Hello, it's me again! With yet another story. This one has been flying around my head for a long time.

The story is: Regina has Alzheimer's (early on-set) and it is basically how she and her family around her cope with the disease.

Now I don't know everything about this disease, I'm not a doctor by any means but my granddad sadly had this disease and I have tried to do as much research as I can to get things right. A film which spurred this idea on to me was Still Alice. If any of you have watched this film you will notice I have used some of the scenes in that film to help me write this story a little and if there are some of you out there that have not seen this film I recommend it. It is a great film, sad but great and is on Netflix.

Also I have got Outlaw Queen in this and with the recent events on OUAT I wasn't sure whether to keep them together or not but then I thought I would because I can see Robin supporting Regina through such a thing as this and well I still ship them no matter what has happened in the show.

So anyway I hope you enjoy this first chapter and please let me know what you think!

She hadn't been feeling quite herself recently. Her memory had been slipping. At first she had presumed it perhaps just normal. She was getting older and it was normal for memory to slip from time to time. She had always considered certain things never to stick in her memory. Yet things seemed different. She had approached her fiftieth birthday and Robin was sure she was just panicking about her age and there was probably nothing wrong with her. Assured her that she would probably be fine but if it put her mind at rest she should go to the doctor.

So she did. She spoke to the doctors. They ran tests. All kinds of tests and she worried over her results until today when she returned to the hospital to see Doctor James Williamson a neurologist who had her results in his hands. She sat in the semi-comfortable red cushioned seat in front of his desk , her hands in her lap, picking at the black material of her pencil skirt. She looked anywhere but at the doctor. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know her results. What if it was bad? Maybe it was better to stay in the dark.

Her eyes shot towards the doctor as he moved, opening her file and taking out her brain scans. She watched him intently as he moved placing them up and switching on a light so that they could see her scans. "You're going to try and explain to me what you have found in my scans…" Regina said breaking the silence that had lulled over the room since she had entered. "And you are probably going to use words and phrases I am not familiar with and will not understand confusing me more than I already am. So I ask you to please skip over that part and just tell me if you have found something and what is it?" Regina finished. She wanted to hide the desperate look that she knew was showing in her eyes but she couldn't.

Doctor Williamson nodded his head and crouched a little as he adjusted himself in his chair. "I understand and I will respect your wishes Regina. We have found something within your scans."

Regina's breath hitched a little. She swallowed back the lump in her throat and tried to steady her voice. "Is it a tumour? Is it Cancer?" Regina asked she felt her voice wavering and she hated that she was showing such vulnerability.

Doctor Williamson shook his head. "No there is no tumour, no Cancer." He confirmed.

"Then what have you found?" Regina asked with a slight frown of confusion.

"Regina…I am sorry to have to tell you that you have Alzheimer's." Doctor Williamson said.

Regina sat for a moment trying to process what she had just been told. No this couldn't be real. It was all just a dream, a nightmare. She would wake up any minute and be lying beside Robin, cuddled into his side and she would be absolutely fine. "But I'm…I have only just turned fifty…" Regina stuttered out.

"Yes…It is rare for someone as young as you to be diagnosed. You have early onset Alzheimer's." Doctor Williamson explained. "I know this will have come as a shock to you Regina…That is a reason that I advised you bring someone with you."

"I didn't think I'd need to…" Regina replied quietly staring nowhere in particular still trying to process what Doctor Williamson had told her. "So I…what do I…What do I do? Is there a treatment?" Regina asked.

"There is no cure for Alzheimer's. There are a few drugs that we will supply to you but nothing that will halt or slow down your symptoms I'm afraid. This disease will progress at its own rate. It's something we cannot control but we can try to help you in any way we can." Doctor Williamson explained. "We can help you through this Regina. I do suggest on your next appointment that you perhaps bring someone with you. Your husband perhaps…"

Regina just nodded her head, still trying to process everything. Out of all of the things that could ever happen to her this was not on her mind. She had never even let her mind cross that particular situation. She didn't know what to do or what to say. She was lost and she knew the feeling was just going to get worse and worse before it eventually took over her and she was no longer herself.

"Regina…did you hear me?" Doctor Williamson said breaking Regina out of her thoughts.

Regina shook her head, letting out a small sigh before looking back towards the doctor. "No I'm sorry. What did you say Doctor Williamson?" Regina said looking towards the doctor again.

"I said I would like to schedule another appointment for a weeks' time. We can further discuss what treatments you will need. I want to say again that I really do suggest you bring someone along with you to this appointment Regina. You are not alone in this."

Regina just nodded her head and pushed herself up from the chair she had been sitting in. She shook the doctors hand and found herself working on auto-pilot as she walked out of his office and towards the reception desk, booking her appointment for the next again week and leaving the hospital. As she walked back out onto the street she looked around her. She had no idea what she was doing or where she was going. She could feel her breathing beginning to quicken. It was all beginning to settle in her mind and she was beginning to panic. This couldn't be happening to her. It was all just a nightmare and she would wake up any minute. Yes, that was it. She closed her eyes, tried to take a couple of deep breaths, her hand pinching the skin on her other hand lightly as if to try and wake herself from the nightmare she found herself in. However as she opened her eyes once more she found herself stood outside of the hospital. The situation she found herself in no nightmare but her actual life.

"Hey…mom."

She jumped a little and turned to the side to see Roland lightly jogging over to her. He was nineteen now, had left school and was working in the Sheriff's station. He was determined to become the next sheriff of Storybrooke and Emma had assured Robin and Regina that Roland was doing extremely well in his job. She gave him a little smile as he approached her, swallowing back the lump in her throat and trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall down her cheeks. She didn't want him to know anything. He didn't need to know. Not yet anyway.

"Are you okay?" Roland asked with a frown, much like his fathers, as he stopped in front of her. He had grown tall, much taller than his father and he towered over Regina.

"Yes sweetheart I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Regina replied, successfully hiding the tremor to her voice, although she had no idea how she was able to hide it.

"Your stood outside the hospital. Has something happened?" Roland said, motioning to the hospital.

Regina looked behind her then back to Roland. She had no idea how to respond. She worked it through in her head but she couldn't seem to process anything. She froze and she could see Roland trying to work her out. "Everything's fine. I just had to…speak to someone…that's all. Nothing important really." Regina stuttered out and eventually shrugged off. "Is your father still at work?" Regina asked. Robin too worked at the Sheriff's station.

Roland nodded his head. "Yea. He said something about calling you to see if you could do lunch."

"Okay…Would you be joining us?" Regina asked. She hoped in a way Roland would be joining them. It would give her an excuse to not have to talk about the situation she found herself in.

"Nah. I am meeting a friend." Roland said, he then glanced at his watch. "Which I am actually late for. I gotta go mom." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek before jogging round her. "I'll see you later."

"Okay…" Regina replied quietly as she watched Roland jog away from her. She let out a sigh and turned on her heel heading towards the Sheriff's station. She would go to Robin. She would have lunch with him and she would tell him her news. She would tell him that she had Alzheimer's.

As Regina entered the Sheriff's station she felt nervous. It had been a long time since she had felt nervous about seeing her husband. She didn't really know why she was nervous. She knew that Robin would stand by her and help her in any and every way that she needed. He would help her as she lost all the memories she had built up over the years. The good and the bad would disappear and soon she wouldn't be the person everyone knew. She wouldn't be herself and that scared her. She was going to have to rely on others and show her vulnerable side and that she didn't like.

Robin looked up, hearing the sounds of her stilettos on the floor and gave her a dazzling smile showing off the dimples she loved so much. "I was just about to call you." Robin said softly as he stood up from the desk and walked around it stopping in front of her.

"Yes…I…" Regina started. "Bumped into Roland…he mentioned going for lunch."

"Are you free to do that?" Robin questioned as he reached over the desk and grabbed his jacket from the chair.

Regina nodded her head. "Yes. Robin I need to talk to you about something. Could we grab a take out from grannies and perhaps go to the peer or somewhere a little more private?" Regina replied. She knew if she didn't tell him now then she would keep putting it off and it would only be so long before she couldn't control anything in her mind and he would find out.

"Of course. Is everything okay?" Robin said with a worried look on his face.

"I just need to talk to you." Regina replied as she turned on her heel and started to walk out of the station with Robin following her. The walk to grannies was silent, Robin wondering what Regina had to tell him and Regina trying to figure out how to tell Robin her news.

They entered the diner and walked over to the counter. Robin leaned on it and glanced over to Regina. "Just your usual order?" He asked and Regina nodded her head. Robin told Ruby what they wanted and they stood in silence as she went to go and prepare their food. Robin's mind was working overdrive as he thought about what Regina could have to tell him. Was this the talk, the talk he never wanted to hear from her. Was she leaving him? They hadn't been going through a rough patch, well at least not that he had noticed. No that couldn't be what it was. It had to be something else. So he thought and thought. Thought over everything they had done and talked about over the last few months and it was then that it hit him. Regina had been worried. Things hadn't seemed right. She complained about things not sticking in her mind. Simple things that she said should be sticking in her mind. Robin had assured her she was fine, perhaps it's just a normal thing of getting old, he had to admit that did not please her. So he supported her and told her if she really was worried to go and see about it. She had booked an appointment and said nothing more of it.

"Regina are you ill?" Robin questioned quietly. He couldn't stop himself from asking the question. Couldn't keep it to himself any longer.

Regina looked over to Robin, slightly surprised at his question. She was just about to answer when Ruby returned with their meals in a takeout bag. "Is that all I can get you guys?" She asked with a smile.

"Yes. Thank you Ruby." Robin said taking the money out of his pocket and handing it to her. He knew how much their meals cost. They got them often enough. So they both turned on their heels and made their way out of the diner and walked the short distance to the pier. They stopped at their usual bench and sat down, Robin handing out the food and Regina staring out to the water.

"Yes." Regina said quietly, so quietly that Robin would have missed it if he hadn't been sat right beside Regina.

"Yes what?" Robin asked with a slight frown.

"Yes to your question." Regina responded. "I am ill."

"The doctor found something…" Robin whispered out and Regina nodded her head. She placed the container with her food to the side, clasping her hands in her lap and rubbing her thumb over the back of her hand soothingly, trying to calm herself. "What…what did they find?" Robin asked although he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. He didn't want to think of Regina as ill in anyway. Serious or not serious he hated seeing her ill.

"I have something called early on-set Alzheimer's." Regina said, never taking her eyes from the water in front of them. She could feel the tears beginning to pool in her eyes and she tried to swallow them back but she knew they would betray her and soon trail salty tracks down her cheeks.

Robin frowned in confusion he had heard of this disease. "Aren't you too young for something like that? Does that not normally happen when you are older…"

"Yes but this is early on-set. Some people, a low percentage get it when they are younger. I seem to be in that percentage." Regina explained, sniffing a little.

"You're going to forget…" Robin whispered out. He could feel his eyes filling with tears. He wanted to stay strong for Regina. He needed to. He could see this was hurting her.

Regina nodded her head. "Yes. I am."

"Is there a cure?" Robin asked.

Regina shook her head. "No cure. The doctor mentioned some treatments but there is nothing to cure this. It is going to feed off my mind, making me lose all the memories I hold dear, good or bad they will be gone in time. I will lose the family and friends I hold dear. I will lose you.…" Regina said looking over to Robin with tears in her eyes and tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm going to lose you Robin."

"Oh Regina…" Robin said moving slightly and enveloping her in his arms. She fell into his chest, clutching at his shirt as she cried her heart out, letting all of her emotions out that she had kept piled in.

"I don't want to lose you Robin. I don't want to lose the children." Regina sobbed into his chest.

"You're not going to lose us Regina. I am going to be with you every step of the way. No matter what. I promised you I would be with you in sickness and in health and I meant it." Robin said firmly and he kissed the top of her head.

"But I won't remember you…" Regina sobbed.

"I will help you. No matter what Regina I will be there." Robin said softly. He let her sob her heart out, let her get all her emotions out. He would hold it together. He would be strong. He needed to be. For her, his wife, the woman he loved more than anything.

So what do we think? Should I continue with this?