Chapter Thirty Six

It had been just over three weeks since Lily's housewarming party, and Regina had to marvel at just how far Zelena had come in such a short time. She'd been over to see her daughter every day, and Ryleigh was beginning to get excited in the anticipation of her mother coming over.

She and Emma had discussed it a few times this week, and they'd decided it was time to bring up discussion of the future with Zelena.

"I'm really gonna miss this kid, you know," Emma said, purposely offhandedly, as she sat on the floor with Hope in her lap, across from where Zelena sat playing blocks with Ryleigh. They both knew that Zelena had taken the current arrangement hard, and they decided keeping future discussions light was probably for the best.

"Miss her?" Zelena asked, unable to hide the hopeful lilt in her voice, clearly guessing where this conversation was headed.

"Yeah, you know, when she starts living with you full time."

Zelena's eyes snapped up to meet Emma's. "Well, that won't be for quite some time, I'm sure."

"Actually," Regina cut in, stepping over from where she'd been watching to sit on the couch behind Emma, so she could face her sister. "Emma and I have been talking and we think, sooner might be better than later. That is, if you feel like you're ready."

Zelena opened and closed her mouth a couple times, clearly caught off-guard. "If I'm… oh… do you think I'm ready?"

Regina couldn't think of a time where she'd ever seen Zelena unsure of herself, and she took it as all the more proof that she really was ready and willing to be Ryleigh's mother. "I actually, really do," Regina said, with an affirmative nod. "Look at her, she adores you. I was wrong to keep you from her. I know that now."

Zelena raised an eyebrow. "Of all the things I'd never expect from you, Sis, admitting that you're wrong is up near the top."

"Don't push it, Zelena. I'm trying to offer you an olive branch here."

"Right, yes, well thank you. I suppose I'll have to hurry up and get my cottage ready for her. Do you have a timeline in mind?"

Emma cast a glance back at Regina, before turning her attention back to Zelena. "Actually… Hope and I are going to be moving in with Regina next week, so we're thinking then."

Zelena gaped for a moment. "So what's this, then? You want to U-haul with my sister and taking Ryleigh along would be too much? So you decided I don't need to be watched with her every second?"

"Wow." Emma blinked. "That's… way off base."

"We think you should move in here," Regina said, quickly. "Rather than living isolated out in the middle of nowhere. There's more space here, and Ryleigh's already used to this house. It might help the transition if she gets to go to sleep and wake up in familiar surroundings."

Zelena thought for a moment. "Alright."

"Alright?" Regina repeated, exchanging a quick glance with Emma. They'd expected to have to convince Zelena that this was the for the best.

"Yes, alright. This house has become Ryleigh's home, and that cottage really means nothing to me. It would be nice to be closer to town."

"Okay," Emma said, nodding. "I guess it's settled then…"

"Did that seem too easy to you?" Regina asked as she folded up another one of Hope's onesies. Zelena was still downstairs with Ryleigh, and Emma and Regina had opted to let her have some time alone with her daughter as they got started packing up the nursery.

"Yes!" Emma said, nodding emphatically. "I really expected her to put up a fight. And how the hell does she know what u-hauling means?"

"The moving company?" Regina asked.

Emma laughed and shook her head. "No. She was referring to us moving in together too quickly. U-haul lesbian. It's a thing."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Well, even if it is, it's hardly what we are doing."

"Either way, I wonder where she picked that up?"

Regina shrugged as she placed the last of the folded onesies into the box she was working on, and moved onto the next drawer, which held Hope's sleepers. Almost immediately, she noticed a small piece of paper tucked into the corner of the drawer, and she pulled it out.

Emma,

Let me be the first to bestow a gift upon your child. I made one just like this, for Lily, only purple. But she says you like yellow.

Much love,

Mal.

Regina wasn't sure how long she stared at the paper, but it was long enough for Emma to notice, and pull her attention away.

"What's that?"

Regina's eyes snapped up in surprise. "Oh! Um-" she reached out to hand the note over to Emma- "I found this in the drawer. Sorry, I shouldn't have read it. I didn't realize… I thought maybe it was a misplaced receipt or something."

Emma glanced down at the note and sighed when she realized what it was. "Mal gave me this when she gave me Hope's little yellow rattle," she explained. "At Christmas. I completely forgot it was in there. Are you okay?"

Regina nodded quickly. "Yes, I just… I just forget how much I missed out on sometimes. Mal knew before Christmas."

"I was going to tell you Christmas Eve," Emma reminded her.

"I know." Regina nodded. She didn't exactly want to think about what happened on Christmas Eve, especially now that things were so much better between them. "Do you think maybe we can do things right the next time around?"

Emma grinned. "You mean, come with me to ultrasounds? Rub my swollen feet? Make late night trips to get me ice cream when I have cravings?"

"Yes, all of that. Talk about names. Feel her kick for the first time. Buy her gifts before she's born…"

"I'd like that."

Regina nodded. "Me too."

"So we're really going to do this then? Have another baby? I mean, obviously not right now, but..." Emma said, still smiling as she shook her head. "I've never actually planned to have a child before."

"It'll be a new experience for both of us."

"You don't have to miss her, you know," Zelena commented as they sat down at the dinner table. It was the first time that Emma had invited her to stay for dinner, but seeing as things were going well, it seemed like the logical progression.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we won't live far apart. We can set up playdates for Ryleigh and Hope. I read that that's a good thing to do."

"You've been reading parenting books?" Regina asked.

Zelena half-shrugged. "I've had a lot of spare time. When you're not engrossed in plotting your enemy's demise, you find yourself with a fair bit of time on your hands."

"Right," Regina said, shaking her head. "Of course."

"Of course we'll have playdates," Emma agreed. "The girls adore each other, and Hope is your niece, afterall."

"I can babysit," Henry offered, suddenly, giving Zelena a small wink. "Sometimes, you know, if you need me to."

"What's going on?" Regina asked, her eyes darting between Zelena and Henry. She knew Henry had been chatting with Zelena that afternoon while she and Emma had been packing, and now she really wondered what was up.

For her part, Zelena just shrugged again. "I may have… made a friend."

"A friend?" Regina repeated. "How on earth did you make a friend living out in the middle of nowhere?"

"You did take me to a party a few weeks ago," Zelena pointed out. "And this… friend… and I have really been getting on well. So we might just need to enlist Henry to babysit, from time to time."

"Who did you possibly meet at Lily's?" Emma asked.

"No, I don't want to jinx it," Zelena said, with a wicked grin.

Regina thought back to Lily's party for a moment, and let out a small surprised gasp when she remembered. "Maleficent," she said, simply.

"Mal?" Emma repeated.

"When we couldn't find Zelena and Ryleigh, Mal found her. It's her, isn't it?"

Zelena's grin shifted into more of a genuine smile. "It's funny how things happen, isn't it? I could have killed you for insisting that I couldn't be left alone with my own daughter, and I hated that you dragged me out to socialize with a houseful of people I once cursed, but it ended up being the best thing you could have ever done for me. Mal wasn't sure how we should tell you, given your… history, but I guess the cat's out of the bag now."

Regina shot a quick glance at Henry, unsure of how he'd react to Zelena's comment about her history with Mal, but for his part, he looked unfazed. "Does Lily know?" she asked, turning her attention back to her sister.

"Yes, of course. And she's fully supportive."

"Really?" Emma asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Fine," Zelena conceded, rolling her eyes. "She's… warming up to the idea. Slowly."

Emma chuckled. "Well, I guess now I know who you learned about u-hauling from."

"Mal and I may have discussed her moving into my cottage. Lily may have thought that was a little fast. I suppose she'll be a bit happier to know that I'm no longer planning on keeping her mother secluded out in the woods with me. Your house is much closer."

"So, you're really going to move in here?" Henry asked, looking excited.

Zelena nodded. "I think so."

"That's awesome! It's a great house. I'm glad it's going to stay in the family."

"Family," Zelena repeated, quietly, with a sigh. "Yes, I suppose that's right."

"You okay?" Emma asked as she handed Regina another plate to dry. Regina had grown quiet for the rest of dinner, and seemed lost in her own thoughts even after Zelena had gone home and they'd bathed the babies and put them to bed before starting on the dishes.

"Yes… it's just… Mal and my sister?"

"It bothers you?"

Regina shook her head. "It shouldn't. It really shouldn't. Mal and I are ancient history. There's no feelings left there beyond friendship, I promise, but…"

"But it's weird?"

Regina nodded. "Yes!"

"I think it's always weird to watch someone you once loved move on with someone else."

"I want Mal to be happy," Regina insisted. "She deserves it. But… with Zelena?"

Emma shrugged. "She seems to really be trying. Maybe Mal is a good influence on her?"

"It will certainly lead to some interesting family dinners."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Emma said with a grin, before leaning in to give Regina a quick kiss on the cheek. "Now, let's get these dishes done so we can head up to bed and forget all about Mal and Zelena for the rest of the night."