My first fanfic and the first time I've written in a long time. I hope you enjoy it.
No beta so all mistakes are my own.
"Emma?" Regina asked as she pulled open the door. "What are you doing here?"
Emma stumbled past Regina into the foyer and wobbled as she tried to pull off her boots. She finally gave up and staggered towards the kitchen with her shoes still on, having completely ignored Regina's question.
"Are you drunk?" Regina asked disbelievingly as she trailed after her.
"Yes," Emma replied, "and you should be too. We were supposed to be drinking buddies Regina but you haven't spoken to me in three weeks! You haven't even seen Henry!"
Regina watched as Emma pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and jumped up to sit on the kitchen worktop. "By all means Miss Swan, make yourself at home."
"Don't change the subject, Regina and for the love of God don't start calling me Miss Swan again." Emma gulped down half of the water then leant her head back against the cupboard behind her with her eyes shut.
"Emma… There's a guest room upstairs. Go sleep this off."
"Nope, not until we talk about this." Emma opened her eyes to stare straight at Regina. "Why have you been avoiding me?"
Regina tightened the belt of the gown she'd thrown on when she'd been abruptly woken by knocking at the door and then tightly crossed her arms in front of her. 2am probably wasn't the best time to be having this conversation but Emma didn't sound like she would be taking no for an answer. She tried not to think about how easy it was for her to recognise when the blonde was in one of her stubborn moods.
"I've had some issues to work through. I've been busy."
"Bullshit," Emma growled, "you're never too busy to spend time with your son. How about we try again and you tell me the truth this time?"
Regina paced the kitchen. It was now or never. She couldn't hide this forever, no matter how much she wanted to. "I think I'm pregnant."
If they weren't talking about something that terrified her so much, she'd find it funny how Emma's jaw literally dropped.
After a painful minute or two, Emma was finally able to order her thoughts enough to speak. "Robin?"
"No, the father is Leroy," Regina responded sarcastically. "Of course it was Robin, you complete idiot."
"Yeah sorry, dumb question. Are you sure though? That you're pregnant I mean? Have you taken a test? Or like been to the doctor?"
Regina shook her head sadly. "The second I walk into the pharmacy to buy a test, the whole town will know. I can't deal with that right now and Whale-"
"Yeah," Emma interrupted, "I'm not letting Whale anywhere near you or your baby. Y'know... if there is one."
The protective tone of Emma's voice made Regina wondered why she hadn't shared this with her sooner. She'd spent the last few weeks avoiding everyone, hoping that if she ignored the problem it might disappear. As illogical as it was, she didn't know how to deal with this.
"I don't know what to do," she whispered to Emma, "I didn't think I'd ever be able-"
Regina had to bite down on her lip to prevent a sob escaping. She would not cry about this again, not when someone was here to see her fall apart. She'd been told countless times that she would never be a mother. That she was incapable of conceiving. She'd never been able to provide the King with another heir, no matter how many times he'd tried.
Emma hopped down from her spot on the counter and wrapped Regina into her arms, gently stroking her hair. The alcohol in her system seemed to evaporate instantly at the sight of Regina trying not to break down in front of her. Surprisingly, Regina allowed the contact without shrugging it off.
"Regina, we don't even know for sure if you are pregnant. And I get that this situation completely sucks but if you are pregnant then I promise you don't have to do this alone. We can work this out okay?"
Regina clutched onto Emma's red leather jacket like her life depended on it and nodded her head. She couldn't bring herself to truly believe the reassuring words but nodding was easier than trying to argue.
"Give me five minutes," Emma said as she prised Regina off of her, "and I'll be back. There's something I need to do."
Emma disappeared in a plume of golden magic, only to reappear three minutes later with a box in her hand.
"Ready to find out once and for all?" Emma asked her as she handed over the pregnancy test.
"The pharmacy is shut. How did you-"
"I'm a thief remember?" Emma said playfully. "Plus this way no one else has to know."
"Miss Swan! You're the Sherriff! You can't just steal whenever it suits you!" Regina's tone was harsh but her lips tugged up into a small smile despite her words. "Thank you Emma," she said as she took the test from the other woman's outstretched hands.
"I guess you should go do that straight away? Rip off the band-aid right?" Emma said rather than acknowledge the thanks. "Do you want me to leave?"
"It's entirely up to you." Regina answered. She'd never been very good at admitting she needed help but luckily Emma seemed to understand her silent request.
"I'll wait here. You go pee on the stick."
With a roll of her eyes at Emma's crass language, Regina walked into the downstairs bathroom and locked the door. She read the instructions a few times, never having done this before, and 'peed on the stick' just as Emma had instructed.
She set the timer on her phone for the recommended 5 minutes and began to wait. She thoroughly washed her hands to keep herself busy but even after that was done, she still had over 2 minutes left.
In two minutes she'd know if she was pregnant. She'd know if her whole life was about to be tipped upside down yet again.
Regina realised she'd drive herself insane if she didn't distract herself from her own thoughts. She left the test and her phone on the counter next to the sink and unlocked the door to go in search of Emma. The blonde had always been an expert in distracting her, normally it was one of her most annoying traits but it was exactly what was needed right now.
In the end she didn't have to search very hard; Emma was sitting on the floor of the hallway, her back pressed against the wall directly opposite the bathroom and her arms tightly hugging her legs.
Her unexpected presence made Regina jump, causing Emma to launch straight into a longwinded apology. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you or to be creepy or anything. Is me sitting here creepy?" She rushed on before Regina had a chance to answer. "God, I'm so bad at waiting. I didn't know what to do with myself and I thought maybe I should be near in case you needed me. Not that I thought you couldn't manage on your own but-"
"Emma," Regina interrupted to put a stop to her rambling, "it's fine. I know what you meant. I appreciate you-"
The loud beeping from her phone stopped Regina's words in their tracks.
"Does that mean it's ready?" Emma asked in barely more than a whisper.
Regina didn't trust her voice so she merely nodded. She turned around and walked the few steps back to the sink on wobbly legs.
She didn't even know what result she was hoping for. Raising a child on her own again, with no hope of the father ever coming back would be unbelievably difficult. She'd never really be able to get fully over Robin either, not when the baby would be a constant reminder of what she'd lost. On the other hand, she'd finally have a son or daughter of her own. All she'd ever wanted was a family to love and be loved by in return. She hated herself for thinking like that though, she had Henry after all. What would he say about all of this? She didn't want him to feel replaced.
She reached out a shaking hand and picked up the test, her whole future resting on whether there was one tiny red line or two.
She instantly dissolved into tears as she saw the result and clutched the test tightly to her chest. Her knees gave out from under her but before she could hit the floor, Emma's arms were around her and guiding her gently down and into a denim covered lap.
"Shh," the blonde whispered into her ear, "either way I'm right here. You're not alone and we can figure this out."
Regina held up the test so Emma could finally see the result. "It…It's negative," she managed to stutter out between sobs.
Emma further tightened her hold on Regina and rested her chin atop shiny brunette locks. Regina nuzzled her head into her former enemy's neck and allowed herself to cry. Just for one night, she allowed herself to be completely vulnerable.
After her tears had finally dried and her breathing had mostly returned to normal, Regina sadly admitted, "being a mother was probably the only time in my life I've ever been truly happy. As difficult as it would have been, it would've been nice to be a mom again."
"You still are a mom, Regina," Emma pulled away enough to be able to look directly into Regina's dark eyes as she spoke, "and you're the best one I've ever known."
Regina searched Emma's face for any signs of deception but found only sincerity and a hint of something else she couldn't quite identify. "But-"
"No buts. Henry is your son too and he loves you more than you will probably ever believe okay?"
Regina gave the other woman a small smile as she tucked her head back into the crook of her neck. "Okay."
I don't have much time to dedicate towards writing so I won't be working on any multi-chapter fics. However I'll be posting one shots as often as I can. I'll happily take any ideas/prompts as long as you don't mind potentially waiting a while before they're completed.
Let me know what you thought.