For Day 5 of OQ Prompt Party

#15: OQ as parents, #68: Learning they are going to be grandparents or great-grandparents & #99: Non-magic prompt in which Robin and Regina adjust to being grandparents (can be Henry, Roland, or a child of their own)

There was a time when Henry was still a baby, only weeks only when Regina had a thought sparked from sleep deprivation and a screaming newborn.

Only 18 years until I can sleep again.

It was fleeting and she felt so guilty for it. So many women would be grateful to be in her shoes, to have an adorable, chubby baby smushed against their chest. Later, she'd forgive herself for it. Motherhood was tough and those first few months, she lived in a blur of dirty diapers, screams and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

The thought turned out to be a lie. She had three more children, moving the goalpost further and further each time. Not only that, but when Henry decided to move out west for college, Regina found herself struggling to sleep once more. By now, her youngest was 5 and sleeping through the night but she worried. Was he eating? Sleeping? Safe? Henry was great about keeping in touch in the beginning, but there were some weeks she was lucky to get a text back.

She's proud of her son but she thinks about all the times she took for granted that he slept under her roof. And all she could think was "Well, he'll move back when he graduates". Rent was skyrocketing and it'd be cheaper to live at home for a few years.

Henry shocked them all by getting married just days after his graduation to the daughter of Regina's former college roommate. They had met their freshmen year at Cecelia and Regina's prompting, inseparable ever since. Their wedding was small, just their families in attendance. And then they gave a bigger surprise: they'd stay out west for the time being. Henry got an assistant job at a publishing house and Jacinda planned to start grad school. The two moved into a studio apartment in San Francisco while Regina and Robin took the long plane ride home to Maine.

Luckily, her son is better at contact these days and she knows she has Jacinda to thank for that. Regina texts with her own daughter-in-law often, thrilled to find someone else that speaks Spanish (she really should've taught the kids when they were younger). Jacinda is kind and fun, but also a bit of a pessimist. She brings Henry down to reality when he gets his head too far up in the clouds. Regina never worried about being a bad mother-in-law, she was never the type to think no one was good enough for her kids. She wanted them to find what she had with their father, to be as happy as they could be. Regina was, however, worried that they'd marry someone that didn't want to be a part of their family and shut them away. Jacinda is her first child-in-law and Regina has to admit, she set the bar pretty high.

Regina and Robin tend to visit them more in California than they make the trek out to Maine. The one exception is Christmas. Henry loves the one season of California but misses the snow. A week before Christmas, they fly out east. Normally, Robin will pick them up from the airport but this year, they say they're renting a car. Henry makes an excuse of wanting to visit some high school friends while he's visiting but Regina is dubious. Robin takes the break to pick up Roland from college. For the first time in months, the entire family is going to be together.

She's in the kitchen when she hears the front door open. Roland's already upstairs unpacking for his month-long break. Margot's voice rings out across the house.

"Henry!"

Regina grins and sets the dishrag down, following her teen daughter's shrieks. Margot's already got her arms around Henry's neck as he spins her around. Jacinda stands nearby with an amused smile on her face. Robin and Roland head down the stairs together, Wyatt already trailing after Roland as usual. Her kids are getting big, too big. There will be two graduations this spring, Margot from high school and Roland will get receive his bachelor's in teaching. Just as he's moving home while he looks for job, Margot will begin her gap year traveling the US with Alice. At least Regina will have her two boys home, even if Wyatt is close to starting 8th grade.

"Let me hug him, Margot," Regina says, gently nudging her daughter.

Henry chuckles and sets his sister down, pulling Regina in for a big hug. He's taller than her now, but that began by the time he was in 8th grade. Outside Wyatt, all of her children tower above her now. She has no doubt that her youngest will join them soon. Regina squeezes him tight, making up for all the hugs she's missed since they were out in California for Easter. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Robin go in for a hug with Jacinda but her daughter-in-law takes a step back. Regina raises an eyebrow and Henry chuckles a bit, pulling away.

"We uh, have an early Christmas gift for you all."

Jacinda smiles as she unzips her snow covered parka, revealing a tiny bump showing beneath her aquamarine top. Regina's mouth drops open as Robin slides his hand through hers, squeezing it tightly. Henry pulls Jacinda close.

"Bro…" Roland is almost speechless for once. "Are you two…"

"Well, it's not an excess of Christmas cookies," Jacinda jabs.

Henry laughs once more, squeezing her closer. "Jacinda's pregnant."

"I'm due in May."

A loud whoop escapes Margot's lips as she attacks her sister-in-law in a hug. Regina stares at her son in awe, tears filling her eyes. Henry grins, looking from his mother to his father.

"You're going to be grandparents."

"This is amazing, son," Robin says, pulling his son in for a hug. "Congratulations."

Regina is silent for a bit, watching as everyone fawns all over Jacinda. Once the crowd has dispersed, she takes a few steps forward and holds out her hand hesitantly. Jacinda grabs it and places it on her middle.

"No kicks yet, but they should come within the next month or so," she explains. "Or so I'm told. She's already keeping me up at night with heartburn, though."

"She?" Regina asks, a tear falling down her face. "It's a girl?"

"We did an early test, which isn't a guarantee. We find out for real at our appointment when we get back to California."

"But I definitely think it's a girl," Henry says.

Robin nods in agreement. "Your mother was carrying that way when she was pregnant with Margot."

Regina finally finds her bearings and throws her arms around Jacinda, squeezing her tightly before turning to Henry and standing on tiptoe to cradle his face. He grins down at her with such a glow about his (now bearded) face.

"Congratulations," she whispers, her voice genuine with love. "I am so happy for you."


Regina falls into bed that night, exhausted. Their quiet family dinner to celebrate Henry and Jacinda coming home turned into a huge event after the pregnancy announcement. Robin ordered more food and got champagne (sparkling cider for the minors and Jacinda). Now, the younger kids have gone to bed while Henry and Jacinda are off at his old friend Nick's house for the night.

Robin lays beside her but she doesn't move to snuggle into his arms. "We're going to be grandparents," she breathes.

"God, we're old." She nudges him and he bursts out laughing. "I'm sorry, but that's all I can think of right now."

"We still have a teenager," she reminds him.

"Yeah and soon we'll have two college graduates."

"God, do not remind me." She shakes her head, getting a glimpse of a gray that her hairdresser missed. "Where did the time go?"

"We blinked. I heard that's always the mistake."

Regina rolls over onto her side, taking him in. The years have changed them both. Wrinkles here and there, gray hairs they try desperately to cover. Regina's back aches when she bends now and she can't stay up past 10 without yawning. Robin's eyesight is going to shit and she knows it's inevitable that soon both will wear glasses. Both are still barely 50, but there's no changing that time has gone faster than they'd like.

"Do you think about the fact that in 5 years, we'll be empty nesters?" Robin muses. "Wyatt will be off at college, if he chooses to go, Margot will be done if she follows her plan."

"Our wallets will be a lot lighter."

"True, but our house will be empty."

"The kids always come back."

"It's not the same." He strokes her cheek. "You ready for it to be just us?"

"I feel like we won't know what to do with ourselves," she murmurs, giving him a light kiss. "For the past 25 years, our lives have pretty much been the kids. We've made time for ourselves but…I don't know."

"I think I want to retire after Wyatt graduates college."

It's an admission that comes almost out of nowhere and certainly not one Regina was expecting. "Really?"

"I'm sure by then we'll have a few more grandchildren. I don't want to spend it working or worrying about projects. Plus, we could do some more traveling."

Regina grins. "I like the sound of that."

"I knew you would." It's his turn to kiss her. "What about you? When do you think you'll hang up your pantsuit?"

"Never, because I look damn good in one." His pearly whites flash in front of her and she matches. "In all seriousness, I don't know if I'll last that long. Is that bad?"

Robin shakes his head. "We'll make it work."

Regina exhales a bit, finally allowing herself to snuggle against him. He kisses her temple and pulls the comforter closer to them.

"So, you gonna get a cane now, Gramps?" Regina teases.

Robin scoffs. "I'll get one as soon as you start wearing those ugly grandmother sweaters."

"Ugly grandmother sweaters?"

"I loved my nan, God rest her soul…but she wore some of the most hideous sweaters I had ever seen."

"I wouldn't know, both of my grandmothers passed before I was born." The only grandparent she ever had was her Grandfather Xavier and even he had died when she was young. "It's weird to think…we'll get to be grandparents when our own mothers never got to be."

"I thought of that too. But I watched your dad with the kids."

Regina gently smiles, tracing the hair on his chest. "He was pretty great, wasn't he?"

"The best. I don't know how I would've gotten through that first year of you being gone without him."

Regina nods, refusing to let the guilt she rarely ever feels spike up. Tonight is one for celebration and she will not be sad. "You're going to be amazing with that little girl. With any grandchild we have. You'll be the fun grandpa."

"And you'll be the strict abuela that they all respect and flock to."

"So, not much different than us as parents, eh?"

Regina chuffs, her eyes slowly closing. "Not at all."