"Emma, you have got to chill," Ruby said a bit exasperated. "You'll end up giving yourself an ulcer! You'll end up giving me an ulcer."

"I'll chill when I hear from Regina," Emma said tightly and lift the cup of cocoa to her lips. It was eight o'clock in the morning in Storybrooke. Meaning that it was two o'clock in the afternoon in Madrid. And she hadn't heard anything from Regina. Not a peep since they had said goodnight and I love you last night. And it was safe to say that Emma was loosing her shit. Of course she had texted Regina good morning as soon as she woke up. The first thing she did in the morning, was to grab her phone so she could read Regina's sweet good morning message. But there hadn't been one this morning. Emma had found that to be quite odd, because normally Regina was always on point with these things. But she had tried not to think too much about it as she had texted Regina good morning. And asked her if everything was okay.

But Regina hadn't answered the message. Emma had already been nervous then, but she had tried to calm herself. Had tried to assure herself that everything was fine, and that Regina was okay. Just busy.

She hadn't been able to keep herself convinced for long. After having showered, gotten dressed and brushed her teeth, Emma had pushed back all worries of being 'annoying' or 'clingy', and called Regina.

But Regina hadn't picked up.

Alarms had started blaring loudly in Emma's head. And they still were. It was unlike Regina to not pick up or answer text messages. Something had to be wrong. Emma was sure of that. There were only two occasions where Regina hadn't picked up or answered text messages. The first occasion had been when she found out that she was pregnant and was freaking out. And the second occasion had been when they were in New York and Emma's clumsy way of handling Cora's secret had sent Regina into the night in New York.

It could only be two things, right? Either something was physically wrong, or Emma had done something that had made Regina angry and unwilling to talk to her.

A slightly frantic Emma had wracked her brain to find a potential reason for Regina's silence. She didn't think that she had done something to piss off Regina. At least nothing deliberately. But she wasn't the one who was pregnant. She wasn't the one with sometimes wacky hormones. Maybe she had done something that had made Regina upset. Said something stupid. Something that could be taken the wrong way.

Emma thought long and hard about it. The conversation they'd had last night had been completely normal, hadn't it? She had told Regina that she loved her. She had told her to give her belly a rub from her. All normal. Nothing to get upset about, right? There had been no reason for Regina to get mad about. Unless…

Emma frowned. Remembered how they had joked around last night. Regina had laughing referred to herself as a 'ballena', the Spanish word for whale. To which Emma had replied: "but you make such a cute whale, beautiful girl!'

Was it that? Emma's eyes widened. Had Regina gotten mad at her because she had called her a whale? She hadn't meant it like that! And Regina had laughed when Emma said it! She had! Emma was sure of it. It couldn't be that, right? Right?

Shit. Maybe it was. Maybe Regina had realized what Emma had said after hanging up, and then had gotten upset about it! Fuck!

"Should I apologize?" Emma asked.

Both Ruby and Belle looked at her with raised eyebrows and confused expressions. "What?" Belle said and took a sip of her ice tea. Belle always drank ice tea. Whether it was winter or summer.

"Do you guys think I should apologize?" Emma asked again.

"Uhhh…" Ruby gave her a funny look. "For what, exactly?"

"I don't know, anything? Everything? Just to be on the safe side? Maybe I pissed her off without knowing, I could totally have done that, you guys know how I can be, or maybe she got mad because I jokingly said she'd make a cute whale last night, but I didn't mean it like that, you guys know that, I'd never-"

"Emma!" Ruby loudly interrupted. "Relax, okay? Breathe."

Emma obediently took a deep breath and let the air fill her lungs. That felt kind of nice actually. Maybe she had needed a bit of extra air.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Swan!"

"Ruby!" Belle scolded and shot her girlfriend a warning look. Then she turned to Emma. "What Ruby so delicately is trying to say, is that you cannot get so worked up. It's not healthy. As for apologizing, I don't think you should apologize until there is an actual reason to apologize. And I don't think there is now."

"But I called her a whale," Emma squawked, flapping her arms for emphasis to make Belle understand.

"A cute whale, right?"

"Yeah, but-"

"And how'd she take that?" Belle calmly interrupted. "Did she get mad?"

"No, but-"

"How did she react, then?"

"She laughed," Emma said truthfully, easily recalling Regina's sweet laughter that had filled her ear last night.

"Laughed," Belle echoed. "You know what? Then I don't think she's mad at you, Emma. I've met her, remember? Regina has a great sense of humor. She wouldn't get mad over this. Not even if her hormones are all over the place."

"Then why isn't she calling me?" Emma whined. "Why is she not answering my texts or calls? Why is she avoiding me?"

"Emma…" Belle leaned over the counter so she could pat Emma on the shoulder. "You can't know that she's avoiding you. There's probably a completely rational explanation for why she isn't picking up right now."

"What if there's something wrong then?" Emma pressed, looking at Belle as though she was able to come up with sensible answers for all her questions.

"Then you'll know about it," Belle said simply. "Regina would never keep you in the dark."

"I know," Emma mumbled and sighed. "I know…"

"Until then, you have to try and calm down," Ruby added, coming around the counter with a bear claw in her hand. "And eat this. On the house. Freshly baked."

"Thanks," Emma said, taking the bear claw from Ruby and taking a bite of it. It tasted delicious as always. And the sweet pastry actually helped a little bit. "I know I'm being an idiot."

"You're not an idiot," Belle soothed, patting her arm again. "You're just worried about your pregnant girlfriend."

"More like obsessed," Ruby teased.

"Ruby!" Her girlfriend snapped. "Be nice!"

"She could be right though," Emma philosophized as she took another bite of the bear claw. "Maybe I am obsessed."

"You're not. You just love your girlfriend and unborn baby. Nothing weird about that."

Emma blew out a breath and looked around in Granny's Diner as though the answer to all her problems was hiding in the corner. "Do you think I should call her again?" She asked her friends.

"Emma," Ruby groaned exasperated. "Chill out. Please!"

"I think I would wait and see if she doesn't call you first," Belle said kindly, elbowing Ruby at the same time. "Which I'm sure she'll do very soon."

"You really think so?"

"Yes, Emma. I really do."

Emma supposed she would have to settle with that. She opened her mouth to ask her friends when they thought it would be best to call Regina, but she had a feeling that it would sound obsessive, so she settled for taking another bite of the bear claw, Ruby had just given her. A big bite. God, she hated this! Not the bear claw, obviously. The bear claw was good. But she hated what currently was going on. She hated that she couldn't get a hold of Regina, and that Regina hadn't called or texted her all morning. It wasn't even morning in Spain. Regina didn't have any plans today. Except for waiting for Cora's next move. Cora was coming to Madrid tonight. At least that had been the plan. Had something happened there? Something with Cora? Something with Regina's beloved father? Was that why Regina hadn't been in touch today? Was there some kind of unknown crisis going on in Spain right now?

Emma sighed deeply and took another large bite of the bear claw. It was no wonder she had been driving Ruby crazy. She was currently driving herself crazy.

Belle was right. Probably. There was of course a completely rational explanation for Regina's radio silence. Probably. Nothing was wrong.

Probably.

Emma gobbled down the rest of the hot cocoa with cinnamon sprinkled whipped cream Ruby had served her as soon as she walked in and looked like 'something that had been left outside overnight', as Ruby so delicately had put it.

Emma absentmindedly licked whipped cream off her upper lip. She had a photo job in two hours. A wedding. Huge gathering. Bride and groom well known on social media. It was essential that she did a good job today and shot some pictures the happy couple would love. How the fuck was she supposed to get through that if she still hadn't heard from Regina? How was she supposed to concentrate on anything if Regina hadn't been in touch at that point?

"Is this how people go mad?" Emma asked no one in particular.

"Probably-"

"Not!" Belle hastily added, elbowing Ruby in the ribs hard enough to make her wince. "Definitely not. You are just a bit overly worried because of everything that has been going on with the pregnancy and those douchebags Regina has been bothered by."

"Yeah… I guess that's true," Emma muttered, now tugging off tiny bits of the bear claw and stuffing the bites inside her mouth. "I just really wish that she'd call me, you know?"

"Yes, of course. And I'm sure she will soon."

"I know I'm obsessing," Emma continued. "I do know that, but I can't help it! Nor can I help but wonder if I actually have done something to upset her."

"I'm sure that isn't the case, Em," Ruby soothed, gone was the teasing. "There's a different reason why she's not calling you, and I'm sure you'll get an explanation very soon. When she calls."

"Well, if she doesn't, I'll just buy a plane ticket to Madrid and ask her myself," Emma joked. Or was she?

"I think that would be to exaggerate," Belle chuckled. "And a waste of money. Isn't she coming here pretty soon?"

"Yeah, next week. At least I hope so."

"Now you're just being silly," Ruby accused and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah." Probably.

"Do you guys have any plans when she comes?" Belle chitchatted.

Emma knew exactly what her friend was doing. Trying to distract her. She was grateful for that. "Well, her dad is coming too, so we'll be introducing him to my parents. We also have a doctor's appointment. It's time for another ultrasound, and we're going to one of those Lamaze classes. Regina's been talking a lot about those."

"That sounds like a packed program," Belle smiled.

"Yeah, haven't you forgotten something?" Ruby asked.

"No, I have not forgotten about the baby shower," Emma huffed. "How could I possibly forget about that?"

"Good. Because all the things we've ordered arrived in a huge box this morning," Ruby chuckled. "And Granny is testing the recipes. Still Red Velvet, right?"

"With cream cheese frosting," Emma reminded her friend. Regina loved cream cheese frosting.

"I know that, Emma. You've told me about a million times already."

"I know, I know," Emma amended. "I just want it to be perfect, that's all. I want everything to be perfect. Regina deserves that after all the shit she's been through. I want the last bit of her pregnancy to be the best fucking time ever."

As soon as she had said that, her phone started ringing in the pocket of her leather jacket. Emma thrusted a hand inside her pocket and fished out her phone. Relief flooded her when she saw Regina's name and number on the screen.

"Regina!" she exclaimed as soon as she had lifted the phone to her ear. Her free hand curled into a fist and shot into the air in a triumphant gesture.

Both Ruby and Belle grinned and gave her thumbs up.

"Hola, querida," came Regina's voice in the other end. "I'm sorry I haven't answered your calls or texts. I fell asleep and just woke up."

"That's fine, yeah! Absolutely, I get it!" Emma said hastily and immediately forgot that she had been on the verge of buying a ticket to Madrid five seconds ago. Then she cooed in her sweetest voice: "was it a good nap, beautiful girl?"

Next to her, Ruby and Belle groaned. Ruby rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded like 'much ado about nothing!'

Emma waved her off. So what if she had been the tiniest bit concerned about Regina a moment ago? Everything was fine now. Fine and dandy. Nothing to be worried about. Regina was fine.

"Sí, it was a nice nap," Regina said in the other end. "But my morning took a little bit of a twist."

"Okay?" There was that twinge of concern again. "What happened?"

"If I tell you, you have to promise me not to freak out, okay?"

"Okay, I promise," Emma said automatically. And immediately felt alarmed.

"Well, my dad and I met up for breakfast. I think I mentioned that yesterday."

"Yeah, you did."

"So anyway, we went to this little place, and I had…." There was a pause and Emma for a moment wondered if the call had been disconnected.

"Dios mio," Regina said (no lost connection after all) "I can't remember what I had for breakfast. I swear, pregnancy brain is a real thing. Anyway, it's not important what I had for breakfast. Dad and I were sitting and talking when I suddenly got these really harsh cramps. I mentioned it to my dad, he said that I looked peaky and got worried, so he ended up taking me to the hospital."

"Hospital?!" Emma exclaimed. "Holy shit! Are you okay? Is the baby okay?!" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ruby and Belle look at each other in alarm. "

You're not going into labors, are you?! Oh my god, I have to-"

"Emma! You promised me that you wouldn't freak out!"

"Freaking out? Who's freaking out? Not me, that's for sure!" it was a complete and utter lie, of course. Emma could hear how high pitched her voice had gone.

"Do you want me to tell you what happened, or do you prefer to make your own conclusions?"

Emma cringed. Regina was getting annoyed. And rightfully so. "Sorry," she amended. "You're right. I got freaked out. Tell me what happened?"

"I have not gone into labors, okay?"

"Okay." Emma's shoulders uncurled, and she let out a deep breath. "Good. That's good."

"I got examined by a doctor he listened to the baby's heartbeat, and everything is fine. With both of us. It was just a bad case of Braxton Hicks and my body gearing up for giving birth."

"Okay," Emma repeated and quickly processed it. No labors. No concerns regarding Blueberry. Everything was cool. "I'm really glad you're okay."

"Sí, me too. But I didn't expect anything else. My dad is overly worried, that dear man."

"He isn't," Emma protested. "He did the right thing when he took you to the hospital. It was nothing, but it could have been something, and it's always better to be safe than sorry. Go Henry!"

"I'm telling him that you said that."

"You do that. And tell him that's awesome too!"

"I'll do that," Regina chuckled. Then let out a massive yawn and a: "oops. Sorry, querida. I don't think I'm awake yet. And I have to be at work in an hour. Great."

"Oh. No late night shift today?"

"No late night shift. Brianna offered to take that instead."

"I like Brianna."

Regina chuckled. "And what about you, querida? What are you up to?"

"I'm just hanging out with Ruby and Belle before work." And obsessing. But she wasn't going to tell Regina that.

"That sounds nice. By the way, did I tell you that Cora texted me earlier?"

"No, you didn't. What did she want?" hopefully not to cancel or in anyway announce that she had changed her mind. Emma had walked around fearing that for the past week.

"To let me know that she would like to meet up for lunch with daddy and I. In my apartment."

"In your apartment? Why? Isn't she staying in a hotel?"

"She is."

"Then why can't you just meet her there? That would make more sense, wouldn't it?"

"It would. But with any luck, Cora is going to tell the truth tomorrow, and I don't think it would be fair of me to say no to meeting in my apartment and force her to come out in a hotel restaurant. It's too public. She deserves privacy."

"You've already said yes, haven't you?"

"Sí, I have. Do you think that was dumb of me?"

"Dumb? Of course not! No way. I actually think you're giving her more than she deserves, but that's a whole different discussion."

Regina chuckled softly.

"Are you going to be alright at the lunch?" Emma asked, because she had heard some fatigue in Regina's laugh.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just a little tired of getting involved in… things. Of course I can appreciate that Cora wants me there, it's a huge step forward when thinking about how things were, but at the same time, I feel like I'm going to act like some kind of buffer at the lunch, and I just…" she sighed. "I want things to go smoothly so I can focus on the pregnancy."

"I get that," Emma said softly. She was aching to reach out and touch Regina right now. "I really do. And I hope that everything will go well at the lunch. Are you seeing Cora tonight when she lands?"

"No, I don't think so. At least we haven't discussed that. I think she's taking tonight to get settled in her hotel and all that."

"Sensible of her. Does Henry know that she's coming to Madrid?"

"He does. I told him. About the lunch too. It wouldn't have been fair to ambush him."

"That's true. Was he surprised?"

"Sí, very. He has no idea why she wants to talk to him about anything."

"How do you think he'll react?"

"Honestly? I have no idea. Obviously, he won't get horrible or anything. Daddy's not a homophobe. But I don't know what his reaction will be. We'll have to wait and see."

"Yeah."

"Anyways, I should probably get on with it. I need to get ready for work. And you need to get ready for that wedding, mi amor."

"Maybe I am ready. Maybe I'm hanging out in Granny's Diner in full party outfit," Emma joked.

"You're not. Though I would have liked to see that." Regina giggled in that adorable manner. "Call me later?"

"You got it. Bye, beautiful girl. Take care of our baby!"

"Claro. Love you."

"I love you too." Emma grinned from ear to ear when she put the phone down. Regina was just fine. Thank god. But seriously, god bless Henry for driving Regina to the hospital instead of assuming that it was nothing. He was such a good father.

"Regina okay?" Ruby asked as she wiped the counter.

Emma had a feeling that Ruby was only doing so because Granny had just walked by. Ruby hadn't done much work. Most likely because Belle was hanging out in the diner.

"Yeah, Regina's fine. Had to get checked out at the hospital, though. But it wasn't anything serious. It was only Braxton Hicks. Not that that isn't uncomfortable, but you know what I mean. It wasn't anything she needed medical attention for."

"That's a relief," Belle said and tilted her head. "Do you feel better now?"

"Lots," Emma grinned. "Hearing from her made everything better. I'm literally counting the days until we can finally move to California and be together all the time!"

"But that won't be until after Blueberry is born, right?" Ruby asked, heels clicking against the floor as she disappeared into the backroom to discard of the cloth she had used to wipe the counter.

"No, Regina wants to wait until after she has given birth, and I get that. She has a great midwife and a great doctor. There's no reason why she should start over with a completely new team. That would only be stressful for her."

"Not long until the birth now, huh, Swan," Ruby chuckled as she came back. She grinned as she leaned forward against the counter. "Only nine weeks more and you'll be someone's mom. That's pretty wild."

"Don't say it," Emma whispered. "It's too crazy!"

"It is not," Belle brushed her off. "You'll be a wonderful mother, Emma."

"Totally," Ruby agreed and grinned. "I can't wait to see you with a little one in your arms."

"Stop it," Emma begged. "My brain can't handle it. Let's talk about it when the baby is not in Regina's stomach, okay?"

"Fair enough," Ruby chuckled. "But seriously, I can't wait to see you with a baby."

"Mmm," Emma said a bit dreamily. She was slowly but steadily zoning out of the conversation as she indeed imagined herself with a baby in her arms. A tiny bundle of joy that eventually would grow up and call her 'mom'. That was crazy to think about.

"Are you nervous about your dad and MM meeting Regina's father?" Ruby asked.

"Huh? No, not at all. I know that they'll get along just fine. Henry is such a dear man! I can't imagine anyone disliking him."

"He sounds pretty amazing. I can't wait to get a glimpse of him when he comes in here. When he does, make sure he orders a burger. On the house."

"Aww, he'll be so happy. Anyway…" Emma glanced at the big clock on the wall and shot up from her seat. "Jesus Christ, it's late! I'm going to be late! See you later, guys! Bye!"

With that she dashed out of the door, accompanied by Ruby and Belle's laughter. Emma grumbled to herself as she sped walk over to her car and nearly threw herself inside. She would have to throw on the first and best dress, give her hair a quick brush and then be on her way. She was running late, damnit. Because she had ended up talking to Regina for so long. It was the same old problem every time. Her and Regina's conversation could probably last for hours if they weren't interrupted. Emma smiled as she drove the short distance back to her parents' house. Soon her and Regina's conversations wouldn't be interrupted. Soon they would be able to talk all the time. When they moved to California. To their beach house. Emma couldn't wait. She had been talking non-stop about the house when she came back to Storybrooke. By the time she finally stopped speed-talking, her parents had looked at her. Then looked at each other. And bursted out laughing.

Emma had participated in the laughter. She had been able to see why it was funny that she rambled.

Now she hopped out of the car, rushed into the house and yelled: "late!" over her shoulder when her mother asked what the rush was for.

To that, her mother chuckled and fondly recalled Emma's high school days. Emma had been chronically late in high school.

Upstairs, Emma threw on a dress that was half-fancy and grabbed her precious camera bag. Then she rushed back downstairs and drove off.

She ended up making it on time and shot some great pictures of the happy couple…

The next day Emma was on edge. It had already started the previous day when Regina had sent her a text saying, 'the eagle has landed', meaning that Cora had arrived in Madrid.

Emma glanced at her phone. There was a sweet 'Buenos días, querida' from Regina. Emma sent one back. It was seven in the morning here in Storybrooke. Meaning that it was one o'clock in Madrid. The lunch had probably already started. How was it going? What was being said right now? Had Cora already told Henry the truth, or were they still in the middle of a very awkward lunch with Henry being confused, Cora being nervous and Regina being tense.

Emma huffed out a breath and wished that she could have been there right now. She considered herself to be a part of the family, and she would have loved to be able to support Regina right now. Be there for her. Regina had to be exhausted today. When Emma had called her later last night, Regina had sounded very fatigued, and once pressed about it, she had admitted to running around and 'cleaning like crazy'. "Ingrown habit when the queen comes to visit", she'd said jokingly.

Obviously, Emma had scolded her for running around and making herself exhausted. But her vague threats about coming to Madrid to teach Regina a 'lesson' hadn't really worked. Regina had just laughed at her and claimed that her apartment had needed cleaning anyway.

Emma had refused to believe that it was that messy. Regina's apartment was homely, that's what it was. And besides, what she had seen of Cora's new place in New York, hadn't been overly tidy either. Malaina was influencing her in some way.

Emma sat up and stretched her arms above her head. She didn't have work today, so technically, she could have just curled up and slept for a few more hours. But she was too much on edge to be able to sleep. She wanted to be awake. And near her phone so she could pick up the second Regina called her with an update.

Emma wouldn't say that she was straight up nervous. But she was eager to receive news on how the awkward family lunch had gone. It was a pretty big thing Cora was telling her ex-husband, and of course Henry would be surprised. But Emma doubted he would get mad. Henry Mills wasn't the type to get mad.

She got out of bed and brought her phone with her as she headed into the bathroom to take a shower. Her neck felt a little stiff. Probably from standing with her head bowed over the table in the basement last night. She had been so busy developing the photos for the bride and groom, and now she was paying for it. She groaned quietly as she rubbed the back of her neck and let hot water cover the area that felt sore. Hopefully, that could help a little bit. Provide her with a bit of relief. She could use that.

She stiffened. Thought she heard her phone ring. But it was all in her head. Emma scoffed. The lunch was hardly over yet…

Emma spend most of the morning just hanging about and not really doing anything. Every so often, her gaze would flicker towards her phone to check the time.

Her parents, who both were off work today, noticed and commented on it. Told her that she was acting 'funny' and asking the reason why.

Emma answered evasively. Denied to be acting 'funny'. Her parents did not know what was going on with Regina and Cora. They didn't know of the drama that had unfolded behind the scenes in New York. It was not Emma's business to clue them in either. Cora was entitled to her privacy.

She looked at her phone again. It was now nine o'clock. Three o'clock in Madrid. Long lunch, she impatiently thought to herself. She would have liked to be a fly on the wall right now.

And finally, her phone buzzed. A new message. Only a single word. Skype?

'Yes!' Emma immediately answered, quickly coming to her feet and announcing that she was heading upstairs to talk to Regina.

"Alright, sweetie. Give her my love," her mom said.

"And mine," her dad added. He was still giving her a bit of a look. He clearly still thought that she was acting weird.

Emma did nothing to clarify anything, though. She just dashed up the stairs with her phone in hand. Within two minutes, she was seated in front of her laptop. She had logged onto Skype and was now waiting for Regina.

It did not take long before the familiar Skype tune rang through the room. Emma was quick to answer, and a grin spread on her face when Regina appeared on the screen. She was sitting in her living room. On the couch. Emma could tell from the angle that Regina's feet were propped up on the coffee table. Her long dark hair was gathered in a side braid. She was wearing a tanktop and shorts that had to be very tiny. Or perhaps she wasn't wearing pants at all. She had taken to taking off her pants when she was at home. Emma found that to be quite lovely.

And even lovelier was it that a bowl of something was balancing on Regina's round belly.

"Hey, you," Emma grinned. "What are you eating?"

"Cereal," Regina answered with a little smile. "I was hungry after lunch. If that even makes sense."

"Of course it makes sense." Emma made herself a bit more comfortable in bed. "So?" She gently prompted. "I'm guessing that the lunch is over?"

"Sí, daddy and Cora left about twenty minutes ago. Though not together."

"Figures. How did it go?"

"It was…" Regina dunked the spoon into the bowl with a clunk. "More emotional than I had foreseen. My poor dad was so confused at first, and Cora just sat there and stared at her food. It was very uncomfortable. I actually felt sorry for her, querida. Can you imagine that? When she first told me her story, I felt too angry and hurt to fully take it in, you know? But when she sat here and tried to tell my dad what was going on, I could actually acknowledge how difficult her life have been." She dunked the spoon into the bowl again and crunched cereals between her teeth before continuing. "Growing up, I was so busy hating her and avoiding her as much as I possibly could. It was so easy for me to label her as 'mean', but I never gave much thought as to why she acted like she did. Not that her struggles just automatically makes her actions okay, it doesn't. Definitivamente no. But I guess that I understand her a little better after today. For the first time in my life."

"That's wonderful," Emma said softly.

"De todos modos, we were almost halfway through lunch when Cora finally started speaking. She could barely get the words out first, but she managed to tell my dad that there was something she had to tell him. Obviously, my father had no idea what was going on, but he was polite enough. Imagine being that polite to someone who has cheated on you. I can only admire him. Anyways, Cora began with saying that she'd never had an affair with the waiter at the restaurant. She told daddy that she had made that up." Regina took a break to eat another mouthful of cereal.

"And… your dad? How did he take it?" Emma asked carefully.

"He was confused and asked her why she was bringing all of that up now. It was so obvious that he was uncomfortable, but Cora just kept talking. She had a terribly difficult time at first, but the more she said, the easier it became. She told him everything. The entire story she told you and me in New York. All of it. And daddy didn't interrupt her. He just sat there and listened to her. He was actually crying when she was done. And obviously, got me going." She shook her head, making small curls pull free from her braid. "Era casi cómico. I think Cora was almost crying too. She did look a little misty eyed when she was done talking."

"That sounds like an emotional time," Emma said gently. "Are you okay?"

"Sí, estoy bien," Regina nodded. "Things just got a little heavy when daddy said he felt guilty for not having been aware of it. For not having seen her. He asked her she felt like he somehow had forced her into the marriage…"

"And what did Cora say to that?" Emma asked, throat feeling a bit tight. That sweet man. Henry Mills had such a big fucking heart. She was incredibly grateful that Regina had him in her life. She hoped that Cora was grateful for Henry's kindness. It sounded like it had been a very emotional family lunch for all of them.

"She said that she did not. Because daddy had been nothing but good to her during their marriage. She said that it wasn't his fault that she was gay-"

"She really used that word?" Emma interrupted.

"Sí, she really did."

"Wow. Go Cora." Emma frowned. "Jesus. I'm cheering for her. I never thought that would happen."

"I know," Regina shook her head. "Everything has been turned upside down, hasn't it? Anyway, She made a whole point of saying that she was grateful she met him because meeting him had lead to me. And then she made a point of telling me that I was the best thing that has ever happened to her…" Regina cleared her throat and blinked rapidly.

"Well, she's right about that. You are," Emma said, once again wishing that she could reach out and touch Regina.

Regina hastily changed the subject. "She told daddy about Malaina. How they met when they were young. How they found each other again. And how they're together again. Do you know what daddy told her?"

"No. What?"

"That he's happy for her." Regina smiled now. "Cora did not ask for his forgiveness for cheating, and daddy never directly said that he forgave her, but in a way that still was exactly what happened. She asked him to forgive her. And he forgave her. It was crazy to witness, querida. I think this is the first time they've sat down and actually talked in all the time they have known each other."

"That's wonderful, Regina," Emma said. "I'm so happy for you, sweetheart."

"Sí, I'm no longer caught in the middle," Regina lightly quipped. "And I'm also forgiven. Daddy asked me if I had known, and I said yes. Cora actually came to my aid and told him that she was the reason I hadn't told him. He understood that."

"Of course he did," Emma smiled. "He's Henry Mills. And Henry Mills is awesome!"

"Sí, he is. He didn't even bat an eye when she told him about Lily. I told him that Lily actually had been in Spain to visit me last week, and he was just happy about it." "Did you also tell him about Lily's 'dancing queen' moment?" Emma teased.

Regina laughed heartedly. "No, querida, I did not. I prefer being transparent with my dad, but I don't think he needs to know that his pregnant daughter went to a nightclub."

"No, you're probably right about that," Emma agreed and snickered.

"So…" Regina leaned back slightly and balanced the bowl on her big belly a little better. She got an amused gleam in her dark eyes. "Now that all the secrecy finally is over, would you like to hear about the new nursing pads I bought today?"

"I would love to. Tell me all about it. Immediately. I also want a bumpdate, and a full list of potential aches that has popped up since yesterday…"

"Oh, you wanna know about my heartburn?" Regina asked with faux enthusiasm. "Well, by all means, querida, let me tell you all about it. But first you have to see what Cora brought me." She abruptly sat the bowl down and stood from the couch. Emma heard her huff slightly as she walked away. She was just about to remind Regina to take it easy when Regina re-appeared in the picture. She was holding up a tiny onesie for Emma to see. It was cream colored and had a text written on it.

"'Perfection runs in the family'" Emma read aloud. "'Just look at my mom.'" She grinned. "I like that. I like it a lot."

"I'm pretty sure that's a compliment. From Cora. Imagine that."

"Times are a-change, beautiful girl."

"I'd like that." Regina smiled wistfully. "I'd like that a lot."

Emma would like that too. So, so much. It was time for Cora to step in and be the mother Regina deserved. And hopefully, she would.

"Now… Are you ready to hear all about my heartburn?" Regina asked, clearing her throat.

"Sure," Emma said quickly because she could sense that Regina was becoming emotional again. "I'd love to, beautiful girl. Bring it on…."

To Be Continued…..