The Villain Got The Happy Ending

Chapter Seven: A Whole New Pain

"Good night you two." I kissed Emmy and Neal on the cheek and laid them both down in the bassinet. I shut the nursery door, which wasn't painted yet. Emma was standing outside of the door, her eyes looked confused and dazed. "Is everything alright Swan?" She looked up at me like she wanted to cry, I somehow knew deep down in my heart that this had nothing to do with my family. "I think Hook just asked me to marry him." I was shocked, I didn't think the man who was hiding behind my desk while I threw up was now getting ready for marriage. "That's great news! Why are you so upset? Is there something you aren't telling me?" Emma's eyes quickly cleared up and she looked away. "No. Just that. I'm just shocked." Then she quickly turned away and walked to their room. "Good night Regina." That was strange, she never acted like that, even in front of her parents. "Good night Emma." I turned into my room and crawled into bed and fell asleep.
Three in the morning. It was an hour later than the night before. "Oh Emmy, you do a number on your mommy." I stumbled into the nursery, I was shocked to see Emilia sleeping soundly and Neal crying. "Oh my, well isn't this a change?" I lifted him out of the crib and walked into my room. "Well little Knight. What is it now?" I felt a full diaper so I changed it on my bed. "All better!" I lifted him up so I could rock him and look at his face. "I have a son who looked quite similar to you as a baby, but he's big now!" I felt myself choking up as I stared at him. "I also had a son who didn't look like you, but you would have loved him. I loved him, I still love him. And I miss him, I miss him horribly." I started to cry as I rocked Neal, his small body was curled up against mine, he had his tiny hand resting on my torso. "I just want my baby boy back. I miss him so much."My heart ached. It aches more than when I got the life zapped out of me repeatedly. That was child's play compared to this. "I want my son!" My whole body shook as I held him. "Regina?" Emma was standing in my doorframe rubbing her eyes. I breathed back and wiped my face with my hand. "Yes, Ms. Swan? Your brother had a dirty diaper so I had to change it." I remained sitting on my bed, my pajamas were covered in tears, but Neal nuzzled his face into my torso. My heart ached again. Emma slowly walked over to me and sat down. "Regina, it's been two days since you lost one of your babies, you are allowed to grieve, it's okay, if I lost Henry like that, I don't know how I would even wake up in the morning, let alone do what you are doing, this feeling is new, you don't know how to cope, you are doing your best but it is normal to feel despair and completely hopeless." I stopped crying, I knew my secret would come out eventually. "Emma, I have to tell you something, I am going to need you to hold your brother." She grabbed him and I stood up and walked over to my closet and pulled out the box that I had cried over the day before. "What is that?" Emma stood up and walked over to me. I walked back to the bed and sat back down, then I took a deep breath and opened the lid. "I have this box, most of it is memories from when Henry was a baby." I pulled out the blanket and knit cap and handed them to her, she smiled at them and smelled them. "But I also have a secret." I pulled out the old acorn rattle and held it gently in my hand. "Before I met your mother, or any royalty in fact, I had my secret love affair with Daniel. Well the day before I saved your mother, I found out that I was pregnant. I was only eighteen at the time, but that was a common age to start a family, but I was still terrified to tell my mother. She already didn't approve of my lifestyle, she didn't even know I was with Daniel. Well the day I was engaged to the King, I quickly snuck off to tell Daniel, well when we became engaged, he gave me this ring and this rattle that he made out of the debris around the stables. Well the day we went to run away and my mother killed him, I tried to run away myself, I didn't want my child growing up in a world where her magic could hurt it, but she caught me, when I returned to the palace she told me that she found out that I was carrying Daniel's child, I begged her to leave me alone, but she placed a spell on me, so it appeared to the King, Snow, and the rest of the kingdom that I looked the same, her and I would be the only two people who knew about it. When it came time for me to have my baby she locked me in a tower and made a nurse deliver it who was sworn to secrecy by blood magic. When he was finally born mother walked in and ripped his small fragile heart and crushed it in my arms. She told me that I couldn't be queen with a child that I had out of wedlock. My own father didn't even know, and when I told him it was too late, she was unstoppable. I stayed in that tower for days, just staring at him, I placed a preservation spell on him so I could gaze at him, he looked just like Daniel. I named him Matthew. Matthew Jacob. No one ever knew, after I got rid of mother I had him buried next to Daniel, his name was carved into a stone that I had placed under Daniel's tombstone. When the curse hit he was automatically put into the mausoleum so I didn't have to look at him. After the two of them died I carved his name into this rattle and it goes with me everywhere, that way Matthew is always with me." I looked up at Emma, I had tears streaming down my face. I was hyperventilating while I told the story. Emma had tears running down her face and she looked up at me with a heavy heart. "You have gone through this twice? Regina, I am so sorry." She stopped talking and gulped back a cry that was forming in her throat. Then she fully embraced me in a hug. I finally fully let go. All of my emotions came pouring out, I couldn't stop sobbing, my whole body throbbed, I had never wanted to die so badly in my life, I wanted to walk up to my balcony and jump. Jump and leave this miserable world for good. "I can't do it Emma! I can't live knowing that I lost two children! Two that will never ever come back! I don't know if Henry or Roland will either or my husband! I can't! I can't!" Emma slowly got up and left with Neal, I was now terrified that my only friend was now convinced that I was insane. I hunched over and kept crying. Emma returned without Neal, instead she was holding a tall glass of water. "Shh. Regina, drink this." I took a deep breath and drank the glass of water she gave me, but it only calmed me down a little. I was still crying, but I could breathe a little better now. Emma laid me down on my side on the bed and rubbed my shoulder. For the rest of the night she stayed there while I grieved the losses of my baby boys, the children I would never know.
The sun was up. I didn't sit up, I laid in my bed, still numb from the night before. I had cried all night, exposing my feelings, but now I felt raw. I laid there, trying to remember when I fell asleep, but the whole night was blurry after Emma laid me down. I sat up and looked to my left, Emma was asleep with her head against the headboard, she had a box of tissues in her hand, and an empty cup in the other. I felt so bad that I was constantly needing her support, I was exhausting her. I got out of the bed and walked to her side and laid her down on the pillow. I then carefully returned all of the appropriate items into the box. Before I closed it, I walked into the nursery and grabbed the toy bottle that Robin had found on the ground the day that I told him I was pregnant. It was small, and it was plastic with a hard top. I had giggled at this at the time, but now I grabbed it and quickly wrote Daniel's name on the plastic and stuck it in the box, then I placed the box on my shelf and walked downstairs.
I sat down on the couch and threw a blanket over myself. I couldn't be in that room any longer, the air was too heavy. I kicked my feet up on the couch, but when I rolled over there was a note. Fearing it was from Malificent, I tore the envelope open and read the note. It had messy handwriting and it was smudged with dirt, it read: "My dearest Regina, I got your message. I cannot call where we are at. The Enchanted Forest is a tricky place. We got Roland and Henry, they are fine, so are Mary Margaret and David. Enclosed is a coin, place it on the seal and I will be able to talk to you, so don't rip this envelope up completely! We are finding a way back to you. I love you. RH" I quickly grabbed the envelope and placed the coin on the wax seal and a mist sprang from it. Then Robin's face materialized. "Robin! Baby!" My heart yearned to touch his face, to smell his scent. "Regina! I am so happy to see you! Now I need you to listen to me! We have a way home, but we need you and Emma to open the other end. We are going to open it in ten minutes, the portal will open on Main Street, so make sure no one is around to be sucked in. We are coming! Hurry!" The connection lost and the house was back to its silent self. I ran up the stairs and reluctantly woke up Emma. "Swan! We have to go to Main Street! They are coming home and we need to open a portal for them to finish the trip! Hurry! They are coming in ten minutes!" Emma flew out of bed and threw a pair of boots on her feet and a jacket. I ran into the nursery and put the babies in their seats, then poofed a pair of boots and a jacket on myself. We ran to the car and got the babies in, then sped to Granny's. We pulled up and I checked the clock, we had three minutes until we had to open the portal, so I grabbed a seat, I didn't even know which baby I had, all I knew was I was holding on tightly. We put them down right next to us, then my watch went off, it was time.
We both started blasting. It took all of our magic to get the portal to open, then to keep it open for everyone to go through. First the Charming's came through, they shot out and fell to the side so they didn't crush Neal, I willed the babies to the inside of our legs so they wouldn't get hit, then Roland shot out and hit me in the stomach. "Uh!" I was till sore and he hit a soft spot. He fell over onto the street. "Munchkin!" He rolled up and started to get pulled towards the purple smoke. "Get behind my legs Munchkin!" He nodded and stood behind me, holding onto my calves. Then Henry shot out and hit Emma. "Hey kid! Oh my God." We both sighed with relief. Time was passing and Robin still wasn't out. "Robin! Honey! Come on! I can't hold it much longer!" The portal started to flicker, I knew it would soon close, and no one could get through again. "Robin!" I let out a blood-curdling cry. Just as the mist started to evaporate Robin shot through. "Oh my God babe!" I dropped to the floor and flung my arms around him. He hugged me back then started kissing me fiercely. I held onto him, never wanting to let go of him. "Where is my daughter?" Robin stood up, still holding my hand. I walked over to the car seat and picked her up. "Look Emmy, it's daddy." My grin was so big I thought I was going to burst. "Regina!" I turned around and Roland jumped into my arms. I held onto him so tightly that I thought he would burst. "Roland! I missed you so much!" I kissed his head and kept him close to me. When I stood up I saw Henry standing with Emma staring at the four of us. "Were you just going to not hug me?" I held out my arm to him and he hugged me, then he pulled away. "I just wanted to give you and your family a minute." He shrugged and pulled farther away from me. "Henry, you are a part of this family, I told you this when you were a little boy, just because I didn't carry you in me doesn't make you any less of my son! You are my family! And thank you for being such a mature man these past couple of days, I love you." I kissed the top of his head and pulled him close into me, trying to remember the sweet baby smell of him on my pajamas. "Don't ever leave me again." I whispered gently into his ear.