Once on Instagram in the Upside Down

Destination 15; The Upside Down

May 8, 2016, after the episode

Regina skipped going to Granny's and took Roland straight home after the funeral. The merry men insisted he stay with Regina, since she was the closest thing he had to a parent. Regina opened the door to her house, Roland's small hand wrapped inside of hers. She silently helped Roland take off his coat and shoes before taking her own off. She pulled the gloves off of her hands slowly and looked down at her left ring finger. There was the engagement ring, right where it had been before the episode.

"Gina?" Roland asked quietly, "What happened to Papa?"

Regina shook her head, trying to force back her tears. "I can't... Roland..." She stopped trying to talk and picked the little boy up. "Let's go get your pajamas on, okay?"

Roland nodded, not wanting to make Regina cry more. Regina carried him upstairs and rummaged through the drawers, trying to find something clean for him to wear to bed. Finally, she found a clean pair of pajamas and handed them to Roland. "I'm gonna....I'm gonna go change too, okay?"

"Okay."

Regina walked over to her bedroom, barely having time to slam the door shut before the sobs escaped. Instead of wiping her tears away, Regina simply took her hat off and tossed it across the room. The sheets on her bed were wrinkled on both sides, and Robin's t-shirt he had worn the previous night was laying on his pillow. Regina slowly stood up and walked over to the shirt. She picked it up and pressed the fabric to her nose, inhaling what was left of the scent of her thief.

~

When Regina returned to Roland's bedroom, she was wearing Robin's shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Roland was under the covers, but still very much awake. Regina sat on the edge of his bed and brushed the hair out of his eyes.

"Gina?" Roland placed his hand on top of Regina's, "Where'd you get the ring?"

Regina gave Roland a sad smile. "Your papa gave it to me."

"Why?"

"To...to show how much he loves me."

"What happened to him?"

Regina sighed. "He...he's gone. He...he sacrificed himself for me and your sister, and now...now he's gone."

"Like my mommy?"

If Roland had stabbed Regina in the chest with a dull knife, it would have hurt less than his three-word question. "Y-Yes."

"But I still have you...right, Gina?"

Regina nodded, and she couldn't stop the tears that fell from her eyes. "Yes, you will always have me," she promised. "Now get some sleep, my little night." Regina placed a kiss to Roland's forehead before standing up.

"Wait," Roland called after her before she could leave. "Can you stay with me?"

Regina nodded. "I'll stay with you." She walked back over to his bed and laid down next to him. The bed was a bit small, but she had spent countless nights curled up with Henry during thunderstorms or after a nightmare, so the tight squeeze didn't really bother her.

"Gina?"

"Yes?"

"Will you be my Mama now?"

"If you want me to."

"I do."

Regina brushed away the tears that were sliding down her cheeks. "Okay."

"Is Papa down where you went to find Hook?"

Regina almost lied to Roland to make him feel better, but she knew that if she told Roland that Robin was where Hook had been, he would ask if they could bring Robin back because that blasted pirate got to come back. "No. No, your papa...he...no, he's somewhere else."

"Where?"

Regina tapped Roland's chest. "He's in your heart. And he's in mine. So long as we remember him, he'll never truly go away."

Roland frowned. "That's what Papa said about mommy."

"There's room for both in your heart," Regina's voice cracked.

"Really?"

Regina nodded. "Trust me, I know. I have your papa in my heart and I also have my mama and papa."

"You do?"

"Yes. Now, you should get some sleep."

"Okay. G'night, Mama."

"Sleep well, my little knight."

~

May 9, 2016, 6:59 am

Regina's phone lay on the table next to Roland's bed, silent. Roland was still curled up next to Regina and both were sound asleep.

The numbers on the clock changed; 7:00.

The air turns a sickly shade of green and begins to once again burn my lungs. But I force myself to continue breathing as I watch Regina and Roland. I am the only one aware of the change of atmosphere, as I'm the only one who knows of the revolted world. At least, I think I'm the only who who knows about the revolted world, in this universe at least.

I brush Roland's curls out of his face and look down at him. His eyes are still shut and he shows no signs of waking up yet. I allow my gaze to wander to Regina and eye the engagement ring on her finger warily. I know that it should mean she's married to her soulmate. Or at least, that she will marry him come August.

But now it will just bring her pain.

I have half a mind to revolt again. After all, I'm more powerful than them. But their voices echo in my mind, and I choose to believe them yet again; "It will make a good story." I know that if they had said, "It will further the story," I would have turned them into a pile of ashes right then and there.

But instead, I allowed them to get inside my head.

"Sorry," I whisper.

The air looks normal now, but I can still feel the poison in my lungs, causing a dull ache that I've begun to grow used to. I turn to leave when I remember something that I picked up on my way to Roland's room. I carefully pull a piece of tree bark with an arrow slicing through an apple carved onto it from my pocket. I slide it into Regina's pocket before disappearing.