Feather of a Swan

Chapter 49:

No, this "road trip" definitely wasn't like the last one.

Emma couldn't help but smile when she looked at Regina. The brunette looked completely relaxed. The haunted look in her eyes were gone and had been replaced with the most beautiful spark.

I'll do everything I can to make sure that spark never leaves her eyes again.

Emma settled for making that silent promise to herself. She would never say it. Even in her own head it sounded awfully sentimental.

Regina's phone beeped, but seeing as she was driving, she was unable to check the message. ,,Do you mind checking what that is?" she asked Emma.

,,Sure." Emma quickly found the phone and chuckled a little. It was a photo from Zelena. Showing the former Wicked Witch snuggled up with Lady.

,,I think she's trying to steal our dog," Emma said and sniggered.

Regina quickly glanced at the picture and turned her attention back to the road. ,,Well, she can't have her."

,,Nah, that's our Ladybug."

,,"Ladybug"?" Regina echoed and raised an eyebrow. ,,That's not her name, miss Swan."

,,I've heard you call her that yourself," Emma accused.

Regina's eyebrow rose further. ,,When have I ever called her that?"

,,In Seattle," Emma said quickly and without blinking.

Regina sighed heavily. ,,Why is it that you can remember every little thing I said or did in Seattle?"

,,Because I have such a good memory," Emma teased. ,,And your bartender alter ego happens to be scored onto my heart forever."

,,Do you miss her?"

,,What?"

,,Roni. Do you miss her?" Regina asked plainly.

Emma quickly looked at Regina. She didn't look sad or anything, just curious.

,,I did." The blonde admitted. ,,At first. Before we got together. But now…"

,,Now?"

,,Not anymore. Because she's right here. As a part of you."

,,Who would have thought that there is actual benefits from being cursed?" Regina muttered, more to herself than to Emma.

,,Are you grateful for the curse?"

,,Grateful is a big word," Regina said and wrinkled her nose. ,,But we wouldn't be here without it, would we?"

,,No, we wouldn't."

They drove in silence for a while, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Not anymore. Emma offered to drive several times, but Regina just smiled and told her no, of course she could drive.

But Emma did see the brunette's hand wander towards her pocket every so often.

,,What are you searching for?" the blonde asked with a raised eyebrow, because she had a fairly qualified guess.

,,My cigarettes," Regina sighed and shook her head.

,,You can't have any," Emma gently reminded her.

,,I know. The urge gets stronger when I'm antsy. Damnit." Regina cursed, and Emma tilted her head and chuckled a little at the brunette's despair.

,,It's not funny," Regina groaned. ,,Have you never been addicted to something and then tried to quit it afterwards?"

,,Well…"

"What's the rush, sweetheart?"

"Have we met before?"

"I don't think so. I doubt I would forget meeting you."

"I'm just happy."

"So am I, miss Swan. People like you don't come out of thin air."

"I'm in love with you."

"Kiss me."

"Do you think we can actually do this, Emma?"

"What, sleep a full night?"

"No, silly. This. You and me."

"Yeah. I really think we can."

,,Actually yes," Emma finally said, as the million flashbacks subsided. ,,I have."

,,To what?" Regina asked curiously.

,,You," Emma admitted with a grin.

,,Me?" Regina blinked.

,,Yep. I really tried to quiet you, but here I am. Ridiculously in love with you and about to adopt a kid with you."

,,Ah." Regina smiled a little at that.

,,Trust me, you are a hell of a lot better than cigarettes. And I have tried to smoke more than once."

,,And how did you manage to quit?"

,,I don't think I'm the right person to talk to about that," Emma grinned and gave Regina's knee a light squeeze. ,,I'm still an addict."

Regina didn't look mighty impressed by that.

When they finally reached Boston, they still had an hour or two to kill, so Regina parked the car near a cafeteria, and they went inside to have lunch.

It quickly turned out, that the "cafeteria" also happened to be a bar, and even though it wasn't very late, the bartender was already busy mixing drinks.

Emma watched as the redheaded bartender mixed and served the drinks to the customers.

,,You did it better," she told Regina.

,,Pardon?" Regina answered; she was completely fixated on her watch.

,,Made drinks. You did it better." Emma précised and nodded towards the bartender.

,,Oh." Regina sniggered. ,,Well, I was rather good at that."

,,Can you still do it? Mix a drink?" Emma challenged with a little bubbly laugh.

,,Probably. A cursed life doesn't just go away like that." Regina said absentmindedly and looked at her watch again.

,,Don't be nervous. Everything will be fine," Emma insisted and took Regina's hand.

Regina didn't look convinced and muttered something about the million things that still could go wrong, and then she said a bit louder: ,,What I wouldn't give for a cigarette right now."

,,And I really can't let you have one," Emma responded calmly. ,,It's not good for you. And you can't smoke every time you're nervous."

,,Well, what do you suggest then?" Regina half-snipped and stuffed the last bit of sandwich into her mouth.

,,You could talk to me?" Emma suggested.

And so she did. They talked about everything and nothing, and Regina mentioned that she had been exactly like this when she adopted Henry too. Afraid that something would go wrong. That the adoption would fall through at the last minute or something like that.

,,Have anyone ever told you that you worry too much?" Emma asked gently.

,,Your mother. On several occasions. I can't help it though, I'm a worrier."

,,Well, I'm not." Emma said.

,,Another good reason to keep you around," Regina replied and flashed Emma another one of those smiles that made Emma's knees turn into to jelly.

,,Now kindly finish that burger so we can get out of here. I would very much like to meet our daughter now," Regina said impatiently.

,,You are not the only one," Emma assured and scarfed as many bites of the burger down she could without choking.

,,Charming," Regina quipped and wrinkled her nose at the way Emma stuffed the food down her throat.

,,I do try my very best," Emma deadpanned.

,,You eat like a child."

,,Mhmm."

Emma was getting just as impatient as Regina, and she quickly finished the rest of her food.

The two women headed back to the car, and Regina once again sat behind the wheel. Neither of them spoke much as they headed towards an office in town. The place where they were gonna meet their daughter for the first time.

Emma felt how her stomach was twisting with nerves. This was actually happening. She was about to become a mother again. Was she even good at that? Did she know anything about taking care of an infant? Of course, she had those false memories about raising Henry, but false memories were hardly the same as real ones.

Suddenly, she understood why Regina longed after a cigarette. Emma found herself longing after something to calm her nerves.

Shit. I thought I was on top of this. I thought I was completely calm.

Well, apparently not. By the time they reached their destination, Emma's palms were sweaty, and her heart was beating ridiculously fast.

Regina was being awfully quiet too, as they entered the building, and she looked equally as sick as Emma felt.

Oh god, don't let me throw up right now.

A smiling woman welcomed them inside. ,,Miss Mills and miss Swan?"

,,Yes, my name is Regina, and this is my partner, Emma," Regina said calmly and shook hands with the woman.

Her partner. Well, if my heart wasn't beating fast before.

,,Nice to meet you, Emma," the woman said and shook Emma's hand. ,,If you would like to take a seat, I'll bring your daughter over in a minute."

Emma and Regina did as instructed, and the woman disappeared out of the door.

,,I feel like puking," Emma said plainly.

,,Please don't," Regina frowned. ,,I really can't deal with that right now."

,,Don't worry. I won't."

,,Good."

,,I'm just ridiculously nervous," Emma admitted.

,,Mm. Must be something in the water," Regina said and clearly attempted to make a joke to diffuse the tension a little.

And Emma really appreciated the attempt. It even made her giggle a little, and Regina raised an amused eyebrow at the sound. ,,What was that?"

,,Nothing." Emma dismissed and blushed.

,,Did you just giggle, miss Swan?"

,,Nu-uh. Absolutely not," Emma quickly dismissed.

,,I think you did," Regina accused softly.

,,Did not."

,,And you should definitely do it more often," Regina continued without paying attention to Emma's attempts at denying.

Emma immediately made a mental note to herself about not feeling embarrassed about giggling.

After a few minutes, Regina's foot started tapping against the floor, and Emma fiddled with her hands until her phone buzzed and she was forced to check the message.

,,It's Mary Margaret." She told Regina.

,,And what does she want?"

,,Pictures of "baby Swan-Mills"." Emma grinned.

,,Oh. Well, tell her that we haven't had the pleasure of meeting her yet."

Emma sniggered a little as she tapped those exact words in.

,,Is it just me, or is this taking an awfully long time?" Regina said after a moment of silence. ,,We've waited for almost five minutes."

,,And that's not very long," Emma dryly remarked.

,,Well, it feels like it is," Regina muttered impatiently and kept her gaze fixated on the door.

Emma felt her stomach tie in knots once more. What if something was actually wrong? What if the paper works had been muddled up, or they somehow had managed to track down an unknown relative who suddenly wanted the little girl? Regina's words kept echoing in her head. "There's still about a million things that could go wrong."

Emma was in the process of driving herself insane when the door suddenly opened, and the woman who had greeted them entered the room along with another woman. But it wasn't the two women that made Emma's heart beat violent in her chest.

It was the tiny baby girl in the younger woman's arms.

That's our daughter. She's right there. I can't believe this is real.

And Emma felt how Regina squeezed her hand tightly.

,,There's just one more form for you two to sign, and then she's all yours. Congratulations." The older woman smiled and presented them with another sheet of paper.

Emma silently thanked higher authorities for the fact that she was able to stand from the chair and walk over to the desk and sign the paper.

,,Do you want to meet your daughter, miss Swan?" the other woman asked and stretched the little, wriggling bundle out towards Emma.

,,I…" Shit. Shouldn't Regina be the first one to hold her or something like that?

But Regina was currently busy signing the rest of the papers.

,,Take her," the woman gently encouraged. ,,She's yours."

Mine. Quite possibly the most beautiful word in the world. Emma stretched her arms out, and the woman, Miss Sanders, her nametag said, placed the tiny girl in Emma's arms.

The baby opened her eyes and looked up at Emma. The girl was frowning a little, and it almost looked like she was asking Emma who she was.

,,Hello there, kiddo." Emma said gently and stroked the baby's cheek. ,,I'm your mom. Can you live with that?"

The baby made a "guhh" sound.

,,I think that was a yes," Regina commented as she came over to them and drank in the image of their daughter.

,,She's beautiful," Emma whispered almost a bit dazed. She felt like her heart had grown a size or two. She had known the little tyke for less than a minute, and she already loved her completely and with all her heart. And with absolutely no reservation what so ever.

,,That she is," Regina agreed and looked equally as besotted as Emma.

,,You should hold her," Emma said quickly and gently placed the little girl in Regina's waiting arms.

It was as time had stopped in the office. When Regina held her daughter for the first time, it was as a new sense of peace washed over her face and deleted every last bit of tension.

God, I really want to take a picture of this. This is too damn beautiful.

And it was. The smile that blossomed on Regina's face, was really something else, but it wasn't just that that made Emma's heart stop a little. It was how much at peace she looked. So completely contend.

,,Congratulations," miss Sanderson smiled

,,Thank you," Emma said for both of them. Regina didn't look like she was in a position to speak right now. Her gaze was still fixated on their baby girl and she whispered to the baby.

Emma put a hand on Regina's shoulder. ,,We should get going. We have a long journey home."

,,Where are you from?" the older woman asked curiously.

,,Storybrooke," Regina said without taking her eyes off the baby.

,,Storybrooke?" the woman repeated. ,,Where's that, exactly?"

,,Maine." Emma said.

,,Oh. I've never heard of that."

,,No, not many people have." Regina said. ,,It's sort of.. tucked away. A very small town. You wouldn't find it on any map."

Emma choked a laugh.

,,And you're right," Regina continued. ,,We should get going."

They thanked both women and headed towards the door.

,,Wait!" miss Sanderson exclaimed when they were about to leave the office. ,,I almost forgot," she said and reached into her pocket and handed Emma a letter.

,,What's that?"

,,It's a letter from the birth mother. I was hoping you would read it to the little girl when she's older."

,,Of course." Regina said.

,,Was she sick? The birth mother?" Emma asked. She could sense as much judging by the letter.

,,Yes, yes she was. Even before she was expecting. She knew that giving birth could kill her, but she went through with it anyway."

,,She was brave," Emma said gently.

Miss Sanderson nodded. ,,One of the bravest people I have ever met. She would do everything for Vero-…" the young woman trailed off and looked at her hands.

,,Did she have a name for her?" Regina encouraged, unbothered by the woman's silence.

Miss Sanderson nodded.

,,Tell us then," Emma said. ,,We haven't decided on anything yet."

,,Veronica." Miss Sanderson said quietly. ,,She wanted to name her Veronica."

Emma's jaw dropped a little at that. Veronica. Ve-ro-ni-ca. Veronica.

Nothing is accidential.

Regina looked completely shocked. More shocked than Emma felt, and the blonde didn't understand why. Veronica wasn't that bad, was it?

But the brunette didn't seem keen on sharing her thoughts right now, and she shook hands with both miss Sanderson and the elderly woman. Emma thanked them both, and then both women left the office.

,,Do you want me to drive?" Emma asked as they headed towards the car.

,,No, I trust you to take care of our daughter," Regina chuckled and handed Emma their little pink bundle of joy.

,,Of course," Emma babbled to the baby as she entered the car. ,,We can handle a four hour drive home, can't we, my darling?"

Regina smiled widely and whipped out her phone. Before Emma had a chance to argue, the brunette had snapped a picture of the blonde and their daughter.

,,Sending this to your mother and our son right… now," Regina grinned.

Emma rolled her eyes as Regina started the car, but she didn't argue. She was not in the mood for arguing right now. Not when she was holding the most beautiful baby in the world. And she was all theirs. No one would ever come and take her away from them. She was really theirs.

,,I think I have found someone new to be addicted to," Emma half-whispered. The baby girl had stopped wriggling and looked like she was on the verge of falling asleep in Emma's arms.

,,She's beautiful," Regina smiled. ,,You both are."

,,Are you going mushy, madam mayor?" Emma teased.

,,Yes, absolutely." Regina shrugged as they reached the main road.

,,Do you think we have a little Veronica on our hands?" Emma asked, testing the waters.

Regina laughed a little and shook her head as she said: ,,Aint fate a funny one."

,,What do you mean?"

,,That was my name."

,,Not following," Emma frowned and adjusted the sleeping baby in her arms.

,,In Hyperion Heights. My full name was Veronica."

,,No way," Emma's jaw dropped again. ,,You never told me that."

,,Because I- or, Roni despised it. She preferred the nickname and never used her full name." Regina said and glanced at the tiny girl in Emma's arms.

,,Do you despise it?" Emma asked.

,,No, I find it to be rather pretty," Regina admitted. ,,But isn't it a bit strange to name her that, I mean…"

,,Absolutely not," Emma interrupted. ,,Just look at her, Regina. She is Veronica."

Regina tilted her head and looked at the baby again. ,,Veronica Swan-Mills. Hmm.."

,,Admit it. It sounds awesome," Emma grinned.

,,You're right. It does." Regina surrendered.

,,Does that mean we have a name for her?" Emma said and smiled widely.

,,It would seem so, dear."

,,Did you hear that, baby girl? You have a name now. Would you like to be called Veronica, hmm? How does that sound, 'Ronica?"

Regina raised an eyebrow. ,,I would appreciate if you didn't give her any nicknames."

,,Does that mean I can't call her "Roni"?" Emma said with feigned sadness, hoping she wasn't pushing Regina too far.

But Regina simply started laughing. ,,Please don't."

To Be Continued..

((Wow, almost closing time, guys. Next chapter is the last chapter.))