24 Weeks

"Everything seems okay, Regina," Merlin said, softly. "The baby's doing very well."

"Good," Regina replied, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "That's good. I'm glad."

She was getting close. Regina only had three more months of this. And then she'd get to finally meet her baby. It was during these quiet moments that she wondered about it; imagined what kind of child she'd bring into this world. If Emma had been here she'd talk about what she couldn't wait to teach the it. Things that the baby wouldn't be able to do for years. But Regina had to admit that listening to Emma soothed her, and eased her fears of being alone in this.

Because at least she had Emma. And Emma promised she wasn't going to leave.

"Merlin?" Regina spoke up. "Is it possible to know what the sex of the baby is?"

"Um… well, according to my aunt, Guin, if the baby's a girl their heart will beat a little faster," Merlin replied, adding, "How was your morning sickness? Was it bad?"

"The worst," Regina revealed. "There were days where I couldn't go more than five steps away from my bathroom."

The young healer nodded. "Well, there's a good a chance — Do you wish that I tell you, Regina?"

"Yes, I think so?" She cleared her throat. "I mean, yes. You should tell me. Everyone's suggested female names. And I would like to have an idea. I don't want to be surprised when I meet the baby. If that makes any sense."

Merlin smiled. "I think it does, Regina. If you want my best educated guess, I would say there's a good possibility that growing inside of you, getting ready to start her journey here, is a healthy baby girl. Have you decided on a name?"

"Susan," Regina answered. "After—"

He saved her from reopening the wound. "Daniel's mother was one of the best people I have ever had the privilege of meeting. Kind. Caring. Selfless. Daniel really loved his mother. He would have approved, I think."

"I wish I could have met her," Regina lamented.

Merlin put a gentle hand on her shoulder as she got up. "She would have loved you."

"Regina?" someone called. She recognized the voice immediately.

"Archie?"

He burst through the door but still managed to frown at her. "Arch." Then he shook his head as if he remembered suddenly why he was here. "Emma— There was— Just come with me, Regina. She needs you"

If it wasn't for the big patches of bruised skin, and flakes of dried blood that bespeckled her body, Emma would have looked like she was sleeping. But she wasn't sleeping. Whale explained what happened. That she was unconscious with a concussion mostly likely. If she woke up soon, it was nothing to really worry about. But that was if she woke up in the next a hour or so.

Regina should have been scared, or anguished. But instead she was angry. So goddamn angry. Emma was always talking about how she wasn't alone, that this baby wasn't alone, that she always be there for them both. And then she gets careless, trying to clear out a section of Storybrooke and does something stupidly heroic, like push someone out of the way of an oncoming tank zombie. She saved a life, yes. Archie's life, to be exact. And Regina actually cared about Archie for some inexplicable reason. But she liked Emma more. And she needed her.

Because…

"I can't do this by myself, Emma," she whispered, taking a hold of her hand; their fingers intertwining. "You can't leave— Everyone— They all— Emma, please don't leave me. Please…" She felt a single tear roll down her cheek. And then another. And pretty soon she was crying a river of tears that she couldn't stop, not matter how hard she tried. So she stopped fighting it and Regina just let it happen. "You can't leave. Because Suzie needs you. I need you. I don't want to raise our baby without you."

"Our?" Emma croaked, her eyes fluttering open, as her hand tightened around Regina's. "Really?"

She didn't know how to answer that. So instead she threw her arms around Emma and held onto her until she groaned in pain. "Sorry."

"S'ok, Regina, I'm glad to see you, too," Emma told her. She looked down at their hands and pulled a bit. And when Regina didn't let go; her grip in fact tightening instead, Emma grinned. "So… Our kid, huh? You really mean that? Or were you just trying to see if I was faking it?"

"Emma," she began with a heavy sigh. "I —"

"Shh… It's okay, Regina. I get it. I just want you to know that either way, I'm here for you and that kidlet."

"For the last time, Emma…"

"I know. Little Suzie isn't a pig."

"I hate you, Emma Swan."

"No, you don't."

Regina sighed. "No, I don't."

28 Weeks

"She's your mom."

"I know who the fuck she is, Emma. I'm not going to see her. End of discussion."

Regina didn't even know how they started fighting in the first place. One minute, Emma was talking to Suzie. And then the next, they were screaming at each other about Cora. Well, Regina was screaming. Emma, strangely enough, wasn't. She hadn't even raised her voice yet. Which again was odd and pissed Regina off to no end. So every time Emma tried to get her to calm down, Regina's voice went up an octave instead.

"She's trying to make an effort, Regina," Emma explained. "But in order for this to work you have to meet her halfway."

"I'm not interested in meeting her halfway!" Regina shot back. "I don't want her in my life! I don't want her in our baby's life! You don't know how she was with me. You don't know what she did."

"I have an idea, Regina," Emma replied. "And that I'm not saying she wasn't a fucking bitch to you. But none of that shit mattered the second she put one between Gold's eyes," Emma told her, plainly. As if she was only simply stating fact.

And that was life now. Murder was justified in only two cases. The first being a mercy killing for the dying. The second involved a different kind of clemency, like putting a pet to sleep. Her mother killed Daniel's father to save his younger brother, Neal. Whether her mother realized it or not she made sure that her granddaughter didn't grow up without an uncle too.

Regina shook her head. No, she promised herself that she wouldn't allow herself to feel something, anything for her mother. Kind or otherwise. She was done. Cora Mills was dead to her.

"Why do you even care?" Regina asked, her eyes burning with a kind of rage she hadn't felt in a long time. "This has nothing to do with you. This kid isn't even yours."

As soon as she said, she regretted her words. She looked at Emma and tried to read her expression but Emma was neutral. Pissed off to be sure, but she didn't know if she had hurt her or not. Emma's face didn't give anything away.

She expected Emma to storm off, or punch something. But she didn't. She stepped in. She got close.

Something about the pregnancy had heightened Regina's already boosted senses to new heights. She could smell Spring on Emma's skin, the light warm rain that dampened her hair. She knew that it had been at least a day since Emma washed up because she could smell a faint trace of dirt and sweat.

Regina's heart raced, she held her breath, and just waited until Emma did something or said something.

"You're not going to push me away, Regina," Emma told her, softly, as she laid a soft hand on her stomach. "Daniel would have done right by Suzie. We would have all made sure of that. And he would have made you happy, Regina, I don't doubt that. I am not trying to step on his memory. But he's gone and this kid needs as many people in the world that will do anything for her. Don't deny her that because you're scared she might get hurt."

"Emma, you don't understand my mother—"

"Have I ever told you about my family?"

Regina blinked, and shook her head, her forward momentum gone. "No. You haven't talked about— I don't know anything about your family, Emma."

"That's 'cause I don't have much family anymore. It's just me. But back in Boston, you couldn't toss a rock without it hitting someone I was related to. My dad got locked up when I was young. My youngest brother, Graham was just a baby. Barely a few months old when the Old Man got 25 to Life in Cedar Junction. My folks only stayed together long enough to have 4 kids. So like 4 or 5 years. Not a long time when you're Irish Catholic, you know.

"My mom, Ingrid, worked two jobs. And so my older brother, Hans, he'd watch us. And when the work slowed down for my mom and she started drinking, Hans did what he had to make sure we had food in our stomachs. He'd take me and my other brother Edmond — Eddie, with him when we got old enough. And we'd leave Graham at home because someone had to be the good one and he drew the short straw.

"If my mom knew," Emma went on. "She pretended like she didn't. She never questioned how we kept the ice box stocked. She never asked how we were able to take Graham to opening day at Fenway to see the Sox play. And when it looked like she couldn't pay the mortgage, we gave her the money. And you know what she did, Regina? She cried. I was 14. And I had never seen my mom cry before. Not once. Not ever. She was a badass bitch who raised four little Irish kids in one of the worst neighborhoods in Boston. And she did it all by herself. Not one time did she ask for help. She was a stubborn bitch. A real fucking ice queen. She wouldn't even take the money at first. Too proud. She thought that she had failed as a mother. But she didn't. At least not then."

Emma stepped away from Regina and sighed, her eyes filling with tears. "Before I got sent to Storybrooke, Hans said that he had something big planned. One last bad thing and then we would be okay with enough left over could send Graham to college if he wanted to go. Because my baby brother was wicked smart. Kinda like Archie. Weird. But funny. Couldn't say a bad thing about him. He could have been anything he wanted.

"The job was supposed to be simple," Emma continued, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Easy. Completely safe. Someone was gonna come to the house. Drop off a package. And then a few days later someone else would pick it up and we'd have enough to be okay for a bit."

She blinked away her tears before she continued. "But things like this, Regina, are never easy.

"The first part went well. Package delivered. Package received. But the second phase was tricky. Hans, dumb fuck that he was, didn't realize that people he took the job from were the goddamn cops. So when phase two started and we got pinched— I don't remember who shot first. I just remember everything getting so loud. Like deafening. And then everything got quiet. Dead quiet. They had me and Eddie in handcuffs before I knew what was happening. And Hans was still trying to fight them off. But one of the bastards that was supposed to pick up from us was dead. Another one had taken one in leg. The rest of them were being read their rights."

Emma paused, swallowed hard, and her voice got quiet. "I don't know why I was looking at the front door of my house but I was the first one to see my mom running out. I don't remember what she was wearing. Or if her hair was up or down. All I remember is how red her hands were."

"What happened?" Regina asked, although she could have guessed.

"A stray bullet," Emma told her. "It came through the wall— And Graham— He was gone before he hit the floor."

Regina put her hands over her mouth in horror. "Oh my god. Emma. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"I know. Neal, Lily, and August are the only ones that know. And they know better than to tell anyone about this. It's not something I like to talk about," Emma replied.

Regina nodded in understanding. "And that's why you got sent to Storybrooke."

"Hans copped to everything," Emma told her. "Said me and Eddie had no clue what was going on. I was still a minor so I got sent here. Eddie had to do a year in county lock up. And Hans got 10 to 15 in Cedar Junction, just like our old man.

"The day we buried Graham," she went on. "That was last time we were all in the same place at the same time before Day Zero. For the whole service my mom wouldn't even look at us. And I was just so mad. Because, I needed her. I just lost my little brother. And my own mother wouldn't even look at the other three children she had left. The more I thought about it, the more pissed I got. Then I just let her have it during the wake. She said some things. I said some things. Eddie and Hans were in the middle to make sure neither of us threw a punch. And then she just stopped, looked me dead in the eyes and said, 'I would trade any one of you three for my baby boy. All you are just like your father. Bad seeds. Each of you.'

"If it wasn't pissed before, Regina," Emma told her, shaking slightly at the power of the memory. "I was fucking livid after that. So called out to her as she walked away from us, 'You're dead to me. You hear me? When I go away, don't call me. Don't fucking write. I don't have a fucking mother and you sure as shit don't have a daughter.' And that was the last thing I said to her.

"That was three years ago." Emma met her eyes and shrugged. "Whatever you choose to do is your choice, Regina. I won't stop you. You don't want to talk to your mom, don't talk to her. I'll drop it. But just know that if it were me, there's nothing I wouldn't forgive for just five more minutes with my mom. Just to tell her that I loved her one more time. That I didn't mean what I said."

"Emma…" Regina breathed.

She was in mid-step, reaching out before Emma backed away with a shake of her head. "It's not like that, Regina. I didn't tell you this for you to feel sorry for me."

"Emma…" She sighed this time, and closed the distance between them. "Just shut up."

Regina watched the other girl's eyebrows quirk as she smirked. "What if I don't wanna? What if I wanna keep being annoyingly charming? What if—"

Grabbing the flaps of Emma's jacket, Regina pulled her in close, silencing her with a brush of her lips. "Emma?"

"Huh?"

"Are you gonna shut up now?"

"Depends. You gonna keep kissing me?"

"Maybe."

"Then maybe I'll shut up."

They chuckled quietly, their foreheads touching, falling into an awkward (due to Regina's protruding stomach) but welcoming embrace. People might not understand their relationship. Regina didn't either half the time. But she was done fighting whatever this was. Yes, it would probably end in disaster. As most of her relationships did. However, for now it was good. It made her feel, like she wasn't alone.

"Emma, is it weird that I think I'm in love with you?" she whispered against her lips.

"It'd be weirder if you weren't, Regina."

32 Weeks

"I'm done being pregnant," Regina groaned. "Emma, I'm not doing this again."

Emma smiled. "I'll do my best not to knock you up, your Majesty. But no promises."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Stop it. I'm in pain and I don't need you being adorable."

"Archie is adorable. I'm sexy as hell," Emma said with a smug but confident smirk.

However with her third trimester in full swing, Regina was too annoyed and uncomfortable to be charmed. She felt huge, unattractive, and she was always sweaty. It was probably because it was summer. The warmest one they've had since all of this madness started. Still, Regina hated it. She almost wished for the morning sickness to come back. At least it was better than like she was a blimp.

Regina couldn't sleep anymore either. There was so much to do. And not enough time to do it all. That's why she was thankful for Emma and Zelena. Where she felt less than capable, they picked up the slack. Zelena was basically being Super Aunt and Emma… she didn't know what she'd do without her.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, sincerely. "I mean besides the obvious."

Right. Today was the day for the big sit-down with her mother. Of course she was nervous. How would this go? She still wasn't sure about Cora. On one hand Cora had really gone above and beyond to show Zelena and Regina that she had become a changed person but on the other hand Regina remembered the person she had been too.

"I'm only doing this because of you and Zelena… and Suzie." Regina admitted.

"We can bail whenever you want," Emma stressed. "I mean it."

Regina smiled. "I know."

They fell silent for a moment. Regina stretched, rolling her head from side to side trying to work out a kink she had in it for weeks now.

"Here," was all the warning she had before she felt Emma's hands glide along her neck. Fingers, calloused by almost two years of fighting for their survival, kneaded the knots and kinks, and before she could protest her head lolled forward with a groan.

Emma laughed but never said anything. Which was probably a good thing. Regina might have killed her if she had. She didn't want Emma to break up the mood with her brand of non-humorous humor. But then someone cleared their throat and Emma's hands tensed before they retracted completely, so it was all for nothing anyway.

Regina lifted her head to find her mother standing feet away, wearing the same expression she had when she came home early and walked in on Regina, rounding third base with her first actual boyfriend.

"Hello Mother," Regina greeted, coolly. "You remember Emma? Your ex lover tried to kill her best friends."

Her mother's jaw clenched at the mention of Gold and she glanced at Emma, who shrugged.

"Lily and Neal told me how you tried to get them away from Gold and how they choose to stay," she told Cora.

And Regina's mother visibly relaxed with those words. "They had it their minds that you and the others were coming for them."

"Eh," Emma quipped. "They weren't exactly wrong, Cora."

"No, Emma," she replied. "I suppose they were not."

"Well mother you're here, so what do you want?" Regina asked, plainly, wanting to get this over with.

"Regina Elena Mills, I am tired of fighting with you," Cora fired back. "You want me to admit that I was a terrible mother? Fine, Regina. I was. And there is no excuse for that. And if you don't want a relationship with me, I'll understand. If you don't want me to be in your child's life, I'll respect your decision. It will kill me. But if I did something that completely destroyed whatever faith you had in me…"

Cora's voice trailed off, leaving her thought unfinished.

Regina studied her mother for a moment. Her childhood was a disaster. But so had her mother's childhood, if Zelena was to be believed. However while Regina trusted her sister, fear of rejection and of being hurt made her cautious. Still, she had her baby's life to think of. And maybe Emma was right, though she'd never admit it out loud; maybe it was wrong of her to deny their baby access to another person that could love them just because Regina was afraid she might get hurt.

"Did you know who Neal was?" Regina finally asked. "Before you saved him?"

Cora shook her head. "No. I found that out later. When his other brother approached me. August, I think. He told me about your pregnancy. And that his brother Daniel had been the father. He thanked me for him not having to bury two brothers that day. I killed Gold because someone had to. Before he killed someone else's child."

"Damn…" Emma breathed.

That was Emma, forever the wordsmith. Regina rolled her eyes and focused on Cora. "One more question. You do want to be called 'Granny' or 'Grams?'"

Her mother chuckled. "Grams will be fine, dear. I'm not old enough to pull off Granny yet, I don't think."