Smoke

Chapter 12 Waking

"What do you mean he escaped?" Regina scoffed, resuming her position of Sheriff, and being called that Mr. Gold had escaped his cell in the psych ward. "Well find him, he's probably not safe out there, or others aren't," Regina snapped. 

She sighed heavily, fighting off the mild feeling of morning sickness. Heading out of the hospital, "What's happening?" She asks, the rush of people. "That girl, Tilly, something happened," Sabine answers.

Regina furrows her brows and follows the group heading towards the hospital.

"What happened?" Regina pushes through people to see Margot anxiously standing as they wheeled Tilly into the hospital hallways. "I don't know, she was just starting to sew something, and she just collapsed," Margot shook her head.

Mary Margaret comforted the younger woman as Regina headed forward. "Sheriff?" Dr. Whale asked her. "I need to see her, this seems suspicious," Regina insists. 

Gently, Regina overlooks who she already knows as Alice, not Tilly. Thinking a moment, she comes quickly to the conclusion that this was a curse, a sleeping curse. She picks up Alice's hand and looks at her finger, seeing a small drop of dried blood. 

"I should check her over and make her comfortable," Dr. Whale gestures, and Regina marches away. With a curl in her lip and a tension in her jaw she heads from the hospital. 

Meanwhile 

"I never thought I would see you," Neal states. "Well, never thought I would see you, and certainly not showing some silver hair before me," Killian said. "Where's Alice?" Neal asks. "Back in Storybrooke, trying to break my curse," Killian mused.

"What? Since when do you?" Neal shook his head. "I took the power from your father," Killian opens his jacket showing him the familiar dagger with a name. "Ah, you killed him?" Neal asks.

"Well at first, but then I wanted to make him suffer the way I did for centuries, so I sacrificed someone else to bring him back, powerless," Killian explained. "That is really honest, let's get  a drink," Neal pushes into a bar. 

The pair sit next to each other, "Rum, I assume is fine?" Neal scoffed, and ordered two. "So you got your revenge, on him, and an entire town?" Neal asks.

"Well, I wanted to find Alice also knowing she went to the land without magic," Killian explained. "Funny enough that's what your father wanted," Killian shrugged. 

"Well now you found both of us, what are you going to do?" Neal asks. "Well I would hope you would come with me," Killian clicks the cool rum down his throat. 

"Mmm, well I wouldn't want Alice to feel I abandoned her," Neal agreed. "Thank you by the way, for looking after her as best you could," Killian said. "Yeah well, you looked after me a while so I figured I could do the same," Neal met his eyes. 

In Storybrooke 

On a mission Regina drives, and then marches towards the edge of town. A park bench sits, "Why did you harm that girl and how?" Regina demands. 

He smiles, and looks at her, "Don't you know the years of revenge me and your pirate have?"

"Why did you hurt that girl? She didn't do anything," Regina said. "Says the Evil Queen," Rumple scoffs.

"Oh please, don't act like you're less guilty than Killian Jones, you were the dark one for over 300 years." Regina said. 

"You're just upset that he got what you couldn't have," Regina smirked. "If you're talking about you, dearie, you're very wrong," Rumple denies. 

"You have no magic whether the town does or not, what potion did you give her?" Regina demands. "I believe you're quite familiar with sleeping curses, and that only a true love's kiss will wake her," Rumple said.

"Killian can easily do that when he comes back," Regina states. "Well, you would think that," Rumple scoffs. "What?" Regina scoffs. "Given it's his curse, he can't, not the kind of curse I put her under," Rumple smiled.

"Since when?" Regina huffs. "That's how it works, the pirate should have looked more into these things, that's what experience does," Rumple gloats. 

Regina grits her teeth, "Then we'll find another way, we have more power than you," Regina turns sharply, and shuffles away. 

"You forget the first lesson of all, all magic comes with a price Dearie," Rumple smiles. 

Margot sits in the hospital room looking at Tilly, placing her hand gently on hers. Regina arrives looking in the glass, "Whale?" Regina presses. "Not sure, seems like a coma, not sure why," he answers.

Regina sighs, knowing of all things Killian returning with his daughter in a curse isn't ideal. However, if he can't wake her, who can.

Regina stares at the soft expression on Margot's face, thinking a true love's kiss would perhaps be worth a try, despite them having just met. 

"Margot," Regina pushes the door open. "Oh, hi Sheriff Mills," Margot tenses. "You two were hitting it off it seems," Regina sits down. 

"Yeah, we were," Margot agrees. "You know, Tilly was ready this book, fairy tales, and she almost looks like a princess sleeping there," Regina says. 

"I don't-- " Margot muddled. 

"Well, sometimes someone just knowing someone is there, caring for them, hoping for them, is enough," Regina said. Regina hands Margot the book from Tilly's back.

"Or maybe even read to her, she can probably hear you," Regina hints. 

Leaving the pair, Regina casually peaks in to see Margot flipping through the pages. "Hi, thought you could have some tea, given your condition," Mary Margaret comes to Regina. "Sorry?" Regina asks.

"Well, seems sort of obvious, congratulations," Mary Margaret smiles. Regina sighs, feeling a comfort and her stomach, "Thank you, I'm just getting used to it," Regina says. 

Regina watches as Margot reads through the book, and gently seems to lean over Tilly, placing a kiss on her forehead. 

Nothing. 

Regina furrows her brows, and watches Margot return to the reading of the story. 

As the night wears on, Margot starts to fall asleep in the chair. Regina enters, and overlooks the opened book on the foot of the bed. Opened to where Prince Charming kisses a sleeping Snow White. 

"Well that didn't work," Regina mused out loud. "I'm having a baby, and I can't even take care of you for a day without you ending up in a sleeping curse," She sighs to Alice. 

"Your father won't be too pleased, I expect," Regina sat on the side of the bed. "It's funny, how much you changed him," She talks to her, with a small smile coming across her face.

"I suppose some children are so wonderful they can make their parents better people. If you're mother nature, I guess you're natural at regrowth," She smiles. 

"I didn't have a good mother, and I know you didn't, I wonder what kind I'll be," Regina ponders. 

Gently she covers Margot with a warmer blanket, and then Alice. 

"Suppose this is my first practice at it," Regina smiled gently and places a kiss on Alice's head. 

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Alice gasps as a wash of light washes over her and the entire town. 

Curse broken