For the rest of the day, Robin had fallen silent, not knowing how to react to the information he had walked in on earlier. Roland had quickly retreated back to his room before any real words could be exchanged, and his father couldn't find it within him to bring up all of that discomfort again. He wanted to talk to him, but he needed a break from resurfacing drama- just for a few hours. With the tv turned on, the bedroom door shut, and Regina's red curtains drawn tightly, the possibility of a quiet evening almost seemed achievable. He got an hour of solitude in before his wife abruptly entered the room- there was a bright smile on her face, immediately stirring up intrigue. She was brimming with excitement, an unusual mood for her in the last few weeks.
"What're you doing locked up in here for?" She asked, her cheerfulness waning into a slight confusion.
Turning off the tv, Robin hastily searched for an answer, not knowing how to bring up the topic of their son's sexual orientation. "Just wanted some time to myself- you seem happy, what's the occasion?"
Her smile returned, remembering why she was there in the first place. "I had a full meal just now- beans and rice. Ate the whole thing! These pills my psychiatrist prescribed to me are actually working!"
Robin let out a surprised smile, not expecting to hear those words. "That's amazing! I'm proud of you."
Acknowledging his praise, she then went over to the vanity mirror, where she lifted up her shirt and gazed at her reflection. "I ate so much, my stomach is sticking out," she stated, her head tilted to the side, "it looks like I'm pregnant."
She began to laugh softly as she admired her happy countenance in the mirror.
"Hey, as long as it's mine," Robin chuckled, moving over on the bed so she could sit down next to him.
She playfully took his hand and placed it on her stomach, tracing her finger across his wedding band as she did so. "Of course it's yours."
The excitement radiating off of her was still something he was adjusting to- it felt like forever since she had been so positive. It caused a flood of relief to run through him, nearly making him forget about his awkward run in with his son. Having her settled so closely to him, her body warm and present... it was everything he needed.
"Sometimes I wish I could go back to when I was pregnant," Regina admitted, her voice soft, "after you finally came back, when we were a family again. I felt like I had so much purpose then, creating new life in all."
Robin let out a breath, allowing her words to sink in for a moment. "You still have purpose- a whole lot of it. You're the best mother to our kids and a very upstanding member of this community if you ask me."
Letting out a small laugh, she rested her head on his shoulder. "I guess you're right- I wouldn't be where I'm at today without you by my side, and I'm grateful for that."
--
Caroline, usually one to enjoy her free time, headed down stairs, desperate for a distraction from the silence. After Emma had left her alone with Zelena's puzzle pieces, the girl began looking through one of the spellbooks that had been left out from their attempts to rescue her mother. It seemed exciting at first- dangerous even- to read each spell, hoping to find one that would connect her to her aunt. But, after a while, it began to feel as boring and tedious as her homework was.
Grabbing a snack from the kitchen, Caroline was surprised to see Roland sitting silently on the couch, staring off in the distance.
"How long have you been sitting there?" She asked him, a startled look on her face.
It took a moment for the teenager to snap out of whatever funk he was in. "I don't know. Dad came back and..."
She waited for him to finish his sentence, but his words faded into silence. "Dad came back and...?"
Roland hesitated to answer, forgetting for a moment that his sister knew about his relationship. "He, uh- he saw August and I on the couch."
Her eyes widened. "Oh. What'd he say?"
"Nothing- he just went upstairs."
His response surprised her- it didn't seem like something his dad would do. They were all in uncharted territory with Roland's new relationship, but still, August was no stranger.
"He's probably just busy with everything," Caroline told him, in an attempt to make him feel better. "In other news, I've tried every spell in this dumb book to find some way to communicate with Zelena."
His eyes averted to the spellbook that was tucked beneath her arm, just then realizing the magic containing and very off limits book was in her possession. "And why do you want to do that again?"
Releasing a frustrated sigh, she set the book down on the kitchen counter. "She's trying to send me a message! She wouldn't just run off without saying anything... not after everything we went through in the Enchanted Forest."
"Maybe she did just run off," Roland countered, earning a scowl from his sister, "sometimes people do bad things for no reason."
The ten year old shook her head. "You don't know what happened over there. She risked her own life to save us- there's good inside of her, no one has given her the opportunity to show it."
When Roland failed to respond, she followed his startled gaze back to the book, which was emitting a glow from within its pages. Flipping the book open, the brightness intensified as she got closer to the source. One of the spells was illuminated from the rest, magic radiating from it. Caroline's eyes widened in wonder as she traced her finger across the words, feeling drawn to the spell even though she didn't understand them. As she felt the magic course through her veins, a rush of panic soon enveloping her like a hand clasping around her neck. The sudden horror made her drop the book- it fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
"What happened?" She heard her brother say, his concerned tone snapping her back to reality. "What did you see?"
It took a moment for her to regain her breath, the walls seeming to spin around her. "She's in trouble- something bad happened."
Roland wouldn't admit it, but he wasn't necessarily surprised by her statement. "That isn't really our problem, though. We have enough problems as it is. People like her... they attract bad things, you know?"
She immediately glared at him. "How can you say that? What if someone said that about Mom? If they only heard about the bad things she's done, no one would want to save her either."
His expression softened after she said those words.
"I can't tell where she is or what happened, I just have an awful feeling. If we don't try and help her, no one else will."
Caroline started towards the staircase, her determination showing no signs of stopping. Roland let her go without protest, keeping his worries about how their parents would take the information to himself. He stood there in silence, waiting for the inevitable uproar of emotionally charged questions. Then Emma would rush over, followed by the Charmings, and Rumple if he was available. Just like when his mother first fell under Zelena's spell, their house would turn into an uncontrolled nightmare, every fear inescapable.
--
"This is magic I've never seen before," Emma stated, mirroring Caroline's look of wonder from earlier. "I have no idea if we can use this to trace her actual location."
Regina fought to keep her own opinions at bay, knowing that her daughter was adamant in finding a solution. Seeing her so determined was beginning to terrify her- she was a force of nature with no sign of stopping. After Caroline burst into their room to share her new insight, her first response was to shut down completely. Then, she felt a subtle urge from deep within her, the Evil Queen begging her to take Zelena out completely while she was down. Having her daughter's emotions invested in the damn woman made that option impossible- it was an entertaining thought, however, one that kept her from combusting inside. Her safest option was to sit silently and observe her friends analyze the situation for her.
"Is Rumple picking up his phone yet?"
David shook his head. "Straight to voicemail. Why do we always need him to intervene, aren't we functional enough on our own?"
His daughter gave him a pointed look, distracting herself from the spellbook she thought she'd never have to read again. "We're bad at figuring out this stuff- I thought that was clear by now."
Annoyance was the only thing on Emma's mind since receiving the stress inducing phone call that disrupted her quiet afternoon with Killian. She knew that somehow Henry and Neal would get roped into traveling back down, putting their lives on hold to continue the fight against Zelena. The chaos seemed to be never ending.
"Only because you're not looking at the right place," Regina added in, her nonchalant tone surprising everyone in the room. "Roland, could you look in my closet for the things Mr. Gold left behind?"
The fifteen year old obeyed, leaving the group to further their confusion. Next to her, Robin furrowed his brow, trying to understand why his wife would want to assist in helping them find the one person she hated most.
"I'm guessing this is it?" Roland voiced, carrying the globe with both hands back into the room.
"Of course, how could I have forgotten about that old thing?" Emma said, ditching the spellbook completely. "All we need is some matching DNA."
Caroline was quick to offer up herself for the task, reaching her hand out towards the needle perched over the globe. Her mother caught her wrist before she could get there.
"Let me do this. You've done plenty enough to save the day."
"Hold on for a moment," Robin interjected, feeling like the only sane person in the group, "can we please talk about this first? Are we seriously going to rescue her? Any person willing to go after Zelena must be even crazier than she is. We don't know what we're up against here- we can't just leave Storybrooke blindly and hope for the best!"
"They won't have powers, whoever or whatever they are. Magic doesn't exist in the outside world."
"We don't know that for sure," Emma added in, "Robin's right- this is all way too unpredictable. We have no idea who we'd be up against. Zelena isn't even on our side."
Caroline's eyes reflected desperation. "But she's in trouble!"
Before anyone could voice in protest, Regina reached out and pricked her finger against the needle. A drop of red blood soon was released, and caused the globe to swirl with magic. The blood gravitated downwards, resting in the center of Florida. Using magic of her own, Regina narrowed down on the location until the a building displaying the words 'Saint Mary's Hospital' was in sight.
Everyone was silent in awe, not sure whether or not to be impressed or worried with how easy it was for her to hone in on her exact location.
"She's in the hospital?" Caroline spoke, her voice drenched with concern. "Something really bad must've happened if she's there."
"There are plenty of non magic related reasons why people go to the hospital," Regina told her, her voice oddly calm, "maybe she got food poising, or was bitten by a snake. I don't know what happens in Florida."
The ten year old couldn't keep her eyes from the globe. "It's something bad, I know it. Emma felt it too."
Regina knew deep down that she was right. Things like that just didn't happen without reason. She prepared herself then for the persuasion she would have to enforce on her husband in order to convince him to go down there to see her. The words themselves weren't coming to her yet, but Regina knew she had to see that woman again, this time without any anguish like their first encounter. She wanted her to understand just how much pain she had put her in by sending her back to that damned castle. Secretly, Regina also wanted to understand her mysterious so called sister- all of the bits and pieces she had gathered from their time in the Enchanted Forest was enough to spark some interest within her. She wanted to know just how similar they were, and she was willing to risk everything in order to get some answers.