Chapter 25
Wow, I can't believe this is Chapter 25 already! I wouldn't have been able to keep up with this story without all of your support! I hope everyone is still enjoying the story! Let me know if you have any suggestions :)
Hanna looked all around her. She knew where she was. She was back…back in the jungles of that terrible place she wanted to forget. She was in Neverland and he was standing there, with that same smirk on his face she'd seen many times. It was Pan. He was doing it again, he was ripping their family apart. He was taking Emma and Henry away. He had them in his grasp. Hanna could see them, they were right in front of her, but she couldn't get to them. She tried and tried, but she couldn't move. She was stuck.
"Hanna help," she heard Henry call out in desperation.
"Han you have to save us," Emma begged her sister.
Hanna saw the distress in their eyes and could hear it in their voices. She wanted desperately to help them, but she didn't know how.
"Please! Let them go!" Hanna yelled at Pan. It was no use though, no matter how much she pleaded with him, he would never give them up. He just stood there with the same smirk on his face just like he always did…never saying anything and with wave of his hand they all disappeared.
Hanna dropped to the ground. She had failed them. She couldn't save them. She would never get to see them again. They would be gone forever. All because of Peter Pan, Hanna would never get to see two of the people she loved most in this world ever again. "Emma! Henry! Come back to me! Please!" Hanna called out.
Snow and Charming awoke to their daughter's screams. "I'll go this time," Charming told his wife, giving her a kiss before going to check on his little girl. This had been going on for several months now, ever since they had gotten back to the Enchanted Forest. Hanna had these terrible nightmares that caused her to call out in her sleep. Only Snow or Charming could wake her from the terrors that haunted her dreams. When they first started, Snow and Charming would both rush to their little girl's side, but now that it happened just about every night, they took turns. Sometimes it took awhile to pull Hanna from her nightmares and get her calmed down enough to go back to sleep again.
Charming walked into Hanna's room to find her tossing and turning in her bed. Her blankets were twisted all around her. She was calling out for them…for Emma and Henry, just like she always did. It broke Charming's heart to see how much pain his little girl was in. He was hoping that these nightmares would start to fade away as time went on…as she got use to living here, but that wasn't the case. The nightmares were just as strong as they were when they first arrived.
"Hanna…wake up baby," Charming said as he held onto Hanna's arms to keep them from thrashing around.
"No…no," Hanna said as she tried to get out of her father's grasp.
"It's just a dream. I'm here," he told her calmly.
"They're gone," Hanna said in defeat, eyes still closed. She was still half asleep, but she was finally laying still and beginning to calm down.
"It's going to be okay," Charming said as she gently brushed the hair out of her face.
"Daddy!" Hanna said as her eyes shot open, finally coming out of the her deep sleep. "They're gone," Hanna whispered as tears fell from her eyes.
"I know they are," Charming said as he pulled his little girl into his arms. He rubbed circles on Hanna's back as she slowly began to calm down. He knew exactly how his daughter was feeling, both he and Snow did. They missed their oldest daughter and grandson more than anything. They wished they could help Hanna get through this, but they didn't know how. This was just as hard on them. They knew that all they could do was continue to be there for their little girl and help her through this, no matter how long it took.
"Will you stay with me tonight?" Hanna asked as she looked up at her father. She didn't always ask this of them. Once she was woken from her nightmare and calmed down, she would usually just go back to sleep on her own. Tonight, she wanted her dad to stay with her. She didn't think she could be in here alone.
"Of course," Charming said as he wiped the tears from her eyes.
Hanna laid down and felt safe in the strong arms of her father. She let her eyes close and she drifted off to sleep, knowing no nightmares would come while he was there.
Hanna awoke the next morning to find her dad not there. He must have gone downstairs already for breakfast. She felt bad that she had woken him again last night. She tried really hard not to have those nightmares. When she did, she tried her best not to scream out, but it never seemed to work. She always woke up to the loving eyes of either her mom or dad, who would help her to calm down and fall back asleep. Hanna was comforted by the fact that they would always be there for her.
Hanna walked through the hallways of the large castle. She had finally learned how to get around without getting herself lost. They took back the castle after learning that it was Regina's half-sister, Zelena, who took it over in the first place. Zelena was actually the Wicked Witch of the West, it took awhile for Hanna to wrap her head around that one. She was use to the fairytale characters from the Enchanted Forest being real by now, but she didn't know people from Oz were real too. Hanna wondered what other characters were actually real.
She made her way into the dining room and sat down at the table with her parents, breakfast already waiting for her.
"Good morning," Snow and Charming said as they greeted her with warm smiles.
"Morning," Hanna said with a small smile. She still felt guilty that she had woken them up again last night. Even though her dad had been the one to actually come in with her, she knew her mom had been awake too. "I'm sorry I woke you guys up again."
"Hanna you don't have to be sorry," Snow told her.
"We're your parents. It's our job to be there for you," David said.
Hanna nodded her head and started into her breakfast. The food here was pretty good. The palace chefs did a great job, but she missed the pancakes her dad and Henry use to make. Nobody could beat those, especially when Henry was in charge of adding the chocolate chips.
"Have you heard anything from Neal?" Hanna asked once she was finished with her food. She knew he and Belle had gone to the Dark One's castle. She overheard Neal saying that he wanted to find a way to revive his father and that Rumplestiltskin might know a way to get back to Emma and Henry.
"No we haven't heard anything," Charming told her as he looked over to his wife.
"It's just…it's been a really long time. Don't you think they should be back by now and…" Hanna started to say.
"Hanna, we've talked about this," Snow sighed. When Hanna overheard what Neal was saying about getting back to Emma and Henry, she went directly to her parents and told them. Ever since then, she had been asking about information on Belle and Neal's return. "Remember, sweetie, there are no more portals. This curse was a complete reset. This is our realm for good."
Snow wanted her little girl to have hope, it was the most important thing anyone could have. Holding onto to something that just wasn't possible wasn't good though. There was no way to get back to Emma and Henry. She and Charming had stayed up many nights with Regina to discuss any possibility of that happening, but there was just no way. Snow wanted to help Hanna move on and try to enjoy the life she has here.
Hanna sighed and let her head drop. She knew her mom was right. They had told her this several times. Hanna knew there was no way to get back to Henry and Emma, not without another curse. If there was, she knew her parents would be doing everything they could to make it happen. Even if they did make it back somehow, Emma and Henry wouldn't even remember who they were anyway.
"The only thing we can do for Emma and Henry is let them be and know that we gave them their best chance," Charming told her.
"I know," Hanna said as she nodded her head.
"We do have some other news to share with you," Snow said as she gave her daughter a nervous smile. She and Charming had been trying to come up with the best way to tell Hanna this news. They had been talking about it for days.
"Snow, we have to just tell her," Charming told his wife.
"I know I know. I'm just afraid of how she'll react. What if she's not happy about it? What if she thinks we'll love the baby more? What if she let's her walls come back up? Charming, we've worked so hard and made so much progress we can't…"
"Snow, calm down," Charming said once his wife started talking about a mile a minute. "She might not like the idea at first, but that can be normal for any older sibling. She might have thoughts about us loving her less, but that's when we show her that isn't true. We will continue to be there for her, just like we always have. We won't let her walls come back up, I promise."
"I know. You're right. We can do this," Snow said with a smile.
"She's going to love her new little brother," Charming said with a smile as he put his hands on his wife's stomach.
"And what makes you think it's going to be a boy?" Snow asked with a raise of her eyebrows.
"I just know," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
No matter what they did end up having, they knew they would be there for Hanna. They would always be there for their children.
"What is it?" Hanna asked, a little concerned because of the look on her mother's face. What else could they possible have to tell her?
"I'm going to have a baby," Snow said, watching Hanna's reaction, trying to assess her feelings about this.
"Oh," Hanna said, surprised by this. She definitely wasn't expecting them to tell her that. She looked up and could see the excitement in her parents' faces. She knew she should be feeling that too, but why were all of these feelings of worry and jealousy going through her head right now?
"Hanna…what are you thinking?" David asked when he noticed the look on his daughter's face. He couldn't tell how she was actually feeling about the news.
"Nothing. It's great. Congratulations," she said with a small smile as she stood up to leave. "I'm gonna go for a walk. It's really nice outside."
Snow and Charming watched as Hanna left the room. They weren't going to push her to talk about it anymore right now. They wanted to give her some space. They knew she probably needed some time to process all of this. They were still worried about how she was going to handle the news though.
Once Hanna was out of sight of her parents, she took off running. She ran until she found the door that led to the gardens outside. She ran through the bright colored flowers to the edge of the garden and out of the gate. She made her way to the place she had found a few days after they arrived. It was a big willow tree. The leaves hung down low and hid her from view when she sat on one of the branches. She liked to come here a lot to just think and have time to herself.
Hanna climbed up to the branch she has sat on many times before. She leaned back against the tree trunk and let what her parents just told her really sink in. They were having another baby. A baby…a second chance at what they had missed out on with her and Emma. They were getting a do-over. Another opportunity to raise their child. They would get to raise this one from birth. There would be no curse to take the baby away this time. The baby would get to grow up and have the life Hanna and Emma should of had.
Hanna shook her head and tried to push these thoughts away. They were still her parents too. They still loved her and they would still love her even when the new baby came…right? Hanna didn't know. She knew that they loved her now, they showed that time and time again, but babies need a lot of love and attention. Her parents might not have enough to go around. She remembered Emma telling her about the foster parents that gave her away when they had their own baby. They didn't have enough love for both Emma and the new baby, so they sent her back. Hanna knew her parents would never give her away, but they would definitely love the baby more. They might still love her, but the baby would take some of that love away. Hanna was still going through a lot with losing Emma and Henry and being transported to this new world. She needed her mom and dad to be there for her. She needed their support. She didn't know if she could do this without them.
Hanna pulled her knees to her chest and buried her head in her arms. She let her tears fall as she silently sobbed. She didn't know what was going to happen. She didn't know what she was going to do.
Once she cried herself out, Hanna decided to spend the afternoon walking through the trees and just being alone. She did not want to go back. She knew her parents would make her talk…about the baby and about how she was feeling. Hanna was not ready for that. She decided that she wasn't even going to go inside for lunch. Her parents would probably start to wonder where she was though, but she was safe. It's not like she could get out of the castle walls, there were knights everywhere. She was getting a little hungry though, so she plucked some berries from a bush and just snacked on those. After a few hours, she climbed back up into the tree.
Hanna knew that she must have fallen asleep because when she opened her eyes it was almost dark out, and she could hear her mother calling her name. She didn't even remember closing her eyes though. She looked around and it was definitely later than she thought. She quickly climbed down from the tree and went to where her mom was calling her.
"Where have you been? It's almost time for dinner," Snow asked when Hanna finally made it back to her.
"Just around," Hanna said with a shrug of her shoulders as she walked past her mom and into the castle. She sighed when she saw her father and Regina standing right inside waiting for her as well.
"There you are," Charming said, sounding relieved.
"We've wasted our afternoon searching the grounds for you," Regina said, obviously annoyed.
Hanna just shrugged her shoulders. She knew she should feel bad for hiding out all day, causing them to look for her, but she didn't. It was their choice to spend their time searching for her. She was fine. It really wasn't necessary.
"Hanna, we need to talk," Snow said as she came and stood by her husband.
"I don't wanna talk," Hanna told her as she turned to leave.
"Hanna, you're not going anywhere. Stay here," David told her with a stern voice. They needed to talk about this. They gave Hanna the space she needed, but now it was time to talk. She was obviously upset about the new baby.
"No," Hanna told her dad as she turned back around and crossed her arms, looking him directly in the eyes.
"Hanna, we are going to talk about this," Charming told her, a little surprised by her attitude.
Hanna just rolled her eyes and turned to leave. She wasn't ready for this right now.
"Hanna, please," Snow said as she grabbed onto her hand.
"What do you want me to say?" Hanna said a lot louder than she meant to as she pulled her hand out of her mother's grasp. "I'm glad you're having another baby. I'm glad you get to have a second chance, one that you didn't get with Emma and me. I'm glad you'll have someone new around you can love more than me."
Hanna stopped herself before she said anything else. She didn't mean to yell at them. She knew she shouldn't have said any of those things. That's why she didn't want to talk about it right now…she wasn't ready. She looked up at her parents, noticing the looks of despair on their faces and instantly felt guilty. She knew she hurt them. She didn't mean to, but she did. Hanna turned and ran from the room before she said anything else that would cause them pain.
Hanna sat up in her room for several hours. She thought her parents would have come in and talked to her by now…well she secretly hoped that they would. She finished her book she had been reading and she drew a few pictures to pass the time. Hanna eventually just gave in and tried to go to sleep, they obviously weren't coming. However, sleep was not coming either, she must have slept too much up in the tree and her guilt was really getting to her. She felt bad about what she said to her mom and dad. She finally decided to go see if they were still awake and talk to them about what she said.
She quietly walked the few steps down the hallway to their bedroom. Hanna let her head drop when she saw that the door was shut and there was no light shining from the crack underneath. They were already asleep. It must have been pretty late. They must be upset with her if they went to bed without even saying goodnight. Hanna knew she blew it. She shouldn't have said those things.
Hanna just decided to go downstairs and get something to eat since she was already up, she was really hungry since she missed out on dinner. She had a big breakfast and some of those berries, but her stomach was growling. She made her way down the dimly lit hallway towards the stairs. She passed several knights, who were on watch for the evening, none spoke to her, but a few did nod their heads as she passed. Hanna just smiled at them and held onto her stomach…the growling was getting even louder as she got closer to the kitchen.
"Well, well. Look who it is."
The voice that came from behind made Hanna jump. She had finally made it into the kitchen and over to the fridge, but she didn't realize there was anyone else there. She didn't think anyone else would be up this late. She turned around to see Regina sitting at the table. Regina was often up in the night, she didn't sleep well anymore.
"Oh, hi," Hanna said before turning back to rummage through the fridge for something to eat. She pulled out some things to make a sandwich.
"What are you doing up?" Regina asked, even though she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.
"I wanted to talk to my mom and dad, but they're already asleep. Then I got hungry," Hanna said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Oh I see," Regina said as she watched Hanna finish making her sandwich and sit down next to her.
"They're mad at me," Hanna told Regina as she dropped her sandwich and looked down at the table.
"They're not mad at you. They're worried about you," Regina told her.
"How do you know?" Hanna asked as she looked up at her.
"Because they wouldn't stop talking about it at dinner," Regina said with a roll of her eyes.
"Really?" Hanna asked, not sure if she believed Regina.
"Yes. Although, they should be mad after the way you talked to them. You were very rude," Regina said as she raised her eyebrows at the young girl.
"I know. I shouldn't have said those things," Hanna admitted.
"You're right you shouldn't have, because they're not true."
"Oh what I said was true, maybe I shouldn't have said them, but they're true. They will love that baby more than they love me. It will be a second chance for them…it's okay though," Hanna told her.
"Would you stop. You're being ridiculous. You know that's not even remotely true," Regina told her sternly, she was getting tired of this.
"But they will…" Hanna started to say.
"Enough. They love you and you know that. Well, at least you should after how much they tell you they do," Regina said, hoping to get through to her.
Hanna looked up and immediately looked back down again after meeting eyes with Regina. She could be very intimidating when she wanted to be, but Regina was also right. The more she thought about it, the more Hanna knew she was being completely ridiculous. She knew her parents loved her and that they always would. They've shown her time and time again. A baby won't change that. A baby might even be fun actually. Hanna never tried to think of it that way. Babies are really cute. Hanna would even get to be a big sister and help take care of her little brother or sister. Maybe she could get use to the idea. Her parents would always be there for her, things might change a little bit, but they would always love her.
"I gotta go," Hanna said as she quickly got up and left the kitchen.
Regina smiled. Her methods might not always be the kindest, but they got the results that she needed. She got Hanna to come to her senses and it only took one quick conversation.
Hanna raced up the stairs and into her parents' bedroom. Snow and Charming quickly sat up at the sound of someone entering their room.
"Hanna…what's going on? What's wrong?" Charming said as he turned on the bedside light.
"Nothing…I'm just…I'm sorry," Hanna said as she stood next the bed by her dad.
"Come here sweetie," Snow said as she motioned for her daughter to come sit in between them on the bed. Her little girl was ready to talk, it might be the middle of the night, but they were going to do this now.
Hanna climbed onto the bed in between her parents and just started in. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I didn't mean it. I know you won't love the baby more than me. I was just confused and I wasn't thinking."
"Hanna are you sure? You have to know that we will love you just the same as this baby. Nothing will ever change that," Snow said. She needed Hanna to know this. She couldn't have Hanna thinking they loved the baby more, she just couldn't.
"Things around here are definitely going to change, but we will always love you," David told her.
They both worried that Hanna might just being telling them what they wanted to hear and not really meaning it. They needed their little girl to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they both love her and would always love her just as much as any other child they might have.
"Guys, I really do. I know that you love me. I know things will be different, but that doesn't mean you'll love me any less. I know everything is going to be okay," Hanna said with a smile.
"Good," Snow said with a sigh as she wrapped her arms around Hanna, pulling her close.
"You know, it actually might even be fun," Charming said with a grin. "Think of all the dirty diapers you'll get to change."
"Dad, that's gross," Hanna said with a laugh. "I am not changing any diapers. I get to do all of the actual fun stuff."
"Yeah, Charming. I think we'll save all of those dirty diapers for you," Snow told her husband with a smile.
"That sounds fair to me," Charming said as he wrapped his arms around both of his girls, giving them each a kiss on the forehead.
Snow and Charming met each others eyes and were at peace. Hanna had come around and was okay with the fact that she would be getting a new brother or sister. She knew they would always love her. They knew there may be bumps in the road ahead, but they had made it past their biggest hurdle of telling Hanna the news. Even though she took the news hard at first, they were glad she was happy about it now. They felt safe and were excited about their new bundle of joy. Especially since there wasn't an evil sorcerous out to ruin their lives this time around.