Chapter Three: Connections

Regina refused to answer Tink's questions that day, or the day after. In fact whenever the fairy asked her about the child's father over the next two and a half months, she simply said he didn't know and wouldn't know. She did tell the woman in no uncertain terms that it was not Robin. She didn't need that lie getting thrown around town.

Surprisingly, there had been little questioning from her "family" regarding the child's parentage. It seemed no one really cared where the child came from so much as determining how much help Regina was going to need. She hadn't expected it, but the Charming bunch decided that they were going to play a huge role in the life of Henry's sibling. Well the entire bunch didn't decide it, so much as just Snow and Henry telling everyone what they were going to do. He was gunning for a brother, and Regina didn't have the heart to tell him that his chances for that were slim to none. She may not have known how magical pregnancies worked, but the laws of DNA had to still apply.

Everyone had started trying to touch her belly early on, even when she said not to. Emma was the only one who didn't seem the slightest bit interested. Regina wasn't sure how to take how standoffish she was in regards to the pregnancy. Part of the queen worried that Emma had an inkling that the child was hers, but no that wasn't right. If Emma thought she had another child, she would have been fighting tooth and nail with Regina for details. Something else was up.

Snow had taken to scheduling monthly family dinners. Reluctantly, Regina agreed to attend them as scheduled. It had take some getting used to, but being around Emma and Killian, knowing that the woman was her true love wasn't killing her the way it was before. It was just a fact of her life.

"Seriously Mom, are you really eating dry lucky charms?"

"Well…yes I am."

"We're eating dinner in like, 15 minutes."

"Well until that 15 minutes is up, I'm eating these."

"Geeze, I thought that was only something Ma did." Henry said walking off. Regina paused midway in throwing a handful of the sugary sweet cereal in her mouth. It was true that Emma had a habit of eating dry cereal. It would also explain why Regina had taken to eating bear claws at least twice a week since last month.

"You have got to be kidding me." She muttered looking down at her growing stomach, careful to check Henry had indeed left the room. "Of all the habits for you to pick up, her eating habits?" Regina shook her head as she put the last bit of cereal she had in her hand into her mouth before closing up the box and standing to go put it away.

"You and I are going to have a long talk when you get here," she said to her stomach. "You cannot be eating like this."

"Who are you talking to?" a voice said from behind the pregnant woman.

"The baby," she said turning to see Emma throwing her jacket onto one of Regina's chairs. It was just her luck dinner was being held at her house this evening, when it was raining, and now the fabric of her chairs were going to suffer.

"You're talking to an unborn child about eating habits?" Emma said with a confused expression.

"Well yes. I've noticed I've been having a craving for things I don't normally eat. Henry just now pointed out to me that I've been eating dry lucky charms for the last 10 minutes. And I think I had two bear claws on Monday."

"Smart kid. It has good taste."

"Awful taste. It's trying to rot out teeth that haven't even developed yet." Regina said with a chuckle that turned into a gasp as she felt something kick from within her.

"Hey you okay? Should I go get Henry or my mom or dad…"

"No no it just kicked. Well moved maybe," Regina gasped again. She had been waiting until her next ultrasound to have the gender confirmed, though she knew it had to be a girl. "It did it again. What has you so excited?" Regina asked the baby, backing up to sit back down on the couch. She was used to the child moving. It had started a few weeks ago, but never like now. It was as if the child was trying to fight its way toward something…or someone.

Regina looked up to see Emma starting at her with was could only be concern. It was the first time in months that the woman had looked at her with something other than hatred.

"Do…Do you want to feel it?" She asked hoping that with Emma near the child would calm down before it bruised her ribs.

Emma stared wondering how she would answer when Snow saved her.

"Dinner's ready. Oh and Emma I already packed up a plate for Killian. You can take it when you leave."

"Maybe next time," she said to Regina, turning quickly toward the dining room. It had killed her from the moment she found out. Regina really hadn't cared for her. She was just itch that needed scratching and now there was living proof. She had slept with someone not two weeks before doing the same with Emma. Lord knew how many others there were, but finding out the women you had feelings for only saw you as a notch on her belt was heartbreaking.

What was even stranger was that for the last two weeks she had been overcome with the desire to see her former enemy-turned-former-lover. It made no sense. She had been stewing in anger over her broken heart for five months. To suddenly have that sense of fury evaporate was disconcerting. It just wasn't there anymore. She had tried to resurrect it. To remind herself that Regina had used her and then acted as if nothing happened. But every time she thought of the mayor, her mind simply replayed that night in her head.

"Emma!" She smiled as she heard her name shrieked from the woman writhing beneath her. Keeping their eyes locked, she didn't cease her movements, even as she could feel the contractions begin. She could feel Regina's nails digging marks into her shoulders as the woman arched up into her arms, suddenly burying her face into the blondes neck.

Using the hand that wasn't buried inside the brunette, Emma held the woman tightly to her, letting her ride the waves of pleasure that seemed to keep going. Regina was not the first woman she had been with, but she had never felt anything like this before. Her body kept squeezing the sheriff's fingers, and Emma for a minute wish she had the mental capacity to count, because even she was shocked with how long Regina's orgasm seemed to last.

As the shudders seemed to calm down, Emma gently laid Regina back into the pillows. It took a moment, but eventually she was able to remove her fingers, dragging them up the sensitive parts of the queens body. Grinning at the exhausted, but seemingly satisfied expression on the former queen's face, Emma laid down, tracing invisible designs on the brunettes torso.

"Admiring your handiwork dear?" Regina muttered, struggling to open her eyes.

"Nope. Simply enjoying the beauty that is right next to me." Emma rolled her eyes as she heard the scoff in reply. "You know, most women like being complimented."

"Well I'm not most women." Regina simply rolled over, placing her head into the crook of Emma's neck. The sheriff didn't even bother to reply, opting to smile as she pulled the woman into her embrace.

She had tried to forget. Tried to erase the memory of the look in Regina's eyes as she crested that hill, but it seemed to have imprinted itself on her brain. What was worse was that now she wasn't even angry about the baby. No, she like all the others in her family was developing that baby-fascination that people got. Sure Henry and Snow had it from day one, but she thought she had escaped its clutches, but no. Now she wanted to rub her hand over Regina's ever-growing stomach and see what the fuss was about.

She sat down as far away from the queen as she could, which wasn't far in the standard sized dining room. It wasn't hard to keep from looking at the woman with Henry dominating the conversation as he did the last Sunday of every month. This time it was about what he was going to be doing in school this week and how he wasn't looking forward to beginning his science project tomorrow. Emma nodded at all the right moments as she shoved mashed potatoes and baked chicken in her mouth.

"Emma, will you slow down, the food isn't going anywhere," Snow chided.

"Well I'm hungry." She said shrugging and continuing to shovel. Yeah the food was good, but she had to get out of here soon, or else she might lunge across the table and pull Regina into a hug for no apparent reason. Yeah they were family, but that still might seem a bit weird, even for them.

"Snow, I know its my fault, but it's too late to try and raise her," Regina joked. "Focus on instilling some table manners in Henry and Neal. It might offset her influence." It was still strange for Emma to hear Regina so casually joke about the curse, but it was a testament to how far she and Snow had come.

"No, please don't" Emma smirked. "We still can't get the stick from up Regina's butt. No need to shove one up the boys."

"Ma!" Henry exclaimed with a giggle.

"Its alright Henry," Regina narrowed her eyes at the Sheriff. "Her table language just proves me right."

"Well, I'll be sure to spend extra time with that little Mills in there. I'm sure I can find some interesting things to educate it on." She said purposefully picking up a piece of her baked chicken with her hand, elbows on the table and biting into it as viciously as possible.

"You're disgusting."

"I'm lovable." Emma said laughing. It had been so long since she and Regina had been able to throw harmless barbs at each other. She didn't know she had missed it so. It was something she and Hook no longer did. He had started out treating her normally, but as they dated, it became clear that he didn't really see her as an equal anymore. Just like every other guy from the Enchanted Forest she was some chick that need to be treated like a delicate flower. No matter how many time she tried to tell him, he never changed.

Regina seemed to be set on eternally bugging her, and Emma loved it. There was no other way to describe it. Pregnant and all, she was still sassy.

Their laughter was interrupted as Regina gasped again, this time placing a hand over her baby bump.

"You okay," Charming asked, preparing to rise from his seat.
"Yes, just a bit of a shock. The little here must have thought it was funny to because it decide to show its happiness with a nice shove." Emma didn't know why, but she felt the need to check for herself. It was there again. That intense desire to check on Regina although the former evil queen was only a few feet from her.

Rising from her chair and wiping her greasy finger on a napkin, she walked over to where the Mayor was sitting and placed a gentle hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Are you sure you're okay? This is the third time tonight that the kiddo's moving had made you stumble."

"I'm fine Emma."

"Well maybe you should get check out. I mean Henry moved quite a bit when I was pregnant, but never that much in such a short span of time."

"I'm fine."

Regina's voice was getting that edge that meant she was going to have to drop the subject soon. Sighing, Emma ran her hand from Regina's shoulder down toward her baby bump.

"I know but it could be-" Emma stopped as her hand reached Regina's stomach. It felt like pins and needles were crawling up her arm as an intense warmth seem to flow up from her fingers toward her heart.

"Do you feel that?!" she said, wanting to remove her hand from Regina's stomach, but unable to do so.

"Emma what's wrong," Charming said finally standing.

"Seriously…no one else feels that?" The warmth that had started up her arm was now filling her head and she could feel the tips of her ears warming as a series of whispers started flowing in and out of her head.

"Feels what Emma!" Regina was starting to get worried. The fluttering that the baby had been doing all evening had suddenly stopped. "Emma I don't feel it moving anymore."

"She's fine. She's completely fine. She's just calming down." Emma said, her voice no longer in panic, but in awe as she started at Regina's stomach in amazement.

"She? My ultrasound isn't until Wednesday. I don't know it's a girl."

"It's a girl." she whispered, rubbing the top of the baby bump.

"How do you know?"

"Because I can hear her."