Chapter 22

"I really think we should actually own the house before we go shopping for baby things," Emma sighs.

"Emma, this stuff takes much longer than you think. You need to plan ahead."

Mary Margret had dragged her baby son, Emma, Regina, Elsa, Lacey, and Ruby along for a "baby" shopping trip. The snowstorm finally ended after a few days and the streets were finally clear enough for life to resume as normal. This gave the teacher the idea to take the expectant mother on a shopping trip to look for baby supplies.

"Why can't I just get Henry's baby stuff out of storage? It'll definitely save the cost a little bit," she says as the group walks into the third baby store that they'd been dragged to.

"Because half of that stuff you gave to me and the other half is outdated."

"It's a kid Mary Margret, not a car. Besides, she won't care if her rattle isn't the latest model. She won't even know what a rattle is," Regina huffs.

"Why does everything have to be so high-tech now?" Elsa adds, looking at a light-up teddy bear. "We all grew up with the simplest of things and we're all okay. I still have my old stuffed bear that was dressed like a snowman."

"I'm not saying it has to be 'fancy,' but you need functional pieces," the new mother of the group says, pushing her infant son down one of the first aisles.

Emma follows begrudgingly. She looks at the shelves and shelves of stuffed toys, all seemed to stare back at her, mocking her it felt like. Also, all the playthings either lit up, talked to the baby, moved, vibrated, or could even be hooked up to a phone. Her childhood was so much simpler… then again, she didn't have much of a childhood as she was passed around in the foster system so much. She vaguely remembers she was given simple toys to play with, ones that weren't so fancy and expensive. The only thing she ever kept from her youth was her baby blanket, one with her name knitted on the front. She'd been found in the blanket and it was the only connection she had to her birth parents.

There are cribs at the back of the store. Most of them are carved into elaborate shapes, have frilly looking bedding, and elaborate looking mobiles overhanging each of them.

"Do you have any idea of what kind of theme you want to go with?" Mary Margret asks.

"No. Killian and I haven't even touched on stuff like that. There are more important things right now, like making sure the bid for our house goes through."

"Well, your chances of getting the house are pretty good," Regina says. "I haven't had any other offers, except yours. So, I say the odds are definitely in your favour."

"At least it's an offer we can afford," Emma mutters as she heaves her baby bump upwards. She looks at a crib that is white and has tiny unicorn mobile hanging above it. The creatures look like they're made of glass, but when she feels them, they are plastic. The piece seems to glow in the light and when she touches the object, it makes a soft melodious tune.

Mary Margret was looking at cribs with Disney Princess themed bedding or mobiles with fairies, but none of them are to Emma's taste.

She likes the white crib that she has her hand on. It's simple, sturdy and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. She looks at the hanging fixtures until she finds one with starfish, seahorses, and dolphins. They look like they are made of crystal (although it really was plastic) and shone different colours. It looked very pretty and reminds Emma about Killian's love of the sea. Since they might be moving closer to the harbour again, she thought he'd like to capture it in their daughter's room.

"At least you know it's a girl," Ruby says, going through the clothing section. She was eyeing all the cute little dresses and accessories this new baby could wear. She picks up a tiny hair bow that was bedazzled in rhinestones. "Isn't this cute?"

"What's the point of buying things like that if the baby is going to grow right out of it?" Regina questions. She was examining the storybook aisle, taking any volumes that peaked her interest off the shelves. Much like Emma, none of them were to her taste; she preferred classics like The Velveteen Rabbit or Goodnight Moon, none of the tv show books that now lined the shelves. How would babies understand this anyways?

"Because it's cute," Lacey answers, picking up a stuffed bear that could glow in the dark. "It's better to enjoy the moments while they last."

That remark makes Regina a little upset. This whole trip was depressing her just a little bit, still so much a reminder of the life she might never have. Her relationship with Robin was doing well and Roland had also taken a liking to her, but Roland was five and out of the various stages that the real-estate agent longed to go through.

"Oh, you certainly know how to seize the moment and the attention," a voice says behind them.

All turn to see a lawyer in a tight skirt, black pantyhose and a green top that seemed to be cut too low. Unbeknownst to the women as they had been browsing the store, they were being watched by another. One with fiery red hair and wore lethal looking heels. Her eyes narrow and her teeth grind together.

Many of them roll their eyes at the approach of Zelena.

"What do you want Zelena?" Regina huffs.

"I was in the neighbourhood and I happened to see both Mary Margret and Emma's oversized bodies and decided to investigate. Should have known you'd be looking for clothes to hide those horrendous figures."

Emma grinds her teeth together but says nothing. She holds the new mother's hand and shakes her head, convincing her that they don't need to get involved.

"How rude can you be?" Ruby snaps. "You miss your morning massage this morning?"

"For your information, I was in court, saving a local wildlife reserve from being torn down and granting them a million dollars to expand the land. What have you done besides bend over so men can see your thong?"

"Please don't talk like that Zelena," Mary Margret begs. "There are children around."

"Whatever pudgy, why are you even shopping? I thought you already popped out your mistake."

Mary Margret's face flushes red, but Emma keeps a grip on her arm.

"Oh right, Hi Emma, glad you're okay, how are you coping with your mistake?"

Regina steps to face her sister, very much prepared to punch her lights out. "Take a hike in those heels. Why are you even following us? Did you feel left you because everyone hates you?" She mocks her half-sister more by making a pouty face. "The few things you got from mom was her poor attitude, the inability to care about other people's feelings and the fact that no one ever wants you around."

"I don't even know why you're here Regina. It's not like you're never going to need this stuff."

The brunette sister flushes a shade of dark red and clenches her hands into fists. She bites her tongue and takes a step back, fighting off the tears. An image of that night in the car flashes through her mind, the sight of Daniel going through the windshield causes her to shudder.

"Get lost Zelena, no one wants you here."

"It's a public place, I can be here if I want to."

"And why would you want to be in a baby store, you're so thin, you can't ever get pregnant anyway," Ruby adds.

That causes the red-head to step back in fury.

"At least my chances of getting pregnant are better than yours…" Zelena then goes on to insult Ruby's sexuality.

Ruby is infuriated and tries to march over to punch her out, but Lacey and Elsa hold her back.

"You little…" the waitress says through gritted teeth.

"Let's go, everyone," Emma says. "There's nothing in this store that is worth it now that she's contaminated everything."

The words fall easily off the pregnant woman's tongue and the original group of women compose themselves and exit the store without another word to the acid-tongued lawyer.

Zelena is left seething with so much anger, that she might burst. She ends up punching the nearest shelf, causing a toy to squeak in protest. Her heels then punish the floor as she too exits the store. She watches the group go towards the mall and likely the food court. The red-head wants to make them suffer, especially her half-sister. Regina always got everything and that needed to change. An idea began forming in her head. She smiles with glee.

…

"Sorry that she ruined our shopping trip," Regina apologizes as the five of them and the baby sit in the food court, eating lunch. "I always knew she got the worst parts of my mom."

"It's fine," Emma shrugs, sipping her berry blast smoothie. "At least we got the last word in."

"You shouldn't have to apologize for being related to her..." Lacey adds, sipping her bubble tea.

"I want to ruin her face so badly," Ruby hisses, poking at her Kung-pau chicken.

"We all do, but violence is never the answer," Elsa says soothingly.

"It is if they are an obnoxious bitch."

"Let's try to forget about it now."

Regina's phone buzzes in her pocket. She assumes it's a work text. She scrolls through the messages and her jaw drops. She blinks a few times to make sure she's not imagining things and even refreshes the screen.

"Oh my God…"

"What is it, Regina?" Emma asks.

The real-estate agent shows her potential client the message. Someone just placed a very large bid on the house the small family was steering towards, much larger than Emma and Killian could even afford. It was very generous and made the value go up even more.

"Someone just outbid you for the house…"

"WHO?!"

I think we know who... Please read and review