Tumblr prompt: EvilCharming Prompt: first day home from the hospital with their first child together. having some family bonding time. please and thank you :-D
Pushing the door open to their house, Regina turned to see that David was following her and carrying the car seat. The baby was still asleep, and Regina was pleased, she was exhausted. David led her up the stairs, and encouraged her to change for a nap. Once she had done so, Regina lay down on the bed, looking at their little boy in the car seat, which was turned and near her side of the bed. David changed into pajama pants and stretched out behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her against him.
"Let's get some sleep before he wakes up," he suggested. Nodding, she agreed and rested her head against the arm he'd moved beneath her. "Love you, Regina."
"I love you too, David," she answered softly, her voice low and sleepy.
It seemed as though they'd only been asleep half an hour before the baby was crying for food. Regina pushed off the bed, unbuckling him from his car seat and pulling him onto her, unlatching her tank top and putting him on her chest to eat. The bed shifted beside her and she looked over to see David waking up.
"Darling, go back to sleep. It's not like we can both feed him, anyway," Regina told him, looking down at their little boy and smiling.
"I don't need sleep if you don't get it. I'm fine, Regina," he answered, putting his arm around her and pulling her against him. "Besides, I'll never get tired of seeing you two together. Our little family."
Smiling up at David, Regina turned her face and waited for a kiss, which he willingly pressed to her lips. "I'm surprised the vultures haven't appeared yet," Regina chuckled darkly.
Shaking his head, David answered, "Me too." They said it like they didn't want their families to come, but Emma and Regina had settled into a decent co-parenting routine, Henry was sixteen and incredibly excited to be a big brother, Granny was looking forward to having another baby around and Snow—well, Snow would never be ok with it, but she was trying. "Henry should be home soon, though, he said he'd come home early since he only got to spend a few minutes at the hospital with Jamie."
"Good. Then I can have all my boys here," Regina said with a smile. Once Jamie was done eating, Regina took him, followed closely by David to the nursery, where she picked out an outfit to show him off in, and David undressed him and changed his diaper. Watching as David powdered the tiny baby butt and re-diapered it, Regina smiled again, finally truly happy. "You're a pro."
"Well, I have done this more recently than you. Yours is 16, mine is 4."
"What a strange family we have."
"Yes."
"Is… will Snow be bringing Neal by to meet Jamie?"
"She's sending him with Emma. I think it's too soon." Regina nodded, sighing. She and Snow had just started to become friends when her affection for David and his for Regina snuck up out of nowhere. Now that relationship was as bad as it ever was.
"We need another girl around here. I'm awfully outnumbered. Even if Emma was on my side, it would still be four to two."
"Only every other week," David teased. Henry and Neal stayed at the mansion on the same week, and spent their other weeks with their other moms. "Our first week with all of them is going to be tough."
"Sure, but I think we can handle it." Regina picked up Jamie, who was ready to be shown off, and headed downstairs. "Want to hold him while I make something for lunch?"
"What are you in the mood for? I can cook," David offered, moving around the kitchen after Regina answered that she wanted grilled cheese. He pulled gouda and cheddar from the fridge and the loaf of bread from a cupboard. Buttering one side of each piece, David set the sandwiches to cook in the pan and moved to where Regina was sitting at the island, holding Jamie in front of her, along her forearms and staring at him.
"I can't get over how beautiful he is," she whispered, when she felt David press a kiss to her temple.
"He is absolutely one of the most handsome baby boys I've ever seen."
"He looks a bit like Neal when he was born, don't you think? Not much like Henry."
"Yeah, he looks a little bit like Neal, his hair is yours though, definitely."
"I was initially hoping he would have your adorable blonde hair."
"I originally wanted him to be a girl and to look just like you," David countered.
"But he's perfect."
"More perfect than I could have imagined," David agreed, moving back to the stove and flipping their sandwiches. After they finished eating, the trio moved to the living room and curled onto the couch together, David leaning against the arm on one end, Regina between his legs and against his chest, with Jamie resting on her chest, breathing softly as he fell asleep. "He's a sleepy one."
"Crying is exhausting for such a little body," Regina cooed. Cradling the baby's head, Regina leaned forward once he was deeply asleep and rested him on the other end of the couch. She then turned toward David, crawling into his arms and laying against him, her head and chest on his front. "I love you, darling. Thank you for our beautiful boy."
"You did all the work… I just got to have fun while getting you pregnant," he teased, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "I'm amazed everyday that you're my happy ending."
"Me too."
A couple of hours passed of them cuddling and taking care of feeding and changing Jamie when he woke back up, and soon the dinner hour was approaching. Just as Regina walked to the kitchen, there was knocking at the door. Followed closely by David holding the baby, she opened the door to greet Emma, Henry and Neal. The three hugged Regina and all wanted to hold Jamie, so everyone went into the front room and took turns.
"He's so cute," Henry said, cradling his brother against his chest.
"Thanks." Regina joked, "I worked hard on him."
"Looks a lot like David."
"He does. My hair and my eye shape, but everything else is David."
"Can I hold him?" Neal asked, his voice excited and nervous.
"Tell you what, sit on your daddy's lap and you can hold him," Regina answered. She scooped Jamie out of Henry's arms and waited until Neal was snug in David's lap before bending to place him in Neal's arms. She had to leave the room, because if she didn't she would be too worried about Neal not being careful enough with the baby's neck and various other things, and she didn't want to be like that.
Emma followed her into the kitchen and watched her pull food from the fridge and cupboards to prepare a casserole. When she realized the blonde was hovering, she stopped moving and looked at her.
"Well?" she asked.
"Uh… nothing. How was your morning with the baby and David?"
"It was good. But we love having the boys here, too."
"Yeah."
"Are you and Neal staying for dinner? Henry already told me he wants to, and David can bring him home if you don't stay."
"Yeah. Uh… we'll stay."
"Whatever you have to say, say it."
"So… Snow thinks you guys might need some time to adjust and she said to tell you she can keep Neal full time for a while."
"You mean Snow thinks now that David and I have a son of our own, we'll be ok with her taking Neal away? Absolutely not. That boy is as much David's as he is hers, and I love him as much as I love any of my children. Unacceptable. You can tell her that she can come here herself to discuss that with David and me if she chooses, otherwise, one or both of us will be at your place Sunday night to pick up Henry and Neal as usual." Emma nodded.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's fine, Emma. It isn't your fault."
"Want any help?"
"Sure, cut the vegetables. And do avoid cutting your fingers off." The women were working together on the far side of the kitchen, their backs to the doorways, when the guys came in. David took a moment to enjoy the sight of his wife and daughter working together without bickering, and Henry had the same line of thought. Neal was too excited and ran up to the women, wrapping his arms around the backs of Regina's legs. Turning around carefully, Regina picked him up and held him on her hip. "Careful, dear, it's hot," she said, handing him the handle of her spatula and letting him stir the chicken.
David stood back and watched as Henry helped Emma lay the vegetables into a baking dish, and Regina rocked Neal on her hip while they finished the chicken. And as he rocked their baby boy, he realized that there wasn't anything more he could have asked for in life. He had three kids of his own, a grandson he was helping to raise as a son, a beautiful wife he never expected to fall in love with and even though he had hurt the first woman he ever loved to have the life he has, he was sure he could never change how things were, in that exact moment, with his entire family surrounding him. Regina turned and looked him in the eye and smiled, almost as though she was reading his thoughts.
David mouthed an "I love you" and received the same in return. Regina shook her head, her smile still on her mouth. Setting Neal to sit on the counter where Emma and Henry were working, Regina walked over to David and leaned against him as he wrapped one arm around her shoulder.
"I'm happy," she whispered. "Our family might be a little strange, but I wouldn't change it."
"Same."
