Snow has been busy planning the gender reveal party for the past week and has asked both Emma and Regina for a theme. "Hey Regina, do you want a 'Prince or Princess' theme or an 'outlaw or maiden' theme?" "Hmm…I like the 'prince or princess' theme. I've had some ideas." Regina said as Snow took some notes, then she asked Emma, "Okay Emma, what do you think about 'pirate or mermaid'?"
Emma thinks about it, "I like that them, mom. So, what is it going to be? Pirate or mermaid?"
Snow shakes her head and smiles, "Emma?"
"You can at least tell me if Regina's is a prince or princess!" Regina reacts quickly, "no! If she won't tell me what yours is you can't know mine!" Snow steps back, "both of you will find out in two weeks!" Snow places the papers in her purse and makes her way to the kitchen to get a snack. Emma follows, but Regina sneaks up to Snow's purse and tries to find the paper. Emma catches her from the corner of her eye. She turns around and meets Regina's gaze. She signals to her to get her results too.
"Emma." Snow said. Startled, Emma quickly answers, "Yes? What is it?" She steps in front of Regina so that Snow doesn't notice. "Do you want a drink?"
"Um…sure. Yeah. Water, please." Snow rummages through the fridge while Emma looks out and gestures for Regina to get the paper. That's when Snow utters, "you won't find it in there, Regina, you can stop looking. It's in my pocket." Snow closes the fridge door and hands Regina water and smiles snidely. "Dammit." Regina huffed under breath. Emma throws her hands up in defeat. "If you two are going to be teaming up against me, you have another thing coming. Just give it up. You're not going to know until the party. Deal with it." Snow uttered as she smiled and took a sip of her water.
Later that night, Emma is home and has been anxious to show Killian the first picture of their unborn son or daughter. "Hello, my love." Killian walks up to Emma and places a kiss on her forehead. "Hi. How was work?" Killian sits on the couch relieved to be home. Emma sits and cuddles up next to him as he discusses his workday. "Ugh…I had four workers call in today so, me and another dock man were taking on twice the work. I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your appointment love. How did that go by the way?" Emma smiles and reaches for the picture and hands it to Killian, "Here." Killian takes it and is taken aback with emotion and love. "Is this…our baby?" Emma smiles and nods, "yes." Killian becomes enamored and can't stop looking at it. He gets a little choked up and a tear emerges from his eye. "Wow," Killian uttered as he grabs Emma and embraces her. Emma lays her head on his chest and they both stare in awe at their unborn child's sonogram. "Is it a boy or a girl?" Killian asked, "I don't know yet. My mom is determined to keep this a secret. She's the only one that knows what mines and Regina's baby are.
"Well whatever we have, I hope he or she is as happy and healthy as you and me, love." Killian smiled as Emma uttered, "me too." They both take a second to embrace their special moment. That's when Killian asked, "what's this gender surprise gathering that your mother is doing?" Emma chuckles as she gets up to get some water, "it's called a gender reveal party. I don't understand them any more than you do but she wants to do one." Killian just shakes his head, "if I didn't love your mother and appreciate everything she does for us, how can I say no?"
"Well wait until you hear what theme she wants for this thing. Pirates and mermaids." Emma said
"Mermaids? Really? Out of all the creatures in the sea, she picked mermaids? Does she know there are female pirates?" Killian just shakes his head and chuckles.
"Well, I am hoping for a pirate if I may be quite honest." Emma smiles, "really? I'm hoping for a mermaid," Killian said as he smiles and grabs Emma and embraced her in a protective hug. "Honestly, love, I don't care what we have as long as our child is happy and healthy. What else did the doctor say?"
"Well, he said I have a minor case of hyper…something, but what it means is that its severe case of morning sickness. Dr. Whale said that I need to take it easy and just not overwork." Killian looks seriously into Emma's eyes, "well, then, I will see that you do exactly that." They go back on the couch and relax. Emma props her feet up and Killian lays down with his head on Emma's lap. Then out of nowhere, Killian blurts out, "so do we start picking names?" Emma is caught off guard, "why? Do you have some picked out?" Killian smiled, "Yes. From the moment you told me you were pregnant, I started looking." Emma grows curiosity, "What did you come up with?" Killian thinks for a moment remembering the names he had written down on a piece of paper.
"Well, Dylan if it's a boy and Mia if it's a girl," Killian said with a wide smile. Emma ponders on the names and is thoroughly impressed with Killian's choosing. "Dylan or Mia. I like those names! Where did you come up with them!?"
"Well, I've spent my fair share on the seas and fell in love with the water and the atmosphere of the open ocean. I convinced myself that one day if I ever had children, I would name them after the thing that makes me happy and at peace. Mia means 'of the sea' and Dylan means 'son of the sea.' Emma smiled, "Killian. That's perfect! I like those names! Mia if it's a girl and Dylan if it's a boy." Killian smiles, "then it's settled."
Regina had settled in after her Snow and Emma dropped her off. She pulls out a pint of ice cream from the freezer and heads to the living room to relax until Robin got home. Riley walks in from her playroom and sees the frozen treat her mother is eating and makes her way to sit next to her mom. "Mommy, I want some, peese?" Riley asked as Regina smiled and said, "come on up, baby girl, and momma will share with you." Regina picks up Riley and sits her down next to her. She turns on the TV to cartoons so that she and Riley can enjoy it. "Here you go." Regina feeds Riley the ice cream and Riley reacts, "mmm…good mommy. More, peese!"
"Is it good, baby?" Regina asked, as Riley, nods her head and smiles and refocuses her attention to the television. After a while Regina slowly drifts in and out of a light sleep, Riley turns around and sees her. She leans in and places a kiss on her mother's forehead. "Mama." Riley pats Regina's head then gently pats her cheeks. Regina wakes up and smiles, "what's the matter, baby girl?" Regina lets out a chuckle. Riley sits on the couch and lays her head on Regina's small prominent baby bump. "Baby," Riley said as she looked at her at Regina's baby bump. "My baby. Mwah..mwah." Riley kisses Regina's stomach; Regina can't help but smile and place a hand on Riley's head and her other hand on her stomach.
They are interrupted when Robin walks in from a hard day at work. Riley turns and sees Robin walk in, "da-ddy!" Robin smiles, "hi my girl, how are you?" Riley lays her head on Robin's shoulder then lifts it and points at Regina, "mommy, baby!" Robin smiles and leans in to kiss Regina, "hello my love. How was your appointment?" "It went great! We have a healthy baby."
"That's great to hear. Boy or girl?" Robin asked, Regina, rolled her eyes, and shook her head as she explained, "I don't know. Snow won't tell me she is adamant that she wants to throw us a gender reveal party so she's the only one who knows. She even knows what Emma's having but her and I haven't had any luck in trying to sneak a peek." Robin adds, "oh? I'm not all about those kinds of parties, why would Snow do that?" "I don't know Robin but I'm giving her this because she was so excited about it and I didn't want to mess it up for her. Emma thinks the same but it is what it is." Robin shakes his head and smiles, "typical, well, whatever our baby is, I'm just glad that they are healthy. That is all that matters."
It is the week of the gender reveal party for both Emma and Regina and for the past few days, Snow has been busy with the planning and execution of the gathering. She recruited Belle, Ruby, and Tinkerbell for help. Belle has been in charge of the guest list and has met with Emma and Regina for a list of people from each so that she can get a count for food. "Emma, you have seven, and Regina, you have…" Belle counts down the list to confirm with Regina, "…nine." Regina smiles and sits down next to Belle who is making last-minute changes to her notes for Snow. "So. Belle. I know we hardly ever talk and you're one of the few people I trust and consider a friend. Have I told how much I appreciate all this hard work you are doing for me? Also, your skin is so smooth and glowing! What are you doing?" Belle stops her writing and looks Regina in the eyes, "Regina, we talk nearly every day and I've been using the skincare kit that you gifted me for my birthday and I don't know what your baby is so you can stop while you're ahead." Regina backs away in defeat, "dammit." Emma is surprised at Belle's statement, "really? My mom hasn't told you what are babies are?" Belle shakes her head, "No. She just asked me, Ruby and Tinkerbell to help her out, we asked and she refused to tell us anything. Not even a hint!" Regina grows minor irritation, "this she manages to keep to herself." She rolls her eyes and sits next to Emma and goes over her guest list.
"Trust me, I'm dying to know just as much as you two do." Belle insisted. "Okay then! Ruby is in charge of the desserts, and Tink is in charge of the food. I will be meeting with them later today and I will get back with the two of you tomorrow." Belle gathers her things and bids goodbye to Emma and Regina. Regina gets up and escorts her out the door while thanking her, "thank you so much, Belle, for everything you've done for us. I appreciate it and if I can…" Belle interrupts, "Regina, I promise I don't know anything and neither does Ruby so don't even ask. And, you're welcome, it's been a pleasure." Regina huffs, "ugh, see tomorrow then." Emma bids her farewells as well and closes the door behind Belle. Emma makes her way to the couch and opens up her baby book and scans over it. Regina goes upstairs to check on Riley leaving Emma into her book reading. When Regina comes back downstairs, she asks for Emma, "Hey Emma, how many guests do you…" she stops mid-sentence when she sees Emma crying. "Emma?" Emma quickly wipes away her tears and closes the book and smiles up at Regina, "uh…I think I have seven?" Regina sits pulls up a chair next to Emma, "Were you crying?" Regina asked as Emma looked down and forced a smile, "no…I was just thinking." There is a brief pause until Regina asks, "About?" Emma just shakes her head, "Nothing. It's just…nothing." Regina isn't convinced and has a heart to heart with her.
"Emma, what's wrong? I'm not going to leave you alone until you tell me why you're crying."
"Regina, it's nothing."
"Dammit, Emma! Quit being so stubborn and prideful! It's okay to open up a little! How am I supposed to help you if you don't tell me what's wrong?" Regina demanded.
"Regina! Just…it's…" Emma pauses then lets out a hard sigh, "I'm just a little overwhelmed. I mean, just…I'm not ready for this baby. I'm scared, okay! I don't even know if I can do this!" Emma breaks down and Regina is remorseful and comforts Emma. Emma cradles her baby bump and gently rubs it with both hands as tears roll down her eyes.
"Emma," Regina scoots closer to Emma and grabs her hands in a loving and caring way, "it's okay to feel the way you do. But why are you scared? You have nothing to be scared of!"
Emma wipes away a tear, "it's just that I was alone when I had Henry and I was surrounded by strangers; Neal was out of the picture and I just don't want to relive all of it."
Regina sighs, "Emma, who said you'll be alone in all of this? You have Killian, your parents, even me. Emma, you are surrounded by a massive support system!" Emma smiles with relief, "I know Regina, but the motherhood part. I didn't experience it with Henry how do I know if I'm going to be a good mother?"
Regina gathers her thoughts, "I'm going to be honest with you Emma. Motherhood isn't easy, but having a support system you can trust and rely on make motherhood that much more rewarding and special. You won't believe the number of times I wanted to throw in the towel because I felt that I couldn't take on the job of being a mom. The experience is vastly different from Henry and Riley but the love I've gained for them and Roland outweighs the discouragement, the doubts, and the impossibilities!"
Regina places her hands lovingly on Emma's baby bump and reassures her, "I promise Emma, you are never going to be alone in this journey. You have Killian you have me, Robin, your parents, Henry and…" Regina grabs Emma's hands and places them on her baby bump, "…my baby." Regina smiles at Emma who forces a smile and sniffles before she asked, "what about Riley and Roland?" Regina smirks, "you have to be careful with those two, they team up against you and create a vendetta against you." They both let out a laugh and hug each other. "Thank you, Regina, I didn't know I needed that boost. You're like an older sister I wish I had."
Regina responds quickly, "hey! I'm not that much older than you!" They both chuckle as Regina grabs Emma's hand, "come on, let's see what circus your mom is planning with this gender party."