A/N: This is a one shot I wrote for the very excellent Korderoo as a Once Upon a Time Secret Valentine gift.
The usually collected mayor was galloping down the stairs, arms laden with overnight bags. Regina nearly tripped and took the rest of the journey down the staircase on her stomach, but managed to fling an arm out and grip the railing in time. Glaring down at the cause of her unsteadiness, she kicked off her Jimmy Choo heels and thundered the rest of the way down the stairs.
"It's time!" Regina shouts, as if to alert the entire town of Storybrooke that her wife and their sheriff had gone into labor not minutes ago. Snow White leapt up from the couch where she had been sitting, explaining to Henry how the next few days were going to work. Regina rushed toward her, bags swinging.
"Is she in the car-how is she-are we ready-WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE," the former queen rambled, trying to brush her dark hair out of her eyes, only succeeding in accidentally flinging one of the duffel bags across the foyer. Snow stepped forward and gripped Regina by the shoulders. She looked the flustered brunette in the eye and realized how at a loss for control the woman felt. Being the only female in the family to not have given birth, Regina only knew what books and articles told her. Nothing had prepared her for the moment her wife's eyes widen from across the dinner table as Emma whispered, "Call Snow and Charming. She's coming".
"Yes. Fine. Yes. And because you need to calm down" Snow chuckled as she succinctly answered all of the mayor's questions. "You'll be fine," she added, giving Regina's shoulders a little squeeze. Regina relaxed slightly, then surged forward to wrap Snow in a hug. "Thank you," she breathed, fighting back tears. "And thank you for watching Henry too." Regina released Snow from the hug and watched her scoop up the duffel bag that had slid across the foyer. "I'll call you with updates when the baby arrives!"
Both women paused, realizing that their family, one that had been forged in fire and build through all manner of hardships, was about to be permanently altered, this time for the good. Of course Charming chose that moment to beep the horn from the idling car outside. The impatient noise snapped both women back to reality. Snow handed off the overnight bag as Regina took a deep breath and smiled. "Here we go."
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"Charming, I swear to the powers in this realm and any other, if you do not drive this car in a safer manner I will wreak a vengeance that would make my mother blush". Regina released the handle above her head she had been clutching since the car spun out of her driveway and leaned forward from her place in the back seat. She elected to sit in the back, where she had been soothing Emma and constantly telling her to breathe. "David," the former queen lowered her voice.
The use of his first name caught Charming's attention and his eyes flicked towards Regina's in the rear view mirror. He could see the worry written in each line on her face. Charming simply nodded and eased his foot off the gas pedal. Regina sat back and smoothed the hair off of Emma's face, watching her wife tense as another wave of contractions swept through her body. Their hands never left each other, fingers clasped as if they were melted wax, melding into one another for comfort and strength. "'Gina," Emma turned toward her wife, who smiled at the use of her private nickname. "Yes love?" "Where are your shoes?"
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Snow White had enough foresight to call ahead for Dr. Whale. As the nurses eased Emma into a waiting wheelchair, Regina blushed and accepted a pair of hospital slippers from that severe looking nurse while Charming went to park the car somewhere other than the curb.
"You know, those hedges will never be the same," Whale commented, glancing out the window. Emma let out a muted scream and clutched the arms of the wheelchair. "I don't think we have much time," she said through gritted teeth, her eyes squeezing shut as the strongest contraction yet surged through her body. "Yes, never you mind about your damn hedges!" Regina snapped, shades of her former regality coming through in her voice as she knelt before the panting blonde and wrapped both her hands around Emma's.
"Right, let's go then. If this baby is anything like either of her mothers, she won't wait to make a memorable entrance." Ignoring the glares from the pair, Dr. Whale breezed by both of them and flung the double doors to the belly of the hospital wide. "Oh, Regina," he held up a hand, "This is as far as you go."
Regina's eyes widened, nostrils flaring. "What? Are you expecting me to leave my wife in this condition?" Emma let out another cry of pain, as if to emphasize the point. "See?" Regina continued, gesturing down to the obviously uncomfortable sheriff. "No, 'Gina," Emma said weakly, "you're crushing my fingers."
Embarrassed, the brunette loosened her grip but did not let go of her wife's hand. "This is the most important day of our lives so far Whale and I swea-". The scientist held up a hand, cutting her off. "Regulations are regulations. No non-essential bodies in the room during the procedure."
"What's going on here?" Charming strode up, having finally found a parking space. "Whale won't allow me to stay by your daughter's side for the birth" Regina huffed, her emotions getting the best of her as Emma shifted uncomfortably. Her breath caught in her throat has Emma squeezed her eyes shut to block out the pain. "Like I said, no non-essential people in the room," Whale repeated, frustration written all over his face. "Now, we really must be going". "No," Emma flung out an arm and caught hold of Charming's sleeve.
"David…. Dad." a weak smile flitted across the blonde's flushed face, "She's essential. To me." Regina's eye's widened at the honest declaration of love Emma had just uttered. Emma was never very forthcoming with her father about her relationship with Regina, fearing past grudges would crop up again. Charming looked from one woman to the other, seeing the pleading in his daughter's eyes and the adoration in Regina's. He turned to Whale.
"Fine, fine, fine, " The doctor threw his hands up in surrender and marched through the double doors. "Nurse," he shouted without even turning around," get her the proper attire. And some goddamn shoes while we're at it".
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91 minutes. 91 minutes of screaming. Crying. Hands clutching for the smallest comfort. 91 minutes filled with tears, fear and emotion.
Emma clung to Regina's hand as if it were life itself. As if their entwined fingers were her only grounding to this planet. The mayor's soft hands and strong grip were the singular sensation keeping Emma from bursting into flames as she was instructed to push once more. Henry had been a difficult baby, but something was wrong here. The baby was in distress. Their daughter hadn't turned.
As Whale worked frantically, shouting orders at nurses over his shoulder, Emma looked up at Regina, reading the worry in those deep ebony eyes peeking out from behind the surgical mask, watching Whale work. "Regina." The sound of her name and Regina's eyes snapped to Emma's face. Beneath the sweat and pain, she saw the most beautiful woman in the world. Her savior. "Regina, you said 9 months ago this magic is temperamental…"
"No." Regina shook her head. Not this. Emma gasped in pain. "You said all magic comes with a price", she continued. The brunette shook her head harder, willing the words to go away. Monitors and various alerts began beeping.
Tearing off her mask, Regina bit back a sob. "I won't let this happen to you. To her. To us. This is not the price we pay."
Whale finally held the baby aloft, rushing her to an adjacent table. The doctor glanced back at the mothers-to-be. The baby was blue. She wasn't moving.
The world and everyone in it slowed down and blurred as the two women tore their shining eyes away from that silent body. She was too still. She wasn't breathing.
"I lo-ove…" was all Emma managed to get out. Regina rested her forehead against the blonde's, tears slipping freely down her cheeks. "I know."
Their lips met in the softest suggestion of a kiss. Nothing existed as the two women shared their grief.
Their private moment was shattered by a high pitched wailing. The women broke apart as a golden pulse of magic swept through the operating room, the calling card of True Love's kiss. Stunned both looked at each other and then a grinning Dr. Whale, who strode up shyly, cradling a screaming bundle. "Memorable entrance, indeed," he quipped. He handed the shivering mass to Emma, as both women let out quivering laughs, tears of a different nature running down their faces.
"Hi, hi there" Emma whispered as the tiny body took a momentary pause from crying to yawn and sigh. Regina placed a hand on top of the child's chest and felt her warmth, her heart. A minute hand snaked its way out of the blanket and wrapped its tiny fist around the tip of Regina's index finger. Emma's breath hitched in her throat and Regina laughed. "Welcome to Storybrooke, "she whispered.