The door to the bathroom opened and Regina stepped out.

Emma had to bite her tongue not to blurt: "you look gorgeous, beautiful girl!". She was not allowed to say such things. Not anymore. It physically hurt to scold her features into something that was more neutral. "Are you ready to go?" she settled on.

"Sí," was all Regina said. She checked her appearance in the large mirror and then limped over to the door.

Emma silently followed her as she left the hotel room.

It had been two days since Emma's grand fuck up, and it was safe to say that the mood wasn't the best. Regina had not shouted nor cried since that night, but there was no laughing and very long between the smiles. Regina was subdued and serious. Pale and exhausted. After having called Cora two nights ago, she had gone back to sleep and had slept for five hours straight. When she woke up, they had ordered lunch and eaten. Without saying much. And that pattern had continued over the next two days. Regina answered when spoken to, but she didn't start talking on her own, and only gave short answers. She didn't laugh or mess around and a wrinkle had taken permanent stay between her eyebrows. She looked far older than twenty years old.

Downstairs in reception, Regina monotonously asked the receptionist if the taxi Emma had called earlier, was there.

"Just arrived, miss," the receptionist said cheerfully.

"Thank you," Regina said, flashing the woman a tight smile. Then she turned her head and glanced at Emma. "Shall we?"

"Yup," Emma said, hastily following Regina as she hobbled outside.

The weather in New York was rather cold and dreary, and Emma was freezing a little bit despite wearing one of her warmer leather jackets. She glanced at Regina. She too was wearing a coat. A longer one with a blue fake-fur collar and the same blue fluff on the sleeves. Emma had not seen that coat before, and it had been hard not to compliment the coat when she saw it. The coat looked fairly warm, but Regina was only wearing a short sleeved red dress underneath it.

"Are you cold?" she asked Regina.

"No. I'm fine."

"Okay. Good."

They climbed inside the taxi, and Regina gave the driver the address. They were going to Madison Avenue where Malaina had an apartment.

Regina shifted a little. She had chosen the backseat. Like Emma.

Emma pathetically thought to herself that that had to be a good sign. Regina could have chosen the passenger's seat. And yet she had chosen the backseat.

The driver put the engine in motion, and off they went. On their way to what Emma suspected would be the tensest dinner ever. She wondered what Cora would be like tonight. Would she be subdued as well? Apologetic like she had been three days ago? And what about Malaina? Would she have enough awareness to recognize how delicate this situation was?

Next to her, Regina shifted and rubbed her belly slightly.

"Doing okay?" Emma asked nonchalantly. She didn't dare asking too much.

"Sí," Regina said simply.

"Alright. Good." Emma cleared her throat. The tense situation made her feel terrible. What she really wanted to do, was to throw herself at Regina's feet and beg her for mercy. But she didn't. She respected that Regina needed time.

They hadn't broken up, Emma reminded herself. They were not broken up. Regina would have said if they were. She was too good a person to play games. This wasn't to play a game. She had openly communicated about what she needed in order to digest this. Time. And although it hurt knowing that Regina didn't want any type of closeness at the moment, Emma still had to look at the bright sides. Regina had not asked her to go back to Maine. Nor had she left New York herself. She was still here and so was Emma. That was a tiny bright spot in this sea of shit Emma's foolish actions had thrown them into. They were together still.

Just not…. Together.

At least not in the way they had been before all of this.

Emma discreetly looked at her girlfriend (that still was appropriate, right?) and wondered what she was thinking right now. What was going through her head right now? Was she nervous? Angry? Sad? Or simply tired?

Regina had looked tired for the past three days. Even tonight when she was wearing makeup. Her hair had been piled up on her head in a loose bun with a few curly strands brushing against her cheeks. With her red lipstick and the red dress she was wearing under the coat, she looked stunning. Like an actress.

"You look-" Emma stopped talking upon realizing what she was about to say.

Regina turned her head. "Sí?"

"Nice," Emma landed on. "You look nice." Regina looked better than nice. She looked drop dead gorgeous, but Emma wasn't sure how Regina would feel about being told this.

"Oh. Thank you. You too look…. Very appropriate for the occasion, Emma."

Emma. Not 'querida' or 'mi amor' or even 'señorita Swan'. Just plain Emma. That was another thing that stung, but Emma pulled herself together and said: "thank you."

"El vestido de batalla," Regina murmured.

Emma smiled in unbridled relief. "That's right. The battle dress." She was indeed wearing her pink dress. The one she only ever wore for special occasions.

Something tugged at Regina's lips. So brief you could have missed it if you blinked. But Emma saw it. A teeny, tiny smile. It was quick, but it was there. She could have cried of relief.

Then Regina shifted slightly and rubbed her belly.

"Does it hurt?" Emma asked her. Force of habit. She couldn't help it.

"No. He's just very active tonight. Perhaps he can sense how I feel."

"I'm sure he can, beau-" Emma stopped herself. Calling Regina 'beautiful girl' wasn't something she should do right now. It was too soon for that.

"I feel heavy tonight," Regina said simply. "And my back hurts. I should have brought that stupid pregnancy pillow. A shame I couldn't fit it into my suitcase."

Emma held her breath. This was the most she had heard Regina talk for the past two days.

"Do you have any idea what a 'rutabaga' is?" Regina asked.

Emma frowned. "Is that some kind of disease?"

Regina let out a tiny snort. "No. Apparently, it's the size of the baby this week. So I hope it isn't some kind of disease."

"Oh." Emma smiled again. Because Regina was fucking talking to her! "I bet it's some kind of vegetable."

"You're probably right. But I think I prefer comparing him- or her- to the size of a cauliflower. I actually know what that is."

"Good plan," Emma praised.

Regina shook her head. "What is he doing in there? It feels like he's upside down or something…"

"Gymnastics?" Emma suggested and hoped that she once again would see Regina smile.

Regina did smile. A teeny tiny little smile. "Perhaps. Or dancing."

"Like mother like child," Emma quipped. She had not dared calling the little one 'our' baby. That seemed like a bad move since her own position in Regina's life currently was on shaky ground. Emma was acutely aware of that. And she would do everything she possibly could to secure that position again. And she would NEVER keep again hidden from Regina ever again. Never!

"Mmm," Regina nodded and looked out of the window. "Looks like we're almost there."

"Yep."

"Esto es tan extraño," Regina shook her head slightly. "I thought Cora and I were done and now I'm on my way to meet her and her girlfriend. If I end up giving birth to twins or triplets, I won't even be surprised."

"Triplets?" Emma's eyed widened. "That's a lot of babies."

"I know." Regina scoffed slightly. "Imagine that."

For a single moment, Emma could in fact imagine Regina with three little mini versions of herself.

The taxi stopped and the driver announced that they had reached their destination. Emma got out of the taxi first and waited as Regina wrestled with her crutches. "Do you need any-"

"No," Regina interrupted. "I got it."

"Okay." Emma immediately backed up. Although she did not like seeing Regina struggle with her crutches. But if Regina didn't want her help, she would have to respect that.

After a while, and with a frustrated huff, Regina managed to exit the taxi. The pavement was wet from the rain that had fallen earlier, and she cussed softly under her breath when the tip of her right crutch ended up in a puddle and splashed water on her shoe in the process.

Emma literally had to bite her tongue not to offer her help a second time.

"Alright. Looks like we're here," Regina observed as she looked at the building in which Malaina Drake lived in with Cora. "Which floor is it again?"

"Fifth," Emma answered.

"Right." Regina looked down at her cast-incased foot. "Let's hope to hell that the elevator isn't broken. Because if it is, I have no idea how I'm to get up there."

Emma said nothing as they walked towards the building. If the elevator indeed turned out to be broken, there was in fact only one option. Carry Regina up the stairs. And THAT would probably not be well received. There hadn't been much physical contact between them for the past two days. Possibly the hardest two days in Emma's life. After Regina had woken up from her extra nap two days ago, she had announced that she wanted to see Central Park. Emma had carefully asked her if she wanted to go by herself. Regina had not been interested in that. So they had gone together. And when they came back, their large hotel bed had been separated into two beds. Regina's doing. She had shrugged and said something about the couch not being comfortable.

Emma's heart had broken a little. Two beds. Not one. That hurt. Not sleeping in the same bed as Regina had stung like hell. But again, she had to respect Regina's feelings. She had no right to argue or protest. She was the reason why things had become so messy. The two separated beds could solely be blamed on her.

Emma hadn't slept much the first night she spent in the bed. And judging by the lack of snuffling sounds from Regina's bed, neither had she. But they hadn't talked. The room had been painfully quiet for hours until Emma finally fell asleep. She had no idea how long Regina was awake for.

Thankfully, the elevator was not broken, and the relief was evident on Regina's face as she stepped inside.

Emma followed suit and left it to Regina to push the button. The doors slurped closed and the pull behind Emma's navel told her that they were going up.

Regina arched her back and let out a low groan. Then she let her crutches rest against the wall as she stretched her arms high above her head. Clearly trying to make something loosen.

Emma frowned and her fingers were itching to just reach out and rub Regina's back. She knew it would help. It always did.

Regina didn't address her sore back though. Instead she scoffed and said: "you know what, I just thought that I should have brought something. But then I remembered that this isn't a normal social call and that I don't even like Cora. I wonder what she's like? Malaina, I mean. Either she is like Cora- which would be more than I can stand- or Cora is very different when she's with Malaina."

"It's probably that," Emma said. She remembered how Cora's eyes had lit up when talking about Malaina.

"Mmm. Dios, I have no idea how to do this," Regina tapped her uninjured food against the floor like she always did when she was feeling particularly frustrated. "I mean, what am I supposed to say? What am I supposed to think about her?"

"Maybe you can decide that after you've met her?" Emma gently suggested.

"What if I won't like her?" Regina asked. "What if meeting her won't change anything? What if she won't like ME?"

"Then screw her," Emma said plainly.

For a moment, it looked like Regina was about to smile, but at the last minute she changed her mind and reached for her crutches instead. She kept her eyes on the numbers as the elevator slowly whirred it's way up to the fifth floor.

When they reached the fourth floor, the elevator stopped, and they got company from an older couple who smiled at them.

Emma politely returned the smile and saw Regina do the same.

The elderly woman's eyes lingered a bit on Regina's belly for a moment, and Emma was sure she saw her eyes light up. What was it with pregnant bellies that attracted strangers like a magnet?

"Congratulations," the elderly woman said and flashed Regina a smile.

"Thank you."

"My granddaughter is expecting too."

"How nice." Regina smiled politely but Emma could see that she in no way was in the mood for small talk with strangers. There was this tightness around her eyes that so easily gave her mood away.

Luckily, Regina was spared of more small-talk when the elevator dinged, and the door opened. This was fifth floor.

"Have a lovely evening," the elderly woman chirped after them as they excited the elevator.

"We'll see about that," Regina murmured as soon as the elevator door had closed behind the couple. "We'll see how 'lovely' it is going to be. It all depends on what she's like. And what Cora is like." She shook her head and smoothened a hand down her coat. Frowned slightly. "Why is my belly so pointy?"

"Normal pregnancy stuff?" Emma suggested and silently agreed. Regina's belly was indeed a bit pointy.

"Maybe it IS triplets," Regina deadpanned.

"That sounds like a lot of work," Emma said, unsure of where Regina's sudden urge to joke came from.

"I'm pretty sure one baby will be too. Anyway. Let's do this, sí?"

"Sí," Emma confirmed, following Regina as she hobbled over to the apartment door with a sign saying 'Malaina Drake' on it.

"Cora in an apartment," Regina mumbled and shook her head once more. "I can't really picture it. But I don't suppose anything can surprise me these days." She cleared her throat and then pressed the doorbell. It rang with a rather shrill tone that had both of them wincing slightly.

They didn't even wait a full minute before the door was open by Cora Mills. She was in black slacks and a dove grey blouse with tiny little buttons down the front. Her chocolate brown hair was hanging in loose curls around her face. She was wearing ballerina slippers and a full face of makeup. Regina was clearly not the only one who had whipped out her 'battle gears' tonight.

"Regina," she greeted formally (and nervously?) "Emma."

"Hi," Emma said politely.

"Hello," Regina said flatly.

Emma knew Regina. And she knew that Regina wasn't being intentionally rude right now. She just desperately needed the bathroom. Like she so often did when arriving at a new place.

"Come on in," Cora said, clearly deciding not to take offense to Regina's tone. Good call. Emma would have chewed her out if she had.

"Thank you," Regina said. Still with some tightness in her voice. She was on edge, and that was completely understandable.

Had the situation been any different, Emma would have reached out and taken her hand to soothe her. But unfortunately, that was not something she could do right now. Not when she had promised Regina to give her space.

Inside the hallway they went. Emma easily slipped off her brown leather jacket and watched as Regina placed her crutches against the wall while simultaneously wrestling with her coat AND trying not to put any pressure on her broken ankle.

"Do you need some help with that?" Emma hesitantly offered and mentally prepared herself for a crisp 'no, I got it'.

But she didn't get one this time. "Can you give me a hand with the coat?" Regina asked. "It's just- my foot- you know-"

"I know," Emma said, quickly stepping forward. "You lean against the crutch, and I'll get the coat, yeah?"

"Okay."

Emma's hands were almost trembling as she helped Regina with the coat. Another teeny tiny step in the right direction. "There we are," she said as she hung Regina's coat on the coat-rack. "Ankle okay?"

"Sí." Regina grabbed both of her crutches and turned slowly to face Cora.

"Come on into the kitchen," Cora said. "Dinner is almost ready."

"Something smells good," Regina commented as she began to limp her way through the hallway. "What are we having?"

"Roast chicken and fried potatoes."

"That sounds good," Regina said, and for a split second Emma saw her eyes light up. As they so often did when it was about food.

"I hope you're both hungry," Cora said formally.

"I sure am," Emma said, struggling to maintain a normal conversation. "What about you, Regina?"

"Sí," Regina nodded. "Very."

They followed Cora into the kitchen. The surprisingly large kitchen. Every thing was kept in earthy colors which gave the room a sort of rustic vibe. So very different from the kitchen in Regina's childhood home. Malaina's style was one hundred and eighty degrees the opposite of Cora Mills'. But Emma liked it very much. And she suspected that Regina did too. She definitely looked around in curiosity. Did that thing with her mouth where she pursed her lips like she always did when she found something to be positive.

So far, so good.

Emma glanced at Cora and noted that she looked nervous. Which honestly was fairly jarring. She didn't think she would see the day where Cora Mills got nervous over anything. But clearly, Cora was plenty nervous about introducing her daughter to her girlfriend. And honestly, that was a fairly reasonable thing to be nervous about, was it not?

Emma would be nervous too if she was Cora.

And there, standing near the oven and clearly monitoring something inside it, was Malaina. She was wearing a flower patterned wrap dress in dark colors and with long sleeves. Her blonde locks had been straightened and was swept up in a high ponytail.

"Hello, Regina," she said, stepping forward and extending her hand out. She was smiling. Slightly nervously.

"Hello, Regina said politely and shook her hand once. "Again."

"Yes," Malaina agreed. "Again." Her gaze flickered to Cora who made a funny little motion with her chin. Clearly encouraged by that, Malaina continued: "It's good to see you. I'm glad you wanted to have dinner with us tonight."

Regina gave a tight little smile in return. "I figured it was time."

"It was more than time." It was said in a brisk, half-cheerful manner, but Emma saw the way Malaina quickly glanced at Cora. There was something in her eyes. A twang of annoyance, perhaps? A touch of blame because Cora had not come clean sooner?

"And Emma," Malaina continued, turning her attention to Emma and shaking her hand too. "It is nice to see you too."

"Likewise." Emma smiled at the older blonde.

"I believe that the dinner is ready," Cora said, clearing her throat slightly. "So if you would sit down. Then I can show you around afterwards."

"I think I'd like to go to the bathroom before eating," Regina said.

"Of course. It's just through that door and to the left. You can't miss it," Malaina said.

"Thank you." Regina limped off and disappeared through the door, leaving just Emma, Cora and Malaina in the kitchen. Which was pretty awkward.

Emma wiped her hands on the back of her dress. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No. You can just sit down, miss Swan," Cora said, turning around to check on the chicken again.

And so Emma sat down at the large, battered old table. It was full of scratches and looked like it had a good life. A well-lived one. This apartment was nothing like Regina's childhood home. It was quite bohemian. Nothing neat and tidy and sterile about it. Emma was puzzled. The neat and 'sterile' house had been all Cora's doing, and yet she seemed so much more at ease here. She even moved differently. With a lightness Emma hadn't seen in her before. It was clear as day that Cora Mills was very happy with Malaina. Emma watched the two women discreetly as they prepared dinner. She saw how Malaina brushed a hand over Cora's arm when they were standing close enough together. Heard Cora murmur and almost inaudible: "don't worry. Everything will be alright."

Damn. They were absolutely terrified of Regina. Had the situation been different, it would have been funny. But obviously, there was nothing funny about this.

Just as Cora had put the chicken on the table, a slight tapping sound against the ground revealed that Regina was coming back, and a second later she limped inside, clearly a little frustrated with the high threshold.

"Oh dear. We should have lain a blanket there or something," Malaina said, partially rising from her chair. "Do you need any help?"

"No, I got it," Regina replied and hobbled over to the chair next to Emma. With a quiet huff, she sat down, and a look of pain crossed her face as she leaned back.

"Is… everything alright?" Cora asked carefully. As though she was not sure whether she was allowed to ask Regina that.

"Braxton Hicks. I'm fine."

"Have you experienced a lot of that?" Cora asked as she pushed the dish of enormous golden and crispy looking chicken towards Regina.

"Some," Regina said and there was that twinkle in her eyes again as she carved herself a piece of chicken. "But only recently."

"You're twenty five weeks along now, aren't you?" Cora asked.

"Sí," Regina confirmed, giving Cora a look of surprise. "Are you keeping track of my pregnancy?"

"No," Cora said quickly, and Emma was sure she was wringing her hands under the table. "I mean, not… entirely." She cleared her throat.

"Not entirely," Regina repeated. "I see."

Could have sounded alarming, but Regina's voice was quite neutral. She helped herself to a second piece of chicken accompanied by a solid load of potatoes. Then she pushed the dish of chicken towards Emma with the words: "chicken, Emma?"

"Yes. Thank you," Emma said and tried not to wince at the missing 'querida'. She was so used to being called that, it had been a second name. And now she felt utterly nameless. And quite sad about it.

She too carved herself a piece of chicken. Took some potatoes and then handed the heavy dish to Malaina.

Regina took a moment to eat some food. Then she turned her attention to Malaina. "So… you own a gallery?"

"I do," Malaina confirmed. "In Brooklyn, as you know. I have considered to sell it and buy one closer to our apartment, but we'll see."

"You travel around and look for promising photographers?" Regina asked. "Is that right?"

"Yes. That is exactly right."

"Are you a photographer yourself?"

"Occasionally," Malaina smiled a little. "But I have always been more interested in finding new talents than anything else."

Regina nodded slightly. She took another bite of the chicken. Chewed. Swallowed. Then: "this is very good."

"Malaina is the one who made the chicken," Cora said quickly.

"With a bit of help," Malaina nonchalantly added.

"It tastes good, Malaina. The potatoes too."

"Now THOSE was all your mother's doing," Malaina half chuckled. "And you don't have to say 'Malaina'. Mal is completely fine."

"Alright then," Regina flashed her a little smile.

"I made turnovers for dessert," Cora revealed. "So I hope you're hungry."

"I always am these days," Regina half-sighed and rubbed her belly. "As you can tell."

"Oh, don't worry," Mal said. "You are no bigger than I was when I was twenty five weeks along."

Regina's eyebrow rose in surprise, and Emma admitted that she hadn't seen that one coming either.

"You have children?" Regina asked. Now there was a slight edge in her voice.

"I have a daughter, actually," Mal said and poured herself a glass of water from the decanter. "Lilith. Known amongst friends as Lily."

"I see. I didn't know that." Regina took another bite of the chicken. She carefully chewed. Then took a sip of her water. Sat the glass of water down and looked at Malaina once more. "Does she… Does she live here?" her eyes flashed and the look in them seemed to scream 'replacement daughter, replacement daughter!'

Emma couldn't blame Cora for looking a bit alarmed. Regina's eyes were…. Very expressive.

"No, she moved out last year," Malaina said and chuckled. "Thank god. She's quite rambunctious. I have no idea where she gets it from."

Emma was sure she saw Cora smile very faintly.

"How old is she?" Regina asked neutrally.

"She's nineteen. So a year younger than you. I do hope the two of you can meet sometimes. I think you would get along quite well."

That did not seem to make Regina feel any better. "Does she come here a lot?" she asked and speared a piece of potato on her fork. She kept her eyes on it as she continued: "yes, of course she does. She's your daughter. Una familia feliz."

Emma spontaneously reached out and put her hand on Regina's. Of course Regina felt pushed aside knowing that Malaina had a daughter who came here while Regina had become estranged. Emma's anger towards Cora flared up again. What she had done wasn't fair to Regina!

"I have done many things wrong," Cora said, leaning in as though she too wanted to put her hand over Regina's. "And excluding you was one of them."

"Yes." Regina said plainly, wiggling her hand free from underneath Emma's. "I would like to meet her, though. Lily."

"Of course," Malaina said immediately. "I know she wants to meet you, too."

"So she knows about me." Regina shifted on the chair. "The 'stepsister' who isn't a part of the family."

Cora and Malaina looked at one another. They looked stricken. It was hard for Emma to feel very sorry for them.

"We fucked up," Malaina said openly, leaning forward and looking Regina in the eyes. "We've done this the completely wrong way."

"Not 'we'. I." Cora interjected. "I should have done things differently. I should have told you sooner."

"Yeah. You should."

The tension at the table was growing thicker by the minute, and Emma was starting to genuinely fear that Regina would leave in a rage.

"I can't go back in time and change my decisions," Cora said quietly. "But I can try my best to make up for it now. If you'll let me."

Regina pursed her lips. "I am here, am I not? If I wasn't interested in giving this one more shot, I wouldn't be here. And just to be clear… I don't have a problem with the two of you being…" she gestured vaguely towards Cora and Malaina. "That's perfectly fine with me. It's the lying and the sneaking around that upsets me. It makes me feel underestimated. Very underestimated." She looked at Cora. "I adore daddy. You are absolutely right about that. Perhaps you feel like I was gravitating towards him since early childhood, but you have to know deep down why that is. You rejected me. You have never given me a chance to get to know you."

Emma swallowed thickly. Those words didn't come from an angry, adult woman. It came from a younger girl whose mother had been a stranger to her all her life.

"I want that," Cora said a tad stiffly, still not very good at putting her feelings out there. "I want you to know me."

"Good. Then maybe this can actually work out. Pass the salt, please."

Malaina hadn't Regina the salt and Emma's shoulders uncurled as the tension at the table lifted some. Things weren't exactly perfect. Not quite Una familia feliz, but at least Regina's eyes weren't flashing anymore. She also looked a smidge more relaxed. Saying that to Cora had clearly helped a bit.

Emma was glad to see it.

"Does the chicken taste alright?" Malaina asked. The question was directed at Emma.

"Yes," Emma said and flashed her a smile. "It tastes very good."

"Oh, good. It's always a bit of gamble when I start cooking."

Almost against her will, Emma chuckled. And she was sure she saw Regina smile…

"Do you know how long you will be in New York for?" Cora asked once they were half-way through dessert. The apple turnovers were also incredibly good.

Regina shrugged slightly. "Well, Emma's pictures are being exhibited in two weeks, so I reckon we will stay at least until then. Right, Emma?"

"Right," Emma eagerly confirmed and was sure her heart did a little dance of joy in her chest. Two more weeks in New York! Regina was staying for the exhibition! Emma hadn't even thought about that until now, but now she was just so, so grateful.

"And when do you have your next doctor's appointment?" Cora continued. She looked a bit nervous again.

Regina pursed her lips slightly. "Not until I reach week 30. But I do have to see the doctor when I get home so I can get the cast off my foot. Finally." She glanced at Mal. "Has Cora told you what happened?"

"Not in details, no. But I can understand that the fath-" she interrupted herself and coughed. "That 'his' wife somehow was involved in it?"

"That's right," Regina confirmed. "She swung at me so I fell down a flight of stairs. Wasn't my best night."

Emma instinctively moved closer to her.

Cora shook her head and looked genuinely sad. "I so wish I had gone to the hospital then. I should have."

"Sí," Regina willingly agreed. "But as you can see, I made it out alive. And so did Blueberry. Thank god."

"Blueberry?" Malaina echoed and smiled. "That is a sweet nick name for him. Is it a boy?"

"I don't know," Regina shrugged again. "I've decided not to know beforehand. I want to be surprised."

"Understandable. I was so sure that Lilith was going to be a boy. I had even named her and everything. And then she turned out to be a girl instead."

"Who knows, maybe Blueberry is a girl too," Regina turned her head. "Or what do you think, Emma?"

"Uhm… I don't know," Emma said and noted that her heart was beating a little faster because she was being included in the baby-talk. "As long as the baby is happy and healthy, it doesn't really matter."

"Well said." Malaina bowed her head.

"You are keeping the baby," Cora said. It wasn't a question.

"Sí. I am. I realized that I am the mother of this baby after I came close to loosing him." Regina glared at Cora. "And if you start to go on with the same nonsense as you did at daddy's place then-"

"I should not have said all those things," Cora interrupted. "I wish I hadn't. That was wrong of me."

"Yes, it was. Maybe I am young and maybe I don't have a clue how to be a mother, and I'll definitely make mistakes along the way, but I can learn," Regina said firmly. "I can learn from my mistakes."

Cora wrung her hands. "And perhaps I can learn from mine too."

"Perhaps. You might even learn how to be an abuela someday. If you want a relationship with the baby, of course."

"I do," Cora said hastily. "If you'd let me."

Regina said nothing. But she did give a little nod as to show that she would consider it. And that was definitely better than nothing.

Emma thought to herself that Regina most certainly was the bigger person here. To think that she even considered letting Cora back into her life given all the crap Cora had pulled, was something close to fantastic. Regina truly did see the best in people. Even the woman she had sworn she was done with.

Fuck, it was probably the weirdest dinner Emma ever had been to. All of them were threading far too lightly. Cora looked like she constantly was torn by careful optimism and caution. Malaina was less on edge than Cora, and every so often she glanced at said woman. Emma noticed the little things she did. The way she stroked Cora's arm secretly. Made eye contact with her and smiled in encouragement.

They had, Emma realized, their own secret language. That certainly was interesting. And quite sweet too, really. The way Cora looked at Malaina when she thought that nobody else were looking was very obvious indeed. They loved each other.

Emma wondered if Regina had noticed that. She probably had. Regina was smart.

"You've added something to the recipe, haven't you?" Regina asked Cora after another bite of apple turnover.

"Yes," Cora confirmed. "A dash of cinnamon."

"Oh." Regina nodded a little. "I'll have to remember that the next time."

"The ones you made were good too," Emma chirped in, seizing every opportunity to compliment Regina. "Very good!"

Regina flashed her a little smile. "Gracias."

Emma took the smile. But she still was a little sad that the 'gracias' wasn't accompanied by a 'querida'. She missed being called 'querida'. But patience truly was the key in all of this. Giving Regina the time to digest the enormous bombshell of a surprise was essential.

And things weren't quite as bleak as they had been on the night where Emma slept on the couch. Regina was not ignoring her. Nor was she shouting. That was a very good beginning….

A half an hour later, Emma and Regina were back on the street and trying to get a taxi back to the hotel. Emma had seen one in the horizon, so she reckoned it wouldn't take long for them to get one. Which was good. It was pretty cold.

"Well, it wasn't a complete disaster, was it?" Regina asked.

Emma wasn't sure whether it was a rhetorical question or not, but she still answered it. "No. Definitely not." She meant it. Cora and Malaina had smiled when they said their goodbyes after Regina had confirmed that she would meet Lily. There had obviously not been any goodbye hugs or anything, but there had been handshakes for both of them. And even a little smile from Regina.

"Cora was…. Very different," Regina mused. "And Malaina…. Well, she seems nice enough. I guess."

"She was definitely interested in getting to know you. I could tell. And ashamed of their way of handling it."

"Cora's way," Regina corrected. "She's the one who insisted upon lying."

"Yeah, absolutely," Emma agreed.

"But she did apologize for that," Regina continued. She shook her head slightly. "And she is apparently keeping track of my pregnancy."

"Looks like it. Does that bother you?"

"No…" Regina said slowly. "No, I think it feels like she's interested in me. In a non-stalker way. That's pretty different."

"Yeah, I can imagine so." There was that urge to slip her arm around Regina's shoulder. And there was the reminder that she could not. At least not right now.

"And then there's the deal about my 'stepsister'," Regina let out a disbelieving chuckle and looked at Emma. "Would you be interested in coming with me when I'm gonna meet her?"

"Yes," Emma said quickly. "Absolutely. If that's what you want."

"It is. I don't think I have the nerves to meet her on my own." Regina chuckled again.

Another surge of hope filled Emma. First the dinner and now Regina had asked her to come and meet Lily. She wasn't completely in the dog-house! At least not as much as she had been!

To Be Continued….