Regina has been making Emma nervous lately, and she could swear that she was doing it on purpose. Every time Regina did something she knew Emma considered dangerous she would give her that familiar pseudo-innocent pout. If not the pout then it would be a smug grin. Not that Emma didn't deserve it—she'd been rather insistent that Regina would be the one worrying about every little thing. But there she was putting up a fuss that Regina was climbing a ladder to paint the last portion of the wall of their new nursery.
Regina—who seemed to have no concept of where her center of gravity now rested—stumbled once while climbing down and it was enough to send Emma into a mini frenzy. If there was one thing that drove her nuts, it was Regina's lack of concern. "You have to be careful!" Emma shouted.
"I am being careful." Regina shrugged.
"You almost fell." Emma argues.
"Trust me dear, I think I can handle one ladder. I had everything under control." As she spoke her hand absently went to her belly. She hobbled her way over to a couch and lowered herself into it. Her breathing was heavy.
That was the other thing that worried Emma. Whether Regina wanted to admit it or not, it was her first time with child and she wasn't exactly the picture of grace. She, as a matter of fact, was rather clumsy—unaccustomed to carrying the weight of a baby. But still she wandered around in her heels as if completely unfazed or unaware.
This ladder incident wasn't the first thing to send Emma into a panic. Regina had, in the past few months, began a growing collection of near mishaps. During the first month of her pregnancy Emma showed little concern, at that point she was still teasing Regina about how she was going to be the over-protective one. She relished in her victory every time she saw a light blush color Regina's cheeks. The minute she started showing though, was when the script flipped. She could have been doing the most mundane thing and Emma would have found reason to panic. The first time Emma recalled becoming nervous was when Regina was cooking dinner. There were just so many things that could have gone wrong, from burns to cuts. For a moment Regina's sleeve came too close to the fire for Emma's comfort. In the next instant, the woman was chopping carrots at what seemed to be hyper speed; what if the knife had slipped and fell into her tummy. Emma had shuddered and insisted that she cooked that night. When Regina asked what was wrong with her cooking Emma lied and said that she thought Regina could use a break.
The month after that it was driving—the thought of Regina getting into a wreck was horrifying without her carrying their child. She urged Regina to magic herself to work, quickly and safely. And the month after that it was running. Regina was quite adamant about going for a run, or at least a walk, every once in a while since exercise in general was growing tougher for her. Emma convinced her to go to the pool instead, she'd read somewhere that water was healthy for pregnant women. But then she started to fear water-related perils. So naturally Emma had to accompany her—which all things considered wasn't that bad, Emma enjoyed being by the poolside watching Henry and Regina race each other across the pool. She had to laugh, because Henry never played fair. The kid knew Regina couldn't exactly move her fastest, yet he took off full speed. Regina has yet to beat him.
After that it was heavy lifting. Even though Regina found herself having trouble bending over, she somehow found a way to reach for the heaviest boxes in the house and carry them all the way across the mansion. In the following month Emma worried about Regina falling off of the bed. She had moved the bed against the wall and contended that Regina sleep on the wall side. This was when Regina began poking fun. "And you said I'd be overbearing." She had just finished dressing herself for the night and heaved herself onto the bed. "You're the one rearranging the mansion for my protection. Shall I order some padding for the walls too?" Emma was embarrassed to admit that her first thought was, "good idea!"
She looked at her wife and the paint smeared all over her clothing and streaked across her face. She seemed content. Worn out, but content. Her hand rested atop her bump. She stared at Emma expectantly and Emma realizes that she had asked something.
"What was that?"
"I was just thinking, wouldn't the crib look nice over there." Whit her free hand she pointed to the corner of the room. "We can have it facing diagonally and we can hang a mobile up there." She pointed at another spot.
"Yeah we can do that. If you remain hazard free for the next two months. If not, I'm deciding how to arrange the room." Emma jokes.
"What one finds hazardous is subjective, dear." Regina quirked an eyebrow. "Frankly, I think that cooking my own dinner is perfectly safe."
"Ha. Ha." Emma grumbled. "Seriously," she looked back to the ladder, "can you try to be more careful? For me, for the baby?"
Regina sighed, "fine, for you and the baby." She took Emma's hand and set it over her own. Her body was warm and comforting beneath her palm, she could swear that she felt the baby kick. Emma smiled, she and Regina were going to protect that child with everything they had and make sure he got the happiest ending he could get.
"Be a dear and put the ladder away?" Regina requested, pulling Emma from her musings.
"I think I can manage that." Emma began folding the ladder up and pushing it against the wall. She looked over her shoulder at Regina. Despite it all she looked comfortable, a little sleepy, but comfortable.
Henry stepped into the nursery. "Thought I'd find you guys in here." He squeezes Emma in a hug and then carefully puts his arms around Regina, who inquired about his day. As he relayed the story Emma couldn't help but get sappy. The only thing better than sharing one kid, would be sharing two.