❃
|Two Months Later|
❃

Snow picked Neal up to stop him from running and tripping over one of the countless toys scattered across the floor. She tilted her head to keep her phone next to her ear while carrying Neal over to the couch. "So do you think Belle could make it? I don't want to interfere with her schedule."

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be fine," Emma's voice came through the phone. "The library closes early on Saturdays, and if Gold can't watch Evelyn, Neal would probably help because I know Gold won't want Killian helping."

"Sounds good! Can you call Belle and Ruby for me? I still need to call Zelena and since David is at the station, I'm busy with Neal."

"Sure!"

"Thank you. Bye!"

"Bye, Mom!"

Emma hung up and Snow set her phone again before looking at Neal. "What have I told you about running in the house?" she asked sternly.

Neal looked down. "Not to..."

"That's right. Maybe if you and Dad would pick up your messes, we could talk. Now, I need to call Aunt Zelena. If you behave yourself while I'm on the phone, we can go get ice cream."

"Okay!" Neal agreed with a smile on his face. He plopped down on the couch while Snow dialed Zelena's number.

"Hello?" Zelena picked up on the second ring.

"Hi! Emma is inviting some friends over next Saturday to watch movies and stuff. She was busy right now, so she wanted me to deliver the invitation to you."

"I'll be there!" Zelena agreed. "Do you need me to bring anything?"

"Just your favorite movie."

"You sure?"

"Yup! We've got everything else covered."

"Alright. See you next Saturday."

"Yep! Bye!" Snow hung up and turned to look at Neal who was leaning over the arm of the couch, attempting to grab a stuffed giraffe on the floor.

He looked up at his mother. "Spots!"

Snow sighed and handed the giraffe to Neal. "You ready for some ice cream?"

"Yes!" Neal jumped off of the couch and rushed over to the door. "Ice cream!!"

❃
|Saturday|
❃

Regina and Zelena arrived at Emma's house together since Zelena had been visiting the Locksleys just before the party. Emma opened the door when the doorbell rang and ushered the two sister inside. Once they entered the living room and Emma flicked the lights on, Snow, Belle, Emma, Ruby, Tinker Bell, Akira, Meg, Violet, and Jane all shouted, "SURPRISE!"

The room was decorated in various shades of pink and blue, and a table with neatly wrapped presents sat in the back of the room.

"We almost had two separate baby showers, but you two are only about a month apart and it would have potentially ruined the surprise for the second one," Emma explained.

Twin smiles appeared on Regina and Zelena's faces. "Thank you!" they exclaimed in unison.

"Also the decorations are mixed because you two just had to have different genders of babies," Snow huffed. "Decorations for one color was hard enough."

"Sorry, I'll have to tell my unborn son you said that," Zelena replied.

"She's just joking," Emma assured the witch. "Although if you had kept it a surprise like you were originally planning, the decorations probably would have been all pink."

"You guys can keep fighting, but I want some of that cake," Regina interrupted. "I'm assuming Belle made it?"

Belle nodded. "Yes because the only other people in this town who can make cakes are you and Granny."

"Sweet. I say we eat."

"And watch a movie!" Zelena added. "I didn't bring The Princess Bride over here for no reason."

❃
|Four Months Later|
❃

Snow woke up to her phone ringing. She reached over and picked it up, still wiping sleep out of her eyes. "R'gina?" She asked groggily. Her eyes suddenly widened and she was no longer half-asleep. "I'm on my way. I'll call Zelena and Emma for you."

She jumped out of bed and hung up, dashing to her closet to throw some clothes on.

"What...?" David asked as he woke up to Snow's scrambling.

"Baby Locksley is coming."

"She's nearly a week early," David muttered.

"Obviously she doesn't care," Snow replied. She pressed a quick kiss to David's lips. "No ice cream for breakfast, no matter how much Neal begs. And if you lose his giraffe, I am going to kill you."

❃

Henry walked down the stairs, still half asleep. Zelena was sitting on the couch reading a book while Regina and Robin were nowhere to be seen. "Your mom's at the hospital," Zelena explained. "You'll have a new sister here pretty soon."

"Really?" Henry asked, confused. "Thought she wasn't due for another week?"

"She wasn't. Do Regina and Robin have any watermelon?"

Henry frowned at the question. "No. We ate the last of it yesterday for lunch. And when I saw 'we,' I mean Mom and Meg."

"Darn them." Zelena stood up and closed her book before stalking over to the fridge. "I'm hungry."

"So when can we go visit Mom and the baby?" Henry asked, following his aunt to the kitchen.

Zelena shrugged. "I think it probably depends. As long as there's no complications, I'd say later today. Where are Meg and Roland?"

"I'm right here!" Meg announced, bouncing down the stairs. Then, she stopped. "Mom? Where are Dad and Regina?"

"Hospital. Our sister came early," Henry explained. He opened the cupboard and pulled down a box of hot cocoa mix and a container of cinnamon. "I just hope this time no one comes and slices my arm with a sword."

"Wait, was that when I...?" Meg's voice trailed off and Henry nodded.

"Yeah. Robin tried to keep you safe, but Hades was too powerful and no one wanted to hurt you. Also Dorothy sliced my arm with a sword and I had to get stitches and Violet became a babysitter."

Zelena shuddered. "That was not a fun day. Can I have some hot cocoa?"

Henry nodded. "Sure. Mom always keeps plenty of hot cocoa and cinnamon around in case of an emergency."

"Emergency," Zelena laughed. "Like what? Spontaneous movie nights?"

"Or snow hurricanes like in The Day After Tomorrow," Henry shrugged."You never know what could happen in Storybrooke."

Once Henry made everyone hot cocoa with cinnamon, he, Zelena, and Meg sat around the table drinking quietly. The silence was interrupted my Zelena's phone buzzing. Zelena answered. "Hello?"

After a few minutes of silence, Zelena replied. "O-okay. Roland's still asleep, but-- No? Okay. ...I know I can't, but I-- Robin, listen!" Zelena glared at the table as she listened to Robin talk some more. Her face slowly softened and then turned to worry. "Meg and Henry are both... I know, but can you keep me updated? It'll be okay. ...Robin, I know. ...Robin, stop. ...Okay, bye." Zelena hung up and a shaky hand set her phone down on the table.

"So what did Dad want?" Meg asked.

"Is Mom okay?" Henry questioned.

"They're both fine," Zelena lied. "There was just... It's taking longer than expected. So you might not be able to see them until tomorrow."

"Oh," Henry voice fell. "But...but Mom and the baby are both okay, right?"

"Yep. They're perfectly fine."

❃
|The Hospital, Five Minutes Earlier|
❃

Robin approached Emma and Snow, who were waiting in the lobby. "What's happening?" Snow asked. "How's Regina?"

"Something happened and they had to take her to ICU, whatever that is," Robin replied, his voice full of concern. "They wouldn't let me go with, but they said our daughter is okay. They had to do some tests and stuff before I could see her, though. Regina was losing a lot of blood and they were having trouble stopping the bleeding."

"Oh no..." Snow muttered. "Will she be okay?"

Robin shrugged hopelessly. "I don't know. If only I could see her..."

"She'll be fine," Emma tried to stay positive. "I'm sure they'll be able to help. But, uh, maybe I'll call Zelena. Just to let her know what's going on."

"I'll do it," Robin said. "I need to do something. I'll call her and tell her what's happening."

"You sure?"

Robin nodded. He pulled out his phone and walked out of earshot from the others.

After Robin called Zelena, Doctor Whale entered the waiting room. "Regina's still hanging on, but I'm not sure how much longer we'll need to keep her in intensive care. From what we can tell, these complications may have been caused by the infertility curse she took back in the Enchanted Forest, but we are trying a blood transfusion and as long as her body accepts the blood, she'll be okay. In the meantime, would you like to meet your new daughter?"

Emma and Snow nodded at Robin, telling him to go, so he followed Doctor Whale down the hall.

A sleeping baby girl with hair as dark as Regina's was placed in Robin's arms by the nurse. The baby's eyes flicked open and Robin found himself looking down into blue eyes that were identical to his own.

"She's beautiful," Robin breathed. He heard footsteps and looked up to see Snow and Emma walking down the hallway towards him. It took Emma less than a second to fall in love with the Locksleys' daughter.

"She's adorable, Robin. Do you have a name picked out yet?"

Robin shook his head. "Regina and I neglected to decide on any names before she was born. Not to mention we thought we'd have another week..."

"Fair enough. Can I hold her?"

Robin carefully handed his newborn daughter to Emma, who smiled down at her. "You are one lucky girl. You're going to get to grow up with a bigger family than what should be physically possible."

❃
|Locksley Manor|
❃

Zelena's phone buzzed again, this time with a message from Snow;

The baby is fine, but Regina's still in intensive care. Hopefully they'll at least let Robin see her soon.

Zelena began typing a reply, but was interrupted by Meg, who had snuck up behind her. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Mom's in intensive care?" Henry asked, growing worried.

Zelena put her phone down. "Robin didn't want you two to be worried. He was hoping everything would settle down and then we'd tell you what had happened."

"Is she gonna be okay?" Meg questioned.

Zelena sighed. "I don't know. But there's no point going to the hospital right now because no one's allowed to see Regina. I'll--" Zelena was interrupted by her phone going off again. Snow had sent a picture of Robin holding his daughter.

Zelena handed the phone to Meg. "There's your sister. I'm sure Regina will be okay, she's a fighter."

❃
|The Hospital, A Few Hours Later|
❃

"Robin Locksley?" A nurse called.

Robin stood up, his daughter still in his arms. "What is it?"

"Regina is still recovering, but she's doing fine. She's still in intensive care, but she wants to see you and the baby."

Robin followed the nurse down the hall and she led him to Regina's room. Robin slowly opened the door to see his wife in the hospital bed. She looked frail, but she was still alive.

Regina's face lit up when she saw Robin and the baby. "Robin!"

Robin handed Regina their daughter and placed a kiss on her cheek. Regina melted at the sight of the baby in her arms. "Robin, she's perfect." Regina looked up at her husband and pulled him into a kiss.

"What are we going to name her?" Robin asked, staring down at his daughter.

Regina smiled. "I've been thinking... After all we've been through..." Regina whispered the name she had decided on in Robin's ear.

Robin felt a sad smile ghost across his face. "I love it."

❃
|The Next Day|
❃

After a lot of pestering and a phone call to Robin, Emma drove Meg and Henry to the hospital so they could visit Regina. The doctors still wouldn't let Roland see her, so he stayed with the Charmings and Neal.

Regina and Robin were talking softly when the three entered Regina's hospital room. Henry and Meg were overjoyed to see that she was okay. After they were done fawning over Regina, the two wanted to see their little sister.

"What's her name?" Henry asked as Robin placed the baby in his arms.

"It's a secret. We'll tell everyone once I'm out of the hospital," Regina answered.

Emma groaned. "You're as bad as my parents were with Neal."

❃
|Granny's, Two Days Later|
❃

Once Regina was finally released from the hospital, Snow helped her and Robin set up a party at Granny's to announce Baby Locksley's name.

David called everyone's attention and all of the guests focused on Regina.

"We've been through a lot these past years," Regina began. "From the moment Emma broke the curse, it's been nonstop villains and death threats, but even after all that's happened, I wouldn't change anything. Because I've got my family and friends...and some who are both." Regina glanced over at Emma and Snow with a smile on her face. "And what I've learned throughout these past years is that there is one thing that separates heroes from villains. Not what sort of magic you have, not who your parents are, and not what fate says. Heroes always have hope. And so, I would like you to introduce you all to Hope Merida Locksley."

The guests all erupted into applause. Ruby felt her eyes tearing up when Regina announced Hope's middle name. Belle was standing next to the wolf and noticed her red eyes. "I'm sure Merida would be proud to have Robin Hood's daughter named after her."

Ruby nodded. "I know. I just miss her."

"I do too," Belle agreed. "But I know she made it to Elysium, because if she's not considered a hero, none of the rest of us are either. So what we can do is always remember her and honor her how she would want us to. Not through revenge, but through bravery."

Ruby smiled sadly. "You're right, Belle. You are absolutely right."