Emma was literally tripping with excitement and felt like somewhat of a fool as she stood there and stretched her neck like a giraffe.
But the hell with it, she was allowed to be excited. Because she was in Boston Airport. The four weeks were finally up, and in a few minutes, Regina would come through the doors. Emma couldn't wait to see her girlfriend again. It felt like it had been forever since she last saw Regina. So much stuff had happened since the last time. The arrestation of Neal being the major thing of course. There had been a case. An actual case. Emma had witnessed against him. So had Granny and Keith Nottingham. Emma had told the judge pretty much everything. The electronic harassment Neal had practiced on her, the roses left on her doorstep, the verbal harassment at the diner. She had described how he had kissed her and how she had used self-defense to get him off of her. Her explanation had matched the one Eugenia Lucas gave. She had described what had been said and when. How Neal had acted threateningly David had witnessed too. And he had been forced to give a description of the threats Neal had made towards Regina. And those were truly horrible comments. Some of them had been about her body. Others about her pregnancy. But most of them had been about what Neal wanted to do to her when he saw her again. Emma's father had made a point of stressing out that 'the young lady in question' was coming to Storybrooke in only a few weeks, and that he wanted his town to be a safe place for everyone who visited.
Threatening a young pregnant woman hadn't flown well with the judge. Neither had the attack on Nottingham and following sexual assault on Emma. Neal had been sentenced to three months behind bars. Maybe three months wasn't a lot, but the punishment had other consequences for Neal. Rumor had it that Robert Gold was furious at his son. It was revealed that Neal's father had planned on challenging Mary Margaret for the mayoral position during the next election, but with Neal's incarceration, Robert was beat before the campaign had even started. Nobody wanted to vote for a corrupt man who had tried to buy his son out of the punishment. No one had seen the Gold's since Neal was sentenced, and that suited Emma just fine. With Neal in prison, she could finally start looking ahead instead of looking back. She had started to look at beach houses more 'seriously', and she was looking forward to having Regina help her with the process.
She just looked forward to seeing Regina again. Period. The last four weeks had been endless. Terrible torture. Emma felt like she had missed out on so much pregnancy stuff. But not kicking. Blueberry still hadn't kicked, and even though Emma probably wouldn't be able to feel it quite yet, she was definitely looking forward to seeing the look on Regina's face when it happened. Emma wondered what it would feel like for Regina.
Emma hadn't told Regina about the threats Neal had made. Nor was she going to. Regina had been through enough shit. She didn't need to get freaked out about this as well. And plus, Neal had been stinking drunk when making those ridiculous threats. All of it had just been drunken nonsense. There really was no reason to upset Regina. Emma stretched her neck again. Any moment now. God, she couldn't wait to hug Regina again! Four weeks were a fucking lifetime. And especially when your girlfriend was pregnant. How much would Regina have changed by now? From sixteen weeks pregnant to twenty weeks pregnant was a massive leap, and even though Emma had seen her belly on skype plenty of times, she doubted it could beat the real deal. Regina in the flesh. Touching her. Holding her. And preferably never letting go again. Emma knew that wasn't possible as of right now, but she was allowed to dream, right?
She shifted impatiently on her feet. Come on, Regina! Come on! The plane wasn't supposed to be delayed. Emma knew this because she had checked the arrival time five billion times since last night. Just to make sure that she had gotten it right. She had. The plane was supposed to have landed twenty minutes ago, so where we all the passengers, huh?! Emma sighed and scolded herself. She knew that she was being a bit of a baby, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to see Regina right now, damnit! She was seriously willing to slay the next person who called long distance relationships romantic. It was not. It was fucking torture, being separated from the person you loved. Anyone who thought differently had never been in a long distance relationship before! Emma huffed. If Regina didn't appear soon, Emma would have no choice but to stomp through the gate and find her herself. She chuckled a bit as she imagined herself actually doing that. She would definitely be kicked out if she tried.
Her cellphone chimed and Emma checked the message. It was from Ruby. 'Have you found your little Spanish beauty yet?'.
The answer to that was no. Emma had definitely not found her 'little Spanish beauty' yet. She chuckled softly to herself once more. Regina actually was pretty tiny. At least when she wasn't wearing heels. But while she was small, she was definitely still mighty. Emma almost shivered when she remembered how Regina had cussed out Neal in Spanish that night. Now that had been awfully sexy, and yeah, the conversation had definitely taken a turn once they had gotten the serious stuff out of the way. Emma had 'made up' for interrupting a pregnant woman during her 'self-care routine', and Regina had been wonderfully breathless and a bit dopey afterwards. She had forgotten how to speak English and had answered Emma in Spanish only until Emma had laughed and sweetly teased her girlfriend about the orgasm stealing her ability to speak English. Yeah, that had been a great night.
And this would be great too, Emma knew that. She was having her girlfriend over. For an entire week, Regina would be staying with her. Emma couldn't wait to catch up and talk and laugh and kiss Regina silly. And maybe, possibly doing other things too. Emma's smile grew a bit more wicked. Oh yes, she definitely had pretty good ideas as to what she and Regina could do at night instead of sleeping. And most of those ideas would undoubtedly make Regina to 'querida!' and then scold her in Spanish. Emma had missed that too a lot. Hearing Regina grumble in Spanish.
If only Regina would hurry up and get here. Emma did an impatient little dance as she glanced around in search of her girlfriend. Waiting these last few minutes was almost unbearable. She wanted to see Regina now, damnit. Wanted to hug her. Kiss her. And see how much her belly had changed since the last time. Regina was twenty weeks along now, and Emma almost couldn't believe it. According to the helpful little app Emma still was receiving notifications from, the baby was the size of a banana now. Weighing about 10.2 ounces and measuring 6.5 inches from crown to rump. Blueberry was not just a tiny little blob on a screen or a slight curve on Regina's stomach. From now on, Blueberry would be very, very visible.
According to the app, Regina was 'supposed' to suffer from leg cramps this week. Emma was more than willing to help out with some massage if that was required. Heartburn was another symptom, and Emma had done her reading about that too. Not too much spicy food. That would only make things worse. Then there was slight breathlessness and light swelling in the feet. Emma would remind Regina to put her feet up as much as she possibly could. And then there was Emma's favorite symptom of the week: high libido. Oh yes, according to the app, Regina's sex drive should be in full force, and knowing Regina's early morning activities in bed, Emma was very impressed with how spot on that little app was. Regina's sex drive was indeed in full force. Emma knew she had been frustrated for the past four weeks, and she couldn't wait to gallantly help her horny, pregnant girlfriend out. She grinned to herself. No more frustration. No more distance. At least not for a week. And no more Neal to bother or harass them. That idiot finally got what he deserved, thank god. With him out of her life, Emma could slowly but steadily start planning her move away from Storybrooke. The further she got away from him, the better. To think that that idiot had actually thought he could make her change her mind by kissing her! The hell kind of drugs was he even on?!
But Neal wasn't the reason she wanted to leave, of course he wasn't. This wasn't about Neal. This was about her, searching for new possibilities in California. All on her own. She was leaving the nest and all that. 3.235,7 miles away from Maine and Storybrooke and everything and everyone she knew. She would literally be on her own. No more popping round to the diner to catch up with her friends. Her parents would no longer be right around the corner if she needed them. Now she would have to fend for herself. Do things herself. Be a 'proper' adult and all that.
The thought still equally excited and terrified her. Good thing she wasn't moving tomorrow. She wasn't sure she would have been able to handle that. No, this slow planning was much, much better. And more sensible. She could already see herself and Regina check out different beach houses, pick out the best and then comment on it. Emma was looking forward to that. She was looking forward to making unrealistic plans for the future with Regina. A small chuckle escaped her as she allowed herself to get lost in the idea of a future in which she and Regina lived together in a cozy beach house on a beautiful beach. That wasn't unrealistic. That could actually happen someday. Regina had said so herself. Someday in the future, they could very well be living together. Emma so wanted that. More than anything. And it was pretty wonderful to imagine. To think that there someday would be a point where there wouldn't be an ocean between them anymore. One day, she would get the pleasure of waking up next to Regina every single day. No more saying goodbye. No more Skype calls. Just the two of them together.
But of course Emma was grateful for whatever amount of time she and Regina got to spend together. This week included. Two weeks would obviously have been better, but one week was great too. And maybe, just maybe, Emma would actually fly back to Spain with Regina. Just like the last time. Only this time minus any Cora-incidents. They'd had such a great time the last time, so yeah, Emma definitely wanted to go back to Spain with her girlfriend. If said girlfriend weren't too busy of course. Regina had had some late night shifts during the past weeks, and even though Emma didn't want her pregnant girlfriend to overdo it, she was of course was happy that Regina was earning money. Emma knew that Regina had been worried about her money situation, but it sure looked like everything was going well for her, and Emma was happy. She didn't want Regina to be worried about anything. She wanted her second and third trimester to be as calm and peaceful as possible. Her first trimester had been full of concerns and doubts and obstacles. Now it was Emma's simple duty to ensure that the rest of Regina's pregnancy would be going as smoothly as possible. No more concerns and worries. No matter what, this was a special time for Regina, and Emma wanted her to enjoy it as much as she possibly could. And should some kind of obstacle present itself, well, then Emma would simply have to make it go away. One way or the other.
Emma grumbled a little to herself. It really wasn't fair that life had thrown so much shit at Regina lately. She didn't deserve that. All of them, Cora and Robin and Marian could go straight to hell for all Emma cared. They were idiots belonging in the same category as Neal and his stupid parents did.
"Querida!"
Emma was immediately pulled out of her thoughts. She hastily looked up, and a smile blossomed on her lips at what she saw. Regina was quickly coming towards her, dragging her suitcase behind her and wearing a long sleeved, rust colored wrap dress with her usual denim jacket over it. She looked very autumnal. Her dark hair had been braided before rolled into a bun. She looked very 'grownup' all the sudden, maybe it was because of the hair or the fact that her dress lacked its usual flower pattern. But it wasn't her beauty that made Emma grin like an idiot. It was the fact that Regina carried herself just a little bit differently from the last time. She was... Well, she was WADDLING. Very, very slightly, but still noticeable from the last time. Like a right little penguin. Emma chuckled and her breath caught in her throat when she looked at the bump on Regina's stomach. No. Regina's stomach WAS the bump. Holy shit. Now there was absolutely no doubt that Regina was pregnant. And she looked stunning. Radiant. Glowing. Her cheeks had this rosy tint, and her eyes were sparkling with joy.
"Hi!" Emma laughed and flailed her arms like a mad person as Regina came closer.
Regina didn't waste anytime with hello's and how do you do's. She simply let go of her suitcase and more or less threw herself into Emma's arms.
Emma stumbled a little bit but quickly regained balance. And her grip on Regina. God forbid she should end up dropping her pregnant girlfriend! Fortunately enough, that didn't happen. Instead Emma tightened her grip and ended up lifting Regina, so her feet were dangling above the floor for a moment. Hugging Regina felt a bit different now. She was all bump. All pregnant belly in the way. Emma felt like she was hugging not one but two people right now, and it made her feel absolutely soft and mushy.
"Dios mío, te he extrañado mucho!" Regina said wetly against the crook of Emma's neck. She sounded very emotional, and Emma doubted that this 'just' was another case of hormones, because she too felt pretty emotional. These had been four long, long weeks!
"I've missed you too, beautiful girl," she said and jokingly spun Regina around.
Regina let out a little laugh and a: "¡Bésame, maldita sea!"
And of course Emma had absolutely no problem with doing that. She gently sat Regina on her feet and then kissed her. One hand cupping Regina's cheek and the other resting firmly against the small of Regina's back.
Regina threw her arms around Emma's neck to bring them closer, and Emma chuckled softly into the kiss because she could feel the bump being pressed into her own stomach. Regina had expanded beautifully since the last time, and Emma found it to be very, very sexy. Regina rocked the whole pregnant thing.
After a moment, Emma gently broke the kiss and took a step backwards so she could take another look at Regina.
Regina pouted a little. She was clearly not ready to stop kissing Emma, but this was an airport after all. Emma would prefer a little more privacy when kissing her girlfriend. Right now, said girlfriend was licking her lips nervously whilst smoothening her dress over the prominent bump.
"You look so stunning," Emma beamed.
Regina smiled. "Really?"
"Absolutely." Emma took her in her arms again. Didn't kiss her. Just held her close. Breathed in the scent of her flowery perfume.
Regina made a little humming sound. "It's good to be back."
"It's good to HAVE you back. Are you ready to drive back to Storybrooke?"
"Sí."
"Awesome. My mom is waiting with lunch," Emma chuckled. That was true. Mary Margaret had indeed said that she would make 'a special lunch' for Regina.
"That sounds nice," Regina said briskly, bending down to pick up her suitcase, but of course Emma beat her to it.
"Nope," the blonde said simply. "You are officially no longer allowed to bend down. At all."
"Right then," Regina rolled her eyes but did not protest, and Emma took Regina's hand in her own free one. She wasn't planning on letting go of Regina's hand for the next week. She hoped that Regina didn't mind that. And she had a feeling that Regina wouldn't.
Together they left the airport. Emma purposefully hovered back a little so she could look at Regina, and yep, there was that waddle again. Emma had to swallow back a grin. And an 'aww'. The slight penguin-esque walk Regina had adopted was positively adorable. The cutest freaking thing Emma had ever seen.
"You coming, querida?" Regina asked over her shoulder.
"Yep," Emma said quickly and pulled herself together. "Coming." Maybe Regina wasn't aware that she was waddling, and Emma didn't want to end up making her feel self-conscious or something. So she hastily caught up with Regina and took her hand again as they walked towards the exit. Emma couldn't have been happier. The sun was shining. It was a beautiful day for once. She had her girlfriend right here. What could possibly be better?
Emma grinned, and Regina glanced questioningly at her, but Emma offered no explanation.
They made it outside in the crisp, autumn sunshine. Regina immediately began fawning when she saw Emma's adorable little yellow bug. "Oh, I've missed your car, querida!" she said.
"The car has definitely missed you too," Emma quipped as she opened the boot of the car and shoved Regina's suitcase inside. She closed the boot again with a little click.
Regina chuckled at the bad joke and even more when Emma opened the door to the passenger seat with a: "your carriage awaits, Milady."
"Why thank you," Regina said and leaned in to press a quick kiss to Emma's cheek before ducking inside the car.
Emma went round the car and opened the door to the driver's side. She elegantly wiggled onto the seat, slammed the door and buckled her seatbelt.
Regina did the same. And huffed.
"Tight squeeze?" Emma guessed and tried not to smile at the way the seatbelt was being stretched out over Regina's baby bump.
"Something like that. Woops. There we go. ¡Lo hice!" Regina said triumphantly and grinned broadly when she managed to buckle the seatbelt over her bump.
"Awesome," Emma chuckled. "Then we're all good to go!" she twisted the key in the engine, and the car came alive with its usual roar.
"I've missed that sound too," Regina said lightly as she fished her phone out of the pocket of her denim jacket. "Excuse me for one second, I just have to text my dad and let him know that I've arrived safe and soundly. For some reason, he was really fussy about me flying. ¿No es eso el más lindo?" she chuckled softly.
"He drop you off at the airport?" Emma guessed.
"Mhmm. He did." Regina began texting, and Emma left her to it. She instead concentrated on finding her way away from the airport. They seemed to have hit a bit of a queue. Unfortunately. Damnit. The drive was already long enough. Emma wanted to get home as soon as possible so Regina could put her feet up or whatever. Regina would probably laugh when Emma said that, but seriously, Emma had read that Regina was supposed to put her feet up a lot. And just rest in general. This week in Storybrooke would be the most relaxing time Regina had had in weeks, Emma would make sure of that. No work, no cooking, no nothing. Just good old fashioned relaxation.
"There we are. All done," Regina announced as she put her phone away. "Where were we?"
"Stuck in a queue," Emma joked.
"Ah."
"How was the flight?" Emma asked. Might as well kill the time in a sensible manner. Talking to Regina.
"It was okay."
"Any nausea?"
"No," Regina chuckled. "Not this time, thank god. Nausea's gone."
"Awesome. Any... movement then?" Emma inquired. She had been asking Regina this question every single day, and she was assuming that Regina would laugh and call her silly, so it was a bit surprising when Regina instead of laughing frowned softly and simply said: "no."
"You worried?" Emma asked, quickly picking up on Regina's changed expression and tone.
"Yes. No. Not really." she adjusted a bit in the passengers seat and ran a hand over her growing bump. "I just... read so much about how it's normal that the baby starts moving between week 16 and week 20. But I don't know, other websites say that it can be as late as in week 25, so I suppose I have nothing to worry about."
"You wanna get a checkup?" Emma asked softly. "I could totally make that happen. Say the word and I'll ask Doc. He's been my doctor ever since I was a kid, and he's really nice."
"Eso es dulce," Regina said. "But it's okay, querida. I don't need a checkup."
"If you're worried-"
"I'm not worried," Regina interrupted and rolled her eyes. "I'm just paranoid because this is my first pregnancy and I have no idea what to expect." She laughed a tad hopelessly. "I still got a lot to learn about this subject."
"Learning by doing?" Emma offered and hoped that the little quip could lift the mood.
It did. Regina chuckled lightly. "Sí, something like that." She rubbed her round belly again.
Emma couldn't help but looking at her while navigating in the queue. A bit unsafe, but again, she couldn't help it. She had seen enough pregnant ladies to know that every pregnancy and every belly looked different. Regina's belly was round. Almost ball-shaped. It was quite fascinating, really.
"What?" Regina asked. She had of course noticed Emma staring at her.
"You're beautiful," Emma said as an answer and grinned.
"Stop it," Regina laughed. "My ass is twice it's usual size, and my boobs are all-" she gestured at her chest, clearly trying to illustrate a pair of balloons.
"Oh yeah? I can't wait to see it for myself..."
"Comportarse," Regina scolded. "Or I might have to ask you to pull over or something."
"Great! I can totally do that!"
"The queue is moving..."
At last they arrived in Storybrooke. Emma pulled up in front of her parents house and announced: "¡Bienvenido a Storybrooke!"
"Not bad," Regina laughed.
"See any Spanish lessons in my future, do you?" Emma flirted unabashedly and winked at her girlfriend.
"Maybe," Regina said in a tone that was just a bit too low to be considered completely 'decent'.
Emma leaned in and kissed her. She just had to. Couldn't resist it when her girlfriend was sitting there and looked so darn pretty.
Regina immediately returned the kiss, but it didn't take all that long before she laughed and playfully pushed Emma away. "Querida, your parents could be watching us."
"You're adorable when you're shy."
The look Regina shot her was positively spine-chilling. And dreadfully sexy. Emma mock shivered and clutched at her chest. "Careful, honey. You're going to make my heart stop."
That brought out another smile on Regina's pretty face. "Good," she joked as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "Now come on. I wanna see your parents." In one elegant, fluid and entirely too fast movement she was out of the car.
"Careful," Emma said a tad hopelessly. Regina was entirely too quick on her feet for her taste!
"YOU be careful," Regina teased and laughed heartedly, and normally, that kind of tone would have made Emma say something scandalous in return, but bearing in mind that her parents could come outside any moment, she refrained from doing so. Instead she got out of the car and almost ran round it to get to the boot first.
Regina pouted a little when Emma pulled her suitcase out right in front of her. "I could have done that myself," she insisted.
"Of course you could. But now I'm doing it, so suck it up," Emma snickered. Now it was her turn to tease.
Regina vaguely mumbled something in Spanish. Something Emma couldn't understand but still got the essence of. She chuckled to herself. Regina's dry, dry humor was the best thing since bear claws. Emma told her that, and Regina mock gasped while claiming that there surely was nothing better than bear claws.
"Is that the new craving?" Emma asked good-naturedly.
"Tal vez," Regina nodded and looked very thoughtful as though she was really considering the possibility of bear claws being a new craving.
"Well, if it is, we've got a nice stock just around the corner," Emma said and nodded towards Granny's Diner.
"Good thing," Regina quipped.
They made it to the front door. Of course Emma sprang into action and opened the door for her girlfriend.
"Gracias," Regina said with just a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"You're welcome, honey," Emma teased.
Regina flashed her a overbearing look as she walked up the steps to the porch and then inside the hallway. Emma carefully closed the door behind them, but even before she had gotten the chance to announce that they were here, Mary Margaret eagerly came into the hallway. Maybe she had in fact been watching them from the window like Regina had claimed. Emma didn't know whether to feel horrified or amused.
"Regina, my dear!" Mary Margaret gushed and clapped her hands together. "Oh my goodness, look at you! You look wonderful!"
"Gracias, Mary Margaret," Regina said politely and smiled. "Sí, as you can see, things has happened since the last time..."
"You look wonderful!" Mary Margaret firmly repeated as she came over and gave Regina a hug. Emma could see that her mom was being extremely careful, and that made her smile.
"It's wonderful to have you back, dear. Emma's been moping-"
"Mom!" Emma protested.
Regina tilted her head. "Has she indeed?"
"No!" Emma barked.
"Just a smidge," Mary Margaret corrected with a chuckle and turned her attention to Regina once more. "How are you feeling, dear?"
"I feel pretty good actually. A lot more comfortable although I am struggling a bit with back pains at night from time to time."
"You've never told ME that!" Emma said a tad offended.
Regina blinked innocently. "I don't have to tell you everything, do I?"
Emma grumbled under her breath. Regina could be such a cheeky little thing sometimes. And if hadn't been for her mother's presence, Emma definitely would have told her that.
Now Emma's father came into the hallway to greet. He smiled at Regina, hugged her carefully and complimented on how well she looked. Regina smiled and said thank you and told how wonderful it was to be here again.
Emma fully agreed with that. It was indeed wonderful that Regina was back here again.
"Come in, come in," Mary Margaret sang. "I've prepared lunch! Well, actually, I popped over to Granny's and fetched us some burgers, but I figured that would be nice for you to have for lunch. They're still warm and everything."
"You fetched us burgers?" Regina asked with stars in her eyes and looked as though Mary Margaret had just offered her the moon.
"Yes," Mary Margaret smiled. "I had a feeling you would like that."
"You hungry?" Emma asked softly.
"Sí," Regina admitted with a nod. "I really am quite hungry. All the time."
David smiled good naturedly at that. "Well, it's a good thing we have everything ready. Come on in, Regina, and let's get some food in you."
"Good idea, dad," Emma applauded with a grin.
She and Regina freed themselves from their coats and shoes, and Emma left Regina's suitcase to temporarily stand in the hallway. They could always take it upstairs later. Meaning that Emma could always take it upstairs later. God forbid that Regina should lift anything! She was definitely not allowed to do that as long as Emma was around. Soon they were sitting in the kitchen. Regina was happily munching on her burger, obviously trying to be polite and not eat too fast. Emma gave her arm a little squeeze. A silent approval to knock herself out if she needed to. Regina was pregnant. She was more than allowed to eat as fast as she damn well pleased.
"How is Sofía and Alessandra?" Mary Margaret chitchatted. "Emma told me that you went to dinner at their place a few weeks back."
Regina nodded. Carefully chewed and swallowed before answering: "Sí, that's right. It was a really lovely evening. They're very sweet, both of them. And excited to meet their baby. Already have the nursery ready and everything." she took another bite of the burger.
"How nice," Mary Margaret smiled.
Regina turned her attention to Emma: "so, querida, are you excited about your birthday tomorrow?"
Emma had just taken a big bite of her burger and had to settle for a vague: "uhmm..."
Regina raised an eyebrow while David chuckled and Mary Margaret said: "really, Emma! You shouldn't stuff your mouth like that."
Emma rolled her eyes as she chewed and swallowed. Her mom probably had a point though. Her throat ached a little. She cleared it and did her best to give a better response: "yeah, I mean, sure. It's my birthday, right? I suppose that's special."
"'Suppose'," Regina echoed and wrinkled her nose. "Querida, it IS special! Of course it is!"
"Regina's right," Mary Margaret agreed.
"Yeah, I know, it's just... twenty nine." Emma made a face.
"What's wrong with twenty nine?" Regina asked and frowned. "As far as I'm concerned, that's a great number!"
Emma wasn't so sure she agreed. Twenty nine was a big fat number. And especially when Regina was sitting here and looked so ridiculously fresh faced and perky. But she knew that if she said that, Regina would start fussing, so she settled for making a slight "hrrmph" sound only to immediately regret it because she realized how fucking old THAT made her sound.
Regina chuckled. She hadn't picked up on it. "So, what is the plan for tomorrow, querida? We're going to the Rabbit Hole, sí?"
"Yup, that's right," Emma confirmed with a nod. "But it's not gonna be anything wild at all. Just some dancing." she made a face. "And I'm pretty sure Ruby is gonna convince me to drink a birthday shot or something..."
"Hopefully not twenty nine of them," Mary Margaret muttered.
"Knowing Ruby it'll probably be something like that," Emma teased but then shook her head. "No, mom, obviously not. I'm not planning on getting wasted or anything."
"So, first Granny's Diner for a birthday dinner and then the Rabbit Hole?" Regina asked. "That sounds great, querida. I cannot wait to spend your birthday with you!"
"Me neither," Emma smiled. She was literally so happy Regina could be here for her birthday! That was the best gift of them all, and Emma hadn't even received any presents yet. But speaking of that...
"Did you buy me something pretty?" she sweetly teased her girlfriend.
Regina did that adorable thing where she scrunched up her nose. "That's for me to know. And you... to find out."
"Can I get a hint? Please?"
"No," Regina said sternly and scrunched up her nose again.
"Aww man!" Emma mock pouted.
"Emma, there's actually something we have to ask you," Mary Margaret said a bit suddenly.
"Okay?" Emma asked, turning her attention to her mom. "What is it then?"
"It's so terribly bad timing," Mary Margaret complained. "But the thing is... Well, you remember that your father and I had decided to go on that trip to Vermont in three weeks' time?"
"The one at the spa hotel, yeah. The hotel you're going to stay at in a week," Emma said mock jealously and flashed her mom a grin. "Yep, I remember. What about it?"
"The hotel mucked it up," David said with a headshake. "They accidentally double booked our room and there are no other rooms available that week..."
"No way, seriously?" Emma said and felt tempted to call the stupid hotel right away and complain. Her parents had so been looking forward to that trip for ages now! This was not fair!
"Yes, with the room unavailable, the trip in three weeks is out of the question," Mary Margaret said.
"So, it's cancelled then? Really? That sucks!"
"The hotel offered us a type of compensation," David said.
"Oh? What kind of compensation? You guys already paid the room in advance, right? You're getting your money back?"
"Not quite," her mom said and wringed her hands slightly. "But they did offer to knock half of the price off the room. If we go to Vermont this week instead."
"This week?" Emma said a bit surprised.
"Yes." Mary Margaret frowned. "It means that we would have to go tomorrow night, but it's your birthday, and I don't know. It doesn't seem right to just drive off on your birthday..."
"I completely agree," David said. "We can't just go to Vermont on your birthday. It's not right."
"And when Regina just got here," Mary Margaret added and shook her head. "The timing couldn't be more terrible!"
"Mom, dad," Emma chuckled. "You guys have been looking forward to this trip for almost six months. Mom, you haven't had a day off in... fuck, if I know how long-"
"Language, Emma."
"My point is," Emma said, ignoring her mom's attempt at scolding. "That of course you guys should go. I mean, come on, you probably won't get the option to take the day off anytime soon, will you?"
"No, probably not," Mary Margaret agreed.
"And besides, it's not like Regina is NEVER coming back after this time, is it, Regina?" Emma jokingly asked her girlfriend.
"Of course I'm coming back," Regina scoffed.
"See?" Emma turned to her parents. "Plenty of time to spend time with your favorite daughter-in-law..."
"Querida, I'm their ONLY daughter-in-law," Regina pointed out.
Ignoring that, Emma continued: "we could have that birthday dinner a little earlier. Maybe turn it into brunch instead or something, and then you guys could go afterwards. How about that?"
"Well, that is actually not a bad idea, honey," David said and looked at his wife.
Mary Margaret still looked hesitant. She carefully scanned Emma's face. "Are you sure you won't mind us leaving on your birthday, sweetie? I'm not sure I like it..."
"I'm a big girl, mom," Emma chuckled. "And it's not like I'm gonna be left here all on my own, is it?"
Regina flashed her a little smile. "My offer about singing a Spanish birthday song still stands, mi amor."
"See?" Emma said to her parents and grinned. She would love to hear Regina sing her a Spanish birthday song.
"It IS a one time chance, Mary Margaret," David pointed out. "And Emma's right. Who knows when you'll get the chance to take some time off. And you need some time away from work. We talked about it as late as yesterday..."
"That is true," Mary Margaret said and smiled at her husband. "Very well then. We're going to Vermont. But not until we've wished Emma a happy birthday and celebrated appropriately with her! And we will come back one day early to say goodbye to Regina and wish her a good trip home!"
"Deal," David said and gave his wife's and a squeezed. He glanced at Emma and mouthed 'thank you'.
Emma mouthed 'your welcome' at him and felt rather satisfied with herself. Of course her parents should go on the trip they had been planning for ages. Of course her mom should take some time away from work and get the chance to relax properly.
But Emma was not a complete angel. Her nudging had had some ulterior motives to it. She had seen an opportunity and grasped it with both hands. And now she and Regina had the whole house to themselves for almost a full week. An empty house. No risks of being interrupted or walked in on. No reason to be quiet or discreet.
Emma turned her head and flashed her girlfriend a little smile.
Regina returned the smile, but she also rolled her eyes just the slightest bit. Of course she knew the hidden reason behind Emma's nudging. She had figured out Emma's ulterior motives.
Emma merely lifted her shoulders once in an oh-so-innocent shrug. She hadn't done anything, really. Nothing what so ever. Just given her parents a little nudge out of the door, that was all...
To Be Continued...
Spanish translations:
Dios mío, te he extrañado mucho!= Oh my god, I've missed you so much!
¡Bésame, maldita sea!= Kiss me, damn it!
Eso es dulce= That is sweet.
Comportarse= Behave.
¡Bienvenido a Storybrooke!= Welcome to Storybrooke!
Tal vez= Maybe.
Gracias= Thank you.