I'm so sorry, I had more writer's block, but I'll try and be more consistent with the updates. I hope you guys like this update, I honestly didn't know what I was doing. (but when do I ever?) Anyways, pretty please send feedback, stay safe, and I hope you enjoy! Love you!

Mal didn't know what to expect from her pregnancy. She absolutely hated being pregnant with Lily, especially during the summer when the months were one long heatwave. She was even more skeptical about being physically attached to Regina for nine months, after knowing her for less than six months. Mal was glad she took the leap. She was in love with the baby inside her, and even more in love with Regina.

Regina was amazing with Mal. She wouldn't be too clingy and worry about Mal too much, but still kept an eye out for her and made sure she was comfortable.

Mal's pregnancy was totally different from her first. For one, she had a child and a girlfriend to watch over her, whereas she didn't have anyone looking out for her when she was pregnant the first time.

When she was pregnant with Lily, Mal didn't have nearly as enjoyable a time as she did now. She would pass out during the day at the most odd of times, which eventually resulted in a bad head injury, she was constantly feeling sick, and Lily's kicking would keep her up at night.

With her second time over, she was much more comfortable. The baby rarely ever kicked at night, she didn't pass out, and she wasn't as grumpy as she was before. Most importantly, she wasn't alone.

Regina loved cooking. She did it all the time and prided herself in winning a few prizes for her apple pies during the fairs she went to with her father. She's never had trouble cooking, unless it was for Mal. She had cravings that changed by the minute, which never helped when she was in charge of cooking.

Mal always apologized, but Regina always said she didn't have to; she couldn't control her cravings so she shouldn't apologize for something she didn't do. She wasn't mad at Mal for the cravings and endless leftovers, she blamed the child's decision-making. Must've gotten that from their father, Regina thought.

Work was getting harder for Mal. She wasn't big enough for her size to be a problem yet, it was the migraines, the sore feet, about to swell in a few weeks, and the Braxton-Hicks contractions that suddenly made their appearance. If there was any time that Regina was the most worried for her, it was when Mal had her false labour contractions. Mal tried to play them off, but her contractions hurt more than Lily's did.

To get her through the contractions, Regina always talked about the baby names she thought about since the last time they happened. Now that the Braxton-Hicks contractions were occurring less and less, it's been a while since they talked about names.

Regina went to work as usual, which left Mal and Lily alone. Lily was obsessed with the baby, talking about her "new best friend" and what Regina was going to name her.

"You and Gina should name the baby 'Mary.'" Lily suggested.

"I don't get to choose what Regina chooses," Mal said kindly.

"Why not? You have the baby inside you, so you should pick too."

"It doesn't work like that, remember? Regina's baby is in my belly, she's not mine."

"Because of magic," Lily confirmed. Mal grinned and nodded. "So what's Gina gonna name her?"

"I don't know. Maybe we could both ask her tonight," Mal suggested cheekily. Lily nodded eagerly and giggled.

"I'll tell Gina that she should name her Mary or Rain!"

"Not Rain."

"Why?"

"Because I don't think Gina would like that name."

"I think she will."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because Gina loves me so she'll pick my name."

"Gina might love you, but you won't ever convince her to name a child 'Rain.'" Lily giggled and bounced around on the couch.

"I like Rain. It's a character from a book Gina read me." Mal laughed and rolled her eyes sarcastically.

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"Please name her Rain," Lily begged. She pouted her lip and clasped her hands, while Regina knelt in front of her.

"I don't like the name Rain."

"Why not?"

"It's hard to explain."

"Why don't you like the name Rain," Lily asked with big eyes. Mal grinned from across the room.

"Yeah Gina, I would like to know why you don't like the name Rain," Mal chimed in devilishly. Regina mock-glared at her from across the room.

"You don't call me Gina, only Lily can do that."

"Don't change the subject."

"Fine. It just sounds like a hippy name and I don't want to name my child after a weather condition." Mal laughed loudly, while Regina raised her eyebrows impatiently at her and Lily looked between the both of them, confused.

"Mommy, what's a hippy?" Lily wondered, still looking between Regina and Mal. Regina started laughing while Mal sobered up and floundered, which only made Regina laugh harder.

"You'll learn in a little while," Mal said. "How about we go to the bakery downtown? I feel like getting brownies today," Mal suggested.

"Okay!" Lily skipped off to the living room to grab her stuffed hippo, while Mal sighed and chuckled breathily. Mal always distracted Lily when she asked an uncomfortable question, but Regina thought Lily was smart and would catch on soon.

"Distracting her? Again?"

"What are you thinking of naming the baby?" Regina snickered darkly.

"Really? You're trying that on me too?"

"This time I'm not. I want to know what you're thinking."

"Well, I'm not really sure yet. I think I've always wanted to name a daughter either Arrow, Amelia, or maybe Zelda."

"I like Zelda. It's beautiful."

"I think so too. It sounds strong." Regina dipped down to Mal's belly and kissed it through the fabric of her shirt. "Hello, Zelda." Regina smiled and looked up at Mal with teary eyes.

"Don't cry or you'll make me cry," Mal said.

"You're not the crying type," Regina teased.

"I know. That's why I'm not letting my hormones do it for me." Mal laughed wetly and rubbed her belly. Regina laid her hand on top of Mal's and kissed her belly again, before getting up.

"Let's go get brownies, then." Mal nodded and wiped at the corners of her eyes quickly. She ran upstairs to help Lily get ready to go out. Regina's eyes followed Mal's receding form up the stairs. When she disappeared from view, she pulled out her phone and pulled up a text message to Henry.

Daddy, we found a name for your granddaughter. We're naming her Zelda. Regina was grinning when she put her phone away. A few seconds later, it buzzed on the counter, lighting up with a new message.

That's a perfect name. I'm so happy for you both. Regina hugged the phone to her chest before she realized she was supposed to respond.

I can't wait for you to meet her.

Me too. Regina smiled down at the screen as Lily and Mal came thundering back down the stairs.

"I told my dad about the baby's name," Regina said excitedly. "He loves it." Mal grinned brightly and dropped Lily's blanket to hug Regina.

"I'm so happy for you, sweetie," Mal whispered into Regina's hair. She kissed her and Lily hopped up and down beside them.

"Mommy, lift me!" Mal complied and almost lifted Lily, before Regina took her instead.

"No lifting heavy things," Regina scolded lightly. Mal scoffed.

"I can do anything I want." Regina kissed her languidly once more and smirked.

"Of course you can."

"What did you name my sister?" Mal opened her mouth to correct Lily, but Regina shook her head, grinning.

"We're naming her Zelda. From what I remember, it means 'happy,' 'blessed,' and 'dark battle.'"

"I think Rain sounds better," Lily grumbled, "but I guess Zelda's okay." Regina smiled and kissed Lily on the cheek.

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Regina thought a lot about her family. What her mother would think about her child, but she already vowed that she would keep Zelda away from her mother's grasp at all costs. She imagined how her father and Zelda would interact. She didn't have a doubt in her mind that the two would be inseparable. She was the same.

Mal never talked about family. It seemed Lily was the only family she had. She never talked about parents, grandparents, siblings, it started to make Regina think she didn't have one.

The next day was a Saturday, so Regina promised herself that she would ask tomorrow.

They both had an early start to their day, with Regina forgetting to turn off her work alarm and waking them both up at 5:30. Mal fell right back asleep, but Regina couldn't, so she made a small breakfast of waffles for the three of them when Mal woke up.

Regina had trouble keeping her eyes open, but Mal was cheerier than usual today. Lily was grumpy, as she always was in the mornings, but she perked right up when she noticed a plate of waffles made for her. Regina loved their Saturday mornings in bed, but it was getting old; she wanted to do something else for today.

"We should go to the park today," Regina said, focusing her gaze on the plate in front of her instead of Mal. Lily bounced slightly and smiled.

"Yeah! I wanna play on the playground."

"I think that can be arranged," Regina said coyly. Lily grinned even wider. Mal sighed like she was conflicted.

"Alright, I guess so," she said, having trouble keeping the smile out of her voice. Lily smiled at the both of them and kept eating her waffles.

Soon, the three were getting dressed to go. Lily was calmer than usual and less bouncy, giving Mal an easier time in getting Lily's socks on.

It was a nice day, the start of summer making the air warmer and more bearable than Maine's normal temperatures. Lily held the hands of Regina and Mal as they walked along the concrete path leading to the playground. Lily was swinging both women's hands and hummed a little song to herself, while Regina and Mal talked.

"We should go on a date again sometime. It's been a while since we went out without a tiny little human following us around," Regina suggested. Mal smiled at the thought of having alone time with Regina. They haven't been on a date since Mal was around two months pregnant, but their date was cut short by morning sickness.

"I would love that."

"Good," Regina smirked. "I have a date idea I've been wanting to try for a while." Mal smiled back at her and kissed her, with Lily cringing and making gagging noises.

"Oh hush, Lily, you've seen Regina kiss me before," Mal said, laughing. Lily was about to make more disgusted sounds, when Regina suddenly tugged Lily's hand. The bright yellow, green, red and blue playground was visible up ahead, almost entirely surrounded by trees.

"Do you want to go play on the playground?" Regina asked her. Lily nodded eagerly and ran off, the other two trailing behind. Regina and Mal found a park bench in front of the playground and sat down gingerly. They watched Lily play for a while, until Regina found the silence deafening.

"You've met my parents," Regina started, "when am I able to meet yours?" Mal turned to Regina.

"My father left my mother and I when I was three and I don't know where my mother is. I'm afraid there's not much to meet," Mal said.

"Oh. Were you close?"

"I wasn't very close with either of my parents and I filed for emancipation at 13. That was the last time I ever saw my mother."

"Where did you go after that?"

"I had an aunt who let me stay at her vacation condo for a month, but I couldn't get a job until I was fifteen. I bounced around a bit, but I found a place to stay after a while. I met Lily's father when I was sixteen and he gave me a place to stay, better food than the stale things I had previously. The rest is history."

"You're strong, you know that? I wouldn't be able to do that and get where you are now."

"I didn't think so. I've had my fair share of unlucky events happen before the good ones rolled around."

"I wanna know them. All your stories."

"All of them?"

"Every single one. I would like to learn how you are and just how determined you are." Mal smiled and looked down at her shoes.

"I don't know about determined..."

"You are. I didn't know how much you've been through."

"Yes, well the past is the past. I can't change it, so the best thing for me is to acknowledge it and let it remind me every day how lucky I am." Regina smiled softly, tears filling her eyes.

"I love you so much," she whispered.

"I love you too," Mal replied. "I would like to know all of your stories as well. You're just as strong as me and I want to know who you are, and who you used to be." Regina nodded.

"Deal. How about tomorrow, on our date."

"And every day after that," Mal said, grinning brightly.