A/N: drama time!
The laptop slipped from Emma's grasp, the edge landing sharply on her shin but she ignored the pain it caused. Scrambling from the couch she fled the room. Immensely confused, Regina flung the newspaper aside and ran after her. She caught up to Emma in their ensuite just as the blonde knelt before the toilet bowl, retching into it.
"Emma!" she cried, rushing to her side and gathering her long, blonde hair back, rubbing soothing circles between her shoulder blades.
The blonde's body convulsed as she emptied the contents of her stomach. Regina said nothing, waiting until at last Emma slumped back against her girlfriend, shivering and covered in sweat. Flushing the toilet, Regina cradled Emma to her breast, dabbing her glistening forehead with a damp towel she grabbed from the edge of the basin. The blonde's eyes were closed, her face ashen. In the silence Regina's worry grew. She couldn't hold back any longer.
"Emma, what happened?" she asked quietly.
Emma lips set in a firm line. She shook her head and pushed herself off Regina's body. Staggering to her feet, she stumbled from the bathroom without a word. Regina tossed the towel onto the side and stood up too, following Emma. She found the blonde pouring herself a generous glass of scotch in the living room. As Regina watched, she tossed it back and poured a second. When she went for her third, Regina crossed the room and pried the bottle from Emma's hand. The blonde didn't resist. Instead, she moved back to the couch and sank onto it, head in her hands.
"Emma, honey, please," Regina said, sitting beside her. "You're really scaring me. What happened?"
Emma gestured to the discarded laptop and Regina picked it up, opening the lid and logging in again. She was greeted once more with Henry's adoption papers, familiar information and legal jargon which she had read countless times in the past. She scanned it again however, trying to determine what Emma could have seen. She came up empty.
"Emma, I don't understand. What is it?"
Emma swallowed and sat up. Hesitantly, she reached out a slim finger and pointed to the date at the top of the form.
"Henry's birthday," Regina frowned.
"Is this the correct date of birth?" Emma asked.
"Yes," Regina said slowly. "I've banned him from talking about his birthday until September, remember? That way we only get one month of -,"
"Henry was born on 30th September?" Emma interrupted.
"Yes," Regina repeated. "Why?"
"And he's about to be five?"
"Yes," Regina said again. "If known, they never change the birthdays of adopted babies."
"Where was he adopted from? I mean, what state?"
"I don't know," Regina admitted. "The agency I used is nationwide. They get babies from all over the country and place them with suitable parents. They mentioned he came from somewhere in the south I think but nowhere specific. Why?"
Emma stood from the couch and disappeared out of the room. With a huff of frustration, Regina followed again. The corridor was empty when she reached it but the door to Henry's room was ajar. The brunette peered around the frame and saw Emma sitting on the edge of her son's bed. The young woman was looking intently through the gloom at the relaxed, serene little face. Her hand drifted out, the back of one finger stroking gently across his cheek. Henry didn't stir. When Emma looked towards the doorway, her eyes were shining with tears. Regina walked quickly to her side, kneeling on the floor and looking pleadingly up into Emma's face, silently asking for answers.
When the blonde eventually spoke, it was little more than a whisper.
"I think Henry's my son."
A cool breeze was tickling her skin, her hair fluttering lightly as she stared out of the open window. Emma heard Regina return to the living room and seconds later a hand landed tenderly at the base of her spine, a full wine glass offered to her with the other. Emma took it and drank. Regina said nothing as she joined Emma, the two women looking out of the penthouse window over the dark park beyond. Eventually, Emma pulled the window closed once more and moved to the couch. The laptop was still open, the bright screen displaying Henry's information.
"You gave birth on 30th September?" Regina asked, leaning against the windowsill but facing Emma.
"Yeah," Emma nodded. "Almost five years ago."
"And you obviously gave up your son."
Emma nodded again. No words were necessary though. It wasn't a question. At least, not one the two women didn't know the answer to.
"Are you sure it's him?" Regina asked.
"Are you doubting it?" Emma countered.
Regina shook her head. "No," she said quietly. "No, I think you're right."
She joined her girlfriend on the couch and collapsed beside her. They didn't touch, however. Emma noted the distance but didn't say anything. Nor did she move closer.
"How did we not realise?" Emma asked. "I mean, it seems so obvious now."
"Well if Lily noticed then it must be pretty clear to the outside world," Regina remarked.
Emma ignored the snarky tone. Now was not the time to bring up her ex girlfriend's ability to identify the similarities between Henry and Emma which both women had previously, repeatedly missed. "How did this happen?" she asked instead.
Regina shrugged. "Fate?"
"It was fate for me to get knocked up when I was seventeen then go to prison, give up my son for adoption, be screwed over by an unfaithful bitch, end up on the streets, and be found by my long-lost son only to fall in love with his beautiful adoptive mother?"
Regina said nothing.
"What are the chances of that happening?" Emma said, standing up and pacing back and forth in front of the television. Her body was too confused and wound up to sit still at that moment. The movement seemed to help her think. "I mean, it's crazy, right? We're deluding ourselves. He's not my son. Of course he isn't. There are thousands of adopted babies and millions of people in this country. There's no way I found him by chance. It's just a coincidence."
Emma turned with pleading eyes to Regina who just looked blankly back at the clearly panicked blonde.
"Do you really believe that?" the older woman asked simply.
"No," Emma said sitting down again. "No, I know the truth."
They fell silent again, both drinking deeply from their wine glasses, lost in thought as the enormity of the situation slowly settled around them.
Emma's mind was racing but she couldn't identify a single clear, overpowering emotion. It was all a jumble, tangled together and making her brain ache with the effort to understand what was happening in her life.
Love. Intense love for the little boy. She'd felt it for months now. She thought it had been because Henry was such a charming child but perhaps it was something deeper, more innate. That mother's love people speak of but Emma had never experienced, as a child or an adult. Not really. Not for those few fleeting moments before her son was taken from that cold, dark room.
Guilt. She had abandoned him to the system. A system that had failed her. He'd find out eventually that she'd given him up. Henry would find out how it was Emma who hadn't kept him, who had chosen to offer him up for adoption rather than struggle to keep her tiny family together. Would he blame her? Would he hate her? Could he forgive her?
Fear. Emma had been waiting for the other shoe to drop. She knew something was going to come along and disrupt the perfect life she had built for herself. She just didn't realise that other shoe was a little boy's sneaker, covered in mud and scuffed at the toe where he had tripped playing soccer the previous week. What was Regina going to do? They'd spoken about Henry's biological mother as an abstract concept, neither woman even considering the possibility that she might appear. How would their relationship change as a result? Would Regina even want her near Henry now? She had abandoned him after all. Could Regina forgive her for that?
Love.
Ok, maybe there was one overpowering emotion. Her heart seemed to be swelling in her chest as she thought of the small boy sleeping soundly just a few metres away from her. She had found him. Finally. She had found her son and he was happy and healthy and loved and everything Emma could possibly have hoped for. Despite the situation, a small smile graced her lips.
Regina didn't notice however as she too was struggling to come to terms with what she was feeling.
Shock. Shock topped the list, for sure. She had been searching for Emma's son for over a month and yet she had never even considered what Emma's appearance in her long-lost son's life might to do his adoptive parents. Shock them, it turned out. Regina felt as though a bolt of electricity had jolted through her life, shaking everything she knew to its very foundations.
Disbelief? Well, no. By the time half her wine had gone, so had the prefix. She very much believed that Henry Mills was Emma Swan's biological son. She just couldn't believe they hadn't noticed before.
Tense. She was on edge. She didn't know quite why but Regina was tense, stressed, worried. How was this revelation going to affect her life? How was it going to affect Henry? How was it going to affect her relationship with Emma?
"What do we do?" came a small voice, interrupting Regina's thoughts.
"What do you mean?" Regina asked, turning to the blonde.
"I don't even know," Emma admitted, flopping back against the couch. "I've dreamed about finding my son for years but I never really considered what I'd do when I actually found him. And I'd never even comprehended the possibility that I'd already know him and love him and love his adoptive mother and be a part of his life. I mean, how could this be any more complicated?"
Regina chuckled at that, despite herself. Their relationship had never taken the easy route so it didn't exactly surprise her that something so mind-bogglingly confusing had appeared just when everything else in their lives had settled into a blissful normality.
"Regina, say something, please," Emma said, realising the brunette had been quiet for a long time and that her brow was deeply furrowed. She was clearly lost in contemplation. "What are you thinking?"
The brunette stared at the ground, ignoring the pleading green eyes which suddenly looked so much like Henry's she couldn't believe she'd never noticed it before. She swallowed.
"Don't take him from me."
It was barely a whisper but Emma heard. She immediately reached for Regina's hands, grasping them tightly.
"No, Regina. Never," she assured. "I'd never take Henry from you. Why would you say that? How could you even think I would do such a thing?"
Regina raised her tear-filled eyes to meet Emma's gaze. Her lip trembled as she saw the worry and confusion on Emma's face. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.
"You thought I'd take Henry from you?" Emma asked, sounding hurt. "I mean, you thought I'd take Henry from whichever family I found him with? Is that why you think I was searching for him?" Without waiting for an answer, Emma continued. "Regina, I wanted to know he was safe and loved. I never wanted to disrupt his life. I probably wouldn't even have met him face to face. I'd have just watched from a distance. Just to make sure he was ok. Please tell me you didn't think I was looking for him to take him back from a loving family."
"No, no I didn't," Regina choked out. "Well, I hadn't really thought about what your motives were, to be honest. I just wanted you to be happy so I wanted to find him for you. I never thought about what might happen to the family who had adopted him, how you might affect their lives."
Emma swallowed. "What do you mean?" she asked. "What … how do you think this might affect you?"
Regina shook her head, seemingly unwilling to verbalise whatever she was thinking. But Emma thought she had an inkling about what was scaring the clearly terrified brunette and from the way Regina began to cry when she spoke, she knew she was right.
"I'm not taking Henry from you, Regina," she said, low and serious. "He is your son and you raised him. Your love for him is just as valid and strong and powerful and intense as it was half an hour ago. As is his love for you. That bond, that connection the two of you have will never be broken. I may be his birth mother, Regina, but you raised him. He won't forget that. I won't forget that."
"But you're his mother," Regina sobbed. "I mean … you're flesh and blood."
"That means nothing," Emma replied. "The people who raise you are your family. You're Henry's family. Not me. Not … not yet."
Regina wiped her streaming eyes and sniffed. "When we tell him though," Emma's heart skipped a beat, "he won't need me any more. Not now he has you."
Emma brushed the hair from Regina's eyes and tilted the brunette's face up until their eyes met.
"Henry will always need you, Regina," Emma assured her. "And so will I. We need each other, right? Just like a family."
Regina nodded and collapsed against Emma, arms coming to encircle her and hold her close. They cried quietly for a long time, neither woman quite knowing why. Exhaustion finally claimed them and they fell asleep, tangled together on the couch.
"Mama? Mommy?"
It took a moment for the events of the previous night to re-register with the two women as they were roused groggily from their slumber. Regina peeled herself off Emma and groaned as she heard her neck crack. Emma rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms just as Henry climbed up onto the couch between them.
"Why were you sleeping here?" he asked, looking between the blonde and brunette.
"We were very tired," Regina said. "Did you sleep well?"
Henry nodded and crawled into Regina's lap. The brunette cuddled him close to her chest and smiled down at him. Emma, after a moment's hesitation, stood and walked into the kitchen. Regina needed a moment alone with Henry after what they had discussed the previous evening, Emma could tell. She leaned against the counter as she waited for the water to boil for the coffee, running her fingers through her tangled hair. A gentle hand on her back made her jump.
"Do you want to tell him today?" Regina asked.
Emma practically gave herself whiplash turning around to stare at her girlfriend. She had not been expecting that.
"I … um … really? You don't want to, I don't know, get a DNA test or something? Or work out what's going to happen next?"
Regina shook her head. "I think a DNA test would be a waste of money," she said. "I think we've finally discovered where Henry gets his clumsy genes from." Regina poked the blonde teasingly in the side and Emma laughed. "And as for what's going to happen next? You were right last night. I don't need to worry about you taking Henry from me. That was stupid and childish and I'm sorry I even said it."
"Don't be sorry," Emma said at once. "You felt it, you said it. That's what our relationship is about, right?"
"Perhaps," Regina shrugged. "But I know I was wrong now. You being Henry's biological mother changes very little really. I mean, he already calls you Mommy. We'd just be confirming that as scientifically true."
Emma nodded at the sensible explanation but something inside her was whirring in alarm.
"Let's wait a little bit," Emma suggested. "Get our own heads around what we've just found out before we tell Henry. We'll also want to work out exactly how much to tell him. I mean, he's going to have questions about why I gave him up and I'm not sure I'm ready to answer them yet."
"Ok," Regina nodded, kissing Emma quickly. "Whenever you're ready."
"Whenever we're ready," Emma prompted.
"I'm ready now," Regina pointed out. "You're part of our family, Emma. This is just a strange little nugget of fate which we didn't know before. It doesn't change how I feel about you at all."
"Really?" Emma asked. "You're not just a little bit angry at me for giving up your son?"
Regina shook her head. "I've told you before, I assumed Henry's birth mother had her reasons for putting him up for adoption and you certainly did. And how could I ever be angry at someone who gave me the best thing in my life? To find out that person was you? It just makes me love you a little bit more."
Emma grinned dopily and followed Regina out of the kitchen and into their bedroom. Emma's fingers itched to reach out and touch her girlfriend as Regina began to peel of her clothes from the night before but the shout of Henry asking for help getting dressed stopped her. She didn't mind though, she decided as she helped Henry pull up his jeans and fasten the popper. In fact, she thought, she wouldn't mind spending the rest of her lives with those two people.
When both women had showered and dressed they returned to the kitchen. Henry was sitting at his chair already, Marlo perched beside him and jigsaw pieces scattered across the wood.
"What do you want for breakfast, kid?" Emma asked, ruffling his hair and ignoring the little flip in her stomach at the realisation that the nickname had taken on a whole new meaning. Henry wasn't just a kid any more. He was her kid.
"Pancakes?" he asked, looking pleadingly up at the blonde.
Emma grinned and turned to Regina, her own eyes wide and endearing. Regina blinked. How had she never seen it before? The two faces looking at her were undeniably related. Had she just refused to notice? Or had she really not even considered the possibility? Shaking her head in mild disbelief, she moved to the fridge to get out the ingredients she would need to make her family their requested breakfast.
Sitting beside Henry, Emma could help but stare at the little boy. He looked no different to how he had yesterday and yet everything had changed. Emma now saw her strong jawline emerging beneath his puppy fat. His eyes, as Lily had said, were exactly the same shape and colour as her own. His nose reminded her of hers when she was younger. And his hair. Well, that was all Neal.
"What?" Henry asked, realising the blonde hadn't blinked in almost a minute. Which was, he thought, creepy.
Emma jolted out of her reverie. "Huh? Sorry kid, what did you want?"
"Nothing," Henry said. "But you were looking at me funny. Why?"
"Oh," Emma blushed. "Erm, no nothing. I was just thinking what a handsome little man you're growing up to be."
"He has good genes," Regina said as she deposited the first stack of pancakes before the two of them.
Emma smiled up at Regina who dropped a kiss to her lips. When she turned her attention back to the table, Henry had already forked two pancakes onto his plate and was smothering them in maple syrup. Clearly he had inherited her insatiable appetite as well, Emma mused as she followed his lead.
From the stove, Regina's eyes flickered from the cooking pancakes to her son and Emma at the table. She couldn't help but smile. Although her emotions had been all over the place the previous evening, she was already realising just how serendipitous the situation was. Emma had found her son. And not only that, Henry had two mothers again. Two real mothers. The bond between all three of them was stronger than ever. Emma was never going to lose Henry and nor was Regina. Whatever happened between the two women, the boy was always going to have them in his life. They were devoted to him and would do anything to keep him safe and happy. Despite his difficult start in life, Henry Mills was fast becoming the luckiest boy in the world.
Regina was tidying up the pillow fort the three of them had spent the day building when Emma returned from the grocery store. Regina had insisted the trip could wait until the morning rather than braving the late summer rain which had begun to fall but Emma vehemently declared she would not be drinking black coffee and therefore the visit was necessary. The brunette hadn't heard the woman enter and jumped a little when two arms snaked around her waist and a tender kiss was planted on her neck
"Thank you."
"What for?" Regina asked, turning in Emma's grasp and cocking her head in question.
"For everything you did for Henry," Emma said simply.
"It was a lot of work for an almost five year old to tidy," Regina shrugged. "He did the scatter cushions. I'm happy to re-assemble the couch."
Emma rolled her eyes at her pragmatic girlfriend. "No, not for today you doofus." Regina's eyebrows rose at the soft insult. "For the past five years."
It had occurred to the blonde as she had been selecting some apples that she hadn't thanked Regina yet. She had always thought how she owed the family who raised Henry everything and knowing it was Regina now made Emma's heart swell. Regina, the love of her life, had cared for and loved her son. Regina had given Henry a home. And then given Emma one. She realised she needed to rush home and tell the brunette just how much she was appreciated. Which is what she was now doing.
"Oh," Regina said. "Well, you're welcome, I suppose. I mean, I was just doing my job as his mother."
"I know," Emma said quickly. "It's just that for five years I've been wondering how his life might have turned out. Would he have a loving family? Would he have a safe place to live? Would he be getting the attention and love he deserved? Or would he turn out like me? Shunted from one foster family to another. You became the family I dreamed of for my son, Regina. You're the woman who gave him everything I couldn't. So thank you."
"It was my pleasure," Regina assured her. "And from now on, we'll both be here to give him anything and everything he needs."
Emma laughed. "Well, most things. We don't want to be raising a spoilt brat, do we?"
Regina nodded seriously. "Good point. I do sometimes think I give in too easily to his requests."
"He asked me for a monkey for his birthday earlier," Emma remembered. "A part of me wanted to get it for him. I mean, I have five birthdays and Christmases to make up for. But then I figured you wouldn't be too keen on having a gibbon in the living room."
Regina narrowed her eyes. "Oh you dare, Miss Swan."
Emma laughed again, kissing Regina hard as she felt the familiar heat coil between her legs. She loved it when Regina used her surname, a fact the brunette was acutely aware of.
"Wait," Regina panted before Emma's hands could unbutton any more of her blouse. She waited until Emma's dark green eyes had dragged upwards from her exposed chest before continuing. "What are we going to do about telling Henry? And everyone else?"
Emma bit her lip, thinking. She had thought about it a lot that day. There have been several moments when she had wanted to just blurt it out to Henry but she knew it needed to be more carefully planned. And as for other people, the thought hadn't even crossed her mind.
"Next weekend for Henry?" she suggested. "I just … want to be prepared."
"Ok," Regina nodded.
"And by everyone else you mean …,"
"Ruby, Dot, Kathryn, August -,"
"Your mother," Emma interrupted. "That's who you mean."
Regina began to re-button her top. She sank onto the couch and Emma landed next to her seconds later. Both were wondering how the older Mills would react to the revelation that her only grandchild was in fact related to the woman she believed was preventing her daughter from fulfilling her destiny of merging two legal firms.
"Once Henry knows, she'll need to be told too," Regina said. "I'll do it the Monday after we tell him."
"How do you think she'll take it?" Emma asked.
Regina just shook her head. She didn't want to think about what her silver-tongued mother might say when she found out. She doubted it would be anything positive. Emma's hand on her thigh pulled her back into the room.
"Hey," Emma said softly, kissing Regina's cheek. "It'll be ok. We've got each other. We've got Henry. There's nothing your mother can do to break us up. I promise."
"I believe you," Regina said earnestly, twisting herself towards Emma and pulling their torsos close. "Because I believe in us."
A/N: Ok so the idea of Emma finding the document through a computer search came to me right at the beginning of the story. Not sure why but I liked the thought and I hope you all did too, especially those who wanted Emma's son to be another child!