If there was one word that could be used to describe how Emma was feeling when she tumbled out of the plane into Boston airport, it was grumpy. And dazed. She had been in the air for ten hours. It had been seven o'clock at night in Spain when she had said goodbye to Regina, and now it was five in the evening, Boston time. Emma felt completely squashed. And grumpy. Extremely grumpy. Boston airport looked so ugly compared to the airport in Madrid. Well, everything looked ugly compared to Madrid. She already missed Regina so much her heart ached. She missed seeing her smile, hearing her laugh. She missed wrapping her arms around her and feeling her growing belly. She missed the way Regina always flipped her hair back over her shoulder.
"This is shitty!" Emma grumbled to herself as she stretched her neck after her suitcase. "This is shitty, and I hate it!"
An elderly man shot her a funny look, and Emma remembered that she was in America now. Everyone understood what she said now. Oops. She flashed the man a sheepish smile. He hesitantly returned it, and Emma thought to herself that she had just scared the poor fella. Right then. That was one way to come home, she supposed.
Her mood only soured as she stood and waited for her suitcase to show up. She was tired and jetlagged and missed her girlfriend. It didn't help that she and Regina had been texting while Emma had been in the air. Emma huffed. There had been a time where she thought that being left by her fiancé on the day before their wedding was the worst thing that could ever happen. But now she knew she had been wrong. There was one thing that was worse. And that was leaving her pregnant girlfriend in Spain. That was a hundred billion times more worse than having Neal leaving her. Him walking out on her was actually the best thing that could ever happen to her. Emma just hadn't known at the time. But today she was extremely grateful. The marriage would never have lasted. It would have ended in a bitter divorce. And maybe there would even have been children involved. That would have been awful.
Emma stretched her neck in an attempt to spot her suitcase, but she couldn't see it anywhere. God, she hoped that she didn't have to wait for too long. She didn't want to be stuck in the airport. She just wanted to go home and hug her parents. And sleep. And then call Regina. Seriously, that was what she was looking forward to. For the millionth time, Emma considered whether she should just say 'screw it' and immigrate to Spain. Right now, that seemed like the best thing for everyone. She chuckled bitterly to herself. Leaving her pregnant girlfriend in Madrid was really an advanced type of torture. And there was a special place in hell for those who claimed that long distance relationships were easy. They were not! The skin on Emma's cheeks stung because she had been crying, and her eyes felt puffy and swollen behind the sunglasses she had slipped on. Was Regina crying too? God, Emma hoped that wasn't the case. She hoped that Regina was asleep in her bed. Resting like she was supposed to.
Emma's mood only seemed to sour further as she stood and waited for her suitcase to show up. There were too many people in the airport. She was tired and had a headache and she just wanted to go home. Well, actually, she wanted to go back to Spain. But that wasn't an option right now. She would have to settle for Storybrooke. Which was nice too. Of course it was. Seeing her parents and her friends. That was gonna be great too. Albeit a bit numb because she happened to have left her heart in Madrid. Dramatic? Yes, perhaps. But nevertheless true. That was how she felt. Like she had left the most important part of herself in Spain with Regina. While she was here physically, she sure as hell wasn't mentally. She was curled up in bed with Regina. Nose buried in Regina's soft tresses and hands cradling Regina's growing belly. Emma sighed and, in an attempt, to make herself snap out of her misery, she reminded herself that Regina wasn't completely alone. She had her father. Henry was in her corner now. He supported her. And he was gonna collect Regina from work on her late nights. Emma was so grateful for that. She had been extremely worried about Regina's late night shifts. And it turned out that so had Regina. Afraid that Robin would seek her out while she was closing up for the night. It felt really good to know that Henry would be there every night. Just as a precaution. Just in case. Emma didn't want Regina to feel threatened. A part of her still worried that Robin would pop up at some point. That guy was a giant compared to Regina. And seriously, what would he have done if Emma hadn't been there? Hit her? Shoved her? He looked like he could have shoved her. Emma clenched her fist. You don't shove a woman. And especially not a pregnant woman! If Emma ever were to see him again, she would pound the shit out of him. Reason or not. The fact that he had tricked Regina into having unprotected sex was reason enough to beat the shit out of him, right?
Emma chuckled darkly to herself. Yes. She would love to pound the shit out of Robin fucking Locksley. That shithead. Emma's dark thoughts were interrupted when she felt her cellphone vibrate in her pocket. For a glorious moment she thought that it was Regina and felt happy about it, but then she remembered that Regina should be fast asleep in her bed, and if it really was her texting, Emma would feel concerned and not happy.
But it wasn't Regina, though. It was Emma's mom. 'has the plane landed yet?' she asked. Emma chuckled a bit. Someone was clearly impatient. She texted back that her plane had landed and that she was waiting for her suitcase. Texting her mom made Emma realize that she had missed her quite a lot. It was gonna be nice to see her parents again. And talk to them. She felt a twinge of anxiety. Regina had been right, she had to talk to her parents about moving to California. It was something she really wanted. It was something she had thought about for a while. Of course she had to talk to her parents. She couldn't just avoid talking about it because it was a tough conversation. She knew that her mom would struggle with it. She would of course say all the right things. That she understood Emma. That of course Emma should leave if that was what she wanted to, but she would quietly struggle with it. Emma knew her mom. Her dad would be a bit more straight forward. He would openly admit to finding it tough. To sum up, it would be a tough one to swallow for both of her parents. And Emma understood that. Apart from college in Boston, she had lived all her life in Storybrooke. She knew the little town like the back of her hand. When she was a kid, she had dreamed of living in a house next to her parents'. Had dreamed of coming over for Sunday dinners and leaving her kid with its grandparents for the day. Storybrooke was all Emma knew. All she had seen. Going to college in Boston had been the adventure of a lifetime until she decided to go to Madrid on her own. That had been a leap of fate. And so was this. Moving to California on her own. Completely uprooting her life to settle down in a completely new place. Of course that was daunting. Scary, even. But the urge to spread her wings was so much stronger. But she would have to wait and see. Firstly, she needed something to move into. And that was expensive in California. Especially when one wanted to live on the beach like Emma did. A beach house. With plenty of room for her parents and friends. And Regina. Emma could see that happening. Regina coming to visit her in the beach house. The two of them waking up together. Having breakfast. Going for a long walk on the beach and then maybe a swim. Regina loved the ocean. She had told Emma so herself. The sigh Emma let out was a bit too longingly for an airport. She could so see Regina and herself in a beach house in the future.
The blonde let out a huff. She was starting to feel real impatient. And there was this dull throbbing right above her left eyebrow. A sure sign that she was exhausted. She had slept a little on the plane, but it had been a bit difficult because there had been an extremely loud guy sitting a couple of seats away. He had been on the phone for something that felt like hours, and it had seemed that his main goal had been to be as loudly and annoying as possible. He had gone on and on until one of the flight attendants had had enough and asked him to please end his conversation and think of the other passengers. He hadn't been thrilled about it, but at least he had shut up. Emma had smiled gratefully at the flight attendant, and she had thought to herself that she hoped Regina would never be unfortunate enough to sit near someone like him. Emma had been real close to loosing her shit. Like, real close. The guy had been extremely obnoxious, and in her slightly dazed state, she had thought to herself that she had met a lot of those lately. Obnoxious guys. And now she was about to return home to a town where another obnoxious guy was living. Neal Cassidy-Gold.
Emma hoped that he was done being a problem. She hadn't seen him since that day on the diner where he had spewed venom at Regina. And Emma preferred if it stayed that way. As far as she was concerned, he could go fly a kite. The less she saw of him, the happier she would be. It would suit her very well if she never saw him again. And if she really did move to California, it would actually be that way. She literally would not see him again. What bliss that would be.
"Aha! Gotcha!" Emma exclaimed and felt like a predator on the hunt when she suddenly lunged at her suitcase and grabbed it right before it rolled past her. Finally. Now she could actually get out of here. She turned around and adjusted the handle on the suitcase slightly. Then she elbowed her way out of the airport with the suitcase rolling behind her.
The daylight was already dwindling when Emma stepped outside. She took her sunglasses off and squinted slightly. She tugged at her jacket. She would never get used to the difference in temperature. After fourteen days in Spain, Emma's body was completely used to warmth and sunshine. She grumbled a bit under her breath. She had only just gotten used to the warmth when she had to leave again. God damnit.
But at least her faithful little yellow bug was standing and waiting for her like it was supposed to. That made Emma smile. She had missed her little yellow bug, and she couldn't resist to run her hand over the paint. "I've missed you," she said a bit ridiculously. She could almost hear Regina laugh. She always claimed that Emma loved her car far too much. And she was probably right about that. Emma DID have a very close relationship with her car. She couldn't help it. She loved that damn thing. Even though the engine wasn't what it had been once, and the paint was coming off in flakes. It didn't matter. It was her baby. Her yellow bug.
Emma unlocked the car and wrestled the suitcase onto the backseat, scraping the side of the car in the process. "God damnit. Sorry about that, baby." okay, at this point Regina would have rolled her eyes and called Emma something rude in Spanish. Something she would have refused to tell Emma what meant. But Emma would have kissed it out of her sooner or later. She was very good at that. She was good at turning Regina into putty. God, this morning had been absolutely amazing. Or had it been yesterday morning? Emma wasn't completely sure right now. She was too jetlagged. But either way, the last moments she had spent in bed with Regina had been absolutely amazing. Regina had been amazing. So responsive and eager. Her sex drive was back in full force, and Emma thought to herself that she literally couldn't have chosen a worse time to leave Spain. She should have extended her stay with another week. Or two. Or three. Or maybe a few months or six.
Emma blinked. Realized that she had gotten into the car but wasn't driving. Okay, she needed to get a move on. It was time to go home to Storybrooke...
Four hours later, Emma arrived in Storybrooke. She felt nothing but sheer relief when she could pull up in front of her parents' house. She unbuckled her seatbelt and nearly stumbled when exiting the car. She opened the door to the passenger's seat and hauled out her suitcase. Then she wobbled through the gravel to get to the gate to her parents' house. She felt somewhat like a zombie. A walking dead. But she was not here to eat brains. She was here to collapse on her bed and sleep for at least seven hours.
She opened the gate and walked up the pathway to the door, but before she could get anywhere near the front door, it was opened from the inside, and her mom poked her head out. "Emma, honey!" she beamed. "I thought I heard a car pull up!"
"Yeah, that would be me," Emma said a bit croakily and winced. She sounded like she had been crying for two hours. That hadn't been the case. She was just tired, that's all. She was a big girl. She wasn't gonna cry just because Regina was in Spain.
"Oh, sweetie!" her mom said, immediately misunderstanding Emma's gruff voice. She came out of the house and engulfed Emma in a tight hug. "It's gonna be okay, honey."
"I'm just tired," Emma said just as croakily. And cringed again because she realized it sounded like she was making excuses.
"We've missed you," her mom said and dropped a kiss on her hair before wrapping an arm around her. "Come, let's get you inside. You must be hungry."
Emma smiled a little as she let herself be escorted into the house. She actually was pretty hungry. And tired. So very tired.
Her dad was waiting inside the house, and he smiled widely as it became his turn to hug his daughter. "Hey there, kiddo!"
"Hi, dad," Emma chuckled as she hugged him back. "Did you miss me?"
"No, not at all," her father quipped. "Your mother and I haven't even thought about you. Isn't that right, honey?"
"David!" Mary Margaret scolded and assured Emma: "that is not true at all, honey!"
"I know, mom. I might be tired, but I haven't lost my ability to take a joke," Emma assured and almost giggled like a little girl when her dad squeezed her a bit tighter. After a moment he let go of her, and Emma said: "Regina sends her love. Lots of it."
"Tell her we send some back when you talk to her," Mary Margaret smiled. "How is she doing? Is getting used to things a bit more?"
"Yeah, I mean, I think so," Emma said, slipping off her jacket as she spoke. "She definitely seems more comfortable with the pregnancy and things."
"Oh, that's wonderful to hear. I was worried about her," Mary Margaret said. "I'm happy to hear that she's doing okay."
"You adore her, don't you?" Emma teased.
"She loves you. Of course I adore her," Emma's mom said simply and shrugged. "Sit down. I'll fix you something."
"I can do that myse-"
"You've just come home from a long trip," her mom interrupted her firmly. "I'll make you some. You just relax."
"Okay then." Emma sat down at the table. "But no coffee, please. I'm gonna go crash after this, and I don't need any caffeine in my system."
"Noted."
David chuckled. "Your mother has missed fussing over you. Isn't that right, honey?"
Mary Margaret confirmed that, and Emma immediately felt a little guilty about the bombshell she soon would be springing on her parents. That she was planning on leaving Storybrooke. Who would Mary Margaret be fussing over then?
"Did she hear anything else from her mother?" Mary Margaret interrupted Emma's train of thoughts. "Regina, I mean."
"Nope," Emma growled, happy to have the option to be angry at Cora Mills once more. "Not a peep since she snuck out while Regina's father was busy comforting his crying daughter!"
"Unbelievable." Mary Margaret clicked her tongue, and the anger was visible in her face. The sight was almost a bit shocking, because it wasn't very often you got to see Mary Margaret Swan angry. "One can only wonder what's going on inside such a woman's head!"
"Probably not a whole lot," Emma sneered. "Seriously, the things she said to Regina sounded like something straight out a 1950 movie! She made it sound like Regina had stained the family name! I mean, come on!" she took a breath. "I knew that Cora was bad, Regina had already told me that. But I had seriously not imagined that she was that much of an old cow!"
"Emma, your language," Mary Margaret scolded.
"Nope, I'm not gonna apologize for that," Emma said firmly. "Because that was what she was, mom! If you had heard the stuff she said to Regina! It was completely outrageous! Regina was fucking crying! And afterwards, she looked like a dog who had just taken a beating!" she clenched her fist. "If I ever see Cora Mills again, I swear I'm gonna-"
"Now, now," Mary Margaret said gently as she placed a turkey sandwich in front of Emma.
"Thanks," Emma muttered and tried to calm down a little. She took a bite of the sandwich. It was very good. She couldn't deny that she had missed her mother's sandwiches. She had a special way of making sandwiches.
"She has her father, though, right?" David asked, joining the conversation.
"Yeah, fortunately enough," Emma said around a mouthful of sandwich. She carefully chewed and swallowed before continuing: "he basically told Cora to shove it. Showed her out of his house. I don't think I've ever witnessed anything that satisfying before." She chuckled grimly. "He even asked Regina to move in with him while she's pregnant, but Regina declined. Even after the showdown with Robin."
"She's a brave woman," Mary Margaret said fondly. "She knows what she wants and she's standing by it. That's very admirable."
"Yeah, it is," Emma agreed. "But I wish she would have said yes, though. What if Robin finds out where she lives and follows her home or something like that?!"
"I don't think that's going to happen, sweetie," her mom soothed. "Surely, this Robin isn't that foolish?"
"I hope to hell that he isn't!" Emma said firmly and sighed. "At least she said yes to having her father pick her up from work on her late nights. He'll even be parked outside while she closes up."
"What a wonderful father she has there," Mary Margaret smiled. "I would love to meet him sometimes. He sounds like a very sweet man."
"He is," Emma smiled too. Regina's father really was quite special. "He and Regina are so alike. It could be so fun if you guys could meet him sometimes."
"Well, perhaps we can," David chuckled. "That could be nice." He patted Emma's hand. "It's great to have you home again, kiddo."
"Thanks, dad."
"You met the adoption parents too," Mary Margaret said softly. "What was that like?"
Emma shrugged. "It was okay. A little strange, I guess. I mean, its not everyday you have brunch with your girlfriend and the parents of the baby your girlfriend is expecting..." the joke felt hollow and she trailed off. She hadn't told her parents much about her meeting with Sofía and Alessandra. She hadn't wanted to when Regina was around.
"You said they were nice people?" her mom interrupted her train of thoughts.
"They are, yeah," Emma quickly nodded. "They're great. Both of them. Very nice. And so grateful to Regina. She's actually having dinner with them. They're very excited both of them. They're going to paint the nursery yellow, and they have already chosen a name for the baby. Diego if it's a boy, and Savannah for a girl, but they think it's going to be a boy, so-"
"Emma. Breathe," Mary Margaret said gently.
"Sorry," Emma said sheepishly and took a deep breath. "Breathing."
Mary Margaret reached out and patted her hand. "You feel weird about this, don't you?"
"No. Yes. Well, I mean, meeting Alessandra and Sofía just made it a bit more real, I guess."
Her mom gave her one of her famous 'x-ray looks'. There was nothing Emma could do to prevent the green eyes from boring into her own green ones.
"Is that all?" Mary Margaret said softly.
"Yeah," Emma said automatically. "Of course it is. What else would it be?"
Once again, Mary Margaret looked thoroughly at her. "You don't think you could be growing attached?"
Emma frowned. "Attached to what, exactly?"
"The baby, sweetie," her mother said gently and reached out to pat her hand again.
Emma's eyes widened. "What? No? No! Not at all."
"Are you sure about that, honey?" her mother wasn't pushing her. She was simply asking a question in her usual, gentle manner.
"Yeah," Emma said, but she could hear the uncertainty in her own voice. "I mean..." she suddenly had the urge to swallow something. "I've been pretty close to her, and I've experienced all her symptoms first hand. I've been there right from the get go. Even before she even knew that she was pregnant. And seeing her belly grow..." she swallowed something again. "But I understand and respect her decision. Completely. It's her choice, and I'm gonna support her in it."
"Honey, I don't doubt that you're going to support Regina through this," Mary Margaret said gently, patting her hand once more. "But are you getting attached?"
Emma checked herself. Was she getting attached to Blueberry? No. Yes. Maybe. No. No! She wasn't. Although... she had been touching Regina's belly a lot. Stroking it. Rubbing it. Caressing it. Even kissing it. And Regina had allowed it. She had allowed all of it. The kisses. The caresses. Emma checked herself again. Had the lines blurred during her stay in Madrid? Had she forgotten that it was Sofía and Alessandra's baby at some point? Hadn't rubbing Regina's belly been the last thing Emma did before stumbling into the plane? Yes. Yes, it had. Emma licked her lips nervously. Had she played 'house' with Regina during the two weeks she had been there? Was she actually getting attached to Blueberry? Had there been occasions where the baby had felt a little too much like... theirs?
"No!" she firmly decided. "I am not getting attached to the baby. Maybe the lines have blurred a little during my visit, but I can totally 'unblur' then or whatever. I totally understand that Alessandra and Sofía are the baby's parents. Don't worry, mom."
"I always worry about you, sweetie," Mary Margaret chuckled. "No matter what."
Emma cracked a smile. "Yeah, well, you don't have to worry about this. Not at all. It's all good."
"Okay," Mary Margaret said simply and smiled at her daughter.
Said daughter finished her turkey sandwich and smiled at her parents. "You know what, I think I'll head upstairs. I'm sorry, but I'm just really beat after all that travelling."
"Sleep well," David said with a chuckle.
"Thanks, dad." Emma mock scowled and rolled her eyes. Then she smiled at both her mom and her dad. "It's nice to be home again."
"It's nice to have you home again, sweetie."
Emma bid her parents an early goodnight, and then she dragged her suitcase upstairs to what used to be her childhood bedroom, but now had received a slight update. Actually, it was mostly a guest room these days. Not very personal. Emma was looking forward to getting a new place. Wherever that might be. She couldn't spring her California-plan on her parents the moment she stepped through the door. That wasn't fair. She had to wait for the right moment.
Emma tugged off her clothes and replaced it with the pajama her mom so lovingly had laid out on the bed for her. Then she plugged her phone into the charger. And finally, she collapsed on the bed with a groan. She was literally so tired. She wanted to sleep, but now the thoughts were racing around in her head. She couldn't stop thinking. Had she been getting a little too attached to Regina's growing baby bump and the little life growing there? Had she been overly touchy-touchy with Regina's belly? If she had, she hadn't noticed. And neither had Regina. Otherwise she would have said something, for sure. Emma groaned a little into her pillow. She was not baby crazy, was she? She didn't think about having kids all the time, did she?
No. She did not. True, she might have rambled a bit about Sofía and Alessandra and the baby, but that didn't mean she was crazy about babies. Although...
A year ago, Emma had had a dream for the future. A very specific one too. At the time where she still thought that Neal was the answer to her every prayer (Emma felt sorry for her past self!) she had hoped that once she and Neal had gotten married, and once they had done the travelling they wanted to do, they were going to settle down and have kids. That's what she had hoped. That they would have that white-picket fence life with kids. Two of them. That had been the dream for the future. Emma stretched a little on the bed. Did she still want kids? Well, yes. She did. But that had absolutely nothing to do with what was going on with Regina. Nothing. Hell, Regina wanted to have kids too. Someday. When she was better equipped for it. And there was no reason why she shouldn't have them. She was so young. Only twenty years old. She had plenty of time to have kids.
Emma rolled onto her back and dragged the pillow over her face. No, she wasn't baby-crazy. She had just been a little too enthusiastic when talking about Blueberry. But that didn't mean that she was getting attached to him/her. She was attached to Regina. And right now, Blueberry was a part of Regina. It was probably easy to confuse her attachment to Regina with attachment to Blueberry. Yeah, Emma decided. That was probably it. She was attached to Regina. Every part of her. And right now, Blueberry was a pretty big and significant physical part of Regina.
Satisfied with the conclusion she had reached, Emma yawned and pulled the covers up to her chin. She hadn't brushed her teeth. Or removed her makeup. Or even brushed the tangles out of her hair. She hadn't done anything because she was too tired. She would probably drift off in a moment. She hoped so. Right now she was full of sad thoughts. Most of them about how much she missed falling asleep next to Regina. The smell of apples in her hair. The way she snuggled up in her arms and mumbled something in sleepy Spanish before drifting off. Sometimes she even talked in her sleep. Emma always found that to be mighty entertaining, even though she couldn't understand a word of what Regina was saying. There had actually been a night where she had woken Emma up because she was talking so loudly in her sleep. When the first fright had dialed down, Emma had ended up laughing because Regina had sounded so positively indignant while talking in her sleep. But unfortunately, Regina hadn't been able to remember anything when she woke up the following morning. She had even tried to deny that she'd talked the previous night, and Emma had ended up 'threatening' her with recording it the next time it happened.
Emma sighed a bit. She really did miss her girlfriend. She could almost envision Regina lying in her bed all curled up. At least that was what Emma was hoping Regina was doing. Sleeping. Not laying awake and thinking about Robin or her mother or whatever. Once again, Emma felt sorry for Regina. She really did have a lot on her plate all the time. A lot of things to juggle. First her meddling mother and now the potential threat of Robin popping up again. Emma clenched her fist a little. She didn't care what her mother said, she would beat the shit out of him if she saw him again. She wouldn't just settle for letting Regina give him a slap. She wanted to throw in some good punches herself. Emma chuckled a bit. She was getting very sleepy. That was probably why she had just pictured herself pounding the shit out of Robin. With a wet fish. Ridiculous. But still a beautiful scenario. Emma rubbed a hand over her forehead and pulled the covers up so only the top of her head was visible. Her bedroom was cold compared to Regina's. Regina always slept with a window open. Emma couldn't count the times she and Regina had laughed when they heard some drunk person yell or even sing in the street. There was a lot of that in Puerta Del Sol where Regina lived. And Regina often joked that she used to be one of those drunken people. Emma would have liked to see that.
Finally, Emma fell asleep with her head full of thoughts about Regina...
It was early when Emma woke up the following morning. She could simply sense that, and she silently cursed the jetlag or whatever as she sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. After having pushed her hair away from her face, she grabbed her phone. She tapped the screen and it lit up. Yep, definitely early. Seven AM to be more specific. God damnit. Emma briefly considered curling up and trying to get some more sleep, but she quickly scoffed and deduced that it was a lost cause. She was far too awake. But she still didn't want to leave her bed. Shower and breakfast and seeing her friends would have to wait a little longer. There was one thing she needed to do first. One very important thing. Emma grinned to herself when she dialed Regina's number and moved the phone up to her ear. Wedging the phone between her ear and shoulder, Emma tried to tidy her hair. Until she remembered that she wasn't gonna skype with Regina. She didn't need to do her hair. How utterly silly of her. As she waited for Regina to pick up, she imagined what the brunette was doing right now. Not much, Emma hoped. Hopefully, Regina was relaxing like she was supposed to. Not straining herself too much. If Emma had it her way, Regina would have been relaxing in some enormous bathtub with plenty of bubbles and a bowl of strawberries next to her, but somehow Emma doubted that that was how reality was working.
"Hola."
Emma's sleepiness instantly lifted when hearing the prettiest voice in the whole wide world. "Hi!" she grinned.
"Hi yourself, querida," Regina said hoarsely. VERY hoarsely, actually. That was not just the voice of someone who had been napping.
"Woah, are you okay?" Emma asked, immediately concerned. "You sound all croaky!"
"I'm fine," Regina said and cleared her throat in the other end. "Sorry about that."
"Are you getting a cold?" Emma asked and frowned even though Regina couldn't see it. "Do you have a sore throat or something?"
"No," Regina said and sounded a bit grumpy now. Vexed.
Okay. Emma quickly nixed the first option. In her mind, there was only one more reason left for Regina's hoarse voice. And Emma didn't like that reason one bit. "Hang one, are you crying?!" Emma exclaimed. She had heard that hoarse voice one too many times over the past two weeks.
"No," Regina snipped. "I am not."
Definitely not true. "You're lying!" Emma said with more accusation in her voice than intended. "What's going on?!"
"Emma-"
"No! You have to tell me right now!" Emma half-shrieked. "Are you in pain? Did someone do or say something? Is it your mom? Robin? Did he come back? Do I have to come back and kick some ass because I will totally-"
"Em-ma!" Regina interrupted. "No one did something to me, okay?"
"Then why are you crying?!" Emma demanded. "What's happened?!"
Regina sighed heavily. "Do I have to tell you?"
"Uhm, yes, you absolutely do!" Emma said firmly. "I wanna know! I HAVE to know! I know you think you'll be making a scene, but I don't give a damn about that, so you better just tell me what the hell is going-"
"I'm crying because I watched a stupid commercial with a kitten, okay!" Regina snippily interrupted.
That threw Emma off completely. "I...What?"
"Don't ask me!" Regina shrieked. "I don't know why! I was just watching television and minding my own business. This cat commercial featuring a kitten comes on screen, and bam, all the sudden I'm weeping because it was cute!"
"Oh," Emma said, heart rate returning to normal. "I see. Hormones." She really tried to be valiant about it, but she couldn't quite quell the small chuckle slipping past her lips.
"¡No es gracioso!" Regina moaned. "I'm embarrassed, Emma!"
"Honey," Emma said gently and immediately scolded her features into something more serious. "It's not something you have to be embarrassed about. You can't help what your hormones are doing right now."
"I don't cry over cats!" Regina complained. "I don't even like cats!"
Emma laughed. She couldn't help it.
"Emma, it's not funny!" Regina bellowed. But now she was laughing too. "Dios mio, I'm glad you weren't there to witness THAT. You would have thought I was crazy."
"No," Emma huffed. "I would have thought what I'm thinking right now."
"And what are you thinking right now, querida? That I'm completely off the rocker, perhaps?"
"No," Emma half-chuckled. "I think that you're pregnant and experiencing some changes in your hormones right now."
"I don't know how many more changes I can handle," Regina complained. "What will I cry about next time? Spilled food?"
"Well..." Emma really did try not to laugh. "I suppose that is possible, yeah."
"Oh god." Regina said. "I'll have to come up with some way to contain my emotions! I mean, what if I watch television with my dad and cries because some damn animal with big eyes comes on screen?! He'd be mortified. I'D be mortified!"
"No, he won't," Emma soothed.
"He will too," Regina grumbled. "Damn cat! It wasn't even that cute!"
Then they both laughed heartedly.
"You really had me worried there for a moment," Emma chuckled. "So, just to clarify... You're not in pain?"
"No," Regina snickered. "I'm fine. Just fine. A bit weird without you, but you know..."
"You wanna Skype later?" Emma suggested. She too was feeling weird without Regina.
"I'd love to." There was some shuffling in the other end, and then Regina exclaimed: "Emma, it's seven o'clock in the morning in Maine! You shouldn't be up now!"
"Jetlag," Emma said as an explanation.
"I don't care," Regina said almost sternly. "You should be asleep after the long trip yesterday!"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Shut up!"
"Never," Emma assured and smiled dopily. "Have you found a different channel? One that doesn't show kitten commercials?"
"Don't talk about it, please," Regina said. "And no, I have not, but the cat commercial is gone now."
"Oh, good. What are you watching anyway?" Emma asked curiously.
"Some cooking show," Regina replied. "Well, I might have fallen asleep for five seconds, but..."
"Awww," Emma cooed. "You were sleeping?"
"Guilty as charged," Regina joked. "I thought the fatigue was supposed to go away in the second trimester."
"It is, but you've really been through the wringer for the past two weeks," Emma reminded her. "Of course you're tired. Oh, my parents sends their love, by the way."
"Send some back to them," Regina chuckled. "And tell your dad that I'm still dreaming about the pancakes he made for me."
"I'll tell him that. That'll make him very proud."
Regina chuckled again. "I miss you. What are you gonna do today?"
"Probably find my friends and tell them that I'm back in town," Emma told her. "But apart from that, I don't have any plans. What about you?"
"My plan is to watch cooking shows until I get hungry," Regina quipped.
"Aw man, that sounds like the perfect plan," Emma said longingly. "I wish I could participate in it."
"Hey, I'll be back to bother you before you know it," Regina said softly.
"Oh yeah, you'll totally bother me," Emma said flatly. But the corners of her mouth twitched. The dopey smile was growing. As it always did when she talked to Regina...
Spanish Translations=
Spanish Translations=
¡No es gracioso!= It's not funny!