I don't own Once Upon A Time and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Emma did a double take and gaped at the other woman as soon as Regina stood up from behind her desk. "You too?"
Regina waved her hands and rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm knocked up. We clearly have more important things to discuss if you're in my office with your memory clearly intact. Where's Henry?" She desperately needed to see her son.
She sighed. "He doesn't remember anything or anybody, Regina. Hook only had enough potion for me, but that's beside the point right now. Do they not have adequate protection over there?"
"No. And get to the point, Miss Swan. We have a common enemy that needs to be stopped." Regina had gone to see Whale, and she was about five months along with a little girl.
Emma couldn't help it – she was curious. "So do you know who knocked you up?"
She glared. "No." And the fact that she didn't was driving her up the wall. Regina would like to know who the father of her child was, and what their relationship was like. She was terrified of this whole process and really didn't want to go through this pregnancy alone. Having someone by her side would be nice.
After an awkward first meeting with Henry, Regina was more determined than ever to have her memory restored. It pissed her off when their attempt to smoke out whoever cast this new curse disappeared. "We'll figure out who did this soon," Emma told her.
"I'm glad you feel that way." Regina didn't have her confidence – her son didn't remember her and she was dealing with her pregnancy all by herself. It was hard to think positively in this situation, especially since nothing ever turned out the way she wanted it to.
Emma smiled at her and then walked away to head back to the apartment. Regina went back to her big, empty house and put her feet up as soon as she sat down. She needed to get the nursery done since the baby was due in four months, but was procrastinating on it. Excitement about the upcoming arrival was warring with fear about their unknown attacker. What if Regina couldn't protect her children? The pregnancy was already fucking with her powers, something she had been told was normal. The baby inside her womb kicked, and Regina smiled as she placed a hand over the tiny swell of her stomach. "You're an active little thing, aren't you? I wish I knew a lot more than I do, little girl." She had narrowed down the naming choices already, but hadn't decided. She was hoping the other father would help with that.
The next morning, Snow and Regina met up for lunch. "I still don't know how we're the only ones who came back pregnant," Snow murmured.
She snorted. "At least we didn't come back with babies." That had happened to quite a few people, and they were still adjusting to being instant parents.
Snow nodded. "Good point. But have you read any baby books? So much could go wrong! How did we get by without knowing these things before? Someone should have told us." She was afraid of something going wrong – she hadn't been this worried during her pregnancy with Emma, but life had been different then.
Regina reached across the table and grasped her hand. "Those only worry you more – take it from experience."
"I'm sorry you have to do this alone. Hopefully our memories will return soon." Snow didn't like that her stepmother was doing all of this by herself. It didn't seem fair.
She shrugged. "It's fine," she lied. Waking up pregnant had shocked her and she had been relieved to find she wasn't alone.
"No, it's not. And hey, at least we're not that far apart in our pregnancies." Snow only had two months left, and she couldn't wait to meet this baby. The ultrasound had been absolutely fascinating and amazing – speaking of which, they had to show Emma and Henry. She and David were keeping the sex a surprise – it was more fun that way.
"That is true." They still had a lot of unresolved issues – a lot couldn't be forgiven – but their dual surprise pregnancies had brought them closer together. They sometimes loved going baby shopping together, a trip they actually planned for after lunch.
After chatting about their pregnancies and comparing them (Snow loved it, Regina was undecided) and eating, the two women made their way to the store. "You should get this cute little dress," Snow gushed. This is something she would have loved for Emma. She was convinced the baby was a boy, but David thought another girl. It made buying clothes harder than it had to be.
Regina eyed the outfit and shook her head. "Too pink," she declared. She didn't want to do that to her daughter.
"I guess you're right." Snow looked sad as she put down the dress, but headed towards another section after finding something else adorable.
Once Snow's swollen ankles started aching, the two women paid for their purchases and walked to their separate cars. Regina set her bags down and stifled a sob. She missed Henry – he just thought of her as the mayor of this weird town and that clearly wasn't going to change soon. At least he seemed happy with Emma. That was good (for now, anyway). And fuck these hormones – Regina had never felt so unstable in her life before (and unfortunately, that was saying something). "Little girl, you have to stop making me cry. Please." She sniffled and decided to sit down and narrow the naming choices some more.
She struck out several choices (Seraphina, a name she loved, was struck out because she didn't want to name her daughter angel) and the list shrunk considerably. "What is your name? Are you an Eleanor?" The baby had settled down for once and didn't respond. Regina laughed. "Then are you a Harlow?" And that's when her daughter aimed a kick at her kidneys. "Then that's your name. I love it." Now she had to decide between Harlow Eleanor and Harlow Seraphina (there was no rule she saying she couldn't use it as a middle name).
With the first name decided, Regina continued on with her life and tried to fend off flying monkeys. She was at the store when she bumped into Robin Hood and his son. "Sorry, miss," he apologized.
"It's okay – I'm fine." Regina smiled at the grinning little boy.
"You having a baby?"
"Yes, I am." He was pretty cute (and so was his father, but Regina had other problems to think about, like Harlow's father).
"I'm Roland. Good luck." He held onto his father and refused to let go.
"Nice to meet you, Roland. I'm Regina Mills."
"And I'm Robin. We'll just be on our way." There was something oddly familiar about the pregnant mayor (other than the fact that she was the Evil Queen), but he didn't know what.
The three of them parted ways and went off in separate directions.
The flying monkey attacks continued on and off for the next two months as Emma desperately worked to find who was responsible for this. They were good at staying hidden, and it was really pissing Regina off. No memory potions worked, and Rumplestiltskin – he was found wandering the streets one day – wasn't much help either.
And then a few months after Emma's return, Snow went into labor. Her midwife didn't make it on time, and Emma and David ended up having to deliver Liam Joshua Nolan on their own (Henry – who still didn't remember anything - held his grandmother's hand and paled after accidentally seeing more than he wanted to at one point). Regina stopped by to visit after Whale dropped in for a visit to check on all of them.
"He's pretty cute but really wrinkly." Henry had never seen a baby this new before. It was weird.
Regina couldn't believe Henry had an uncle younger than him. Their family tree was extremely fucked up. She turned her attention to Snow and David. "Congratulations. He's pretty cute."
"Thanks." Snow looked up briefly and grinned at her stepmother before turning her attention back to the newborn.
Regina felt even lonelier than before after her quick stop at the apartment. She wanted someone – this baby's father preferably – to be by her side right now. Snow and David were stable and were happy. A partner (and Henry back) would be amazing. And then three days after Liam Nolan's birth, Regina bumped into Robin Hood again. "We have stop meeting like this." And he even looked amused!
"Stop running into me and we wouldn't have this problem," she pointed out.
"You ran into me last time."
Regina scoffed. "You want something, don't you? What is it?"
"I'd like to take you out to dinner at the diner."
Regina looked down at her swelling abdomen and then stared at him. "You are aware that I'm knocked up with some other man's child, aren't you? I'm due in a few months." She had ruled him out as the father in thirty seconds. There was no way in hell she fucked this thief, no matter how attractive he was (was this the hormones again? It better be).
"That doesn't matter to me. You're attractive and a nice woman, and I wish to see you some more."
"You think I'm nice?" Regina knew her reputation in this town and she doubted he hadn't heard anything bad about her. He had to know what she was like. The pregnancy had changed nothing.
"Of course. You've never acted otherwise in front of me." Regina intrigued him and he wanted to know more about her.
"Okay, you've convinced me." Regina liked him, but this was most likely going nowhere. Was a shame, too, that this would have to end as soon as their memories returned.
"Wonderful news." Robin waved goodbye and then went to go pick up Roland from school.
The two went out on a date the following afternoon. Regina was surprisingly nervous, and the baby picked up on it and chose to respond by repeatedly and painfully kicking her mother. "I swear she's going to be a soccer player. Or something related to sports."
He looked confused at her reference, but shrugged it off. "So you're working on a solution to our memory problems and those flying monkeys?" Robin missed Little John and hoped they were able to get him back after the Wicked Witch was taken care of.
She nodded. "Yes, I am. We'll get the bitch – I'm positive of that." The Wicked Witch wasn't going to go free.
The two of them enjoyed their date, but Regina was leery about going out with him again. One or both of them was going to end up hurt, and she was determined to protect herself from it. Plus, she had Henry and the baby to think about (and he had Roland, of course). So Regina vowed to herself that she wouldn't date Robin again – it wouldn't be worth it.
Regina was a week away from her due date when Zelena chose to finally reveal herself (and Snow felt incredibly stupid for trusting her and relieved she hadn't shown up in time for Liam's birth). "I chose exactly the right time to reveal myself. You didn't see this coming, did you?" Zelena looked pleased with herself.
Regina was about to throw a fireball at her (and hoped it would work since Harlow was still fucking with her powers) when she felt something give and looked down to see a puddle of water on the floor. "Are you fucking kidding me with this right now?" Damn the timing of this.
Zelena cackled. "I see your little brat wants to join the party. You're lucky your son didn't remember." Henry still thought Storybrooke was weird as hell, but he had no idea why.
"I am going to kill you." The threat was marred by Regina whimpering as a sharp contraction started to build.
Emma took Snow and Regina aside. "I want you two to go the hospital. Regina, you can't fight like this. And you know the baby's been making your powers unstable. Teleport there. I'll take care of this."
"Are you sure?" Regina bit her lip and put her hand on Snow's shoulder.
Emma nodded. "Go!"
"Please let Mommy do this, baby girl," she pleaded as she started thinking of teleporting away. Fortunately, it worked and Snow was teleported with Regina.
"I'll be with you every step of the way," Snow promised. She wasn't about to leave Regina alone. And she was thrilled that Liam and Henry were hidden away with Red and Granny. They needed to be away from the battle that was about to take place.
Regina was admitted a few minutes later and leaned on Snow for support as another contraction surged through her. "How the fuck did you do this twice?"
"You forget about the pain when you hold your child for the first time. Labor really does suck, though." Snow wanted to ask why Regina and her father never had children together, but refrained from doing so. Now was not the time, and she and Regina were getting along better than ever.
Regina looked at her. "I'm going to forget about this later so I'll do it now. Thank you for being so supportive."
"You're welcome, Regina. I don't mind helping you. I'll be spoiling the baby with you – our kids will grow up together. That's going to be fun, right?"
Whatever Regina was about to say next was swallowed up by a wall breaking (and unfortunately, it was coupled with another contraction) inside her head. And once it was over, their memories had returned. "Emma must have defeated Zelena." She was relieved – hopefully someone would spot Robin and tell him to come. She was so fucking happy she remembered now. Regina wasn't going to raise this baby alone.
Labor kicked into high gear after that, and with Snow by her side an hour later, Regina delivered her daughter into the world. She couldn't stop crying. "I don't know why I'm melting down."
"It's okay – your hormones are still out of whack after giving birth." Snow couldn't wait to hold the baby (and see her own family, but Regina was her priority right now).
"You, your brothers, and your daddy are the most important people in my life, Harlow Eleanor." And Snow, too, but Regina had a feeling the other woman already knew that.
"That's a beautiful name." Snow loved it and thought Regina had made a great choice.
"I think so too." Whatever Regina was about to say next was interrupted by Robin bursting into her room.
"Emma killed Zelena, and all I could think about you. She told me you were here." He loathed the fact that Zelena had caused him to miss the entire pregnancy and birth.
Regina beamed. "Come meet your daughter."
"I'm going to go home. Congratulations you two!" Snow waved and then left the hospital.
Robin picked Harlow up and kissed Regina on the forehead. "I am so deeply in love with you both."
For the first time in months, she felt great (even though she was sore from giving birth) and like herself again. Complete, actually. "The feeling's mutual."
"Should I go pick up Roland and Henry?" Robin figured the boys would want to meet their little sister – he was anxious for all three of them to meet. And he had to meet Henry officially as his future stepfather.
"Maybe later? I'm not up for visitors." An exhausted Regina just wanted to relax, especially now that Zelena was out of the picture.
"Of course." Robin sat down in the chair and started talking to Harlow.
The next afternoon, Regina and Harlow were discharged from the hospital. They were met at home by the Charmings, Henry, and Roland.
Roland stared at the baby in awe. "My baby sister?"
"Your baby sister," Regina confirmed. Harlow stirred in her arms, but calmed down a few seconds later.
"We make some beautiful babies," Robin murmured.
"I am not doing this again – if at all – for at least two years, just so you know." Three children was a lot, but Regina wouldn't mind having more (later).
"I'm perfectly fine with that." Robin would be happy if Harlow was their last child – he didn't mind. He was just thrilled to be with the woman he loved and their children.
"I'm surrounded by babies." Henry didn't mind too much, though – he felt guilty about his amnesia even though it hadn't been his fault. He was going to be around a lot more now, but either way, he was going to be driven up the wall because of the babies. He was determined to help out with Liam and Harlow whenever possible – he was sure they'd appreciate it.
"Get used to it," a laughing Regina responded. She appreciated her eldest son's honesty.
"Well at least I know how to help out." Henry looked forward to the babies getting older so they could actually do something.
Two months after Harlow's birth, Regina and Robin wed in a somewhat big wedding. Matron-of-honor Snow held the baby (the flower girl) as she walked down the aisle and threw the flowers for her.
"You're actually my husband," a delighted Regina commented after they were kissed for the first time as a married couple. She laughed. It had taken them a lot of time to get to this point. Because of Zelena, they had missed out on a lot.
"And you're my wife." They both laughed when Harlow cooed at them.
"Somebody's happy for her mommy and daddy." Snow handed the baby over when Regina opened her arms.
"Harlow, are you going to take a nap at all today?" Regina wasn't surprised when her daughter started babbling.
Snow, David, and Emma offered to take Roland and Harlow for the night so Regina and Robin could celebrate their status as newlyweds alone, and the couple took them up on it.
"You're fine with this?" Robin just wanted to make sure.
"We'll have fun with Aunt Snow and Uncle Charming." Roland loved spending time with them.
"You promise us you'll be good? And are you sure you two can handle two babies?" Regina knew Roland was a great kid, but she was worried about Snow and David's ability to handle Liam and Harlow.
"Yes. Regina, it'll be fine. We have Emma and Henry with us, you know." Snow knew why Regina was so worried and didn't mind all the badgering questions.
"I hope you and my mom have a happy marriage," Henry told Robin.
"I plan to treat her right," he promised his stepson. He definitely didn't plan on hurting Regina, and was glad Henry was looking out for her.
Regina kissed Harlow goodbye and then leaned down to hug Roland. "We'll see you tomorrow. Have them put in one of your favorite movies."
"Okay. Love you, Mama."
Regina teared up. "I love you too, baby." God, she and Robin had amazing kids. She kissed Henry goodbye, kissed Harlow again, and then went home with her husband.
"We can celebrate everywhere we want to." Robin grinned at his new wife.
She laughed. "That's why we have a seven week old at home, Robin."
"You couldn't keep your hands off me," he teased. He didn't know what he had done if their memories hadn't returned. He'd be without his family and that would be horrible.
Regina felt like she was complete now – during her pregnancy, it had always felt like she was missing her other half. And now she knew why. "Don't you blame me for that."
Robin kissed her. "Let's go up to our room and celebrate."
"Sounds like a great idea." Regina melted into the kiss.
Regina and Robin would never be separated again, and they'd stick together during the next crisis (because of course their lives couldn't go smoothly). They were stronger together, and everyone – including the newest villain (and seriously, why did they always have to cause problems? Damn that Cruella DeVille) – knew it. But they'd be okay, as long as they fought in solidarity with Storybrooke. Nobody could attack the town and get away with it. Emma and Regina, along with Snow and David, would make sure of that. And by the time Cruella's reign of terror was over (and before the next villain attacked), Regina was pregnant again.