Emma Swan opened her parents apartment door to see her father with his toddler, Neal, sitting on the couch. "Hey dad." Emma said as she shut the door with her baby in her arms. She sat on the couch next to him.
He looked over to see her child. "Hey, Snow told me the truth about the baby." He smiled as she gave Hope to him and smiled. He turned to look back at her with Neal staring at the baby beside him. "And she told me about Hook." He now placed his arm over her shoulder and then kissed the hair on her head. She closed her eyes as she heard him say. "Emma, I'm so sorry. I should have protected you."
"Dad, it's fine." She whispered. She then changed the subject to keep from talking about the breakup or the baby. "Where's mom?"
He sighed as he looked down at the baby. "Where she usually is, in bed."
She got up from the couch, moved across the room to see the bed with her in it. She noticed the tears that stained her mother's face. Emma knew she had to be deep in thought. "Mom."
"Sweetie." She replied sitting up from the bed.
"You need to get up and do something. Don't lay in bed all day. That's what you did back there." She softly spoke as she sat beside her. "Everyone has been worried about you, especially Regina and I."
Snow sniffed her nose and then spoke. "They should be. I feel so numb and lost. I feel like I'm not really here. Every time I sleep I dream of him hurting us. I can't escape this- this feeling of just utter hopelessness. It's like nothing will ever help and I will forever be lost in my own mind with no return. Nothing will go back to the way it was. I feel so much pain all the time. I feel like I'm never going to move on from this, not even Charming can help me and it kills me." She cried. "It kills me knowing Charming could never help. Nothing ever could help. I just feel so empty inside, Emma."
"This will pass." Emma responded.
"I feel like it won't. I can't go on feeling like I'm a failure. I can't go on like this when whenever I try to move on, my mind causes turmoil. All I think about is going back to that house and ending it all. I feel like I can't live anymore."
Please don't talk like this. You are scaring me.
Tears formed in Emma's eyes as she spoke with a crack in her voice. "Of course you can live, mom. You have so much to live for: dad, me, Henry, Neal."
"I'm just going to tumble down and bring you all down with me."
"That's not true, mom." Emma immediately embraced her mother who in turn placed her head on her daughter's shoulder.
Prince Charming came over to the two with the baby. "She's beautiful, Emma." She smiled. "Here." He gave Hope back as Emma now gave the baby to her mother to hold.
Snow grasped to her granddaughter and smiled rocking her in her arms. "She really is." Emma looked at her mother as she held her daughter. She could tell she was still deep in thought and distressed.
"Mom, it's going to be okay, trust me." Mary Margaret nodded but Emma could tell she didn't really believe her. Snow didn't believe that everything was going to be okay.
~
Day 300:
Emma Swan felt her contractions continue, each hour getting more severe. She laid on the ground on her back, legs spread apart with towels under her. She had contractions for hours but now they were starting to get a lot worse. She could feel that the baby was coming soon. Snow had been by her daughter's side trying her best to comfort her through the pain. Regina and Jefferson both were side by side, telling her when to push.
Jefferson was now focusing all his attention on Emma, trying to help her, paying no attention to Regina. He had both his hands on Emma's trying to calm her down as a terrible contraction came. In merely a half a second, everything changed. The next moment they all peered to see Regina taking the gun from Jefferson's side pocket, then backing up with the gun in her hand. "Don't move!" She screamed toward him.
"Of course I couldn't trust you to help deliver a baby!"
"Regina!?" Snow screamed at her, motioning her to put the gun down. "Emma is literally about to have a baby!"
"I don't care! He's going to pay! It took me ten months to get this gun! I'm not going to turn away now!" Her voice was shaking with fear as she stared at him. He was angry. She could see it in his eyes. She was too though. She was beyond outraged. She was going to kill him until she heard the voice of Emma.
Regina is going to kill him! She's going to try to kill the father of my child!
"Regina, please." Emma panted still sweating profusely from being in labor. "Don't kill him, not now."
Snow now left Emma as she went to Regina's side. Regina didn't even blink. All she did was stare at Jefferson making sure he didn't try snatching the gun. Tears of anger burned her eyes as she continued to point the gun at him, her hands trembling.
"Do not do this. Emma is about to have a baby any moment! You wouldn't kill the father of her child. The father of my own grandchild. The father of Henry's brother or sister!"
The man remained silent glaring back at Regina.
"He's going to kill us if we don't kill him now!" She said.
"Regina, look where we are. Emma is laying on the floor about to give birth to his baby!" Tears of anger streamed down Regina's face. "Just give me the gun."
Regina, please don't do this! Not only will you kill someone but you will darken your heart again.
She glanced back at Emma. "Please, don't." Emma told her as she breathed heavily, almost out of breath.
She was going to shoot, but she couldn't. She just couldn't do it. She pulled her hand off the trigger, and gave the gun to Snow who still pointed the gun toward the man. "Get over there! Far away from Emma!" Snow said as he moved to sit on the couch, gun still pointed directly at him.
Regina dropped to the ground, trying to help Emma again with contractions. "Snow, you got to go! Get out of here while you still can!" Regina yelled.
"I'm not going anywhere! This baby is coming now!" Snow replied.
"One of us has to run and get help and it won't be Emma. It can't be me ether. Someone has to stay here to help her. You go get help. I won't be able to get away. My body is too weak right now." Snow stared at her daughter who was on the verge of birthing the baby. "I want to see my grandchild first!"
"Mary Margaret, now is not the time! Go!"
The baby was coming out now. Emma continued to scream in pain as she pushed as hard as she could. They could now hear a soft cry. Regina wiped it off with a towel, and smiled as Emma sat up, giving her the baby.
Tears of joy swept over Snow as she saw the baby girl. Emma now had her daughter in her arms, smiling. "What are you going to name her, Emma?" Regina asked.
"Hope."
"Hope. I always knew you had some of your mother in you." Regina looked at Snow now who then looked back at the baby. Emma kissed the baby's forehead as she rocked it.
Regina demanded. "Go Snow!"
"I'll be back Emma, I promise!" She told her daughter.
"Alright, mom and please hurry."
Snow now ran as fast as she could to find the keys by Jefferson. She took them and headed out as fast as she ever ran in her life. She opened door after door until she came to the very back and leaped out. She ran as fast as her feet could take her.
Not a second after Snow left the room, Emma saw Jefferson beside her, making both Regina and her uneasy. He smiled in gladness at his daughter and kissed her on the forehead the same as Emma did. "Our baby's beautiful, Emma." He replied but then he said back looking at Regina. "Snow's gone but that doesn't mean she won't return. I'm not about to lose Emma or my daughter!"
The next thing Regina knew she saw him reach for the gun where Snow had taken the keys. It didn't register with them that her mother was so focused on getting the keys, she had left the gun on the table. He then shot Regina through the arm, causing her to scream in pain as blood spewed out. "Come here!" He yelled at her pulling her up and dragging her as fast as he could to the back door of the house to take her outside. Regina fought him, but the man only threatened her more. "You promised! You promised you would behave!" He yelled as each second, she tried moving her arms free to grab the gun, he tightened his grip.
"Please!" Regina repeated continuously, begging him to loosen his hold on her.
"Snooow!" The man screamed as loud as he could from outside the house; hoping she was out on his property. "Get back here now! Mary Margaret if you don't get back here, I will kill her!" There was a slight pause until he pulled the trigger, shooting the gun in the air.
All of a sudden as he dragged the woman with the gun in his other hand, he sensed Snow approaching. Regina gasped as she saw Snow there turning the corner to see the other two. "What-" Regina could barely get any words out from the pain.
Snow could see Regina's arm covered in her own blood. "Come back inside right now Snow White or I'll blow her brains out and then I'll blow yours!" He placed the pistol to Regina's head.
Snow gulped as she knew it was over. He had won. There was no way of running from him now unless she wanted both her and Regina to die and Emma be trapped in that house with him alone. "Alright but promise me you won't hurt us anymore."
"I can't make a promise I won't keep. Get in there!"
Tears flooded Snow's senses as the man pointed the gun at her. She slowly wobbled back into the house. She hoped maybe there was a part of him that wouldn't hurt them because his baby had been born. Yet, both Snow and Regina knew there would still be terrible consequences for trying to escape.