A distant cry is what shook Emma from her slumber. She quickly jolted upright from bed and slunk off in search of the source, her eyes lidded as she blindly fought her way through the dark. As soon as she stepped foot into the hallway she was blinded and nearly body-slammed by a form that approached from within the light.
"Holy shit!" She muttered reflexively and caught herself against the opposite wall.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart!" Emma could make out her wife's features after her eyes had adjusted. "I didn't hear you get out of bed."
"I didn't realize you were in the bathroom!" The blonde chuckled tiredly before moving into the room and toward the crib, aided by the faint glow from the world outside. She could hear footsteps sound behind her and the soft voice of Regina as she whispered, "Do you know what he needs?"
Emma huffed softly as she bent over the smooth, wooden sides to take the crying infant. After lifting him into her arms, his cries turned into soft whimpers and she smiled, gently bouncing the small boy. "Attention?" she asked cheekily.
"Smartass." The brunette quipped and shifted before the blonde to check over the now-quiet baby. "His diaper isn't dirty…" she murmured, half to herself, and ran her thin fingers along his back.
"See? He just wanted his mommies." Emma smirked and pressed a soft kiss to his head, earning a shake of the head and a smile from her counterpart. "Unless he's hungry. Do you think he's hungry? Maybe he's hungry…" The smirk on her face soon vanished as she looked upon the older woman who merely chuckled.
"Let me see him," she said quietly and shifted closer to take their son into her own arms. Emma hovered as she watched them, earning a quirk of the brow from Regina. "What are you doing?"
"… watching?" Emma murmured sheepishly.
Regina grinned, amusement sparkling in her eyes, and shifted toward the rocking chair that sat in the corner of the room. The younger woman followed behind her and perched on the edge of the end table next to it. "Want me to turn the lamp on?" she inquired after a moment and started to reach for the switch on the lamp beside her but stopped when the brunette had shaken her head.
"I don't want to disturb him." She said, though her eyes were trained on Henry who had started to grab at her pajama top.
The blonde nodded slightly and continued to watch, grinning in amusement when the baby had latched onto her silk shirt. "He's hungry!"
"Just like you," Regina mumbled, starting to unbutton her top and pull it aside, humming contently when the infant had found his food source.
"What was that?"
"He has your appetite, Emma." The brunette spoke up, smirking. "You will have some competition, especially when he's older."
"I'm offended!" Emma scoffed. "I don't eat that much."
"Oh, please, I have seen you eat and it isn't pleasant."
"Liar!" The blonde pressed her lips together and leaned back only to bump into the lamp behind her. She quickly sprung up from her spot to stop it from crashing to the floor, her face burning after she set it back onto the table.
"I hope he isn't as clumsy as you." Regina remarked with a humored tone.
"Oh, shush," she muttered and refrained from sitting back onto the end table. She stood, instead, and looked down at her wife and son. "And I wouldn't talk! Every time it's icy out, you fall on your ass."
"Watch your language!"
Emma recoiled and turned a glare on the older woman. "You just used that word not ten minutes ago."
"You have no proof." Regina purred and looked down at the small baby with a grin, one of her hands moving to gently stroke Henry's fuzzy head.
"Oh, you." The blonde wrinkled her nose. "I'm too tired for this."
The brunette's expression softened when her gaze met Emma's. "You can go back to bed, my love. I have this taken care of, for now."
"No…" Emma frowned slightly even though she certainly felt like crawling right back underneath those warm covers waiting for her. "I can wait."
"Are you sure? It's almost five, love, and your friends will be here early."
"If noon's early, I guess." The blonde shrugged slightly and decided to perch on the edge of the end table once again, this time closer to her wife. "And I've had a couple hours. I'll be good for now. You know, he's my son too."
"I know, Emma." Regina offered her a soft smile and sighed softly as she shifted the infant in her arm. "You're doing a wonderful job already."
"Really?" She blinked. "I mean… I didn't really think-"
"You know what to do, Emma, and you're very patient when it comes to Henry." The brunette chuckled softly but stopped quickly. "Now, stop seeking my approval. You're doing excellent."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… make it sound like that. I just…" Emma pressed her lips together and stared at the shadowy corner. "Thanks. Through the chaos of a crying baby and several dozen dirty diapers, I just want to know that I'm doing things right."
"And you are, my swan. I'm proud of you." Regina beamed. "I knew you were going to make a great mother and I'm glad that you decided to become a parent with me."
"I would be stupid if I didn't." Emma furrowed her brow, green eyes rising to seek out the dark ones before her. "And it has definitely been worth it. I mean, I got to see you with your cute baby belly and I now I get to see you holding our son." She paused for a moment before smirking and muttering, "And of course I get to see your boobs whenever you nurse him."
She heard the older woman scoff at her words. "Emma, really?"
"Hey! It was a joke! I'm joking! Don't kill me, please." She couldn't help but to giggle while her wife merely glared at her.
"Oh, I won't. Henry needs both his mothers." The brunette shook her head and leaned back in the rocking chair, chestnut gaze focused on the blonde's face. "You look tired."
"That's because I am." And, as if to prove her words, she yawned.
"You should go to bed, dear." Regina whispered, reaching out to touch her knee. "I think Henry's starting to fall asleep."
"Is he?" Emma ignored her suggestion and leaned forward, noticing the way his eyes had fluttered shut and his jaw's movements had become absent. "He's so adorable…" she murmured and sat upright again, her wife starting to ascend from the chair.
"He certainly is. We're lucky." Regina crooned softly as she sauntered over to the crib, Emma popping up from her spot to follow.
"Even though he wakes us up at five in the morning." Emma muttered softly and shot her wife an innocent grin when the older woman turned to look at her. "I love him, anyway, you know."
"I know," she purred and shifted him in her arms to lean against her shoulder, her hand rubbing his back. "But, that is what parenthood is, my swan. We won't sleep for eighteen years."
"No, I doubt that." Emma smirked and pranced around to stand behind her lover, a finger moving to gently poke Henry's little nose. "When he's a teenager he'll probably sleep for fourteen hours straight."
"Being your son, I have no doubt that he would." Regina snorted and, satisfied by her actions, moved to put the baby back into his crib. Emma stood beside her once again and beat her wife to pulling the fleece blanket over the small form of their son.
"You know," she muttered, standing back up, "that's rude."
"Oh, quiet. You know that it's true." Regina's lips twitched. "I thought you were comatose one day." The brunette ran her fingers along the fleece that covered Henry's back before stepping away from the crib entirely and started to head out of the room, Emma following behind once again.
"What can I say? I like sleep." The blonde smirked and flicked the light switch off when they passed the bathroom and continued onward to their bedroom. "But not as much as I like you, of course."
"Of course," Regina echoed. "Go to sleep."
"Demanding!" Emma huffed and carefully made her way to the bed, crawling in moment later with a content hum. "Gods, I could make love to this bed."
"… please refrain from doing so."
The older woman's words had her chuckling and she inched her way closer to Regina when the brunette had joined her. "I would rather do you," she murmured, curling up against her.
"Not yet." Regina pressed a kiss to her head and she hummed, wriggling closer to the familiar warmth.
"Still not well down there?" Emma tilted her head to look up at the brunette whose expression was nearly lost in the darkness of the room.
"It's…" She could feel the breath that the older woman had held in. "Things are… fine."
"Oh. That's good. Did it… Did it hurt a lot?"
"Some things felt… Some things were unpleasant. It had gotten better now." Regina murmured softly. "But I don't feel… comfortable with…"
"That's fine, Gina. I understand." The blonde giggled softly and pressed a kiss to the underside of her chin. "So long as I can make out with you sometimes, I'm alright with it." That had earned a soft chuckle from her wife and she felt lighter.
"Are you… are you sure, Emma?"
She furrowed her brow and nodded, wriggling up slightly to press her lips to Regina's own. "Of course I am, baby."
"Alright…" She murmured, the corners of her mouth twitching, but the smile didn't come; a yawn fell from her lips, instead, and she squeezed Emma who had taken her previous spot. "Why don't we sleep, dear? We have a big day tomorrow."
"A big day?" The blonde rumbled, burying her nose into the brunette's silk sleepshirt and closed her eyes. "It's only Ruby and Belle. It's not like we're having a party or anything."
"I know, but, it's something different from our routine."
"Yeah, I guess." Emma shrugged slightly and sunk further against the mattress. "We've had visitors before."
"But you haven't seen them in a while."
"Yeah…" She yawned softly and Regina chuckled.
"Sleep. You need it. You'll have to go back to work after tomorrow."
"Yeah," she sleepily replied.
"I love you, my silly little blonde."
"Mhmm…" She felt herself sinking into the abyss behind her eyes. "I love you too, Gina."
Emma didn't remember falling asleep, but she knew that she had when she felt a sting on her ass. Reluctant to wake, let alone open her eyes, she groaned, "Stoppit, Gina… Gimme five more minutes..." Unfortunately, that hadn't stopped the second blow, earning another noise of displeasure. She rolled over this time, keeping her eyes shut.
"How the hell do you have a kid?" It wasn't the voice that she had been expecting to hear and when she opened her eyes in surprise, she was met with Ruby's wolfish smile. "Good morning, star shine. The Earth says hello."
"My fist will be saying 'hello' to you if you smack my ass again," she grumbled and sat up, her exhaustion still weighing heavily on her.
"Still the same old bitchy Emma." Ruby chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed when Emma hadn't moved. "I missed you, girl."
"Mmf, I've missed you too, I guess." The blonde smirked. "Where's Belle?"
"With Regina holding your son." Then the brunette's grin grew as she nudged her friend. "It's so weird that you have a kid."
"Thanks." Emma crinkled her nose and pushed the lanky woman back. "Why is it weird?"
"I donno. I guess I never really pictured you with one. But, then again, I never thought you'd get married, either. But, here we are!" Ruby stretched her legs out on the bed and leaned back against the headboard. "You've got a cute kid, though."
"That's all Gina's doing. She made him." The blonde's cheeks burned. "When the hell did you get here, anyways?"
"Not that long ago. Maybe five or ten minutes? I stopped by to say hi to Henry, then came back here when Regina said you were still asleep."
"Dammit, what time is it? I had an alarm set." Emma suddenly started to move in search of her phone and found it on the end table.
"It's almost eleven," Ruby answered before the blonde could unlock her phone.
"Why the hell are you here so early?"
"Couldn't really sleep and Belle was itching to leave, anyways."
"Is she up?" Belle's voice interrupted Emma's next thought as she entered the room, Regina following behind her.
"Yeah, I'm up." Emma just leaned against the headboard with her brunette friend and kept her eyes on the two women who approached.
"Henry is so cute!" Belle chirped, blue eyes falling to the infant in her arms. "I don't think I ever want to let him go."
"Don't steal my son." The blonde pushed away from the headboard with a quirk of the brow. Her eyes landed on her wife. "Gina? Don't let her steal our son."
"Oh, sweetheart, she's fine." Regina chuckled softly and crossed her arms. "Besides, I need a small break. I've been up for an hour with him."
This new information had the younger woman frowning. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"Because you looked peaceful." The older brunette hummed with an amused smile. "And Henry wasn't troubling me."
Ruby nudged the blonde again. "We all know how much you like sleep. You probably would have told her 'five more minutes.'"
"Shut up, Rubes." Emma rolled her eyes and pushed her off the bed but Ruby had caught herself before she hit the floor.
"Rude," the waitress hissed and moved toward Belle, instead, looking down at the infant with a grin. "I hope he won't be as big a dick as you."
"I'll make sure he is just to spite you."
"Emma, no." Regina narrowed her eyes on her blonde wife, arms falling to her sides.
Emma would have been intimidated by the stare, but as soon as the brunette's arms had fallen, her eyes shot straight to her chest and the dark spots that stained her shirt. She shifted slightly, trying to peel her eyes away before the older woman noticed, but was unlucky when Regina spoke.
"What are you looking at?" Those dark eyes lowered to where Emma's had been fixated and her face suddenly turned a shade darker. "Oh…" she murmured and quickly crossed her arms again, lips pressed together.
The blonde snorted softly but kept her laughter away. "Hey, guys, wanna give us a moment?"
"You're not gonna fuck, are you?" Ruby's question was followed by a scoff from her girlfriend.
"Ruby!"
Emma pushed herself off the bed and moved toward the three women, her hand falling to Ruby's elbow. "No, Ruby," she said, starting to steer the taller brunette out of the room.
"Well, it's not like you haven't done it before." There was a twinkle in her eye when she looked back at the blonde, earning a shove from Emma as she pushed her over the threshold.
"Go away. Play with Henry." The blonde stepped out of the way to allow Belle through.
The quiet brunette paused with a wide smile at the prospect of being able to play with the baby some more. "We'll be careful! And I'll get Ruby to shut up."
"Thanks." Emma offered her a grateful smile. "And no stealing my son. I know where you live."
"We won't!" Ruby crooned as she slipped down the hallway, Belle following behind. The blonde merely rolled her eyes and closed the door behind the two before turning back to her wife who stood with red cheeks.
"Are you okay, baby?" The blonde moved toward her and frowned.
"No," she muttered, stepping away from the younger woman to head toward the closet. "It was…"
"Hey, don't do that!" Emma scurried behind her. "That kind of stuff happens, you know?"
"I'll… I'll be fine, Emma."
"I don't care if you're… uh… lactating, Gina. And I doubt they do, either."
"Why don't you go see if they're doing alright?" Regina paused, her shirt unbuttoned, yet she held it shut when she turned to look at the blonde.
Emma could feel her heart sink. "They're fine," she murmured, eyes falling to the brunette's hands before lifting to meet her dark gaze.
"Emma…"
"Normally you don't have a problem changing in front of me." The blonde took a step toward the brunette, but she turned into the closet once again. "Ever since Henry's been born, you're either already changed or change when I'm not in the room. Are you…" Emma trailed off, the lines in her face creasing when the brunette had faltered, her olive hand curling into the fabric of a shirt. "Are you embarrassed, baby?"
"I…" Regina's voice was lost and Emma knew she was about to protest until she found that she couldn't.
The blonde took a few more steps forward and gently ran her hand up the brunette's back. She could feel the older woman tense slightly before relaxing against the touch and leaned into, a deep sigh escaping her. "You don't have to be, Gina."
"But… I am." The teacher found her voice again and turned her fiery gaze on the blonde, but the flame soon extinguished. When Emma touched her cheek, she closed her eyes. "I'm… Look at me. I look like a bloated whale still and it's…"
"Baby, you do not!" Emma protested and took her wife's face in her hands. "You look fine. You just pushed a baby out of your body and it stretched you all out. Do you really think you'd be like a rubber band and fwop back to normal?"
"I know that won't happen, Emma. I'm not stupid. I just…" Regina kept her eyes low.
"I never said you were stupid, baby. All I'm saying is that it's normal. You don't have anything to worry about." Emma offered her a smile but Regina didn't return it. She sighed softly and caressed the brunette's cheek with her thumb. "What's… What do you have on your mind, Gina?"
The older woman inhaled sharply before releasing the air from her lungs in a long sigh. "Nothing, Emma."
Emma didn't buy that for a minute. She quirked a brow and let her gaze intensify. "Regina. Tell me what's up." As she let her hand fall away, Regina frowned and kept her own hands attached to her shirt. She touched one of the olive hands and frowned. "Are you… embarrassed to let me see you?" The question had Regina looking away. "Hey! Why?"
"Because look at me." The brunette snapped her attention back to the blonde, her voice tainted by self-loathing. "How could you love me? I look… horrible. You'll take one look and be disgusted by me…" She shook her head and Emma noticed the tears that sparkled in her eyes.
Emma quieted her with a kiss, rejoicing in the fact that it had stunned the woman into silenced, and it was then that she could speak. "Baby, for one, I will always love you. I don't care what you look like. I've told you this before." She took one of the brunette's hands much to the older woman's discontent and squeezed it tight. "And I don't love you for just your body. I fell in love with your personality; I fell in love with what made you, you."
"No, you won't… Do you know how many people leave their spouses after they gave birth?"
The younger woman snorted softly. "But how many stay with their spouses? Baby, you're overthinking things." She brought the olive hand up to her mouth and pressed a kiss to it.
Regina frowned slightly. "You'll change your mind. You'll never want to touch me again and I'll never be what you want and you won't love me anymore."
"And none of that's true. I love every single piece of you, Gina." Emma released her wife's hand before gently tugging the other one away from her unbuttoned shirt, then pulled the entire top off. She could tell Regina wanted to curl into herself but the older woman remained still as the blonde looked over the familiar territory of her lover's skin. She smiled finding no flaw. "So what if you have a little belly. It's fuckin' cute."
"Emma…"
"Gina." Emma smirked and leaned down to press featherlight kisses to the surface of her abdomen, her heart fluttering when the older woman released a soft giggle. When she stood again, her smirk melted into something far more sweet when she was met the aftermath of Regina's laughter. "Even after being together for five years, you still make those little butterflies in my stomach dance when you call me name, or you kiss me, or even when I catch that beautiful smile of yours."
Her words had brought heat to Regina's cheeks and a quirk to her lips. "And maybe we haven't been together for ten or twenty or fifty years, but I… I know that's how I'll feel for the rest of my life with you. I'll go Whitney Houston on your ass, Gina. And I won't care when your hair gets grey or when your tits sag down to your knees, I will still love every single inch of you; from head to toe."
"Oh, Emma…" Regina's voice was thick despite the light chuckle that spilled from her lips. "Why do you always do this?"
"Do what?" Emma blinked slightly. "Say how much I love you? Because it seems you need reminding from time to time. I'm not here to play games with you, Gina. I'm here to love you forever and I want you to know that. I want you to know how beautiful you are to me no matter what you look like. And if you think having a belly pouch and lactating tits will turn me away, you are dead wrong."
The brunette's nose twitched slightly but she remained silent, those animated eyes focused on the younger woman.
Emma hummed softly and cupped her wife's swollen breasts, smirking when Regina gasped in surprise at the action. "Besides, you look pretty sexy with bigger-"
"I will stop you right there." Though she didn't make a move to remove the blonde's hands. "I… I appreciate you, Emma, I really do. You… Gods, you're too good to me; too good for more. I don't deserve you…"
"Yes you do!" Emma squawked in protest, her brow scrunching. "And don't you think otherwise."
"But you have given me so much, my swan. You've given me an immortal love that I don't…"
"Hey, pity party, stop that. You deserve it and so much more. With what you've been through? You deserve the world." She shook her head and brought one of her hands up to the brunette's cheek, earning a scrunched nose in return.
"Your hand's wet," she murmured softly.
The blonde blinked slightly, stunned by the comment, and remained as stone until she realized what the brunette had meant and pulled her hand away with a soft scoff. "You know," she muttered, pulling her other hand away from the older woman. "I'm trying to be serious here."
"So am I." Regina nonchalantly stated, though wore a grin that told otherwise. "I love you, Emma. And I'm… Gods, sometimes I still try to process your love."
"Me too," she admitted. "Yours, I mean."
"I guess that I have to accept that fact that you'll be there with me forever, hm?" The brunette turned to take the shirt she had chosen earlier and removed it from the rack.
"Forever and ever, because there's no way in hell that I'm leaving you." Emma beamed before quickly leaving the closet to find the bureau and pull out a brassiere for her wife. "Any clue where the little nipple pad things are?"
"What nipple pad things?"
"Yeah, what nipple pad things?" Ruby's voice asked from the doorway leaving Emma to drop the bra in her hand when she jumped.
"What the fuck are you doing? Didn't I tell you to wait outside?" The blonde picked the undergarment up before marching over to the lanky brunette.
"Your kid puked on me," said the officer's friend. "And I wanted to know if you had anything to clean it up with."
"What the hell did you do to him?" Emma frowned and pushed past her to head into the bathroom.
"Nothing, I swear! Belle was just giving him the rest of his bottle and I was holding him so I burped him and look at this!" When Emma looked back, she saw the white splotch on her shoulder and smirked proudly.
"See? He's already learning to be a dick to you. Ow!" She glared at Ruby after the older girl had hit her arm. "Gina! She's hitting me!"
"I'm sure you said something to upset her." Regina called from the other room which had earned a smarmy chuckle from her friend.
"Oh, shut up or I won't help you." Emma rifled through the cabinet in the bathroom and pulled out a box. "Found 'em…" she muttered to herself and took two pads out before replacing the box back into the drawer.
"Is that supposed to help me? What the hell are those things?" Ruby was watching her intently and when Emma met her gaze, she rolled her eyes.
"No. You can use a wash cloth or something. These are for Regina." She stepped back into the hallway and made haste to her bedroom before the waitress could ask any further questions.
"I found the things, Gina." Emma announced once she entered the closet where Regina had already donned a pair slacks and her shirt. "Hey! I got you the things so you didn't ruin your shirt."
"I apologize, dear. I didn't trust Ruby not to come in here." Regina offered her a sheepish smile before tugging the shirt off.
"Well, at least nothing got on it." She handed over the items to her wife and took to finding a change of clothes for herself.
"What was it that she wanted?" The brunette redonned her shirt after she finished.
"Henry spit up on her."
"Oh no… Is he alright?"
Emma nodded and tugged her jeans on, deciding to keep the t-shirt on that she had slept in. It wasn't like they were going anywhere. "Yeah."
"Emma?" The blonde drew her attention to the older woman who was already out of the closet and stepped forward to meet her.
"Yeah, baby?"
Regina merely tugged her forward instead of answering and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. Emma melted against her, arms encircling the brunette's waist. "I love you," she whispered when she pulled away, a bright smile on her face.
"I love you too," Emma replied softly and nuzzled her cheek before the brunette could move completely away.
"I think you have made that quite clear." The older woman chuckled softly. "Now, shall we get out there before those two decide to kidnap our son?"
"We better." A chuckle fell from Emma's lips before she fell away from her lover and moved across the room. "I wonder if Ruby was able to get her shirt clean."
"I was. Barely." Ruby's voice greeted Emma as she entered the hall and saw the source slip from the bathroom with a disgusted look. "Kids."
"Hey! That's my kid. You can't be mean to him." Emma moved past her older friend to find her other brunette friend who sat on the couch with Henry in her arms. "Are you having fun?"
Belle looked up from her spot and grinned widely, nodding. "Well, fun – I don't know. But I'm enjoying it." She chuckled softly and looked back down to the little boy who, as Emma approached, was snoozing peacefully. "He is so adorable."
"Right? Gina can make cute kids." Emma hummed and perched on the couch next to her friend, looking up when Regina had joined them.
"Oh, do I?" The oldest brunette hummed softly, taking the spot on the opposite side of Belle, and leaned over to check on her son. "Has he been good?"
"Oh, yes! He's pretty quiet, or at least, he hasn't really cried at all." Belle answered. Emma's heart swelled at her friend's joy. Briefly, she wondered if the quiet woman would want children of her own. Then she thought of Ruby, next, and the girl's wild lifestyle.
"He's a very good baby." Emma heard her wife reply with pride. "We're lucky, I suppose one could say. He isn't too difficult."
"And, bonus; he's adorable." The blonde added, leaning over to gently stroke his arm.
"You guys are lucky." Belle chimed and, for a moment, caught eyes with Ruby.
"Oh, girl, no." Ruby lifted her hands. "I'm not ready for a kid."
"I never said anything about having one." The other brunette said, though Emma could detect a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Besides, we still have to figure out what the hell we're doing."
"Yeah." The waitress agreed and settled into the chair next to them, a slight frown on her face. "So," she continued, fingers curling into the arms of the chair, "what are we doing today?"
Emma shrugged slightly and exchanged a questioning look with Regina who merely shrugged herself. "We don't know. This, I guess? We can watch a movie and order some food. Talk?" The blonde leaned back. "What have you two been up to?"
"Belle's been taking online classes," Ruby answered, offering a cheeky smile to the small brunette who glared at her.
"Really?" The blonde quirked a brow. "What've you been studying?"
"Just general right now." Belle said quietly. "I'm not sure what I want to major in. I've been clocking in a lot of time at the library recently."
"You work there, don't you?" Emma vaguely recalled her friend saying something about her job a few years ago, but the two never talked much on the subject. When Belle nodded in confirmation, she smiled and asked, "how has that been going?"
"Good, I suppose. Not much really goes on at the library anymore." The brunette shrugged slightly. "But I have plenty of books to organize. Not that I mind. It's relaxing."
"I'm glad that you're enjoying it." The blonde nodded slightly and looked to Ruby. "How are things at the diner?"
"Granny's been teaching me a lot more about running the place. She says she's getting old and…" The waitress frowned softly. "I'm scared that she doesn't have much time left."
"Oh, no… How is she doing?"
"Not well," Ruby responded forlornly. "I had to take her to the hospital last week after she collapsed again in the storage room after trying to lift a box of lasagna off the floor. They said her heart's giving out."
"Shit. I'll need to make my way up there and visit her soon, huh?" Emma looked to Regina as if to confirm she would allow this and the older woman nodded slightly.
"You should! I told her about Henry and took a few pictures that I'm going to show her. She really wants to meet him." She smiled again; wide and toothy.
"Yeah, we'll definitely have to go soon. Maybe before Regina goes back to work." The blonde frowned slightly at the thought. "Anything else up?"
"Not really. Life's been pretty boring. Nothing exciting happens in a small town. It's the same people and their problems." Ruby sighed softly and shook her head. "If you were there it would be so much better."
"I doubt it." Emma snorted. "I'm not that exciting. Besides, don't you have some friends you party with?"
"Only sometimes," she answered with a shrug.
"Oh, yeah right. You went to a party last weekend." Belle piped up.
"You were at work! What else was I supposed to do?" Ruby smirked, though. "Besides, it was lame. Like, this party is lame right now. We already have someone snoozing."
Emma snorted and looked to Henry who still slept in Belle's arms. "Then let's watch a movie, or something, I don't know."
"You never know anything!" Ruby laughed.
"That's because my brain doesn't work half the time."
"Obviously."
"Shut up." The blonde stood from her spot and moved toward the television and the shelf with their movies to shuffle through them, selecting one quickly to slip into the movie player. She turned to join her friend and wife on the couch with remote in hand. Ignoring the next quip from her friend, she turned the film on and immersed herself in the fictional world; though, halfway through, she was pulled back to reality when she heard a soft snoring coming from beside her and smiled when she saw Regina on the opposite side of Belle leaning against the arm of the couch fast asleep.