"Hello," Emma hastily answers the phone breathlessly while she balances Henry in one arm and attempts to keep the phone pointed at them, so Regina can see their faces and not the ceiling or the floor.
"Hey, are you alright? You seem flustered," Regina softly replies in concern, but Emma's mind is focused on bouncing Henry to keep him from screaming bloody murder once again.
"Yeah, Henry's...going through a phase...I think...I hope..." she mutters, making sure her knees bend aggressively so she can pop right back up to keep him moving.
Cora and Henry are out this evening and Emma's beside herself with her screaming child. She's not sure what to do anymore because clearly, he doesn't give a damn whether she feeds him, changes him or burps him. She's not going to tell Regina this piece of information, but she distinctly remembers a scene from the show Friends where Monica rocks the baby to sleep and she's so desperate that she's willing to give that a try.
"What's wrong? He's fussy?" Her girlfriend innocently inquires because she has no clue that fussy would actually be a blessing in this moment.
"Fussy...more like possessed by the devil himself," Emma deadpans, her body recklessly bouncing from side to side while Henry sniffles and hiccups after his hour long temper tantrum.
Regina sighs heavily and somehow Emma already knows there's so much more behind that exhale than just her guilt of not being there with them. She holds her breath waiting for the blow she knows is to come. She inspects the way her girlfriend anxiously runs a shaky hand through her hair, that's already in disarray from her anguish.
"This makes it so much harder," Regina mumbles mostly to herself, but Emma hears those awful words loud and clear and they instantly toss her stomach upside down. "Em, I'm so sorry, but I can't come at the end of the month like we planned."
"What? Why?" She tries her best not to sound too disappointed because she knows her girlfriend's career comes first right now and it's all for their future as a family.
"Too many people have requested off during that time and since I already had a week off in March, my name was pushed to the bottom of the list," she explains as though the words are literally slicing through her heart as they speak.
Regina's antsy fingers tread through her wild hair yet again as her head slowly falls forward in shame. She looks utterly exhausted and Emma wonders if it's because of her worry about the conversation or if she is running ragged at the hospital.
"Regina," she softly whispers to coax those beautiful brown eyes to peer up at her. "It's alright. Henry and I will be just fine. I can come to New York now with him," she offers, hoping to help settle some of the anxiety ripping her apart.
"No, I can't have you travel eleven hours on a plane with a three-month-old. That's too much, especially if he's going through a phase right now. The moment they approve my vacation request I'm coming there. I promise," she vows in a way that Emma knows, she will never cave on allowing her and Henry to travel alone.
"Alright," she slowly says, peeking over at Henry's pinched face. His eyebrows are still painfully drawn together in anger like she's the reason for his unhappiness. She sighs and places a gentle kiss to his nose while her feet continue shifting rapidly. "So, when do you think you will make it out here?"
"I'm really hoping sometime in June. I think it's feasible," her girlfriend weakly explains, expressing just how much she doesn't even believe in her own damn words.
"Okay, well, Henry and I will be fine. I'm sure your parents will be ecstatic to have us around a little while longer," she mutters, trying to make her face appear like she's looking for the silver lining.
"Are you sure about that? A constant screaming baby doesn't seem that great."
"Your mother never seems to mind when Henry breaks down. That woman has all the patience in the world," she grumbles while her eyes roll to their own accord.
She wishes she had half the patience Cora possesses just to make it through this phase.
Henry's little body stiffens in her arms just before he belts a godawful scream. She winces from the high-pitched screech as more tears stream uncontrollably down his face.
"Henry," Regina softly coos, but Emma knows even his other mother's voice can't save them now. "Come on my little prince, be good for mommy," she attempts to soothe their son, but he's not having it.
Henry continues to scream and cry through Regina's loving voice while Emma tries to readjust him in her arms with one hand. He kicks and squirms, inevitably knocking the cell phone out of her hands. She groans and reaches down to retrieve the device while he wails even louder in her ear.
"Look Regina, I'll call you later. Love you, bye," she quickly hangs up without glancing at the screen or even waiting for her girlfriend to reply.
She's just so utterly exhausted that she doesn't even acknowledge how rude she actually was to her girlfriend. She tosses the phone to the couch and cuddles Henry closer to her chest.
She shifts her weight from one foot to the next, bouncing aggressively up and down. "Shhhhh, Henry, it's okay my baby," she whispers over and over again, rocking him back and forth, but her son is relentless. He is definitely stubborn like both of his mothers.
The front door suddenly bursts wide open with a giggling Henry and Cora to follow. The moment the older couple hears Henry's frantic cries, their laughter comes to a screeching halt.
"Oh Emma, how long has he been like this?" Cora quickly interrogates as she rushes to her side and the older Henry softly closes the front door behind them.
"Oh, I don't know," she grumbles, finally feeling the last bit of her sanity slip away. "Like an hour and a half. He doesn't want anything. He's miserable," she whines as her feet rapidly pace around the living room.
"Give him here," Cora kindly offers, holding out her welcoming arms.
"No, it's alright. He's my son, I can calm him," she tiredly responds, mostly on autopilot from pure exhaustion.
"Emma, my dear, it's alright to take a moment to breathe at a time like this. If Regina were here, you two would be taking turns to calm him, so neither one runs out of steam. It's perfectly alright to allow yourself a moment to regain your strength before you lose your mind," Cora sweetly explains while the ear-piercing cries rattle dangerously in Emma's mind.
"Okay," she reluctantly whimpers and hands over her frantic son.
"What seems to be the problem my sweet boy?" Cora coos while Emma watches her carefully rock her baby. "Do you have a tummy ache?" She whispers as she slowly rolls him in her arms.
Emma's eyebrows knit together in confusion as she observes the older woman rolling her son, causing her heart to race a little faster in fear. Then, Cora grips his feet and gently tilts him upside down, forcing Emma into a full-blown panic attack.
"Oh my god, Cora! What the hell are you doing?" She bellows, reaching out to steal back her baby back and protect him from this woman who has clearly lost her damn mind.
"Sssshhhh, relax, my dear," Cora brings him back upright and lays his tummy across her forearm. "It's something my grandmother and mother did to all the babies when they were hysterical. He probably has gas," she softly enlightens the new mother as she begins rocking Henry again.
Cora's hand rests upon his tiny back while his cheek nuzzles into the crook of her elbow. She sways slowly from side to side as his cries suddenly subside. She gently massages his back while her forearm firmly presses into his tummy and suddenly, he's calming down.
"You have so many weird traditions," Emma mutters, inspecting every detail of Henry's face carefully to make sure he's alright.
"I know, I was absolutely horrified when my grandmother did the same thing to Regina, but as you can see, she is just fine now, just like Henry will be," the older woman happily states while Emma brushes Henry's hair aside to kiss his tear stained cheek.
"He's falling asleep," she whispers, her tired eyes only focusing on her son.
"Of course, he is. He wore himself out with all that screaming," Cora softly murmurs, pulling him closer into her comforting embrace.
"Regina called," Emma's loose lips reveal without a second thought from her tired brain. Cora hums in response as she slowly makes her way to the couch to sit down. "She's not coming at the end of the month." The older woman's eyes instantly jump to Emma's with a fierce fire, expressing her concern. "She wasn't granted the time she requested. I guess too many people are taking off at that same time. She said she's hoping for June, but her tone didn't sound too optimistic," she pouts.
Cora rests against the arm of the couch and slowly moves a sleeping Henry to cuddle upon her chest. Emma claims the spot next to them and delicately caresses her son's back because her body seems to always be magnetized to the infant.
"That's alright, let her focus on work. We are more than happy to have you two here. You know that, my dear."
"I know," Emma whispers and fights against the sharp pain attacking her gut from missing Regina, yet again.
XXXXX
With a baby on her hands, the weeks seem to just fly by. Emma had given up her apartment when she moved back in with Cora and Henry, right before her son was born. The couple took care of them, so she could stay at home and raise her son. There was no point going back to work at the hotel for one month after her maternity leave.
Most days she finds herself helping Henry in the barn while her son sleeps in the stroller beside them or sometimes Cora will look out after him. She really didn't want to take advantage of the couple in anyway, so whenever she saw the opportunity, she helped out as much as she could around the farm.
They were inching closer toward the end of June and Regina had still yet to inform her when she would be coming to Sicily. Emma's been growing a little anxious, but she doesn't want to push her girlfriend if she's really busy at work and besides, it's completely out of Regina's control.
"Hello?" Regina answers with her head peeking out of the white sheets and Emma's heart aches, wishing she could be cuddled in that bed next to her gorgeous girlfriend.
"I'm sorry if I woke you," she whispers delicately as Regina runs a hand sloppily in front of her face to wake herself up.
"It's fine," Her girlfriend breathes even though her eyes are hardly staying open. "What's up?" Now, Emma knows she's half asleep because her girlfriend would never use that phrase.
"Well, Henry's four months now and I can start him on baby cereal, I was just going to feed him for the first time...I thought...maybe you'd want to see?" She meekly questions as all her insecurities rush to the forefront of her mind.
She's not exactly sure how tired Regina is or how grumpy. She knows she's been working twelve hour shifts and she knows when she feels that exhausted, she doesn't want anyone to bother her. Maybe from being apart for three months now, Emma feels like she's slowly forgetting who her girlfriend really is. She feels this wedge slowly driving them further apart and she hates how insecure it's making her feel about their relationship.
"I'm up," Regina declares, fumbling to sit upright in the bed, instantly eliciting a smile to spread across Emma's lips. "What is that he's sitting in?" Regina laughs, resting comfortably against her headboard.
"A bumbo chair," she casually replies. "It's supposed to help teach babies how to sit up. The highchair is at your place, so I uh...I figured this would be fine to feed him in now."
"He looks so big," her girlfriend whines with those big brown eyes absorbing every detail her screen has to offer of their son. "Emma, he doesn't even look like the same baby anymore," her voice cracks, along with Emma's heart just knowing how she must feel not being there with them. "Did he grow over night?" She mutters and it's so painful to see those eyes become glassy.
"I think he did. He's a porker," she teases, hoping to lighten up her girlfriend's spirits just a little bit. "Okay, I haven't done this before, so we shall see how much he likes this stuff," she playfully admits with a little bit of distaste in her tone, because honestly, the baby food doesn't look that appealing.
"He looks so happy though," Regina chuckles as Emma mixes the small bowl.
Green eyes flick toward Henry, who is happily bouncing up and down in his chair and smacking his lips together. Emma can't help but burst out laughing when she sees how eager her son begs for his breakfast.
"You're such a chunker," Emma laughs, scooping the tiniest bit onto the tip of the rubber spoon. "Mmm-ummm-ummm," she coos playfully, flying the spoon into the air and inspiring Henry to open wide for her. She places the tip inside his mouth and watches as he sloppily closes his mouth around the spoon. A little oatmeal dribbles out as he tries to figure out how to eat for the first time while Regina giggles in the background. Emma swoops up the breakfast clinging to his bottom lip and slips it inside his mouth again. "Mmm-ummm-ummm."
"Why are you making those noises?" Her girlfriend pokes fun through a hearty laugh, provoking her hand and spoon to still midair.
"What noises?" She ignorantly questions, turning to meet a set of amused eyes.
"You're making these weird noises when you bring the spoon to his mouth," Regina laughs while running her fingers through her messy locks.
"I don't know," she shyly responds, feeling slightly embarrassed that she didn't even notice that she was producing any sound at all.
However, none of that matters for too long because Henry distracts her with his ear-piercing screech. He clenches his fists tightly and screams again as he stares intently at the spoon hanging in front of his face.
"Feed him!" Regina instructs through a laugh that Emma knows she's trying to keep inside her mouth.
"Jeez kid, you act like I never feed you," she grumbles and slips the spoon into his mouth once more.
Henry's face lights up as he enjoys the small bite once again. And Emma proceeds to feed him a little faster, making sure she doesn't pause too long in between to allow him the opportunity to scream in her face again. Not much time passes before he is finished, not daring to leave one bite left behind.
"Good job, my sweet boy," Regina praises while Emma lifts him from the chair and rests him in her arms. She quickly hands over his bottle before he freaks out on her again. "Emma, I miss you two so much. I just want to say screw everything and come out there right now," she concedes through a shaky voice, thick with her emotions weighing down upon her.
"I know, but you can't. You have to stay focused. This is killing me too. I hate that you're not here, but I know it's the right choice for our future. Do you think you will make it by July?" She fearfully questions, because honestly, she doesn't even want to know the answer.
Ignorance is bliss, right?
"I hope so," Regina exhales and anxiously runs her fingers through her hair, yet again. A terrible bad habit Emma's noticed her girlfriend's picked up since they have been apart.
"Honestly Regina, if you can't make it by July, I'm coming to New York whether you want us traveling alone or not, I don't care anymore. I'm tired of this," she professes as her exhaustion from the long-distance relationship finally gets the best of her.
"I will figure something out. I promise."
XXXXX
One week came and went in a blink of an eye and Emma was left feeling more uneasy about her long-distance relationship. The calls were becoming less and less, and the texts were almost nonexistent in her mind. Little malicious voices were whispering in the back of her mind that Regina finally woke up and realized she deserves so much better than her.
She tried her very best to keep busy with older Henry on the farm, cooking meals with Cora and dedicating every free second to her son, but none of that helped ease the ache that was slowly tearing her heart in two. She would even struggle to stay up late, just so that she could call her girlfriend when she was coming home from work, but still, her calls went unanswered.
"Cora, have you heard from Regina this week?" She finally questions the older woman when the pain just becomes too much for her breaking heart.
"I'm sorry, my dear," Cora responds flippantly because all her attention is focused on stealing her grandson from Emma's arms. She scoops up the four-month-old and kisses his cheek over and over again, producing small little squeals from the baby. "I haven't spoken with her. I believe she's working extra hard this week," she defends her only daughter while she resumes her sweet kisses against her grandson.
Emma groans inwardly and rolls her eyes at her so-called girlfriend. The least Regina could do was text her back saying that she's sorry, but she would be working extra hours, so she didn't worry.
"Could you watch Henry for a little bit? I would like to take Rocinante out for a little ride, if that's alright with you," Emma sheepishly asks, but Cora is already nodding her agreement as she baby talks to Henry and he giggles along.
"Go relax and clear your mind. Henry and I will be just fine. Won't we my baby boy?" She playfully questions as his blue-green eyes dance with excitement.
She's still unsure what color his eyes will turn out to be, most days they appear to be green, but sometimes they still hold that blue that babies are born with.
"Thank you," Emma murmurs and places a loving kiss to her son's temple. "Be good for Nana, kid," she orders while sweeping his hair to one side.
She quickly rushes out of the kitchen and inhales the warm summer air. One year since she first arrived in Sicily and she still can't believe where her life has brought her to during the time. She was only supposed to stay three months and now it's been twelve, but she doesn't regret one single moment.
She's over the moon that she was welcomed into the family with open arms. Her son is fortunate now to say he was born in Sicily and she knows in her heart, whatever the future holds for her and Regina, her and her son will be returning to Sicily through his life to visit Cora and Henry. They are their family now and she wouldn't ask for a thing more.
If she wants a solid relationship with Regina, then she knows she's going to have to go against her girlfriend's wishes and travel back to New York without her. She can no longer handle the horrible distance that's between them. It's not even the miles apart anymore, she can feel a wedge separating between their communication and she hates it. It's like she doesn't even know what to say to her own girlfriend anymore and that's not who they are.
She glances up at the sky as she trudges her way toward the barn. The sky is growing darker for a promise of a summer thunderstorm and she instantly pouts knowing she can no longer bring Rocinante out in that weather.
The sky was just blue, and the sun was just beating down. Just her luck!
She scoffs and kicks the dirt as she enters the barn. The least she can do is visit with Rocinante if she can no longer ride him.
"Hey bud," she smiles brightly at her companion and climbs onto the wooden fence. She holds up her palm and allows the horse to graze her open hand with his long snout. "I know you're all Team Regina, but she's really pissing me off," she huffs in annoyance while his big black eyes watch her closely.
A violent gust of wind whips just outside the barn and slams the heavy door closed provoking Rocinante to screech out in fear. She quickly grabs hold of his reigns and calmly pets his nose to chase away his fears.
"Hey Rocinante, I'm here, bud," she softly whispers, her palm dragging against his coarse white patch.
A crack of thunder grumbles against the summer sky just before thick rain drops pelt against the roof, sounding amplified through the barn.
"So much for our ride, huh bud?" She sighs heavily and rests her forehead against his nose. "Maybe we can go out for a ride tomorrow?" She suggests, mostly to herself as another smack of thunder rips through the sky and the barn door swings wide open.
"Emma."