Regina and Emma decided to walk back to their suite of rooms, not wanting to wake the baby, who was currently sleeping after her first meal, by using magic to transport themselves. They had left Belle with a number of bottles to fill when she manually pumped, so that they could feed her when it was time. The baby was swaddled in blankets, and being carried preciously by Regina, who could not help staring at her as they walked.
"She is so beautiful," Regina said in awe, as her fingertip stroked gently across her forehead, feeling the soft skin there.
"Can you believe we made her? I was only just getting used to the idea of magic, and then BAM! We have a baby! Who do you think she will look like?" Emma wondered.
"I think she will be a perfect mix of both of us. Judging by this tuft here…" Regina stroked the top of the baby's head.
"It's super cute!" Emma enthused.
"Yes, it is, but this tuft is blonde, so I think her hair will be like yours," Regina pondered, "her eyes when they were open were already very dark for a newborn, so maybe those will be like mine?"
"Her eyes already look to be your shape, but I think her nose and chin are all me," Emma pointed to those features, as she spoke, "her skin is also an amazing shade of bronze, so she seems to have been lucky enough to get that from you."
"It's funny, I know we adopted Willow, but she is a perfect mix of us as well, but the opposite of this little one," Regina sighed happily, "with Henry as well, we have a really beautiful family."
"What are we going to call her? We can't just keep calling her Baby all the time?" Emma asked, before grimacing, "you're not going to make us have a big party to announce it, are you? Like Snow and Dad did for Neal?"
"No. Some traditions should stay in the past," Regina laughed at the expression on her wife's face, "don't worry, darling. As for the name, I had an idea…"
xxxxxxxxxx
Willow and Henry were awake and waiting for them, in the living areas of the family's suite of rooms. As soon as they walked in with the baby, both children shot to their feet and rushed over.
"Wow, she's really tiny!" Henry exclaimed.
"Sssshhh!" Emma hushed him, "we don't want to wake her up."
"Can I hold her?" Willow asked sweetly.
"You can, little one, but can you go and sit in the armchair first? That way you will both be comfortable," Regina replied.
Willow hopped up onto the chair, and crossed her legs, and Emma put a cushion on her lap to help take the weight, before Regina carefully passed the bundle of blankets and baby over to Willow.
"What's her name?" Henry asked, looking between his Moms.
"Well, we thought we should honour Belle, because of the amazing thing that she did for us in being our surrogate," Regina told the children, "so officially her name is Isabelle."
"Hello, baby Belle," Willow said quietly to the baby, before looking up in confusion when Emma and Henry both burst into fits of giggles.
"What are you two laughing about, hmmm?" Regina raised an eyebrow, wondering what had gotten into the pair.
"Um, maybe we should call her Izzy, for short, not Belle?" Emma chuckled.
"And why is that?" questioned Regina.
"Baby Belle!" Henry laughed again, "she sounds just like a cheese! You know, those little red round ones with the wax on the outside!"
Regina laughed then, "I'll admit I had forgotten about those. Ok, so we call her Isabelle in full, but maybe we stick to Izzy? Does everybody agree?"
"I'm still going to call her Baby Belle," Willow said stubbornly with a pout, "I don't understand why you're all laughing."
"You can call her whatever you want to, sweetie," Emma reassured her, "we're sorry for laughing, and it wasn't at you, I promise."
"Can we take her to breakfast now? She wants to meet everybody," Willow told them seriously, "she told me."
"She did, huh?" Henry asked, teasingly, "well if Baby Belle wants to meet everyone, who are we to say no?"
Emma groaned, "we are not calling her that, Henry!"
"Come along, stop fighting, let's go and introduce her to the world," Regina said, a proud tinge to her voice.
xxxxxxxxxx
Breakfast turned into a celebration of sorts. The people had been preparing for this day for a long time, apparently, and they were showered with gifts once they had finished eating.
Marco had given them a beautiful hand carved cot, with apple trees depicted along the sides.
August had also spent time woodworking and had presented them with a pram. It was a clever design of wood with canvas panels stretched over it to keep the sun from Isabelle's face. The part that the baby lay in was removable and had a handle that popped up so they could choose to carry the baby, without the pram. It was perfect, and a very thoughtful gift, earning him a rare hug from Emma.
Granny had gifted them a few bottles of ointment that was, apparently, guaranteed to prevent nappy rash. It was a recipe that had been handed down for generations and she swore by it. They were in the Enchanted Forest, so they were using cloth nappies, and luckily for them, they could use magic to change them. Regina was sure that Emma would pass out, if she had to deal with a nappy as bad as some of Henry's had been. The ointment would be very helpful in keeping the baby comfortable though.
They had many other gifts, all of which were carefully thought out and useful to them. As they looked around at the queues of people lining up to present their offerings, they realised just how loved and accepted they were as a family.
The excitement and noise had woken Isabelle, and she was crying loudly. Emma took her off to one side, into a small corridor off of the main dining hall.
"I wish you could talk, honey, you could tell me what's wrong. How am I meant to know?" Emma wondered.
Rocking her gently, Emma was startled when the baby just disappeared. With a rather undignified shriek she ran into the hall, eyes desperately searching for Regina.
Regina looked up at her wife's dramatic entry, and seeing her looking so afraid, got up and ran across the hall.
"Emma, what's wrong? Where is Isabelle?" Regina asked urgently.
"She disappeared! Or someone took her! I don't know," Emma started to cry, "one minute she was in my arms and then 'poof' she was gone."
Regina smiled then, "poof? Like magic?" she asked.
"Yes! Um, Regina, why are you smiling?" Emma asked indignantly, "our daughter is missing!"
Regina had spotted a rather amused Belle and Mal walking towards them, with a baby in Belle's arms, as she fed her from a bottle. Emma felt her wife grab her by the shoulders, and turn her around, where she found Belle smiling at her.
"Are you missing something?" she teased, handing the baby and the bottle over to Emma, "she appeared on my chest and I think she was hungry, so I gave her a bottle and she settled," Belle explained.
Emma grinned, "that little minx! I nearly went into an early grave. She literally disappeared on me!"
"She's already strong, magically," Mal said, slightly awed, "to be able to magically transport at this age is unprecedented. She is going to keep us all on our toes, I think," she smiled at her fondly.
Regina smiled proudly, "I would like to formally introduce to you Isabelle Swan-Mills."
"Isabelle? Really?" Belle's eyes became a little misty.
"Yes. We wanted to honour you and everything you have done for us," Regina explained, "she will be known as Izzy, but we wanted her name to have a little piece of you in it."
"It's perfect," Mal said, holding out her arms, "may I?" she asked hopefully.
"Of course," Emma carefully handed her over, "she's surprisingly heavy when you've been standing up with her for a while."
"You'll get used to it," Regina told her, "Henry made my arms and back ache for weeks, and then one day it just didn't hurt anymore. He never wanted to be put down, so I spent months with him always in my arms."
"I'm so glad he had you," Emma said wistfully, "I wish I could have seen him as a child, but I'm glad that you were there for him. You gave me all those memories, when you all came back here for that year, but they have faded with time."
"You'll be here for this one, and we will build memories together, as a family," Regina said sweetly, pulling Emma close and kissing her cheek.
"You know, if there are specific memories that you want to see, we can use the mirror magic to show you, if Regina is agreeable," Mal suggested.
Emma's face beamed like a thousand kilowatt bulb, illuminating everybody in the hallway.
"Yes, Emma," Regina answered her unasked question, "I would love to share my memories with you."
Emma actually squealed loudly then, bouncing on her toes, just like Willow tended to do, much to the other adult's amusement.
xxxxxxxxxx
Granny knocked quietly on the door and waited. No one would disturb the family without being told it was ok to enter.
Belle and Mal spent a lot of their time in the Swan-Mills suite of rooms, even though their own were spacious and newly decorated. Both of them felt unable to resist the urge of spending time with their family. Happy to just soak up the loving atmosphere that surrounded them like warm blankets, when they were in each other's company.
Mal heard the knock, even though it was so quiet, and went to answer it, "Granny," she said happily, trying not to act any differently around the woman, whose heart she knew was missing, "come on in, we're just having cocoa, would you like some?"
Granny entered, looking around. She hadn't ventured into these rooms before, because the family had chosen a suite in a separate wing to everyone else. It was respected that they wanted their privacy, and it was Regina's castle after all. The other residents all just felt privileged to be allowed a home there, with Regina and her family. Things really had changed since the reign of the now former Evil Queen.
"Cocoa would be lovely, thank you," Granny replied, looking for a seat.
"Sit down, Granny," Emma called, as she got up to drag over another chair. Even though the fire wasn't lit, they always seemed to gravitate to the chairs that were around it. In Storybrooke a lot of homes had seating arrangements around a TV, but in the Enchanted Forest it made sense for the fire to be the focal point.
Granny sat down, "these are beautiful rooms," she complimented them.
"We just redid them recently," Emma told her, "Regina spent all of her time before I was rescued helping everybody else to be settled, and then when I arrived here we were able to choose together what we wanted for the space."
Not for the first time, Granny felt proud of Regina. She had come a long way. Well, she felt like she 'should' be proud, her mind told her confusingly, but lately she hadn't felt much of anything. Maybe she was getting old?
"I came to see you, to ask you a favour," she started, "if you don't mind?"
Regina spoke up, "if it's something we can do to help you Granny, you only have to ask. What do you need?"
Granny sighed, she wasn't really sure why she was doing this, "I need to send a message to Ruby in Oz. I'm worried if she tried to get back to Storybrooke, and it's not there, then it could hurt her in some way," Granny looked worried.
"I think she would be ok," Mal mused, "a portal would just direct her to the next realm, which in this case would be the Enchanted Forest, so she would end up here."
Granny looked panicked, but she wasn't sure why she felt that way. Before she had a chance to say anything else, Regina had noticed her face.
"Of course we will send her a message, Granny, that's no problem," Regina assured her, "but in the meantime, please don't worry, ok?"
"Ok, thank you," Granny replied gratefully.
Belle handed her a pen and piece of parchment, "why don't you write her a letter while you drink your cocoa, and we will make sure she gets it," she suggested, giving Mal a worried look.
Granny thought for a while before writing, but by the time she had finished her cocoa, she had two sides of parchment filled with elegant cursive script. Emma gave her an envelope and a candle with wax and a seal. Granny could then seal her letter to keep it safe from prying eyes, and the older woman seemed to relax when she had done so.
Granny got up, "I better go and start preparing the kitchen for our next meal," she said with a smile, "or we will all go hungry."
"I'm starving," Emma stated, "be gone, woman," she joked.
Regina tickled her tummy, "you're always hungry," she said with a fond smile.
"Thank you for your help," Granny turned to leave, "see you at dinner, I'm making your favourite, Emma."
"You're the best, Granny! See you at dinner," Emma replied, watching as the woman left the room.
All of them stayed quiet for a moment, listening as the sound of Granny's footsteps got further away.
"We have to see what's in that letter right?" Emma asked.
"Yes," agreed Mal, "we need to know for sure if this really is a message from Granny, worried about her granddaughter, or if this has anything to do with Blue."
"Can we see without breaking the seal? We don't want Ruby to feel like we have violated her privacy by reading it," worried Belle.
Mal picked the letter up, and flicked her wrist, and the others watched as the words seeped from the envelope and hung in the air in front of them. Most of it was a general greeting, and explaining that Storybrooke was no more and that they were all back in the Enchanted Forest. Then there were enquiries about how she was, but one part stood out from all the rest.
***This is really important, my dearest, you need to come home. Bring Dot with you, but most importantly you MUST bring Lily. I can't explain why in a letter but you have to trust me. Do not meet me at the castle, no one can be allowed to see you. Meet me by Lake Nostos at midnight when the new cycle of moons begins. I will be waiting. Tell no one.***
"What the hell? She lied to us!" Emma exclaimed indignantly.
"What does she want with my daughter?" growled Mal.
"It's not her though, is it?" Belle reminded them.
"Belle is right. This is not granny, this is Blue's work. She has a plan and it obviously involves Lily." Regina told her, as she tried to calm Mal, and stop her going off to incinerate Granny, "she can't help it, Mal. At this point she is not much more than a puppet whose strings are being pulled by Blue."
"We've got it under control," Belle tried to reassure Mal, "Regina even charmed the plates and dishes to reveal any poisons in the food. She is being carefully watched. She won't get away with anything under our watch."
Mal visibly relaxed, and sat down, "I know," she sighed, "but I'm scared for Lily."
Emma went and sat next to her on the two seated sofa, reaching out and taking Mal's hand, "you have to remember something, Mal."
"What?" Mal grumbled.
"We are a strong family and we have always dealt with whatever has been thrown at us. Together we are stronger, and love always wins," Emma reminded her with a smile.
"How can you say that? You were captured and tortured," Mal retorted.
Emma grinned, "I'm still here aren't I? Still around, like a constant thorn in your side, bugging my favourite big bad scary dragon on a daily basis. Emma Swan-Mills, Dragon Tormentor Extraordinaire, at your service," she finished with as much of a bow as she could manage in her seated position.
"One day I'm going to roast you, Saviour," Mal grinned back at her, "and I don't mean the comedy variety!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Emma laughed, "bring it on."
"Ok, children, can we get back to the matter at hand?" Regina raised an eyebrow at them both, willing them to behave.
Chastised, they both tried to look serious, before laughing as they glanced at each other's expression.
Belle rolled her eyes at Regina, who grinned back. Their partners were closer than anyone had ever imagined they could be, and were an endless source of entertainment. Henry jokingly called it a Bromance, which they both objected to due to the fact that they were both women, but that's what it was. They had somehow, ridiculously, against all odds, become best friends, probably even closer than Mal and Regina had ever been. 'Trouble', thought Regina fondly, that's what Emma and Mal were when they got together, and definitely a bad influence on each other.
Mal and Emma turned to each other, before turning to their partners and both apologising with a quick, "sorry," in tandem.
"I think we should send the message but add one of our own to it," Regina suggested.
"Good idea," Mal agreed, "we can tell Ruby to bring Lily, but to come straight to the castle so we can keep all of them safe."
"Will she come? She might go to the lake?" Belle asked.
"She trusts me," Emma told them, "if I write the letter, and explain about Granny's heart, then I know she will trust me enough to come here instead."
Passing the pen and paper over, Mal teased, "time for detention, start writing your lines."
"I must not kill dragons, I must not kill dragons," Emma muttered under her breath as she started writing to Ruby.
