Originally written between chapters 10 and 11. Again fanfic of my fanfic without spoilers.
So this is obviously a lot longer than 8000 characters. That's because this damn thing took on a life of its own! Lol this is the extended version. Much better than the shortened one I previously sent out.
Happy Easter everyone!
"Emma Swan I swear to god if we miss the birth of my first grandchild I will filet you alive and eat your heart for breakfast!"
Emma chuckled as she followed her wife through the airport baggage claim. Fellow travelers whipped their heads around to stare at the brunette who marched at an ungodly fast pace in heels.
"Baby relax, Violet's water hasn't broke and she hasn't gone into labor yet. And even then we have at minimum twelve hours of labor before the munchkin will be here."
Their eldest son Henry and his wife were expecting their first child any day now. His doting mothers agreed to fly from Maine to Nebraska to witness the momentous occasion. His grandparents had flown out the day before, much to Regina's displeasure.
"She could have gone into labor while we were on the plane! We could be missing everything right now." Regina called back fixing the blond with a stern look. "Have you called Henry yet? Where are our bags?"
"Baby they are going to be at baggage claim four." Emma's amused smile spread as the knowing looks of other travelers were shot their way. "It's not going to be on the carousel yet. Just take a deep breath."
Emerald eyes rolled good naturedly as Emma pulled her phone from her back pocket. She turned it on and dialed Henry quickly as Regina found a member of the airport staff to terrorize.
"Hey Ma."
"Hey kid. We're in Nebraska now. Just landed."
"Fantastic! You might be able to save Grams from Violet. Everything she does seems to set her off, and I of course have to take my wife's side."
"Smart man." Emma smiled and tracked Regina with her eyes. The poor bloke she was threatening looked overwhelmed by the brunette in front of him. "Your mother is threatening to cut out the heart of the airport staff with a spoon. I knew you never should have showed her that movie."
"It's a classic!"
"Classic or not it's become one of her favorites." Emma started towards Regina and her victim with the intention of saving the poor man. "Here talk to your mother and reassure her that you will let her hold the munchkin before Snow." Emma gently pulled Regina away from the flustered staff and offered the man an apologetic smile as she handed the brunette the phone.
"Henry? Yes we just landed." Regina smiled as Emma guided her towards the proper baggage claim. "How is Violet? …Oh Braxton Hicks contractions? …Yes I'm sure they are very uncomfortable."
Snow and Charming were already with the expecting couple. And Henry's brothers, Nathan and Peter, however had chosen to drive across the states and make the journey a memorable road trip. They had already been on the road for several days and Emma suspected that they would be showing up at roughly the same time.
Emma contented herself with running her fingers along Regina's spine as she waited rather patiently for either the call to end or the bags to arrive. Whichever happened first. As long as Regina wasn't threatening her life in the middle of a very public space she figured she was okay.
The blonde left her wife's side to retrieve their bags, happy to be one step closer to getting Regina to her grandchild. Emma supposed that she would be allowed to share the title of Grandma only after Regina got to coo over the future newborn. She loaded the luggage onto a cart and rejoined her wife who had released Henry from the phone at last.
"Emma we are going to be meeting Henry, Violet and your parents for dinner at some restaurant tonight." Regina handed Emma back her phone, "Violet has to decide where she wants to go first. Henry said he would text you the address."
"It's an important decision. Come on let's get our rental car. You have the information right?"
"Of course I do." Chocolate eyes rolled as she followed her wife through the crowded airport.
Emma played with her phone as Regina dealt with the rental company. Her game of fruit ninja was however interrupted by an incoming text from Henry.
Violet's water broke, headed to hospital now. Will txt room number later.
Panicked emerald eyes flashed to Regina to make sure her wife was still preoccupied before texting her son back. Regina could not know that the munchkin was on its way. Absolutely not. She would be insufferable all the way to the hospital. And they still had a two hour drive between them and the hospital. Not to mention the pit stop to the hotel they had to take just to check in.
Do not tell your mother. Txt me the details when you can. We are on the way.
"Darling are you ready?"
Emma jumped and pocketed her phone quickly, "Yep, let's get this show on the road. You got us a cool car right?"
"If by cool you mean safe and reliable then yes I did." Regina handed Emma the keys to their rental knowing the blond would demand them as soon as they got to the vehicle. Something about her 'uncontrollable road rage' meant that Emma always drove when they left Storybrooke.
With the car loaded the pair set out on the road. One blissfully ignorant of her arriving grandchild and the other anxiously hoping she could keep her wife unaware. Emma felt her phone vibrate once with a text but ignored it knowing it was Henry. At the rest stop Emma took advantage of Regina's need for bottled water to check her messages.
Room 204, doctors say she has already been in labor for hours. Her contractions weren't Braxton Hicks.
The blond swore under her breath as she read the text twice just to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Good lord Regina might actually follow through on her threat to skin her alive if Emma failed to get them to the hospital in time.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing baby, Violet just wants to go to that diner by the hospital." Emma tucked her phone away and offered Regina a crooked smile, "You know the one with awful onion rings."
"Those aren't good for your cholesterol levels anyway."
"My cholesterol is just fine Regina."
Regina just clicked her tongue in disbelief and flipped open her book, the fingers of her free hand lacing with Emma's as the blond pulled into traffic. The rest of the journey felt like hours to Emma who prayed that her parents wouldn't call Regina to give her an update.
The blonde unloaded the car at the hotel as Regina checked them in, passing on her wife's offer of help in lieu of checking her phone again for an update on Violet from Henry. Nothing. Now Emma had to decide if she wanted to surprise Regina entirely by taking her straight to the hospital without warning or tell her and get a verbal ass chewing for not saying anything sooner. Followed by more complaints about her so called 'slow' driving.
"Room 204."
Emma nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Regina's husky voice in her ear. "What?" How did Regina know what room Violet was in? She wasn't supposed to know!
"I said we are in room 204." Chocolate eyes narrowed as Regina took in the jumpy form of her wife. "Is something wrong?"
"VioletisinlaborandwearegoingtomeetthematthehospitalassoonasIdumpourshitinourroom." Emma said very quickly as she darted past her wife, snagging the key card and hoping she could get into the hotel before Regina processed what she said.
"…..EMMA SWAN I WILL END YOU!"
The trip from the hotel to the hospital was every bit as uncomfortable as Emma feared it would be. Regina would not let up on her until they arrived at the hospital. Only then was she distracted by Henry and Violet long enough for Emma to catch a breather. If only long enough to head to the hospital cafeteria and back in search of food.
After being reassured that everything was fine and the doctor's were happy with Violet's progress Regina returned to the waiting room to find Emma slouched uncomfortably in a plastic chair scowling at the sandwich in front of her.
"I got you a spinach salad with strawberries and those grain nut crunchy things you like." Emma pointed to the plastic container on the seat next to her.
Regina tenderly brushed blond hair from her lover's face and greeted her with a kiss. "Thank you darling."
"Everything going ok with your grand baby in there?" Emma's smile was infectious and Regina found herself smiling as well.
"Yes, everything is fine." Regina settled herself in the chair next to her wife and picked up her salad, "Is something wrong with your sandwich?"
"It's unbelievably dry." Emma grimaced and set it aside in favor of trying to get comfortable. "Hospital food sucks." Regina hummed and nibbled on her salad, Emma would soon get hungry enough to either return to the cafeteria or run out for a quick bite to eat before returning.
The next several hours were filled with anxious waiting. Regina's patience was tested by Snow's endless ramblings and Emma's fidgeting. The blonde hadn't left the waiting room in search of food. Instead taking advantage of her father's restlessness and sending him out for a proper sandwich. Regina retreated from the waiting room several times to check in on Violet and Henry who was on the receiving end of death threats already and once to retrieve coffee.
"Do you think the munchkin is ready to arrive yet?" Emma groused, fidgeting in her seat once again with a pained grimace. She leaned forward resting her elbows on her knees, fingers buried in blonde tresses.
"Soon I think. Is your back hurting you?" Regina ran a hand soothingly up and down Emma's exposed back. A three and a half hours on a plane followed by a two hour drive that then turned into several more hours in an uncomfortable plastic chair had to be wreaking havoc on her back.
"It's killing me." Emma admitted, "But I it's worth it. I want to meet the munchkin as badly as you do."
"I know." Regina murmured and pressed a kiss to Emma's shoulder, "I'm sorry for being so unreasonable earlier. You couldn't get us here any faster."
The blond smiled and accepted Regina's apology easily, "One would think it was your first time being a grandmother. Technically I could be considered your first grandchild and the munchkin would be your great great great grand baby."
Chocolate eyes flashed unamused, "Do not start with me Emma. That is not funny." Emma's chuckles were joined by Snow and Charming's as the room lapsed into comfortable silence again.
"Has anyone called Nathan and Peter and told them that Violet is in labor now?" Emma asked aloud as the thought popped into her head. The adults all glanced at each other and Emma shook her head. "I suppose I will then."
She pulled her phone out as she got to her feet with some effort. Back stiff and achy, making it uncomfortable to move until she loosened up a bit. Retreating to the windows for better reception she dialed Nathan hoping that wherever they were they had enough signal to get her call.
Nathan answered on the third ring, "Hey Emma what's up?"
"Oh, Violet's just in labor right now so we are all sitting around in the hospital waiting for the munchkin to arrive."
Emma listened to the silence on the other end of the phone for a moment until Nathan spoke again, "Seriously?"
"Yup. You need to come straight to the hospital."
"Okay we can be there in like two or three hours I think."
Emma could hear Peter's voice in the background as he started to pay attention to the conversation the woman he saw as his mother and his brother were having, "We are doing what?" Emma waited patiently as Nathan caught Peter up to speed.
"I'll text you the address and room number ok?"
"Alright no problem."
"And no speeding."
"I am an adult, you don't need to tell me that." Emma could practically hear the eye roll she knew Nathan was giving her on the other end of the line.
"You're the adult with two speeding tickets on your record and four more unofficially on your record because you were caught in Storybrooke were I happen to be Sheriff." Emma retorted with an eye roll of her own.
"Details."
"Alright focus on the road. I love you both." Emma started to put an end to the call when she glanced behind her and saw Regina trying to turn Snow in to smoldering ash with her eyes.
"We love you too Emma."
Emma's heart flipped like it always did when they told her that. They had a rocky parent/guardian and child relationship coming back from the Enchanted Forest. While Nathan could never bring himself to call her mom, he was able to express his love. She truly thought of the two as her own sons and did everything she could to remind them of that when she could in her own way.
"Bye."
Emma flipped her phone shut and sat herself unceremoniously between her wife and mother. She took her wife's smaller hand in her own and kissed the back of it, silently asking what was going on.
"Snow was just suggesting that Henry might name his first child after his grandparents rather than his parents."
The blond fought the urge to roll her eyes, if this is what it took to earn a death glare anymore then Regina really had gone soft. Not that the former monarch would ever admit it or allow anyone else to suggest such a thing within her hearing.
"Henry is more likey to name his first child after a character from a book he loves." Emma announced with a smile. As Henry grew up his love of books never faltered. In fact the nursery he put together already had two bookshelves crammed with books for the little one. One full of children's books that the munchkin would one day learn to read from. The other full of old stories that Henry adored and spent hours already reading to the baby in the womb. Emma was sure that habit was likely to continue for many years to come.
"Why don't we just wait and see?" David reasoned, "There is no point in getting excited over it until we find out what it is."
Regina snorted but settled into Emma's side, her book reappearing in her hand. The blond wrapped an arm around her shoulders determined to take a nap that would last until the baby finally arrived.
Hours later Henry rushed into the waiting room with a stupid grin on his face to announce the birth of his daughter. Regina was the first into the room with Emma close behind her to coo over the exhausted mother daughter pair.
As promised Regina was the first to hold the newborn after Henry and Violet of course. The brunette beamed at her grandchild, rocking her gently as she turned to Violet. "What's her name?"
"We decided on Lucille Hope Swan."
"Lucille?" Snow questioned gently, envious eyes caught on the baby girl in Regina's arms.
"Lucy for short." Violet informed them tiredly, settled against Henry who had sat next to his wife on the bed. "Henry insisted. I didn't like Susan very much."
A smile pulled at Emma' lips as she reached around the love of her life to play with Lucy's tiny hands. "Lucy or Susan? As in the Pevensie children?"
Henry nodded with a grin, "The very same."
"I knew it, you totally named the munchkin after a fictional character." Emma's smile stretched into a grin that matched her son's.
Regina rolled her eyes but cooed at Lucy with a smile. It was the closest Emma had come to saying "I told you so" in a very long time so she was going to let her have it this once. Finally Emma took Lucy from Regina claiming it was her turn to hold her grandchild and stuck her tongue out childishly at Snow who protested insisting she had called dibs on second.
Nathan and Peter finally arrived looking out of breath as they barreled into the room demanding to know if they had missed everything. Emma and Henry just laughed at them and the boys were quickly caught up to speed on the arrival of their first niece.
"Hey Nathan, when are you and Grace going to start giving me grandkids too?" Emma asked turning to the blond with a mischievous twinkle in her emerald eyes. "You both still live in Storybrooke where I could see the ankle biter all the time."
Nathan sputtered eyes bulging, "W-what?"
Regina chuckled as Emma and Nathan went back and forth on the topic. Emma had never been the one to push for grandkids until now. It appeared that now that she had Lucy the blonde wanted a grandchild to spoil that was closer to home. It was only a matter of time until she joined the brunette in her attempts to convince Henry and Violet to move back to Storybrooke. After all, how could they pass up free babysitting?
The brunette observed her family from the comfort of Emma's strong arms. As a girl she had never in her wildest dreams thought that her life would turn out like this. Not even when she became Queen and gained control of her own life and destiny did she think that she would ever be this happy. The warmth in the room was one that couldn't be put into words and she loved every minute of it. Regina wouldn't give it up for the world.
This was definitely her happy ending.
Big thank you to Sleeping Knights for helping me come up with the baby name!
I always want to know your thoughts! This particular ficlet has, in my mind, the potential to be a story in its own right. What do you all think? Is that something you would like to read?