Emma's throat was as dry as a desert, and her eyes threatened to pop right out of her head as she looked at Regina. "She what?!"
Regina said nothing as she looked at her empty glass of water.
"What did..." Emma struggled to get the words out. "What did she say?!"
Regina lifted her shoulders once. "That she'd found the prenatal vitamins, that the bottle was half-empty when she lifted it, and that she wanted an explanation "right now, young lady"-" she chuckled humorlessly. "The connection went before I could give her any."
"Oh god!" Emma said.
"Fuck," Regina said without taking her eyes off the empty glass in front of her. "I'm in so much trouble."
"Regina," Emma started, but was interrupted by Regina. "No, querida. I am. She knows that I'm pregnant, and that sudden knowledge will complicate everything." She shook her head. "Dios mio, if she tells my father... that'll be the end of all things."
"It won't!" Emma said firmly and slipped an arm around Regina's shoulders.
Regina just looked at her. Smiled a little as though she was feeling sorry for Emma. "It will. My father and I have no secrets. That was the rule we made after mother's little deception destroyed the family. That we would never keep things from each other. No matter how bad things were, we would always be square about it." she swallowed thickly. "Guess I've ruined that now."
"Honey, no. You haven't ruined anything!" Emma tried.
But Regina didn't appear to have heard her. "It's all my fault, really. I should have known that I couldn't keep a thing this big a secret." She laughed bitterly. "As my mother always puts it- if you have said A, you must also say B. I said A that night when I got drunk and did...that with-" she didn't finish the sentence, just waved a hand in the air before continuing: "now I have to say B and face the consequences. Which will be my mother's wrath undoubtedly. God!" she rubbed a hand over her face. "I should have just told my parents when I found out instead of sneaking around like this! I am such a complete and utter idiot!"
"Hey!" Emma protested. "You are NOT an idiot! You handled things in the way you found best. You've done nothing wrong, do you hear me? Nothing."
Regina laughed bitterly again. "Except for bringing shame upon my mother, you mean?"
"This isn't the 1950's," Ruby interjected.
"Maybe not," Regina agreed. "But it might as well have been when you're a Mills woman. Mills women don't put their toes out of line or get "pregnant out of wedlock"." She turned her head and looked at Emma. "Why do you think my mother married my dad? She was pregnant with me. Only reason. I doubt she ever loved him..." trailing off, she rubbed her face tiredly once more. "God, what a mess! At least I'm not in Spain right now. I doubt she'll cool down over the next week, but still, at least she can't come for me that easily when I'm here. That's something." She didn't look like she was close to tears. Just quietly resigned to the fact that she was gonna be in major trouble when she got home. And somehow, that was even worse than if she had been crying. This tired-to-the-bone look on her face made her look both older and younger than she actually was, and Emma could tell that she really was afraid of her mother. Not just she's-gonna-be-so-pissed afraid, but truly, genuinely afraid of her mother. And it broke Emma's heart.
"I'll be right back," Regina said as she elegantly hopped off the barstool. "I just have to go to the restroom real quickly."
Emma doubted she needed the restroom for any other reasons than taking a moment to herself, but this time she let Regina walk. Saw her disappear through a door. Emma was the one to rub her face now. "Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck!"
"Is her mother really that bad?" Belle asked quietly.
"She's worse," Emma said dully. "I met her. She's a real dragon. And she was basically in Regina's face just because Regina defended herself! I can't let her go back to Spain alone! I just can't! I have to... I have to go with her..." she licked her lips and trailed off as she calculated in her head. She wasn't sure she could afford a plane ticket right now. Plane tickets were expensive, and it hadn't been that long since she last bought one. But this was an emergency. If she was going was going to blow up her bank account for this, then so be it! If there was someone, she was willing to blow up her bank account for, it was Regina. In a heartbeat, and without a doubt. She took a large gulp of her drink and choked slightly as the liquid trickled down the wrong tube. She was so angry she could have thrown the glass across the room. Cora Mills certainly was in a league of her own! To imagine that she had just manipulated her way into her daughter's apartment when she wasn't home. That was just... God, what kind of sick and controlling behavior was that even?! Who did that sort of thing?! Regina was twenty years old, for fucks sake. An adult woman with her own life, a job and her own apartment. She didn't need her mother meddling in her life. And yet, that was exactly what Cora Mills had just done. Again. Had she told Regina's father? God, Emma didn't hope so. That would destroy Regina. She was so close with her father. The only reason why she had kept this a secret was because she didn't want to disappoint her parents, and she didn't deserve that the plan had blown up in her face like this.
"Emma," Belle said softly as she put a hand on Emma's arm. "Are you alright?"
"No, I'm angry and worried and I wanna throw something," Emma quickly summarized.
"Understandable," Ruby said with a nod. "Your girl sure as hell doesn't deserve this! The way I see it, she's actually handling this pretty damn good. She has a plan for the future, she's chosen awesome parents for the kid. She doesn't need her mother's meddling."
"Thank you!" Emma said earnestly. "Exactly! She IS handling this well, isn't she?"
"Absolutely," Belle said softly. "I think she's being very mature about everything. I'd freak out if I was her, but she's just so... calm. It's impressive."
"I wish everyone could see that," Emma said fiery. "God, I just can't stand that she constantly have things and people against her! First crazy Marian who's basically stalking her and refuses to leave her alone, and now her even crazier mother who will give her hell for this. And for what fucking reason? Regina's an adult woman for fucks sake! It's her life! I just don't-"
"That's quite a bit of steam you're working up for me, querida," Regina gently interrupted as she came back to the bar.
Emma stopped ranting. "Sorry. I was just-"
"Don't apologize. It's perfectly fine. It's actually nice that you're getting so angry for me." Regina put a hand over Emma's.
"Do you wanna go back to my place?" Emma asked gently. She would totally understand why Regina would want to cut their night out short.
"No, I'd actually rather want to dance," Regina said almost lightly. "If you want to, that is."
"Always," Emma said immediately, hopping off the barstool and taking Regina's hand. "Come on, you."
Regina flashed a teeny tiny smile as she followed Emma out on the dance floor. The song playing now was slower, and that suited Emma just fine. Regina too seemed very contend with the slow pace. She rested her forehead on the top of Emma's shoulder, and Emma gently pressed a palm against Regina's upper back. She wanted her close. There wasn't much she could say to offer Regina consolation right now. When words failed, she would have to find other ways to ensure Regina that she was there and wasn't planning on going anywhere.
Regina exhaled. "This is nice."
"It is," Emma agreed. Because no matter what, dancing with Regina was nice. Always.
Regina exhaled again, but the sound was a bit more tired now. Resigned. And her voice was flat when she spoke again: "god, my life is so screwed up! How did it even come to this? Why did I get drunk that night?"
"This is not your fault," Emma reminded her. "He lied to you. Told you he was single when he wasn't."
"I flirted with him."
"And so what? Is that a crime now? Flirting when you're out having fun? Everyone does it."
"Not everyone ends up pregnant," Regina said dully.
"He tricked you into sleeping with him," Emma said firmly but quietly. "He told you something that wasn't the truth-"
"And I was dumb enough to fall for it."
"-and he took advantage of the fact that you believed him. End. Of. Story. Stop bashing yourself in the head with this! He is as responsible as you are. Even more because he lied about his marital status! He's a shithead, okay? A complete and utter shithead! Lied to his wife and made you her target, and what's he doing to stop her? Not a fucking shit! As far as I'm concerned, he can go die in a ditch!"
Regina chuckled just a little bit. "Die in a ditch. What a lovely American expression you have there, querida."
"Thanks. Glad you like it. And even happier that I made you smile."
"You did. Definitely. You always make me feel less of a mess than I actually am."
"You are not a mess Regina. Far from it. You are someone who's in a bit of a messy situation. But that doesn't make you a mess."
Regina chuckled again. "Your logic is funny, querida."
"But also incredibly true."
Regina didn't answer that. She just dropped her head to Emma's shoulder again.
Emma let her hands slide from Regina's back and to her hips. Her fingers touched the side of Regina's growing belly. The touch hadn't been intentional, definitely not, and for a moment she feared that she had just made an enormous blunder all things considered, but Regina's only response was to sigh and say: "if only he or she knew the havoc they're causing..."
Emma made a little hum in reply. She couldn't help but notice how softly Regina spoke whenever she mentioned Blueberry. Tonight was the first time she'd said he or she. Defined the baby as something else than just Blueberry.
"But I guess they don't care," Regina half-chuckled. "As long as he or she is warm and snuggly in there..."
Emma chuckled too now. "That does sound very cozy."
"Free rental for nine months. No charge at all. Pure luxury. Lucky little Blueberry."
Emma's chuckle turned into a laugh as she squeezed Regina a bit tighter. "You are absolutely wonderful. Did you know that?"
"Charmer," Regina accused and lifted her head. Her dark eyes were full of mirth now.
"No idea what you're talking about," Emma claimed.
Regina laughed and looked back at Belle and Ruby over Emma's shoulder. "Do you think your friends think I'm messed up?"
"No. Absolutely not. They might think your mom is messed up, but..."
"That is completely fine," Regina assured, chuckles turning dry now. "That's a pretty good description of my mother. It's strange that she hasn't called me back yet. Maybe she exploded in a cloud of anger. Or maybe she went back to my father's place in a flurry of rage and betrayal to tell him what an awful daughter I truly am or something like that..."
"Or maybe she has decided to be completely mature about it?" Emma suggested hopefully.
"Beautiful scenario, but I doubt it. This is quite literally her worst nightmare come true," Regina said dully. "Working at a bar is bad. Dancing is worse. Not having a "proper education" is a disgrace, but being pregnant out of wedlock? Not even an engagement ring on my finger? That'll be the last straw for her. Whatever she's planning on saying to me, it won't be pretty." She put on a smile. "But anyway, I still have a week here. That's a good thing."
"A very good thing," Emma agreed and gave Regina a little squeeze.
Regina's smile became a bit more genuine. "And we're going to have so much fun, aren't we, querida?"
"Definitely!" Emma said warmly. "What do you wanna do tomorrow?"
"I think you promised to show me the beach."
"That's right, I did! It's not warm enough to swim and all that, but it's still very nice. I reckon I could take some great pictures of you."
Regina snickered. "Have you even taken pictures of anything else besides me this past week, querida?"
"You are the prettiest motive," Emma said plainly. "Prettiest thing I've ever photographed."
"You're silly."
"About you."
"Stop it," Regina laughed.
"No. No, I don't think I will," Emma smirked. Anything to make sure Regina was laughing. Anything to make sure she didn't got that stressed out look in her eyes. It wasn't fair that new problems presented themselves just as she was starting to kick back and relax a little. Emma had a feeling that Regina only recently was starting to feel comfortable in the pregnancy. Both physically and mentally. And now, because of her mother, she was put under pressure again. It really wasn't fair. Emma held Regina a little tighter. Wished that she could keep her there at all times.
In spite of everything, it actually was quite a nice evening they had together. All four of them toasted to nothing in particular. Emma ordered herself another apple cider. That was the limit. She wasn't planning on getting tipsy or anything. Then they danced again. Emma and Regina. And then after a moment, Ruby and Belle. It was clear that they were trying their best to give off the impression that they were just joking around, but Emma still tilted her head and gave them a second glance. Belle's eyes were shining as did Ruby's. God, those two were smitten with one another! It was so painfully obvious, Emma almost was tempted to laugh.
Regina followed her gaze and chuckled softly. "Your friends are in love with one another."
"Yes. They are. I'm sort of just waiting for them to realize that," Emma said quietly.
Regina chuckled again as she looked at Ruby and Belle. "Looks like you don't have to wait for long, querida."
Emma smirked as she agreed with that. Yes, Ruby and Belle looked a little busy gazing each other's eyes. Maybe the dance wasn't such a joke after all.
"I'm getting a bit tired," Regina said almost apologetically. "Damn fatigue."
"That's totally okay," Emma said quickly. "It's been a long day. We did many things." That was true. Before ending up in the living room, they had been out on a walk in Storybrooke. Shopped a bit on Main Street. Regina had checked out the maternity clothes and had even bought herself a new sweater. She had said that she would wear it every time she came to Storybrooke, and Emma had praised the sweater. Regina had looked absolutely adorable in it.
"Second trimester and the energy boost can't come soon enough," Regina joked. "Maybe I will be capable of dancing all night."
"You did do some dancing tonight though," Emma pointed out. "And earned yourself a few admires might I add..."
Regina chuckled. "And did you admire me, querida?"
"Of course I did. I always do."
Regina seemed very satisfied with that answer. She smiled up at Emma, tugged teasingly at the lapels of her blazer, and Emma almost called her a little minx. Almost. She pushed a lock of hair behind Regina's ear, asked: "ready to go home?"
"Yeah," Regina admitted a bit sheepishly. "I think I am."
"Then lets do it," Emma said briskly and glanced at Ruby and Belle who were still dancing, and rather closely too. "I don't think those two are gonna miss us, do you?"
"Honestly?" Regina followed Emma's glance. "No, not really."
That turned out to be completely true. Ruby and Belle didn't protest at all when Emma and Regina said their goodbyes. They just first Emma and then Regina goodbye and Ruby instructed them to stop by Granny's tomorrow for free pancakes. And cream sodas. That made Regina laugh, and when she and Emma left the bar, she couldn't stop talking about how nice she found Emma's friends to be.
"Yeah, they're pretty great," Emma smiled. "But I reckon I won't see much of them after tonight." she chuckled. "I mean, the way they looked at each other..."
"Sí, they looked quite smitten with one another," Regina nodded.
"They're probably saying the same thing about us, don't you think?" Emma joked, slipping an arm around Regina as they walked don't the pavement. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Neal coming out of his father's shop, but Emma did everything she could to ignore him. She didn't care if he was looking at them. Nor did she say anything to Regina about his presence. He could go to hell. Emma had absolutely nothing more to say to that douchebag. Telling Regina would be pointless. She'd had a hard night as it was already. She didn't need to know that Emma's asshole ex was watching them.
"It's strange, though," Regina said after a moment of silence. "That Mother didn't try and reach me again."
"Maybe her battery died?" Emma suggested, trying to be a little goofy about it.
Regina chuckled, bless her. "I suppose that is a possibility, but I don't think I like the silence thing she's doing. I find that to be even more ominous than having her calling and yelling at me. Maybe she wants some big confrontation when I'm coming home or something."
Emma let out a growling sound that seemed to come from the back of her throat. Regina mock shivered and then laughed. "Querida, I can't tell whether that was terrifying or sexy."
"Why not both?" Emma suggested.
Regina nodded and made that adorable tongue between teeth smile. Emma always wanted to kiss her when she did that. And she couldn't resist this time either. She gently halted them, cupped Regina's face and then kissed her. Right in the middle of the street. A nasty little voice in the back of her mind murmured about Neal and how fortunate it would be if he was around to see this. That asshole. Being happy with Regina seemed like the biggest revenge on him.
"You taste of apples," Regina said approvingly and flashed her another smile when they broke apart.
"And that's usually my cue," Emma joked. "Role reversal."
"Sounds interesting," Regina went along on the joke and grinned as they continued towards Emma's parents' place.
Mary Margaret was still up when Emma and Regina came home, and Emma chuckled because it wouldn't matter how old she got. Her mom would always stay up to make sure that she got home alright. Bless her.
"Did you two have a nice evening?" she asked and flashed them a wide smile.
"We sure did," Regina said eagerly before Emma could say anything. She returned the smile Mary Margaret was flashing her. "Didn't we, Emma?"
"We did," Emma confirmed and put on a smile.
Mary Margaret tilted her head, gave Regina that knowing, motherly look Emma had seen a million times. "And you feel quite alright, my dear? You do look a bit pale. You're not feeling dizzy or in pain or anything, are you?"
"No-no, not at all," Regina said and appeared to be swallowing hard. She looked at Emma who gently nodded. Regina could confide in her mom if she needed to. Emma's mom was great to confide in. Always so understanding and sweet. And if there was something Regina needed tonight, it was understanding from a mother figure.
"My mother found out," it bursted out of Regina. She couldn't even keep up the charade for two minutes, and Emma perfectly understood that. It was the Mary Margaret effect. Emma's mother just had one of those friendly, patient faces that made you want to come forward with all your troubles.
"Oh," Mary Margaret said and flashed Regina an understanding smile. "I see."
Regina grew a bit absent as she mumbled something about being silly for keeping it a secret, and Emma was just about to protest and state that Regina had her reasons, but her mom beat her to it. She reached out, patted Regina's hand and said kindly: "you are more than welcome to stay here for as long as you need if you feel like you can't go back right now, Regina. It's not a problem at all. We're only happy to have you here."
"Hear, hear," Emma interjected softly and gave Regina's hand a little squeeze again. "That's very kind of you," Regina said and returned the smile. "But I think it's better that I follow my original plan and go home in a week. I have shifts in the bar, and I have to...take the bull by the horn or whatever it's called."
"I'll go with you," Emma said automatically, and Regina turned her head and quirked an eyebrow at her. "You what?"
"I'll go with you," Emma repeated. "Like hell I'm gonna let you face all that on your own!"
"But you can't," Regina reminded her. It was her turn to squeeze Emma's hand now. "At least not right now. And you shouldn't. You can't be there to hold my hand all the time. I have to take care of things." She took a breath. "And I can handle Mother. I'm used to it." she made a face. "And now I have to use the restroom again. Stupid cream soda!" she flashed Emma and Mary Margaret a smile as she hastily retreated to the guest bathroom in the hallway. That was quicker than going all the way upstairs.
"Goodness me," Mary Margaret said when Regina had disappeared. "She doesn't need those kind of problems right now."
"No, she does not," Emma immediately agreed.
"Poor thing," her mom said sympathetically as she closed her laptop. "It seems like she has a lot on her plate all the time."
"I don't know why the universe or whatever is so fucking hard on her all the time!"
"Emma, your language," her mom admonished and clicked her tongue. "But I meant what I said. If she needs to extend her stay here, she's more than welcome to do so. She's a lovely girl, and I do so dislike the way her eyes flicker when she talks about her mother. She's obviously afraid of her. I know that Regina is an adult-" she folded her hands elegantly. "But I still feel a responsible for her, exactly like I do with you despite the fact that you're an adult, and I certainly wouldn't feel good about sending her back to an unsafe situation."
"I'll go with her," Emma said firmly.
Her mom quirked an eyebrow.
"I'll find a way," Emma added. "I'm not sure how right now, but I will. And I don't care that she doesn't want help. She's getting it whether she wants it or not. There's no way in hell I'm letting her go back to deal with her mom on her own."
"If you need money for a plane ticket, all you have to do is ask for it," her mom said lightly.
"Mom..." Emma said and winced slightly. Borrowing money from her parents had been one of her sore spots for years. Emma had always made a big deal of earning her own money and making a living for herself.
"We can call it a loan," her mom said and rolled her eyes. "Or perhaps I'll just shove the money into your hand when you least expect it. You see, I don't like the idea of Regina going back alone. She's pregnant and vulnerable, and I have a feeling that she might not be that good at taking care of herself all the time. I would feel lots better knowing that you're going with her."
Emma laughed and shook her head. "God, you've really fallen head over heels for her, haven't you?"
"I've never met a nicer young lady than her," Mary Margaret said. "So polite and well-spoken and sweet. Not a bad bone in her body. And she clearly adores you. Of course I like her."
"I have pretty good reason to believe that the feeling is entirely mutual," Emma teased. She knew for a fact that Regina adored Mary Margaret.
Her mother nodded satisfied. "Go with her, honey. Keep taking care of her."
"Is that an order?"
"It is."
"Okay then," Emma grinned.
As on cue, Regina came back from the bathroom. She had clearly splashed cold water onto her face, and Emma wondered whether she had taken the opportunity to have a miniature panic attack. It looked like it. Her cheeks were slightly rosy, and her eyes were a bit glassy. Emma's heart broke a little bit, and she had the strongest urge to murder Cora Mills.
"You tired?" she asked softly.
"Mmm," Regina nodded.
"It is getting late," Mary Margaret chimed in. "I for my part will be going to bed now."
"That sounds like a good idea," Emma said and touched Regina's hand lightly. "You ready to go to bed?"
"Sí," Regina said and flashed Mary Margaret a smile. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Regina, dear. There's crackers in the fridge if you wake up feeling icky," Mary Margaret said. Then she turned to Emma. "Goodnight, honey. Lock the front door before you go upstairs, will you? I'm feeling too old and lazy to go into the hallway now." with that she went up the stairs and disappeared around the corner.
Regina chuckled softly.
"Hilarious," Emma said dryly as she headed into the hallway and locked the front door. Once that was done, she went back to Regina in the kitchen. Slipped an arm around her shoulder and asked: "is there something you want before we go upstairs?"
"No, I don't think so."
"You're not hungry?" Emma pressed. She knew for a fact that Regina tended to get hungry right around this time.
"Maybe a little bit..." Regina admitted and flashed a sheepish smile.
"How about a couple of crackers with vanilla crème to go?" Emma suggested.
Regina scrunched up her nose in a particularly adorable fashion. "And eat them in your bed?"
"Yeah. I mean, I wasn't planning on asking you to eat them sitting on the floor..."
"Muy divertido, querida. You'll get crumbs in your bed!"
"I don't care. Small price to pay for your happiness. I don't want you to go to bed hungry," Emma said firmly. She walked over to the cupboard and grabbed the pack of crackers. Her mom owned two packs of crackers: one plain. Those were the ones Regina preferred to eat in the morning. And a pack of crackers filled with vanilla crème. Which all of them had been snacking on until Regina arrived and it became obvious that the vanilla crème crackers so agreed with her stomach. Then they'd stopped eating the crackers. Suddenly there was somebody who needed them more than the Swan family did.
Emma plucked five crackers out of the package and turned to Regina. "You wanna come to bed?"
"Sí. Always."
They walked upstairs. Regina made a quick trip to the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she came back to the bedroom and started to unzip her dress, it was Emma's turn to make a trip to the bathroom. A longer one. To finally get relief from the two apple ciders she had consumed tonight. For some reason they had gone straight to her bladder. She loosened her hair from the fishtail braid and admired the way it curled. She should let Regina do her hair more often.
When she came back to the bedroom, Regina was very much ready for bed. As opposed to Emma, she had braided her hair. She was wearing the familiar pair of little silk shorts and a tanktop. Her face had been wiped free of the makeup she had been wearing tonight, and as Emma looked at Regina's fresh face, she thought to herself that Regina didn't even need any makeup. She looked beautiful just like this. All natural and adorable looking. And she was sitting on the edge of the bed and eating crackers like there was no tomorrow. Looking awfully cute while doing so.
"You look awesome," Emma grinned as she began to strip out of her own clothes.
"Thank you," Regina said between bites of vanilla crackers. She had already consumed three in the time Emma had been gone.
Emma was quick to change out of her clothes and replace it with a blue pajamas. She groaned a bit as she climbed into bed. Impatiently, she propped herself up on one elbow and used her free hand to pat the empty space next to her. "You coming to bed, beautiful girl?"
"When I'm done eating the last cracker."
"Screw that," Emma chuckled. "Come to bed now. I don't care about the crumbs. Come to bed. I miss my little spoon."
"You are so goofy," Regina smirked as she came to lie next to Emma. She too propped herself up on one elbow as she ate the last cracker.
"Taste good?"
"Very," Regina nodded and stuffed the rest of the cracker into her mouth. She carefully chewed and swallowed and then "mm'ed" slightly as she let her head rest on the mattress.
Emma chuckled softly and pulled Regina closer. She let her hands smoothen over Regina's hips, then trace them over Regina's rounded abdomen only to stop and ask: "Is that okay?"
"Of course it's okay," Regina half-laughed. "You don't have to ask. You know that."
Emma made a little humming sound and then let her hands rest more properly on Regina's baby bump. "It feels surprisingly tight."
Regina cackled. "I could have thought of something naughty to say there."
"Oh, ha, ha, ha..." Emma traced her fingers over Regina's belly and noticed the goosebumps appearing on Regina's skin where her tanktop had exposed her belly. "Are you sure you don't mind this?"
" Está bien," Regina said softly. "It always feels nice when you touch me, Em-ma."
"Good. That's good."
"What do you think is hiding in there anyway?" Regina asked. "Boy or girl?"
"Difficult to say," Emma said a bit cautious because this was something they hadn't talked about before. "Maybe...a boy?"
"You think so? I suppose it could be. I just have a strong hunch it's a girl. I don't know why. But it doesn't matter. Alessandra and Sofía luckily don't have a "preference". As long as the baby is okay. They're planning on painting the nursery yellow. Did I tell you that?"
"No, you haven't told me that. Good color."
"Yes, isn't it? Blueberry will wake up to sunshine every morning," Regina said and frowned slightly. "Last night I dreamt that I was giving birth to a very big blueberry."
"We might have to come up with a different nickname then," Emma said. "Or perhaps you could postpone thinking about the birth? At least for a little while."
"Maybe I could try one of those Lamaze classes."
"That you could. I could go with you."
Regina chuckled softly, but Emma could see that the little wrinkle between her beautiful eyes was back again. They couldn't have that. She lifted a hand and gently used her index finger to smoothen the wrinkle. "What are you thinking about, beautiful girl? Birthing stuff? Because we can totally talk about that if you need to."
"No, I was actually thinking about my mother."
"Oh. Okay?" Emma gently encouraged. "What about her?"
Regina sighed. "I'm just trying to figure out when she and I started to... not get along. Obviously, my relationship with Daniela became the breaking point at the time, but over time I've started to feel like there was more, you know? She wasn't a very warm mother. And the more I think about it, the more I notice that she wasn't very warm with my father either. I don't think I've ever seen her kiss or hug him like you and I do all the time. I've never seen her be loving towards him. He was head over heels for her, but she's just always been...cold. But it's more than that. I don't think I've ever seen her look genuinely happy, you know? I still haven't. And honestly, that confuses me. They're divorcing because she had an affair with one of the waiters. He was fired, which means that he and my mother could be together if they wanted to, but she still doesn't seem happy." Regina chewed on her bottom lip. "My dad was distraught when my mother told him about the affair, but he was willing to forgive her for it."
"Wow," Emma said quietly.
"Yeah," Regina nodded. "She was the one who wanted out of the marriage. But I can't help but think, if she broke up her marriage to be with a man she had fallen in love with, why isn't she happy?"
"That is a good question," Emma said.
Regina pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, shook her head slightly. "I dunno, maybe I'm just overanalyzing because I'm tired, but sometimes it feels like... it feels like she's keeping something." Another headshake. "I'm probably just being silly. Jumping the conclusion. I don't even know her that well. How could I possibly be able to determine whether she's hiding something or not?"
That sounded harsh, hearing Regina openly saying that she didn't knew her own mother that well. Emma pulled her a little closer.
"Cuidadosa," Regina admonished with a slight grin. "You'll end up squashing my belly. And it's inhabitant."
"And obviously, we can't have that," Emma laughed and took a major chance as she patted Regina's belly and said: "sorry, Blueberry. Won't happen again."
"I'm sure he or she forgives you," Regina yawned. "Goodnight, querida. Let's hope my phone stays silent for the rest of the night."
"I'll throw it out of the window if it doesn't," Emma vowed. And that was how she ensured that Regina went to sleep half-chuckling. An achievement Emma felt immensely proud of. And something she vowed to do again and again. Because of course Regina should go to sleep with a smile on her lips. Emma wouldn't have it any other way...
To Be Continued...
