"I want to see the baby!" Roland announces, following them to the door even though they've already explained that he's staying home with Henry. He runs to Robin, grabbing his hand. "I want to see the baby too. Let me come."
Robin looks at her and all she can do is shrug. "I don't see why not." The whole thing is fairly bizarre, but Regina insists it's important, and neither of them will argue with her. She's been so tense about this pregnancy, so full of a need for reassurance from this medical magic. She needs this, and will have it.
Kneeling down to his son, Robin smiles at him. "Let Mal and I talk to Regina for a moment, and then we'll go, okay?"
Roland bobs his head then runs to Mal's legs and hugs her. "We're going to see the baby."
Stroking his curls, she looks to his father. "I could show him-" she mouths 'the baby' so Roland won't hear "-now with magic."
"I know." He brushes her shoulder. "This world has different kinds of magic, and we don't know-" he trails off, because they're all afraid something could be wrong. Fear of losing something, someone, simmered beneath the surface in all the conversations leading up to today.
Regina emerges from the study, holding that piece of paper with the appointment information on it. Her other hand rests on her stomach, just below her chest. She moves quickly, all efficiency, but she's stiff. All of her fear's contained in that hand, tight against her diaphragm. Her magic can also tell her that the baby is healthy, that she's safe, but Regina's lived here longer, with this kind of magic, and she trusts it.
Still, her smile has an edge to it. "Did you drink enough water?"
Shifting her weight, Mal nods to her, because now that she thinks about it, she already has to pee, and they're going to drive and apparently they'll press on her stomach and it just seems like some sort of torture, but it's important. They have profoundly little concern for discomfort in this world.
"Roland would like to come," Robin begins and Regina's expression flits through fear before she takes a breath.
"That might not be a good idea."
Robin starts towards her, but Mal reaches her first. She kisses her forehead, and tugs Regina closer. She resists, because she does not want to be comforted. She needs to worry, and Regina will, for all of them, until the science says their baby is all right.
"The baby is fine," Mal promises her, taking her hand. At first she squeezes it, then Regina reaches for her, and smiling, she brings it to her belly. "Everything magical I know, promises that she's fine. She's part of you, and you're the strongest person we know." Her gaze flits to Robin and he nods, resting his hands on Regina's shoulders.
"I'm inclined to be hopeful, and agree with Mal. We didn't have science in the Enchanted Forest, and magic saved Roland, and Marian. Magic created our child, and now it promises that she's well." His hand slides on top of Regina's, protecting her and the little flame beneath. Together, they look at Regina with that naked affection that rips through all of her defenses. "Our child is a miracle, and science will agree with that."
Regina blinks, fighting tears and Mal needs to hold her and Robin. Wrapping her arms around them, she pulls them in.
"Let Roland come," Mal whispers. "Let him see there's nothing to be afraid of, and if-" She has to stop, because her throat's too tight. She is not immune to Regina's fear, as much as she wants to claim she knows better. She kisses Robin's cheek, then Regina's forehead and drags her heart back into the light. Their light, because Regina's worry and Robin's hope come from the same place. "If something is wrong, we can face that together. He's a child, but we do him no good be shielding him. This is his sister too, and he wants to see her. How can I keep him from that?"
Regina kisses her, losing her battle against her tears, and Robin kisses her, chasing those tears before he snuggles closer.
"Faith is a powerful thing, Regina, especially when shared."
Kisses wet with tears are bittersweet, soft in a way that seeps into her heart, gentle and human, some acute and timeless. Being with them, forming this family, it's fragile as a cloud while the sun's rising, but she craves it, wants them as fiercely as her fire burns within. This is dangerous, and she'll fly headlong into it.
Roland peers around the corner, this time with Henry behind him and Lily standing a few steps back.
"Did you talk?" Roland asks. "Can I come? I want to see my baby."
"I don't know-" Lily starts, always trying to save her.
"You may come, as may Henry and Lily, if they wish," Mal interrupts, staring at her daughter across Henry's surprised expression.
"It might be dull," Regina warns, but Roland's already smitten with the idea and he runs to Lily.
"Will you come?"
Lily can hardly peel her eyes from Mal's but she looks to Regina, as if searching. "If you want me to, I guess. I don't know-"
"Don't you want to see my baby?" Roland asks her and Henry chuckles.
"Might be all right."
"Lily, you don't-"
"I'll come," she concedes, turning her gaze to Robin. "You'll need two cars if you're taking all of us anyway."
"We could use magic."
Robin leans in to whisper, "Is that because you already have to pee?"
"Perhaps," she murmurs back.
All of them end up looking at Regina, who fidgets with the paper in her hand before she folds her hands and gives in. "We can travel with magic."
Roland giggles with delight, bouncing on his toes. He'd be excited if they were merely going to the backyard with magic, much less the hospital, but he reaches up for Regina's hand, and she smiles. Robin takes his other one, and they join hands in a circle, Mal between Lily and Henry.
Lily manages a half-smile, and Maleficent recognizes that gesture for what it is: an attempt to soothe her. Squeezing Lily's fingers, she summons her magic; Regina's and Lily's swell with hers. Travelling all together will be easy with the three of them. Any of them alone could do it, but together, it's like walking through a door.
They arrive outside, and walk in as if they've driven, or walked, like everyone else. The hospital's quiet, no crises await them, and Regina, who holds the paper like a talisman, goes to check in.
In the neutral-toned waiting room, Roland sits on her lap, babbling to the baby who she's going to meet, how they're all related to her. Regina doesn't have the heart to tell him that she doesn't yet understand, that his words are lost, but this childish gesture is one of love.
"And you have two mamas and a papa," he continues, glancing between all of them. "So you'll get in trouble a lot."
Henry smirks at that and shares a look with Lily.
"But they'll love you," Roland finishes. "So it'll be okay."
Kissing this sweet boy never seems like enough. He tolerates it, allows her affection, then rests his little hand on her belly, as he's seen Regina and his father do. There's barely anything there, a slight swell, nothing that's visible when Maleficent's standing up in her coat, but baby is real to all of them.
"I'll see you soon, baby."
Lily's hand brushes her shoulder, then the nurse calls them in.
"We rarely have so many," she says, making room in the little space. Henry and Lily stand beside the door, Robin on the far side of the strange bed, Regina drifts, but Mal reaches for her and she takes her hand, closest to the nurse, because she'll be the one who understands.
The nurse (the little tag on her uniform says Ratched) lifts Maleficent's shirt, and rolls down her trousers, tucking thin paper between her skin and her clothes. "This will protect your clothes. The gel's a little cold, so it will feel strange."
She doesn't mean to react, it's just very cold and slimy-wet, and everywhere. Mal jumps, so does Regina, because she's squeezed her hand too hard.
"You're all right," the nurse assures her. "I know it's weird, but it'll warm up."
Staring at the white ceiling and the strange squares that cover it, she looks down to Regina's nervous expression, Robin's smile and Roland's look of wonder.
The strange little device presses against her belly, making the pressure in her bladder all the worse. Mal swallows a little sigh and the nurse lifts the torture instrument. "It'll be a minutes, just a quick check of baby's anatomy, then the discomfort will be over, I promise." She presses in again, searching that grey painting for something. Is it in the darkness? "There we go."
The screen blossoms into grey on black on grey, with a little line of white.
"That's my baby?" Roland asks, craning his neck in his father's arms.
Robin looks to the nurse, then Regina. "It's rather unclear."
"That's the head," the nurse explains, tapping, measuring something. Taking notes. The baby is grey on grey, wrapped in the darkness, a little thing, barely more than the wisp of an image. "This is the spine," she says, pointing to the white line. "This is the head, this is a hand."
Robin lifts Roland's hand and kisses it, making him laugh. He squirms, half falling out of his father's arms into Lily's, because there might be a better view there. Henry touches his mother's back, rubbing between her shoulders because she stands like a statue. Regina's hand sits in Mal's like steel, firm and unmoving.
"There's the heart," the nurse continues narrating her mapping. The heart is a little dark spot within the grey of the baby's chest. "Legs look healthy, bones are forming nicely. Let's see if we can get a better look at baby's face."
"I want to see," Roland demands again, squirming closer.
"Put him up here," Maleficent offers, shifting her legs so he can get as close as possible.
Roland half crawls up, resting his hand on her thigh. "Why is she moving there but not in your belly?"
"She is moving, I just can't feel it yet." She looks to Regina, who will know.
"Perhaps next month," Regina says, blinking very quickly. "You should be able to feel her in two months, Roland."
He stars up at the screen again, then down at the gooey skin of Maleficent's belly. "Baby looks bigger."
"The screen makes the baby look bigger so we can take pictures," Nurse Ratched explains. She stops pressing, which is a relief from that discomfort. Holding Roland's hand in hers, she demonstrates. "Baby is about this big, from here to here on your hand. Next month, she'll be bigger than your hand."
"She?" Henry asks.
"Maleficent is convinced the child is a girl."
"She will be."
Robin strokes her knee, then pats Roland's head.
"You've had basic genetics?" Ratched asks Henry. "Obviously it's complicated when magic is involved, but considering that this baby only has two mothers."
"Then there are only two X chromosomes," Henry agrees. "So she'll be a girl."
"Like I said," Mal mutters to herself.
"It's likely." Ratched takes a few more measurements. "Baby looks very healthy." That's for Regina, who nods. Her hand stills rets on her stomach, and the fear won't evaporate. "Good size, considering the date of conception, healthy organs, bones seem to be developing well. We'll schedule another one in a month, just to check, and while you're here, I need to weigh you, check your blood pressure and draw some more blood. If your entourage doesn't mind waiting."
"I think someone deserves some ice cream for being so patient," Robin says, reaching down for his son.
Roland reaches for the goo, ever curious.
Mal rubs some of it off on her fingers and offers them to him. "It's slimy."
"Ewww," he agrees with her, holding his hand up so Robin can wipe it off. "Slimy."
"Come on, slimy boy."
"I'm not slimy."
"We'll meet you at the diner," Robin says. He leans down to kiss her, full of hope and joy. "I'm glad she's okay."
"She's fine." She strokes his cheek. "Thank you."
"Thank you for letting the little one watch. It meant a lot to him to see the baby."
Mal turns, sitting up to kiss him again. "He'll be a wonderful big brother."
Ratched, with the terrible name, offers Mal a towel and while Henry, Roland and Robin talk of ice cream, Lily touches the shoulders of her mother, then to Mal's surprise (and Regina's) she slips her arm around her, holding her close. She meets Mal's eyes for a moment that shy, trusting little smile graces her face.
"She's okay," Lily whispers. "Just like I was."
They walk from her, speaking in whispers while Maleficent fixes her clothes. Ratched draws her blood in the little room down the hall.
"What is your name?" Mal asks, watching the vials fill with deep red.
"Louise," the nurse says. "Nurse Ratched, but you're not going to call me that, are you?"
"I find second names a confusing conceit of this world."
"Then Louise is entirely acceptable," she offers, sticking the little bandage to Mal's arm. "Your family is wonderful."
"They are."
The door creaks, and Regina enters, Lily just behind.
"I'm sorry," she starts, and Mal shakes her head. Regina rubs her red eyes, swollen with tears that she did not let Maleficent see. Lily stands behind her mother and strokes her back.
"I've only taken her vitals, and a little blood," Louise says. "I promise she's unharmed."
"I trust she's in good hands," Regina answers, taking the chair at Mal's side. Lily stands behind them, watching.
"Everything looks wonderful," Louise promises. "The baby's anatomy is healthy, other than Maleficent's fever-"
Lily shrugs. "We run hot."
Louise sets down her pen and looks at Regina over the chart. "Lily's body temperature and Maleficent's are comparable. Her blood pressure's fine. Electrolytes, hormone levels- I don't have anything that you can worry about, Mayor Mills. I've scheduled the next ultrasound in six weeks, and we'll double check anatomy then, but everything's fine. I can answer your questions, give you more resources-"
"Or we could get ice cream with the boys," Lily interrupts. She crouches down beside Regina, looking directly into her eyes. "Mom, I promise she's okay, everything's going to be fine. Really."
Maybe it's the 'mom' that does it, but Regina listens to her, and that shy little moment, turns into a hug. Maleficent thanks Louise, takes the little card with the next appointment and watches their daughter comfort Regina. When they part, Regina patting her face, Mal reaches for them both.
"Come on, if we leave now, we'll beat the boys to Granny's." Mal focuses her mind, but it's Lily who carries them through the space between places as they teleport. Standing in the street, Mal beams at Lily.
"Well done."
"Three is easier than six," Lily says, smiling in return. "I'll get a table. Boys should be here soon."
Taking Regina's hand, Mal pulls her in, hugging her on the sidewalk.
"Don't say I worry too much."
"I didn't," she whispers into her hair. Down the street, the boys round the corner, Henry and Robin holding Roland's hand as he drags them forward. Mal watches them move closer over Regina's shoulder. "I love that you worry and that you love this baby so much. I had worried that she would be a burden. Your life is already so full."
"No, no," Regina promises, shifting in her arms. "She's wonderful. Robin agrees."
"I know he's happy," Mal teases her. "He smiles."
"He doesn't-"
Turning Regina to watch the boys grow closer, Mal kisses her head. "He doesn't have to worry when you do it for all of us."
Roland runs to them, his little feet pounding the sidewalk. Henry waves, too grown-up to run to his mother. Throwing himself at both of them, Roland laughs when Regina picks him up.
"You beat us!"
"We used magic."
"I want magic."
Mal raises an eyebrow and sends him to Lily with a flick of her hand. He'll be a giggling mess of joy in Granny's but that's hardly new.
Henry takes a long look at Regina and shakes his head. "You just didn't want to walk, is that it?"
"They had to take Maleficent's blood." She rests her hands on his shoulders, then straightens his collar. Henry looks to Mal.
"I do have a bandage, I assure you."
"Vampires," Robin teases, then kisses her cheek. "Everything all right?"
"Regina had some extra questions."
"I'll see you inside, okay?" Henry says, nudging his mother with his shoulder. "Roland will convince Lily to order something ridiculous if I don't stop him."
Robin embraces Regina, kissing her forehead, then her mouth. Mal watches them, her hands in her pockets. Robin's smile slowly draws Regina's. "We're okay," he promises her, reaching for Mal and drawing her in. "All of us, even the little flame."
"She looks like a rock gremlin," Mal teases, "and she's barely the size of a fig."
"I thought it was a peach."
"I think that's next week."
"The app says a plum," Regina corrects them both, holding up her phone.
They smirk down at the plum on Regina's phone.
"All right. Come on plum-sized little one," Robin murmurs down to her belly. "Let's join your siblings while there's still ice cream to be had."