Hey guys! Here's a new one-shot. Hope you like it and thanks for reading.
All mistakes are mine.
TW for mentions of miscarriage and marital abuse.
Regina stared at the stick in her hand, sitting on top of the lid of the toilet in her bathroom. She knew what she was seeing but there was no way it could be true. As long as the laws of biology said, there was no way she and Emma could have conceived a baby. Secondly, she had taken that stupid potion back in the Enchanted Forest. So, technically, there was no way. But then, True Love's magic made everything possible.
But here she was, with a stick with a plus sign on telling her she was pregnant. Regina had been staring at it for what felt for ages, believing that if she dared look anywhere else, the plus sign would disappear.
After some more minutes or what felt like hours, Regina finally stepped out of her trance and allowed her emotions that had been bubbling inside to flow free. Of course, there was happiness and excitement, anxiousness and nerves were coursing through her veins of actually being pregnant; just the thought that there was a life being created inside her. She was imagining a little her and Emma, whether her baby girl (because of course, to that the laws of biology did apply) would have blonde or brown hair; her eyes if they would be hazel as hers or that emerald green she so loved. She imagined how Emma would teach her how to fight, how to defend herself and Emma just being the amazing mother she was.
But with that last thought, fear made her way. When Regina was married to the King and performing her wife duties, she had actually been pregnant two times. Both of them ending in a miscarriage, just short of her 12 weeks. The King of course had blamed her and what if those miscarriages were actually her fault? No, she couldn't tell Emma she was pregnant, because what would happen if she told Emma but then with her history of never gotten a pregnancy to term, if this miracle pregnancy would also end that way. Regina was sure Emma would blame her, why wouldn't she? And if she was unable to protect her daughter where she supposedly was safe, how would she even begin to think that she would be able to protect once she was born?
She would wait. She hopes that this will be a pregnancy she could carry to term. She needed it to be. She wiped away a lonely tear that made its way down her cheek. Regina touched lightly her flat tummy and closed her eyes.
"Please, please survive. I need you to be strong." Regina whispered to her unborn daughter, although she knew that she still couldn't hear her.
Regina had made an appointment with Whale in case the test came back positive and fortunately enough, Emma had left early to go the Sheriff's office for the morning shift. She quickly showered, got ready and then she was on her way to the hospital.
When she arrived, a nurse promptly guided her to an examination room and Regina made sure that she was to keep this secret. She didn't want this to be the next gossip that circled around Storybrooke. Even less if Emma didn't know.
"So Madam Mayor, how are we on this fine morning?" Whale said when he entered the room.
"Whale, can we get done with this?" Regina hissed.
"Of course Madam Mayor." Whale replied and put himself to draw blood.
"This is just so we are a hundred percent sure and that everything is looking alright. But since you already took a test a home, we might as well do the vaginal exam." Whale said.
Regina couldn't feel more uncomfortable with Whale looking down there but she guessed that it was still too early to use the ultrasound.
"Well, it looks you're approx. 8 weeks pregnant and everything is as it should be. And if we're lucky, we may hear her heartbeat." Whale said and Regina put all her attention with the hopes of hearing the heartbeat.
The room was deadly silent until the sound of the heartbeat filled the room. Regina couldn't contain the tears that were flowing down her cheeks. It was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. Everything was perfect in that moment until she remembered the real question she wanted to ask Whale.
"What are the probabilities of miscarriage?" Regina asked in a too serious tone for such a moment, but she couldn't allow herself to have hope for something that may not become real.
"At this point of pregnancy, the risk of having a miscarriage is actually less than 5% but I'm guessing this isn't your first pregnancy?" Whale said and watch how Regina gave an almost imperceptible nod and Whale knew exactly what prompted the question. Regina was glad she wouldn't have to elaborate much on the topic. "Well, in that case the probabilities are between 20% and 30%. So yes, you have a slightly major risk of having a miscarriage but I would advise you not to worry." Whale said and before Regina could interrupt he added. "Thinking that this pregnancy will end like the others isn't going to help you."
"Regina, you have Emma. Talk to her about this." Whale said while taking out his gloves. "I'll see you in a month for the next appointment. I'll go quickly to print you a picture of your baby." Whale stated and returned not even five minutes later while Regina gathered her things.
When he handed Regina the picture of her child, tears started to flow freely. She had to thank this world for their technology that allowed her to see her child inside her womb.
"I promise I will do everything in my power to keep you safe." Regina whispered while putting a hand on top of her still-flat belly.
Regina had to thank every god in the sky that Emma was a heavy sleeper, because for the nest few weeks, her morning sickness had been acting up and that would be a little difficult to explain to Emma. And she was sure the sound of her vomiting and the constant sound of flushing the toilet could be heard in the mansion, and she never thought that she would thank the heavens that Henry had inherited her mother's ability to sleep through anything.
Besides from that, everything had been going quite smoothly. You had to put a lot of effort in order to see the change in Regina's belly and Emma certainly didn't notice when they were having sex.
The week before, she had gone to her 3-month appointment and Whale told her everything was looking fine and she was finally glad of having reached the 12-week mark and now was making plan to tell Emma and Henry of their new addition to the family. But, god forbids that something goes quite accordingly to a plan in her life.
The three of them were heading to Grany's for their weekly Saturday breakfast, when Regina spotted the two idiots. Even though, she now thinks of them with a little more affection, she still thinks they are sometimes just two idiots, making everything worse than it originally was. Little did Regina know that this would be a premise that would happen today.
Henry bounced off to greet her grandparents while Emma put a supporting hand on Regina's back, because she knew that her relationship with her parents was still quite new. Regina appreciated the gesture.
"Hi guys." Emma greeted them.
"Hi Emma. Hello Regina." Snow replied. She had accepted their relationship but there would always some animosity there. "How are you…" Snow trailed off when she caught something in Regina.
The brunette looked as perfect as always so it wasn't that; something felt off. Then she caught Regina's hand that had at some point come to rest to her lower abdomen and that was when Snow saw the glow in Regina. People didn't lie, pregnant woman did have a glow. Snow's eyes widened in surprise.
Everyone had stopped to look curiously at Snow, even Charming because this was an unusual behavior.
"Regina, are you pregnant?" Snow asked bewildered, not thinking for one second about the consequence that question might have.
Regina stiffened and instinctively put both of her hands in front of her belly, as if the action could somehow protect her child, even if there wasn't any apparent danger. But at Snow's question, Emma took her hand off Regina. Regina felt her world starting to shatter.
"What?" Emma asked; she didn't miss the movement of Regina's hand and that was all the confirmation she needed. She just needed to know how and when and why had Regina kept it a secret. It wasn't that Emma believed that Regina had cheated on her, because she had read and asked Gold about the possibilities of two magical women who happened to share true love, making a baby.
Everyone was looking expectantly at her, with varying degrees of confusion including Henry. But she knew Emma, and knew that the blonde was putting a lot of effort not to let her anger control her.
But she couldn't face them and instead, with a flick of her wrist she poofed herself home.
She appeared in their bedroom, though she was beginning to question if by the end of the day it would still be theirs. Regina couldn't imagine what must be going on through Emma's head; certainly not that this baby was a miracle for Regina and the product of True Love.
Regina sat on the edge of the bed, taking in her hands the picture that was on her nightstand. It was their wedding day and both of them couldn't look any happier; the photo was taken when they were sharing their first dance as a married couple, it had been a soft waltz, and the photographer had taken the exact moment where both of their foreheads were touching, while their eyes remained closed and with a soft smile that was all the proof anyone needed to see that these two women loved each other with everything they had.
She let a few tears fall down, put the photo back where it belonged and put her hands around her belly, bowing her head. Damn it Snow and her big mouth.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Regina whispered to her unborn daughter, because she had been a fool to believe that she could have her happy ending. During their first months dating, she had been waiting for the other shoe to drop but as time continued to pass on and everything seemed fine and she was happy, she actually forgot that there would possibly be a time where her happy ending would shatter in front of her eyes.
She sensed Emma's magic, so she looked up to find the blonde in question standing perfectly still in front of her.
"How long?" Was the only thing Emma asked. Regina could see the inner turmoil that was taking place inside her wife's mind.
Regina took a deep breath and wiped a few tears before responding. "I have known for a month now and I'm 12 weeks." Regina replied; she would answer all her wife's questions with complete honesty in an attempt to keep her family from breaking apart.
"So you have known you're pregnant for a month and decided that it was the best to keep that a secret? From your wife?" Emma said, with her tone gradually becoming angrier and louder.
"I'm sorry Emma but…"
"No! You don't get to be sorry." Emma half-screamed while pointing a finger towards her wife. "We promised each other that we wouldn't keep secrets from each other and what did you decide to do? Exactly that!"
"So imagine my surprise when my mother asks you if you're pregnant and I see the way you out your hands on your belly. I mean, it's bad enough that my wife didn't tell that but my mother? So what? Did you decide that I should wait until you were five months pregnant and then I would know? Or maybe when you were in labor?" Emma angrily said, with sarcasm dripping off her voice. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was scared!" Regina replied, allowing more tears to fall down.
"That I wouldn't believe you? Regina, I've known for a long time that we could make a baby together and-" Emma started before Regina interrupted her.
Regina shacked her head. "Because this baby is a miracle." Regina said barely above a whisper. Emma just looked at her with confusion written on her face. Regina took a deep breath before continuing explaining. "In the Enchanted Forest the two pregnancies I had with the Kind ended in a miscarriage and after I killed him, I drank a potion that made me barren. But I guess True Love's Kiss does break any curse." Regina stopped for a second to swallow the lump in throat. "I was more worried that this pregnancy would also end in a miscarriage, because then how would I be able to look at you knowing that I couldn't keep our baby safe? How could I look at you when all you would see in me was that? How would you ever forgive me?" Regina explained, her voice breaking at those questions and dreading the answer that Emma would give her.
Emma moved to kneel in front of Regina, taking her hands and rubbing soft circles on top of them with her thumbs. Emma had always hated Leopold ever since Regina told her about him, she didn't care if she was biologically related to him; she would never tell Regina or her mother for that matter that she was glad that Regina had killed him. All her anger had been completely erased when Regina started to explain, her face softened and her eyes now bore a look of complete understanding, love and admiration.
"Regina, I would have never blame you for something that you wouldn't have had control over. I understand completely where you're coming from but I wish you would have told me because then you wouldn't have had to be alone. We're in this together okay?" Emma softly tells Regina while moving one hand to wipe away the few tears that were still falling down. "I love you and nothing could ever change that." Emma added and stood up to sit next to Regina, opened her arms and allowed Regina to rest on her chest. They stood like that for a few minutes until Regina's tears had finally stopped.
Emma moved a hand to Regina's belly and noticed that indeed there was a small barely-noticeable bump. "So, there's a baby in there?" Emma asked with a grin on her face.
Regina chuckled. "Yes, our daughter is in there." Regina replied and put a hand on top of Emma's. Emma looks at her with excitement and finally, the tears came down her cheeks.
They laid down on the bed and before Emma could spoon Regina, pulled up Regina's shirt just enough so that the bump was now visible and kiss it softly. Today had been an exhausting day for both of them, sleep was now to crawl on them because everything could wait. If they had been content with the way their life was, now they were more than happy with their daughter on the way. For now, everything was perfect.
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