[A/N: Welcome (back?) to this story! :-) If you haven't read the first part and are interested in doing so, here you go: https://www.wattpad.com/story/292926054-the-life-we-left-behind]
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"Okay, okay, I heard you the first time!", Zelena hurried to open the door when whoever was standing on the other side just wouldn't stop ringing the bell, then gasped in shock, "Regina?? Oh my God, what happened?!"
No doubt, she had seen her sister upset before – and every now and then she herself had been the reason for it – but never like this. She was crying, her eyes were red and swollen, she was soaking wet since it was sleeting outside, and she was shivering, hugging herself because she was standing out here wearing nothing but her usual sheath dress and tights at the end of January.
"Killian is gone", she whispered as if all life had left her body long ago.
"What?? Come in first, please, I think your lips are already blue...", she pulled her inside and into her arms to hug her tight, no matter how wet and cold she was.
"What happened?", she whispered.
She snuggled up to her big sister and couldn't hold back her tears any longer, sobbing on her shoulder. "Killian... he's gone."
"What do you mean, he's gone?"
Regina wiped away her tears and shrugged. "I have no idea! He got back into town today, his ship is tied up by the docks, I checked... He also called me. He said he would be home right away and he was so looking forward to seeing me. That was more than two hours ago! There's no way he would need that long to get home?"
Her sister gently stroked her back to calm her down. "Maybe he took a detour somehow? I'm sure there's a very simple explanation."
"I don't know... I looked everywhere! I checked by the docks, I walked the way from there to our house back and forth twice, I even checked at the Rabbit Hole, but no one has seen him. And when I try to call him, his phone seems to be off. Is... is he here? I thought maybe he first went to see Alice..."
Zelena shook her head. "I'm afraid not. But come on in and sit down, sis, you need to warm up", she yelled into the kitchen, "Robin! Set up the water kettle, please!"
She herself led her sister to the bathroom and handed her a towel. "Here, dry yourself. I'll be right back!"
She found a simple sweater and a pair of jeans among Robin's clothes. Not her sister's style, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Right now, it didn't matter a single bit what she looked like.
While Regina was drying herself up and changing, Zelena walked back into the dining room, where she was greeted by curious looks from her daughter and future daughter in law.
"That was Regina. She says she can't find your father. He was supposed to be home long ago, but never got there."
"What?", said Alice, "My papa is gone?!"
"It seems like it, she's... really upset."
Eventually, Regina came back downstairs, and Robin compassionately stroked her aunt's arm. "Hey... are you alright?"
"No...", she replied, "I'm not alright."
Even though she was dry now, she was still shaking and as pale as curdled milk.
Alice pulled out her phone to try and call her father, but with the same result. "His phone's off", she said, herself looking terrified by now.
"That doesn't have to mean anything, huh?", Zelena tried to calm them down, "Maybe it just ran out of battery?"
"But where is he then?!" Regina shook her head, desperate. Then she hid her face behind her hands and started sobbing again. "Maybe it's... maybe it's all my fault..."
"What do you mean?", asked her sister.
"Maybe it's all because... maybe he ran away because... because of the baby."
"Because of what baby?"
"Our baby", barely audibly, she whispered. "I'm pregnant..."
"Oh my God, are you serious?", Zelena gasped, "That's... wow! I mean... shall I even say... congrats?"
Robin asked: "And what... you think he ran away because of that? How did he react when you told him?"
"I didn't really tell him yet. I wanted to tell him when he got home. I just gave him a hint. I said I had a 'tiny surprise' for him. Maybe he figured it out, and he didn't want to hear it?"
Zelena shook her head. "No, come on! That makes absolutely no sense! He was all over you, these fast few weeks, trying to knock you up. He made sure you drank that water! Why on earth would he have gone through all the hassle if he didn't want a child with you?"
"Well, maybe he thought he wanted one... but maybe, now that it's getting real, he chickened out?"
"Ey", said Alice, "My father is not a chicken! And he would never run away from the responsibility of being a father. He took care of me, every day when I was still a baby in that tower, even though he never even really knew my mother and never wanted a child in the first place!"
"She's right", said Zelena, "That doesn't sound like Killian at all, and now, even less so. He loves you! He'd never leave you."
"Well then... if he didn't leave voluntarily, then", she started sobbing again, "Something must have happened to him."
"No... No! Come on! I don't accept that", Zelena reached for her phone, and without hesitation she said, "Hey, it's Zelena. Meet us at Regina's in twenty minutes. Call your parents. Bye!"
"Who was that?", asked Regina through her tears.
"Emma", she grabbed her coat and threw her another one, "Now, come on! Let's get you home. Maybe he's there by now waiting for you? And put something on, I don't want my niece or nephew to be cold!"
A tiny sliver of hope remained, but of course... the mayor's mansion was just as empty as she had left it. Soon after, all the others arrived, Snow and David as well as Hook, Emma and Henry, who immediately walked over to his mother and hugged her tight. She was the last person he'd expected to see tonight! She was supposed to enjoy a romantic dinner with her boyfriend, and she was going to tell him that they were expecting a baby. Could he... Killian couldn't seriously have been mad or sad about it and just left?
"It's going to be okay, mom, you'll see", he gently stroked her back to calm her down. He didn't like seeing her upset like this, especially in her current condition. That couldn't be good for either herself or her baby.
"Alright, so... can someone tell me what happened?", asked David, somewhere between a concerned friend and the town sheriff.
Zelena spared her sister the trouble of explaining everything again: "Nook arrived back in town today with his boat and was on his way home, he called Regina to let her know he was almost there, but he never arrived. She's checked by the docks, at the Rabbit Hole, at our place and all over town... apparently he's nowhere to be found. His phone is off too."
"Well then, I would say", said Emma, "We go look again! It's nine of us! I'm sure we'll find and see more than just Regina by herself!"
They already started talking about her as if she was not in the room.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"All perfectly moored and no signs that he got somehow interrupted while doing so", Killian gave his expert opinion on the state of the other Killian's ship, "He definitely finished his job."
"There are footprints over here!", yelled Snow and waved, "They're almost gone because of the sleet, but someone walked off the gangway and came down here."
"Where do you think he went, Killian?", Emma asked her husband, "I mean, you're kind of... him, in a way. Where would you have gone if you were him?"
"You said he called you telling you he'd come straight home?"
Regina nodded.
"Well then... that's where I'd have gone. There were times where I – and probably him too – would have gone anywhere but home. But not anymore. I'd want to see Emma as soon as I can. And I'm pretty sure, it's the same for him and Regina."
"What do you think, Alice? He's your father..."
She nodded. "I said exactly the same. My papa is crazy about Regina, he wouldn't go one second without her longer than necessary."
"Well in that case", David sighed, "I'm afraid we at least cannot rule out that someone or something intervened and he didn't disappear voluntarily."
Regina swallowed and felt her eyes welling up again just thinking about him. Where are you, honey? Did you leave me... Please, don't say you've left me! Me and our child... Did something happen to you? Are you okay? Are you hurt? She clenched her hands into fists. If she'd ever find out that there's someone responsible for this, that person or those people would pay dearly... 'Good Queen' or no!
"Hey", Zelena gently stroked her arm, "How are you holding up? You and the little one..."
"I can't lose him, Zelena. Not again... I can't do this. Not without him..."
"And you won't have to! He'll be back in no time, I'm sure!"
"But what if he isn't..."
"Hey!", Henry yelled suddenly, "Why don't you try a locator spell?"
She looked at him for a few seconds, completely blank.
"You thought about it... didn't you?"
"I did..."
He raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"And... I decided that I'd prefer him to actively come back! I don't want to... find him. Like that."
Desperately, she tried to push aside the mental image of him lying in an alley somewhere, hurt... or worse.
"Regina, please", said Snow, "I understand what you mean, really, I do! But if you're right, then it's even more important that we find him as soon as possible! Maybe he needs help!"
"My mom's right", said Emma, "If you're not doing it, I will. So... do you have something that belongs to him?"
She took a deep breath and swallowed. They were right. She had to do it. For him. For their child. Slowly, she took off the scarf she was wearing.
Initially, the spell seemed to work! His scarf was floating through the cold winter air, hard to see in the dark and the dim light of the street lamps, but they managed to follow, while yelling his name again and again.
But then, it stopped. Somewhere on Main Street, in the middle of the road. It limply fell to the floor and didn't move any further.
Regina let herself drop down to her knees scanning the floor with her hands, searching.
"What the hell...", murmured Zelena.
"What does that mean?", asked Alice, "Where's my papa?"