Chapter Ten
Regina slept through the next morning and into the early afternoon until her headache finally subsided a little after noon. While she hated that she was missing time with Robin's parents, she knew she wouldn't be very good company until she was feeling better. Robin assured her they'd prefer her to take care of herself before them. So she slept and rested, and when hunger and the dance of her daughter's feet could keep her in bed no longer, she got up and dressed for the day.
Glancing out her bedroom window, she took note of the dark clouds making their way into the city and frowned. Her plans to take Robin and his parents into the park and maybe get a few pictures might not work out like she hoped. But then again, she remembered Robin kissing her earlier that morning and telling her they were going to Brooklyn for a while. Maybe by the time they returned it would be nicer out.
In the living room, she was surprised to see Robin's mother was seated at the kitchen island with a cup of tea and a book in her hand, which she immediately shut as Regina came into the room.
Her smile matched the brightness of her eyes. "Good morning, love. Are you feeling better?"
"I am. Much better than I was, thank you." The rest of the apartment was quiet. Robin and his father must still be gone.
"Can I get you anything? Some tea?" Eleanor asked.
Tea sounded amazing, and while she should probably make her own, she was still exhausted, and his mother was already on her feet. "Sure. I thought you were going out with Robin?"
"Oh, dear, you know he was rather uneasy leaving you here alone, and honestly I'm still tired from traveling. I offered to stay behind in case you needed someone."
A soft knock of her heart pulled her lips up. "He was?"
"He's quite in love with you and it's not hard to see why." Eleanor smiled at her again. The way she said the words so simply, how she observed his feelings for her after only seeing them together a day had Regina's eyes filling with tears. "Are you alright?"
A laugh spilled from her and she wiped away the errant wetness from her cheeks. "Yes, I'm sorry. I cry over everything lately."
"Ah, I don't miss those days." Eleanor chuckled. "Why don't you have a seat, I'll make you something with your tea. Do you like eggs? Toast?"
"Oh, you don't have to."
Eleanor made a face and then gestured across to the seat she recently vacated. "Nonsense, that's what mother-in-laws do."
Regina pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. "Alright."
For a little while they didn't speak, and Regina listened to the sounds of eggs cracking and the kettle whistling, of butter being spread across toast and the scrape of the spatula on Teflon. She reached for the book Robin's mom had been reading, Into the Water. Regina knew the author. She had read Girl on the Train but hadn't been pulled into the thriller like she thought she'd be.
"Robin's very excited, you know. I've never seen him so happy. It's so extraordinary how things worked out for you both."
Regina put the book aside and placed a hand on her belly. "It is. I'm just happy we found him."
"Have you both settled on a date?" she asked and held out Regina's cup of tea which she took gratefully.
"Not exactly. Sometime after the baby is born." She couldn't imagine them trying to cram a wedding in the last few weeks before her due date. Well, she could, but she didn't want to imagine trying to find a dress she'd have to cram herself into.
"Just make sure you let us know when you decide. Winter weddings can be beautiful."
Regina didn't miss the hint and smiled into her tea. "They are, but I don't know if I'll be back in shape by then."
Elanor's brow pinched together. "What do you mean? You're as small as can be, believe me I know. With Robin, I easily gained ten kilos and Nimue, a good twenty. God, she was a big baby. But with her, I didn't have the morning sickness I did with Robin. I ate everything in sight. It was hardest on Jack. Both pregnancies in the dead, cold winter. I had him shuffling to the store for so many things."
The picture of Robin putting on shoes in his flannel pajama pants and tee shirt to run downstairs and across the street to the small market at midnight flashed through Regina's mind. "Robin's gone for ice cream a couple times."
"He's a sweetheart just like his father," she said as she placed the eggs and toast on a plate.
"He is."
Walking around the island, Eleanor set the dish down in front of her. Regina's stomach growled just as soon as the smell hit her. Eleanor looked at her expectantly then with a flick of her eyes at her belly and asked, "May I?"
Regina smiled and turned slightly toward her. "Sure."
Her hands were warm and held a knowing firmness to them which attempted to coax her now sleeping baby into moving. "When I was carrying Robin, I didn't want to let anyone touch me. I went shopping with my mother just before Christmas, and an elderly woman came up to me and put her hand on my stomach. Naturally, my mother thought I was about to let the poor dear have it, but I let her."
Regina let out a soft laugh. "She must have been relieved."
"Oh, she was." A look of wistfulness appeared on her face. "I feel a bit regretful about it now. Not so much everyone else but for her."
"Is she…"
"Passed away. Years ago, from cancer."
"I'm so sorry."
"Thank you." Olivia chose that moment to kick against Eleanor's hand, taking away the sadness from her eyes and she pulled her hands away. "She would have loved meeting you both."
Just then the door to the apartment opened. Robin stepped inside, and in his arms he held a large box almost as tall as he, but he set it aside when he saw her. He tossed the keys into the bowl beside the door and went over to the space Eleanor had vacated at their arrival. "Hello, beautiful."
Her eyes closed, and she hummed against his lips. "Hey, handsome."
He bumped the tip of his nose against hers before pulling back to look at her. The concern she saw there made her want to curl up into his side and stay there forever. "Feeling better?"
"Mostly," she assured. "I'll be better after I eat." Robin released her after one more light peck and she took a bite of toast. Once she swallowed, her attention fell back on the box by the door. "Where'd you both run off to?"
"I'll tell you later."
"Okay," she said slowly though she didn't see what was so secretive about a box.
"Tired?"
"So much," she admitted. "Only because I slept too much."
"You should probably take it easy today. Maybe take a nap later?"
Regina shook her head. "No. Not when your parents are only here for the day."
"They'll understand."
She knew he was just looking out for her, but it irked her. She was pregnant, not made of glass. "I'm sure they would, but I'm fine."
He must have caught her change in mood because he kissed her temple and said, "Alright, apologies, love."
A sigh escaped her and she closed her eyes, feeling the burn of more tears building. She loved carrying Olivia, but she was more than over the hormones. "I'm being horrible, I know."
"You're allowed."
She made sure his parents were out of earshot then with a playful smirk, said, "I'll make it up to you."
His teeth caught his bottom lip right before his chuckle filled the space between them. "I look forward to it."
Another kiss. Regina would never tire of his kisses. Especially when she was in a mood.
"Robin, let her eat and come help me with this. I think your father's put it on backward."
They both turned to see Jack had dragged the box into the living room. "I haven't, it's these bloody instructions."
"Dad, let me…"
Curious, Regina took her tea and her plate and followed Robin into the living room. "What is it?"
Robin looked up from where he knelt beside his father. "It's a stroller that converts from a pram to seat."
She looked at Eleanor and then down at Jack. She didn't know much about strollers, but, to her, it looked expensive and they had already done so much. "Oh, thank you both, but…"
"It wasn't from them," Robin said, smiling. "It was all my doing. I ordered it back with the bassinet and it only arrived this morning. We stopped and picked it up on the way home."
Regina shook her head at him and took a seat in her favorite chair. "We're going to have nothing left on the baby registry if you keep this up."
Robin shrugged, unbothered. "I'm told we'll never have too many nappies."
The drive to the airport the next morning was a bit sadder than he imagined it would be. Regina and his mum got on effortlessly; had they lived in the states he could see them becoming closer. His mum filling a bit of that void left by Regina's own mum and so it made their leaving a bit bittersweet.
"Regina, love." Eleanor took her hands and gripped them tight. "It was a pleasure to meet you. Make sure you call us straight away once the baby is born."
"We will."
After his mother hugged Regina once more, she turned to him and warned, "Take care of Regina and my grandchild."
Robin shook his head, amused. As if he'd do anything other than. "I will, Mum."
"Let me know as soon as you can on a date," she began and then raised a finger at him. "I know you, Robin Nathaniel Locksley, don't you dare run off and elope."
He grinned guilty. The thought only crossed his mind a few times, but he promised, "We won't."
His mother narrowed her eyes considering him. "Hmm."
"Dearest…" His father's voice called.
"I know, I know, I'm coming."
He was pulled into a tight embrace. "If you need anything, darling, just call."
Catching his father's exasperated look of impatience, Robin chuckled. "We will."
Once she hugged Regina once more, and told their child she would see her soon, his mother was off, jogging to catch up with his father who had already said his goodbyes and was heading toward security.
Robin put his arm around Regina's shoulder and they watched his parents until they reached the line for security. "I'm going to miss your mother. Can I trade you for mine for yours?"
He laughed again. As much as he'd do anything for her, he would rather just be motherless and give her his. "We can share her?"
Regina giggled. "I'll take what I can get."
The next weekend was there before they knew it and was about to be their busiest yet. A full day at the hospital starting with a tour of the facility and then upstairs to labor and delivery, where they'd be shown the room where Regina would deliver, and where she would stay for the next couple days or so. And once they were done, the last spot is a six-hour Lamaze class.
He woke early Saturday morning, unable to sleep so he padded out into the living room and started working on a set of designs with a cup of coffee in hand while Regina got some more sleep. Nights were becoming more and more uncomfortable for her and she was up at least three times during the night to use the bathroom. He would let her sleep as long as she liked. They didn't have to be at the hospital until noon anyway.
With his earbuds in his ears, Robin hummed along with his own mix of rock and jazz varying from The Who to Diana Krall and The Rolling Stones to Nat King Cole while the plans before him slowly started to come to life.
With the baby coming and burning through his savings, Robin decided to take on an extra side project. It wasn't anything that would take his time from Marian's shop. Just a quick set of plans he could do over the next month that would put back a little over half of what he had spent. Not that he needed it. His salary was more than enough, but if things went their way with the house in Brooklyn, he wanted to be able to get started with the renovations. Even if it was just tidying the place up before they began to tear it apart.
Once he was satisfied with the work he had done, Robin drained the last of his cup, grimacing when he realized it was cold, and then headed back to see if Regina was still asleep.
It was just after ten, he knew they'd need to get ready soon, so when he found her still sound asleep, Robin opened the curtains just enough to let a bit of light in. He got out a change of clothes, a pair of jeans, boxer briefs, and a dark blue tee-shirt intent on taking a shower and then maybe kissing his love awake.
He needn't have worried though because when he stepped back under the spray to rinse the shampoo from his hair he felt a cold burst of air and the soft click of the door as she stepped in the shower with him.
Her, Mind if I join you? was followed by her warm hands sliding down his chest as she sank to her knees.
He groaned at the sight of her taking him in her mouth. "Absolutely bloody not."
Regina's gaze was fixated on the handsome man driving the car next to her. She woke that morning feeling better than she had all week. After her last trip to the bathroom around four, she slept soundly until just after ten, and all the small pains and nausea she felt all week were finally gone.
She felt good. She felt really good and really in need of something she'd been without while she had been feeling under the weather. She had tossed back the blankets and headed in the direction of the sound of the shower, dropping pieces of clothing behind her as she went.
Regina smiled to herself as she looked out the window of their SUV. Her cheeks burned thinking about what had followed. Her hungry gaze that drank in his naked form. The sound he made when she took him in hand, then as she showed him just how much she appreciated him. The smugness she felt that she was the one drawing every gasp and groan had her taking him to the finish until he came on her chest with his hands tangled in her hair. He helped her to her feet and kissed her hard after. And when he had washed and rinsed her he led her to the bed where he laid her down and his head disappeared between her legs until she was shaking and calling out his name.
The sound of Robin's humming pulled her away from the thought of them together and into the present moment. She smiled watching him tap his thumb on the steering wheel and sip his tumbler full of the coffee they stopped for before leaving for the hospital. "Are you okay?"
He looked over at her. It was ridiculous how handsome he was in blue and it made her heart leap knowing he was all hers. "Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?"
She let one of her shoulders lift and fall before pulling down the sun visor to make sure the lazy side ponytail that draped over her shoulder wasn't coming out at the back. "You haven't stopped humming since this morning."
His head tilted. "Have I been humming?"
A laugh bubbled up from her chest. How he didn't realize he had been amused her. She'd like to think it was because of their eager start to the morning but the butterflies in her stomach for the day's activities made her wonder how he was feeling about the day ahead. "You have."
"Only excited, love." Robin put his mug into one of the cup holders and reached over, taking her hand. "Are you nervous?"
"I'm terrified," she confessed while threading their fingers together. They talked a lot about the baby being there and her pregnancy, but the actual delivery wasn't something they ever talked seriously about. As the days drew closer to her delivery, so did her fears.
"Really? Why?"
"It's starting to feel so real."
"It's gonna be alright. I'm right here for it."
"I know." And she did, but she remembered the pain she felt when she pulled a muscle not so long ago and couldn't imagine what it would be like when she went labor. Then there were other thoughts she had, about all the things that could go wrong. Things some of the women on the baby forum she was a part of had already started to experience and what if she was one of them?
These were the thoughts that plagued her night and day, and rationally she knew she and the baby were fine, but it didn't stop her from constantly obsessing over every twinge she felt and every kick she didn't. And unfortunately for Robin, even though he was there, there was little he could do to ease those fears.
Regina squeezed his hand in hers. "I'll feel better once she's here."
Robin wasn't nervous, per say, but when he pulled into the Mount Sinai parking lot a feeling of realization that one day soon they would be driving here and leaving with a baby, their baby, made his stomach clench, not in fear, but anticipation.
They held hands on their way into the small conference room where they dawned name tags and drank apple juice and water until the tour guide, who had been running late, arrived. There were five other couples along with them. Two of them would be joining them for the Lamaze later that day, while the others had all gone through it, or for the parents who had other children, skipped it all together and wished the others luck.
The tour guide, Teresa, came in out of breath and looking rather unkempt. Her unwashed hair was in disarray, and her clothes looked like they had seen less wrinkled days. She looked around at them all and let out, what Robin took as, a tired sigh. It quickly became apparent to all of them in the room that her attitude was about to match the look of utter disgust on her face.
"We're going to start upstairs. If you don't know your way around the hospital, I suggest you take some time out of your own day to do so." She marched out of the room then leaving them all to look around at each other in wonder.
Robin helped Regina to her feet. Their eyes met and he almost suggested they leave when a woman across the table said, "Won't this be fun."
It broke the ice with the group of strangers and when Regina laughed along with them he figured they could at least see the rooms and then take their leave.
They stayed mostly to the back of the crowd. They talked between themselves and another couple who were having their first baby too while their guide led them all silently through a set of double doors and by a receptionist with a bright smile, telling them all hello when they passed.
"I take it this is where we go then?" Robin said, trying to keep as much sarcasm out of his voice as possible. The ill-tempered woman could at least say something about where they were going.
"Anyone else thinking of speaking with her manager?" He heard someone from their group say.
Ushered into the first labor room, it was there they were told where their children would be delivered unless something went wrong. "If that happens then they'll take you to surgery," she paused and gave all the mothers a look like she'd rather be anywhere but there and added, "hopefully in time."
Regina's eyes grew wide then, and Robin sent the woman a look that told her in no uncertain terms how out of line she was, but she paid him no mind and told them all when they were done having a look around she'd be out in the hall and left the room.
Regina wasn't the only one upset by her behavior. Many women in the room were voicing how bad this tour really was and how they wished they never came. Robin placed his hand on Regina's back and tried his best to keep her thoughts cheerful for the most part while they all had their own look around.
Back out in the hall, the guide pushed herself away from the wall and pocketed her phone, leading them around the corner and into a room where she dramatically swooped her arm for them all to follow. "Here's the room you'll be taken to after delivery. Aren't you all lucky the beds are now full-sized for partners to share?"
Robin's brows rose. "That's nice. I'm sure I'll be quite exhausted after it all." Robin felt Regina's elbow in his side but smiled when she covered her mouth to stay her giggle. The woman glared at him but said nothing, only took her phone back out of her pocket and once again left the room. "Right then, don't be smart with the staff. Got it."
"Not with her anyway," Regina mumbled and turned to face him. "Behave."
"How can I with her attitude?" He didn't bother to keep his voice down. Let her hear him. "Even I could do a better job than this."
Regina let out a long breath, her face falling into something defeated. "We'll just have to deal with it or leave like the others."
Robin looked around and sure enough, they were missing two couples. Lucky bastards. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a frustrated breath. "I dunno, babe, we've come across a few dark closets. We could disappear for a while and then take our own tour? Have a nice long snog until she's gone?"
"Or she notices, and we risk getting caught. You're out of your mind, Locksley."
The evil woman's voice was back. "This is the bathroom. Obviously, there's a tub. You can soak in it but don't give birth in it. One woman did that and almost drowned her baby. If you don't know what you're doing just stay out of it." There were angry looks from partners and horrified expressions on the faces of their other halves who were carrying the children. "There you have it. Any questions? No? Good."
She didn't stay or wait for anyone to say anything, just walked out.
Robin frowned at her retreating back. Had there not been a room full of pregnant women on the emotional edge he might have told her just what she could do with her attitude. "Have your heart set on this place, do you?"
"I did…"
His gaze was still focused out the door as he rubbed circles on her lower back, but then he heard Regina sniff and he looked down at her. She was looking away from him but the swipe of her hand across her cheek made his heart clench. "Regina, love..."
"I'm fine."
"Awe, babe, come here." He pulled her into his arms and placed a kiss to her brow. "She was an unpleasant, cow of a woman, letting her bad day ruin all of ours."
Her arms tightened around him. "I was nervous about today, but I was really hoping that some of it would go away with the tour. Now I feel worse than before. What if something goes wrong?"
Robin let out a breath and pulled her back, so he could look at her. "Nothing will." She gave him a look of disbelief, like how he could know this, and it only made the aggravation he had for their "guide" grow in its immensity. "Let's go back and start this whole thing over."
Her wet eyes blinked up at him. "What?"
"Come on, we'll go back to the nice lady at the front desk and see if we can talk her into another look around without Annie from Misery leading the way."
That did it. His little joke pulled a smile and even a light laugh from her. "Do you think they'd let us?"
"I don't see why not."
Her eyes flicked up to somewhere over his shoulder. "We've got Lamaze soon."
"Not for another couple hours. It won't take long, we'll just take another quick peek."
"It couldn't hurt to try, I guess." With that, and a quick kiss, he took her hand and they made their way back the way they came.
"Hello," he said, giving the girl at the front desk a smile. "I don't know if you remember us, but we came in with Dolores Umbridge earlier, and instead of making my fiancé here feel better about your facility, she quite frankly terrified her. I was wondering if we could have another look around? Just the two of us. We won't take long."
The receptionist looked sheepish like this wasn't the first time she's heard a complaint about the woman and it made his jaw clench slightly. He would be writing a very long, very angry email to the hospital administration later that night.
"I saw you before. Let me see what I can do, wait right here." Wherever she went they didn't have to wait long before she returned, only with an elderly woman with kind eyes. "This is Mae, she's one of our volunteers here. She'd love to take you around."
Mae turned out to be a Godsend, he was convinced. The moment they walked through the doors, Mae began by taking Regina's arm and telling her all she had to look forward to. Her deep southern voice spoke of all the staff that would be there to help support her, and even told her about all the babies she'd seen come into the world in all of her twenty years there.
By the end of it, she hugged Regina tightly and Robin knew well enough that the tears which fell from his fiance's eyes were from relief and happiness, nothing that they were before.
Hand in hand, they made their way to the elevator and once there, he turned to her. "Feeling better?"
"I am. It doesn't seem so scary anymore."
Thank God for that, he thought, relieved by it.
"How about some food before this class, yeah?" Raising his arm, he looked at his watch. "We've got a little over an hour still."
A smile tugged the corners of her lips up. "I could go for a chocolate croissant and Frappuccino."
A chuckled pulled from his chest remembering how she had pointed out the Starbucks across the street as they pulled in. Not so much hinting but telling him she would love him forever if he happened to bring her back a treat after she gave birth to his child. He had to admit, he was fond of their hot sandwiches. "Wherever milady wishes."
They sat and picked bits of their lunch between sips of their drinks and chatted about Mae. She laughed as he came up with one absurd scenario after another of how they would rush to the hospital once her labor started. In one scenario, she would wake him at three in the morning and he would stumble around the apartment collecting everything they needed to take, but in his rush, he would remember everything but his shirt. In another, he would be at work and she would call him from the apartment and he would be so frustrated trying to get his car out of the horror that was the parking garage, so he would instead run the twenty blocks home, jumping and sliding over a few cars along the way. She laughed so hard at the way he told it like he was Peter Parker coming to rescue Mary Jane, and she absolutely loved him for it.
When they got to their class, the two couples from earlier looked in better spirits than when she last saw them. She felt a poke in the arm and looked up at Robin who smiled and then pointed across the room to a table of cookies and lemonade. She rolled her eyes. He was teasing her sweet tooth, but then she noticed there was a row of oatmeal raisin and told him to go steal them a couple which he did without any hesitation.
Returning with the cookies, he held one out to her just as an older woman stepped into the middle of the room.
"Thank you all for coming. We have mats and pillows laid out for you all or if you prefer we have exercise balls over by the windows. Whatever makes you comfortable. Why don't we all take a seat and then introduce ourselves to everyone?"
Regina got down to the floor and smiled when Robin sat behind her. She moved back so she could rest against his chest. The group all looked around at each other expectantly until the two nearest to their instructor spoke up.
"I'm Jamie, and this is Garrett."
"Welcome to you both," the woman said, warmly. "Is this your first?"
The redhead smiled. "It is."
Next was a Korean girl Regina thought to be around her age. "I'm Lori and this is my wife, Samantha. This is our second baby, only first time for me."
All eyes fell on them next. Regina sat up a bit and began, "I'm Regina, and this is my fiancé, Robin, and this is our first baby, too."
She felt his hands pulse on her hips and she melted back against his chest.
When they all finished, the woman rose from her chair and went over to the front of the room beside a table filled with naked dolls and a whiteboard. "Welcome everyone, I'm Susanne. I've been a midwife for twenty-nine years now, and today we're going to talk about the stages of labor, post labor, watch a few videos, and then have some time where you all can all get a snack and a beverage and ask any questions you still might have."
Robin's warm voice was low in her ear when he whispered, "Oops," speaking about their pilfered cookies.
She held back a laugh and shushed him. Taking his hands from her hips, she wound them around her stomach and listened as Susanne began.
"For those people having their first baby, any idea how long the second stage takes? Anybody?"
"Three hours?" Robin suggested, giving the question a shot.
"Oh ouch," Susanna made a face. "Pushing for three hours… close, but no. About ninety minutes. And if you add an epidural, you usually add an hour. There's something I want to show you that'll be really useful as you move into your second stage of labor. Can I get a couple to volunteer for my demonstration?"
Regina raised her hand. "We will."
Robin's brows rose in surprise but didn't mind her volunteering. He got to his feet first and took Regina's hand, helping her stand before making their way over to the front of the room.
"Now Regina just lean against the table here for me," Susanne said. She turned her attention to the class. "Some people can get really bad back labor, and this is where it's really good to have a partner with really strong hands, because they can be better than anyone else in terms of helping you during this time. Robin, put your hands on her lower back, and Regina I want you to push back into his hands. Don't move your hands but just apply strong pressure there and she'll push back, and it should feel good?"
He watched Regina's head turned to the side. Her face free from any discomfort. "It does."
"Good. Another way is to make a fist and firmly place it on either side of her spine and sometimes in the middle there." Robin did as he was instructed as she went on, "It should feel good now, but when you're in labor it can feel really helpful. So just remember that, use your fist or the flat of your hands get her to push back and push hard. Don't be scared you're going to hurt her because that pressure is going to help compress the nerves there. How's that?"
He was careful to add more pressure but felt her push back into it so he didn't let up. "Good." Regina nodded.
"Okay, thank you, both."
Returning to their seats, he helped Regina recline against him again while Susanne launched back into her talk. Their hands splayed lazily against the other and gripped when either of them found something amusing or uncomfortable until the talk shifted to after the baby was born, and then he wrapped his arms around her so he could rest his hands on her belly.
"Now let's talk about those moments when your baby is here and in your arms. He or she is going to be adjusting to this new environment. They've been in a dark, tight, quiet space and it's better to mimic that. You baby will remember you and your partner's voice. They're suddenly in this new world but they recognize you. So, my advice to you is to not let them rush the moment if the baby is doing good and keep he or she close for the first fifteen minutes or so." With that Susanne clapped her hands together. "Now, how about we get up, stretch and get some refreshments, and then we'll watch a few videos. After that I'll take some of your questions."
Robin had no idea when he went into their Lamaze class that he would learn more about pelvises and the "bloody show" than he ever wanted to know. Four childbirth videos and a half an hour of the most awkward questions he could ever imagine later, they were driving home. The ride completely silent for reasons he could only imagine was from them both processing what they saw and listened to for the last hour.
"I could have done without that last video."
He looked over in time to watch her cover her eyes with her hand. "Oh my God, Robin, don't even mention it. I can't." she held up her other hand and waved it in the air as though she was erasing the videos from her mind. "First thing in the morning I'm calling my spa."
His brow knitted together. "Why?"
"I'm getting waxed," she replied with more conviction in her voice than he'd ever heard from her before.
Robin sniggered, not at what she was referring to because that was a bloody horrific nightmare, but at his fiancé's reaction to it. "Love, I can assure you look nothing like… like that. That woman was…I don't think she's seen a pair of scissors a day in her life."
She shook her head. "Stop. My stomach is still queasy."
"It was quite horrifying. Imagine that poor child getting tangled up in all that."
Her hand came up and slapped his arm but there was no heat to it. "Oh my God, stop."
He laughed then promised, "I'm done. I really am." Then thinking about the last video, said, "That one woman said she felt much better after the epidural. Did that solidify your thoughts on getting one?"
She let out a sigh and turned her gaze out the window. "I don't know. Maybe."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm just tired."
After they parked the car and got up to the apartment, he was about to suggest dinner when she said, "I'm going to go take a bath and cry a while."
He walked over to her and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She really did look on the verge of tears and it broke his heart. "Babe, it'll be alright."
"I know, but right now I just want to relax and forget all about today."
Well, that did it. He felt like utter shit. He shouldn't have teased her in the car. "Do you want company?"
Her eyes softened right before she rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him. "As much as I love that idea, I think I just want to be alone."
He gave a nod. "Alright."
"Raincheck, though?"
Her smile was all he needed to see, and assured, "Anytime you'd like."
She soaked for a good twenty minutes but didn't cry like she thought she would. Through all her fear and embarrassment, she knew deep down she could get through it.
Dressing in one of Robin's thin tee shirts and a pair of cotton shorts, she walked back out into the living room and stopped short. Robin had just finished lighting two pillar candles in the middle of the coffee table which was filled with boxes of take-out. Her smile was wide and automatic. "What's this?"
"Dinner," he said, setting the lighter beside the candle.
She shouldn't have been so touched by something so simple as him taking care of dinner, but she was. "Was I in the bath that long?"
He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "I may have tipped them extra to put us at the head of the line." Then, as if remembering something, walked over to the television and took a Blu-ray from the top of the player. "I thought we could watch your favorite."
Her eyes narrowed. "Swan told you."
"She did. She said you'd insist it was Some Like it Hot, but you're really a sucker for Kate and Leo."
Holding out a finger she lowered her voice and warned, "Tell no one, Robin Locksley." His eyes were impish, and she rolled her own when he closed the distance between them to steal a kiss. "What did you order me?"
"Sweet Onion Veggie and Spicy Peanut Noodles and Spiced Chai bubble tea."
She groaned. Her favorite take-out, tea, Kate and Leo...Looking up into his eyes, she reached up and brushed her thumb over the prickly stubble on his cheek. She couldn't have lucked out in the donor/fiancé department if she tried. "I love you."
"I know," he mused before taking another kiss. But it was over too soon for Regina, before he was taking her hand and walking them over to the couch. "Now let's eat and watch these two tragic lovebirds."
When she was tucked into his side with her plate balancing on her belly and her eyes on the television screen, she told him, "I may get the drugs."
He kissed her head and whispered into her hair, "And that'll be fine by me."
Taking her plate, she sat it on the table and then took his, doing the same. She leaned back against the cushions, lettings her head fall back and looked over at Robin. With a playful smile, she said, "Didn't you say something about a snog earlier?"
He chuckled and twisted in his seat. His hand came up and brushed her hair back to tuck it behind her ear. "I did."
Her voice lowered as he started to lean in. "There are a lot of previews before the movie."
"In that case, then…" he said, chasing the words between their lips.
For the rest of the evening, Robin held her close while all thoughts of labor and grumpy nurses were swept away by a handsome, artsy American and sassy, caged Brit falling in love. When they crawled into bed, she was almost asleep just as soon as she felt Robin's chest against her back and his arm around her middle.