A/N: I'm so happy with how well you guys have responded to this fic and how much you love it. I realize some of you have some apprehensions about the way I write some things, but I promise there's an intention behind everything and that intention is to pull Swan Queen closer and closer. It will all make sense in the end.
Now the last chapter was mostly filler although it did involve a key point. This chapter is somewhat the same. The next chapter is when the ball drops and starts rolling.
Thank you again for you immense support, I love every single one of you and I don't exaggerate when I say that some of you have literally brought me to tears with how sweet your reviews are!
Just a quick note: This was all written way before the whole thing with the author and then that mess with Zelena. So for all intents and purposes Marian is still Marian. This will become important to note later on.
Enjoy this chapter!
Regina huffed angrily as she walked out of the bathroom for the umpteenth time that day. It was one o'clock in the afternoon and decidedly not morning. So why was she still sick?
"It doesn't just happen in the morning." Emma had told her on the fourth day since finding out she was pregnant. "Despite the name."
"That's ridiculous and misleading." Had been her answer.
She lay down on her bed to try and relax a little. The house was quiet, Henry was at school, Emma was at work and she had decided to take the day off because she felt like crap. The blonde had been spending more time at her house lately, between Henry wanting her around and her wanting to be around because of Regina, and Regina actually appreciating the fact that she was around because that meant she was at least taken care of if she needed it. Once, Emma had spent the night in her guest room, because the bond between their souls was getting stronger, and the blonde had realized something was wrong with Regina but couldn't put her finger on it, and when she called the brunette to check the only response was she had insane cravings. So Emma showed up, much to Regina's surprise as well as delight, and brought her the food she'd requested and stayed up with her while she ate and watched a Disney movie with her; Aladdin. When Regina looked over to Emma as the credits rolled up the blonde was fighting hard to keep her eyes open. So Regina offered her guest room
"I'm fine..." Emma said sleepily.
"You're falling asleep even as you deny being tired. You're sleeping in my guest room tonight, it's dangerous for you to drive while you're this sleepy." Regina had put her foot down.
She couldn't deny it anymore, not to herself anyway, that she had some kind of feelings towards Emma. The fact that they had two sources and a magical baby calling them soul mates made it hard to deny that. But she still had so many questions swimming in her head. Were her feelings solely because of her baby and what she was being told? And what about Robin? He was meant to be her soulmate, at least that's what Tinkerbell had said when she cast the enchantment and took her to that tavern that night so many years ago. She closed her eyes tightly and sighed, wondering if maybe she should go talk to the fairy about her predicament.
Suddenly she heard something that sounded like twinkling. She wondered for a moment if she were hearing things. Until.
"Hello Regina." A familiar australian accent said. Regina jumped and sat up in the bed as she took in the fairy that was standing in front of her.
"How did you get in here?" Regina demanded. Tinkerbell giggled, a laugh that sounded like small bells twinkling in the wind. The fairy's namesake.
"Magic of course." Tink shrugged.
"Okay...what are you doing here?" Regina asked again.
"You called me." She blonde fairy said. Regina furrowed her eyebrows at that.
"I think you may have gotten the wrong number." The former queen said as she stood up. Tink laughed again as she shook her head.
"No, silly. You called me. Or you may have done so without realizing. If you were thinking about talking to me about something, then I got that as a sign that you were calling." She explained. "So, what's up?"
"N-nothing." Regina shook her head. "You must have heard wrong."
"I never get a call wrong." Tink basically gloated. "So, are you going to tell me what's the matter? Or do I have to follow you around until you tell me?"
"You'd actually do that?" Regina deadpanned.
"Part of the job." Tink threw her hands up. She turned around suddenly and let herself fall on the bed. "If you won't tell me, I'll just take a little nap. Hope you don't mind."
Regina rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Okay, fine." She relented, shifting down to edge of the bed. Tink smile and sat up, scooting closer to her and looking to the brunette with rapt attention. "It's about the enchantment you cast...back in the enchanted forest? The one that made Robin Hood my soul mate."
"The same soul mate you sent walking out of town, fully aware that a barrier would keep him out." Tink nodded, and Regina sighed.
"Yes, I know. And I know you're mad at me about that. But his wife was dying, and he had a son, and I couldn't let him break up his family for me." Regina said. Tink smiled a little.
"I'm not mad." she said. Regina looked over at her.
"You're not? Even though I basically rendered your sacrifice pointless?" Regina asked. Tink shrugged.
"You did that when you walked away from the tavern that night." Tink said and then smiled at her. "And, you were making your own sacrifice when you let him go. I think it was very noble of you."
Regina smiled a little at that.
"So what is it you wanted to ask me?" Tink asked. Regina bit her lip hesitantly before she spoke.
"Is there some way, I know it's crazy...But is it possible for a person to have more than one soul mate?" Regina finally asked. Tink chewed her lip in thought for a moment.
"Well..." she said. "Technically, since Robin was only your soul mate out of an enchantment made with pixie dust, then yes, it's possible."
"But how can a person have more than one? A person's soul mate is their one and only." Regina reasoned.
"True. But a person's one and only doesn't usually come from pixie dust, it's something the universe picks and chooses." Tink explained.
"So I have two soul mates and I just have to choose one of them? How do I choose?" Regina asked. Tink shook her head.
"The universe isn't that cruel." She said. "You see, you sent Robin out to a land with no magic. Automatically, the enchantment broke, because even pixie dust is devoid of magic in a world without magic."
Regina turned to face her fully as she took in this information.
"So what you're saying is that Robin isn't my soul mate?" she asked.
"Sorry to say." Tink shrugged. "Once he's out there, where there's no magic, he isn't. Your soul mate is...well someone else, I don't know who, so don't ask. But the universe sort of automatically switches back to whoever that person is once Robin is out of the picture."
"So all this time I've had a soul mate in this town. Even before Robin came here?" Regina asked. Tink shrugged.
"Guess so." She said with a smile. "Is that all?"
"How do I know? How do I find them?" Regina asked, almost desperately. Tink giggled her musical laugh again.
"I can't tell you that, and it's only because I don't know." Tink said. "You just have to let the universe lead you to each other, some way or another.
"I'm starting to think this whole 'universe' thing is just you fairies being lazy." Regina deadpanned. Tink giggled again.
"It's not, fairies are just there to help the unfortunate, the universe is what shaped and forms our lives." Tink said.
"Like the author?" Regina asked. The fairy shrugged.
"I guess so, maybe the 'author' is just a metaphor for the universe, or vice versa. I really don't know. Some mysteries just have to stay mysteries." Tink said, and then smiled at her. "What's got you thinking about this so hard?"
Regina shrugged nonchalantly.
"Just wondering when I'll find them I guess." she said with a smile, hoping that would pacify the fairy. Tink nodded.
"Don't worry you'll find them. After all, we already know you have a type." She teased.
"And what would that be?" Regina asked.
"Well blondes with green eyes of course." the fairy said smugly.
"Robin's eyes are blue." Regina answered smartly.
"I know." Tink said, winking at Regina before disappearing in a cloud of sparkly dust. Regina sighed and rolled her eyes. What the hell did she mean by that?
Emma didn't even glance up as David came in with Henry in tow. School had just finished and the blonde's father had offered to go pick him and Snow up from school, to which Emma had agreed, because she'd just found a really interesting article on the internet about weird things happening during pregnancies and she wanted to read it.
"Hey Ma." Henry said. Emma pried her eyes off the computer long enough to give him a hug and actually acknowledge her parents. Snow grinned at her as she dropped a dish in front of her on the desk.
"What's this?" Emma asked, peeking under the foil.
"Well, I thought you could take it to Regina when you drop Henry off home." Snow said. "It's my famous casserole."
"Wow, thanks mom." Emma said.
"Well she can't really eat Granny's for the rest of her pregnancy." Snow said with a shrug. "And I figured she'd appreciate not having to cook all the time. God knows I hated that part about my pregnancy with Neal."
"Hey I tried to cook for you." David said defensively.
"Yeah, so did I." Emma said.
"And you both did a wonderful job, but I would prefer my kitchen not being burnt down." Snow sighed. Henry just chuckled as he attempted to pick off a piece from the casserole, only to have his hand smacked away by his grandmother.
"But I'm hungry!" He whined. Emma chuckled as she got up and put on her jacket.
"Well then let's get you home, then you can have some." She said. He lead the way out of the door and Emma followed, dish in hand. She was actually glad she had an excuse to see Regina.
When they arrived at the mansion, Henry opened the door with his key, running in and shouting a small announcement that Emma was with him, which pulled Regina out of her thoughts about her earlier talk with Tink and got her to leave the house office.
"Hey." The blonde said with a grin, presenting the dish in her hands. "Mom made you a casserole."
"Do you people think I'm unable to feed myself?" Regina asked with a furrowed brow and Emma shrugged.
"She just thought you'd appreciate not having to cook." Emma said. Regina sighed, the truth of the blonde's statement evident in her eyes. She lacked the energy lately, having to focus all of it on just staying awake after the effects of her pregnancy battered her almost every hour. Emma smiled at her sympathetically and nodded her head towards the kitchen. "Come on, I'll heat this up and we can get some food in you."
Regina smiled appreciatively at the blonde before she started walking towards the kitchen, where Henry was already rummaging around for snacks.
"Are we gonna eat?" He asked. Regina couldn't help but grin at him.
"Yes, we are." she said. "Your appetite has been growing lately."
"Must be puberty." Henry shrugged as he set the table for three without even asking, because lunches with both his mothers were so frequent now, they happened almost every day in every which way possible.
"Well go change out of your uniform before you eat." Regina said, nodding her head towards the stairs. Henry sighed, but did as he was told and ran up the stairs, despite his mother's multiple warnings not to do so.
"So how have you been today?" Emma asked as she cut up portions of the casserole.
"Horrible as usual." Regina said, sitting down and rubbing at her face. Emma bit her lip at the image of the woman. The dark circles under Regina's eyes were enough for Emma to go on. The brunette was exhausted. Emma could empathize.
"Are you drinking enough water?" The blonde asked.
"It's all I've been drinking, anything else just...comes back up. I haven't even been able to have my coffee-"
"Coffee?!" Emma said in a shocked tone. Regina groaned and regretted her choice of words.
"Relax. I've been drinking the decaf stuff you bought me, which tastes horrible, by the way." The brunette corrected. "But it doesn't even matter, because the minute I smell it my stomach just turns and I have to run to the bathroom."
"Yeah, like I said, first trimester sucks." Emma said as she placed a plate of now heated casserole in front of Regina. "Careful, it's still hot."
"Thank you." Regina said, enjoying the smell of the food that came up into her nostrils. "Thank Snow for me will you?"
"I will." Emma said with a smile.
"So..." Regina began, biting her lip nervously. "I uhm...I talked to Tinkerbell...about the whole soul mate thing between Robin and I?"
"Yeah?" Emma said, rolling her eyes and trying to control her jealousy because the bond between them was getting stronger and she didn't want Regina feeling any more nauseous than she already was. Regina could feel a little uneasiness that felt nothing like her own. But she didn't acknowledge it, instead continuing on with what she was saying.
"According to her, since Robin is in a world without magic...The enchantment is void." She said, looking up at Emma to see her reaction. the blonde whipped her head around a second later when Regina's words finally hit her.
"So he isn't your soul mate anymore?" she asked, trying to sound casual about it, though the way Regina raised her brow made her think it didn't really work.
"No, he's not." Regina said. "Someone else is though, apparently I always had a soul mate wandering around town, I just don't know who."
The look they shared between them could have been as loud and clear as any spoken words. They both knew who this unknown was. Emma sighed gently and gulped.
"Regina I-"
"Is the food ready? I'm starved." Henry's voice broke their staring contest, and effectively shut Emma up.
"Uhh, yeah." She stammered a little before turning around and carefully pulling the plate of food out of the microwave, placing it in Henry's place as the boy sat down and dug in before Emma could warn him about the food being hot, though it didn't seem to bother him. Emma plated and heated some food for herself and sat down to eat.
They sat in silence for the most part, but then...
"How about Isabelle?" Henry piped up. His mothers both turned and looked at him questioningly. "For the baby."
Regina nearly choked on her food at that and Emma instantly moved to pat her on the back and hand her a glass of water. When the brunette finally calmed down and was able to breathe properly again, the two women turned their attention to their son once more.
"I think it's a little early to start picking out names, Henry." Regina said. Emma saw the disappointed look in his eyes and tried to ease the situation.
"Yeah, kid, we don't even know if it's a boy or a girl yet." She said with a soft smile to her son, who smiled back.
"It's a girl." he said with a certain conviction that made both women's eyebrows rise just a bit.
"How do you know?" Regina asked. He shrugged in response.
"I just have a good feeling about it." He said, his smile still in place.
"Well we can't really say either way until we find out." Emma said again, trying to calm the boy's excitement. "And that's not for a while yet."
"Okay." He nodded. "Then I'll come up with a boy name too."
Emma and Regina chuckled as they glanced at each other, both glad that their son was accepting and actually excited about the fact that he'd soon be getting a little brother or sister. They were both worried, because they knew that a new sibling would result in jealousy from the older one, it was the oldest problem in the book when it came to having a second child, for Emma it was something that was maybe a bit too close to home with her past. But the fact that Henry was actually excited and accepting enough to be picking out names eased their worries.
"How about Jared?"
They finished lunch, and Henry disappeared upstairs after his mother's insistence that he get an early start to his homework. Emma was helping Regina clear the plates when she noticed the brunette was fighting to stay awake. She took the plate Regina had scrubbed clean for the fifth time because she kept accidentally putting it back in the sink without realizing.
"Let me handle this, you go rest." Emma said. Regina sighed and shook her head.
"I'm fine. Besides it's not just the dishes I have to put away leftovers and I have laundry I need to put in the machine, and laundry in the machine that needs to go to the drier and laundry in the drier that needs to be folded and sorted, then I have to get a start on dinner-"
"Hey." Emma said, placing her hands on Regina's shoulder and turning her around to face her, taking in just how red her eyes were due to how tired she was. "You go rest, let me handle all that, okay? I'll do it I'll take care of everything."
"Emma why are you even doing this?" Regina asked with a sigh.
"Because you're the mother of my kid and you're worn out from carrying them and I just want to be able to help." Emma said.
"Is that the only reason? Is it just because you feel responsible for getting me pregnant?" Regina asked, not able to stop herself from voicing what's been on her mind since the whole pregnancy even started. She was cranky and when she was cranky she stopped holding back. Emma blinked at her, and was about to answer. But when she saw Regina had spent the last bit of energy she had on that mini-rant she just sighed.
"Come on, let's get you into bed." Emma said, turning Regina around and keeping her arm around her as she brought her up the stairs and into her bedroom. Regina didn't have any fight left in her to stop Emma, frankly she was glad the blonde was there at all because she was sure she'd pass out on the floor if she wasn't. Once in the bedroom, Regina sat on the bed as Emma pulled out one of her pyjamas. She helped Regina out of her suit and into the pyjamas and Regina didn't even try to stop her because she felt like she could barely stand, let alone undress and re-dress herself. Once the pyjama was on, Emma pulled back the sheets and covered the brunette when she laid down on the bed, Regina's mind already slipping into unconsciousness the minute her head hit the pillow.
Emma looked at her for a moment. She looked so peaceful when she was asleep, so calm...so beautiful.
"It's not just the baby." Emma whispered softly, before pressing a soft kiss to Regina's temple. She turned around a moment later and left the room, closing the door behind her and leaving Regina in peace as she went to carry on the duties she promised she'd take care of while the brunette slept.
As she walked down the stairs, her phone beeped in her pocket, indicating a text message. She pulled it out and automatically rolled her eyes at the name on the screen.
Hook: Fancy a lunch date?
She sighed and shook her head at no one before tapping out a quick response.
Regina's not feeling well. Helping her out w/ some stuff
She knew the response wouldn't sit well with the pirate, but she couldn't really bring herself to care. At some point she'd have to tell him the truth, both about how she felt, and what had happened between her and the former queen. So it really didn't matter at this point. Regina needed her, and was relying on her, and she wouldn't let the brunette down.
Henry sat at the desk in his room, tapping along to the beat of the music blaring through his headphones while trying to figure this math problem out. He was interrupted by a knock on his door.
"Come in." He called as he slid his headphones of his ears, letting the dangle from his neck. He was surprised when Emma came in with a basket full of his clean laundry. "Hey, you're still here."
"Yeah, your mom was exhausted, so I promised I'd do her chores while she rested up." Emma explained. Henry smiled at her in response.
"That's cool, you need help with anything?" He asked, wanting to be able to help his mother too. Emma smiled at him.
"Just finish your homework, and then if you want you can help out with dinner, I kinda wanna make Regina something nice, but I have no idea what to make, so..." she trailed off looking hopeful at Henry. The boy smiled at her knowingly and gave her a nod.
Regina woke up with a soft start. She heard something drop in the kitchen, and prayed to God that whatever it was was being handled and she didn't have to get out of bed. But when she glanced at the clock beside her she realized that it was getting close to dinner time, and she'd probably have to get up soon anyway. So she blinked and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and pulled the sheets off of her, sitting up and finding her slippers waiting for her right next to the bed. She distinctly remembered them not being there before, only remembering herself leave a pile of clothes she had been wearing earlier, which were now coincidentally gone. With a soft sigh she thanked whatever god might listen for a certain green eyed blonde and the fact that she was taking serious responsibility for once.
She got out of bed and slowly trudged down the stairs, taking in the scent of food that came up at her the minute she opened her bedroom door. As she walked down the stairs she heard voices from the kitchen.
"...Go wake your mom up." Emma's voice was heard from the kitchen. A few seconds later Henry appeared out of the kitchen and smiled up at her.
"Hey mom." he said with a grin.
"Hello dear." she said, he turned around to lead her to the kitchen, she followed, seeing Emma pour pesto sauce into a big bowl. "What's going on?"
"We're making dinner." Henry said with a smile, picking up a piece of grilled chicken from the dish and dipping it in the pesto sauce before popping it into his mouth.
"Yep, henry found this really simple but awesome recipe online. Thought you'd like it." Emma said with a smile. "Hi."
"Hi." Regina said, smiling at the blonde. They held each other's gaze for a moment, until Henry reached for another piece of chicken and Emma moved to smack his hand away.
"Ow." he whined.
"I told you to stop snacking, you'll get plenty when we're actually at the table." Emma said. Regina couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the blonde disciplining their son. "Go set the table."
"What are you smirking about?" Henry grumped to Regina as he passed her. She smiled at him as innocently as possible before approaching Emma.
"It smells really good." she remarked as she came up to the counter beside the blonde. Emma smiled at her.
"I hope you like it." she said in response. "And you don't have to worry about anything else for today. Dishes are on me and Henry after dinner, all the laundry has been done, folded and put back in it's place..."
"Even mine?" Regina asked. Emma blushed slightly.
"I hope you don't mind, I didn't wanna rummage around through your clothes or anything, I just didn't want you to have anything to worry about." She said. Regina couldn't bring herself to be mad, not that she wanted to, but even then, a smile spread across her lips as she looked away from the blonde. She'd realized then that she'd never really been taken care of like that, not because anyone genuinely wanted to. At it made her feel so nice and warm inside and it was a feeling she couldn't really describe beyond that and it was so foreign to her but it felt so good.
"Can we watch a movie after dinner?" Henry asked. Regina smiled over to him before looking to Emma, who smiled at her.
"Of course we can Henry." the brunette answered. Henry and Emma both smiled at her in response.
On the other side of town, Will Scarlett snuck into an alley beside his girlfriend's shop, meeting the pirate he'd befriended soon after he appeared in the town.
"Oy mate." Hook said quietly.
"Was this what you needed?" Will asked, pulling out a scroll from his jacket. He handed it over to Hook, who looked it over and nodded.
"Aye, thank you." he said.
"What's you doin' with that then?" Will asked. Hook looked up at him and the man could see the jealousy and anger in his eyes.
"It's time a certain thief friend of yours returned to us." Hook said, slipping the scroll into the inside pocket of his jacket.
