A/N: Just a quick note this time to thank you guys again for all your support. Your reviews are equal parts encouraging and hilarious.
Thanks again and enjoy!
The smile on the face of the bearded man with the red beanie was akin to that on a little boy's on Christmas morning. Seeing his captain again, being able to help him in...something...was his greatest delight.
They got to the Town line, where Hook had requested that Smee drive him in the dead of night. Smee didn't ask any questions, he just nodded, and lead the man to his car, which he acquired at some point during his stay in Storybrooke and learned how to drive because that's how people got around in this town.
Hook was silent the whole trip there, and Smee didn't bother asking why, or what was happening. The last thing he knew about his captain was that he was courting Emma Swan, the savior, and he never bothered to ask anything else because he didn't want to be snapped at by Hook.
They arrived, and Hook got out of the car as soon as the vehicle halted. Smee dutifully followed him out.
"W-what are we doing here captain?" he chanced at asking.
"Getting back what's mine, Smee." Hook said, pulling out a scroll from his jacket. He walked over to the town line, where Smee saw a blonde man in a green jacket standing, waiting. Hook held the scroll out, one end still in his hand while the other end stuck out over the line, over the barrier. The man in the green jacket turned upon hearing the buzzing of magic being penetrated, and took the scroll out of Hook's hand.
With one quick motion he opened the scroll, and then, the blonde man took a deep breath, and then stepped over the town line, his outline framed for a moment by the purple hue of the magic of the barrier as it moved to accommodate him.
"Welcome back mate." Hook said. Robin nodded to him.
"It's good to be back."
"Morning Rubes!" Emma called to the brunette as she entered the diner, her voice ringing out over the bell of the door.
"Mornin' Sheriff." Ruby said with a grin as the blonde came up and sat at the bar. "So, just your breakfast usual, or will you be taking Regina's as well?"
Emma rolled her eyes.
"Just mine, Regina had breakfast at home." She said with. "Or at least that's what she told me...I hope she did."
"What is it with you two lately?" Ruby asked as she placed the bear claw in front of Emma, who shrugged as she took a bite.
"It's just...you know...we're being friends...for Henry's sake." Emma said. Ruby rolled her eyes.
"Uh huh." She said, unconvinced. "Well, that's great, but friends don't usually worry if the other friend has had breakfast."
"She's just...We...I just..." Emma stammered and Ruby rolled her eyes again.
"Oh come on!" she said impatiently, making Emma raise an eyebrow at her. "I know something is going on between you two that you're hiding! I'm a wolf, I can sense these things. Now spill!"
"Hell no." Emma said with a full mouth, she swallowed before continuing. "That's between me and gee-Regina."
"See! You were about to call her Gina. Like you were doing last time, you were only quiet on human levels, awesome wolf hearing remember?" Ruby said, tapping her ears. "Now tell me."
"If I tell you, and that's only if. You would need to swear to me on your life that you will never tell another soul. Not even Regina, because she'd kill me if she knew." Emma said.
"I swear." Ruby said. "On my life, on dating life, on granny's life-"
"Don't be making promises on me!" Granny's voice called out from the kitchen. Ruby rolled her eyes and Emma chuckled.
"I promise, Emma, I am your best friend, or well I was before queeny came along." Ruby waved, resting her chin on her hands. "Please."
"Okay. Fine." Emma sighed and looked around. The diner was empty, save for the one table whose occupant must have gone to the bathroom at some point. She leaned in and whispered anyway. "I got Regina pregnant."
"What?!" Ruby squealed.
"shhhhh." Emma chastised as Granny came out of the kitchen and placed her mug of hot chocolate with cinnamon on top.
"Well don't stop on my account." the older woman said, placing a hand on her hip and the other on the bar.
"It's a secret Granny." Ruby said with an innocent smile.
"Young lady, I am a werewolf who runs the best diner in town. There are no secrets from these ears, I just don't go blabbin' around town to everyone. Your secret is safe with me." Granny said looking over at Emma who smiled at her apologetically. "Besides, I've known that little miss Mayor has been pregnant for weeks."
"What?! How?" Emma asked. Granny waved her off.
"It's not hard to know, first off, I know a pregnant lady when I see one, secondly, she stopped drinking my coffee, and no one stops drinking my coffee unless they're not taking any caffeine, thirdly, the Kale salads stopped and the Chicken parms started. After that it wasn't hard to guess." She explained, leaving Emma impressed and Ruby just proud of her grandma and her wisdom. "The surprise was when I learned it was yours."
"Yeah tell me about it." Emma mumbled as Granny walked back into the kitchen.
"How did it happen?" Ruby asked. The blonde sighed.
"Magic." She said with a shrug. "That night that we-"
"Oh, yeah, I totally know you two got it on." Ruby waved her off. "The baby was a surprise, the sex? Not really. You two have been mentally undressing each other in this diner for ages. It was getting kinda sad."
Emma glowered a little at Ruby over her cup as she sipped her hot chocolate.
"You can't-"
"I won't tell anyone. Have a little faith in me." Ruby said with a smile. "So...magic...but, like...how?"
"Ugh, it's this crazy rare phenomenon." Emma shrugged. "At least that's what Belle told us..."
"Belle? How is she I feel like I haven't spoken to her in ages." Ruby said with a sad pout.
"We didn't really get time to catch up, though she seemed really close to that Will guy." Emma said. Ruby fake gagged.
"Ugh who the hell is he anyway?" she asked. Emma shrugged before sipping her hot chocolate again.
"I don't know, we only saw him for like a split second before he went and hid in the back of Gold's shop while Belle helped us out." The blonde explained.
"Right, so what did she say?" Ruby asked. Emma sighed.
"Apparently. The universe thinks Regina and I are soulmates." She said, continuing before Ruby could even speak. "Which is crazy."
"Is it though?" Ruby asked.
"What?" Emma shook her head.
"I mean think about it! You two have been getting super close, you saved each other's asses a bunch of times. You both have Henry and he makes you family. You two would make a wicked good match." Ruby reasoned out.
"You don't really believe that." Emma shook her head, but Ruby nodded.
"Yes, yes I do, I also think you've been dating the wrong brown eyed ex-villain." She said with a wink.
"Ugh, don't even start on me with him." Emma said, taking a big bite out of her pastry. Ruby chuckled.
"Honey I knew you two had an expiration date, frankly I'm surprised you two lasted this long." She said with a shrug.
"It's only because I don't have the heart to break up with him." Emma sighed. "Stupid brown eyes."
"Maybe it's because they remind you of someone else?" Ruby teased.
"No. Do not do that, do not compare Hook with Regina, that is totally unfair." Emma complained. Ruby laughed.
"It's only because we both know who would win in that fight, and it's not just because she has two hands and wicked good magic." The young wolf said. "I bet sex with two hands is way better too."
"Don't make fun of the hook, that isn't really his fault." Emma defended. Hook had his flaws, but the lack of one hand shouldn't have to be one of them.
"True enough." Ruby shrugged. "So, what are you gonna do about Regina?"
"What can I do?" Emma said. "I'm just doing my best to help her out with the pregnancy that I caused."
"I'm not talking about that." Ruby shook her head. "I mean the 'soulmate' thing. Are you gonna, like...court her?"
Emma scrunched up her nose.
"Court her? Are you serious?" She said with a shake of her head. Ruby laughed.
"Okay no, I'm totally kidding." She said. "But you should ask her out on a date."
Emma stopped to think for a moment before looking up at Ruby again.
"You really think so?" She asked. Ruby nodded.
"Show up to her door with a bouquet of flowers, lay your heart out in front of her, and ask her out." Ruby advised seriously. "If what Belle said is true, then you two belong together anyway. It's only a matter of time."
Emma sighed and remained silent, chewing on a small bite of her pastry while she thought. The whole soulmate thing seemed to be getting only more and more obvious. And so were her feelings for Regina. If she wanted the pain of pining for the brunette to stop, she knew someone had to take the first step. She also knew that, from fear of rejection or heartbreak, it wouldn't be Regina. So Emma had to be the brave one, as always, and take the first step towards the brunette. She always took the first step with Regina, because thanks to her past, first steps were hard for the former queen. She knew it wouldn't be easy to pursue her, that there was a great possibility that Regina would just close up on herself like she often did, run from trouble because she didn't know how else to handle it. But Emma had promised her that she wouldn't give up on her, and that she would always be by her side. So, no matter how difficult it got, she would keep her word.
She drank down the last of her hot chocolate and finished off her pastry, dropping a few bills on the counter before getting up.
"Thanks Ruby!" she shouted as she grabbed her jacket off the coat hanger by the door.
"Where are you going?" Ruby called to her, confused at Emma's sudden actions. The blonde smiled at her knowingly.
"To court a former evil queen." she said as she swung open the door and ran out into the light drizzling rain that had started to fall.
It was late morning when the light drizzle that had started earlier turned into a heavy rain fall. Regina had elected to work from home that day. She had some paperwork that needed signing, some permits that needed the mayor's grant before they were able to go through and some budgets that needed approving. Storybrooke may have been a town that was solely created by her curse, but the system it fell under, despite it's flaws, was a lot more organized than any other system they had in the enchanted forest, so during a town meeting once, post curse, they decided to keep it. There were a few grumbles about the fact that Regina would still technically be ruling, but when they suggested elections, no one stepped up to the challenge. Especially when everyone learned that Regina had the savior's backing.
The brunette smiled at the memory of that day. When they had called out for an election, someone tried to nominate Emma, but the blonde just shrugged and announced "I'm with Regina." effectively quieting everyone down, possibly out of shock rather than authority, but it didn't stop the mayor from grinning smugly at everyone as she walked past them on her way out of the meeting.
Even during Snow's short term as Mayor, the blonde had admitted to her that she didn't think her mother was best suited.
"She's just had a baby. And this town is crazy enough as it is. You've been mayor for years, I still don't know why you backed down."
And she meant it, when Regina had taken back the mayoral throne, so to speak, Emma had bought a bottle of champagne and brought it over to her house.
"Shall we celebrate?"
She couldn't forget the smile on Emma's face, the pride in her eyes, the joy and the little jump she did when Regina had playfully rolled her eyes at her before she let her into her house. Thinking back, that was when she was a hundred percent sure that Emma had her back in all this. Of course there was neverland before that, but she thought that would end when they returned to storybrooke. And then there was Zelena, and the whole issue with the savior bringing Marian back. And then the Snow Queen debacle happened and it was Emma that needed saving. But when that was done, just before Henry had showed her the library of empty storybooks, Emma had supported her, instead of hating her for taking what would technically be her mother's rightful place, she'd celebrated with her, and they spent the evening drinking champagne and laughing and reminiscing about all the good that came with their adventures.
And then..."I'm in."
"You are?"
"I made you a promise I intend to keep. Everyone deserves their happy ending."
And months later here Regina sat, wondering if maybe, just maybe, the person who decided to help her in her search, was the end of all her looking. She bit her lip and sighed and shook the rampant thoughts from her head as she forced herself to focus on her work. A small smile still on her lips at faint thoughts of Emma Swan that were stuck in her head whether she liked it or not.
A sharp knock on the front door, followed by two rings of her doorbell, pulled her out of her thoughts. She got up and walked out of the study, through the foyer, and to the door, thinking maybe she somehow magically summoned the blonde. Or maybe it was slight hope.
Either way, when she opened the door, it wasn't Emma there. And Regina's eyes widened in shock and surprise a second later in realization.
"R-Robin?" She stammered. The blonde man smiled at her.
"Regina." He said with a happy sigh, like he was so relieved to see her. He stepped forward before she had time to react and swept her into his arms. "I've missed you so much."
"What...what are you doing here?" She asked, pulling away from him to look at him.
"I've returned...for you." He said as if it were obvious. She shook her head in confusion.
"What do you mean, for me?" She asked, trying to sort out the jumbled up questions in her head. "How did you even get back in town?"
"I...uhh...a friend...helped." He stammered. She sighed and looked up at him.
"And I suppose you can't really tell me just who this...friend...is?" She asked. He looked down for a moment.
"I gave him my word I wouldn't tell." Robin sighed. "I may be a thief, but I have a code."
"Of course you do." Regina said, not surprised and definitely unimpressed. But he smiled at her again and for a moment she decided to put away her uneasiness at his omission of the truth. She smiled at him gently, and a second later he leaned in and kissed her, attempting to make it deep and passionate. And she fought hard against the churning in her stomach and the uneasiness she felt. But his lips were harsh and chapped on her own, and his hands felt too big and heavy on her waist, and ultimately she felt suffocated as he held her against him.
And then a flash of something entirely new, entirely painful, and decidedly not her own. Jealousy was evident, anger lying just beneath it, and pain.
The sound of a sharp gasp caught Regina's attention. But before she could even push Robin off of her, the source was retreating in her yellow bug, leaving a bouquet of flowers abandoned on the pathway leading up to Regina's door, battered by the heavy rain as Emma drove away.
"Emma..." Snow called through the closed door of her daughter's bedroom. "This is the fifth time that song's looped...And did you take the whole pint of Rocky road ice cream?"
"Go. Away. Mom." Emma called from her bed before shoving another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.
"What is going on with you?" Snow asked. Emma didn't answer, instead she reached over and turned up the volume on her stereo to drown out her mother's insistent questioning. Snow sighed and shook her head and went back downstairs to soothe a fussy Neal and make some tea.
Emma sighed as she lay her head back on the pillows, the tub of ice cream resting on her stomach as she closed her eyes and heard the lyrics of the song for the fifth time over.
I think about the years I spent just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true.
She knew she was killing herself listening to this song over and over again, but the song brought memories. One memory, one good, amazing, awesome memory that made Emma smile despite the pain and the jealousy she was feeling at that moment. Because the last time she had heard this song, she was holding a beautiful woman in her arms, and that beautiful woman was holding her, and dancing with her. Her first dance ever. And Emma grinned in slight victory because no amount of kisses or dances or whatever could take away from her the fact that she was Regina's first dance.
Take that, forest hobo.
Her thoughts on victory were interrupted by a knock on her door and she rolled her eyes.
"Mom, go away."
"Emma? It's me."
"Was...Was that Emma Swan?" Robin said, trying to pull Regina out of the rain after she went outside and picked up the flowers after failing in her attempt to call Emma over because the blonde had driven too far off to hear her. Eventually she let Robin pull her inside, ignoring the fact that she was basically soaked. She was still holding the bouquet, and wondering how Emma knew that she liked orchids.
She played with the delicate petals gently as she took in the colours Emma had chosen. Purple, pink, and red. Not the best combination of colours aesthetically, but when one considers the meaning of the different colours...
Regina sighed, forcing herself out of her own mind, remembering that she was still in the presence of a very confused Robin. She looked up at him, his eyes still gazing at her questioningly and she sighed.
"Come in, I'll make you some tea, I think we need to talk." She said, leading her way to the kitchen. He followed her dutifully, trying to get past the fact that the first thing she did when they reached the room was fill a glass vase with water and place the flowers in it gently, losing herself in their beauty for another moment.
"I uhm..." He began tentatively, the sound of him clearing his throat bringing her back to reality. She placed the vase in the middle of the table, ignoring the fact that it may be awkward that they would talk while looking at the flowers another person got her. "I had a good long talk with Marian."
"Did you?" She said, looking over at him, it was more to get him to keep talking so that she didn't have to, rather than pure interest. She knew what she wanted to say and how she wanted this to end, she was just biding her time, and allowing him to say his peace before she said hers.
"Yes, I did." He sighed. "She said she loved me...And I said that I still do very much love her."
"Then why are you here?" Regina asked.
"Because despite that, I also love you." Robin said, looking deeply into her eyes. She sighed softly and looked down for a moment. "And she said that I should be free to choose."
"So you're choosing me?" The former queen said quietly. Robin took in a deep breath, held it for a second longer, and then exhaled.
"Only if you choose me...I can tell you have something to tell me." He said. And she let out a small breath of relief.
"I do...quite a bit actually." She said. He could tell, given the fact that she was avoiding his eyes, that it wasn't very good.
"What is it, Regina?" he asked softly, hoping to let her know that she was safe to say whatever was on her mind. "You can tell me, I won't be cross."
She smiled a little at the truly British term and swallowed a thick lump in her throat brought on by her nerves.
"I..." She bit her lip, wondering how to begin what she wanted to say. And the decided to rip the bandaid off quickly. "I'm pregnant."
Robin's eyes went comically wide and as Regina looked at him to gauge his reaction, she could see the wheels turning in his head, trying desperately to make the calculations. She scoffed a laugh.
"Oh don't be ridiculous, it's not yours." She said. He released a long breath and deflated in relief. She was glad he at least didn't faint like David had, that would have made this process even longer.
"I see." He said with a nod. "So...you've moved on then?"
"I...Well...I'm not in a relationship with the person who's gotten me pregnant, if that's what you're asking." Regina said, feeling dirty for a moment just by how that came out.
"Alright then." He said, determination in his voice. "Well then I would be happy to take his place, raise the child alongside-"
"Robin. Stop." Regina looked down again and shook her head. "The...father...Is Emma."
She looked over to him again. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. If there was one thing she truly loved about this man, it was his facial expressions, they were truly hilarious. He sat there, head tilted, looking off to the side, brow furrowed, lips tightly pressed together and nose scrunched slightly.
"How-"
"Magic." She said instantly.
"Ah." He said with a nod, accepting that as the only answer he needed. He'd seen the power of magic in his time, and the incredible things it could do. Magic cured his wife from disease, turned one of his friends into a flying monkey, brought his dead wife back from the past, then proceeded to freeze her heart, unfreeze it, and freeze it again. Yes, magic could do quite spectacular things, he knew this. "Well that would explain the flowers, and why she ran off when she saw me."
"We've had a...complicated...relationship since finding out I was pregnant." Regina admitted. "The uh...the magic required to create a baby apparently calls for the parents to be soulmates."
"Well then Regina, in that case I only have one thing left to ask of you." Robin said. She looked over to him with sad, apologetic eyes and he smiled at her. "Why are you here with me, and not with her?"
The sadness in her eyes turned to pride and admiration at the man in front of her and she stepped closer to him, cupping his cheek gently.
"You truly are a good man." She said softly.
"Even for a thief?" He joked. She laughed softly and nodded.
"Even for a thief."
"I think we both know what needs to happen now." He said, taking the hand that was on his cheek and holding it tightly. "I need to return to my wife and child. And you need to go to Ms. Swan, and mend what my presence has broken."
She nodded, smiling up at him. The man who, she was told, was meant to be her happy ending, was guiding her towards it instead.
"Let me drive you to the town line, it's the least I could do." She said. He smiled and nodded in acceptance of her offer.
Twenty minutes later they stood at the town line. Robin's hands holding Regina's tightly, much like they had been the last time they were here, only this time with much less heart break.
"I still have one question, how on earth were you able to get across?" Regina asked.
"Ah." He nodded, reaching into his inner jacket pocket and pulling out the scroll Hook had given him earlier. "My friend acquired this...I'm afraid I can't say he did it honestly."
"No..." Regina said as she took the scroll and examined it. "Neither can I."
"I'm sorry..." He said. She shook her head as she pocketed the scroll.
"Don't be, I feel your return has been rather enlightening." She said with a smile. "Give my love to Roland and Marian."
"I shall," he nodded. "You give mine to Henry...and Emma."
Her smile widened as she nodded slowly.
"And uhh." He grinned, gently patting her stomach, which had the barest minimum of what could be considered a baby bump. "Congratulations, and good luck."
With a final kiss pressed to her hand, he released them, stepping over the border and watching as the woman in front of him disappeared behind the safety of the barrier spell.
Her hands suddenly cold, lacking the heat that Robin's hands had provided, found their resting spot atop her stomach. She couldn't help but smile as she watched the back of the man walking away. Once a lost lover, another chance at happiness gone. Now a friend helping her on her path. She sighed, and finished her silent mental goodbye to him before turning away and walking towards her car. She had one more blonde to attend to today.
She got into the car and made a beeline through the quiet streets of Storybrooke to the Blanchard loft. She parked right outside of the building, hurrying up the steps and knocking raptly on the front door. In a moment, the door swung open to reveal and visibly exasperated Snow. Regina could hear the faint music travelling from upstairs as the woman sighed.
"Regina." She said in greeting.
"Snow." the taller brunette nodded. "May I speak with Emma?"
The woman sighed again, this time seemingly frustrated.
"Frankly, I don't think anyone can at this point." She said with a shake of her head.
"Is she alright?" Regina asked in slight worry. The bond between her and the blonde in question was not yet strong enough for her to feel exactly what was going on with her. She knew Emma was feeling something and that it was pretty strong, as was evident by the uneasiness she could feel in her chest, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.
"Physically, yes, she's fine. But she left early this morning, saying she'd get breakfast at Granny's, She was gone for maybe an hour and a half, and then she came barging in, visibly upset. She didn't say a single word to me, she just took a fresh pint of Rocky Road from the freezer, which I got to make sundaes for dessert with Henry!" she shouted the last part towards the direction of the stairs before huffing again. "And locked herself up in her bedroom, keeping that song on loop...It's beautiful, though I never thought she was one for those types of songs."
Regina bit her lip as she finally registered what the song actually was and shut her eyes tight and sighed.
"I'm afraid I may have been the cause of it." The former queen admitted.
"The song?" Snow asked.
"No, Emma!" Regina said. Snow nodded.
"Right okay."
"Do you...do you mind if I try talking to her?" Regina asked. Snow rubbed at her eyes.
"Not only do I not mind. I am giving you permission that if she does not open that door of her own accord you can blow it up. And then tie her up with those vine things of yours and make her talk to you until everything is okay." Snow said rather darkly. Regina's eyes widened, her eyebrows reaching her hairline at the sinister look in the usually peaceful woman. Snow just shot a glare in the direction of the stairs. "Having one fussy baby in the house is enough, two is just a nightmare, especially when one of them is thirty. years. old."
Regina nodded slowly, for the first time actually a little frightened at Snow and her mood.
"I'll just..." she pointed towards the stairs. Snow gestured towards them with a wave of her arms as she went back to Neal, who was wiggling and teetering in the precipice of bawling and attempted to soothe him.
Regina climbed up the stairs and went right to the door she knew to be Emma's bedroom. She knocked on the door, putting some force into it as the music was rather loud, despite it's naturally soft tune.
"Mom, go away." came through the door in annoyance. Regina rolled her eyes at the petulant tone.
"Emma? It's me." She called.
"Go even farther away." was the blondes response. Regina threw up her hands. She was carrying the child of a child.
"I just want to talk to you." The brunette spoke through the door.
"Go be with your boyfriend." Emma said in disgust, shoving another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth to get rid of the bad taste the word left. She wondered how better ice cream would taste if it had like a gallon of vodka mixed into it.
"No...I would very much like to stay here and talk to you." Regina tried to reason with the blonde.
"Well I ain't talking to you so buzz off." Emma called back around a mouthful. Regina had to translate full mouth into actual English before she sighed.
"You know, I have full permission from your mother to blow this door up." Regina pointed out.
"It's true!" Snow's voice came up from downstairs. Emma sighed and groaned in frustration. She just wanted to sit in here and drown her sorrows in ice cream in peace, was that to much to ask?
"I'm counting to three." Regina called warningly.
Apparently it is. Emma thought.
"Fine." she whined petulantly and got up, going over to the door and swinging it open before returning to her bed and her ice cream, not even bothering to look at Regina. She did turn the music down though, so much so that it was just above inaudible levels, a soft background.
Regina took in the room she had never entered, taking it in. She wasn't surprised to find clothes, shoes, and socks, some of them scattered across the floor, some shoved into a pile against the wall in what seemed like a poor attempt to clear it up. The brunette sighed and shook her head, unceremoniously kicking the door shut with her foot before sitting down on the edge of Emma's bed, lifting one knee up on the mattress to turn sideways and face the blonde, who sat with her back against the headboard and knees up, hugging the tub of ice cream against her as she ate.
"What do you want?" Emma asked very unenthusiastically around a mouthful of ice cream. "Shouldn't you be hanging out with forest boy?"
Regina rolled her eyes at the nickname. But she knew Emma was hurting and jealous, so she let it slide, deciding instead that maybe the blonde could use some good news.
"Actually." she began, "We talked. And then he went back to his family."
Emma raised an eyebrow at that, the rest of her face remaining quite expressionless.
"You got rid of him?" She asked before eating another spoonful.
"Well...first I told him I was pregnant." Regina explained. "To which he responded, very honorably, that he was willing to raise the child as his own if I wanted him to."
"Like hell." Emma said darkly, glowering at her. Regina shook her head and fought the urge to roll her eyes.
"Relax. That was before I told him it was yours." the former queen continued. "And then I explained what happened and the magic that binds us. And he understood completely. Then I drove him to the town line, we said our goodbyes, and now he's on his way back to his family, wishing us nothing but luck."
Emma's only response was a thoughtful hum as she licked off the remnants of ice cream off the spoon.
"How did he even get back?" she asked after a brief moment of silence. Regina sighed softly, and offered her response by pulling out the scroll Robin had given her and handing it to Emma. The blonde looked at it for a moment before she took it and opened it a little to examine it.
"This doesn't make sense." Emma shook her head. "This was in Belle's shop, she wouldn't just hand it over like that."
"Robin only told me that a friend had given it to him, and he also suspects that it was done rather dishonestly." Regina explained.
"Robin has friends?" Emma asked quietly as she looked over the scroll.
"Emma." Regina said warningly and Emma held her hands up in innocence.
"Honest question. Does he have friends that would steal something?" Emma asked.
"Emma it's Robin Hood." Regina said quite obviously. "Stole from the rich, gave to the poor..."
"Was a fox in the disney movie." Emma mumbled.
"Be serious." Regina warned again. Emma huffed and pushed her fingers through her hair as she adjusted her seating position, putting her legs down and crossing them over indian style, putting the tub of ice cream on the bedside table and holding the scroll in her hands.
"So what do you wanna do about this?" The sheriff asked, waving the scroll to indicate what she meant.
"Well, first off, I should return the scroll to Belle and ask her if she knows anything about how it got to Robin." Regina said, opening her palm. Emma handed it over back to her without question and rested her back against the headboard of the bed.
"Do you want me to investigate this?" She asked.
"I'm not sure." Regina said. "I mean, no real harm has been done, Robin left as quickly as he came and the scroll is in our possession now, soon it'll be back at Belle's. It's in safe hands."
"Yeah, it was at Belle's to begin with. So obviously it's not as safe as we thought." Emma pointed out. "Though I guess whoever stole it didn't really mean any kind of threat if the only thing they brought into town was a forest-"
Regina glared at her warningly again and Emma stopped in her tracks.
"Robin Hood." She corrected.
"Mmmhm." Regina hummed. "You know he's not as much of a bad guy as you seem to think he is."
"Oh yeah?" Emma said, her tone challenging the brunette to prove it.
"Well he was the one who told me I should come talk to you." Regina said. Emma rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, about the scroll." The blonde waved off.
"Not about the scroll." Regina shook her head and looked at the other woman. "The scroll was the last thing on our minds when he suggested I come here. I wasn't even aware of it yet."
"So that's not the reason you're here?" Emma asked. Regina shook her head again. "Then what is?"
"The flowers that were left abandoned on my walkway." Regina said, causing Emma to blush slightly and look down. Regina smiled a little at that. "Which were lovely by the way, how did you know I liked Orchids?"
"There's one in your office." Emma answered quietly. Regina furrowed her brow in thought before she came to the realization that the blonde was right, and more attentive than she thought.
"Well they were very nice. Thank you." Regina smiled at her and Emma smiled back softly. "Let me make it up to you?"
"You don't have to make it up to me." Emma answered immediately with a shake of her head. Regina leaned forward slightly and placed a hand on top of Emma's, stroking the back of the blonde's hand with her thumb.
"But I want to." Regina said softly. Emma smiled again, her eyes on their joined hands and resisting the urge to lace their fingers together.
"Okay." Emma nodded. "What's the plan?"
"Next week. I have my first ultrasound appointment. Initially I thought maybe it would be best if I went alone and brought you a picture." Regina explained. "But how would you like to join me instead?"
Emma's eyes lit up and her face broke in a bright smile.
"You...you want me to be there?" she asked. Regina nodded.
"I think you should see our child for the first time with me. It's only fair." She said. Emma grinned and nodded.
"Alright. when, what time?" she asked enthusiastically, in a much better mood now than she was when she first opened the door to Regina.
"Tuesday, 11 A.M." Regina said. Emma nodded and picked up her phone from the night stand, marking the appointment on her calendar so she wouldn't forget.
Suddenly their attention was pulled by a loud, frustrated groan coming from downstairs.
"What's going on down there?" Emma asked. Regina shrugged.
"Your mother was having some trouble calming Neal down, apparently he's been very fussy." Regina said. Emma raised her eyebrow and got off the bed, opening the door and going downstairs with Regina following suit.
"Mom, what's going on?" Emma asked. Snow had her forehead pressed against the kitchen island bar with her hands laced together on the back of her head. When she looked up she had tears in her eyes.
"I tried everything." she whined. "He just won't calm down. I don't know what else to do."
Emma looked over from her mother to her little brother, who was wiggling violently and whining loudly.
"Hey little guy, what's up?" Emma asked softly, forgetting that Regina and her mother were there and watching her intently as she inspected her baby brother. She lifted him up, feeling his diaper, which was clean, as was his pyjama, which was soft and practically brand new, but when Emma pulled at it to smell it she noticed how taut it was against his skin, how the sleeves left his wrists just slightly uncovered and how there was a slightly defined line in it going up the middle of his backside. She put him down and experimentally popped open the front buttons. As each button opened, his wiggling decreased, as did his whining, until eventually, it was completely open and he was quiet, looking up at her with happy, satisfied eyes and giving her a soft smile.
"How...how did..." Snow spoke softly, barely above a whisper, afraid that is her volume was any higher she'd disturb her finally peaceful baby boy.
"His jammies were too tight." Emma noted, removing the pajama off of her brother completely and wrapping him up in a warm blanket. "Poor kid must have felt really constricted."
"But it's brand new." Snow pointed out. Emma shrugged as she finally straightened her posture and looked at her mother.
"He's grown out of it." Emma said. "He's at an age where he starts growing fast and it's kinda hard to keep up."
Snow and Regina were dumbfounded at how expertly Emma seemed to rattle off that information. The blonde walked over to the hooks on the wall and grabbed her jacket, shrugging it on and waving her hair out of it before grabbing her keys.
"W-where are you going?" Snow asked.
"The baby store, he needs some new clothes, and it can't really wait if all his jammies are the same size, he'll just start fussing again, and we can't leave him in just a blanket." Emma said with a smile. "Maybe I should get a few that are a size too big so he'll have some to grow into."
The last part she said more to herself in thought as Regina and Snow looked at each other, each silently asking the other person if they were dreaming.
"You wanna come with?" Emma asked to Regina, pulling the brunette out of her thoughts. She shrugged.
"Sure."
Emma smiled at her, nodding her head towards the door to follow her lead as she opened it and jogged off down the stairs. Regina stood stuck in place for a moment, giving one last look to Snow. The two shared a smile as a thought hovered between them, loud enough even in the silence that it didn't need to be said out loud. A thought that filled Regina with new found confidence and a hint of excitement.
Emma Swan was going to be one great mother.