They were up at the break of dawn, going through the regular routine of eating breakfast and getting Henry and Roland ready for school. Regina begged Robin to stay in bed for a while longer, but he protested that he had been away from their kids far too long for that. He watched her intently (trying to be subtle about it) as she tended to a pan of eggs and sausage. His two kids were telling him about how school was going; apparently Henry was learning how to work with fractions and Roland was learning how to write letters and words.
It was still amazing to him how much his family had changed so much over the span of four months. Henry had gotten taller by a few inches, so had his four year old. And of course there was Regina, who now had a small baby bump under her clothes. It fit her well surprisingly, made her seem more motherly.
"Eat fast, the bus comes soon," she told them, presenting their excited boys with a hot breakfast and some orange juice.
Robin watched them with slight amusement as they both scarfed down the eggs and sausage. He wasn't sure if he liked the idea of Henry being away for an entire eight hours, Roland only four, completely out of reach until they returned home.
They both grabbed their backpacks and gave both their parents a hug before racing out the front door. In a matter of seconds, Robin and Regina were absolutely alone in the house.
"Is this how it is every morning?" He asked, just then beginning to pick at his breakfast.
Regina smiled. "Pretty much, except for the weekend."
"So, does this mean we get the next four hours to ourselves?"
"Yeah, guess it does."
After they finished their breakfast, both of them silently agreed they would enjoy nothing better than to spend a while longer in bed. Robin was quickly falling in love with her extremely comfortable bed; he claimed it was the best sleep he had ever had. Regina tried to suppress a smile as she settled herself in his arms. If that wasn't paradise, she didn't know what was.
The dim morning light was slowly drifting into the room, giving a soft illumination to the darkness. She felt an immediate peace as she concentrated on the steady beat of his heart. Drowsiness was already tugging at her senses, but Regina knew she had to tell him about what had happened since he and her were separated.
"Snow lost her baby about a month ago," she said, shuddering inside as she remembered the horror that she experienced that day, "she... She got pregnant about the same time I did, but hers didn't make it past three months."
Robin tightened his grip on her as he let the words sink in. "I never knew she was even pregnant," he told her, "is she doing okay though?"
Regina signed. "I don't know, she's been pretty quiet since it happened. I've hardly seen her or Charming the past few weeks."
He imagined how awkward it probably was between the both of them now.
"Tell me something happier, I can't stand to be sad on a day like this."
She thought for a moment. "Well, Roland's done great in his first month of preschool. It's such a relief to have time to myself in the day, even if it's only for a little while."
His hands found the base of her stomach, where they rested delicately.
"And how have you been holding up?"
He could feel a light pulse there, which could only be from his child.
"It's been... Hard, but I've managed this far, haven't I?" She sent him a small smile and lay her head back down on his chest. "You missed the first four months, though you didn't miss much. Just puking. Lots and lots of puking."
Robin let out a small laugh. "Well that's four months I spent away from our baby- I'll never be able to make up that time. I mean, what kind of father am I? I had no idea you were even pregnant until yesterday!"
"That's... Partly my fault..." She muttered, soon feeling uncomfortable. "I found out the day you let me take Roland out to the villages without you with me. I was going to tell you but... I just got really stressed out and scared about how you would react to it-"
"Hey, I would've been happy!" Robin encouraged, "just like I am now. But Regina... When we were stuck in that warehouse, when Alan hurt you... You knew you were pregnant?"
She closed her eyes, breathing out a defeated "yes," as she clutched the fabric of his shirt.
He couldn't believe it. What a miracle it was their child was even alive after that ordeal.
"I couldn't believe that I was really pregnant at first, because for the longest time I thought I could never have a baby."
She took a shaky breath, preparing to bring up emotions she had kept hidden for years.
"When I was married to Leopold, he quickly became... Obsessed with me, I guess you could say. He always wanted to know where I was, what I was doing- it got so bad, sometimes he wouldn't even let me out of his sight. It was all because he wanted me to give him a son. And after a few months... I still couldn't get pregnant. Of course that only made him more and more angry with me." Her tears were beginning to dampen his shirt as she continued.
"Leopold hated me. He told me constantly how much his first wife was so much better than I was. It went on for almost seven years, too... He wouldn't stop until I got pregnant. After a while, I got sick of having him treat me like I was nothing, like I wasn't human. He made me go to the doctor nearly once a week. One day, I talked the doctor into faking that I was carrying his child- I had to make it stop. And it worked for a little while, until it got harder and harder to keep the act going. I was confused, depressed, scared... Then I met this man- a genie, actually. He was the first person who had been nice to me since I became queen. I... I got him to kill Leopold for me. Then it was all over. Except for Snow, of course."
Robin listened to her closely, the disdain in her voice was clear, as well as unearthed fear. Maybe she had taken the king's life- but by what she had told him, she had a damn good reason to.
"But now..." Regina sat up, staring down at him as a smile crept onto her face.
"Now we have this baby- together- it's all I've ever wanted."
Robin still couldn't wrap his mind around everything she had been through. She certainly lived more lives than anyone should have to.
"Is there anything you haven't been put through?" He asked, truly curious himself.
To his relief, Regina laughed a bit as she began retracing her steps through her years of being queen.
"Not really," she told him, raising her eyebrows, "one time, a mermaid stabbed me in the neck with a fork."
This time, Robin couldn't retain a slight chuckle. "Are you serious? At this point, I'm slightly surprised you're still alive, let alone pregnant."
"I'm surprised myself- do you know what happened last week? Granny, the owner of the diner we took you to yesterday, Ruby's grandmother-"
"The insane wolf girl with the red hair?"
"Yeah, that's the one. Granny almost strangled me to death because she thought I was still a threat."
He sent her a baffled look. "And you actually want to live here?"
"Well, it's usually not that bad. Scared the hell out of me though. Don't get on Granny's bad side, what ever you do."
Leaning forward, he caught her lips in his for a quick kiss. "You don't have to worry about any of that anymore, I'll make sure of it."
"What did I do to deserve such a gentleman?" Regina laughed, glancing quickly at the clock placed on her nightstand, "you've already made me happier than I've ever been, and it's only ten in the morning."
She was more than ready to spend every hour of every day with him, for the rest of their lives. Nothing, not even a single soul was ever going to change that.
"Well that's my job, isn't it?" Robin teased, catching sight of the black ring on her fourth finger. Honestly, he was quite relieved to see it there.
"I'm sorry for how things went between us last time, you know, with the whole portal thing in all. I didn't mean to rush the proposal, I just couldn't go another second without knowing you wanted to be my wife."
Regina smiled slightly towards him, twirling it around her finger with admiration. "I thought it was cute. Besides, it was a relief to know you wanted to be with me for the rest of your life- I think we would both be in trouble if you changed your mind, considering the fact that I'm carrying your child."
"Change my mind? How could I ever do that?" Robin asked, sounding genuinely offended, "you're perfect in every way possible. But we're going to hold off on the wedding until the baby comes, right?"
Regina gave him a look. "There is no way I'm getting in a wedding dress looking like this. Glad we're on the same boat about that."
He honestly didn't care what she wanted to do; as long as she was his forever, nothing else mattered.
Suddenly, Regina's eyes lit up like a light switch. "Robin, I just remembered something! I go to see the doctor here every two weeks or so, to check up on the baby and everything. There's technology here that isn't in the Enchanted Forest, like this thing called an ultrasound- it lets you see the baby, even when it's inside of me. Last time I was there, he told me that the baby was now big enough to tell whether it's going to be a girl or a boy. I didn't find out last time, but now that you're here..."
Robin looked at her to make sure she wasn't joking. He didn't have the slightest idea on how all that could be possible, but the thought of seeing their child with his own eyes made him excited inside.
"So, what you're saying is, we could find out the gender of our baby anytime we want?"
Regina nodded, happiness shining through her eyes. "I could call him right now! We could know by tomorrow!"
He couldn't help but kiss her again, simply to show her how much he loved her. It didn't matter how long it took, Robin pledged to make her feel loved and wanted, if it was the last thing he did.