Emma set the daisies down by the hospital window. She took the cream colored vase from the nightstand and emptied the stagnant water and the remnants of last weeks daisies. When she was finished arranging the flowers, she set them back down and took a seat next to the bed.
"Regina couldn't come today. She send's her love."
Reaching into the bottom drawer of the bedside table, she pulled out a heavy volume with thick binding.
"Let's see, 'Tales of Storybrooke' where were we? Oh, I remember 'Manhattan' that's where."
Emma flipped the colorful pages searching for her page.
"Here we go, Emma rang the unmarked doorbell. 'Fed Ex package!' she answered before the sound cut out. She heard a screeching sound coming from the fire escape. 'He's making a run for it!' Emma chased Baelfire down the New York City Street. Her red scarf trailing behind her.'"
Emma closed the book, using her arm to hold her page.
"Oh, I was gonna tell you about Henry. He's been accepted to Yale on Early Admission! He leaves in two months! Regina and I are so proud of him. He's already doing well for himself with the book but college. Man, I can't believe it."
Emma took Graham's hand in hers and studied his fingertips. A frown appeared on her face for an instant and then it was gone.
"I'm really excited of course. I mean, you know the old me, Graham. The me that came to this town 5 years ago; I had nothing then. And now, my son is a published writer with a full scholarship to an ivy league university and my wife, my wife! I know you too had your ups and downs, but she's my dream girl. I feel like the luckiest woman on earth. Except, for...well, I just wish you would wake up. I miss you friend."
Archie had recommended that Regina and Emma take turns reading to Graham, in case he could still hear them in his coma. Emma put the book back in the drawer and poured herself a cup of water from the dispenser.
"I have to be back to the station by three, so I better go. We're having a fundraising dinner for the Children's home and Regina will probably kill someone if I'm not there. We'll be back in a few days, Graham. Don't go anywhere." Emma pushed Graham's hair away to place a kiss on his forehead before leaving.
"How did it go today? Was he comfortable? Did you speak to Whale?"
Emma picked up the old black handset and pinned it to her ear with her shoulder. You have 5 messages. 0 marked Urgent.
"Oops. Sorry babe, I forgot. You can talk to him yourself when we go by in a couple of days. I'm sure there's no change. Granny says she'll be 20 minutes late with the pot roast and fixings and we should stall until Ruby can get here with the pigs in a blanket."
"Can you give me a hand with this then?" Regina handed Emma the last bundle of table linens and pointed towards the hallway. The conference hall was in the basement of the sheriff's station. It wasn't as fancy as the one at the Convent but using it was free which meant all the proceeds from the night's event would go directly to the Swan-Mills Home for Lost Children.
For the last two weeks, Regina had been toiling away in the garage, handmaking all the decorations and tablesettings. Today she'd really outdone herself, hauling donated flower arrangements from Game of Thorns back to the station to put on the final touches. Emma couldn't be prouder and the place looked amazing.
"It's a banquet fit for a queen, Regina." While Regina fiddled with the table cloth, Emma grabbed her by the waist, both her hands playfully pulling the brunette back into a hug. Regina stopped what she was doing and took a deep breath as she settled into her lovers arms. "It's really something, isn't it?"
"Uh-Hurm. Hope I'm not interrupting, guys." As promised, Ruby bounded in, clutching several trays between her lithe fingers. "Emma, can you grab the one on the bottom, it's slipping."
"Ruby, thank's for this." Regina took the top tray and started to unwrap the plastic. "Let's keep two on the buffet and the rest can stay in the warmer in the kitchen. You didn't happen to bring the tray covers? The silver ones?"
"Uh. I can run back and get them. If you want me to."
"I think, it would be nice to have them. We could get by with two? Please."
"Ok, I'll be back in a minute. Bye Em, Regina."
"Oh and dear?"
"Yes?"
"Do try to hurry."
Ruby darted out of the banquet like a gazelle. Regina watched her go as she straightened the last fold on the tablecloth and pinned it down.
"I can see where Henry got the idea for his version of Little Red Riding Hood. Ruby is quite athletic and statuesque."
"Is my wife telling me that my best friend is attractive?" Emma jokingly winked at the brunette. "All done here, what's left on your to do list, my queen?"
Regina checked her phone for the time, before walking over and toying with a lock of blonde hair.
"Well, Princess, the only thing left on my to do list is, you."
"This isn't what I thought you meant." Emma riffled through the shirts in the station closet, looking for the cleanest and least wrinkled. Regina held a thin brown tie up to her neck, taking the blonde's measurements.
"This should do. I always liked the combination of blue and brown." She walked to Emma's desk and set the tie down carefully over the back of her chair, beside the pressed brown slacks that she'd brought over from the house.
"I know you don't usually wear your official uniform, but it's a nice touch for tonight, and Sidney will be taking pictures for the Mirror and the Mayor's office."
Regina walked back to the closet, where Emma had finally found a decent shirt. She dismissed the blonde's hands and took up the pleasant task of doing up Emma's buttons. "Besides, the blue and brown, mixed together, brings out your kaleidoscope eyes."
She reached the collar, pulling the sheriff in for a powerful kiss. Emma wrapped her arms around the brunette, holding tightly to her hips and not letting go. She squinted over Regina's shoulder at the distant wall of the sheriff's station.
"If I'm reading that clock right, we have a good 10, eh, 15 minutes before anyone misses us." And with that, Emma swung Regina around and shut the closet's double doors. The brunette nearly lost her balance, swimming against a sea of pale blue shirts while letting out a laugh.
"Shirt, off! It's your one good shirt!" Regina shouted in a whisper as Emma pulled her down onto a pile of clothes. "There isn't any dirty laundry in here, right?"
"Shut up." Emma planted another searing kiss on luscious red lips and trailed kisses down the brunette's neck. Regina moaned softly as her knuckles made their way past Emma's belly button and found the lip of her pants. She fumbled with the belt buckle as the blonde unhooked her bra and took a dark rosy nipple between her teeth. Regina felt a twitch in her core, making her yearn for Emma's hands further down where she was starting to feel slick with desire. She worked Emma's panties down with her thumbs and worked her hand between the blonde's legs, coaxing her legs farther apart before slapping playfully at her cunt. The telltale stickyness informing her that Emma was as ready as she was.
As they came together, Regina smirked thinking how awesome it was that they still had incredibly hot sex after five years together.
"Without further ado, I present you with Sheriff Emma Swan, Founder and Patron of the Swan-Mills Home for Lost Children." Regina handed Emma the microphone and a bottle of water and checked the papers on the podium.
"Thanks."
"Don't be nervous. You're doing great." Regina sat down on stage right beside the other major benefactors. Michael, Ashley and Katherine applauded and turned to hear Emma's speech.
"Eh-Hem. You'll have to excuse me, I'm not the best public speaker, so here goes." Emma found her place on the paper, making sure to keep her finger next to the correct line, just as Regina had showed her. She'd practiced her speech at least fifty times in the living room with Regina and Henry giving playing her audience. Her wife had even helped her with some of the trickier parts.
"As a child, I never knew who my parents were. I grew up alone and I grew up fast. As many of you know, Henry is my son, who I gave up for adoption, so that he could have a better life than the one I could provide him with. He and I were very lucky in that regard. He was lucky because Regina Mills became his adoptive mother and I was lucky because he was in a good home."
Emma took a sip from her water bottle to calm her nerves.
"Thank goodness for Henry's amazing imagination, because without it, I would never have come to Storybrooke and found my purpose. Of course, it wasn't quite like in the fairy tale. I wasn't the white knight come to save a town from a curse. I was the one that was cursed and this town saved me. Regina Mills saved me, befriended me and took me in. Nowadays I just call her wifey. Heh."
Emma looked to see Regina's response to her edits. Emma could see from the brunette's forced smile that she wasn't amused.
"...We are all lost children in some ways...The point I'm trying to make is that there's a lot in this world that keeps us apart...and if we really want to be truly happy, we have to go out there and make ourselves families... Let a stranger into your heart and into your home because you never know what joy it could bring you."
The speech ended with thunderous applause. Not because the speech was great, because it was mediocre at best. Emma was immensely popular with the townsfolk and Regina loved that about her. In a short period, Emma had managed to befriend nearly everyone in Storybrooke. She'd warmed the icy heart of the town's mayor and solved the riddle of Henry's book. She'd managed to drastically reduce the crime rate and had an office staffed with two deputies and a crew of volunteers. Regina knew that Emma had brought a spark of life back to their sleepy little town. Her chest swelled with pride as she took a moment to admire the woman at the podium.
She had a plan in mind, for Emma and she couldn't wait to get home to tell her all about it.
The black mercedes pulled into the driveway. Regina hadn't realized how tired she would be after cleaning up from the banquet. They had managed to dismantle all the decorations and stowed the chairs and tables with Ruby's help, before Emma had forced them to call it a night, leaving a mountain of dishes to be cleaned and returned the following day.
"I will go over in the morning with you and get that cutlery washed and back to granny's. If you help me load it in the car..."
"Of course. I'll even help you dry." Emma smiled back, as she pulled the key from the ignition. "Let's take a shower and get some sleep. I have a feeling my back is going to be hurting tomorrow."
"I have something for that."
"Oh really, what? As much as I love it when you pepper me with kisses, I don't think that's going be enough."
"I was referring to aspirin, but I can also kiss it and make it better, if you prefer that."
"Can I have both?"
The following afternoon, once the banquet was fully wrapped, Regina made her way to the hospital for a visit with Graham. She stopped at the nurses station on her way in, to leave a message for . When he was beeped, he made his way to Graham's room in the coma ward.
"Hello, Mayor Mills. I have this months' EEG and CT scans for . I figured you would want to see them for your self. The EEG is unchanged and the CT shows no signs of tumor regrowth. His blood tests were also standard, with no elevation in lymphocytes. The mystery continues, I'm afraid. We still don't know why he's in a vegetative state, but his prognosis is positive."
"Thank you Doctor."
Whale made a swift exit, before Regina caught up to him in the hall. "Yes, Mayor Mills, is there something else you need me for?"
"I forgot to mention that I would like a copy of Graham's medical records, his complete records. There's a differential diagnosis specialist in New Jersey. I want to request that he consult on the case. He specialises on those unsolvable cases, it can only help us. I expect you to cooperate with him fully."
"Of course, Madame Mayor. I have no wish to see him suffer. Whatever's best for Mr. Graham is in all our best interests."
The weekend had crept up so quickly. The fundraiser had been on Wednesday night and still Regina hadn't had a chance to sit Emma down for her very important talk. She knew that for what she wanted to say, she needed the blonde relaxed and receptive. Emma had both Saturday and Sunday off and Regina was planning an intimate Saturday afternoon and evening while Henry stayed over at Katherine's until Sunday night. She needed to get the house ready without Emma finding out, so she sent her off to the market with a list the length of her arm. She had padded their usual grocery list with novelty gourmet items that she knew Emma would have trouble finding.
"Take the merc, you'll need the space in the trunk."
"Yes mother."
"And don't come back without something. If you can't find it, ask! And don't forget the butcher shop closes at 12, so get there early and do the bakery first, so you don't get stuck buying day old bread!"
"Ok" Emma shut the merc door and stuffed the list in the glove compartment. She was putting the key in the ignition when she heard a rap rap on the window and looked up to see Regina gesturing for her to roll the window down.
"I forgot one last thing!"
"And what's that?"
"I love you. Don't forget that either." And with that, Regina reached inside and planted a kiss on Emma's cheek.
"What aisle is that in?"
"Excuse me, can you point me towards the anchovies? Yes, ok, those are nice, but I need the ones packed in salt, not oil. Can you help me find them? Oh, they're in a can? Not a jar? Ok. Down there...thanks. Thanks a lot."
Emma walked the cart back and forth down the aisle. It was already more than half full but only a third of the items on the list had been checked off. She hoped the meat from the butcher's shop was alright sitting in the car for this long.
"Oh, hey Katherine! Just the woman I wanted to see!"
"Hi, Emma. So how did you take the news?"
Katherine pulled her cart alongside Emma's and put her hand on her shoulder.
"What? Regina's got me looking for all this stuff, I thought you might know...what is More-Ta-delia? And where in hell are the salt packed anchovies, I've been up and down this aisle ten times."
"It's Mortadella. You can find that, and this and this one at the deli. Ask for at least half a pound of each, that's what Regina usually gets. And..." Katherine reached down and lifted a yellow object from the bottom shelf. "This is the salt packed anchovies."
"This? It's a tin, not a can."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. Just the cashier...never mind. What were you saying before, about news?"
"Nevermind. I'll let Regina tell you, it seems she hasn't had the chance yet and I don't want to spoil her surprise."
"So, you know something, huh? She's got something special planned? Come on, give me something." Emma bit her bottom lip and tried to stare Katherine down, but the delicate blonde was tougher than she looked, she wouldn't budge.
"No, Emma. I'm sorry. You know how she is. She'd kill me if she knew I was even talking to you now. Don't tell her I mentioned anything. Just go finish your shopping. You're in for a very nice evening, I'm sure of it."
"Ooh, baby. A little to the left, ah, ah. Thats nice, really nice." Emma was getting the best foot massage ever.
After a gorgeous supper by candlelight she was left with the feeling that Regina was trying to fatten her up, but the big reveal was yet to come. Now she sat across from her wifey in the warm water that smelled of lemongrass and vanilla from the bathsalts. She watched the brunette's brow furrow as she diligently worked her fingers against Emma's calf.
She's stalling. Maybe whatever it is, she's afraid to tell me.
"So, baby. This is really nice. This whole evening has been wonderful." Emma took a sip from her beer bottle and set it down, so she could move closer to the other woman.
"Regina." Emma gripped both of the brunette's ankles under the water forcing the woman's piercing dark eyes to gaze into her own. There's definitely something she's not telling me.
"Is there anything you want to tell me?"
Regina had done all she could. She'd buttered Emma up really good and now there was nothing more left to do. She took a deep breath and started talking.
"It's not so much a tell as a question."
"Ask away. You know you can tell me anything."
"It's just, Henry is leaving in two months. And, your old roommate is doing really well as Deputy Mayor."
"Yeah, Mary Margaret seems to have a knack for politics, I'll give her that. What is this about, do you want to step down as Mayor? Is that what this is about?"
"No, not quite. I...I just. I'm turning 40 in November. That's four months from now."
"I know that. I'll be 34 in June. It's no big deal."
"And, I was wondering if, how you would feel. If we tried for another baby."
"Wow. Uh. I. You. You want to carry the baby then, that's why you mentioned Mary Margaret taking over for you for a while. Ok. I see now. Henry's leaving...Empty nest syndrome huh?"
"If you want to label it that, possibly that assessment is correct." Emma could see the brunette starting to close her off. She came closer and took her face in her hands, forcing eye contact.
"Regina, I would love to have a baby with you. Relax. I love you. Of course I will. It's just a lot to take in."
Emma pulled Regina close, with no regard for the water sloshing over the side of the tub.
"So I've hired Katherine to look into some things for me." Regina had already made breakfast and was clearing the kitchen island. Emma was barely awake and nursing the latte in front of her. Even on the weekend, Regina was an early riser and the blonde felt like she had eaten breakfast while fast asleep. She was just beginning to come around. Regina used a dry tea towel to buff the granite. A hint of nervousness was evident in her technique. It made Emma curious.
"What kinds of things?"
"Oh, several different projects. For one, she's looking into invitro fertilization doctors in Boston and some possible follow up for Graham, and some publishers for Henry...just things that I haven't the time to do myself and she has an aptitude for."
"Follow up for Graham?"
"Yes, since his case is so unique, there's a specialist that's agreed to consult. See if there's some hidden reason why he still won't wake up, even though he seems perfectly fine otherwise."
"And the invetero?"
"In vitro, fertilization, Emma. That's to find us a doctor that can help us conceive...and a sperm donor. For the baby?"
"Wait, what!? We need a sperm donor?"
"How else did you think we were gonna get pregnant?"
"I don't know...the regular way...I guess. So we need a guy? Some guy's sperm? Ew."
"I know it seems odd and impersonal but the technology is quite advanced, from what I've gleaned."
Regina dropped the pan she was cleaning into the dishwater and turned to face Emma. The brunette put her soapy hands on her hips, so Emma knew what she was about to say was important.
"Emma, just please try to act mature about all this. I know it was a long time ago when you had Henry and it wasn't under the best circumstances but I've never done this before and I need your support. I can't have you cringing during simple medical procedures. That would be infuriating."
Emma was barely alert enough to realize she's been doing that.
"I'm sorry. I'll try to be more sensitive. Maybe Katherine has some videos we could watch? Educational ones, so there's no surprises."
Regina softened a bit. "Go take a shower. We can pick Henry up early and take him for Brunch at Granny's."
"Are we going to tell him? That we're planning on having another baby? Or should we just wait until you're pregnant?"
"I'm not sure, lets not say anything for now. Let's consult Doctor Hopper first."
"Thank's for squeezing us in, Archie." Emma shook hands with the man and turned around to lead Regina to the her seat. "Let me get right in here, since we haven't much time. Regina and I are planning on having another baby. We wanted to hear from you about what this might mean for Henry."
Archie crossed and recrossed his legs while contemplating the question. He pushed his glasses further up and propped his face up with his hand. "Which one of you is having the baby?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yes, it might. To henry."
"I don't see how that's relevant, but I'm the one who will be carrying."
"And the two of you have already begun the consultation process? Have you selected a donor? Is it someone Henry knows?"
"No, god. We haven't gotten that far yet. That's why we're here. We wanted to know when would be the best time to tell him. He's leaving for college soon and we don't want him stressed out."
Regina took Emma's hand and interjected, "We also don't want it to seem like we're keeping things from him or have him feel as though he's being replaced."
"I see. Well, your concerns are well founded. Henry has always been a bit...delicate. It took two years of therapy for him to relinquish the delusion that you were the Evil Queen and the White Knight. If not for his turning to writing as an outlet for his creativity, I'm not sure...well. It was that, but also the shock of what happened with Graham. The former Sheriff had started to believe Henry, and then when he was diagnosed with a medical condition it was further reinforcement that Henry's delusions were incorrect. But, he is still quite young and the stress of college alone...well, it still remains to be seen whether he has fully recovered."
"So, how do you suggest we handle this?"
"There's not one right answer , take things as they come and trust your instincts. I trust you'll be able to sense when the time is right."
"Thank you for your time, Doctor Hopper." Regina stood and walked towards the door.
"Madame Mayor?"
"Yes?"
"Would you ask Henry to drop in? I would like to touch base with him before he leaves for school next month."
"I'll mention it. And I've been meaning to put you in touch with the psychiatrist at Harvard who will be treating Henry while he's enrolled."
"I'll remind her to shoot you an email. Come on Regina, Henry's probably already at the diner."
Only two weeks until college orientation and Henry was enjoying his last days of freedom, on a ski trip with Ava, Nicholas and Paige.
"If you get a girl pregnant, your mother and I will have you neutered. Remember that." Regina and waved goodbye from the porch as Emma loaded the last of the skis into Michael's pickup and closed the hatch.
An hour later, cocoa in hand, Emma and Regina sat on the couch in the study, facing each other from opposite ends. Beige file folders littered the cushions on Emma's side, before Regina had a chance to organize them into neat piles on the coffee table.
"This one sounds promising. Mid 30's, white male, curly red hair, doctor. Um, no picture though."
"Sounds like Dr. Hopper, pass."
"Blonde, blonde, eh here's one."
"Why are you skipping all the blondes?"
"I want our baby to have your dark hair and those brown eyes of yours. Is that wrong?"
"So then, its not going to look like you at all. That's not fair."
"All right, listen. Blue eyes, mixed race, brown curly hair, mathematician and writer! Pay dirt!"
"Let me see!"
"He looks like Tom Hanks!"
"Nah, you kiddin' me? He looks like a brown Kiefer Sutherland."
"Well at least he has your nose. I'll put him in the maybe pile."
They still hadn't told Henry about the baby. Regina wanted to wait, have the procedure take first and then tell him over the holidays, if it seems like he was adjusting well to being at school.
Emma set her cocoa down and coaxed Regina into handing over her tired feet.
"We don't have to decide now. We could pick a few and mix them together and turkey baster..."
"Ha Ha. Very funny. Then for the rest of his life, he'll have four family medical histories to worry about. No thanks." Regina closed the folio and rubbed her eyes. "Did you find someone to cover you for next week? We leave on Sunday morning and I expect that after we drop him off at the dorms, we'll spend more than half the day at Target getting him all the goodies for his room."
Emma took Regina's hand in hers. "Which is why, I've booked us a hotel room for the night, in Boston." Emma smiled eagerly. She wasn't going to divulge the rest of her plan, but with Henry away at college, the blonde was finally going to have Regina all to her self for the first time in five years. Even if a new baby was soon on the way, Emma had at least nine months to enjoy some alone time with her wife.
Hi Folks,
This idea came to me very suddenly so I wanted to get it out there fast. It's not beta'd so sorry if it needs edits.
If I continue it, its going to stay quite fluffy and light as a counterpoint to my other fic A Ticket to Anywhere, which is headed for
the dark fae side of town and turning into a fullfledged Lost Girl/Swan Queen crossover.
Let me know if you like it and if you want me to continue, or have any ideas for where they should go or what they should do.
Thanks for reading,
Nat