"Henry!" Emma yelled. "Henry!" her brain fogged up and panic overtook her as she looked at Henry's pale face.
But Henry didn't need her to panic right now. He needed her to do something.
She fell to her knees by his side. She brought her ear to his mouth and listened. Was he breathing? There was a faint, faint rattling, but it could barely count as breath, and as Emma listened with her ear against Henry's mouth, the rattling stopped. Henry wasn't breathing anymore.
"No," Emma said firmly as she placed her hands on Henry's chest, her mind suddenly crystal clear. "You're not going anywhere, Henry! Not like this! You're not leaving Regina!" She carefully turned him, so he was laying on his back. Then she pushed his thick jacket out of the way and placed one hand on top of the other on the center of his chest. "One, two, three, four, five," she began counting to the rhythm of 'Staying Alive'. She had never thought she would get any use of the CPR course she had taken the summer she turned twenty five, but now that summer course came in handy!
"Eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen…" she kept counting. All the way up to thirty. Then she blew two breaths into Henry's mouth. There was no reaction.
"Come on!" she hissed as she resumed pressing on his chest. "Come on, Henry! Don't you dare dying on me! You're about to have a grandchild, do you hear me?! Come on!" One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven… It felt like a dream of sorts. Like she wasn't the one experiencing it. She saw her own hands press on Henry's chest over and over again, and she heard her own voice shout at Henry to breathe, goddammit, but she felt oddly numb.
If she was going into shock, she couldn't feel it. And there wasn't time to go into shock either. She had to save Henry!
"Emma! What's going on?!"
She didn't turn her head when hearing the shouting voice. She didn't need to. The running footsteps and the voice had already revealed who it was. It was Neal who had just come running.
"My father-in-law had a heart attack! Call an ambulance!" Emma shouted. Because the moment Henry collapsed, she had realized something terrible. She hadn't brought her phone. She had left it at home because she had assumed that this would be a quick trip to the grocery store and nothing more.
Neal reacted swiftly. Emma heard a zipper being tugged at. Then Neal loudly saying: "I need an ambulance to Nightingale Village as soon as possible, an elderly man had a heart attack! Is he breathing, Emma?"
"No," Emma gritted out as the 'Staying Alive' rhythm roared in her head. One-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight-nine-ten-eleven-twelve-thirteen-fourteen-fifteen…
"They're on their way, they'll be here in a few minutes!" Neal said as he crouched down next to Emma. "Did you check his airways?"
"Yes, they're clear," Emma said, acutely aware that they might not have a few minutes!
Neal ripped off his coat and folded it twice before placing it under Henry's head.
Emma's hands shook. If this was the shock setting in, she was going to be furious! "Fuck!" She yelled. "I lost the rhythm!"
"No, you didn't, come on!" Neal said. "Staying Alive. One-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight-nine-ten…"
Emma counted with him, and her hands found the rhythm again. She hadn't been the only one on that course. Neal had taken it with her.
She blew into Henry's mouth twice. She could hear sirens in the distance. "Come on, Henry! Come on!" she pressed on his chest again. All the way up to thirty. Then blew into Henry's mouth twice once more.
There was a reaction. The faintest little rattling sound from Henry's chest. And when Emma brought her ear to his mouth again, she heard it. Henry was breathing.
Just then, an ambulance with wailing sirens came blaring and parked crookedly halfway up the pavement. Three EMTS jumped out from the vehicle, two of them was carrying a stretcher between them, while the third one was carrying a large bag.
"He's breathing!" Emma yelled even before the EMTS had reached her. She was quite beside herself with relief. "I gave him CPR and he started breathing again!"
"Well done. Can you tell me what happened?" one of the EMTS asked Emma while the two others began working on Henry. She of course knew them by name. Storybrooke was a small town.
"He was complaining about chest pains and then he just… c-collapsed." Emma swallowed something.
"Yes, that sounds like a classic heart attack." The EMT- Noah- touched her shoulder lightly. "Did he fall forwards or backwards?"
"Backwards. I had to turn him around."
"Have you noticed if he has hit his head or back when he fell?"
"I don't know, I didn't t-think of it." Emma's voice was bordering on hysterical now. "All I thought about was getting him to breathe again!"
Do you know if he has experienced cardiac issues before?"
"I don't know. I don't think so, but I think he might be suffering from high blood pressure or something!" She had a faint memory of Regina scolding Henry for not minding his blood pressure. "Is he going to be alright? Please say he's going to be okay! His daughter is pregnant! He's about to become a g-grandfather!"
"We're doing everything we can for Henry, Emma." Noah said. "You've done a great job."
Emma shuffled backwards and saw the two EMTS help Henry. One ripped his shirt open and placed little sensors on his chest while the other took his blood pressure. She couldn't see Henry's face. Couldn't see whether he was awake or not, but she saw no defibrillators. That meant that Henry was still breathing, right? Emma had watched enough medical shows to know that they didn't bring out a defibrillator unless the patient had stopped breathing.
Emma too was struggling with her own breath. If Henry didn't pull through… No. She couldn't even think that thought. It would crush Regina. Destroy her. Ruin her life. If something happened to Henry, it would send Regina headfirst into a black hole so deep no one would be able to pull her out.
"And on three! One-two-THREE!"
Emma snapped out of her daze when she saw the EMT's lift Henry onto a stretcher. His shirt was ripped open, and his face was covered by a mask. Emma jumped to her feet and rushed over to the stretcher. "Can I go with him? He's my father-in-law!"
"Hop in," Lucy, another of the EMT's said.
Emma jumped into the ambulance, and just as the doors were closed behind her, she caught a glimpse of Neal who was still standing on the street. She flashed him a brief smile and recognized that him showing up when he did, had been crucial for Henry. Emma had been the stupid idiot who hadn't brought her phone.
Lucy and Noah sat in the back with Emma to monitor Henry while the third one drove. Once again, the sirens wailed, and the high speed had Emma's stomach flipflopping.
Henry was hooked up to a machine going blip-blip-blip. The sound of his heartbeat. Emma shook her head. How could one day take such a frightening turn? She thought of the doctor's appointment earlier where they had heard the baby's heartbeat, and now she was hearing Henry's.
Two heartbeats.
Signs of life.
Suddenly, Henry turned his head. His gaze was glassy as his eyes sought Emma's.
Emma immediately reached out and took the elderly man's hand. "You're okay, Henry. You're going to be just fine." She squeezed his hand.
"R-Reggie," Henry said, voice muffled because of the mask covering mouth and nose. "Don't…tell…Reggie. She gets so… worried about…me."
"Shh, don't talk, Henry. Just rest easy and breathe, okay? Everything is going to be just fine," she rambled without commenting on what Henry had said. Because there was no way that she couldn't not tell Regina about this. Absolutely not!
As soon as they arrived at the hospital, the EMT's took Henry through a door and away from Emma. There was something deeply unsettling about seeing him disappear like that. Emma would have liked to go with him. She had held his hand on the entire drive. Henry had mostly lain with his eyes closed. He had been far too pale for Emma's liking, and she was terrified that his heart would stop beating again.
She had to remember that he was in the hospital now. The best place ever if you were sick. Here was a whole arsenal of people ready to help him in case he needed it. Whereas she was just one person who happened to know CPR. Henry was much better off in here than he had been in the street with her.
He would be fine. Henry would be fine. Of course he would be around to watch his grandchild grow up. No doubt about that.
Henry was tough. He would get through this.
She wandered around aimlessly up and down the hallway for a moment. Then she pulled herself together and reminded herself that she needed to contact Regina immediately. She was probably worried about them by now. They had been gone for a good while. Much longer than it took to pick up a few things from the grocery store.
Emma headed down to the reception and asked the receptionist if she could borrow a phone. "I need to call the daughter of a patient who was just admitted."
"Of course." The receptionist handed her a cellphone. "Go right ahead, dear."
"Thank you." Emma noted that her hands were shaking. Ideally, she would have preferred to call her mom so that she could break the news gently to Regina, but her mom was most likely at the town hall, and it wasn't fair to keep Regina in the dark for longer than strictly necessary. Emma had learned her lesson.
"Come on," she muttered with the phone pressed against her ear. "Pick up."
"Hola? Regina Mills speaking."
"Hi honey, it's me," Emma said a bit croakily.
"Querida? ¿Estás bien? Why are you calling me from a strange number?"
"I left my own phone at home," Emma said and wished that there was a gentle way to break this to Regina. But no matter how gently she wrapped her words, they would still feel like a whiplash to Regina, and she couldn't stall. That wouldn't be fair to Regina.
"Listen, I'm at the hospital with your father," she said, wincing at the effect the words were bound to have. "It looks like he had a heart attack."
There was a beat of silence in the other end. Then: "I'm on my way."
There was a slight click, and she was gone. Emma thanked the receptionist and handed the phone back to her. Then she headed over to the door to wait for Regina. She knew that it wouldn't be long before she showed up. God, she couldn't imagine how horrified Regina had to be right now!
Much against her will, she had settled down in one of the plastic chairs in the waiting area. She had been wandering around aimlessly, but then her legs had started to feel all weird, and honestly, she had feared that she would end up folding up in the middle of the hospital hallway. It had seemed much safer to sit down.
But she wasn't feeling particularly relaxed. Her right leg kept jiggling. Very annoying. But she couldn't stop. It was like her leg had a mind and a life of her own right now. She glanced out of the window overlooking the parking lot. It couldn't be long before Regina showed up.
Emma bit her lip. She was currently experiencing all kinds of flashbacks. This was exactly like the time where Regina was in the hospital after her fall down the stairs. Emma had been worried then. And she was definitely worried now! She had come to love Henry. He was so much more than 'just' her father-in-law. That man had welcomed her with open arms from day one. He had always been so kind to her. Like a second father, almost. And the idea of something happening to that kind, gentle man was excruciating. Henry Mills was literally one of the finest people Emma had ever met.
The sound of tires squealing in the gravel outside the hospital had Emma snapping out the catastrophe-thoughts. She lifted her head and looked out of the window. Just in time to see her father's squad car park crookedly right by the door. The door to the passenger seat was flung open, and Regina came running straight towards the door in a flurry of dark locks.
Emma jumped to her feet and rushed over to the door. She yanked it open to make things easier for Regina. And to be the first thing Regina saw upon entering.
It didn't even take ten seconds before Regina came running through the door and straight into Emma's arms.
Emma automatically grabbed and supported her with an arm around Regina's waist. "W-where is he?" Regina managed between panting breaths. "¡¿Donde esta mi padre?! I need to see him!"
"They took him to the cardiology ward." Emma cupped her cheeks. "The doctor will come and find us when they have news, okay?"
"No! It's not okay! I have to see him now!" Regina exclaimed, looking around frantically with wide, scared out. "It's my dad!"
"Honey, he's in the best of hands," Emma did her best to assure. "I know how scared you are, but the doctor is with him, and they're doing everything they can to help him. And when they're done helping him, they'll come and talk to us."
"No puedo creer que esto esté pasando..." Regina hid her face in her hands and sobbed, shoulders shaking and breath wheezing.
It broke Emma's heart to see her like that. She wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. Held her tight and kissed the top of her head. "I'm so sorry, honey. I am so, so sorry that this is happening!"
"Thank god you were with him," Regina cried muffled against Emma's shoulder. "To think that it could have happened when he was alone, I…." the rest of the sentence disappeared in another sob, and Emma rubbed her back in slow, gentle circles. Offering comfort while knowing that she couldn't provide Regina with any type of comfort until they knew of Henry's fate.
The door opened again, and Emma's father stepped in. He walked straight over to them. "Emma. Is there any news?"
"Not yet. They took him up to the cardiology ward a little while ago," Emma answered.
"Thank god you were with him, kiddo," her dad said and patted Emma's shoulder fondly.
"Sí," Regina managed and lifted her head. Her eyes were still full of tears as she looked at David. "I haven't even said thank you for taking me here, David. And in the squad car and everything…"
"Don't thank me," David said kindly and smiled softly at Regina. "I'd do anything for my daughter-in-law. You are family, Regina."
This caused Regina to break down all over again. Deep, painful sobs wracked her body and Emma hated, hated, hated that this was happening!
"Oh, bless you." David reached within his pocket and found a handkerchief. He gallantly handed it to Regina.
"G-gracías," Regina managed and took the offered handkerchief. She blew her nose, and Emma gently put a hand on her lower back and guided her over to the plastic chairs. Once Regina was sitting down, Emma glanced at her father. "Do you think you could get her a glass of water?" she didn't at all like how pale and fragile Regina looked. And she had noticed that she was swaying slightly. The last thing they needed right now, was Regina fainting.
David nodded and disappeared down the hallway in the search for a glass of water.
Regina blew her nose again. "Your f-father was so good to me. As soon as I had told him what had happened, he just said 'let's get you to the hospital'. No questions asked or anything."
"You got to ride in the squad car," Emma said softly and flashed Regina a little smile. "I always wanted to do that as a kid."
Regina laughed wetly and blinked.
Emma took her hand and squeezed it gently. "He'll be okay, Regina. He's a strong guy."
The comment didn't seem to register with Regina. "Could I have done something?" she murmured. "Has he seemed more tired recently? If I had looked closer, could I have noticed-"
"Okay, stop," Emma said half-firmly and grasped Regina's chin gently. She turned her head, so Regina was looking at her. "This is not you fault. Do you hear me? You couldn't have prevented this. Henry has been perfectly fine until he wasn't anymore. I might not be a medic, but I know enough about heart attacks to know that Henry hasn't shown any signs of anything. He hasn't been complaining about chest pains or feeling weak, nor has he looked sickly, so I will not hear you blame yourself for this. Is that understood?"
"S-sí," Regina stuttered and managed a meek little smile. "Look at you being all firm with me."
"Yeah, well, I have to when you're being all silly." Emma slipped an arm around Regina's shoulders and kissed the top of her head tenderly.
"There we are, Regina." Emma's father had come back. And he was carrying a plastic cup of water he now was handing to Regina.
"Thank you." Regina's hands trembled as she took the cup and brought it up to her lips without having been prompted to do so. She took deep gulps and emptied half of the cup in one go. Then she winced and rubbed her baby bump with her free hand.
"Are you in pain?" Emma asked immediately.
"A little bit. I think it is because I was running."
Emma brought a hand to Regina's belly and rubbed it gently in an attempt to relieve some of the tension Regina was experiencing.
A quiet vibration from a phone had Emma looking up. She saw her father find his phone in his pocket and check a message. "Your mother is on her way," he said to her. "I called her from the car."
"I wonder if I should call Cora," Regina mused out loud. "She would probably want to know, but…" she sniffled. "I think I'll wait until I know a little more."
Emma squeezed her a bit as her father sat down next to them.
Regina drank the rest of her water, but shook her head when Emma's dad offered to bring her more. "Then I would need to use the bathroom. And I don't want to leave when the doctor hasn't been here!"
Emma gently kissed her temple and wished that there was something she could do. Something that could make all of this go away. Why did life keep landing blow after blow on Regina? For fuck's sake, hadn't she been through enough already? Falling down a flight of stairs, breaking a leg, the whole Cora-bomb and now this.
It seemed like one thing after another, and Emma was furious that life kept kicking Regina in the teeth. It wasn't fair!
The door was flung open a third time. This time it was Emma's mother who came rushing in. She hastily made her way over to Regina, crouched down and gave her a hug. "Dear, dear, Regina," she said. "What an awful thing! I am so sorry." With her arms still around Regina, she looked from her husband to Emma. "Have you heard anything?"
"Nothing yet," Emma said and shook her head. "We're still waiting."
"Well, that is not good enough!" her mother huffed. "Regina needs answers!"
With that she let go of Regina and marched down the hallway. Emma heard her tap the bell on the receptionist's desk, and she heard her use her Mayor Swan-voice as she asked if there was any news of the patient Henry Mills.
Regina sniffled at hearing her father's name, and Emma instantly held her a bit closer.
After a moment, Emma's mother came back and announced: "the doctor should be here in a moment. Do you need anything, Regina?"
Regina shook her head.
"How long has it been since you ate anything, honey?" Emma's mother continued. "We have to make sure that your blood sugar doesn't drop all the sudden."
"I'm not hungry," Regina murmured. "I feel a bit sick."
"Oh, beautiful girl," Emma said softly and gently rubbed Regina's lower back. "I really wish that there was something I could do."
"You're here," Regina croaked. "I'm not waiting alone. That means a-a lot."
"Well, we're not going anywhere," Emma's mother said firmly as she settled down on the plastic chair next to her husband. "We're staying right here with you, dear."
"Thank you for being so nice to me…"
"Hey, hey. That's enough silly talk." Emma took her hand and kissed it. "Quit thanking us, beautiful girl. No thank you's are required."
"Indeed not," her dad agreed. "We don't accept thank you's. Not for being here, nor for borrowing you a handkerchief."
His little joke had the desired effect. Regina let out a wet chuckle, and Emma shot her father a grateful smile.
He tossed a discreet little nod back at her.
Regina rubbed her belly. "Está bien pequeño, está todo bien."
"Kicking?" Emma asked.
"Sí. Perhaps he can sense that I am upset."
Emma brought a hand to Regina's belly and rubbed it gently. "There-there, little Blueberry. Don't kick your mother too harshly, alright? Go to sleep."
Regina chuckled wetly again. "I'm not sure he'll listen to you, querida."
"You don't know that. He could."
"Relatives of Henry Mills?" a doctor Emma was not familiar with had appeared in the waiting room.
"Sí, I'm his daughter!" Regina got on her feet fast. "How is he? Can I see him?"
"As you may have been informed, your father has suffered a heart attack, miss Mills. Things were serious for a moment, but he is feeling better now. We stabilized him, and we're monitoring his heart. We have discovered that your father's heart is quite weak. It isn't pumping enough blood to his body. There could be a number of reasons for this. It might be something that has grown more and more serious over the years, or it might be that the heart attack has weakened the heart muscle."
"Will he be okay?" Regina whispered, eyes full of tears again. "He's not going to-"
"Your father will be okay, miss Mills," the doctor interrupted and gave her a reassuring smile. "But in order to support his heart, we're giving him a pacemaker. It's not a complicated operation at all. The procedure typically takes an hour."
"Can I see him before the operation?" Regina asked.
"Of course. I will take you to him. Just follow me."
"I'll go with you," Emma said and took Regina's hand.
They left Emma's parents to wait in the hallway while they followed the doctor up a flight of stairs and down another hallway. Regina was speed walking. Emma could barely keep up with her, but she did not ask Regina to slow down. Of course not. Regina was in a rush to see her beloved father. Emma understood that.
"There we are," the doctor said and stopped in front of a white door. "Just through here, miss Mills."
Regina pushed the door open. Emma was right behind her.
And there he was, Henry. He was laying in a hospital bed. He was wearing a white hospital gown that was open at the chest. He had a nasal cannula in his nostrils and his chest was covered in the same sticky patches Emma had seen in the ambulance. He was hooked up to a machine going beep-beep-beep. The sound of his heartbeat. He was very pale, but he was smiling. A small smile it was, but nevertheless a smile.
"Daddy!" Regina rushed to his side and took his hand. "Thank god!"
"Está bien, Cielo," Henry said softly as he patted Regina's cheek with his free hand. "Todo va a estar bien."
"Estaba tan preocupada por ti!" fresh tears welled up in Regina's eyes as she kissed his pale cheek. "Pensé que ibas a-"
"Don't fuss, Reggie," Henry rumbled in his usual deep bass. "I am a tough old bastard."
Regina laughed wetly. "Sí, luckily."
"They've said they're going to give me a pacemaker," Henry said. "And some pills I have to take afterwards."
"I'll make sure you take them," Regina vowed.
"Reggie-"
"No, daddy! You let me take care of you for once," Regina said firmly. "You're going to take it easy from now on, alright?"
"Alright, Reggie," Henry agreed and smiled at his daughter. "You're the boss, Cielo."
"That I am." Regina chuckled softly and kissed his cheek again. "Te amo, papá."
"Yo también te amo, Reggie. Siempre." he turned his head and looked at Emma. "I owe you thanks, dear Emma. If you hadn't been there, things could have gone… very differently."
"Don't thank me, Henry," Emma said immediately and smiled at him. "I'm just glad you're okay."
"So am I. I won't be going anywhere anytime soon. I have a grandchild to watch grow up, don't I, Reggie?"
"You absolutely do," Regina said firmly and touched her bump. "Tu abuelo va a estar bien, mi amor."
"That's right," Emma agreed as she too put a hand on Regina's baby bump. "He will be just fine. You have absolutely nothing to worry about… Henry." The idea came to her as bright as lightening and as obvious as enjoying strawberries with cream. If Henry wasn't the perfect name for their baby, what was?
"Henry." Regina repeated, lips curling up in a smile and eyes shining. "Sí. Henry."
"Cielo-"
"I guess it was fate," Regina interrupted, fingers gently running up and down the side of her bump. "Wasn't it… Henry?"
"You will name the baby after me?" Henry rasped. His eyes had glazed over with emotion.
"Sí," Regina said.
"Absolutely," Emma nodded and smiled. "I can't think of a better name for him."
"I do not know what to say." Henry smiled and smiled. "That means… more than you can imagine."
Just then, the door opened, and a nurse stepped in. "Hello, Mr. Mills," she greeted. "I am here to take you to the operating room."
"Well, I suppose you better do that then," Henry said.
Regina kissed his cheek. "Estarás bien, papi. Estaré aquí cuando te despiertes. Yo y el pequeño Henry."
"Pequeño Henry." He repeated and the wrinkles around his eyes became more prominent as he smiled. "Sí."
They send Henry along for his operation with smiles and well-wishes, and then left his hospital room.
"We have officially named our baby," Regina said dreamily and interlaced their fingers as they walked.
"We sure have. Henry David Swan-Mills. Or Elena Margaret Swan-Mills."
"Those are great names, querida. Very great names."
"Can't go wrong in life if your name is either Henry or Elena, can it?"
"It sure can't."
They reunited with Emma's parents who were standing a bit further down the hallway and talking to a different doctor.
"He is going to be alright!" Regina announced, beaming brighter than the sun.
"Oh, what a relief, my dear!" Emma's mother immediately engulfed Regina in a hug. "I am so happy!"
"And as I can understand from the EMT's, it is all thanks to miss Swan here," the doctor said and looked at Emma.
"Sí, I am so relieved she was there with him!"
"Yes. This only proves how important it is to take a CPR course. Even if you think you'll need. Someday you might stumble over someone who needs help. Like Mr. Mills did earlier."
Regina stared at Emma with wide eyes. "You…. You gave my father CPR? You made him b-breathe again?"
"Oh, Emma!" Emma's mother exclaimed and her eyes glimmered with tears. "You did not tell us!"
"You saved his life in more than one way, kiddo," her dad said and patted Emma's shoulder. "I'm proud of you!"
"Thank god for summer courses, I guess," Emma said sheepishly. She didn't want any fuss. She had only done what anyone would do in her situation, right?"
Regina threw herself into Emma's arms and started peppering her face with kisses. Her cheeks. Her forehead. The tip of her nose. Her lips.
"¡Lo salvaste, lo salvaste!" she breathed between kisses. "He was gone, but you brought him back to me! Oh, querida, I don't know how to thank you for this!"
"Well, as long as you don't thank Neal in the same way," Emma chuckled as she hugged her girlfriend.
"Neal?"
"Yeah. He was the one who called an ambulance for your dad."
Emma's father huffed. "Well, that was the very least that boy could do! But why he was hanging around in the first place is-"
"That is not relevant right now, my love," Emma's mother said patiently, patting her husband's arm. "Right now we should just be grateful that Neal for once was in the right place at the right time."
"There's a first time for everything," Emma chuckled.
Regina snickered against her neck. "I guess I'll have to write him a thank you card or something. Or send him chocolate."
"Nah, you don't have to do that, beautiful girl. He didn't do anything particularly heroic. He was just a man with a phone. If he hadn't shown up, somebody else would have. This is Storybrooke. Someone else always shows up."
"Sí. Quite right. But I'll still send him a card."
"Well, if you really want to, I can't stop you."
"No, you can't," Regina chuckled. "You heard my dad. I'm the boss."
"You definitely are," Emma happily agreed. Much to her parents' amusement. They were laughing, but Emma was alright with that. As she was alright with publicly naming Regina 'the boss'.
They went back to the waiting room and sat down. Emma offered to fetch Regina something to drink or a snack from the vending machine down the hallway, but Regina declined.
"I'll eat something once daddy's operation is over. I'll have much more appetite then."
"Ooookay. But you let me know if you start to feel faint or anything, alright?"
"I promise."
"Good." Emma kissed the side of her head. "Then we wait."
"Then we wait," Regina echoed with a little nod. Then she frowned. "Daddy will have to take it easy now. Even if he's well enough to travel back to Madrid next week, I don't like the sound of it. No. We will have to postpone our journey home."
"You're both more than welcome to stay!" Emma beamed. Then realized that her enthusiasm was inappropriate. "I'm sorry. That probably sounded-"
"It sounded like you were happy that we're gonna stay, querida. And I don't see the problem with that." Regina thoughtfully rubbed her belly. "My due date is getting closer and closer. I wonder if I would be able to convince him into staying here for longer than just another week. It's just…" she sighed. "It seems like a lot of stuff has happened, and the idea of just staying here and have the baby in Storybrooke seems more and more tempting."
"Okay, but I am like… so much on board with that plan!" Emma said eagerly. The original plan had been that Emma would fly to Madrid a few weeks before Regina's due date, but this was even better. She was certain that the whole waiting thing would have driven her nuts. She would have been on pins and needles and constantly checking her phone and freaking out if Regina didn't answer immediately.
"Perhaps you can talk about it later," her mother suggested, and Emma nodded. They had time to discuss it later…
One hour later, the same doctor as before came and found them in the waiting room. "Regina? Your father's operation is over now. Everything went according to plan. Mr. Mills is resting right now, but you should be able to see him in about ten minutes or so. Alright?"
"Alright," Regina said. "Thank you, doctor."
"You're welcome, miss Mills."
As soon as the doctor had left, Regina let out a whoosh of breath. "Thank god! Thank god he's going to be okay!"
"I'm so happy," Emma said softly and kissed her cheek.
"Me too!" she laughed, but the sound of her stomach rumbling easily drowned out the sound.
Emma grinned. "How about a snack now?"
"Maybe that is a good idea."
Emma immediately leapt from her chair and walked towards the vending machine. She was going to get Regina two snacks. Regina had deserved that. And perhaps she would get herself a piece of her favorite dark chocolate with almonds. She had deserved that. It wasn't every day you saved your father-in-law's life.
When she came back armed with snacks, Regina pecked her lips softly. Very conveniently, Emma's parents were looking the other way and therefore wasn't paying attention to them.
"What was that for?" Emma asked with a grin and nuzzled her nose against Regina's.
"That was because I love you. Mi héroe."
Emma grinned again and goofily thought to herself that that sweet gesture actually was the only type of reward she needed. Regina's kisses made her feel like a hero every day.
To Be Continued…..