Ok, so most of you seem ready to revolt at the very thought that I speed this up too much, so I figure, what the hell, give the people what they want. I'll probably give you all two chapters (this one and another one) then the baby shower, then a slow and normal progression to the babies being born. And let's face it folks, with the way I write and the shit that goes down in this town, that birth is going to be an EVENT. So I assure you, none of you will be bored.

Emma was rushing around the kitchen that morning, trying to chug her coffee and throw a lunch together for her and for Henry. She managed to get that done just as Henry was rushing down the stairs trying to push his snow boots on his feet and wrap his jacket around him. It seemed that on this particular morning everyone managed to ignore their alarms just long enough for Emma to be left scrambling to get her and Henry out the door. Regina was out like a light, something Emma was thankful for and of course, Apollo, ever the watchful dog, had taken Emma's spot on the bed the second she had woken up. Christmas had come and gone and so had new years, so the holidays were over, but winter was very much in full swing. Emma didn't mind mostly because freezing temperatures meant people tended to stay out of trouble and she could usually pick up Henry from school and do the rest of her work from home. Emma finally gathered all her things together, checked on Regina who was still asleep and then she dashed out the door to drop Henry at school before she left for work.

Two hours later Regina finally woke up, mostly because her stomach was growling and even she couldn't ignore her hunger anymore. She slowly pushed away the covers and by the time she was on her feet Apollo was sitting patiently at her heel.

"Let me guess. You want your breakfast as well?" The puppy barked and trotted a few paces ahead of Regina as she slowly made her way into the kitchen. Regina saw that Emma had left food for the dog, but he patiently waited while Regina grabbed some fruit from the fridge and some bread for toast. Once she had sat down at the table the dog looked at her as if he was asking if he could eat his food now.

"Were you waiting for me? How polite. Go on then, we can't have either of us starve now can we." The dog didn't need to be told twice before he attacked his food bowl. Once he was finished, which was pretty fast, Apollo went over to where Regina was still eating her breakfast. He seemed happy to wait there as she ate. He wasn't begging for food, he was simply being a good guard dog. Regina found it funny, how alike her dog and her wife were. Emma had bought the dog to keep Regina company and to give her something to steal her attention way from the fact that she couldn't do anything more than rest. The puppy immediately took to Regina and without Emma or Henry teaching him anything. he was very protective of her. He would growl or bark if anyone seemed to threaten any member of the family, but no one messed with Regina.

When Regina was done she put her plate in the sink before heading back into the bedroom. Once she got settled into the bedding and pillows she moved a few around so that there was a sort of nest next to her. Once that was created Apollo jumped up on the bed and settled into "his" spot snuggled against Regina. Regina reached over to her bedside table and picked up the Christmas gift Ruby and Granny had given to her. Emma and Henry had spent most of the weekend trying to explain to Regina that the tablet in her hands could hold all the books she wants to read and she can mark them and highlight them like a normal book.

"Then why don't I just purchase the actual book?" Regina had missed the point entirely, but figured that if she was going to be stuck in bed for a few more months she certainly would not let her brain turn to mush. Henry had put some books on there for her, but Regina browsed other titles until she found one that sounded as good as anything else so she bought it. Regina rested the device on her rounded belly and began to read The Divine Secrets of The YaYa Sisterhood.

Around 4 that afternoon Henry had called Emma to ask if he could go to a friend's house to finish a project. Emma told him to go ahead and with Henry at a friend's house she was free to go home as soon as she finished the budget that was sitting in front of her. After another hour of moving numbers from one column to another Emma was done, or more the point Emma was fed up with trying to make those numbers make sense so she dropped the mostly done budget on her father's desk with the hopes that he would finish it when he came in the next day. The bitter cold hit Emma like a ton of bricks the second she left the heated office and rushed toward her car. After fighting with the bug to turn over she finally got the car to start running and was on her way home. The weather sucked, but the roads had been cleared that afternoon so Emma was soon sitting in the driveway trying to gather the courage to brave the cold air that stood between her car and the front door. With her keys in hand she made a mad dash to the front door and quickly unlocked, opened and shut it behind her. When she turned around to start to take off her coat and boots she saw Apollo sitting a few feet from her, just staring at her.

"What's up boy? Did Gina kick you out of bed?" Emma hung up her layers of clothes and when she was finally done she was about to head into the kitchen when Apollo blocked her path and barked.

"Please do not tell me I just took all those coats off and you need to go outside." The dog barked again and took a few steps backwards toward the hallway.

"Just because you understand English, doesn't mean that I understand barking." The dog went over to Emma and knocked her hand with his head before trotting back to his place in the hallway.

"Do you want me to follow you? Is that was this is?" The dog barked, this time louder before he turned and trotted towards the bedroom, assuming that Emma would for sure follow him this time. Emma became concerned and followed the dog down the hallway and she stopped at the door that was shut. That NEVER happened before. Ever since they had gotten Apollo, Regina always left the door open so he could come and go as needed. The fact that the German shepherd was sitting at her feet, looking at the same closed door made Emma worried as to why Regina shut it to begin with. Emma tried the doorknob and was relieved to find it unlocked. The dog of course barreled his way in the second the door was opened wide enough for him to fit through it and quickly jumped up on the bed next to Regina. Emma made her way inside and tried to pull the dog away, but to her surprise the dog growled at her when she tried to pull him away from Regina. Emma was touched that the dog was this protective, but the was not a time for it.

"Hey. Foot of the bed, now." The dog responded to Emma tone of voice and did as he was told, finally allowing Emma to crawl into the bed next to her wife. Regina was awake and, even though she wasn't audibly crying, Emma could see the tears in her eyes. Emma reached over and brushed Regina's bangs away from her face and that seemed to make Regina focus her attention on Emma.

"Hi." Emma leaned in and gave Regina a kiss and returned the sentiment. "Hi. Wanna tell me what started the tears?"

"Who writes a book like that?" Regina handed the tablet over to Emma who hit a few buttons before seeing the book Regina had finished earlier that afternoon. Emma cursed herself for not warning Regina about the list of books she should probably stay away from. She just figured she would read one of the books Henry put on the device for her, how could she know that Regina would start poking around on best sellers lists and pick a book the main plot line of which is about a very complex mother-daughter relationship. Emma put the tablet behind her and moved closer to Regina while Apollo lay down at Regina's feet.

"Hey, Gina, can you talk to be about it. Please." Regina shut her eyes and tried to turn away from Emma, turn away from what ever it was that was bothering her, but Emma didn't let her.

"No, Regina, I know it hurts you, but honey if you don't talk about it then it will follow you for the rest of your life and the stress isn't good for you or the babies so please just talk to me."

Regina reached over and played with the necklace that hung around Emma's neck. It was one she had given Emma several years ago for a birthday present and usually it was Emma who played with it when she was nervous.

"It must be nice. Have a conflict begin and end in fewer than 400 pages. Everything wrapped up and resolved by the time you reach the last page. They even made a movie about it. That way everything is back to normal in 2 hours. How nice for them."

"Regina they are just characters in a book."

"Just characters in a book." Regina said it softly and then quickly leaned forward and kissed Emma hard. She didn't let up and start reaching for the hem of Emma shirt in the hopes of removing it. Emma knew what was happening and pushed Regina away as gently as she could, eventually getting Regina to lie back down on the bed.

"I was pretty sure we moved past the part of our relationship where you use sex to push away your feelings. If you want to have sex, that's fine, but we aren't going to substitute that for you finally having this conversation that we've been dancing around for years."

"Leave it alone Emma."

"No. I've left it alone all these years and it's killing you inside. No more leaving it alone. We're taking about it now." Regina kept shaking her head side to side like a little kid who was throwing a tantrum. Emma grabbed Regina's hands to keep her from covering her face with them.

"Regina you can't hide from this anymore."

"Watch me."

"Regina." Emma all but yelled it and final Regina's eye flew open and the she screamed at Emma. "Why wasn't I enough for her?"

There it was. It was the question that had plagued Regina her entire life and it was the one question Emma never really had a good answer to.

"Why didn't she love me before she was on her death bed? Was I really that difficult of a thing to love?" The dam had broken and Emma knew that now she couldn't do much more than let it happen.

"Regina…"

"I mean even when I didn't have my heart beating in my chest I still loved my son and she just sold me to the highest bidder like some common whore. She didn't love me at all until she was dying in my arms. What role model do I have for parenting girls? What if I they hate me? What if I'm like her, what if I hurt them? What…" Emma had to stop Regina and the only way to do that was to kiss her. When Regina's mouth stopped moving Emma pulled back just enough to look Regina in the eye: just close enough to see the tears streaming down her face.

"Regina, I'm gonna say something really important and I need you to listen." Emma rested her forehead against Regina's and sighed, trying not to cry as she spoke.

"I am so sorry she never gave you the love you deserved, I don't think she ever could love someone that deeply, even her own child. You love from your soul Regina; your heart just helps things along. You mom didn't have much of a soul from what I gathered and so she had nothing, but a hunger for power. It's not that you weren't worthy of love, or that she didn't want to love you. Honey she couldn't love anyone or anything. But you know what? She died in your arms, but for a split second she knew the warmth in her body that can only come from loving you. In her dying moment, you gave her the one thing she simply could not give you. You loved her Regina and she got to love you back, even if it was only for a second." Regina snaked her arms around Emma's neck and pulled herself up into a sort of sitting position and continued to cry. Emma moved her arms so she could support Regina and hold her close. Emma let one hand rest on Regina's belly and as she tried to calm Regina down.

"The girls aren't going to hate you, ever. Even when they are teenagers and they say they hate everyone."

"You don't know that." Emma kissed Regina's forehead before making her wife look her in the eye. With tears in her own eyes she explain to Regina in a shaking voice.

"Yes I do. I do know that; wanna know why. Because you, my dearest love are the easiest person in this world to love. The second I realized I loved you, you were the only think I could think about. Loving you was and always has been effortless. Even when we fought I needed to be around you. I need you, like I need air Regina. I love you so very much. You, Henry and the girls and the most important people in my life and I am sorry your mother never got the chance to have that warmth in her heart, but I will not apologize for having it in mine and neither should you. You are going to be a fantastic mother to these girls and any other rugrats we have. There will never be a day that they don't know what it feels like to be loved. Hell Regina, they can hear how much your heart beats for them because they are literally growing underneath it. You aren't your mother Gina anymore than I am mine. It's ok to let her go." Emma's little speech might have made Regina feel better, but the crying was now persistent because it was a rather touching speech. Emma knew that quickest way to fix this so she took off her shirt and laid back on the bed gesturing for Regina to do the same and join her. Regina took off her shirt and laid back against Emma, letting the blonde wrap her arms around her until their torsos were touching. Once they were settled under the covers Regina seemed to have calmed and as she did Apollo decided he had waited long enough and soon stretched out next to Regina.

Emma knew that she could never drive the memory of Cora from her house and family totally, but today was enough. It was going to have to be enough.