Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the rights to Once Upon a Time (though it would have been a great Christmas present).
"We're going to have a baby!"
Emma's fork dropped with a clatter, splattering the last of the cranberry sauce on her sweater.
"I'm going to have an uncle?" asked Henry who wasn't sure whether to be happy or confused.
"Oh a baby!" cried Astrid who was pulling Leroy in for a suffocating hug. "What a perfect Christmas surprise!"
"It caught us by surprise, too!"
Emma scowled at her mother with a mixture of disgust and confusion.
Regina's response was to bite her tongue and keep her nose a good way down into her wine glass. She thought staying out of this particular discussion was best for everyone.
Leaning over the table, Emma hissed at David, "When you said you guys had something to share I thought it was an engagement!"
Caught up in the excitement David vaguely shook his head still smiling. "No, but don't you think this is more of a surprise?" David opened his arms and declared over the table like a shepherd declaring to his sheep, "It's wonderful!"
Emma's head fell into her hands moaning while Grumpy downed his drink and called for another.
"Bring it over," Emma ordered as the wine decanter made the rounds. She felt Regina's hand pat over hers. Taking it as a disapproving gesture she ripped her hand away and dived for the alcohol. Regina got there first and surprised her by filling both their glasses full to the brim.
"Let me, dear."
Sighing in gratitude the wine was tipped back a drained in five seconds flat. It was an understatement to say Emma didn't know what to make of this news. It was already freakishly unrealistic to have parents of the same age, but to have a baby brother or sister to add to the mix? As much as the Charming genetics had confused Emma she didn't want it to confuse her son even more. Henry had been through more than any 13-year-old should and another shake up in their family dynamic would not ease the tension. Most of all she didn't want Regina to revert back to resenting Mary Margaret. It took a while for the once queen of Fairytale Land to take responsibility for separating a mother and her daughter for 28 years, but when she finally accepted it the apology Emma received was genuine. Much later, of course, there was a less enthusiastic 'sorry' handed out to Mary Margaret.
The table continued to buzz with delight and Emma couldn't keep the words from coming out. "Are you really serious?" she asked with a sour face. "I mean, after two years our lives are just beginning to be normal and I've just started accepting that I'll always be aging alongside my parents and that I'll probably be stuck in this small town indefinitely… but a new kid? How can this be a good thing for our family? After everything we've been through, after everything I've been through with not being raised by you two. And then there's Henry…"
"Emma…" David reproached.
"No, David, it's alright. I understand why she's so upset." Mary Margaret turned her sympathetic eyes on her daughter. "I know how hard this news may seem to you and Henry. Just give the idea a chance to grow and once you accept the new baby this change in our family will become just as familiar and ordinary as it is now. And from what I know of the outside world it is completely normal for a boy of thirteen to have a newborn uncle, just like it is apparently normal for two woman such as yourselves to –"
Emma held up a hand. "Uh uh, one crisis at a time, thank you."
"Emma," she censured, "you know very well how I feel about you two. All I was going to say was you and Regina have something very… unique. But, Emma dear, you're still so young. After all those messy relationships of the past and all the poor choices you have made you shouldn't be spending your life –"
"I will not let you talk to her that way!" snarled Regina already on her feet. "This has gone far enough, Mary Margaret. If you have a problem with me don't take it out on Emma. You have no right to pass judgment on our relationship. If you and David want to go off and have little Charming babies than be my guest, but leave Emma and I out of it!"
Emma didn't know who was more captivating to watch, her bulging eyed mother or her furious (and sexy as hell) girlfriend defending her honor. So like the rest of the guests Emma just looked back and forth from one to the other with wide eyes and an agape mouth.
"You just couldn't leave it alone could you?" Mary Margaret slowly rose from her chair, eyes fixed like daggers on the other woman. "You just couldn't keep things peaceful for one day. Christmas day!"
"I couldn't leave it alone?" choked Regina as she ripped a hand away from Emma who was pacifying her with a tentative 'hon…' Regina placed her hands on the tablecloth and leaned forward, hackles up. "You were the one who started this with your insults and your turkey!"
"My turkey?" Mary Margaret gasped, feeling quite harassed by the evil insinuation.
"Now, now, ladies. It's Christmas, why don't we all just sit down and –"
Mary Margaret spun on David with a glare that could have killed Santa Claus himself.
Enjoying this Christmas entertainment was Leroy, reclined in his chair with a scotch in his grasp and not sorry at all for coming. Astrid was there, worrying at her lip and clutching his arm in trepidation. Henry was simply holding up his shaking his head with a hand, rolling his eyes every so often.
"I have had enough of hugs and pleasantries! I am done with this fake truce!"
"Finally, something we agree on, dear."
And with that, the extraordinarily brief ceasefire ended. The rising anger was then punctuated by a swirling red cloud which hovered over the table, sending everyone lurching back in their chairs. When the mist cleared what was originally Mary Margaret's half-eaten, calorie basted bird was an actually turkey; feathers, wattle, and all.
"Regina!" barked the blonde.
Regina couldn't help but smile. Leroy was roaring with laughter while everyone else was frozen stiff at the sight of their revived meal walking around on two legs. The tom puffed his chest up at David who drew back in horror and reached towards his waist for a sword that hadn't been there for years.
"How dare you use magic? And on my turkey!"
With a stern raise of the brow Emma advised, "Regina, you've had your fun, now turn it back."
Regina let out a disappointed huff. She was hoping to witness the feathered thing do something atrocious to that agora green sweater. "Oh, alright, dear." With a casual flick of the finger the tom was transformed back to his lifeless, marinated state (a bird that no one would touch from then on).
"You crazy witch! Do you know how unsanitary that stunt you pulled was?"
"The only thing unsanitary here is that sweater."
Mary Margaret looked like she had swallowed a melon.
"Ooohhh, why don't we see what else is cooking in the kitchen?" Emma pulled the brunette away from the table.
"But I made no more food. There's nothing there but unwashed pots and pans."
"Then let's clean some dishes!" suggested Emma forcefully.
Once Regina was hustled into the kitchen David patted Mary Margaret's still clenched fist. "Come sit down sweetheart," he coaxed, "there's still Astrid's custard pie."
The sink was full of baked on, caked on cookware and Regina had no intention of cleaning the mess up herself. This may be her kitchen but she wasn't going to be left in the lurch with such unreasonable chaos.
"Emma, this is not time for –"
Emma grabbed the fuming face and pulled the lips to hers in a heated kiss. Regina gasped at the ambush but once a warm tongue laid siege to her mouth she instinctively wrapped arms around Emma and deepened the kiss. When they came apart and took a few needed breaths the seriousness returned.
"I appreciate you defending my honor, but what was all that about?"
"It's your mother," Regina growled, her rage boiling again.
"What's new?"
"When I sent the invitation I specified the critical nature of our stalemate." Emma drew a blank look, so Regina explained. "Mary Margaret and I agreed that if this dinner were to happen we would have to put our differences aside and make peace… for you. It was supposed to be our Christmas gift to you."
"Really? You guys actually agreed to that?"
"Don't make us sound unreasonable," Regina remarked, crossing her arms with a frown. "We happen to agree when it comes to making you happy. You haven't experienced a Christmas with your entire family and we wanted to do this for you. Emma, you deserve this."
"Wow," Emma jerked her head back in astonishment, "that's really thoughtful of you."
"Now you know why I let her come in here with that turkey and that awful sweater."
"Yeah, that must have been rough."
"Don't make fun!" Regina stamped her heel willfully. "You know how hard this has been for me. Making peace with your mother is like trying to sit a troll down for afternoon tea."
Emma's brow arched. "Sounds trying." Laughing, she blocked the swift punch aimed at her shoulder. "So besides breaking a truce what else has gotten you all up in a tizzy?"
"Nothing."
Nothing indeed. Emma's lie detector was setting off all sorts of alarm bells at the display of Regina's defiant yet waning façade. Emma folded her own arms and lowered her chin.
Regina was well aware what this body language meant and knew she had no chance of escaping such scrutiny. Having a lie detector for a girlfriend really put a damper on things. "Alright, Mary Margaret has been at me for months about making a true commitment to you. Moving in together was apparently not enough. She wants something more permanent."
"What, like marriage?" Emma joked, but the stony serious expression did not diminish. Realizing that this was anything but a joke, her heart sped at a hurtling rate while she stood in shock, her brows nearly touching her hairline. "Oh my god you're serious? She wants us to get married?"
Regina nodded.
"Isn't that, I don't know… hypocritical?"
"I know! That's what I told her! The worst part is she doesn't seem to care what her own daughter wants."
Emma frowned. "That I don't want to marry you?"
"Emma, we did settle this discussion a while ago. We agreed marriage wasn't on either of our minds. I don't think I have to remind you of my first marriage and how happy that made me."
"No, I understand, I do." She rubbed Regina's upper arms soothingly, wishing she could take all those painful memories away or magically journey back through time and kick Leopold's ass, at least.
A knock sounded at the kitchen door which opened to reveal the remorseful face of Mary Margaret.
"I'm sorry to interrupt. I just needed to come and explain my behavior back there."
"Yes, please do."
"I think you both have some apologizing to do," affirmed Emma who intervened between them.
"Sorry," came quick and false from Regina.
With pursed lips Mary Margaret narrowed her eyes before turning them softly on Emma. "There is no excuse for the things I said. My former hostilities got the better of me. I am truly sorry Emma and to you, too, Regina. I hope you can accept my apology."
"Just what do you mean when you told Regina to make a 'true commitment' to me?"
Realizing that her apology was backfiring, Mary Margaret put up her hands defensively. "All I've ever wanted was the best for my daughter. You can't blame me for that."
"Why are you pushing the marriage thing when Regina and I and Henry are perfectly happy with the way things are?"
"Marriage?" Mary Margaret frowned awkwardly. "I never mentioned marriage."
"Yes, you did," Regina stated firmly, hands on her hips.
"No, I didn't," shot back Mary Margaret. "When I said 'true commitment' I was alluding to the Lover's Pledge."
"The lover's what now?"
"The Lover's Pledge," she repeated to her daughter. "In our land it's a ceremony where true love…" she looked accusingly at Regina then, "… like yours," and gazed back sweetly at Emma, "is declared and acknowledged by the couple before a witness. It is a tradition more sacred than marriage vows."
"Sounds a lot like marriage to me," Emma observed suspiciously.
"Mary Margaret is correct. The Lover's Pledge is taken more seriously than a simple marriage ceremony." Regina turned to Emma with a fleeting look of sadness. "Daniel and I were to take the oath before our wedding."
"Well, what does this ceremony entail? Because if I have to draw blood or something you can count me out."
"It's nothing that barbaric, dear." Regina drew a strand of blonde hair behind an ear before stroking Emma's cheek. "A declaration of love, a few sips of wine, and a dash of fairy dust. It's all quite painless."
"Oh," Emma attempted to assert herself by squaring her shoulders but this transformed into an awkward, almost timid posture, "that sounds kinda nice."
"I –" Regina broke off, finally catching on to what Emma was suggesting, "you mean…?"
"Yeah." Emma nodded shyly and smiling at her lover's ability to read her mind.
Mary Margaret waited with delayed excitement for this unspoken accord to be translated.
"Let's do this," declared Emma, taking the brunette's hands in hers. "We could do it tonight! It's Christmas and our family is all here… Henry will love it!"
"You really think he would?"
"This is Henry we're talking about. Knowing him I'd say this was the true objective of Operation Reindeer. What do you say?"
"Oh Emma…"
The blonde got an enthusiastic answer that was all lips and roaming hands. When their kiss ended Emma asked cautiously, "You're not afraid this is too much of a commitment?"
Regina chortled lightly. "We had it coming from the beginning, dear. After all we've been through we deserve this kind of commitment." With a shrug and a half smile she confessed, "And we don't have to put a ring on it, not yet."
The kissing resumed, desperate and passionate like their love for each other.
"I was hoping you would agree to this!" Mary Margaret's eyes shined excitedly, not bothering to give the girls their much needed privacy.
"This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" asked Regina cheek to cheek with her true love.
"No," was the feeble reply.
Her finger picked at the errant loop of string that had come undone years ago. The lone corner of the patch was folded lopsidedly, an outcast among the perfectly stitched fabric squares of the quilt. It had been a crisp winter day four years ago and Regina had just informed Henry of his first therapy session with D. Hopper. The boy had been acting out for months; skipping school, lying, talking back, and his mother didn't know what to do. Love and affection were given so freely up until those months and Regina had wanted those days to return. She had insisted that the sessions would be good for both of them and talking out his issues would help their lives go back to normal, the kind of normal before the fairytale book. Henry refused and in his rage the blanket his mother spent days painstakingly hemming each square and drawing blood by the needle for was ripped off the bed by those small hands and thrown out the window. The delicate thing sustained a few popped stitches and some hanging, worn patches on its trip down from the second story. Despite her son's disinterest in such a thoughtful gift Regina made some adjustments, putting the same (if not more) amount of effort and love into those stiches as before. It was left unwanted in the dusty corner of the boy's closet until those days of love and affection returned.
"What are you doing here?"
Wiping away a stray tear Regina looked up from the quilt to see Henry standing in the doorway. "Emma is in our bedroom getting dressed by your grandmother. I thought I should give them their mother/daughter bonding time."
He sat on his bed beside her and noticed her tightly clasped hands. "Are you nervous?"
She took in a deep breath and let it out shakily. "A bit. There is no reason to be, I know."
Henry didn't buy the act. "Are you thinking about Daniel? Because… you know, you were supposed to take that pledge thing with him?" Henry knew all about Daniel. Ever since that day in the stables he had wondered who that zombie guy was and why his mom had been so shocked to see him. He was too afraid to ask her then because ever since that day she had been sad, so sad she had become distant from him. She hardly even touched him, then, for fear that an innocent kiss or brush against a cheek would cause the boy to disintegrate into oblivion. It wasn't until much later when his mother – both his mothers – had moved on from their pasts that the story of this Daniel was recounted.
"No," Regina affirmed, shaking her head and believing it, "what Daniel and I shared is in the past. With Emma… it's different."
"Because you guys have been through a lot?"
"Yes. What I feel for Emma is much stronger, more lasting."
"Because of me?"
Regina laughed and squeezed his hand. "You are one of many reasons, certainly."
The boy then saw his mother slip back into anxiousness, his hand being squeezed a little too tightly. "Don't worry, Emma will take good care of you. We both will."
A stinging tear crept from the corner of her eye. She pulled at a shoulder that insisted on carrying such a weight of responsibility and maturity until his body was snug against hers. She placed a kiss on his head. "Oh, sweetheart, you're growing up much too fast."
"I'm sorry about those things I said."
Emma and Mary Margaret were waiting in the hallway outside the den standing an awkward few feet from each other. On the insistence of her mother, the blonde had changed into a crimson cocktail dress paired with a shawl in a deeper red. Pressed dress pants were apparently not formal enough for the occasion at hand. Emma put up a fuss, defending that it was socially acceptable in this world for women to wear pants, though, she eventually consented to the 'child scolding' look Mary Margaret had now perfected.
Shifting on feet that were now dressed in tasteful pumps Emma avoided her mother's stare. "I really did not know how to react to you and dad having another kid. It's not something that I considered before even though you two are still young enough to raise a child." She flinched shamefully. "When I'm faced with something confusing or surprising I have a tendency to get critical, maybe even a little paranoid."
"Seems like someone's rubbed off on you," Mary Margaret teased.
The thought of Regina eased the tension from Emma's shoulders. "I guess I should offer my congratulations. I am happy for you and dad. This new kid is going to be lucky to have great parents like you."
Mary Margaret brought her daughter in for a much needed hug. Before drawing back she stroked Emma's cheeks with her thumbs. "You know, the Lover's Pledge is a custom among commoners. David's mother told me about it just before she passed. She was a lovely woman whom I wished I had more time with. Anyway, David and I made the pledge long before our wedding." Her stare became vague as she reminisced of a distant memory. "It meant so much to us… we still haven't forgotten the vows we took that day. It was such a lovely ceremony, that's why your father and I never had reason to get married again in this world." She looked up then. "It doesn't bother you does it?"
"No, not at all. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters."
"Hey, grandma?" Henry came down the staircase, dinner jacket still unwrinkled and spotless. "Can I talk to my mom for a sec?"
Mary Margaret left them to help Astrid set up the ceremony.
"How do I look?" Emma asked nervously. "Is the dress too much?"
"No, you look good." The slightly ambiguous response caused Emma's forehead to crinkle. "Really, the dress is perfect. Mom will love it."
Emma nodded and sighed. She busied her jittery hands with her son's tie, straightening the already perfect knot.
"So do you know what you're going to say up there?"
"Um…" Chewing at her bottom lip Emma made an attempt to stuff her hands in her pockets but was sorely disappointed when they hit nothing but the smooth fabric of a dress. She shrugged. "I was just gonna wing it."
"Emmaaaa," he chided, "This is a significant moment in your life. You can't improvise!"
"Well if you're so smart what do you think I should say?"
He sighed and shook his head precociously. "Mom doesn't do commitment, you know that. It's hard for her to let go of her insecurities. You have to make her feel special. You have to speak from the heart or she won't concentrate on what you're saying in front of all those people."
Emma looked over at the audience now waiting in the den and wrung her hands anxiously. Spotting Astrid flitting about setting up whatever ritual she was to perform the blonde frowned and asked her son, "Astrid and Leroy's car didn't just happen to break down a block from our house, did it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said to the floor. Sensing his presence was needed elsewhere he gave his mother's arm a reassuring pat and wished her luck. "Don't sweat it. Just say what's been on your mind for the past two years," Henry turned to join the others and finished with a snicker, "or the past three."
The dress was starting to feel tight all of a sudden, like it was cutting off her circulation. Emma cringed and held her hands to her woozy stomach. I should not have eaten that extra slice of Astrid's custard pie, she thought.
"Someone cleans up nicely," sang a voice from behind.
"Hey there. I was starting to think I was being stood up."
"Oh, ye of little faith," Regina remarked with a slant of the head.
Emma was greeted properly with a chaste kiss which she turned into heavy necking. If Emma was going to faint she wanted those full, red lips to be the last thing she tasted.
"Slow down there, Sheriff." Regina nipped at the blonde's bottom lip before retreating. "There will be ample time for celebrating later. Now we have to appease our guests."
Instead of letting go Emma held on to the warm body that never failed to give her the comfort and security she needed most. Her nose invaded wavy chocolate tresses and inhaled the scent that was distinctly Regina. She exhaled softly, tickling the bare neck with her breath and whispered, "Love you."
Regina closed her eyes, relishing a moment she once thought would never be possible. She liked to savor these times, hold on to them with a fierce grip so that they would never be lost, never to be taken for granted. Her nerves settled at being in the arms of the woman she adored. Emma was staying like she had every day for the past two years. She stayed, she loved, and she did it all with Regina. "I love you," she whispered back.
Revitalized with the courage she needed, Emma directed, "Let's do this thing."
The couple walked hand in hand through their den which looked the same with the small exception of a table with three cups and two wreaths, and two couches occupied by an anxious, smiling audience.
Taking their place in front of the Christmas tree Astrid instructed each of them to place a circlet of weaved rosemary on their heads as she made opening remarks. The ritual began with each of the couple drinking wine from their cups. Next were the vows. When the guests' attention fell on Emma the nauseous twinge her stomach felt earlier came back. She made a sideways glance at her son who was giving her a wink that sparked the memory of the words of wisdom he shared with her. The deep breath her lungs took in made it bearable for her to turn her gaze onto brown eyes. The rest melted away as soon as she began.
"I guess I should start off by explaining why I'm here," she started with a nervous laugh. "There was only one reason that brought me to Storybrooke that night and that reason was Henry. I hung around because I wanted to get to know him and I needed to make sure he was safe, but it wasn't until later that I realized there was another reason why I stayed so long. I thought I was staying because you were untrustworthy… and kind of a bitch to everybody." A few laughs rang out and Regina clicked her tongue in mock dissatisfaction. "But then you became my ally and you weren't a bitch. In fact, you were kind of nice to me, considering our circumstances, and you became my other reason for staying. I wanted to see if I could feel what Henry felt. I wondered if it was possible for you to love another and before I knew it I wanted to be on the receiving end of those feelings. So I stayed, for Henry, for me, and most of all because of you."
Emma's thumbs ran over the knuckles clasped tenderly in her clammy hands. She stared down at them, marveling at how thin and delicate they were. Her need to protect these hands and the woman they belonged to made her heart ache. She squeezed the hands, not letting them go, never letting them slip away. "We have travelled so many roads and fought so many battles…"
"Here, here!" chimed David which got some laughs from the crowd.
Emma giggled nervously and stared back into Regina's tear-filled eyes. "And I don't regret any of it because it all led me here… to us. You make me so happy, Regina, and I want to spend every day making you just as happy." She hitched over her last, most important promise, not even noticing that the tears had been flowing from her eyes. "I-I love you so much."
The smile cast a glow on Regina's heart sending it into a vigorous gallop. When the two teary eyed women managed to regain their composure (and getting an intense nod of authorization from Astrid) Regina began her undertaking.
"Emma," she sighed, "it took a long time for me to call you that without a hint of scorn or sarcasm. Though, I know you like it when I surprise you with a 'Miss Swan' here or there." Emma nodded with twinkling eyes and a half-grin. "I like to think my existence is divided into two lives. My first was defined by pain and my own selfish need for power. I cast a curse for my own happiness, yet it brought me to a place of empty confusion. That all changed because of you. You gave me a son who showed me how to live without pain or self-love. He taught me to be patient and loving. And then you showed up ten years later, shuffling up to my house in that stuffy red jacket, infuriating me like no one ever has." An easy chuckle rolled over their audience who were remembering just how maddening the former mayor had been in those days. "I will not deny that my evil ways did not vanish instantly; it was a slow journey, there were a few bumps along the way, but I got through it with your help. You saved me so many times when I didn't deserve it; sometimes when I didn't want it, others when I desperately needed it but was too proud to ask. You picked me up amid the flames, pushed me from a wraith, and liberated me from my destructive ways. Then you saved me in an entirely different way which I was not at all expecting. You taught me how to love again and gave me a reason to be a better person. When I saw you, Emma, when I really saw who you were, I fell so much in love with you."
Regina's heart sped up from the confession. Many of her thoughts had been shared with Emma, but it was always a fear of Regina's that her love for the blonde never came across as fierce as she experienced it. Enthralled in the warm green eyes holding her brown she didn't notice Mary Margaret propping her head on David's quivering shoulder and looking on the brunette with a new-found affection. Regina inhaled one last deep breath as she neared her closing remarks. "You are an extraordinary woman, Emma, and I am so lucky to have you as my own personal savior. I am also most lucky to have your love. It is an unselfish and honest love; it keeps me warm on cold nights, brings light to my darkness, and makes me laugh when I'm sad. If this love you have for me is as endless as the day it started I promise I'll never stop giving you mine. You can save me again any time you want, dear."
Regina finished with a teary smile that was contagious to the blushing blonde. Not having the patience any longer, Emma leaned in hastily.
"Not so fast, Sheriff!" cautioned Astrid, "We're almost finished."
Everyone laughed at Emma's premature kiss attempt and the blonde receded bashfully. "We better be because this woman needs to be kissed."
Regina's cheeks flushed a deeper red. She then took her cup and poured its contents into the larger cup that had remained empty on the table. Emma did the same with hers. Astrid then swirled the wine from their contribution and handed it over for each of them to drink.
"The pledge is complete." Astrid shot her arms into the air with excitement and squealed, "I now have the honorable pleasure to pronounce you true loves!"
Not needing to be told twice, Emma dove in to seal a testimony they already were aware of. Regina laughed happily into the insistent mouth, holding the woman tighter to a beating heart that grew with every touch of their lips.
Henry, thinking this was the best Christmas present ever, led the audience in thunderous applause. Leroy gave a thumbs up to Astrid for her contribution who waved behind the still celebrating couple. Proud parents Mary Margaret (bursting with tears) and David (stoically hiding his) squeezed hands and marveled at their blonde-haired creation.
"Operation Reindeer is complete!" shouted Henry, leaping forward to hug his mothers.
Catching on to the code phrase the guests brought out the pouches Astrid had doled out and extracted a handful of fairy dust. Oblivious to the machinations of their audience, the magic dust was thrown over the two women as they stared longingly into each other's eyes, speaking a language they alone recognized. The dust did not fall and settle like the stuff one would find at a beach, but whirled a gentle dance around the couple and their son, the miniscule particles twinkling like rare diamonds. Emma and Regina continued to gaze away with unbroken smiles as the dust swirled and sparkled around them.