"Hey Emma! Great news, I can come to your baby shower after all!" Soleil bounced into the diner excitedly just as Ruby was shrugging into her coat.

"Sonny!" Ruby yelled sharply.

"What?" The blonde flinched back at the harsh tone.

"It was supposed to be a surprise baby shower," Ruby said through gritted teeth.

"You guys were going to throw me a shower?" Emma said surprised and touched.

Ruby glared at Soleil who whimpered apologetically. "I'm really sorry," Soleil shot Emma a look that wouldn't have been out of place on a kicked puppy.

Ruby wasn't so forgiving. "Yes, we're throwing you a shower. It's supposed to be this weekend."

"You guys didn't have to do that," Emma cleared her throat. That was so nice, the closest she'd ever come to having a party is when she and a friend had shoplifted some cake and beer from a seven eleven.

"Any excuse to drink," Ruby said lightly but she squeeze Emma's shoulder. Emma wished she was the type to hug. She settled on patting Ruby's hand instead.

"You can't drink at a baby shower," Soleil said indignantly, "it's not good for the baby."

"You are so blonde," Ruby said her tone harsher than normal as she was still annoyed.

"I think it will be ok so long as I don't drink," Emma laughed before growing serious, "honestly guys, you don't have to do this. It's not a big deal don't get into trouble over this," she wasn't sure if she was keeping the baby. She didn't want them to buy her anything if she was giving him up. She didn't want them to think she was using them for free things.

"Don't be stupid," Ruby rolled her eyes, "it's just a party and a few little things. None of us are loaded, the worst you'll have to do is smile at our bad gifts and pretend you love them. Besides Leroy has already paid for the cake, its lemon since we didn't know he was a boy when it was ordered."

Emma bit her lip as she debated. She didn't want them to be put out but a little part of her wanted to go to a party in her honour. Ok, so it was also in the kids, but it was still about her too. "If you guys are sure..."

"It's already sorted, you'll kill Mary-Margret's kids, she's had them doing the decoration for a week now," Ruby waved away Emma's feeble protest.

"So who's coming?" Emma asked trying to keep her excitement out of her voice.

"Other than blabber mouth here?" Ruby said dryly. "Ashley, Leroy, Gran, I might bully Graham into coming for an extra gift, Mary-Margret obviously and Archie, you've met him a few times. He's a psychologist, I thought it would be good to introduce the kid to him early, with you raising him he'll need all the help he can get," Ruby laughed.

Emma tried to play along but that hit a little too close to home. Ruby of course saw right through her and gave her a nudge, "don't be so sensitive remember?" She prompted.

"You're right," Emma nodded then brightened, "hey, why don't you invite Regina?"

"The mayor?!" Ruby and Soleil had identical expressions of disgust at the idea.

"Yeah, she get's kind of freaked out with pregnancy stuff, it will be fun. You should have seen her face when she felt the kid kick for the first time. It was like she thought I was about to re-enact that scene in Alien," Emma's laughter spluttered to a stop as she seen Ruby grim face, "what?"

"You mean to tell me," Ruby said with a dangerous glint in her eye, "that the mayor has got to feel your belly when your best friend hasn't!? That is so not cool Emma! Pull up your shirt!"

"What? Ruby!" Emma turned away as Ruby began to wrestle with her.

"Shirt off Swan!" Ruby cried.

That was eerily not unlike how Emma got to be pregnant. "Ruby I don't have to take my shirt off for you to feel him kick!"

"Soleil, grab her from the other side!" Ruby ordered "this is war!"

XxXx

Emma couldn't help but notice that Regina was almost in a happy mood. She breezed into the diner and set about cleaning her booth with a vibrating energy that, on anyone else, Emma might have called giddy. In addition to her own cutlery this week she brought her own plate, a lacy doyley, a candle and an actual silver goblet.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before you started to bring your own plate," Emma gestured to the lavishly laid table, or as lavish as a diner table could be made. Regina folded a paper napkin over the edge of the plate and waved for Emma to take it. "Holy crap, this is real silver!"

"How astute, pawn many of these did you?" Regina asked cheerfully as she sat down. She adjusted her knife until it was the proper three inches from her goblet. "Please take it to the kitchen and try not to get fingerprints on the silver."

"What is all this?" Emma resigned herself to Regina's nuttiness.

"It's a very special anniversary," Regina smiled and Emma was surprised at how it transformed her face. She looked younger, more approachable, almost carefree. "Graham delivered my special order this morning. I want it on a silver platter."

Emma felt an odd twinge at that. "Is Graham coming?"

"It's my anniversary not his," Regina said dismissively before she seemed to think about it, "although he does play a part. That comes later, after dark."

Emma rolled her eyes, anyone else saying that would have been lecherous but Regina didn't seem to realise what she had said. She picked the plate up using the napkin and handed it into the kitchen without a word.

Regina smoothed her lace doyley fixing the edges just so. The plate came back and Emma's stomach rolled. It was a heart arranged in a bed of sliced apples. It looked revolting. Emma brought it to Regina her arm extended as far away as possible. "What the hell sort of anniversary is this?" She shuddered.

Regina's smile when she saw her food was vicious in its self satisfaction. She leisurely rolled her gaze to look up at Emma. "It's the anniversary of a hunt. It started out badly, but with a happy ever after."

Emma shook her head trying to keep her stomach from rebelling. "You're the strangest woman I've ever met," she threw up her hands and walked away.

Regina was nonplussed and nearly humming when she cut into the heart. Emma couldn't drag her eyes away. The blood oozed thickly from the cut staining the white flesh of the apple, Emma watched as Regina brought it to her own scarlet lips as the blood stained them further.

"Oh, God," Emma rushed to the bathroom to throw up. She imagined that she could smell the blood in the air, the sight of Regina chewing that raw flesh – her stomach clenched and she threw up.

"Ms Swan?!"

Emma couldn't answer.

"Are you ok?" Regina wrapped on the door. "You're going to have to answer, I refuse to enter a room where someone is vomiting. Ms Swan!"

Emma growled in irritation at Regina's indignant voice. The door was almost bristling at Regina's ire. She took a moment to make sure her stomach had settled before she dragged herself to her feet. She threw open the door to glare at Regina only to slam it shut and lunge for the toilet again.

"Wipe your goddamn mouth," she managed to gasp.

"Excuse me?!" Regina demanded affronted.

"You have blood on your mouth!" Emma snapped.

"Ah, you have a weak stomach," Regina said enlightened.

"No, you're just disgusting eating a human heart!" Emma yanked open the door and stopped. She pressed her hand against her stomach.

"It's a stag's heart," Regina said it as if Emma was being the unreasonable one. She held out a glass of water and paper towel with a breath mint in the middle.

Emma sagged against the doorframe, throwing up was exhausting, Regina was exhausting. She swiped the glass out of her hand and guzzled it greedily. The breath mint was next before she wiped her mouth.

"Can I go back to my food?" Regina asked folding her arms. She looked thoroughly put out by Emma's actions.

"Are you afraid it will get cold?" Emma said her tone snarky.

"It loses its taste when the blood congeals, want to see?" Regina smirked.

Emma stomach heaved and she turned partially away. "Oh," she remembered turning back quickly, "you're invited to my surprise baby shower."

Regina frowned adorably; it was as if Emma had asked her to explain the universe. "I'm invited to a party?" She repeated sceptically.

"Yeah, just to be clear, there is no showering involved, I know a clean freak like you would probably get your hopes up," Emma said with amusement.

"I thought you had friends," Regina said still suspicious.

Emma rolled her eyes, "yeah but I thought why not add you, whatever we are, since you're so particular about words."

"Oh," Regina drew back and seemed to actually contemplate the offer.

"I'm pregnant and I put up with your crap, you don't get to say no," Emma ordered her.

"No one orders me around," Regina glared.

"I just did, Mary-Margret's apartment, Sunday, prepare to pretend to like people," Emma flounced off.

XxXx

Emma woke up on Sunday feeling excited. She had never had a party before, "Okay," she allowed patting her bump, "it's our party, but really it's mine because you wouldn't be here without me."

She buzzed around the house until Mary-Margret pulled up in her station wagon. Emma didn't even wait for her to get to the door as she rushed to meet her. "Ready for my party?" She said with a huge smile.

"Your surprise party?" Mary-Margret smirked.

"Out of curiosity how were you getting me there before Sonny spilt the beans?" Emma asked as she buckled herself into her seat.

"I was going to take you bird watching," Mary-Margret laughed at Emma's appalled face. "Hey! It's a really fun hobby!"

"For perverts," Emma muttered. Mary-Margret glared. Emma gave her her best smile which caused the other woman to roll her eyes. "Let's go to my party!"

"Big child," Mary-Margret tried to hide her fond exasperation but Emma heard it. They pulled up to Mary-Margret's apartment and with great exaggeration the teacher slapped her forehead, "oh Emma, I completely forgot my binoculars, I need to run up and grab them, why don't you help me?"

"It definitely sounds like a two person job," Emma said seriously nearly throwing the seatbelt off. She impatiently waved Mary-Margret in front of her.

"That's the fastest I've seen you run," Mary-Margret laughed and decided to indulge in a little cruelty as she moved with deliberate slowness.

"I know what you're doing," Emma glared.

"Yeah, but you can't really stop me," Mary-Margret smirked.

"Mary-Margret," Emma whined childishly.

"Okay, okay," the other woman laughed, "at least try to act a little surprised."

"I was thinking about an acting career before I settle down to the security of prison and menial tasks," Emma shrugged bashfully, "the job security appealed to me."

Mary-Margret laughed again and threw open the door. Emma pushed her out of the way as she went into her party. She flicked on the lights and everyone jumped out and said "Surprise!" with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"Oh, my, god!" Emma clutched at her stomach in shock, "I'm going into labour!"

"Oh crap!" Mary-Margret went to Emma in a panic.

"And you doubted my acting skills," Emma straightened with a snort, "you guys! This is so awesome!" she looked at everyone's alarmed face and gave them a winning smile.

Ruby shook her head while Ashley gave a nervous smile. Leroy grumbled, he'd already started eating the food. Soleil rushed forward to give Emma a party hat which looked like a baby's bonnet. Mary-Margret's apartment had been decorated with three shiny "congratulations!" banners with a big hand painted sign "It's a boy!" with lots of tiny hand prints of different colours and sizes from Mary-Margret's kids. Balloons were scattered around the floor to complete the party mood.

"Congratulations Emma," Archie said coming forward, he looked like he was about to hug her but then thought better of it. "Ashley has some really fun party games planned," he smiled and waved to Ashley before dropping his voice, "if you stop her I will be forever in your debt."

Emma laughed "I have no idea what happens at a baby shower..."

"Drinking!" Ruby yelled holding up two bottles of beer.

"I also brought some baby games," Ashley offered with a shy smile. "They're really cute, there's 'put the diaper on the baby' and 'taste test, chocolate or uh-oh.'"

"And drinking!" Leroy snatched a bottle from Ruby's hand. They clinked bottles and in sequence popped off the caps.

"Where's Regina?" Emma asked as she realised that her personal dark cloud was missing.

Mary-Margret shrugged "I didn't know you invited her. Graham said he would stop in later so she might come with him."

Which made perfect sense since they were a couple, "that's great," Emma smiled then moved on quickly. "Now where are my presents?"

"Open mine!" Ashley thrust a brightly wrapped box at Emma. "Its baby monitors!"

"So it is," Emma laughed as she unwrapped the baby monitors. No one in this group could keep a secret apparently. Ruby had got her some large t-shirts with cool designs which Emma was really grateful for, Archie got her a gift certificate for a spa, Leroy ate the cake he bought for the shower, Mary-Margret's gift made her gasp. "Oh wow."

"I couldn't think of what to get you and then I saw that..." Mary-Margret shrugged "I don't know, I just couldn't leave it."

"This looks really expensive..." Emma said in wonder as she held up a beautiful mobile with white and blue glass unicorns. The details in the glass figures were clear and delicate, Emma could make out every ridge on the unicorns horns. "Thank you Mary-Margret, but this is too much."

"It's really not," Mary-Margret shook her head as she pulled Emma into a hug, "I got it at Mr Gold's pawn shop and when he found out it was for you, he gave me a discount. Please say you'll take it."

Emma bit her lip as she drew back, the mobile far too pretty to hang in the half painted room that might one day become a nursery. "Thank you," she said softly. Mary-Margret smiled back in understanding.

"Oh, here's mine!" Soleil said brightly breaking the comfortable silence. Emma smiled indulgently at the nearly buzzing blonde. Soleil grabbed her present from behind the chair and hefted it over to Emma. It was almost as big as she was.

Emma eyed it curiously before she opened it. The brightly wrapped blue and yellow parcel was rectangular and very bulky. "Holy crap," Emma gasped as she opened it.

"Where the hell did you get the money to pay for that?!" Ruby blurted out, her eyes very wide.

"My new job," Soleil beamed proudly, "the woman in the shop told me it was like the sports cars of strollers. It also has a detachable car seat and can transform so it suits the baby from a newborn to toddler. It has spring so you can bounce it too."

"I'll say it can transform," Leroy muttered. The stroller did sort of look like a transformer, Emma didn't even know where to begin to open it.

"Soleil," Emma started but the blonde held up her hand cutting her off.

"I don't have a recite and it's really rude to try and give people back there gifts," she glared a little.

Emma was saved from a response as the door bell went off. Mary-Margret shot quickly to her feet to get it, anxious to escape.

"Madame mayor, Graham," Mary-Margret stepped back with a nervous smile "come in, we're just exchanging gifts."

Regina entered the room and stood in the centre taking in the little apartment with a frown. Her eyes glanced over the worn furniture the unpolished floor and the sparse decorations that seemed to wilt under her gaze. "You have a...home," she said at last. Lying to be polite was not something she did evidently.

"Hey, Mary-Margret," Graham's greeting was much warmer. He gave them a little wave as he went to stand slightly behind Regina. "Congratulations Emma, are you happy it's a boy?"

"We'll I'm not trying again," Emma laughed light. Most of her attention was on Regina, she looked out of place in the apartment.

"Want me to get you a drink?" Graham offered Regina.

She flicked her eyes to the communal punch bowl and glasses before giving Graham a scornful look. "No, thank you."

"You didn't bring your own eating kit?" Emma teased. "We have cocktail sausages."

"And risk my silverware being stolen?" Regina smirked.

"Oh," Mary-Margret blinked taken aback. She looked insulted and turned away with the plate of sandwiches she was about to offer them in revenge.

"I guess I'll just have to make do with your BMW outside," Emma continued. She was trying to let everyone else know that Regina didn't mean to imply that they were thieves; she just meant to imply Emma was. It was almost an inside joke.

"Actually I drove here," Graham said coming into the living room to join the party. He sat on the arm of Ruby's chair leaving Regina standing by herself. "You wouldn't want a cop car, nothing but empty coffee mugs and crumbs."

"I've seen the inside of enough cop cars," Emma agreed before lapsing into silence. There was some awkward shifting and furtive glances thrown Regina's way as the tension grew. Regina just seemed to stand in the middle of the room absorbing everyone's discomfort.

"So let's play a game," Ashley suggested with fake cheer. After the fifth round of pin the diaper on the baby, Emma escaped to where Regina was standing beside the window. She didn't like the way Ashley was fiddling with a tape measure and eye her belly and knew that the button nosed young woman would not go near Regina.

"So this is your humouring people?" Emma asked as she leaned against the wall.

"Ah, yes, because they seem so relaxed in my company," Regina had been staring out the window intently after she had refused to join in on the game. Her tone was dry as her eyes narrowed as she took in the forced cheer of the others. "I came didn't I? Not that I had much of a choice considering the ultimatum you delivered."

"Oh come on," Emma smirked, "don't you want to join in at least a little? Even Graham is having fun guessing my weight, something by the way you should have trained your boyfriend to lie better. I am not as fat as he thinks."

"You're not fat," Regina rolled her eyes, "and I am not a teenager, woman of my age do not have 'boyfriends.'"

"You're not going to give me another lecture on appropriate terms, are you?" Emma sighed, the notion provoking a bored yawn.

Seeing her efforts would be wasted Regina just gave her dismissive look. She seemed to remember something and reached into the pocket of her coat, "here. You said you've already done gifts."

Emma took the small white envelope with a smile. She didn't bother with false modesty as she torn it open to see what was inside. A small plastic card fell out causing her to frown. "Is this a bus pass?" she didn't bother to hide her disappointment, "thank you, I guess it could be useful if I want to take a day trip. It sucks that the bus run doesn't go to our neighbourhood."

"It does now," Regina said smugly.

"What?" Emma asked.

"I added a new stop, it's on the corner of our drive. Unfortunately the bus runs have finished by the time you get off work, but this should take some of the strain off getting to work," Regina looked pleased with herself.

"You rerouted the buses for me?" Emma didn't know what to make of that. She stared at the bus pass in shock.

"Not just for you, you simply brought the problem to my attention," Regina wave her hand dismissively but she still looked far too pleased with herself.

"Thank you," Emma said touched "hey, wait a second, how did you get a picture of me for the I.D- is that my booking photo?"

"Yes, Sydney called one of his police contacts. He did a great job cutting out the clipboard," Regina continued on not catching Emma's irritation.

Emma looked at the older woman but she far too pleased with her gift. She let out an exasperated sigh and decided to let it go. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, now, I think I've spent enough time here to prevent molestation of my dinnerware," Regina fixed her coat. She hadn't bothered to take it off during her visit. "Have a good night Ms Swan and congratulations," her eyes softened as her gaze flickered to Emma's bump.

"Thank you," Emma said with much more warmth. She put the bus pass in her pocket and went to rejoin the party.

XxXx

"Ah, Ms Swan, I overheard Ms Blanchard saying that her surprise birthday shower was spoiled?" Mr Gold happened to be walking by when Emma was closing up that night.

"Yeah, so much for secrets in this town," Emma said amused. She threw the keys into her bag and walked down to meet Mr Gold at the little gate before the diner.

"You would be surprised," Mr Gold smirked before he held out a book to her. "Anyway, dearie, I thought I would give you this for the little tyke."

Emma raised her eyebrow as she took the book. It was hard backed and seemed like the books in the old Disney cartoons before the fairytales started. "Thanks, you didn't have to do that," Emma said awkwardly. The book wasn't wrapped so she leafed through it politely. "Hey is that...?" She squinted at the page. "...Mary-Margret?"

"Oh? I do say, there is a resemblance isn't there?" Mr Gold said looking at the picture of Snow White with her. "The book despite its appearance is relatively new, I had to disappoint the old dear that pawned it too me. She thought she'd found a treasure in the attic, alas it was just the self published story of a local author. Perhaps he used the local town's people as inspiration?"

"That's actually pretty cool," Emma smiled leafing through to see if she could recognise anyone else.

"You know, they say that all books are merely tales of different worlds parallel to our own," Mr Gold said lightly as he twirled his walking stick.

"You going to start humming the x-files theme song?" Emma looked at him bemused. She wasn't big into sci-fi so thought parallel dimensions were a theory made up by hopeful nerds.

"I wouldn't think of it, just something to consider," Mr Gold smiled. Emma hated his smile, it always seemed sharp. But still, a grown man like Gold considering something as absurd as different worlds...?

Above them came a disturbing rattle, like someone was viciously shaking a rusted gate. Both Gold and Emma looked up in alarm. There was a tick and then a thud before another tick. Emma watched as the hands on the clock face on the clock tower, which had been broken for as long as she'd been in Storybrooke, started to tick before stopping.

"What was that about?" Emma wondered.

"Oh, nothing I would worry about, probably the old clock cleaning out its gears," Mr Gold turned back to Emma briskly before offering her a smile. He rapped on the hard cover of the book as he moved away, "anyway, goodnight to you Ms Swan, and happy reading."