everyone to be there." She met Regina's eyes once again. "To watch the Evil Queen lose."
Regina released a disbelieving laugh. "I don't lose."
The witch let out a smug laugh. "Neither do I. Looks like one of us is about to make history. I'll see you tonight, sis." She began to walk away and out of the diner, laughing in a wickedly evil way. Chief and Boss both watched her like hawk as she left.
Emma walked over to her girlfriend who looked less than sure of herself. The rest of the Charming clan as well as Tinkerbelle and Hook made their way to the bar. "Is it true?" The sheriff asked.
Regina sat back down at the bar and shrugged. "I don't know." She admitted honestly.
"Did Cora ever mention any of this to you?" David asked as he paced in front of the barstools.
The former queen rolled her eyes. "I'm sure I'd remember if my mother had a love child with a scarecrow."
Emma rubbed her lover's back. "It doesn't matter if she's your sister or not. She obviously wants you dead. Any idea why?"
"I never even met her before today." Regina stressed.
The savior bit her lip before saying, "That doesn't mean you didn't do something to piss her off."
"You did manage to step on a lot of toes back in our world." Tinkerbelle cut in.
The mayor glared at her. "Well none of them were green."
"Why didn't you just magic fight her here?" Granny asked from behind the counter.
"Too many people at risk." Regina told the old woman. She saw her girlfriend stand up and put her leather jacket back on. "Where are you going?"
"We need to get to Gold." Emma told everyone. "Find out what this witch bitch thinks you did to her."
Emma, Regina, David, and Hook were all sitting across from Gold, Belle, and Neal in the man's living room. The dogs were sitting in front of their respective owners, there to sniff out any possible danger. Snow was forbidden from going because she was too pregnant, so she was at the diner.
"She had your dagger as well." Regina just finished telling the dark one what occurred at the diner. "I need to know." She told him. "Is she… my sister?"
Gold looked at his former student before nodding. "Yes. Cora had her long before she met your father."
Regina took an angry breath. "And you never thought to mention it?" She growled.
"Why'd she give her up?" The sheriff asked, taking ahold of her girlfriend's hand to calm her.
"She had her reasons, but it all boiled down to royalty as it always did with your mother, Regina." The older man stated calmly. "Zelena's father was nothing more than a King's gardener."
The mayor nodded. "She held no value for my mother." She summed out. "What is she doing here?"
"How did she even get here?" David questioned.
Gold addressed both questions. "I'm unaware of how she arrived in this land, but she's here for one purpose. To take away everything Regina was given instead of her."
Neal made eye contact with the former queen for a moment, both thinking of the possible baby inside the woman. "How does she think she's going to do that?" The man asked.
"Zelena. She wants to travel back in time." Gold told them.
Realization overcame Regina. "That's why she took your courage, David." She turned to the deputy. "It's an ingredient."
Emma licked her lips. "If time travel is so easy, why didn't you just go back to prevent your mother from killing Daniel?" She didn't want to bring it up, but she wanted to know the answer.
"It's never been done before." The mayor informed her lover. "No one has ever succeeded."
"Time travel spells have been written since the dawn of the dark arts but never cast. It's against the fundamental laws of magic." Mr. Gold explained to the savior.
Regina nodded in agreement. "Exactly. In order to even cast the spell you'd need powerful magic yourself, a symbol of absolute wisdom, extreme courage, a heart most worthy of love, and pure innocent."
"That's why she got close to my baby." Charming noted. "Nothing is more innocent than a newborn."
The sheriff furrowed her blonde eyebrows. "So she needs heart and wisdom. She can't get innocence until the baby is born so who's she after until then?"
Rumple cleared his throat. "I'm afraid she already has wisdom." He said to the group. "When she captured me, she used the dagger to force me into spinning a brain of gold. A symbol of absolute wisdom."
"So she needs a heart worthy of love." Emma stated. "Who could that-"
"Me." Regina cut her off. "That's why she wants a fight tonight. She doesn't want to kill me. She wants my heart."
The savior shook her head, vehemently against it. "Then you're not going tonight."
"Honey, I have to." The mayor argued. "She could go on a killing spree if I don't."
All Neal could think about was the baby Regina might be carrying. "I agree with Emma." He told everyone.
"It's a good thing your opinion means nothing then." The former queen hissed, glaring at him.
"You could get yourself killed, baby." The blonde stressed.
Regina shook her head. "Haven't you been listening? She doesn't want me dead. She wants to destroy me."
The sheriff scoffed and rolled her green eyes. "That's the same thing!"
"No it's not." Gold disagreed. "But I'm afraid you can't defeat her, Regina."
"What do you mean?" The former queen asked.
"Zelena is much more powerful than you." The dark one revealed to her. "The only dark magic that can defeat her is me."
David sighed. "But she has the dagger. She can control you if you take that cuff off."
Gold nodded. "The savior is her weakness." He declared. "Light magic is her weakness."
"Emma isn't ready." Regina informed the room of people. "Her magic is… unpredictable and unreliable."
"You could teach me." The younger woman suggested. "With a little practice I could do it."
Regina shook her head. "You'd need weeks of practice before you would be anywhere near ready to face her if she's as powerful as Gold claims she is."
"So what's the plan for tonight?" Killian spoke up. "If Regina can't defeat her and Emma isn't ready, what are we supposed to do?"
"I'll giver her the fight she wants tonight." The mayor offered up.
"No!" Both Emma and Neal spoke at the same time. It caused the sheriff to look at her ex-boyfriend with a confused expression.
The former lost boy cleared his throat. "I just think we should be smarter. We don't know for sure that this witch doesn't want to kill you. We're just assuming she doesn't."
Despite how strange it was that Neal was on her side, Emma nodded her agreement. "Yeah. And excuse me if I don't want to risk my girlfriend's life on some hunch."
Regina tangled her fingers with her lover's. "I know you don't like it, dear, but this is our only option."
Emma clenched her jaw in anger. She was racking her brain for another option, any other option, but she was coming up with nothing. "Fine." She eventually muttered. "But if you're fighting her tonight, I want it to be the end of this bitch. We stop her. Tonight."
"How?" Her girlfriend asked.
The savior turned to Neal. "Get Gold out of town. Take off his cuff and bring it to me."
"If there's no magic, he won't be controlled by the dagger." David spoke out loud.
Emma nodded. "Yeah, and we can put the cuff on Zelena. No cuff, no magic." She looked at Regina. "Think you can get close enough to her to do it?" She asked.
It was nearing sundown when Regina and Emma entered the mansion. "Are you sure this will work?" The savior asked as them and dogs made it upstairs to their room.
Regina nodded. "I'm positive. She may be powerful, but not even the dark one is powerful enough to break a blood magic spell."
"She can still kill you though." The blonde said glumly.
"Yes." The mayor confirmed. "But she doesn't want to kill me."
Green eyes rolled. "You're hoping that she doesn't." She argued.
The older woman groaned slightly as her girlfriend opened her closet. "Gold said she's after everything I had. Killing me won't give her what she wants."
"Who's to say she won't kill you when she finds out she can't have your heart?" Emma asked.
"Emma. Relax. This is your plan. Remember?" Regina reminded her.
The sheriff shook her head. "No. My plan was to take you and Henry and skip town."
Regina scoffed. "We'll call that plan B." She played along and shook her hands out. "Okay." She took a deep breath.
"When you rip your own heart out, you'll still love me. Right?" The younger woman asked as their two dogs made themselves comfortable on the queen bed.
The brunette laughed. "Yes. I'll still love you. I can still feel, dear. Just… not as much as I would be able to with my heart intact." She reached into her chest and pulled it out.
Emma looked curiously at the beating muscle as it was handed to her. It was darker than most, but the savior was still surprised at the lighter spots it had in it. "You're sure it's going to be okay?"
"Yes." Regina assured her.
The sheriff went into her small closet and unlocked her safe. She grinned slightly when she gently placed the heart on the bottom shelf. "I guess this safe came in handy after all. Didn't it?" She teased before closing the safe and walking out of her closet.
"You should get down to Main Street." The older woman stated as she placed her hands on her true love's chest, straightening the god-awful burgundy leather jacket she loved so much.
Emma grabbed her girlfriend's forearms and stroked her thumbs over them. "What about you?" She asked.
"I'll be there, but a queen must be fashionably late." Regina smirked.
The couple gazed at one another before the blonde released a deep, worried sigh and leaned her forehead against the mayor's. "If anything happens to you tonight I swear to God I'm killing that ugly bitch with my bare hands."
Regina nuzzled their noses together playfully. "Nothing is going to happen to me, dear. You're protecting my heart. Me not having it will throw her off." She insured the younger woman. "She doesn't know that we know what she wants. Even if I can't get close enough to get the cuff on her, she's going to retreat and re-think her plan. That will buy us some time." She moved her hands and glided her hands through blonde locks. "Trust the plan, Emma. Trust me."
"Okay." The sheriff agreed and angled her head to smash their lips together in a deep and needy kiss.
It was something both of them needed. The stress they'd been surrounded around had taken its toll on the couple. They ached for the day when they could just relax and complain about overdue paperwork and long meetings. Emma teased her tongue past plump lips and was rewarded by a small moan and parted lips.
Tongues tangled together in a slow dance that neither women wanted to stop. The savior whined quietly when she felt the older woman suck her tongue into her mouth. The feeling was incredible and if they didn't stop soon they'd really miss the fight because they'd be too busy making love, even without the former queen's heart inside her body.
Emma pulled away reluctantly and gave one final kiss to her lover. "You look sexy. I love you. I'll be waiting for you at the square."
"I love you too." Regina smirked and licked her lips. "Make sure you have your gun, just in case." She laughed as her girlfriend lifted up her jacket in behind to reveal her gun placed between her jeans and shirt.
When the mayor heard the front door shut she quickly headed downstairs and towards her purse. She grabbed the brown bag from the pharmacy out of it and brought it to the guest bathroom. She glanced in the mirror at herself and sighed deeply. She had to fight her half sister tonight either way, but she had to know. She had to know if she was fighting for a third person besides herself.
She ripped the pink box out of the brown bag and opened it. Two individual pregnancy tests were wrapped in plastic. She ripped only one open and pulled her panties down as she made her way to the toilet. "This is ridiculous." She said to herself as she took the cap off the stick, stuck it between her legs and relieved herself.
After it was done, she put the cap back on it and stared at the screen. She was looking at it for only five seconds before the doorbell rang. She huffed and stood up, placing the stick on the counter and headed for the door. Chief and Boss ran the down the stairs barking loudly.
"Hush boys." She instructed.
When she answered the door, Neal was on the other side. He lifted up the cuff to her. "I called Emma on my way back into town. She told me to go ahead and give this to you."
Regina took it and placed it in her coat pocket that was hanging by the door. "Thank you." She said simply and went to close the door, but he stopped it with his hand.
"Wait!" He called out and the dogs started to growl and he looked slightly terrified.
"Mommy is okay." The mayor assured her wolves rolled her eyes in a displeased manner when she looked at the man in front of her. "What?"
Neal cleared his throat. "Have you… found out yet?"
His expression let Regina know exactly what he was referring to as he pointed towards her stomach. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "How is that any of your business?"
"It's not." He admitted with a shrug. "But if you get into any hot water tonight with that witch, Emma will-"
"Emma will not find out tonight no matter if I'm pregnant or not." Regina told him firmly and groaned. "God, you're not even supposed to know!"
Neal nodded. "I know." He said calmly. "I know you're not a fan of mine or anything either, but Emma loves you and you could be having her baby. Don't you think she deserves to know that before you go fight your sister?"
"No!" The mayor shook her head. "I don't, because if I'm not pregnant then the point is moot and if I am then telling Emma will only throw a wrench in our plan to stop Zelena for good."
"What if you are pregnant and your fight with her makes you lose it?" He asked the older woman.
Brown eyes rolled. "Now see? That's what Emma would say! That's why she can't know! Because she'd talk like that!"
"I'm just looking out for you." He shrugged simply.
Regina scoffed. "That's a fair cry from the man who confessed his love for my girlfriend less than a year ago."
"Nearly a year ago." Neal countered. "I'm a different guy now, Regina. You don't have to believe me now, but I'll prove it you."
The way he spoke was passionate and firm. It actually quite impressed the former queen. "Why are you so anxious to know?" She questioned.
"Because it's my family too." He confessed loudly.
Regina scoffed. "No it's not." She shook her head. "This is my family. If I'm pregnant, it's my baby. You're not involved in the equation at all, Mr. Cassidy."
Neal shook his head. "Henry's my son." He reminded her. "Biologically he's mine and if you and Emma are having a baby that baby will be Henry's sibling and that makes it my family." He mapped out for her.
"Biology means nothing." The woman informed him. "That makes any possible children between Miss Swan and myself none of your business nor concern. I'll see you on Main Street." She said before slamming the door shut in his face and leaning against it.
She took several calm down breaths before she clicked her heels to the guest bathroom for her result. The stick was face down when she glanced at it. Her fingers were itching with eagerness as she gained enough courage to flip it over. With a deep breath she looked down at the stick to see the answer she'd been waiting for.
;D I just had to do it! Lol. Next chapter you'll find out the test results & see if there's a SwanQueen baby in the mix. Also the Zelena era will come to an end. I still haven't decided which way I want Neal to go. I'm torn, but I have to decide soon!
I adore all the support you guys have for this story. I'm glad you enjoy it as much as I do. The next post will be Wednesday! Until then guys!