"I'm nervous," Regina murmured and fidgeted with her fingers. Her face one of pure terror as she looked at Emma, who held a sleepy Henry in her arms.
"Why?" Emma laughed upon seeing Regina's face, "It's just my sister! It's not like your due for an inquisition with the parents," she grinned when Regina shot her a scolding glare.
"That is so inappropriate. Besides, I imagine Mary Margaret is highly protective of you, what if I'm not good enough for her? What if I'm not good enough for you? What if Henry decides to throw a temper tantrum? They'll think I'm a horrible mother," Regina said as she looked absolutely mortified.
"Hey," Emma said as she cupped Regina's cheek. "First of all, Snow is the last person on earth who will judge you. She is the most compassionated person I've ever known, you are an amazing mother Regina. And seriously, if you're willing to spend time with me, Snow is going to love you just for that alone. She will love you, trust me, I should know, I sorta love you too," Emma grinned before placing a chaste kiss on Regina's lips. "Now ring that damn bell before I drop Henry, the kid is getting heavy, have you been feeding him rocks or something?"
Regina rolled her eyes, "Watch your language around my son dear, I do not want him to start uttering swear words, thank you very much." Regina inhaled sharply before pressing her finger on the bell. "Just so you know, I kinda love you too," she said with a smirk.
Emma's cheeks flushed and she stuck her tongue out at Regina when the door opened.
"Emma!" Snow exclaimed before frowning, "Put that tongue back in your mouth young lady." Her frown turned into a smile when she saw Regina, "Hi! You must be Regina! Gosh, you are absolutely gorgeous, just like Emma said, come on in!"
"Shut up Snow," Emma hissed before brushing past her as Regina chuckled.
"Thank you, it's nice to meet you," Regina said as she held out her hand to Mary Margaret, she was surprised when Mary Margaret pulled her into a hug instead and tensed up a little.
The brunette smiled softly before letting go of Regina, "Sorry, I get a little enthusiastic sometimes, it's just so nice to meet you. I've heard so many wonderful things about you, Emma can't stop talking about you."
Regina laughed, the enthusiasm of Emma's sister was infatuating. "That's good to know," she said before stepping inside. "Your house is lovely."
"Oh my word," Emma said, "what's with all this politeness between you two? I feel like I'm in an alternate universe," she tickled Henry before putting him down on the floor. "Where's David?"
"At the supermarket, I forgot half of the groceries, so I made him get the rest," Mary Margaret said as she knelt in front of Henry, "Hello Henry! Aren't you a cute little boy!"
Henry chuckled, "Up!"
Mary Margaret looked at Regina questioningly.
"I think he wants you to pick him up," Regina said and smiled when Snow picked Henry up and placed him on her hip.
"Pff," Emma sighed dramatically, "First time I met him he wouldn't even say hi to me!"
Mary Margaret laughed when Henry's eyes grew bigger when he placed a hand on her tummy and shrieked 'ball!' "That's not a ball, but there's a tiny baby in there." She said with a smile.
Regina placed a hand on the small of Emma's back and whispered softly, "First time Henry saw you, you looked a whole lot more scary than your sister does. She's glowing with pregnancy, you were looking like a sleepy monster."
"Shut up," Emma grumbled before leaning in to Regina. "How's the nugget in your tum, Snow?"
"We're having our second trimester ultra sound next week, they should be able to tell the sex by then, but we're not sure if we want to know." She grinned at Emma's horrified look and put Henry down on the floor when he wiggled in her arms, "Maybe we'll have them write it down for you Emma, although you're horrible at keeping secrets."
"I am not!"
"Yeah you are. You have no filter. But don't worry, I was just kidding. We really want to know and as soon as we do, I will let you know. I just hope they can help me with this heartburn, it's driving me nuts," Mary Margaret said as she sat down on the couch and motioned for Regina and Emma to do the same.
"You should eat gum," Regina said as she sat down, "I had the worst heartburn and indigestion when I was pregnant with Alexa, eating gum helps neutralize gastric acids through the increased saliva."
Emma's eyes were gonna bulge out of her sockets as Regina and Mary Margaret discussed pregnancy tips and tricks. She looked absolutely mortified when Regina went into further detail about what could happen during child birth and decided right then and there she would never have a baby and save herself all the embarrassment. That's just gross.
When Alexa's name fell again, a tiny voice whispered, "Lexa play?"
Regina smiled before picking Henry up. "No baby, Alexa can't play with you. But she used to sing you songs and you loved that!" She tickled his tummy before lifting his shirt and blew a raspberry, "Your sister liked doing that too!" Henry shrieked with laughter before wanting to be put down again.
Regina had been telling Henry about Alexa and Daniel with the help of the memory box over the past two weeks. He didn't understand much of it, but he was absolutely enthralled by his big sister, wanting to give her picture a kiss every night before he went to sleep. He often asked if 'Lexa' could play with him, and while it pained Regina to have to tell him no, she felt a lot of relief at being able to mention her daughter's name and to tell Henry stories about her and their father.
Emma was proud of Regina for opening up to her son and she knew it helped Regina grief as well. She had slowly started bringing out pictures of Alexa and put them around the house and she didn't clean up after Henry as vigorously as she once used to. She found it harder to tell Henry about Daniel, she didn't want pictures of him around the house, so she settled for a picture of Alexa and Daniel together. Emma had framed it and it now sat in Henry's room. Emma was making great progress with her sketch of Alexa and Henry and she wanted to give it to Regina on Henry's birthday, giving her enough time to make it absolutely picture perfect.
Henry crawled to the door when it opened, "Oh wow Snow, you gave birth already?" David roared with laughter as he balanced grocery bags in his arms and bend through his knees to tickle Henry, "Hey there!"
"Hi," Henry said before crawling off again.
Snow chuckled, "He likes me better David, come say hi to Regina."
David put away the groceries before joining them in the living room. Emma couldn't help but smile at how perfect it all seemed. There were no awkward silences or moments. Well, aside from Regina telling more pregnancy stories that just grossed Emma out severely. She felt nothing but utter bliss at how well Snow and Regina got along and she was glad that Snow had someone that perfectly understood what her body was going through.
"I should get dinner started," Snow said as she stood up.
"Can I help you?" Regina asked as she stood up as well and pushed Emma back into the couch when she got up. "Not you dear. I'm sure Mary Margaret doesn't want a kitchen fire or the mess that you left when you cooked for me."
Emma huffed, "You still owe me a movie."
Regina laughed as she followed Mary Margaret into the kitchen, not indulging the blond with a response. Emma got up and sat next to David and rested her head on his shoulder as he put an arm around her.
"You are happy." David mused. It wasn't a question.
"I am. It scares me," Emma said thoughtfully. She found David easy to talk to, he was straight to the point and Emma could appreciate that.
"Why?"
"I don't know. For the last couple of years I've not been exactly happy and now Regina came along and it's like I can't even remember how I felt before."
"Isn't that the whole point of falling in love? Finding someone that takes away your hurt?"
"A small part of it, maybe. I was hurt before I met Regina and I am still hurt. I don't think that ever goes away, but it becomes less prominent. The hurt makes way for happiness, but there is always that fear that lingers in the background. What if she tires of me?"
"I don't think that's possible Emma," David said as he hugged her closer to him. "She seems quite taken with you."
"I'm not used to it. Life has always thrown me curve balls. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop."
"So you're self sabotaging your relationship?"
Emma hummed, "No, I don't think so. I don't want this relationship to fail. I just mean that all my life .. whenever I found happiness it got taken away from me. My foster families, Snow's.. our parents. Sophie."
"You had no control over that Emma. Your foster families were crap, you got dealt a bad hand. What happened to your parents was a terrible accident as was Sophie's. I think you are still coming to terms with what exactly your role was with Sophie. And I could be wrong but I think you are discovering that your feelings for Sophie were nothing in comparison to your feelings for Regina. Perhaps Sophie was the girl that made you realize you were attracted to women, but I think Regina is the one that is showing you how worthy of love you are. Regina is healing your heart and you don't like it when people do that. You have always wanted to fix your own problems, you push away people that matter to you. Don't do that to Regina. She is good for you, let her heal you Emma."
A tear rolled down Emma's cheek, "I hate you."
David smiled, "See, you push me away as well. You can't stand it when people know you well. You don't like to be vulnerable, you make jokes out of your valid feelings. It's a coping mechanism, but it's not healthy. You have built so many walls and I think Regina is tearing them down brick by brick and it terrifies you."
"Walls are easy. I feel safe with Regina. What if she doesn't like the person that's hiding behind the wall?"
David pressed a kiss on Emma's hair, "That's the thing Emma. Regina knows exactly who is hiding behind that wall. She already knows you and she is not afraid to show you that she likes that person and that she will do anything in her power to love that person. I know it's hard to accept, but sometimes you have to let someone tear down all your walls. It seems to me that Regina is perfectly capable of helping you build a new wall. One that doesn't reach so high and one that isn't closed off completely. You are worthy of being loved Emma. You have been wronged in the past, let Regina be the one that makes it right."
A million thoughts ran through Emma's mind. She knew David was right but it was incredible hard to accept his words for truth. "I don't know how to be there for Regina. She lost her husband and her daughter. It hasn't even been two years. Sophie died four years ago, surely her suffering is greater than that of mine, yet she's so strong. I've only seen her fall apart over it once."
David smiled, "There's a lot of healing in helping someone else, Emma. Regina suffered great loss, as have you. Sometimes the way to work through that is by focusing all your energy on someone else and by helping them heal and cope, you learn how to heal yourself. Mary Margaret told me about the memory box. Regina wasn't ready to deal with that before she met you and now she is. She is coping and from what I can tell from what you told us, she has opened up to you."
Emma sighed, "You are gonna be a great father you know?"
David chuckled, "I hope so. You're good practice," he winked at her when she looked at him. "I love you Emma, as does Mary Margaret. Let Regina love you, she's good for you. Time to leave your demons in the past." He patted her knee when she kissed his cheek.
"I realize that what I am about to say may be completely out of line," Regina hesitantly said as she helped Mary Margaret in the kitchen, "but as a mother I cannot help but admire the great lengths you've gone through to give Emma a home. She speaks so highly of you and I suppose I just wanted to say thank you. She is dear to me and it warms my heart to see how much you love her."
"Oh gosh Regina, thank you, that means the world to me," Mary Margaret said and briefly put her hand on Regina's arm. "I would do anything for her, she is my sister through thick and thin, whether we're related by blood or not.
"It can't have been easy, having to raise a teenager while still being so young yourself," Regina offered.
"It wasn't. We definitely had to overcome some struggles, but from the moment I first laid eyes on her we connected, and when our parents passed away I wasn't willing to give Emma up. She was such a sweet child, a total brat at times, but that little girl had nothing but love in her. She still does, it's just hard for her to show it. She builds walls and they don't come down easily. She definitely makes you work for her trust, but once you have it, it's a life time deal."
Regina smiled as she looked over at Emma, "I certainly hope so."
"I believe my sister is quite infatuated with you," Mary Margaret chuckled. "She seems so happy, it's quite a change, a good one though. Thank you for making her happy."
"That definitely works both ways. Before I met Emma I felt broken, I pushed away the people that I loved, I became distant. But ever since she's in my life, it's as if she's stitching me back together. I owe her a great deal. Even Henry is crazy about her, I've noticed he has started talking more. I am not sure whether it has to do with Emma, but I cannot deny that things have changed a great deal now that she is in our lives."
"Henry is absolutely lovely," Mary Margaret said with a smile. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry that you both had to suffer such a great loss."
"Thank you dear," Regina said before she coughed, "such heavy dinner topics! It smells delicious though."
"Let's hope it tastes just as good, I feel like I'm eating for two, by the time this baby comes I'll probably weigh twice as much," Mary Margaret grumbled when Regina chuckled softly.
"It will all be worth it," Regina grinned, "that is until you finally grasp the reality of the weird food combo's you've been eating." She chuckled when Mary Margaret grunted.
"I ate a pickle with whipped cream the other day. It was both disgusting and delicious."
Regina was still laughing as she followed Mary Margaret out of the kitchen.
Emma had let herself fall down on the couch when Regina excused herself to go put Henry to bed. She couldn't get the smile off of her face as she replayed the evening over in her head. She had no doubt in her mind that Regina and Snow would get along, but to see that they actually did just warmed her heart.
She sighed happily when Regina crawled on top of her and cuddled close, "Hi there." She wrapped her arms around Regina when the older woman lay her head on Emma's shoulder and nuzzled Emma's neck with her nose.
"Hey," Regina murmured, "that was a lovely evening."
Emma smiled and placed a kiss on Regina's forehead, reveling in the vulnerability that Regina showed, it was a rare sight. "It was, is Henry asleep?"
"Yeah, he never woke up, I think David exhausted him with all the games they played." Regina purred, "This is nice, you are almost as comfortable as our bed."
"Our?" Emma whispered.
"Well, you spent so much time in my bed, it might as well be ours," Regina mumbled. "I like my bed better when you're in it."
Emma couldn't help but grin, "I like your bed better too when I'm in it."
Regina softly chuckled before she got quiet, her tone more pensive as she asked, "Does it bother you that I was married? To a guy even?"
"What? No, of course not," Emma furrowed her brows. "Why would you think that?"
Regina traced slender fingers on every inch of bare skin she could find, "You're so soft. So beautiful Emma. I don't know what I would do without you. I don't want you to think that I'm going through some kind of phase. I never cared much for labels, but I've always known there was more to me than just straight."
"I don't care how you label yourself Regina, I care about your feelings and I care about you. I don't care if you're straight, bi or gay. I care that you're mine," Emma mused.
"Am I? Yours?" Regina asked softly.
Emma rolled Regina over and lay on top of her and placed a soft kiss on her lips, "You are mine. You're mine when you wake up and when you go to sleep. You're mine when you're sad and when you're happy. You're mine when we fight and you're mine when we don't. You are mine and I am yours."
A tear slipped down Regina's cheek as she pulled Emma into her. "I don't know what I did to deserve someone like you," she whispered into Emma's ear, "but I am so glad that you are in my life, I am never letting you go."
Emma chuckled, "Good, because I'm gonna be severely pissed if you let go of me."
"Will you show me?" Regina said with a tremor in her voice.
Emma leaned back as she looked into Regina's eyes, "Show you what?"
"That I'm yours," Regina whispered as she pulled Emma's head to her, her lips softly brushing over Emma's.
And Emma did as she made love to Regina until deep in the night. Her touch soft, gentle and slow as she showed Regina over and over again how much she loved her. How cared for she was, how Regina was hers and how she was Regina's. When they finally made it to the bedroom their bodies melted together and Regina's 'thank you' was the last thing her mind registered as she fell asleep with a smile on her face.