As soon as Bloody Mary took ahold of her hand warmth flooded through her body. A flutter of butterflies flew around in the pits of her stomach, Snow felt like she might pass out at any given moment. Why was she do nervous? This was just a dance with a woman that had such suave elegance practically radiating off of her.
Guessing she would have to lead the dance she guided Bloody Mary to the dance floor. Something that boggled Snow White's mind was if she asked Mary for a dance? Or did Mary ask her for a dance? It was rather confusing to her, but that was the last of her worries.
Snow slowly set her hand on Mary's hip, while the other was softly intwined with her dance partner's. Sure enough Mary's hand was placed upon her hip. Her body tensed up , perhaps to much. Mary noticed this.
"Is everything alright?" she asked raising an eye brow.
"Y-yes... I...I just drank a tad too much champagne." Snow lied.
"Bullshit." Bloody Mary called her out for her little lie. "You only drank one glass, if you didn't want to dance with me all you had to do is say so."
"No! I-I want too!" she confirmed. Christ, she wasn't used to these butterflies swarming in her stomach, it was affecting her more then just a fluttery anxious feeling.
"Very well then." her hands ever so lightly tighten on Snow's. The melody of yet another classical song filled the air, this was one Snow was familiar with and as well as a personal favourite of hers. The notes of soothing and heavenly like piano music set her nerves at ease. "Let's dance Snowball."
"Don't call me that."
"No promises."
Snow White sipped daintily at her hot coffee, it was a wonder coffee or any hot drink could stay cold in this snowy weather. The hot bitterness of the drink ran down her throat and too her stomach. Flavoured with cream and plenty of sugar to keep her awake and alive. The reasoning for that was she didn't get much sleep the night before. At least now Snow could just drink back the hours of sleep she missed with caffeine. At work she didn't have to feel guilty about drinking caffeine, like Snow, Mary couldn't live without her daily dose of coffee... Of course for the fallowing eight months she would have too.
" Hey..." greeted Bigby as he entered the office, cigarette in hand as usual.
"You ever though about trying out some of those patches that help you stop smoking?" she asked.
"And deal with the scent of the city? No thank you." he chuckled taking another drag. "But I'll keep that idea in mind."
Rolling her blue eyes she looked at the seemingly endless stack of paper work, it would most certainly take awhile to complete. A tiring sigh escaped from her, but somehow a weak smile was still plastered on her face.
"So, how's life?" Bigby asked blowing a puff of smoke into the air.
"Fairly good, aside from Bluebeard and all this paper work I can't really complain." setting her coffee on her desk Snow plopped herself down in a chair. "Overall it's going great."
"I can tell."
"Excuse me?" she arched an eye brow at him.
"You had a little more spring in your step lately." he replied putting out his cigarette in an ashtray. "Something up?" he asked lighting up another cigarette.
"Just in a good mood." taking ahold of a pen filled with red ink she started on the paperwork.
"Speaking of mood how is Mary? Heard she wasn't feeling too good." Bigby adjusted his tie as Snow though of an lie. The two agreed on waiting until the first trimester was over with to reveal the news.
"Just a little food poisoning, you know how it can be with seafood places." Snow lied writing her signature on one of many sheets of paper. "Last time we order clams." Snow White added with a chuckle.
"We?" Bigby repeated. "Why didn't the both of you get food poisoning then?"
'Oh fuck...' cursing in her mind Snow tapped the pen on the desk, thinking of another lie to cover up the one she just told. This was the problem with lying, once you tell one you have to have a whole story of lies to keep it believable.
"The clams must has been cooked by different chefs."
Bigby raised an eye brow at her, damn it why did it have to be Bigby? The fable always had a knack for uncover lies and the truth.
"Different chefs, sure." he brought the cigarette to his lips and took a short drag. "You know I can tell when you're lying."
Snow pouted her plump red lips. Her brows buckled in a annoyed manner and her charming blue eyes narrowed at him. "I have nothing to hide sheriff."
A low chuckle came as he blew a puff of smoke into the air. "When people say they have nothing to hide, that normally means there hiding something."
"Well I can ensure you that's not the case." Snow scoffed.
"You know I'm going to find out eventually." he mused much to her annoyance.
"Don't you have work to do?"
Bloody Mary took a deep breath as she stared at the door before her. Yup, this was the right place... no turning back now. Gulping down any fear she had Mary then brought her knuckle to the maple wood door and knocked three times. Knowing her mother she wouldn't be out and about on the streets of Fabletown. Her mother- Aunty Greenleaf, had always been a quiet woman who kept to herself, rarely ever went outside unless it was at odd hours and she wasn't suffering a bad mood swing.
After waiting a few short seconds the green door slowly creeped open.
"Rent isn't due until next fri-" the elderly witch stopped upon seeing Bloody Mary.
Forcing her lips to shift into a the smallest and weakest of smiles her hazel eyes soon met with her mother's. "Hi..." her voice sounded so dry and lifeless.
Her mother's eyes widen in shock. Christ , how long has it's been since they last seen each other? Mary couldn't remember, but one thing was for certain, neither one had changed in the slightest way or detail.
"Mary?" Greenleaf gawked.
Shuffling in her place she then cleared her throat. "Can... can I come in?"
A slow nod from her mom as she gestured for her to enter the dimly lit room. The apartment hasn't changed a bit, still had that old time feel to it. Same wood stove, wallpaper and of course the many photos of them together that hung on the wall. Of course none of her father, not that she minded of course. It was then she was hit with the rich scent of homegrown herbs, freshly cut vegetables and cooking meat. No doubt it was her mother's owl stew. Pondering the though of if it was even possible to get owl meat in Fabletown or even legal her stomach growled. Damn it, she forgot to stop at the cafe and get something to eat... not a good time to forget about eating.
"It's done if you would like some." offered Greenleaf.
"Sounds great, I've sort of missed breakfast." Mary replied sheepishly, and the stew smelled amazing, it didn't even trigger her sensitive sense of smell.
Her mother gave a slow nod, and sure enough returned with two large bowls of the stew. It was an old family recipe that's been in the family for ages. Aside from getting owl meat it was fairly easy to make, chop up whatever vegetables one wanted, a few herbs, a good broth, and simmer on a stove.
Once settled in her seat she swallowed a large spoonful of the stew. It just like she remembered, every detail was exactly like the last time she had the hearty stew. Now she was somewhat glad she missed breakfast. Figuring she couldn't just stay silent while gorging herself on her mother's cooking Mary cleared her throat to speak.
"It's... been awhile." her tone made that sentence sound so force.
"Seven years..." Greenleaf muttered glancing downwards at her bowl. "Did you get those jars of homemade jam I sent for Christmas?"
"Yes, they were lovely. Me and Snow loved them." It was then Mary realized she made the fatal mistake of mentioning her beloved wife. Cursing herself silently in her mind for the mistake.
Although at first a bit uneasy about Bloody Mary being a lesbian her mother grown to fully support her, she even met a few of her past girlfriends a couple times. They always been rather close, and were even closer once her father left them... But the thing that drove an unbreakable wedge between the once tight bond they had was when Snow came into her life. The reason Snow White finally took over as deputy mayor was when it was discovered Ichabod Crane was using glamours, made by her mother to make women he paid to have sex with look like Snow. Money was tight, and even Mary working a job wasn't enough, Greenleaf charged a cheap price for her homemade glamours using a tree, the tree had been the last thing her father given them before leaving. Upon discovering the source of the glamours was being made by her mom Snow ordered Sheriff Bigby to burn the tree, which he did. Of course this pissed the two of them off greatly, but upon Bigby calling Grenleaf to offer her mother a job that made Mary ease up a bit... But her mother was still bitter and has a deep hatred for Snow White.
Knowing this Mary haven't said so much as a peep about the two dating, but once Snow popped the questioned all hell broke loose, she and her mom haven't spoken face to face in years.
Wanting to quickly change the subject Mary spoke again. "Did you get the chocolates I send?"
A slow nod from her mother, anyone could clearly see even so much as mentioning Snow White made the woman cringe in bitterness and anger.
"Yes dearie, they were wonderful..." Aunty Greenleaf hastily brought a small spoonful of owl stew to her lips.
Yet another eerie and dreadful pause between the mother and daughter as they ate. Bloody Mary had to constantly remind herself that at some point she would have to reveal her pregnancy at some point during today... but it seemed as if there was a clog in her throat that kept her from doing so. After swallowing one last spoonful she set her silver spoon down and looked sat her mother.
"We... haven't talked much since I got married to Snow White..." that alone was hard enough to say out loud, so surly declaring that her and wife were expecting a child would surly be harder. But it was about time she faced her demons and deal with this.
Her mother swallowed a spoonful and sighed. "It's been so long..." her tone sadden, setting the spoon aside. Her mother's fist tighten, her eyes shut tightly. "My own daughter..."
"Mom,... me and Snow-"
"Don't even mention that woman's name!" Aunty Greenleaf snapped, if possible her fists clenched tighter.
"She's my wife!" Bloody Mary hissed in deference. Her mother always had a habit if being a bit moody, and Mary doubted her hormones would help this situation. But god damn it she would fight till the ends of the earth for her for any god given reason! And petty verbal attacks on her wife was one of those things.
Her mother narrowed her eyes at her, a displeased look on her face. "She burned my tree, my ONLY source of income!"
"Bigby gave you a job didn't he?"
"It's awful! I make overpriced glamours, barely any Fable can afford it!" she yelled. "I'm not helping anyone, Neither is Snow!"
"My wife is doing the best she can! And Fabletown is still in debt thanks to that sick bastard Crane!" glaring daggers at her mother with hazel eyes she kept going. "How much did he give you for those Snow glamours? hundreds? Thousands?"
"I was doing what was best for you! What was best for us!"
"So selling glamours so that Crane can live out his sick fetish is doing what's best for us?!"
"We were about to lose the apartment! We were buried in debt! I had loans to pay off. Fabletown wasn't going to help us, neither was that bitch Snow White! That tree was the only nice reminder of the nice life I used to have!"
That was the straw that broke the camel's back for Mary, no one insults her wife in front of her and gets away with it. Given any other situation Mary would had thrown a punch, but this was her mother, and on top of that she was expecting... Standing up briskly she clenched her fist.
"Fuck this!" turning around and rushing out of the apartment, on the brink of tears she rushed out of the building.
Should had known it wouldn't had worked out... blinking back tears she made her way back to her and Snow's apartment. It was getting all to much for her... glancing down at her abdomen it finally hit her that her and her wife's future child wouldn't have any family beside's it's two mothers. Maybe it was just hormones acting up but with this very though tears streamed down her freckled cheeks.
Bloody Mary was like this for a good hour or so, just sobbing alone on the couch. Blaming it on her hormones she choked on dry sobs, burying her face with her small hands. It was then the phone rang, breaking the sound of her choking cries. Dabbing her red and puffy eyes on her the sleeve of her ebony blazer. Slowly she reached for the phone.
"Hello?"
"Ah Mary, it's Swineheart. Are you alright? You voice sounds rather raw."
"Just from the vomiting, I can't be anywhere around garlic. You know how much Snow loves her garlic bread..." Mary lied and forced a small chuckle.
"Might I suggest sour candies? I had a few expecting mothers say it helped with nausea." the physician suggested.
"Y-yeah, I'll keep that in mind. I been downing these ginger candies for the past while and I'm getting pretty sick of them. So why are you calling? Is something wrong?"
"Not at all, I assure you, your perfectly heathy. I just forgotto ask if you wanted the ultrasound pictures printed off. You and Snow were in a rather distressed state when we first checked you out, it haven't crossed my mind to ask you two. Forgive me, I can drop them off of tomorrow if you want ."
Now this made Bloody Mary feel a bit guilty, she and Snow were so caught up in the fear of losing the baby they didn't even get to enjoy the very first ultrasound...
"Yeah... that would be great doc."
"There's no need to feel guilty Mrs White, you saw blood and thought you were having a miscarriage." Swineheart reassured. "You and Snow are first time mothers, and it hasn't been an easy route with in vitro for you two. But I can assure you everything looks good so far, first time parents always get a little nervous, you and Snow are no exception."
With this Bloody Mary felt her body ease up a bit. It made sense, really. There would be plenty of other ultrasounds to look forward too.
"Thank you... Hey doc, think you can also email me a couple pictures?"
"I see no reason why not."
Snow White sighed as she looked at the computer monitor. Just dealing with a few emails and word documents that had to be send, as well as typing up letters to be send to fables. She was eager to wrap everything up in hopes she could go home early, of course Snow would never rush through work without making sure everything was in proper order and tip top shape, she would never EVER commit to doing sloppy work just for her selfish desires.
It was then her eyes picked up on the inbox icon, it said she had a new message. Dragging the mouse across the mousepad she then brought the arrow to the inbox icon and clicked. Recognizing the email address as her lover's Snow merely rolled her eyes. Temptation to talk to her wife got the better of her as she open the message and read it.
Mary : Hey message me when u get the chance K?
Her work was nearly done , so the deputy mayor saw no harm in exchanging a couple messages for a short while. Snow then typed back.
Snow : Hi
And sure enough Bloody Mary replied back.
Mary : How R U?
Snow : Good you?
Mary : Just fine
Snow : What's up?
Mary : I got 2 go but I just wanted 2 show you something so think U
might like.
Snow : ?
Mary : Here :D g2g later bb luv u
Before Mary logged off she send a message that contained an picture. Curios she clicked on it. In an instant her eyes widen and a large smile spread across her face upon seeing the picture. Everything was black, grey and blurry but to Snow it seemed like the most beautiful thing ever to exist. Zooming in on the picture for a better look of the ultrasound her grin widen. The first time they never got to enjoy it since there was the constant fear of a miscarriage... but here it was, so tiny and blurry but there it was. All Snow could do was stare at the ultrasound in awe... until...
"So this is what you been hiding?" She quickly turned around in her chair too see Bigby standing behind her with a smug grin on his face.
'Oh fuck...'
He chuckled as he took one last drag of his cigarette before putting it out in an ashtray.
"Told you I would find out." he looked at the picture on the computer. "So this is why your so happy."
Of course this would happen, Bigby had sixth sense when it came to secrets. Figuring he had her beat she sighed.
"Yeah... it is..." Snow grumbled.
"How far along are you?"
"I'm not pregnant, it's Mary... the last round of in vitro she decided to give it a shot since I wasn't having any luck." explained Snow. "She's a bit over a month now..."
"Congrats," Bigby said lighting up another cigarette. "I know how hard you two been trying."
"We almost gave up..." she looked at Bigby with pleaimg blue eyes. "Bigby, can you...keep this between us? Me and Bloody Mary didn't intend to let anyone know this early."
The sheriff nodded and took a long drag, inhaling deeply before blowing an ashy grey cloud of smoke into the air. "Of course, I said I would find out, I didn't say I was going to tell anyone."
She sighed on relief and offered Bigby a subtle sweet smile. "Thank you."
