I'm Coming Home

Chapter Twenty Six

*Regina's POV*
"It's.... The hospital..." I said and looked at Emma. Her eyes went wide. I answered the phone. "Hello?" I said in a shaky voice. "Mrs. Mills." Whale said in a distraught tone. "Y-yes?" I stuttered. "Mrs. Mills... We ran some tests on Briar... And she has Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn. Since she is premature, it's very fatal. We can't find any way to cure it. But, we will try." He said and I think I felt my heart breaking. "B-but, what will happen if you don't find a cure?" I asked. "She'll die. Soon. It could be a matter of days, maybe a few weeks." He said. Tears began falling from my eyes. "We wanted to call you and tell you that you can come get her. Spend the last amount of time with her that you can." He said. "T-thank you. We'll Uh.. We'll come down immediately." I said and hung up. Emma looked at me and I lost it. My tears and sobs were uncontrollable. Emma wrapped her arms around me and held me tightly. "What happened?" She asked. "Briar's dying. She was born with a disease, fatal to premature babies and Whale said it could be days. Maybe weeks. But, he said we could come get her." I said. Emma's face turned cold. We both stood up and put on clothes. I put on yoga pants, a hoodie and Uggs. Emma put on sweatpants, a hoodie and Free Runs. We went downstairs and got in my car. Emma drove. Her face was blank. Revealing no emotion. She built up that damn wall again. I sighed. I wanted to. I just... Couldn't. We got to the hospital and walked in. Whale was waiting. He smiled weakly and we walked to the nursery. He got Briar and brought her to us. He looked at Emma and she looked away. He sighed and handed Briar to me. I took her in my arms, gently. She was wrapped in the little pink blanket. She opened her eyes and looked up at me. I smiled, but my eyes became glassy. "She has your eyes." I said and glanced at Emma. She looked at me, then away again. I sighed. "I'm so sorry." Dr. Whale said. I shook my head. "Thank you for letting us take her home." I said. He nodded. We walked back out and got in the car. I held Briar carefully. The car ride home was silent. We got home and moved the crib from the nursery to our room. I laid Briar down gently and covered her up. I sighed. "Emma.. Why didn't you want to hold Briar?" I asked quietly. "Because. I can't get attached. It won't hurt as bad if I don't get attached." She said, holding her tears back. I shook my head. "Emma, you're already attached. She's our daughter." I said. "Emma, it could be the last time you get to hold our daughter." I said. She nodded and picked up Briar. She held her in her arms and a smile crept onto her face, then tears formed in her eyes. "She's so beautiful." Emma said shakily. I wrapped my arms around her from behind and leaned against her. We swayed, keeping the baby asleep. I leaned my chin against Emma's shoulder and looked down at our beautiful baby girl. She smiled up at us and Emma and I both started crying, but there were smiles on our faces. These tears were not happy tears. No. Our beautiful baby girl. One day old. Is dying. Who knows how much time we have left with our little girl? Emma laid Briar down in the crib and put a blanket over her. We got in bed and tangled our bodies together. We fell asleep. I woke up around 10 am. Emma was still asleep. I stood up and quietly walked over to check on Briar. She slept all night. She was still asleep. Then I noticed, her lips were blue. Fear flashed in my eyes and I checked her for a pulse. I didn't find one. She wasn't breathing. I fell to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Emma woke up shortly after and came and crouched in front of me. "What's wrong?" She asked. I simply pointed to the crib and Emma stood up. After looking at Briar, she picked her up in her arms and sat down beside me. She laid Briar in her lap and we both cried. This was not at all fair. This was our little girl. We worked so hard. Emma held Briar in her arms, then kissed her forehead. I kissed her head and she called Dr. Whale. "Whale... She.. She died last night." Emma said. "We woke up and found her. No pulse. No breathing. Blue lips." Emma said after a pause. "Y-yeah." She said. "I know." she said. "Okay. Thank you." Emma said. She looked at me, tears still in her eyes. "What did I do wrong? I didn't drink. I didn't do anything that would hurt the baby. Damn it." I said and pulled my knees to my chest, burying my head in my arms, crying uncontrollably. "R-Regina. It's not your fault." Emma said. "It is Emma." I said, shakily. "It's not. Whale said that no matter how hard you took care of yourself, this couldn't be helped." Emma said and wrapped her arms around me. "It's not fair." I said and collapsed in her embrace. "I know sweety. I know." Emma said. "Her body can go in my vault with my dad." I said. "Your what?" Emma asked. I forgot Emma didn't know about the vault. I stood up and Emma did too. I carefully picked up our daughter's lifeless body and Emma looked at me. I held out a hand for her, using one arm to hold Briar to me. She took my hand and I flashed us to the graveyard. Emma looks around and looked at me with an eyebrow raised. I walked to my vault, Emma following. I unlocked it and pushed the door open. Emma looked at me and I walked in. She followed. "Emma, this, is Henry Mills. My f-father." I stuttered. I still hate myself for the fact that I was so depressed, I took out my father's heart and used it to create a curse. I'm so stupid. "Regina, I know what happened.. And, I just want you to know, I know your father forgave you." Emma said. I nodded. I looked to the corner of the room and there was a small coffin. I walked over and Emma followed. "Rumple told me Henry was a sick baby. I've had this since he came." I said. Emma nodded and opened it. I placed Briar inside as tears fell from my eyes. We closed the coffin and locked it, then Emma pulled me into a tight hug. We cried for an hour. It's 11:45. "We should go pick up Henry and Sarah." Emma said. I nodded. I flashed us home and we got in Emma's car. She drove to Zelena's house and we got out. We walked to the door and Emma knocked. Zelena opened the door and smiled. "Can we talk to you?" I asked. She nodded and stepped out, pulling the door closed behind her. "Briar died in her sleep last night." Emma said and held my hand. Zelena's face went from shocked to devastated. "She was born with a disease that was fatal since she was premature." Emma finished. "I'm so sorry." Zelena said and hugged us both. We shook our heads. "I'll get Sarah and Henry." She said. "Thanks." I muttered. After a few minutes, Henry ran out and hugged me tightly. I picked him up in my arms. "Zelena told me." He said. I nodded. Sarah ran to Emma's arms and Emma picked her up. "Can you and me walk home?" Henry asked. I nodded. "Em, I'm going to walk home with Henry." I said. She nodded and she and Sarah walked to my car. I carried Henry in my arms. "Mom, I'm scared Ma is going to start ignoring me for Sarah." Henry said and leaned his head against my shoulder. "That will never happen. And besides. You've got me. I'll never ignore you." I said. He nodded against my shoulder and I continued walking. I smiled lightly. "Mom... I don't want our family to change..." Henry said. "It won't, kid. Just another person." I said. He sighed. "Mom. I wish it was Briar. Not Sarah." He said and tightened his arms around me. "I know Hen. It'll be different. But, it's still our family." I said. "But, mom helped raise Sarah. And now? I'm scared she's going to forget about me." Henry said. I frowned and continued walking. "Henry. She won't forget about you." I said. "Promise?" Henry asked. I smiled. "I promise." I said. We got home and Henry jumped out of my arms. I smiled as he ran in the door. Sarah walked past him and to me. She looked up at me and smiled. "Are you dating mommy Emma?" She asked. I crouched down to her level and smiled. "I'm married to mommy Emma." I said with a smile. She frowned and crossed her arms. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Mommy Emma was supposed to be with my mommy forever." She huffed. I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Mommy and mommy Emma were dating. They dated a long time. Then, I was four, mommy made mommy Emma leave. They were supposed to be together forever and ever. And now, Mommy's dead." She said. I didn't know what to say. "Mommy Emma dated your mommy?" I asked. She nodded. "Did mommy Emma live with you?" I asked. She nodded again. I nodded. "You don't like me. Do you." I said. She shook her head so hard, I thought it would fall off. I sighed and stood up. She ran off and Emma walked in the room. "Hey babe." She said and kissed my forehead. "You dated Sarah's mom?" I said. Emma sighed. "Yes. We dated for five years. The whole year before Sarah was born. Then, she turned four. I lived with them. We were a happy family. Or, so I thought. And, then, about two months before Henry found me, Anna kicked me out. She told me I needed to grow up. She told me I was too immature. That, I wasn't worth it. That, my dreams were childish. That I was childish for having dreams and wanting to go after them. She told me I was worthless. That day, she tore me down. So so much. I hated myself. Because of her. We dated for five years. And she threw it all away because of one stupid little thing. But, Sarah, she loved me." Emma said. I looked at the floor. "So, you wish she hadn't dumped you." I said. "Gina, that's not what I meant." She said. "That's pretty much what you said." I said. "That's not what I meant. Gina, I love you and only you. You are my sun and my moon and my stars. You are my everything." Emma said. I looked up at her and frowned. "Emma... Sarah doesn't like me." I said. She pulled me into her arms and held me tightly. I leaned my head against her shoulder and sighed. "She'll come around." Emma said. "But, what if she doesn't?" I said. "We'll burn that bridge when we get there." Emma said and kissed my forehead.
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Heyo!
Okay, so like, I'm an awful person for the first part 😭 don't hate me, it's all part of a grander plan.
Gimme feedback on this?
-Sunny☀️