A/N: I was jumping through hoops to get this edited and posted earlier this week. Hopefully this makes up for the late post. Happy reading!
7.
Before, in two parts
I. One Sleeps, Two Return
The shepherd is very cute when he sleeps. There was a time that she would've reveled at this. Snow White's prince put under a sleeping curse that she crafted with no way of him waking with True Love's kiss. It would have tortured the princess to know this, and the Evil Queen would've danced. She rolls her eyes at the thought as she steps further into the cold back room of Gold's shop. That is not the reason she is here. And why is it so cold in here? She really needs to invest in a coat that closes around her growing bump, unlike this one.
She dreamed of him last night. It was the first dream that she had of him that didn't end with her coming on top of him, a string of expletives rolling from her tongue. He was with their son. It is confirmed now, the results sticking to her fridge by an apple shaped magnet. Yep, definitely a boy, the sonographer laughed at her. Though he wasn't a baby. Two or three at the most, barely as tall as the shepherd's knees as he bounded toward him. In the dream, their son was blonde, like his father, like his sister—it would be her luck to have a baby who looks like Emma Swan. And she doesn't know how to feel about that dream that she forced herself to wake up from.
It is bad enough, already, that she has a stirring low in her belly whenever she sees him with Henry. Like yesterday, when Henry pulled him into a hug before he was pricked with the spindle, put under the curse. Or whenever he lets Henry win at games even though she knows that he has the winning card or the winning move.
"You are an idiot for doing this, shepherd," she whispers. It's the first time that she can really say what she feels without Henry being there. Or Rumple, for that matter. Henry has run off to wherever he goes when he is upset with her. Angry that she did not stop Rumple from crafting his little spell that will kill anyone who enters Storybrooke through the portal at the well. And while it gives her great pleasure to know that her mother may not venture into Storybrooke to torment her life any further. She knows that she cannot let Gold go through with this.
She has weighed her options. Her life would be so much easier if she were rid of Snow White and Emma for good. She would have Henry for herself, and she wouldn't have to explain to Snow how she fucked her husband. But she knows Henry will never forgive her if she lets them die. This is the first time that he has been angry—really, angry—at her in a very long time. She hates it more than anything. And then there's her other son, she thinks as she rubs under the curve of her belly where her baby's somersaults settle down now that she is near David. If she lets Emma and Snow die, no one will be there to wake David. And her baby will only know that his father is stuck in dreams.
Such a complete idiot, she thinks and pulls a blanket over him. It is so cold in here.
Henry.
That is who she is thinking of when she absorbs the spell. All she wants is for him to be happy and if that means ensuring Emma and Snow White a safe return, then it is her only option. Even if that does mean that she is inviting her mother into Storybrooke to wreak havoc. She is nearing her seventh month of pregnancy, and this is not a smart idea. But she tends to act first and think later when fueled by her emotions. It is more uncomfortable than anything and the baby punches and kicks in retaliation. But from what she feels afterwards, he is fine. A little unsettled but moving. And she doesn't feel any pain which is the most important thing.
"Mom!" Henry calls out. She can hear the panic in his voice as she rests against the tree. It boosts her energy just enough to turn to him and give him the most forced smile of her life. He doesn't need to worry about her. She rubs soothing circles on her stomach, but she knows the baby will not settle until she sees David.
"I'm fine, my prince," she tells him.
"You did it," Henry throws his hands around her. "You saved them."
"Go," she kisses his forehead. "Be with your family."
It is with a heavy heart and tired eyes that she watches Emma be reunited with their son. She can't remember the last time he embraced her like that, smiled for her like that. And then there's Snow, who instead of embracing her grandson, is staring at her doe eyed.
"You're pregnant?"
When her words fail her, her only response is to nod. And for once she is glad for the girl's dimwitted hope. She is not sure why she goes with the Charming's to Gold's shop. But she is there when Snow wakes David with True Love's kiss. David is happy to see Snow and Emma, of course. But it is short lived when Henry tells him immediately how Mom saved them. She absorbed Gold's spell. She is good! David's eyes grow wide and his head snaps in her direction, standing awkwardly in the corner. They have learned to read each other in his wife and daughter's absence, so he can read clearly that she does not want him to make a big deal out of it. That he should talk to his wife she does not want to be there.
He understands, gives her a single nod of the head, and turns back to his wife. She disappears without a word and it's like she was never even there. He is going to tell her soon, she knows. She wants all of the peace she can get before that confrontation.
II. After
She sits on her bed and rubs at her temples. The headache that has been building in intensity over the last few days has finally peaked. Regina hangs her head, watches as droplets from her hair, wet from a shower, fall to her thighs. The droplets darken the gray sweatpants that she wears. She slept restlessly with thoughts of David and Snow White, True Love's Kiss, and how their son was created from something that was not. They plagued her dreams and at some point, during the night, she gave up on sleeping. Sat up against her pillows in the dark.
The water from her shower had turned cold before she realized that she fell asleep on the couch. David must've carried her upstairs. It gives her pause to think that, but the shepherd does wield a sword. One must be both mentally and physically strong to do so. The thoughts of her baby's father brings her attention to her baby. David's visit last night did not calm him. And his movements woke her early this morning after she finally managed to fall back asleep. Though they are not wildly frantic as they were yesterday evening, they are still more than he normally exhibits. Something must be wrong she thinks, and she calls Whale, who does not tell her to come in immediately—which gives her some sort of relief—but to come in at some point today.
She dresses in the dark of her closet and nearly trips on the box of diapers that she forgot she stowed in there before the nursery was cleared out and painted. Her car keys fall to the floor in her haste to leave for the hospital. During her struggle to bend and pick them up off the floor, her eyes spot the rocking horse. It is still sitting in the living room where David—the valiant, gift giving shepherd—placed it in front of the coffee table last night. If something is wrong, he should know.
"It's me," she says when he answers. He knows it's her. This realm has the magic of caller ID. But she suddenly doesn't know what to say to him. "I'm on my way to the hospital."
"Is everything alright?"
"I-I don't know."
She is sitting in the waiting room, flipping through a magazine when he arrives. He is out of breath like he ran there but she knows that's not true. She heard the rattling of his truck's engine a mile before it turned into the parking lot. She's not so sure she will want him transporting their newborn son in it when he arrives. He did not tell her over the phone that he was coming so she is surprised that he's there. And she wonders how his wife is taking all of this.
One thing that she likes about the shepherd is that he is as comfortable with silence as she is. David won't ask her to talk, nor will he start a conversation and try and goad her into joining. He grabs a magazine and flips it open. From what she can see he's opened it straight to a Huggie's ad. They haven't done this together yet. After her last few appointments, she updated him on the baby's wellbeing during conversation whenever they saw each other next. It doesn't feel strange to be here with Snow White's prince. But she's sure they look odd sitting here together, the Evil Queen and Prince Charming.
When the nurse calls her back, David gives her a reassuring smile. He makes no move to follow her. The smile is one that she returns, and it is a real one, not forced. And she finds herself turning back to him, and asking, "Would you like to come back with me?"
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
He is like a kid on Christmas, David, when hears their son's heartbeat for the first time. And she thinks that maybe, just maybe, everything will be okay in the end.
After
"Cheater!" Regina calls out with a grin as Henry claims victory in Uno for the third time in a row. He throws his hands in the air triumphantly and exclaims proudly that there's finally, something you're not good at! It's true, she is terrible. His prize for winning is that he can stay up an hour later than his bedtime and he zooms to his video games. She watches him play for a while, enjoying time spent with him. They have finally been able to talk about how…complicated things are. That he now shares a brother with his birth mother. She ruffles his hair before disappearing into the kitchen.
The dishwasher stopped not too long ago, and she burns her fingers on a plate as she moves to unload it. She hisses out a swear word, a strange combination of shit and fuck. Her head snaps back in the direction of the living room. Henry is too distracted by his game to have heard her. It really isn't the hot plate or her finger that have her in such a mood. She's been having contractions since last night. And she and David, it was more her than him, got into an argument after dinner. He cooked lasagna because she wanted it and she snapped at him for not bringing the trashcan back from the end of the driveway. It was petty and so very domestic, she realized how stupid it was when he walked out of the door. I'm going to go for a drive he told her. He always knows when she needs space. But that is going on two hours ago.
He doesn't answer when she calls. The third time she leaves a voicemail. David, I'm sorry. Call me, please. She doesn't realize Henry is in the kitchen—and it's very hard to sneak up on her—until he is standing directly in front of her. He asks her if she's okay as he grabs a bottle of water from the fridge, and she lies and tells him yes. She is about to go back into the living room with him when her cellphone rings in her hand. Her eyebrows draw together in confusion. It is the hospital. And her heart plummets. She is still listed as David's emergency contact.
They have come so far, and it would be her luck for the universe to rip him away from her now when their son can come at any day now. Her free hand reaches out to grab the counter in front of her. She can see now how some women go through labor without medication. Contractions are like a wave. "H-hello?" She answers.
"Hey," comes David's voice on the other end. "It's me."
"David," she breathes a sigh of relief, starts shooting off rapid fire questions. Are you alright? What happened? Where's your phone? Why didn't you answer?
"I'm sorry I missed your calls. I left my phone at your place," he explains. "A tire blew out in my truck. I lost control, totaled it. I'm okay, I promise."
"I can come sit with you."
"No, no. You need to rest. Emma's here," he says. "She'll drive me back to your place. See you soon."
Emma drops him off thirty-two minutes later. But her knee doesn't stop bouncing as she sits on the couch until she sees him standing there in the foyer. Henry, she has let him wait up for David with her, makes it to him first. And she notices that David does not give him the big bear hug that he usually gives his grandson. Henry tells him that he's glad you're okay and David says I am, too, kid. They discuss their preplanned schedule for tomorrow. Emma confirms that she will pick Henry up after school tomorrow before disappearing out of the door.
"You've got school tomorrow," David says and orders Henry upstairs to bed. They watch him as he goes as they stand shoulder to shoulder in her foyer. David turns to lock the door.
"What hurts?" she asks him.
"Dislocated shoulder."
Most of her memories of him for the length of her pregnancy involve him bleeding or unconscious or about to have his heart crushed by her wicked mother. She does not like it. And she does not know how to express it. So, when he turns around, she hugs him. Wraps her arms around his waist as not to hurt whichever shoulder is injured. She hugs him at an awkward angle, more to the side since her bump prevents a full-on chest to chest hug. David gasps his surprise. She doesn't usually initiate any physical contact beyond small touches. But he hugs her back, nonetheless. His lips touch her temple, a whisper of a kiss. Her fingers dig into the fabric of his leather jacket.
"David, I'm so sorry,"
"Ah, ah," he says with a smile. "You've got nothing to be sorry for. C'mon, let's get some sleep."
She wakes to a terrible bout of heartburn and groans internally as to not wake David who is sleeping beside her. It was not wise of them to stay up after one when they need all of the rest they can get before the baby arrives. But she decided last night, as she climbed into his bed in the second guest room that they've finally got around to sorting, that she doesn't like the middle name they chose anymore. They stayed up late discussing a possible name change before falling asleep. The last time she looked at a clock it was around 1:09 AM. Thankfully, her antiacid medication is sitting on the nightstand, and she doesn't have to rolls out of bed—she can't sit straight up anymore—and walk to her bathroom. David must've grabbed it after she fell asleep.
They have only shared a bed twice more since she stayed at his room at Granny's. She prefers sleeping alone, contrary to popular belief. But she enjoys watching David wake up in the morning a little bit more. The way he scrunches up his nose and mouth as he stretches, a yawn escaping him. His yawn is then followed by a frown which she always laughs at. He is not a morning person. But the frown immediately turns into a smile when his blue eyes open to find her brown ones watching him. She is always up before him, whether that is due to heartburn, minor contractions, or running to the bathroom because the baby is on her bladder.
Sleep doesn't find her easily after that and she finds herself staring at David's back. He is not wearing a shirt—never does to bed—so he must've taken it off when he got up to get her medicine. She reaches out to run her fingers through his hair. It's time for a trim but she won't tell him that. A smile tugs on her lips as she remembers the dream, she had all those weeks ago of David and their son. She does not expect Whale to hand her a blonde-haired baby, but she won't be disappointed if he does. David stirs awake under her touch. She scratches at his scalp lightly with her fingernails as he goes through the motions of his morning routine. She doesn't get to watch his face firsthand due to his injured shoulder. As he turns to face her, slowly, her hand drops to a caress of his cheek.
"Good morning," he yawns.
"Good—mmph!"
David stares at her. A sleepy look of confusion on his face. Something inside her just popped and as she scrambles up against the pillows, presses a hand to her stomach, to decipher where exactly she felt it, a gush of fluid escapes her. It's not as dramatic as the movies make it. "My water just broke."
It is not David who panics. She does.
Several hours later, she is tucked away in the pantry, grabbing a granola bar to snack on when her first real contraction hits her. All of the others have been manageable and about eight to nine minutes apart, barely thirty seconds in length. This pain is so intense that she nearly doubles over in pain. Oh, no she thinks. And it's not that she's in disbelief because something is wrong. It is just that shit just got real, very fast. Her pain has gone from a four to a nine in less than four hours. Whale had instructed them when they called after her water broke, that they should come to the hospital when her contractions were five minutes apart and lasting for one full minute each. Trust me, you'll know when it's time.
"You mean to tell me it gets worse?" She grits out at Emma, who is there to take Henry as they agreed. But it is looking more and more like he will be staying more than the night. Emma thinks it will be best with the baby and all that. She zoned out during the conversation, riding the wave of contractions.
"You're a strong woman, Regina," Emma says. "You got this."
"I can't believe he's going to beat my guess by one day," Henry says as he stuffs his school sweater into his school bag for tomorrow.
"He could still come tomorrow," Emma says. And when she glares at her, adds, "Or not."
She hears David shuffling around in the foyer. He is packing the car, so that when it's time to go to the hospital they can just leave. Which will probably be as soon as he finishes. Henry gives her a hug and whispers to her stomach can't wait to meet you. She drops a kiss to his forehead as she walks him and Emma to the door. Emma gives her shoulder a squeeze as she leaves. Henry stops to fist bump David before going to Emma's beetle. David waves goodbye to them and he looks like a grandpa as he watches them driveway, she thinks with a laugh.
She parts ways with a very pleasant dream and drifts back to reality. People are talking around her in quiet voices. It is a combination of them whispering and the slow rhythm and beep of machines that wake her completely. Thump, thump, thump, thump. A slow smile breaks across her face as she listens to her baby's heartbeat. She opens her eyes to find David standing beside the bed. He smiles down at her, hand stroking her hair, a hey, sleepy head escaping his lips. She fell asleep right after the epidural kicked in. His hand drops to her cheek in the same manner as hers did this morning in bed. She is not sure what prompts it, but she turns her face further into his caress and presses a kiss to his palm.
It was not surprising that by the time they made it to the hospital, the nurse—the same one who is in the room with them now—checked her into triage and exclaimed, Oh my God, you're at a six! That was almost four hours ago. They've since taken her off the Pitocin that they put her on because Whale had concerns with the baby's heartrate climbing too high before going back down. It could mean that he's going into distress he told them. But since she's been off the medication, his heartrate hasn't raised above normal.
The nurse scribbles something down on her chart before checking her cervix again. And when she looks up there is a Cheshire Cat grin on her face, "You're at a ten, mom."
As David holds her hand, as they wheel her into the delivery room, she thinks about how they started, an anger fueled one night stand. To where they are now, she is about to push their son into the world. And all of the arguments, the tears, the laughs, the injuries, and the memories they've made in between. They have come full circle since Emma and Snow fell through the portal. She is both terrified and ecstatic about what comes next.
Her eyes remain shut the entire time. She is vaguely aware of David's hand on her thigh, soothing rather than the last time his hands had been there. She knows he didn't intentionally bruise her then; she tends to bruise easily. His other hand is firmly in her grasp, anchoring her to the intensity of the moment. She wants this baby out of her right now. David's hand moves to her knee and squeezes, she feels the pressure of it as he exclaims proudly, "I can see his head!"
He whispers words of encouragement to her as she shakes her head and tells the room that she can't do this. Whale lets her take a break. David pushes her sweaty locks from her face and strokes her forehead with his thumb. She is so, so glad that he is here with her right now. These few minutes of rest are heaven. But then Whale is advising, two more big pushes, Regina.
"You can do this," David says, and she nods. She squeezes her eyes so tightly that she sees stars during the first push. But then, Whale asks, "Would you like to pull him out," to David and her eyes snap open.
They've talked about this briefly after reading a blog post by a father recounting the time, he delivered his daughter. David looks to her for consent when she should be asking him if heis up for it because of his dislocated shoulder. But she just nods tiredly. It gives her some sort of comfort knowing that David will be the first to hold him. She doesn't relinquish his hand at first, but ultimately relents when an elderly nurse takes his place beside her. David drops a kiss to her hand as he goes. She focuses on him. He is given a scrub type outfit that goes over his clothes by a nurse, who also hands him gloves to put on. Whale instructs David on where to put his hands and he nods but he is looking at her as the doctor speaks. This is it. The most pain that she has ever been in in her entire life. But finally—finally! —after one final push a nurse calls out, "8:17 PM!"
There is a mix of shock and awe on her face as she watches David lift their crying boy into the world. It is the most pitiful yet beautiful sound in the world. "Give me my baby." She says the first thing that crosses her mind and its more geared towards Whale, who guides David over to her, than David himself. And when their son is placed on her chest all of the exhaustion, the pain, the shock of it all is worth it. She would not change anything that has led her to this moment. Her eyes sting with tears but she does not cry as she holds his tiny little body—nine pounds her ass—in her arms. His cries subside as he comes in contact with his mother. And a nurse suctions his nose and mouth. She strokes his sparse tufts of hair with her thumb, her hand shaking as she holds his head.
"It's okay, you're okay," she says.
"You did great, Regina," David says, dropping a kiss to her hair as he leans over to get a better look at their son. He is as surprised as she is that their son's eyes are open, and he is watching her. One of the nurses drapes a blanket over him after she mentions that she thinks he's cold. His tiny little hand grabs hold of David's index finger. After so many months of reacting to him, he is finally meeting your old man, huh, as David puts it. And that is her undoing.
Her baby is not in her stomach anymore she notices when she wakes up and that is something she will have to get used to again after thirty-nine weeks and four days of growing him there. She spies him, lying on his David's bare chest as they practice skin-to-skin on the poor excuse of a bed that dads are provided. They let her hold him for a while before delivering the placenta before taking him to get cleaned and weighed and tested. She remembers seeing David standing beside the nurses as they changed him in the incubator that put babies in after birth to keep them warm. He cried, and it's something that she will have to get used to. His cry is different than Henry's was. She remembers pouting and David reaching down for him to hold his finger before sleep claimed her.
"Hey, hey, hey," David says as she climbs out of bed. He places a hand against their son's head as he moves to sit up. "What do you need? I'll get it for you."
"I'm alright," she says. The moment his cord was cut, she knew she had full control of her magic. Used it to regain use of her legs. She is not in any pain, did not suffer any tearing. But she does feel like she just birthed a small human. She conjures an apple into her palm and laughs around a big bite when David's eyebrows shoot up. Giving birth has made her hungry and she hasn't had anything to eat yet.
It feels good to be back she thinks as she sits beside David. She smiles down at their son who is fast asleep. She does not think she will be able to stop looking at him. Since she fell asleep shortly after delivering the placenta, she hasn't tried breastfeeding yet. David tells her that he fed him a hospital issued bottle and that he did not take the pacifier.
"Henry didn't take one either," she says.
He asks her if she wants to hold him when she's done with her apple, and she tells him yes. She has already missed an hour with him. He is hesitant when he transfers the baby to her, at first, she thinks his shoulder is bothering him. But he confesses, "I don't know if I'm doing this right."
"You're doing perfect," she smiles at him and lifts her baby to her face to kiss his nose. "Isn't that right, my little shepherd?"
David laughs beside her. It's one of those good-hearted laughs that has his shoulders shaking. Her heart swells at the sound. And when she looks down at their son in her arms, she is so full of love and happiness.
They decided on his name fairly quickly once they actually started to discuss them. And for the past week or more they have been referring to him by name. She is not one to repeat dreams but today, after receiving the epidural, she dreamed a dream of her blue-eyed shepherd standing in a field of grass. Their son running to him and throwing his tiny little arms around his legs. I love you, Dada, their son said in the dream. I love you, too, Ethan.
She hears the unmistakable click of a camera. David not so secretly captures her staring down at their son with his phone's camera. And she holds him up to get more of him in the photo. She offers him a full smile, showing her teeth. He is texting Henry and before the shepherd came into her life and changed it for the better—she can freely admit that now—that smile was only reserved for him. Today, she smiles for David and Ethan, too.
Today is Tuesday, March sixteenth. And Ethan David Nolan was born at 8:17 PM and weighs seven pounds and five ounces. He has dark hair, dark eyes, though they are his father's in shape, and his mother's pout. And he is the perfect mix of the former Evil Queen, Regina Mills, and the shepherd turned Prince Charming, David Nolan.
to be continued
A/N: He's finally here! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will update soon.