Author's Note: I'm starting these little stories back up. If you have a request drop it in the reviews and I'll add it to my list.
Prompt 1.) Olivia calls Regina mom instead of momma for the first time.
When it happened, Olivia had been eleven-years-old and it had been during one of the hottest summers Regina could remember. Maddie had just started taking her first steps, Roland developed a love for reading, and her husband had just gotten home from another one of the last few two-week trips to San Francisco.
The central air blasted cold air into their home as Regina listened to the musical stylings of Harry Connick Jr. She was making juice popsicles for all of them and a few of Olivia's friends who were spending the day outside running through the sprinkler and swimming in the small pool Robin found to fit their yard. Their son, not much a fan of the girls' combined exuberance, was upstairs in his room reading a stack of comics Robin brought home for him while he was away. And her husband was off somewhere with their youngest, venturing all around the house with Ella trailing vigilantly behind them.
Their pup, well she wasn't much of a puppy anymore, had taken to following their baby girl wherever she went.
It started when Madelyn began to crawl. From there, Ella was by her side when Maddie wobbled on to her feet, letting her grab her fur to keep from falling, or to keep the baby from things she ought not be in - like the stairs or cupboards. There were baby gates and childproof clips, but that never deterred the dog from being by Maddie's side.
Robin had remarked he should have named her Nana, after the dog in Peter Pan. Regina laughed at that because, at the time, he had said it right after Ella had parked herself in front of the fireplace and would move anytime Madelyn tried to crawl around her to get closer to the fire.
She had just finished putting the orange juice popsicles in the freezer when Robin and Maddie rounded the corner into the kitchen. He was standing behind their little girl, who was taking small steps, laughing and babbling as she did. Her blonde hair stood out against the black headband with a maroon flowered bow that matched her black polka-dot dress. Once she saw Regina, she grinned up at her with her bright, blue eyes, quickening her steps over to her while holding on to Robin's fingers.
Regina was just about to hold out her arms for her baby girl when the back door burst open. Olivia, with her bathing suit soaked from the water outside, ran over to her and asked, "When are we having lunch?"
Reaching over, Regina wiped the locks of hair that stuck to her daughter's face, and replied, "I ordered us all Giovanni's a little while ago. I'll call you girls in as soon as it's ready."
Her daughter's eyes widened at the mention of her favorite lactose-free food. "Pizza, yes!" She turned and started for the door calling out, "Thanks, Mom!" over her shoulder.
Mom.
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The moment he heard it, Robin picked up Maddie from the floor and went over to her. He hadn't ever heard Olivia call her Mom before, and he was sure if she had while he was away, he would have heard about it. With a hand on her lower back, he murmured, "Ouch."
She turned toward him, her lips were tipped down into a pout, and her eyes held a bit of sadness in them that probably would have shone in his eyes had their situations been reversed. "You heard it, too?"
"I did." Slipping his hand under her tee, he rubbed her back while holding their little one in his other arm. "Perhaps it was just a one-time slip?"
Regina tilted her head to the side, giving him a look that said oh, please, but it didn't last as Maddie reached her arms out. Her small hands opening and closing, wanting her mother, and Regina smiled at her before taking her from Robin. Madelyn's head fell softly against Regina's shoulder, no doubt worn out from her afternoon running around the house.
Regina pat her back softly while she told him, "Sure, it's one slip. Then two, and another, and the next thing we know she's off in college, calling us every other weekend."
He shook his head and tried desperately not to smile. "That's a long way off yet, babe."
His wife glowered at him. "Says the man who is still Daddy."
He pressed his lips together. He supposed she had a point.