July 2013
The sun shone brightly down through the glass windows and into a room where the walls were a light pink with white stars adorning them and soft white coloured carpet covered the floor. Pristinely carved light wood baby furniture made by Geppetto was lined up against one wall, a rocking chair sitting off to the side. A pile of colourful boxes full of diapers ranging from newborn to infant in size was tucked into a corner, almost touching the ceiling. The doors of the wardrobe were open, inside held more baby items yet to be sorted.
In the middle of the floor, hands buried into the soft white carpet, Ruby sat crying. She looked around the room, shaking her head as she let the tears flow.
"Ruby, baby, what's wrong?" Regina asked, hurrying into the room and wrapping Ruby up in her arms.
"The room, it's wrong," Ruby answered holding tightly onto Regina.
"What's wrong with it? Isn't this how you wanted it last week?" Regina responded, looking around to see what could possibly be wrong, thinking the room looked nice. Hearing only a sniffle from Ruby, Regina kissed her partner's forehead and pulled them both up to their feet. "How about you tell me where you want things and I'll magically move them for you."
"You would do that for me?" Ruby pouted, her cheeks tinged pink from her crying as she wiped away a few tears.
"I would do anything for you my love, now what part is annoying you most?" Regina responded, rubbing calming circles onto Ruby's back.
"I want the little dresser that has her clothing in it under the window and to the right a little. I can then use the sunlight to help me match outfits together when bub is asleep, and if we need to go somewhere it gives her a few extra minutes of sleep. On the left hand side I want the rocking chair and foot rest in the corner but on an angle so the sunlight doesn't hit it," Ruby replied, pointing to where she wanted the items.
Waving her hand over the said pieces of furniture, Regina carefully moved them to where Ruby wanted them. Checking and double checking that they were in the right place, Regina settled them down on the floor before going back to stand next to Ruby, watching as the taller woman nodded in approval. "What do you want moved next my love?"
"Can we put the boxes of diapers into the cupboard with the rest of the items? We don't need them until she is born and it would make me less anxious about the state of this room." Holding onto Regina's left arm, Ruby rested her chin on Regina's shoulders and watched as the boxes of diapers disappeared from the room.
"I put them in the spare room we don't use as there was no way they were going to fit into the wardrobe, is that okay?" Regina replied, looking at Ruby.
"That's okay, gives us more room to work with in here," Ruby agreed, giving Regina a quick hug from behind.
"What would you like me to move now? Are the crib and changing table okay?" Regina asked, wanting to make the room perfect for Ruby.
"I would like the cot centred on the left hand side wall and the change table centred on the right hand side wall. Can we also put the bin next to the change table and then hang the fairy mobile up above the crib? I'm thinking the mobile with the stars and moon on it, not the with the teddy bears, we have two and they both have fairies," Ruby replied, her tears gone now that the room was looking more cosy and friendly.
Walking over to the beautifully decorated light wood change table, Regina waved her hand over it, floating it in the air as she moved it over to the other side of the room, placing it down where Ruby was pointing. Grabbing the matching bin from next to the door, Regina placed it next to the table. Making her way back to the crib, which perfectly matched everything in the room, Regina waved her hand over it and centred it to where Ruby said it should be.
Standing back, Regina looked around the room and agreed it looked better. "I feel like something is missing."
"We haven't placed the rug down yet, I think that's what is missing, it's in the wardrobe or maybe in the spare room somewhere," Ruby replied, knowing exactly what was needed to make the room look complete.
"I know exactly where it is, it is in the wardrobe, I'll quickly grab it," Regina offered, heading to the wardrobe and retrieving the item. "Where would you like it placed?"
"In the middle of the room in line with the crib and change table," Ruby answered, stepping back, out of the way.
Placing the light pink rug in the middle of the room, Regina felt Ruby wrap her arms around her, a warm kiss pressed to her cheek. "Thank you baby, I love it."
"I'm glad you like it, I was thinking we put the mobile up after she is born, just so we know what the final layout of the room is. Isn't it one of the ones that we need to screw into either the wall or ceiling?"
"I don't think so babe, the one I want to put up, I think, it's the one that attaches to the crib," Ruby replied, heading over to the wardrobe and pulling it out from behind a box. Reading the back of it, she pulled open the plastic packaging and took the mobile out. "It attaches to the crib, it says it won't damage it either."
"That's almost unheard of, I had one for Henry when he was a baby and I had to screw it into the wall. It was hell to fix by the end as one night he stood up and tried to swing off it, pulling it out of the wall. It took the man who came to fix it twenty minutes to fix the hole it left," Regina responded, remembering her last mobile experience.
"That won't happen with this one," Ruby said, attaching the mobile to the light ornate wood of the crib. "Now when she sleeps in here she'll have little stars and fairies guiding her, protecting her."
"She will also have both of us protecting her, especially while she's in our room for the first few months of a night time," Regina replied, looking to Ruby and noticing that she was sweating a fair amount, her hair sticking to her forehead. "We need to get you out of the heat of this room and down into the air conditioned lounge room, you are getting very red my dear."
"I'll be fine Regina, it's just a little sweat, nothing to worry about," Ruby replied, wiping under her nose with her arm.
"Come on my love, how about we go and take a break then? I'll get you some of the choc mint slices I know you love," Regina tried, wanting to get her pregnant partner out of the heat.
"Only because you said food I'll come," Ruby agreed, not used to the heat affecting her so quickly.
Heading out of the room, Regina closed the door behind them, trying to keep the heat to the one area. Taking hold of Ruby's hand, they walked down the stairs and into the cool air conditioned lounge room where Regina helped Ruby to sit down on the couch. "I'm going to quickly run into the kitchen. I'll be a few seconds." Entering the kitchen, Regina went to the fridge and got out the choc mint slices, and a bottle of cold water before heading back into the lounge room.
Placing the items on the coffee table, Regina sat next to Ruby and opened the bottle of water, handing it to her partner. "Is there anything you want to do for the rest of the day?"
Taking a sip of water, Ruby took a moment to think. "I was hoping to call Snow later today and ask her to meet up so we can talk. Last time we tried to have a conversation was when she was pregnant with Neal and David was all over her. I know he was just trying to protect her but we barely got to speak as he kept interrupting. Neal is now thirteen weeks old and she's just been too busy to talk or she's been too worried about David and Emma gallivanting off and trying to protect Storybrooke from whatever it is that brings trouble our way."
"That sounds like typical Prince Charming and his spawn, always trying to be the heroes. I swear he still doesn't trust me to this day, even after casting a protection spell while his wife gave birth," Regina replied, knowing exactly what Ruby meant.
"I still wish I could have been there for them while Neal was born," Ruby responded, still feeling bad about not being able to help her friends.
"My love, when Neal was born you were busy taking care of Henry and the rest of the town, making sure that they were all safe and away from my evil sister. And you were pregnant at the time too, we couldn't have anything happen to our miracle baby," Regina justified, wanting to make Ruby feel better.
"I was and if anything was to happen to our daughter I don't know what I would have done. I think we're both just grateful that Zelena never found out I was pregnant, I couldn't imagine what she would have done if she knew," Ruby replied, her hands resting on her decently sized baby bump.
"If she would have even thought about hurting our baby I would have literally killed her where she stood," Regina responded, knowing she would have gone through with it.
"I would have too and I'm not for hurting anyone. Well, I've thought about giving David a kick up the ass on occasion, just because he needs it," Ruby replied, biting into a choc mint slice.
"The day David Nolan actually says or does something meaningful or useful; I think my head will implode. I know he still has issues with us," Regina said, taking a sip from the water bottle.
"We can't win everyone over, Regina. With David, it's like you think you've changed his mind one minute by helping him out and doing the right thing and then the next minute he's second guessed himself and has gone back to his previous thoughts and feelings," Ruby replied, remembering what Snow had told her once at the diner.
Feeling her phone buzz in her pocket, Regina quickly read what was on the screen. "I know that changing a Nolan's mind will take a lifetime, and I hate to do this but I need to run into the office quickly. Helena at reception texted me and asked if I could come and collect the paperwork I need for tomorrow since I'm going to be busy for a few hours going between the library and school. I'll be seeing what programs they are going to implement to encourage the youth to read and write, and learn how to achieve their best while studying," Regina responded, quickly typing back a reply on her phone and sending it to the office.
"If it needs to be done you should go and do it, you've been very helpful today and I don't want to run you dry. I might text Snow and ask if she's free and wants to come over," Ruby replied, pulling out her phone and sending a text to her friend who instantly replied, saying she'll be right over.
"Have a good chat to her my love, I'll be back soon, I love you," Regina said, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on Ruby's lips, followed by another soft kiss on Ruby's expanding baby bump.
"We love you too, don't be too long," Ruby replied, watching as Regina grabbed her handbag and got ready to leave.
Walking towards the front door to leave, Regina took a hold of the handle just as the door was knocked upon three times from the other side. Opening it up, Regina smiled and greeted the pixie haired woman standing there. "Hello Snow, that was quick."
"Hi Regina, yeah I know it was quick, I was just around the corner on my daily baby-free walk when Ruby texted, thought I'd try out a new route out today, I guess it paid off," Snow replied, stepping into the house.
"Ruby is in the lounge room, follow me and I'll lead you to her," Regina said, showing Snow where Ruby was. "I'll be back soon. Behave ladies."
"Bye Regina, I love you," Ruby replied, blowing Regina a kiss before she left the house.
"Ruby, it's been so long since we last spoke, how have you been?" Snow asked, sitting down in the recliner.
"I've been good; everything is nicely falling into place even though the morning sickness and dizziness still catches me off guard at times. How are you?" Ruby replied, genuinely wanting to know how her friend was.
"My morning sickness lasted until I was thirty five weeks pregnant, it was horrible. I've also been pretty good too; I've had a lot of very short nights recently with Neal as he's been waking up every three hours lately wanting to be fed. How's your little bun in the oven? Do you know the gender yet?" Snow asked, feeling the chair rock softly back and forth.
"Regina and I are having a little girl. She's very healthy and the perfect length and weight for her gestation. I'm twenty four weeks along and I really can't wait to meet her. We spent this morning organising the nursery for the third time this month," Ruby replied, placing a hand on her baby bump.
"That would mean you're due in October? Do you have a date yet?" Snow asked, excited about the baby.
"Yep, she is due in October, the twentieth to be exact. It's so far away still," Ruby responded, wanting the days to hurry up and be over so she could meet her daughter.
"Neal came pretty close to his due date. The birth was the hard part, I forgot about all the pushing, pulling, and stretching of your lady bits that go along with it," Snow replied, feeling relaxed by the soft movements of the chair.
"Regina and I watched a birthing video the other day; I think she was more mortified by it than I was. Her exact words were literally, 'I'm glad she's not coming out of me.' I think the prospect of pushing a baby out of her vagina didn't bode well. It was rather funny to see her reactions, I got a good laugh out of it," Ruby said, offering Snow a choc mint slice.
"David wasn't exactly good with watching birthing videos either. When I was giving birth to Emma I swear he left the room at one stage to go and throw up. By the way how is Regina doing? Is Zelena really her sister?" Snow asked, hoping it was the last they saw of the wicked witch.
"Regina is doing pretty okay. She was shaken up for a while with all of the Zelena stuff going on. Zelena was able to unlock things that Regina had locked away with blood magic so it was basically confirmed for her that Zelena was her sister, well her half sister to be exact. Regina is just one of those people who tries to hide their true feelings in front of everyone but deep down she is such softie. I really don't know what I would do without her," Ruby replied, biting into her slice.
"I really do think that Regina has changed for the good and without your help I think she would still be fighting with herself. When I was young, before Daniel died, we had a really sweet moment that I will remember forever. I was upset because it was the anniversary of my mother's death and Regina spent the whole night with me, she listened to what I had to say, didn't invalidate my feelings, and was just such a sweet person. She held me while I cried and later that night before bed she helped me brush out my hair and made sure I was feeling well enough to go to sleep. Apart from that day I have never seen Regina that kind or caring," Snow responded, smiling slightly at the memory.
"I know Regina puts up a wall to keep others out but when someone is genuinely hurting she does lower them a fair amount and tries her best to help out. You should see her with Henry of a night when it's just us three, she is such a good mother to him and she makes sure Henry knows how much he is loved," Ruby replied, taking a sip of her water.
"Henry is such a loved little boy, he has you and Regina, he has Emma, and now he has three of his grandparents all in the one town, and trust me, we're still shocked about the third one," Snow said, giving Ruby a pointed look and a raised eyebrow.
"Regina actually can't stand knowing that Rumplestiltskin is Henry's biological grandfather, she hates the man with a passion, more so than her own mother," Ruby replied, remembering the look of horror on Regina's face when she found out.
"David is the same; he wants all of Henry's visits to see Mr. Gold under the supervision of one of his family members. David keeps saying he feels something is off when Henry goes to his shop," Snow said, not understanding David's reasoning.
"Wow that must be a pretty strong feeling he's having. Sometimes Regina gets those with me I think, she always seems to know when I'm feeling dizzy, or when I'm going to be throwing up, and in general when I don't feel well. I like having her there when it happens," Ruby replied, changing position on the couch so she was more comfortable.
"I think Regina just has a knack for it, and she also loves you and cares about you too. Can I ask you a question? Snow responded, tightly holding her hands together.
"Of course you can," Ruby replied, wondering what it could be.
"Do you remember when Elsa and Anna were here is Storybrooke, and all the time Emma spent with Elsa, going around the town, having meals together, and just being very... um... dare I say it but kind of flirty together. Am I reading into it too much?" Finally feeling free to talk about it, Snow let out the breath she didn't realise she was holding.
"If you want my honest opinion I'll give it to you. I was always at the diner when they both came up and I saw all of the flirting and general conversations. Half the time it was Emma promising to get Anna home, Emma staring longingly at Captain Hook, Elsa telling Emma she could do whatever she wanted if she just thought about it first. It took them a few shots of vodka each before they began to flirt with each other, but the second Hook came back Emma was basically all over him. I think that yes, Elsa is a lesbian, for sure, but before she thinks of any relationship I think her sister will always come first. But with Emma, she swings both ways and she doesn't like to commit which will make it harder for her to find someone to be with which is why I think she's eyeing off Hook because she knows that Elsa would be in it for the long run," Ruby replied, hoping she was able to clear something up for her friend.
"That's my typical Emma, she has a fair amount to work on, and now onto another topic, have you and Regina picked out any names for the baby yet?" Snow asked, wanting to change the topic as she didn't feel comfortable getting into detail about her daughter's relationships or lack thereof.
"We have a few names we like, nothing is set in stone yet but they are on our short list for now," Ruby responded, smiling at the list of names she had.
"So, what are they? I'm dying to know," Snow said, sitting on the edge of the seat, feeling excited.
"We have eight names picked so far and they are Charlotte, Adeline, Evelyn, Kiara, Ava, Arielle, Victoria, and Avery. Each week we usually add more names to it and cross out ones we don't like any more so by the end of the month it could be a different eight altogether," Ruby replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"If Neal was a girl instead of a boy, David and I had a massive list that we would have named her off. Our favourite names were Samantha, Emery, Abigail, Olivia, Juniper, Paige, Kate, Michelle, Chloe, Aubrey, Primrose, and Eva after my mother of course," Snow said, listing the names off quickly.
Sitting in her car with the engine on and the air conditioner blowing on her, Regina checked her handbag to see if she had anything she needed to drop off. Coming up empty handed, Regina looked through the windscreen and examined the area. The trees were still, not moving at all. The park area was usually full of children and today not one was in sight. Not a single adult was out either, the streets were bare and here she was sitting in a car, trying to remain cool both figuratively and realistically.
Building up the courage, Regina turned the car off and quickly got out. She could feel the harsh rays of the sun on the back of her neck and on her arms. Walking quickly, she built up a light sweat before she pushed open the doors to Town Hall and greeted the girl at reception. "My God, it's hot out there."
"We've had the air conditioners pumping away since eight this morning in here, no one has been game to leave yet," Helena said, smiling up at Regina. "We also have a bunch of paperwork for you too, a few places want to expand or extend their hours, others want to add more into what they already have, and the docks want to extend the building out to support another two boats."
Taking hold of the paperwork, Regina quickly flicked through what was in front of her, noticing that one of the requests was pretty similar to one she declined only a few days ago. "Hopefully this will keep me busy tomorrow, I'll be working from home as Ruby still isn't feeling a hundred percent yet."
"How is Ruby doing Madam Mayor?" Helena asked, typing something quickly on her computer.
"Thank you for asking Helena; Ruby is doing pretty good when she's not throwing up everywhere or passing out when she stands up. The doctor thinks it is either low blood pressure or not enough iron in her diet but getting a full bloodwork done is proving a bit hard as her veins don't like to give blood easily. She's also not gaining the weight like the doctor wants but her bump isn't that big either. We had another ultrasound eight weeks ago and the sonographer thinks Ruby's uterus points back not forward so instead of not being able to put her own shoes on, she'll most likely get back pain from the pressure of the baby in a few weeks," Regina answered, sitting down behind the reception desk on one of the chairs.
"Soon you'll have two children running amok inside of your house, fun times to come," Helena joked, making Regina smile slightly.
"I'm just happy that I get to give Henry a little sister. He always asked for one when he was younger and when Ruby and I told him we were having a baby, he was so excited, he cuddles us both and every time he sees Ruby he always says hi to his sister and tells her about his day, it's wonderful to see," Regina shared, proud of how her son was taking on his new task of being a big brother.
Hearing the front door being flung open, Regina spun around on the chair to see Rumple standing in front of her, only the reception desk separating them.
"Madam Mayor, The Evil Queen, Regina, whichever one it is, my request did not get approved Dearie, you should have approved it. Here, take another look," Rumple said, throwing the papers at Regina, only to have them all fall to the floor. "Well, pick them up!"
"If you want them picked up you can do it yourself. What you want to do goes against work safety legislation and I couldn't allow it unless you decide to move to a bigger location or buy out the store next to yours. End of story Mr. Gold," Regina said, crossing her arms while glaring at the older man.
"Or how about you find a way to fix it, you're good at fixing things so I suggest you do or I'll make sure to pay a little visit to one Miss Ruby Lucas who is currently carrying your baby thanks to one of my magic books," Rumple replied, his fingers steepling as he slowly tapped them together evilly.
Feeling the rage inside of her rise, Regina flung her hand out and threw Rumple up against the wall, the wall reaching out and holding him tightly in place. Placing her handbag on top of the stack of papers on the desk she slowly strode over to where the man was being held. "If you lay even the slightest finger or hair on Ruby or any of our children I will rip your heart out of your chest and show it to you as I slowly crush it to pieces. And then if by some magical way you're still alive I'll march you down to the cells without magic, I especially had one built to hold you again and having you locked up in there until the day you die, never seeing your precious Belle again as I torture you daily will be rather amusing to watch. Is that understood?"
Watching as the man nodded his head; Regina went back and collected her paperwork and handbag, whispering a quick goodbye to Helena. As she walked out of the doors she stopped for a moment and released her magic and heard the thud of Rumple hitting the hard floor. She smiled and went back to her car, getting into the vehicle and cranking the air conditioner onto full.
Resting her head against the steering wheel, Regina took a deep breath in and went over the encounter in her head. She knew that Rumplestiltskin, the Dark One, was a real threat to her, Ruby, and their unborn child. Feeling the panic rise inside of her, she knew she needed to get home to make sure that her family was still safe.
Reversing out of her parking spot, she drove home as fast as she could, running a few orange lights. The worry that Rumple had already got to Ruby made her vibrate with anxious energy and she needed to make sure with her own two eyes that her partner and their unborn baby were still safely inside their house on Mifflin.
Pulling into the driveway of her home, Regina got out of the car and hurried inside, dropping her bag by the door as she kicked off her shoes and headed to the lounge room.
"Hi Regina, why are you home so quickly?" Ruby asked, finishing off her bottle of water.
"What's wrong Regina? I've seen that facial expression before and it's never been a good sign," Snow asked, remembering the exact same expression from her childhood.
"I was just at Town Hall talking to Helena and picking up some work for tomorrow and Rumplestiltskin decided to pay me a visit. He said that if I didn't approve what he wanted to do to the pawn shop, after already rejecting it, he will come after Ruby and the baby if I don't fix it or do what he wants," Regina explained, sitting down next to Ruby on the couch.
"That is so wrong; do you want me to have a word to him?" Snow replied, shock evident on her face.
"It's okay; I threw him up against the wall with my magic and held him captive there while I threatened him. If he does anything to harm my family he is going away until the day he drops dead, locked away under Storybrooke for eternity in a magic bound cell and it won't be pleasant," Regina responded, feeling Ruby's hand on her arm.
"We should probably have someone with Ruby at all times until the baby is born, just to be safe," Snow said, watching as Regina nodded her head.
"I agree. Ruby, my love, I know you can defend yourself but I would feel a lot better if you had someone with you, especially while pregnant," Regina replied, placing a hand on top of Ruby's.
"Every time I leave the house that I'm on my own is going to and from work, otherwise someone is already there with me," Ruby responded, knowing that Regina and Snow only wanted the best for her and her unborn child.
"I can drop you off and pick you up whenever you have a shift, my job doesn't really require me to be in the office all day or really at all," Regina offered, wanting to cover all bases.
"I can agree to that just as long as I get to choose the radio station," Ruby agreed, sliding in her own request as she looked at the worry etched into Regina's face.
"It's settled then, and if you ever need someone to keep you company on your night shifts, I'm sure Neal and I will be happy to drop by and stay for an hour or two," Snow said, smiling at the two women.
"If only everything was that easy," Regina commented making Ruby snort.
"Can I also just say, while both of you are here, I am so sorry for Emma's actions and whatever trouble she has caused you guys. I only found out about her making an exploding fertility potion a few days ago when she tried to take credit for the conception after mentioned it after accidently. She somehow spiked her own drink with truth serum instead of Killian's," Snow started, swallowing as Regina raised an eyebrow.
"Where did she get truth serum from? It is kind of concerning she has access to it," Regina said, still curious about how the blonde woman did a lot of the things she did.
"Emma told me that Mr. Gold gave it to her after she asked to borrow a book of his. Getting back to what I was saying, I'm sorry for anything my daughter has done or will do to make your life harder in any way. She's really just trying her best to help out and she doesn't mean for anything bad to happen, the bad just seems to happen around her somehow," Snow finished, feeling that as a mother it was her job to protect her child.
"Thank you Snow, and to be honest with you, Emma may have brewed the horribly gone wrong fertility potion, but we're pretty sure that it was the fairy dust that actually did the conception part," Ruby explained, feeling slightly annoyed that Emma wanted credit for her pregnancy.
"What I would like to know, and Snow, you may be able to answer this, why was she making a fertility potion for you when you were already pregnant?" Regina asked, trying to wrap her head around why Emma Swan did what she did.
"I actually asked her that myself and spent a good twenty minutes yelling at her over it. She told David and I that with how much goes wrong here in Storybrooke she thought something bad would happen to the baby and since we wanted a baby so bad, if something was to happen she was going to slip me the potion so I'd fall pregnant again right after giving birth or losing the baby. Mr. Gold told her that if she brewed a certain type of fertility potion and let it sit for a few months it would become more potent and could result in a multiple birth," Snow answered, hoping she clarified things enough while trying to not show her anger at her daughter.
"I actually examined the fertility potion that Emma tried to make a few weeks back. It was still on Ruby's coat that I hadn't got around to washing so I took a sample of it and looked into it. From my analysis Emma used too much of quite a few ingredients and without them being balanced, the potion became unstable and caused it to be effective only on that day while it was simmering. Once it got too hot and exploded and then cooled down it wouldn't have had any effect on a woman wanting a baby. The fertility potion that I think she was creating comes from an ancient potion book and that potion was only used by those who had tried every means necessary to have a baby. That potion is literally magical IVF, very hard to get your hands on," Regina explained, feeling Ruby cuddle up to her side, her head resting on her shoulder.
"It did kind of kick start my fertility for the fairy dust to work so it was kind of like a blessing in an exploded gloopy disguise. And thanks to that day going horribly wrong for the most part it gave me the one thing that I'm going to treasure forever. It gave me a daughter with the only person in the world who I love and I couldn't be happier," Ruby said, placing a quick kiss on Regina's cheek.
"And I am so happy for you two, really I am, Neal will have a little friend close to his own age," Snow replied, sitting on the edge of the recliner.
"I'm going to head to the kitchen to grab a cold drink, would either of you two like something to eat or drink?" Regina asked, getting up from her seat, standing next to Ruby as she patiently waited for a reply.
"Water please," Ruby replied, looking up at her partner.
"I'm good, thank you, I should probably be heading home, Neal should be up from his nap in a few minutes and would want to be fed. It was really nice seeing you both, we should do this more often," Snow responded, getting up from her seat and giving Ruby a hug goodbye.
"I'll talk to you next time I see you at work, Granny doesn't mind it when I have small breaks between customers. Have a nice evening and say hi to David for me," Ruby said, getting up and showing Snow to the front door, watching the woman leave as she leant against the wall, feeling herself sway slightly as the heat penetrated through her body.
"I have your water my love." Handing Ruby the bottle of cold water, Regina wrapped her arms around Ruby's waist and gave her a hug from behind able to tell that the taller woman wasn't feeling very well and could probably use the support.
"Thank you baby, can we go sit down? Standing up has my head spinning again and I don't know for how long the wall will be good enough," Ruby responded, feeling Regina hold onto her a little tighter while leading her back to the couch, in the comfort of their cooled lounge room.
"You do know that if anything were to happen to you I wouldn't know what to do, I just want to do what is best for you and by you, I don't want to see you get hurt," Regina said, wanting to make sure Ruby knew she wasn't trying to take away any of her free will and that she only wanted her to be safe.
"I know that and I love you. I love that you care about me and want to protect me and our baby, it's rather cute. I also promise you I won't go anywhere while pregnant without letting you know first, I don't want anything to happen to our baby, especially not with the likes of Rumplestiltskin out there looking for revenge yet again," Ruby replied, sitting back down on the couch, uncapping the bottle and taking a swig from it.
"I love you too Ruby, so much, more than you'll ever know," Regina replied, kissing her partner softly on the lips before sitting down next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist.
Quickly moving her hand to her stomach, Ruby smiled and shook her head. "Our little girl is currently kicking the crap out of my liver, here feel," Ruby said, grabbing Regina's hand and placing it where the baby was kicking. Her green eyes looking into Regina's brown as they both smiled at the feeling.
"She's really going at it in there; she's going to be very strong when she's born. I'm half tempted to sign her up to a soccer team," Regina replied, smiling widely as her hand felt the kicks of her unborn child.
"She definitely is going to be a strong little girl, my bladder can tell you all about it," Ruby joked as she cuddled up to Regina. "Are you up for a movie? I have The Hunger Games in and I really want to watch it again."
"I'll watch anything with you my love." Getting up, Regina retrieved the remotes and turned the DVD player on. Heading to the kitchen while she waited for the disc to load, she made a bowl of hot popcorn and covered it in a light layer of butter and salt. Making her way back to the lounge room, she sat next to Ruby and placed the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. Hitting play, she cuddled up to Ruby and let the movie begin, letting her mind get distracted from the day's events while enjoying the company of her small family.