At 39 weeks pregnant Emma was miserable. Her body ached constantly; she was tired all the time but still couldn't get a decent night's sleep due to aches and pains and her need to pee every half an hour. Regina had been at her beck and call which only seemed to make Emma cry due to her emotional state. She was pretty sure that Henry was avoiding her, or at least avoiding being alone with her. He had refused to play video games with her since she broke one of his controllers when she lost a game and then accused him of cheating and threatening to stop his allowance for the next year.
She was officially ready for her pregnancy to be over. The baby was doing great and she was ready for it to be over with. As nervous as she was about the birth and the uncertainty of what would come later being pregnant sucked big time. Actually that wasn't true being pregnant wasn't too bad, being 39 weeks pregnant on the other hand was grim.
Even sex was becoming less enjoyable. Her body hurt too much for her to be able to stay in one position long enough, not that it had stopped her. Regina had had to intervene and tell her that maybe she should slow down a little. Emma took that to mean that Regina didn't want to be with her anymore and wanted her to leave, which resulted in lots of tears on Emma's part and lots of words of love and hugs from Regina to reassure her. Once she calmed down a little she then accused Regina of not wanting be with her intimately because she didn't find her attractive in her current state. Regina had denied the allegation and explained that she was only concerned for Emma's wellbeing and that of the baby.
The baby being dark had been pushed back in Emma's mind. Her main focus was pushing a baby out and everything being ok with her physically. Regina had reassured her that whatever happened with the baby and the potential for her to be dark, they would deal with together.
Emma sat on the sofa reading 'What to expect when you're expecting' If someone asked what she was doing she would say reading but in reality she was looking at pictures and bold title print. She was happily flicking through the book and looking at the pictures, enjoying seeing how her baby girl had developed until she got to the section that was titled 'birth'. If the image of a woman bent over in pain wasn't enough the picture of a baby's head being pushed out of a bloody vagina was enough to ruin her day. She closed the book immediately and threw it across the room like it was on fire. She picked up her phone and started to type a message to Regina.
Did you get the birth section of your baby book? :-O x Emma pressed send, distressed by the image that was burned on the inside of her eye lids.
Regina looked picked up her phone, a smile gracing her lips as she read the message. She knew Emma hadn't read that section of the book yet or she would have surely made a comment about the graphic image. Being honest Regina herself had winced and closed her legs on instinct at seeing the image however she had soon replaced her scowl with a smile when she turned the page and saw a mother holding her new born baby with a huge smile on her face. She was pretty sure that Emma would have already closed the book and not made it to that part. She smiled as she pictured the face Emma would have pulled when she saw the picture before typing a reply.
Yes I did, and I imagine by the face so did you? x
Why would they show you a picture of that! It's disgusting x
Childbirth is beautiful darling, don't worry I promise everything will be fine. Look at the picture on the next page x
That's easy for you to say you don't have to push anything out of your vagina! And I'm never looking at that book again! x
True but I'll be with you holding your hand and kissing the pain away throughout. x
You promise? x
I promise x
Regina meant it she truly did. Seeing Emma in pain wasn't something she was looking forward to dealing with again but she knew that it was a kind of pain that was necessary to bring baby Pingu into the world. Regina couldn't wait for the baby to make an appearance. It was strange but she couldn't imagine the baby not being a part of her life, she had never met her but she loved her whole heartedly just like she loved Henry and Emma.
Waking up next to Emma every day, having lunch dates, having dinner together as a family and falling asleep next to one another at night were the highlights of each day. She would still have moments of panic where she thought it wasn't real, that she must be dreaming, but then she would see a dirty sock on the bedroom floor, the tooth paste tube squeezed from the middle, a red leather jacket on the back of a chair, a soft snore filling the bedroom or the feel of strong arms wrapped around her and she would know it was all real after all, she really was that lucky. It was all real and she was finally getting her happy ending, her family.
After a day of 'resting' as Regina liked to call it Emma decided that she couldn't possibly sit for any longer. She decided that she would make herself useful and make dinner for her family. It seemed like a good idea in theory and she was pleased with herself as she compiled all her ingredients and chopped up her vegetables. She paid extra attention while cutting the chicken up, trying not to cut her fingers off. It was really helping to distract her from the ache in her lower back. She smiled brightly as she imagined the praise and thanks she would receive from her family as they tucked into the dinner she was creating for them. She wasn't the best cook but she tried and she had been learning a few cooking tips from Regina. Emma spent most of the afternoon preparing dinner before placing the dish in the oven then tiding up the bomb site that used to be a kitchen.
Henry and Regina looked across the table at one another as they tucked into their dinner, it tasted delicious, but something was quiet obviously missing. They shared a nod and glance to indicate to the other that they knew what was wrong but that they would continue to eat the meal without alerting the blonde of her mistake. She had been so excited when she had served dinner to them and in turn they had both been equally proud of her.
"This is great Mom." Henry said after he swallowed the first bite.
"Delicious." Regina added with a smile.
Emma looked between them feeling content, she was full of pride. Her first time cooking a Swan Mills family meal and it had been a complete success.
She ate with a smile on her face for a few bites until she realised something wasn't quite right, something was missing. She looked back between Regina and Henry who were eating their dinner as if everything was fine but she could read their body language that something was off. It took her a few minutes to realise what was missing.
She pushed her chair back and stood from the table. This made the two brunettes look up at her in confusion. She picked up her plate and walked over to the bin tipping the content in without another tough.
"What are you doing?" Regina asked, her voice rose in concern, but she knew Emma must have realised her mistake.
"I made pasta bake without the pasta. I can't even make a simple meal for my family right. I'm a terrible mother and a terrible girlfriend and soon you'll both realise that and leave me." Emma screamed the last sentence through sobs as tears ran down her face.
"Emma its fine, we are enjoying it aren't we Henry?" Regina tried her best. She really hoped Emma wouldn't notice her mistake.
"Yes it's great." Henry answered before shovelling food into his mouth; he was hungry and didn't want his dinner joining his mothers in the bin.
"You're lying to me, you're both lying to me." Emma was still hysterical.
Regina got up from the table and walked over to the blonde, she stroked Emma's arm soothingly. "Emma darling, calm down its fine. So what you forgot the pasta it's not a big deal."
"It is a big deal in a pasta bake." Emma shot back.
"You did amazing with the rest of it. It's delicious. Honestly." Regina was telling the truth, the food tasted fine.
It took Regina and Henry a while to convince Emma that she had done an ok job and it was fine to eat the meal without the pasta. Regina had sat Emma down and gotten her a fresh plate of food and they had all eaten in silence.
Henry and Regina washed up together while Emma tried to relax on the sofa. The pair could hear Emma huffing and puffing as she moved around on the sofa trying to find a comfortable position. They took their time washing up both afraid of what mood they would find Emma in when they joined her in the living room.
By the time the pair did join her in the living room she was all smiles and laughs. She was like a completely different person. Regina sat beside her rubbed small circles on the blondes back as they all watched a television together.
When they crawled into bed together Emma's pain was bad, her back was killing her. She lay with her back to Regina and the brunette continued to massage the blondes lower back to offer her some comfort.
"Does this help?" Regina asked timidly, she hated seeing Emma in pain especially when there was nothing she could do to make it batter
"Yes, please don't stop."
"I won't." Regina assured her as she continued her movements.
"I'm sorry for being so crazy. Everything hurts." Emma whined.
"It's ok baby, just relax ill look after you." Regina wanted to take the pain away but she knew there was nothing she could do.
When Emma's breathing evened out she placed a kiss to the blondes head before lying down behind her. "Sweet dreams darling." She said with a smile before placing a protective hand over Emma's tummy. "Sweet dreams, baby girl."
Emma woke up in pain, lots of pain, but pain had become something she'd been accustomed to over the past few weeks. The tightening in her stomach however was new. She really needed to use the bathroom. So she quickly threw the covers back only to realise that it was too late.
"Regina wake up." Emma said while poking the sleeping brunette "Wake up!"
Regina woke up to the high pitched squeal of a panicked Emma "What's wrong?" She asked her voice hazy from sleep.
"I had an accident" Emma managed to say through floods of tears.
The words soon woke Regina up "What sort it accident?" Regina shot up looking over the blonde's body for signs of injury.
Emma didn't reply but pulled the cover back further to reveal a large wet patch under her.
"That's not an accident, your waters broke." Regina said looking at the blonde with big eyes, a mixture of fear and excitement washed over her as she got out of bed and made her way to Emma's side, kissing the blondes head and helping her move to sitting position.
"I'm scared." Emma's voice was small and timid. She has spent the last week impatiently waiting for this moment but now it was here she was terrified.
Regina ran a hand threw the blonde's hair and kissed her forehead again. "It's ok baby. I promise you I will be with you and everything will be ok."
Thank you so much for your baby name suggestions. There were two names suggested three times each and I will use them as the baby's first and second name. I like the name I think it fits well.
It will likely be Sunday before I update again.
