Everything She Wanted

-Third Trimester part II:

Regina watches Maleficent intensely from across the table. The dragon looks like she's miles away, not focusing on the conversation they were having with Lily.

Sensing that something was up, Regina puts her hand over Mal's and says: ,,Hey. Is everything okay?"

Maleficent nods slowly, but keeps frowning.

,,What's going on?" Regina tries again. ,,Tell me."

,,I think it's those false contractions you were having."

,,Braxton Hicks?" Regina says.

,,Mmm."

,,Oh. Does it hurt?"

,,More like.. pinching," Mal says and wrinkles her nose.

,,I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe we should get you home and rest instead."

,,No, I'll be fine," Mal insists and puts a hand on her enormous stomach.

And Regina for once decides not to fuss and glances at her watch. ,,Damnit. I have to get back to the office."

Mal sticks out her bottom lip. ,,Already?"

,,I'm afraid so," Regina says and puts her coat back on. ,,But I'll probably be home early."

,,You tend to leave early at the moment," Lily comments.

,,Can you blame me? Your mother is eight months pregnant."

Regina leaves the diner and instructs her wife to take really good care of baby dragon number three. Mal promises to do so.

And Regina keeps her word and finishes work early, and she remembers to pick up the forms from doctor Whale. The forms Maleficent has to sign before the birth.

Once she arrives in the mansion, she finds Snow and Emma and Neal in the kitchen with Maleficent. Or, Emma and Snow are in the kitchen with Mal, Neal is in the living room with Emerald and Amelia, playing a very loud game.

,,I was lonely," Maleficent shrugs when Regina greets Emma and Snow.

,,So I see. But if you really felt that lonely you could have gone to the hospital and picked up these forms instead of sending me," Regina states flatly and drops the sheets of papers in front of Maleficent.

,,I am 35 weeks pregnant. I have Braxton Hicks and my feet are swollen," Maleficent says.

,,And you're acting like a martyr," Regina mutters and makes Snow and Emma laugh. ,,Do you think you'll be able to sign these forms on your own?"

,,No," Mal says sweetly. ,,Your handwriting is prettier than mine."

,,That's the worst attempt at flattery I've ever heard from you," Regina deadpans but never the less sits down and grabs a pencil.

,,Why do I have to sign those silly forms anyway?"

,,It's standard procedure, my darling," Regina rolls her eyes. ,,First name?"

,,You should know my first name by now, Regina."

,,Very funny. Last name?"

,,Mills." Maleficent says firmly and leaves no room for argument there.

,,Very well then. Birth year and date?"

Maleficent wrinkles her nose. ,,Must we discuss that?"

Snow sniggers.

,,The hospital wants to know," Regina says unfazed.

,,I can't remember," Maleficent admits. ,,But probably three thousand years before Christ."

,,Right. I'll just write "unknown" then," Regina says and moves along to the next question: ,,Sex?"

,,One month, three weeks, four days, thirteen hours, twenty six minutes and.. forty seconds ago," Maleficent sighs and shakes her head in real sadness.

Emma and Snow bursts out laughing and Regina turns her gaze towards the ceiling. ,,Your gender, Maleficent. Not the last time we…"

,,Oh. Well, last time I checked, female," Maleficent smirks.

,,That was an awfully accurate answer," Emma chuckles.

Maleficent shrugs. ,,I calculate a lot when I'm bored."

Regina ignores the hidden discontent in Mal's voice and moves along: ,,Any health issues in general?"

,,No. Healthy as a dragon."

,,Last known serious illness?"

,,Forty years ago. Dragon fever."

,,Really?" Regina questions. Mal never mentioned that before.

,,Mhmm. Nearly got the best of me."

Any talk of Maleficent potentially dying isn't a nice subject, so Regina goes on: ,,Do you smoke?"

,,Is that even a question?" Maleficent sniggers.

,,I don't think they mean whether you breathe fire or not," Snow comments and wraps her fingers around the mug in front of her.

,,Quite right," Regina agrees with her former stepdaughter. ,,They mean whether you smoke cigarettes."

,,No I don't. The last time I had a cigarette was during my charade with Cruella and Ursula."

,,Alright. I didn't know you smoked," Regina says absentmindedly as she writes Mal's answer.

,,I don't. But it was necessary if I were to survive among those two."

,,Meaning what?" Emma frowns.

,,Meaning that they constantly sucked faces. It was all very distracting."

Regina nearly drops the pencil. ,,Ursula and Cruella?"

,,Oh yes indeed," Mal says and shrugs. ,,At first it was quite amusing, but later on it became tiresome."

,,A short lived romance. Thanks to me," Emma wrinkles her nose at the sore subject.

,,Oh don't worry, dear. I don't think Ursula mourned her for very long," Mal half laughs. ,,If you hadn't, I would probably have murdered Cruella myself."

,,Why?" Snow asks with wide eyes.

,,She was constantly nagging me," Maleficent snips.

,,About what?" Regina asks.

,,You," Mal says plainly. ,,I might have stared a bit, she noticed, and found it hilariously entertaining."

,,Right. Okay. If we could return to the topic," Regina says a bit sharply as Emma and Snow makes "aww!" sounds. ,,Ever done any drugs?"

,,You already know I have," Maleficent shrugs. ,,Mild sleeping curses."

,,Yes, you weren't a pretty sight," Regina quips. ,,All woozy and unfocused eyes."

,,Oh, believe me, once you walked into my castle, I saw things quite clearly, my love."

,,You threatened to eat me for breakfast," Regina says flatly.

,,Minor mistake. You were fine," Mal brushes her off.

Regina glances at the filled out forms. ,,Alright, any further remarks?"

,,I love you?"

Regina rolls her eyes and shakes her head. ,,I heard that is the case, but I meant remarks on the hospital forms."

,,Oh. No. no further remarks from me," Maleficent teases and stands up to refill her tea mug. She gracefully shifts her weight and smoothens her dress over her 35 weeks baby bump. ,,Your son is getting heavy," she tells Regina and mock scowls.

,,I'm happy to hear that he's growing as expected," Regina deadpans.

,,Am I an awful person for saying that I am sick of being pregnant?" Maleficent questions and rubs her lower back.

,,No, definitely not," Regina says.

Maleficent wobbles over to the fridge, probably to find something edible when she rather suddenly trips. She would probably have fallen if it hadn't been for Regina who promptly waves her hand and teleports Maleficent safely back in the chair she left seconds ago.

,,Be careful!" Regina hisses. ,,Are you trying to send me into cardiac arrest?"

,,Thank god for your good reflexes," Maleficent says appreciatively. ,,I haven't been this clumsy since I was a hatchling."

,,Kindly don't injure yourself or our hatchling, please." Regina says.

In the same moment, they hear a thud coming from the living room and then a rather dramatic wailing coming from Amelia.

,,Uh-oh," Maleficent mutters and attempts to stand up.

,,I'll see what happened. Stay where you are," Regina says firmly and rushes into the living room. She finds Amelia lying face down on the carpet while Neal pats her back and Emerald watches from a distance.

,,What happened?" Regina asks the children and picks Mia up from the floor.

The toddler cries rather heartbreakingly and wraps a little arm around Regina's neck. Her little voice trembles when she says: ,,Pushed me."

,,Who pushed you, sweetheart?" Regina asks and strokes her daughter's dark curls.

Amelia points a tiny finger and says: ,,Emerald did."

,,Is that true, Emerald?"

Emerald violently shakes her head in denial.

,,She did," Neal says. ,,I saw it."

,,Emerald if we do something bad we don't lie about it, alright?" Regina says strictly. ,,And we don't push. Now apologize to your sister."

,,Sowry," Emerald mutters halfheartedly.

,,No," Regina says firmly. ,,You have to say it properly. Like you mean it."

,,I'm sorry, Mia."

Mia squints her blue eyes at Emerald and then says: ,,I don't wanna play anymore." She clings to Regina like a little monkey.

,,You don't have to play if you don't want to," Regina soothes. ,,Do you want to come into the kitchen with mama instead?"

,,Yeah."

Regina carries the unhappy toddler into the kitchen and sits down with her on a chair. Amelia continues to cling to her.

,,What happened?" Maleficent asks.

,,'Merald push me!" Mia exclaims.

,,That wasn't very nice of her," Maleficent mutters.

,,I asked her to apologize, but the problem is that I have no idea how to punish a disobedient two year old," Regina confesses and adjusts Amelia on her lap.

,,How did you punish Henry?" Emma asks.

,,I didn't," Regina shrugs. ,,He never needed punishment."

,,What, never?" Emma half chuckles.

,,Well, he might have been close once or twice, but I never actually punish him in any way. Maybe that was wrong of me, I don't know," Regina muses and thinks back to her own childhood. Having Cora as her mother hadn't exactly been easy, and Regina vividly remembers how frightened she often was when she did something wrong. She absentmindedly touches the scar on her lip.

Within seconds, Maleficent's hand lands on Regina's. No doubt the dragon knows where Regina's thoughts went just now.

Regina's head snaps up and Maleficent looks at her and silently asks "are you alright?" by tilting her head to the side.

Regina smiles reassuringly and gives Mal's hand and gives her wife's hand a little squeeze. And then she pushes the more darker thoughts out of her head and continues her conversation with Emma and Snow. No reason to think about the past. It's so long ago now.

To Be Continued..