Standing on her doorstep was Mr. Gold, smiling warmly at her. A tiny blue bundle sat in his arms and he glanced down at it before meeting Regina's gaze. "Merry Christmas Regina," he said sweetly. "Say hello to your son."
"Wh…" Regina stood in awe. Her gaze moved from Gold to the baby swaddled and asleep in his arms. He was beautiful, with pale skin that practically glowed beneath the moonlight and a full head of dark brown hair. The blue blanket shifted slightly with the movement of the infant's steady breathing.
Gold outstretched his arms toward Regina and smiled, as if the baby boy was some sort of peace offering. "Hold him?"
"Oh, I…" She barely had time to respond before he placed the infant in her arms. "What's his name?" she asked, looking down at the baby and then back up to Gold.
Gold grinned. "That, my dear, is entirely up to you."
Regina's face lit up.
The baby stirred and whimpered, his face scrunching up in preparation for an onslaught of crocodile tears. But as soon as Regina whispered the name 'Henry', he stilled and his eyes opened wide.
Regina gasped as their gazes met for the first time. Blinking up at her with the biggest blue-green eyes, Henry's teary scowl melted into a gummy smile. Her heart skipped a beat.
"I take it you still have the nursery put together?" Gold asked.
Regina nodded. "I haven't touched anything," she explained softly.
Gold smiled. "I'll leave you two be," he said, turning on his heels.
"Wait!" The brunette rushed forward. "How did you-"
He stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Just think of it as…a Christmas miracle." He winked at Regina and took his leave.
Regina watched in a haze as Gold walked down her driveway and into the night. There weren't enough words in the English language to accurately describe how she felt: confused, excited, shocked, overwhelmed. She stared blindly out in the darkness, snapped back into reality only when Henry began to squirm once more in her arms. "Oh," she looked down at the infant, "I'm sorry. I…" She took a step back and closed and locked the front door before gazing once more down at her son. "Welcome home, Henry," she cooed, brushing the pad of her thumb back and forth over his chubby, pink cheek. "Storybrooke is a lovely place to live. There are parks where you can play and beaches…We experience lovely seasons and-" Regina stopped, realizing how her words resembled those of a politician more than a mother. She shifted awkwardly. "I-uh…"
Henry's face scrunched up and he let out a soft cry.
"I love you, Henry," Regina blurted out.
The baby's blubbering ceased.
Letting out a tearful laugh, she turned and began to sway her hips back and forth soothingly as she moved across the room, rocking the boy in her arms. The bright red and green lights of the Christmas tree twinkled in the reflection of Henry's eyes.
"I'm not really into this Christmas thing," Regina confessed, looking full circle around the room at the decorations before returning her gaze to her son. "But…I could get used to it." She walked over to the Douglas Fir and, twisting her arm slightly to allow Henry to see it, nodded toward two shiny, silver bulbs, the only ornaments on the tree; on one, the name 'Henry' in gold glitter glue written in Regina's perfect cursive, and 'Regina' on the other. "I know it's not much, but I figured…" She bit her bottom lip. "I figured we would build it up over the years. Would you like that, Henry?"
The baby boy giggled and a little dribble of saliva trickled down his chin. Regina laughed and wiped it away with her thumb. Her heart galloped wildly as Henry rolled over in her arms and instinctively pressed himself to her breast, nuzzling his cheek against it. "Oh…" She smiled. "Let's…uh…let's get you a bottle."
Maneuvering around the sofa and coffee table, Regina approached the playpen tucked into the other corner of the room and carefully placed Henry in the middle of it. As soon as she began to walk away, the baby boy wailed and kicked angrily against the floorboard of the pen. She rushed back to the crying infant and quickly picked him up. "Ok, ok, ok," she cooed, rubbing Henry's back soothingly with her fingertips. "Let's just go…lay down for awhile." She nodded in agreement with her own statement and, very carefully, walked over to the main staircase and ascended the stairs toward the nursery.
Henry's room was breathtaking. The walls were painted a pale blue and crisp, white carpeting was splayed across the floor. A large, white dresser was pushed against the far left wall along with a matching changing table. Opposite of the chest sat a blue and white crib with a baby mobile attached to the side, tiny duckies, elephants, and fishies dangling from thin string. "Welcome to your palace," Regina greeted with a smile. She twirled slowly, allowing Henry to see the entirety of his room.
Baby Henry was disinterested in the room. His eyes never left his mother's face.
Glancing over to the dresser, Regina noticed the digital camera she had placed there. She'd planned to take hundreds of pictures the day her son came home to her. Tonight, however, she realized didn't need pictures or videos; Regina was sure she'd remember this night for the rest of her life. "Just one," she said to herself, stepping over to the dresser. Fumbling with the power button – she was technology illiterate – she turned the flash off as to not startle Henry and pointed the front lens at the both of them, smiling wide. "Merry Christmas, Henry. Welcome to the family," Regina whispered before pushing the capture button.
Once finished, she returned the camera to the corner of the dresser and walked over to the rocking chair. With Henry cradled in her arms, she sat and began to rock back and forth. She gazed down warmly. Reaching out, she ran her fingers through the thick brown hair atop the infant's head and began to sing softly.
"Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Round yon Virgin, mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild…" Regina smiled as Henry yawned and his eyes fluttered shut and, leaning forward, she placed a delicate kiss against his forehead. "Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace."
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"You slept in my arms all night," Regina continued. "I tried three times to lay you down and get you a bottle and you sobbed every time.
"How sweeeeet," Emma teased, poking Henry's ribs.
Henry blushed. "So that's where our name ornaments came from?" he asked.
Regina nodded. "I made them a few weeks before Christmas, and when everything fell through, I didn't have the heart to…"
Emma squeezed her hand.
"Let's go put them up!" Henry jumped off the couch to the ornament bin and shuffled through, grabbing the two boxes that held the silver bulbs. "Here's yours." He pressed the box into Regina's hands and held his own excitedly.
The brunette looked over to the Emma, who was picking awkwardly at her fingernails.
"Henry, go put yours up, we'll be over there in a minute." Regina smiled warmly at her son then turned back to the blonde. "Wait here." She stood and, opening the nearby blanket and pillow chest, grabbed a tiny red and silver wrapped present. Moving back to the sofa, she sat close to Emma and placed the gift in her lap.
"Regina, you didn't…"
"Just open it."
Emma opened her mouth to argue; in turn, Regina flashed her patent 'Shut up, Swan' glare, which quickly stifled the blonde.
Carefully opening the gift, Emma slipped her hand inside and pulled out a tiny, silver ornament. 'Emma' was drawn in the center with gold glitter glue in Regina's handwriting and the bulb glistened beneath the light of the tree.
"I, uh….Merry Christmas," Regina said sheepishly. "Welcome to the family."