Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
A/N: This was written a couple of Christmases ago for a Secret Santa exchange and I'm just getting around to posting it here and on AO3. It was originally written in 56 small segments that fit into a Tumblr ask box, so if it seems a bit choppy, that's why. Enjoy!
The first thing Emma noticed was that there was a warm body wrapped around her. The second thing Emma noticed was that she was equally wrapped around that other body.
Please don't let it be one of the dwarves, she silently prayed as she cracked open one of her eyes. The other quickly opened up wide when she saw the brunette figure she was lying in bed with. Emma jumped back and promptly fell out of the bed, landing with a hard thud. She winced as she stood up, silently thanking whatever God there was that she was wearing clothes. She stared at the figure in the bed before sneaking out of the room and into the ensuite bathroom.
"What the hell did you do, Emma?" she asked herself as she stared into the mirror. She turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her face a couple times before taking a deep breath. She knew she would have to go back into the unfamiliar bedroom and face the demon in the bed.
A shriek sounded from the other room.
Emma ran back into the bedroom and stopped short at the sight before here. "What the—?"
Regina was standing in front of the floor length mirror, and while that wasn't much of a shocker to Emma, the obviously protruding belly was. Regina whirled around to face the blonde. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
Not knowing what to say herself, Emma nodded in agreement.
A knock on the door interrupted their stunned silence.
Regina walked— or waddled— over to it and opened it up to reveal a little boy and girl standing at the door.
"Are you okay?" the little boy asked. "I heard a scream and thought you were having another nightmare." He wrapped his arms around Regina's protruding belly. "I'm here for you, Mommy, just like you're always there for me." He pulled back and rubbed her belly. "I won't let him run away like the other one did."
Regina glanced over at Emma, confusion written all over her face. She tentatively placed her arms around the boy, rubbing his head. "Th—thank you," she replied softly.
The little boy smiled at her. "You're welcome!" he exclaimed. "You and Ma can go back to bed. Aunty Ruby will be here in a minute to pick up me and Hope— uh, Hope and me," the little boy corrected. He smiled again and gave Regina a quick hug. "I love you!" He waved at Emma. "Love you, Ma!"
He grabbed the little girl's hand and disappeared from sight.
Emma was the first to speak. "Ma?"
Regina eased herself down onto the edge of the bed. "I won't let him run away like the other one did. What did he mean by that? Did I have a child that ran away?" Her eyes widened and she looked at Emma. "Where's Henry?"
"Shit," Emma muttered, searching around for any sign of her cellphone.
"My cellphone is on my dresser over there," Regina told her, pointing to the ornate piece of furniture.
Emma grabbed the phone and paused. "Wait… your dresser?"
Regina nodded slowly and gave Emma a look. "This is my room, Miss Swan." She held her hand out for her phone.
"Your room?" Emma asked as she handed over the object and sat down on the edge of the bed, a reasonable distance put between her and Regina.
Regina ignored her and pressed the phone to her ear. A small smile graced her face. "Henry! Hi!… No, nothing's wrong… I was just calling to make sure you were okay… No, why does everyone keep asking that?… What incident?… No, Henry, I'm not trying to— what?" Her face fell and Emma had the urge to reach out and hug the woman. "No, I'm… I'm still here… Right, of course… I love you too… bye." She hung up and stared at the cellphone in her lap.
"What did he say?" Emma asked quietly.
She shook her head. "He… he said he had to go to his next class and that he would see us in a few weeks when he came home for winter break." She paused. "I think… I think Henry's in college."
Emma's eyebrows furrowed. "What? What do you mean college? He's twelve."
"I mean that I think… Emma, I think we're in some sort of… futuristic world." Regina shrugged. "I don't… I don't know if it's necessarily our future, or if this is some sort of… alternate realm, or maybe it's all just a figment of our imagination…"
Emma snorted. "What, and you're having my baby or something?" She laughed.
Regina didn't join in. "That little boy… he had my eyes. And that little girl looked like a replica of you."
"Regina, that doesn't mean—"
"Emma," Regina interrupted. She caught Emma's gaze and pointed at a picture frame on the bedside table.
Emma walked over and picked up the picture slowly. It was clearly designed to be a family picture. Emma and Regina were standing with their backs to each other. Emma recognized the kid in her arms as the little girl that was just in the doorway, and the little boy was in Regina's arms. Henry stood beside them, towering over his mothers with a goofy smile on his face.
"What is this?" Emma whispered, running her fingers along the frame. She looked up at the brunette. "Do you think this is OUR future?"
Regina sighed deeply. "I don't know." Her eyes darted up when the sound of the front door opening was heard.
"Bye Mom! Bye Ma! See you later!"
Regina got up and paced to the window, where she could see the two children hopping into the backseat of a car. Ruby waved from the driver's window before pulling out of the driveway.
"Don't worry," Emma said. "I think we can trust Ruby with them."
Regina nodded before her head shot up. She started walking out of the room and down the stairs.
"Wait, where are you going?" Emma called after her.
"To get some answers."
"'Baby's first book'," Emma read. She smiled. "You knew there would be a book down here for us to play catch up with."
"It wasn't my first time as a mother," Regina stated as she eased herself down onto the couch. Emma plopped down next to her. "Let's see what we have here…"
Regina turned to the first page. It was of herself lying in a hospital bed with a little blue bundle in her arms. "This must be the little boy when he was just born."
Regina ran her fingers over the picture and noticed the caption below the photo. "'Graham Connor Mills. May 16, 2015. 7 pounds 6 ounces. 22 inches.'"
"Graham?" Emma asked in bewilderment. A smile soon replaced the look. "We named our little boy Graham?"
Regina smiled as well, but before she could comment, there was a banging on the door. She knitted her eyebrows in confusion. "I wonder who that could be…" She stood up. "I'll be right back."
She strolled as best as she could down the hall and opened the front door, surprised to see two familiar faces. "Can I help you?"
Snow White and David stood on her porch, looking panicked. "Have you seen Henry or Emma?" Snow asked. "I woke up this morning and they weren't in their room and I tried calling her cellphone but— oh my god are you pregnant?"
Regina stared at her in confusion. "You mean… you didn't know that I was pregnant?" Snow shook her head. "Or that Henry is at college right now?"
"College?!" David asked. "What do you mean college? He's not even old enough for high school!"
Regina sighed. "I think it's best that you two come in."
"So, what, this is some… alternate universe?" David asked after Regina and Emma had sat him and Snow down to explain what they had learned since waking up.
Emma glanced at Regina. "We're thinking more of… the future."
"Future?" Snow asked, her voice an octave higher than usual. "And you two are… together?"
"No, we just woke up in the same bed surrounded by pictures of the three children we share," Regina snarked.
"Regina," Emma admonished, though her eyes showed hints of amusement. Regina returned Emma's look and the gazed at each other for a couple of minutes.
David awkwardly cleared his throat. "Uh… so… how many kids did you say you had?"
"Two, with a third on the way," Emma said, pointing at Regina's stomach. Regina noticed the corner's of her mouth twitching upwards and wondered why that was.
"Unless you include Henry, in which case there's three with a fourth on the way," Emma added.
Snow noticed the book lying beside Emma on the couch. "Is that one of them?" she asked as she pointed at the picture.
"Yeah, this is our son, Graham," Emma said as she handed over the baby book. Her voice held a hint of pride in it.
"I don't mean to… intrude… but, how did he… I mean…. how was he conceived?" Snow asked as she gazed at the picture.
"Good question," Emma said. She turned to Regina. "How is that possible?"
Regina looked stricken. Her mouth was parted and there was a brief flicker of fear on her face before her features were schooled. She cleared her throat. "I… I'm not sure."
Emma's inner lie detector went off, but she didn't comment on it.
"How about you ask Gold?" David asked. "If he's even in this… future…"
"Let's hope he is," Emma replied. She turned to Regina. "What do you say we go on a little adventure to his shop?"
Regina narrowed her eyes. "This will be anything BUT an adventure, Miss Swan. Gold will no doubt want to strike a deal with us. Not to mention there is a high probability that he is not from our time, and when we start asking about how we conceived our children who we've been raising for the past few years, he'll start asking his own questions."
Emma nodded in understanding.
"I say we start by looking at the records of the town and…" Regina paused and grimaced, holding a hand to her stomach.
"Regina?" Snow asked. "Are you alright?"
Regina glared at her. "Of course I am! It's just a little… stitch in my side. It's nothing." She brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "The town hall has birth records and past newspapers. We should start our search there." She stood up and swayed. Emma caught her arm to steady her. "Regina—"
"I'm FINE," she spat.
"Alright," Emma said, slowly removing her hand from Regina's arm. "But if you feel anything, ANYTHING—"
"I'll be sure to let you know. Now can we continue to the town hall and find a way home or shall we stand here and bicker over a slight disruption in my digestive system?" Regina snarked.
"We're going, we're going, but we should probably get dressed before we go out," Emma said, gesturing to their pajamas. She turned to her parents. "We'll be right back."
"What am I supposed to wear?" Regina asked as she filtered through their shared closet. "Nothing fits anymore!"
"Regina, we're going to the town hall. You don't need to be dressed to the nines like usual," Emma said as she pulled a pair of jeans out of a drawer. She stood next to Regina and pulled out a blue top.
"Easy for you to say," Regina said, eying the blond up and down. "You can still fit in your clothes."
Emma rolled her eyes and started searching through the closet. She found a large sweater. "Here, put this on, it looks big enough."
Regina's face scrunched. "It looks like something your mother would wear as Miss Blanchard."
"It'll work, won't it?"
"I still don't have bottoms," Regina said.
Emma groaned. She then noticed something in the back corner of the closet. "Aha! Here, try this," Emma said, handing Regina a dress.
Regina stood in front of the floor length mirror and held the dress up in front of her. "It seems appropriate."
Emma laughed. "You can just say you like it, you know."
Regina grabbed undergarments from a drawer and walked to the bathroom door. "I'm going to go change in the bathroom. I expect you to be done when I walk out."
Emma watched as the door slammed behind Regina. She took off her pajamas and slipped the jeans on, smiling at the familiar feel of the denim. "At least one thing is the same," she muttered to herself.
She then realized she needed to find a bra, but she wasn't quite sure where to find hers. She decided to try the same drawer Regina had just grabbed hers from. As she pilfered through, she found a wide array of different undergarments that were clearly meant for the bedroom.
Her thoughts wandered to her and Regina. Emma jumped as she heard a noise in the bathroom, and she quickly remembered where she was and what she was supposed to be doing.
Emma soon found a bra that appeared to be hers and she put it on. As she was putting on her shirt the door to the bathroom opened up.
"Oh— sorry," Regina apologized, turning around to let Emma finish putting her shirt on.
"You can turn around," Emma said. She noticed Regina was avoiding her eye.
"Can you zip me up?" Regina asked, pointing to the back of her dress.
Emma felt her mouth go dry as Regina turned and exposed her bare back. She walked forward and started to zip up the dress, her hands shaking slightly. It got stuck halfway up, and in order to fix it, Emma had to brush her hand up against Regina's back. She didn't miss the shiver that ran up Regina's spine, but she was sure Regina didn't miss Emma's, either. She finished zipping it up and hooked the top clasp.
"There you go," Emma said, taking a couple steps back. "See? You look fine." And, to Emma, she really did. "Ready to go?"
"Indeed."
"I found it!" Emma exclaimed as she pulled the file out of its cabinet. She and Regina were searching through birth records while Snow and David were in another room looking for relevant newspaper articles. "Graham Connor Mills and Hope Charlotte Mills." She walked over and set the files down on the coffee table in front of Regina and opened them up to peruse through them. "Not much here besides when their birthday is and who their parents are." She turned to Regina. "That's us, in case you were wondering," she said with a smile.
A small smile flashed on Regina's face. "Good to know." She examined the birth certificates more closely. "Do you wonder how we came up with their names?"
"Well Graham is obvious," Emma said, "and I'm pretty sure Hope explains itself. Charlotte might be because she looks a bit like Tiana's friend from The Princess and the Frog. I actually really liked that movie when it came out, so I might have had some part in that."
"What about Connor?"
"Connor… was from one of my foster homes," Emma said quietly. "When I was seven I moved to a small suburb outside of Chicago. The parents were no different than the other foster homes. They fought all the time, especially over me. The boy next door was Connor. He was about 16. He was there when they weren't. When the husband started to take out his aggression on me, he brought me in his house and gave me Disney themed bandaids." She smiled at the memory. "He was the first friend I ever made, and the first person to notice what was going on behind the scenes."
"What happened?" Regina asked softly.
"He tried to stand up against the husband. I tried to stop him, but it was no use. He didn't like seeing a little girl being abused." She paused. "He ended up dying in the emergency room two hours after the fight."
Regina clasped Emma's hand in her own. "I'm sorry."
"He was, for lack of a better word, my savior. I was moved to a different house after that where I wasn't hurt. I just wish I had the chance to thank him."
"I believe he received your message," Regina replied with a smile.
Emma smiled back. She opened her mouth to say something when the door burst open.
Snow and David stood in the doorway with a bundle of newspapers in their hands. They seemed oblivious to the fact that they interrupted the two women, who quickly ceased holding hands and moved away from each other.
Snow smiled at the duo. "We found something!"
" 'The Savior and Evil Queen Destined For Love'," Emma read. She started scanning the article. "Apparently we used True Love's kiss to save the town."
Regina scooted closer and read the article. "But… this isn't right. We were there— this was when Tamara and Greg tried to use the diamond to destroy Storybrooke. We never kissed."
Emma furrowed her eyebrows. "No, we didn't…" She turned to Regina. "Does this mean… this isn't OUR future?"
Emma saw something flash in Regina's eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. "No, dear, I don't think so," Regina said.
"So then… these aren't our children." Emma didn't try to hide the disappointment in her voice. She dropped the article on the table and put her head in her hands, sighing.
Snow glanced at David before handing Regina another newspaper. "We found another one that might explain why we're here."
" 'New Prophecy for the Savior and Queen?' " Regina read. She let out a little smile at the lack of adjective in her title. "It says Gold predicted we would be overtaken by our past before the third child of fate is born."
Emma glanced at the article and let out a snort. "And apparently Gold kept all the other information secret— like how we're supposed to reverse it." She looked up at Regina. "Looks like we're visiting Gold after all."
The familiar sound of the bell rang through the store as the door slammed open.
"I was wondering when you would show up," Gold said from behind the counter, his usual smirk plastered on his face.
"Save it, Gold, just tell us how to go home," Emma said bluntly.
"Is that a hint of woe I detect in your voice?" Gold asked. "Were you becoming accustomed to the idea of this being your future, dearie?"
"Just tell us how to go home," Emma repeated, the hurt evident in her voice.
"I can't," Gold replied.
"What do you mean you can't?" Regina snarled.
"You can't go, until that child is born," Gold said, pointing at Regina's stomach. "The third child of fate."
Regina narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What about…?"
Gold smiled. "So you know about the incident, eh, dearie?"
"Incident? What incident?" Emma asked. "The thing Graham was talking about this morning?"
Snow made a noise and everyone turned to her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded up piece of paper. "David and I found this earlier… we were going to show you but you were too anxious to come find Gold…" She handed the paper to Emma.
" 'Child of Prophecy Lost in Accident'," Emma read.
" 'Emma and Regina Mills were driving to the Charmings Friday afternoon when the familiar yellow bug hit black ice. The car slid off the road and into a telephone pole. The pole fell and erupted into flames. Archie Hopper was walking Pongo at the time and quickly called for emergency assistance. Emma sustained a concussion and burns. Regina was not as lucky and has yet to regain consciousness after surgery." Emma stopped reading. "Well clearly you're fine now!"
"Our child wasn't," Regina said softly. "Henry told me this morning on the phone. Apparently I've become… a bit overprotective since the accident."
"Our… we had a kid in the car?" Emma asked.
"Yes and no," Gold replied. "Your darling wife was carrying the expected child."
Emma's eyes widened. "She… she lost the baby?" She looked at Regina and then back at Gold. "Then… then the prophecy can't come true, right?"
"Not exactly," Gold said. "Because the child was not fully developed before the accident, the prophecy still holds." He pointed to Regina's stomach. "That child will bring you home."
"I am so confused right now…" Emma muttered.
"You lost hope, after the accident," Gold explained. "Ironically, you still had your child Hope…" He smirked at that. "You started to believe the prophecy would never come true, and you knew it was key for your futures."
"How?" Regina asked.
"Why not ask your wife?" Gold suggested. "She's the reason you're here. Or you could just wait until the child is born."
As soon as Gold finished speaking, Regina's hand flew to her stomach.
"And it won't be long now, will it, dearie?" Gold asked with a smile.
"Regina?" Emma asked.
"I told you already, Miss Swan, I'm FINE," Regina gritted out through her teeth.
"No you're not!" Snow exclaimed. "You're in labor!"
"No I'm not," Regina spat out. "I can't be. This isn't really my child. WE shouldn't even be here."
"Ah, but you are supposed to be here," Gold interjected. "And once that child is born, you will go home."
"Then what the hell was the point of coming here?" Emma asked as she laid a comforting hand on Regina.
"I believe you know the saying," Gold said. "Magic always comes with a price. Your price is seeing the future you'll never have."
"Magic? What magic? I haven't used magic since Neverland!" Emma exclaimed.
"You haven't intentionally used magic since Neverland," Gold corrected. "As I was saying before, you're the reason for this. Don't you remember the wish you made last night?"
Emma's eyes widened. "Oh, no…"
"YOU wished for this to happen?" Regina asked, glaring at Emma.
"I— I didn't mean to!" Emma exclaimed. "But I make wishes all the time! Why did this one come true?"
"Everyone gets a Christmas wish, dearie," Gold said.
"Why does no one tell me this stuff?" Emma asked exasperatedly.
"Enough bickering!" Snow shouted. "We need to get Regina to the hospital NOW!"
"One more minute Regina, then you can start pushing," the doctor said.
Regina laid back against the pillows, breathing heavily. Her hand was clutching Emma's.
"Emma," she gasped. "Before we go back… what was your wish?"
Emma let out a small smile. "I wished to know what life would be like if we had a family. I wanted to know if we would be accepted before I…"
"Before you what?" Regina asked.
The doctor interrupted them. "Alright, Mrs. Mills, time to push!"
The pain ceased. Regina opened her eyes and was greeted by the familiar sight of her bedroom ceiling. She shot up out of bed and felt for her stomach; it was back to its usual size.
"Was it all a dream?" she wondered. She got out of bed and went to Henry's bedroom. It was empty, and she realized he had asked to spend Christmas with the Charmings instead of her.
She dejectedly went downstairs, intent on curling up on the couch with a warm drink and a book. Or maybe a movie? Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something crashing in her kitchen.
Regina brought up a flame in her hand, holding it by her side as she slinked towards the kitchen entrance. She heard voices coming from inside.
"Trust me kid, she's going to love it."
"Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?"
"…reasons. Adult reasons. You wouldn't understand."
Regina smiled as she recognized the voice. She let the flame dissolve into air and entered the kitchen.
"Is there a reason you're standing in my kitchen this early in the morning, Miss Swan?" Regina asked nonchalantly.
Emma smiled, a blush forming on her cheeks. "Uh, hey, Regina!" She held up a plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, and fruit. "I made you a breakfast!"
Regina eyed the assortment. "It will do, I suppose." She took the plate from Emma and started walking to the dining room before turning back around. "I assume you'll be joining us?"
Emma smiled. "Wouldn't miss it for the world," she said, spooning some food into a plate of her own. Henry grabbed his plate and glass of milk and ran to the dining room.
Regina took the moment to talk to the blonde. "Emma… do you…?"
"Remember the future?" Emma laughed. "That sounds weird… but yeah."
"You were saying you wished to see the future before you did something…"
Emma nodded in confirmation.
Regina cocked an eyebrow. "Mind telling me what that was?"
Emma glanced away nervously before licking her lips and walking over to stand directly in front of Regina. "I wanted to know if we could have a future together—without judgement from my family— before I…" She took a step forward, effectively invading Regina's personal space. "Did this." With that, she placed her lips on Regina's. It didn't take long for Regina to respond, eagerly accepting Emma's tongue in her mouth.
A sound of disgust interrupted them. "Ew!"
Emma and Regina broke apart with similar smiles on their faces.
"Henry," Regina said, "go eat your breakfast. We'll be in shortly."
"The sooner the better," Henry muttered, walking out again.
Emma planted a chaste kiss on Regina's lips once more. "Merry Christmas, Regina."
"Merry Christmas, Emma."