DISCLAIMER:: yep, don't own these characters
A/N:: new story. just an idea i had. crushin' on this ship hard, like wicked hard and i'm so glad they're gaining momentum. i've stumbled across quite a few stories lately in the swan queen stratosphere that are brilliant. anyways... enjoy and review. only planning for this to be like 5-7 chapters, so a short one for me. this is what happens when you're bed ridden and have nothing to do all day except write and shop online for shoes...
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It was raining. Somehow that seemed appropriate, as if the sky were crying for him. She stared at the beautiful mahogany casket. It was one of the most expensive offered at the funeral home, but the town had spared nothing; Regina had seen to that. Graham may have had no blood relatives to speak of, but the residents of Storybrooke, herself included, were his family. Everyone had come out, a procession of pure black, with one exception, herself. She wore a black dress, as befitted the occasion, but she also wore her red leather jacket, not to ward off the chill, but because Graham had liked it.
Regina was there, standing before the coffin and the open grave it would reside in as if he was still her possession. It made Emma angry. How dare the mayor think he was something to own? People were not possessions. And yet Graham had always been hers… until last week. For the first time in twenty eight years, Graham hadn't been Regina's, but Emma's.
Henry's hand was firmly caught in Regina's grasp. She believed she owned him too. For today, at least, the little ten year old let her. He didn't object. He stayed firmly nuzzled into her side, under the protection of her umbrella, and only stole the occasional glance at Emma.
Mary Margaret stood beside her, holding their own protection against the rain. Tears were streaking down her cheeks. Sweet Mary Margaret, she felt everything so deeply. But looking around to the rest of the town, she realized they all felt this loss. Everyone of them. Including herself.
She felt eyes on her and her gaze slid back across the crowd until they met brown. There was something in Regina's gaze that called out for her and it sent a shiver down her spine. This was not the normal Regina glare she was used to. There was something else in the intense swirl of her irises, something that reminded Emma of… well disguised desperation, of longing. But for what? Emma couldn't bring Graham back. She was supposedly here to break a curse, not reanimate the dead. And then, Regina's gaze left hers suddenly, slipping away without a warning, leaving Emma feeling slightly empty.
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"Are you okay?" Mary Margaret looked concerned as the newly crowned sheriff of Storybrooke walked in the front door of their apartment, her expression sour.
Emma said nothing, just held up a finger, indicating the teacher should give her a moment. She trudged up the stairs, walked into her room, silently shut the door, fell face first onto her bed, and let out the loudest scream imaginable. Well, at least it would have been the loudest scream imaginable, were it not muffled by her face pressed firmly into the mattress. Then, she got up, smoothed her hair away from her face, walked back out of her room and down the stairs, and sat down at the kitchen island.
Mary Margaret's eyebrows were raised. She had easily heard the scream coming from the second floor of their apartment. There was only so much a mattress and a few walls could muffle after all. She reached for the pot of tea she'd just made but Emma shook her head. Mary Margaret pointed wordlessly towards the coffeepot they had purchased after Emma moved in. The teacher wasn't exactly fond of the stuff herself, but Emma inhaled it like it was going out of style. Again, Emma shook her head. She couldn't keep anything down even if she tried.
"Was it Regina? Is she bothering you again?" The bruise Emma had sported at the funeral had since faded, but Mary Margaret still felt her blood boil at the audacity of the mayor, someone who was supposed to be dignified, assaulting another woman over a few harsh words.
Emma shook her head and then stared at the hard surface of the counter as if it were telling her something interesting. Suddenly, she was banging her head on it. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." She punctuated each stupid with another bang.
"Emma stop!" Mary Margaret came around the counter and grabbed Emma's head to prevent her from giving herself a headache, or worse. Tears sprang into Emma's eyes and she half turned in her seat so that she could bury her head against Mary Margaret's abdomen.
"What's wrong?"
Emma looked up into her eyes, tears flooding down her cheeks. "I'm pregnant." She pushed past Mary Margaret and flopped down on the couch.
"Do you want to… you know?" Mary Margaret looked slightly uncomfortable. "I'll support you no matter what. You know that right?"
Emma smiled. "Relax, I'm not going to abort the baby."
Mary Margaret breathed a sigh of relief and fell onto the couch beside her. "Oh thank goodness. I was trying to be the supportive best friend, but…"
Emma nodded. "I know. I'd hate myself too."
"Have you thought about how to tell Regina?"
Emma choked. "Excuse me?"
Mary Margaret gave an apologetic shrug. "She was Graham's girlfriend, sort of. Don't you think she'd want to know that her arch nemesis is carrying his child?"
Emma nodded. "Yes, she would want to know. She always wants her claws in everything. But I want this for me… at least for a little while longer."
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"More bananas?" Mary Margaret eyed the grocery bag in Emma's arms warily. "What'd you buy them out?"
Emma shrugged sheepishly and nodded. "It's the only thing that seems to help with the nausea. This baby does not like anything greasy or, you know, good." She removed the bananas from the bag. "It's going to be a vegetarian; I just know it." She'd been unable to stomach anything but bananas, oranges, black beans, crackers, rice, and blueberries. Compared to her usual diet of burgers, fries, and anything else that could cause a heart attack later in life, it was quite the change and her mood had taken a serious dive right along with her appetite. Junior was only 6 weeks and already wreaking havoc on her life.
She cleared her throat as she put the black beans and rice in the cupboard. "I ran into Regina at the grocery store."
"And, how'd she take the news?"
"She didn't." Emma looked at Mary Margaret guiltily. "I was going to tell her but she wanted bananas and I wasn't about to let her have any and it led to an argument."
Mary Margaret rolled her eyes and chuckled. "You do realize it will most likely always lead to an argument with Regina. You guys are kinda infamous for it."
Emma frowned. "I know."
Mary Margaret sighed and patted Emma's shoulder in comfort. "It's only gonna get harder."
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"Have you thought about what you're going to do for maternity leave?" Mary Margaret placed the plate of cut up fruit in front of her.
"Sheriffs have babies too." Emma looked up defensively, her fork stabbing a chunk of cantaloupe and popping it into her mouth.
Mary Margaret rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant. When are you planning on taking it? You have to tell Regina enough weeks before so she has time to find a temporary replacement."
Emma sighed. "I think it'll be visibly apparent long before that point, but I know. I'll tell Regina soon. I just have to think about the best way to break the news."
"Is there ever a best way with Regina?"
"Good point."
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"Miss Swan…"
Emma cringed and looked back over her shoulder. Regina was approaching. She felt the fight or flight response taking over and she wished she could choose flight, but that wasn't an option with Regina. You had to stay and fight or else she'd crush you like a bug. "Madame Mayor."
"Are you ill Miss Swan?"
Emma's brow furrowed. "No. Why?"
"Because, you haven't been at Granny's for several weeks and my son claims you've been avoiding him."
Emma frowned. Did Regina just admit that she'd recognized her absence? What did that even mean? As for Henry, she was guilty on that front. She didn't know how to tell him that she was going to be someone else's mother too. Kids usually freaked out about that… the whole 'mommy won't have time for me anymore' complex.
"Miss Swan?"
The sharp tone shook her out of her reverie. She focused back on Regina. "No, I've just been… dealing with the remnants of Graham. It's been… uh, harder than I expected."
Regina's whole demeanor softened. "Yes, well…" But there was no quick comeback on her lips this time. Regina Mills had nothing to say.
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She paced back and forth on the small stoop. Regina was inside. Her Mercedes in the drive was proof of that, and her secretary said she was working from home today. Emma raised her hand to knock and dropped it before she made a fool of herself. She stepped off the stoop and went back up the walkway towards the parked car with Sheriff across the side. She stopped just short of getting in the car and trudged back up the walkway, steeling her resolve. She had to do this. Regina would figure out eventually anyway and the longer she kept it from her, the more pissed off she'd be when she finally found out. She was already almost out of her first trimester; she couldn't put this off any longer. She knocked and the door opened immediately.
"Took you long enough Miss Swan."
"I need to talk to you." Emma didn't wait to be invited in. She pushed past Regina and through the foyer, walking up the stairs, leaving Regina to follow angrily after her.
"I hope you have a good reason for interrupting me Miss Swan, especially on the clock." Regina closed the door to the office.
"Graham and I slept together. It was only once, but I thought you should know."
Regina raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea what this has to do with me Miss Swan." The fury in her eyes betrayed her though.
Emma bit her bottom lip. "I'm pregnant."
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A/N:: what did everyone think? how is regina going to take the news? bad or good? what about henry? more to come.