A/N: Hi friends, remember me? So, this is way overdue. A lot has been going on since work/school/teaching started back up, so I haven't had as much time to write, and I wanted to let this fic settle a bit in my brain before I wrote the epilogue since I cranked out the fic in such a short time period. As I mentioned at the end of the last chapter, I was thinking of three different ideas for the epilogue. I ended up combining all of them into one, and it took on a life of its own. Because I'm still working on it and it's already pushing 12k words, I decided to post it in two parts. Here's part one, and part two will be up as soon as I finish writing and editing it (aiming for this weekend). Part one is really setting up for what's to come in part two, but nonetheless in this chapter you'll get a bit of info on what our ladies have been up to over the past year, a little fluff, a little lovin' (this is a T rated fic, so don't get too excited about it), and a little drama.
This chapter jumps around in time a bit through flashbacks (which are more like narrative flashbacks, rather than full scenes) and present day. For reading simplicity, I'm using the line breaks to denote the start/end of flashbacks, and a single hash (#) to separate scenes/times within the flashbacks. My usual break (*.*.*) will be for scene breaks in present day, as always. I hope that makes sense. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
(Sidenote: I posted this 45 minutes ago, but it won't show up in the story, and even with the direct chapter URL it says it's unavailable, so I deleted it and reposted it. Hopefully this works and sorry if it clutters your email notifications!)
EPILOGUE PT. 1
ONE YEAR LATER: CHRISTMAS EVE
"What was that address again, ma'am?" the driver asks, glancing in the rearview mirror of the town car and looking at the reflection of his brunette passenger in the backseat.
"108 Mifflin Street," the woman confirms, meeting the reflection of his eyes briefly before resetting her focus on cell phone in her hands. She quickly shoots off a text: 'ETA 10 minutes' before putting it back in her purse.
"Thank you, ma'am. We're about ten minutes away," he says as he crosses the Storybrooke town line.
"I know," she chuckles softly, looking out at the trees lining the road and thinking back to how different it feels this time. She hasn't been back to Storybrooke since the chaos of Christmas last year, and this time as she crosses the town line, she doesn't feel the same impending sense of doom. She is still uneasy, as that feeling may never fully dissipate, but she feels more confident in her ability to handle anything that may come her way. And, she's actually a little excited to see her sister, who she hasn't seen in a year. This time, Zelena is bringing her fiancé home for Christmas, and Regina has heard so much about Walsh, the successful barrister who has stolen her sister's heart, that she is excited to meet him in person.
Her thoughts of her sister and future brother-in-law are interrupted when her phone dings and vibrates in her bag next to her. She reaches for it, smiling when she sees the message preview on the lock screen: 'Good. I miss you. See you soon!' She bites her lip, hoping to stop the goofy grin on her face from growing as she reads the blonde's message. It has only been 36 hours since she has last seen the woman, but Regina still misses her nonetheless. Regina had intended to fly out of D.C. with Emma the previous morning, but one of Regina's patients had an emergency, so Emma had reluctantly gone ahead without her. Fortunately, Regina had been able to secure the last available seat on an early afternoon flight on Christmas Eve, and now she is quickly approaching her childhood home as the car makes its way through town, toward the large mayoral estate.
In the last few minutes of solitude before she arrives at her mother's house, Regina reflects on some of the more pivotal moments that have happened over the last year:
The rest of the day last Christmas had been uneventful. Their Monopoly tournament had taken hours, with David's parents coming up from behind and securing an unlikely win. Cora had continued to quietly observe the family from the safety of the corner of the room, still uncomfortable with the revelation that Emma was gay, and even worse, that Emma and Regina had a sexual history. But, for the sake of her fiancé Leopold, Cora had tried her best to be part of the day's events. Dinner that night had been tense and quiet, but everyone had made it through relatively unscathed.
Regina had planned to fly back to D.C. on the day after Christmas last year, but because of the substantial snowfall in Maine and a comparable blizzard in the D.C. area, flights had been cancelled and delayed for several days leading up to Regina's scheduled departure. When she had checked her flight information Christmas night in her room in the guest house, she was annoyed to find out that it, too, had been cancelled. It seemed as though she would not have been able to get a flight for another two days, and she had patients she needed to see back at her practice. "You know," Emma had said as she watched the brunette's frustration from her spot in the doorway, "I'm driving back to Baltimore in the morning anyway. D.C. isn't that far out of my way, so I can drive you back if you want," the blonde had offered. Regina had been hesitant, worried that they would kill each other if they were trapped in a car for eight hours, afraid of it ruining any potential relationship they may have moving forward. When Regina had expressed her concerns to Emma, the blonde merely shrugged and said, "I promise I'll be on my best behavior." Regina had reluctantly agreed, and miraculously, they had both survived the road trip. And honestly, they had even enjoyed the little adventure, using the time to get to know each other better, away from the awkwardness of their family and without any influence from alcohol or orgasms.
Before Regina had departed the yellow Volkswagen that Emma had double-parked in front of the brunette's rowhouse, the blonde gently reminded Regina of her previous promise: "So, if I remember correctly, yesterday you did promise me a date." Regina had laughed as she unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for her suitcase in the backseat, saying I did, didn't I? The brunette had quickly grabbed a pen and a discarded receipt she found in the car's cup holder and wrote down her phone number, telling the blonde to call her and sending her a wink. Regina then thanked her for the ride and headed up the front sidewalk of her home, waving at Emma as she drove away.
#
Their first official date had been New Year's Eve. That hadn't been either woman's intention, given that it was always a night of grand celebration and expectations, but it was the first night they both had off since returning back home after spending Christmas in Storybrooke. Regina had been busy with patients well into the evening hours every day that week to make up for her time off over the holiday vacation, so she had very little free time until New Year's Eve. Emma had never been a huge fan of New Year's Eve, finding it overpriced and overrated, so she hadn't made any plans for that night, which meant her calendar was wide open. "Well," Regina had said as she spoke on the phone to Emma a few nights after returning home, "my only plan is to go to my friend Jefferson's party around 9 or 10 that night, so if you'd like to be my date, you're welcome to join. And maybe we could grab dinner earlier in the evening for the more typical first date-like event?"
"Isn't Jefferson the guy who had the New Year's Eve party where we first met?" Emma had asked after she readily agreed to Regina's plan.
"Oh, you're right," Regina had replied, not even making the connection. (Jefferson has been the only friend from high school who she still sees regularly, as he lives nearby with his husband and their young daughter Grace). "We've certainly come full circle."
And so, they had gone to his party after having a nice dinner at a small farm-to-table restaurant, well before the restaurant had been turned over for its own New Year's Eve celebration. They had enjoyed themselves at both dinner and at the party, and Jefferson had even remembered Emma from his party ten years earlier (only due to the fact that Regina had confessed to him the morning after his party in college that she had just lost her virginity to his roommate's girlfriend's cousin, and he had never let her live that down). "I do have an empty guest bedroom," he had commented to the women early in the night as he handed them each a cocktail. "Feel free to use it if you want to relive your glory days," he had winked. Regina had sent him a stern glare and lightly punched him in the arm before apologizing to Emma and taking her hand to introduce her to some of her less obnoxious friends.
Despite Jefferson's crude suggestion, Regina and Emma had managed not to become too intoxicated and did not end up staying the night in Jefferson's spare bedroom. Instead, they walked back to Regina's home a little after 1 A.M., as it was only a few blocks away. Regina had offered to let Emma stay the night, since she didn't like the idea of the blonde trying to get back to her apartment in Baltimore over an hour away on a crazy night like New Year's Eve. "But, no sex," Regina had said firmly. "I was serious about not wanting to start whatever this is with sex this time around." Emma had agreed, saying that they should take this slowly and not rush into anything they might regret. But, that didn't mean that they couldn't literally sleep together, so Regina had offered Emma the other side of her king-sized bed, which the blonde was more than happy to accept. They were both exhausted anyway and had passed out almost immediately, but not before exchanging a few lazy kisses. They had woken up the next morning entangled in each other's arms and with a barely manageable hangover, which Emma had cured with her favorite pancake recipe.
#
Things had been going well for the two women the rest of the year. They had survived a few arguments, which were mostly brought on by their demanding and competing schedules and living more than an hour away from one another — they couldn't just drop by for a short visit after work, and instead had to plan their dates in advance. In April, Emma's lease had been up on her loft in Baltimore, and she had casually mentioned to Regina that perhaps they should think about moving in together, or at least closer to each other. Regina had tensed up, thinking it was far too soon to live together, especially because they never saw each other more than once or twice per week due to the physical distance between their respective homes. Regina was worried that it would have been too much too soon, and Emma had respected that and didn't want to push her. After a long conversation, they agreed it would be nice to live closer to each other, so Emma had decided to move to Silver Spring, Maryland, as Regina couldn't move any closer to Baltimore (she owned her townhouse and didn't want to sell it, and she also had to stay within a quick commute to her affiliated hospital). Emma's new apartment put her farther away from her work in Baltimore, but it was still an easy commute, and much closer to D.C. and Regina. She had ended up finding a six-month sublet in Silver Spring, which had given them time to adjust to being able to see each other more frequently. Weeknight dinners or a casual Netflix binge and sleepover had become regular occurrences, as Emma's sublet had been less than 20 minutes from Regina's house. That experiment had gone well, and when the sublet had ended in October, Regina had asked Emma to move in with her, an offer which she quickly accepted. It's only been two months since the blonde officially began living with Regina, but they have been extremely happy.
When the town car pulls into the driveway of 108 Mifflin Street, Regina sees the blonde smiling at the end of the sidewalk, rushing to the car door to open it before the chauffeur can get out to do his job. "Hey, babe," Emma says, quickly stealing a kiss as the brunette steps out of the car as she grabs the large tote bag from Regina's hands.
"Emma," Regina warns, glancing back toward the house.
"Relax. Everyone's in the kitchen at the back of the house. No one can see us."
"Well, in that case," Regina grins, answering the blonde with another kiss of her own. "I missed you."
"Would you like help with your bag, ma'am?" the driver asks, awkwardly standing by as the blonde woman blocks his view of his passenger.
"No, thank you. I've got it from here," Regina responds, tugging on Emma's waist to get the blonde to take a step to the side, allowing Regina to tip the driver.
"Thank you, ma'am. Merry Christmas," he says as he nods his head toward her before stepping back into his vehicle.
"Shall we?" Emma asks as they watch the car back out of the driveway and she offers Regina her hand.
"I suppose we should," Regina says, suddenly tense.
"Hey, it'll be fine, Regina," the blonde says, sending her a reassuring smile.
"You're much more optimistic than I am," Regina says. "We might actually kill my mother this weekend."
Emma bites back a chuckle. "You're being a little overdramatic, Regina."
The brunette looks over at her and raises a brow. "Am I, dear? Need I remind you that Cora nearly had a coronary last year when you kissed me under the mistletoe?"
"True. But for what it's worth, she seems a little more chill this year. Maybe my dad's been lacing her tea with his good weed."
Regina stops in her tracks, her eyes wide. "What?"
"Oh, please. He was at Woodstock and spent his med school years living in the back of a tie-dye van. I would be surprised if he doesn't still indulge now and then."
"Wow…I wonder if my mother knows she married a hippie," she comments as they walk inside.
"Regina's here!" Emma announces as she walks back into the foyer, releasing Regina's hand as she does.
"Oh, dear, you made it!" Cora says as she walks down the hall to greet her daughter, causing Regina to instinctively step to the side to put more space between Emma and herself.
She's surprised that her mother opens her arms and pulls her in for a hug — it's awkward, but it seems genuine, and it is a completely different greeting than she had received last year when she entered her childhood home. "Hi, Mother," she says as she stiffens in the uncomfortable embrace before stepping back. "Should I put my things in the guest house?"
"Yes, or your old bedroom is available, if you'd prefer that. Mary-Margaret, David, and the kids are also staying upstairs. Emma, Zelena, and Walsh are in the cottage, though, if you would rather stay out there. It's probably quieter."
"Oh, that's perfect, thanks," Regina says, taking her bag from Emma.
"Is that all you brought?" Cora asks skeptically, as she looks at the small overnight bag in Regina's hand.
"Oh, um, yeah. I packed light since it's only two days," she replies, catching Emma's eye in her periphery. Truthfully, since they had planned to fly out together, they had put everything in Emma's rolling suitcase. There was no reason to check two bags for such a short trip.
"Hmm," Cora frowns before resetting her face. "Well, you know where it is. When you're settled feel free to join us. The others are baking cookies in the kitchen, and they could use your steady doctor hands for the frosting portion."
"Aren't David and Leopold back there?" Regina asks, referring to the other two physicians.
"Yes, but they lack finesse."
"Ah," Regina chuckles. "I won't be long," she says as she walks toward the back of the house, bypassing the kitchen to go toward the side exit.
"I think I'm going to change quickly," Emma says to Cora as she watches Regina walk down the hallway. "I imagine this might get messy, and I don't want to ruin this sweater," she says before excusing herself. She quickly walks through the house and into the backyard, following Regina into the empty guest cottage. As soon as they're safely inside, Emma pushes Regina against the closed door, surprising the woman who didn't realize she had been followed. "God, I missed you," she says in between greedy kisses, slowly moving down Regina's neck.
"Emma," Regina moans as the blonde heads straight for her clavicular notch, a spot the Emma had discovered was particularly sensitive on their second official date. Emma can feel the vibrations of Regina's moans against her tongue as she flicks it across the delicate skin. "Fuck."
"That's the idea," Emma laughs as she continues a trail down Regina's chest, thankful that the brunette wore a deep scoop-neck sweater, allowing her unobstructed access.
"I don't think we have time," Regina says, making no actual effort to stop Emma's motions.
"We could if we're quick," she says, looking up at the woman with a hunger in her eyes as she drops down to her knees, toying with the elastic waistband of Regina's leggings. "You don't even have to do anything…you can owe me one," she winks. "I know how much traveling stresses you out. Let me relieve some of that tension."
Regina knows she can't resist, so she just closes her eyes and rests her head against the door as she hooks a leg over Emma's shoulder and runs her fingers through the blonde hair, gently guiding her to where she wants her to be.
*.*.*
"We're back," Emma announces as she and Regina return to the main house fifteen minutes later.
"Isn't that what you were wearing before?" Cora asks when she sees the blonde enter the kitchen.
"What?" Emma asks, confused.
"Didn't you say you were going to change in case this gets messy?"
"Oh," Emma replies, caught off-guard. "Right. Yeah, I realized I didn't really bring anything else to change into. I had thought I packed an old t-shirt but I must have left it in D.C.," Emma recovers. "So I just kept Regina company while she unpacked her things."
"Oh, that was nice of you," Mary-Margaret says to her sister, looking up from the bowl of dough that she's currently pouring chocolate chips into and trying to conceal her smile, while Zelena looks between her sister and step-sisters with a curious expression on her face.
"So, where are my two favorite one-year-olds?" Regina asks, changing the subject.
"They are taking their nap, but they are very excited to see their favorite obstetrician again," David comments as he helps Neal cut out shapes in the cookie dough.
"So, how are you liking D.C.?" Leopold asks his daughter, handing Regina a glass of chardonnay. It's a little early to be drinking, but it is a holiday after all, so Regina shrugs and takes the glass. "Do you two get to see each other much? I hope Regina has been showing you around."
Regina nearly chokes on her first sip of wine, and Emma bites back a laugh.
"She has. She's introduced me to quite a few people. And D.C. is nice…I like it," Emma says. "It's much different from Baltimore, and definitely from Silver Spring, but there's a lot happening. It has a nice vibe, and the people are great."
"And the commute doesn't annoy you?" Cora asks. "I can't imagine anyone wanting to make their commute over an hour after living so close."
"It's kind of nice, actually," Emma says. "I used to live five minutes from my office, so I never felt like I was really away from it. The distance helps me leave work at work, and I'm able to read when I take the train, or listen to podcasts when I drive. It's not so bad, and it's worth it," she says, quickly glancing over at Regina, who has finally recovered from her coughing fit. "I'm very happy there."
"Well, that's great to hear," Leopold says. "And thank you for helping my little girl get settled into a new town, Regina."
"Anytime," Regina says awkwardly. "Now, how can I help with this makeshift bakery situation you have happening in here?"
The family continues to bake an obscene number of cookies and a cake in preparation for the twins' first birthday celebration that evening. Regina is on cookie frosting and decorating duty, for which she eagerly recruits Emma's help. "We need to tell them," Regina whispers to Emma as she uses a pastry bag to add a delicate flower to the top of a sugar cookie. "And Jesus, what is that supposed to be?" she asks, looking over at the cookie in front of Emma, appalled.
"A snowman?" Emma answers, frowning at her own work.
"How did you mess up a snowman? It's literally just three dollops of frosting…Give it here," Regina commands.
"Maybe I'll stick to sprinkle duty."
"Yeah, that's probably best," Regina laughs as she tries to salvage Emma's pathetic attempt.
Emma lowers her voice once again. "When do you want to tell them?"
"Well, I had wanted to do it last night, but rescheduling my flight kind of ruined that plan," Regina says, pausing to look at the corrected frosted snowman in front of her. "I'd like to do it tonight, but if it doesn't go well, I don't want to ruin the twins' birthday party, you know?"
"Okay, so how about tomorrow?"
"Ugh, tomorrow's Christmas. It's the same risk."
"Regina, I think they'll be fine with it, and even if they aren't, well, there's nothing they can do about it now," she says, subtly squeezing the brunette's knee under the table.
"I know, and you're probably right," Regina nods. "Maybe after presents tomorrow, then? Once everything has calmed down and the excitement of the morning is over?"
"Sounds like a plan," Emma smiles before resuming her task of pouring sprinkles on everything. "But are you sure you can keep your hands to yourself until then?"
Regina raises a brow. "Are you? You're the one who couldn't make it five minutes before fucking me against the door of the guest house, dear," Regina whispers as she leans over to grab a container of frosting, intentionally moving unnecessarily close to Emma so that her breasts are in the blonde's face as she grabs the can.
Emma shrugs. "Point taken."
Regina goes back to carefully decorating the cookies, but her mind is elsewhere, thinking back to how they got themselves into this situation…the secrecy and not-quite-blatant lies —more lies of omission, really — to their family:
Emma had flown out to Storybrooke two days before Christmas, even though Regina couldn't join her because of her patient. "There's no sense in wasting both of our plane tickets, and it's only one day," Regina had told her when Emma had insisted that she stay behind so they could travel together. "We can survive one night apart," she had reminded her. Emma had responded by saying that just because they can, doesn't mean she wants to, which had been the right thing to say and had led to Regina bringing Emma to her peak twice on their living room couch that evening.
Their original plan had been to tell their now-married parents about their own relationship with each other on the day they arrived, which would have given their families — well, mainly Cora, as she's the biggest question mark — time to process and accept the news over the course of their holiday visit. Although Emma suspects that her father might at least have an inkling of an idea about the true extent of her relationship with Regina, Cora is certainly in the dark. After that very elaborate display under the mistletoe on Christmas day the year before, and despite partnering up for the epic Monopoly tournament immediately after, Emma and Regina had maintained a friendly distance from one another the rest of the time at the mayoral mansion last year. They had both been a little unsure of what would happen between them, and therefore they hadn't wanted their family to scrutinize their every move, particularly after Emma had announced that they had slept together back in college. Instead, they had wanted to make sure any relationship they may have would start out with a clean slate and without the awkward influence of their family dynamic. And, Cora had still been clearly upset by all the revelations, so they had wanted to give her space. As much as Regina reveled in watching her mother squirm, Leopold had undoubtedly been hurt by Cora's reaction to Emma announcing her sexuality. Leopold loves his daughter dearly, so they had not wanted to rub salt on that wound or come between their parents by continuing to prod Cora.
And although it's been nearly a year, there hasn't been a good time to bring it up —Regina hasn't seen her mother, Leopold, or her sister since Christmas. Regina had missed Cora and Leopold's wedding in June because she had already been scheduled to present one of her patient case studies at a highly-regarded international medical conference. While Emma did attend the wedding, she wasn't about to bring it up over her father's wedding weekend, nor was she going to do drop that bomb on their parents without Regina present. Cora had been icy toward Emma anyway during that weekend, clearly blaming Emma for contributing to Regina's commitment to something she still views as an immoral lifestyle, so Emma had focused on getting through the weekend as drama-free as possible.
To her credit, Cora has made small improvements over the course of the year. She and Regina have starting holding monthly phone calls, chatting for about an hour on the third Sunday evening of every month. They both had been avoiding the topic of Regina's romantic life since it was still a point of contention between the mother and daughter, but at least they were on speaking terms, which is more than what could be said about their relationship for the previous decade. And, her mother had significantly reduced her underhanded comments and her notorious criticisms disguised as passive-aggressive compliments. Cora had also stopped trying to set Regina up with eligible bachelors, so Regina has viewed that as a step in the right direction. She knows that nearly fifteen years of her mother's prejudices and homophobia wouldn't disappear overnight, so Regina has decided to be patient. As much as she hates to admit it, she really had missed having a relationship — even a strained one — with her mother. She just hopes that all the work they've done over the past year is enough to weather the future storm she knows will come when she and Emma spill their secret.
Zelena doesn't know about their relationship, either. Regina and Zelena have started speaking more often as well, but it has been logistically convoluted since her sister still lives in England. The significant time zone difference and physical distance means that they hadn't seen each other since last Christmas, and scheduling calls around both of their busy work schedules and across timezones has been complicated. Instead, they have primarily been communicating via text and email. Zelena has also gone into full on wedding planning mode with her fiancé Walsh, so she's reverted to her typical self-absorbed nature, which is fine with Regina — it has kept the focus off of Regina.
But, not everyone is unaware of the truth — Mary-Margaret and David already know about the couple's relationship. Regina and Emma had stayed with the couple when Regina was attending an advanced fetal medicine workshop at Boston Children's Hospital back in August, several months after Emma had moved to be closer to D.C. Emma had tagged along, hanging out with her niece and nephews, sister, and brother-in-law while Regina was busy working. After Regina had finished with the workshop, they had decided to extend their visit a little longer so Regina could do a little sight-seeing and spend more time with the kids and her new step-sister and step-brother-in-law. Their visit had coincided with back-to-school half-day prep meetings for school teachers, so Mary-Margaret had been busy during the mornings at work. David was often at the clinic with his own patients, which left Regina and Emma to watch the kids in the mornings. However, Mary-Margaret had returned earlier than expected one morning when her principal dismissed them all early, so she had rushed back home to relieve the two women of babysitting duties so they could have more time to explore the city. The pixie-haired brunette had been shocked to walk into her living room to find Regina lying on top of Emma and the blonde's hands firmly on the other woman's ass as they were engrossed in a heated makeout session. After making her presence known, the two women had scrambled away from each other, each sending a sheepish look toward Mary-Margaret. Aside from Mary-Margaret scolding the couple for not paying ample attention to her two infants who they were supposed to be babysitting (Neal had been at a friend's house), Mary-Margaret had taken the news well. She had been happy for them and had promised to keep the information to herself —well, aside from David. She had to tell David, because she would never keep a secret from him. David had congratulated Emma and Regina that evening, being his charming and supportive self, and the rest of the trip had been a success. Hell, Regina had even found herself starting to like Mary-Margaret's infectious enthusiasm about anything and everything by the end of their week together.
"Okay, it's Auntie Regina's turn to hold them!" Regina says as she walks toward the twins. Everyone had just finished eating their cake after singing a rousing verse of "Happy Birthday to You" for Evie and Robbie, and the family was now scattered around the first floor of the mayoral mansion. The twins had been blissfully unaware of the chaos surrounding them all evening, but they were just old enough to know they wanted the giant gooey chocolate creation placed in front of them during the birthday song.
"Here you go!" Mary-Margaret says, handing baby Robbie to her step-sister as David passes Evie over to Emma. "I'm going to go make some tea. Would you like any?"
"No, thanks," Emma says as Regina shakes her head. Mary-Margaret shrugs and takes David's hand, leaving the two women alone with the infants.
"God, they're so cute," Regina comments as her face lights up in response to the smile Robbie is giving her. "I swear, they get cuter every time I see them."
"Do you think we should start thinking about kids soon?" Emma asks casually as she blows a raspberry on Evie's cheek.
"Wait, what?" Regina asks in a hushed tone, not wanting to draw attention to them.
Emma chuckles when she sees Regina's stunned expression. "Careful…Don't drop the kid."
"I'm not going to drop the baby," the brunette says as she rolls her eyes, but she repositions him into a more secure grip as she cradles him to her shoulder just to be safe. "And do you really think now is the time to talk about this?"
"Relax, Regina," Emma says. "I was half-kidding."
"Well it's that other half that concerns me," she replies under her breath.
Emma drops her voice to a whisper, as she notices her father has entered the room and she doesn't want him to overhear. "I know you're not ready yet, and I'm not either. But it could be a long process, so we should talk about it when we're at least a year or two away from being ready."
"Good point," Regina says. They had certainly discussed their thoughts on kids previously, especially given Regina's line of work. At the time of their conversation, neither woman had an immediate desire to start a family, but they both had wanted to become mothers in the somewhat-distant future. During their first discussion about children, Regina had confessed to Emma that she's infertile, a diagnosis she had received when she had some tests done during medical school for some other reproductive symptoms she had been experiencing at the time. Regina had made her peace with it over the years, but she had been worried about how Emma would react to the news. Fortunately, Emma had been supportive and said that when they were ready, she would be willing to carry the baby, or they could adopt. Emma had told her that she didn't care about the baby's biology, as long as she could raise the child with Regina. Emma's words had only made the brunette fall even more in love with her. "Maybe in a few months, once things settle down again and, you know, our family knows about us," Regina finally says.
Emma replies, "Touché," as she subtly indicates that they should switch twins. They effortless swap the babies, with Regina now holding her niece while Emma gets some face time with her nephew.
"You two look positively well-practiced in this," Zelena comments as she comes over to the pair, gesturing to the twins.
"Well, I do handle babies for a living, Zee," Regina sasses to her sister with a smirk as she rocks Evie in her arms.
"There you are, Zelena," Walsh says as he comes over to the trio of women, kissing his fiancée's cheek. "Are you taking notes?" He adds as an afterthought, his voice low.
But, it's not low enough, as Regina catches his words. "What was that, Walsh?"
"Nothing," Zelena says, far too quickly.
Her sister looks up at her skeptically. "Oh my God! That's why you didn't have any wine today!"
"Holy crap. You're pregnant?" Emma asks, keeping her voice quiet.
"Shhhh!" Zelena hushes them. "Not now."
"Oh, yes now," Regina says. "You can't keep this a secret from us."
"Oh, like you're one to talk," Zelena says, her voice a little louder now.
"What?" Regina asks, innocently.
"Oh, please. You two are so bloody obvious," she says, looking between her sister and her new step-sister.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Zelena," Regina says.
"Oh, so Emma wasn't fucking you in the guest house this afternoon? That must have been someone else, then. My mistake," she says quietly as she shrugs, turning to walk away.
"Whoa, wait!" Regina says, far too loudly as she grabs her sister's arm with her free hand. When the redhead turns around, she has a shit-eating grin on her face. Regina then lowers her voice, since she can see that her outburst has caused Cora to look over at them with her trademark scowl. "You saw us?"
"Indeed. I was running back over to change into a lighter sweater, since my hormones keep making me get hot all the time and I can never seem to accurately predict how thick of a sweater to wear. But, just as I was about to walk in the side door of the cottage, something caught my eye through the window. Low and behold, my darling baby sister was pressed against the door and my new even younger step-sister was kneeling with her head—"
"Okay, that's enough," Regina says, putting her hand up to stop Zelena from saying anything more.
"Oh God," Emma groans.
"Actually, I'm pretty sure that's what Regina was saying," Zelena smirks.
"Ugh," Regina huffs. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?"
"Where would the fun be in that?" Zelena winks. "But, I'm happy for you…unless this is just some more casual hook up thing again, in which case, good for you…get yours."
Regina manages to calm down her irritation and rolls her eyes. "It's not," she says. "We're well past that now."
"Good. You deserve to be happy. You both do," she says genuinely.
"Thank you, Zee," Regina smiles.
"So, how long has this been going on? Since Christmas?" Zelena asks.
"Pretty much," Emma says. "We decided at that point to give it a try. We went out when we got back to D.C. and have been together ever since."
"That's great," Zelena smiles before turning to give her sister a pointed look. "So when are you telling Mum and Leo?"
"Tomorrow after breakfast, probably," Regina says. "I didn't want to ruin the twins' birthday if the news isn't well-received."
"You'll be fine, sis," Zelena says, placing a supportive hand on Regina's upper arm.
"Really?" Regina arches a skeptical brow.
"Maybe…probably not," Zelena admits. "But, you'll survive."
"Thanks," Regina deadpans. "Now, back to you two. How far along are you?"
"Fourteen weeks," Zelena says, glancing over at Walsh who has been surprisingly quiet during the revelation that his future sister-in-law, who he just met for the first time, is in a lesbian relationship with his future step-sister-in-law.
"You're weeks past the first trimester and you still haven't told anyone?" Regina says. "Why not?"
"Well, you know Mother," Zelena says. "She's a bit traditional."
"Zelena, you're 36. She's can't possibly think that you're some blushing virgin bride. And if you're 14 weeks along, there's no way to pass this off as a honeymoon baby. You're not even getting married for another eight months. She's going to realize it when you have a two-month-old flower girl in your arms at the ceremony."
"I know that," Zelena scoffs. "I've just been putting it off. I know she'll eventually be happy, but she's still terrifying when she wants to be."
Regina laughs. "Oh, I know. But hey, if you're worried about how she'll react to your announcement, then you can go first with your news. When she freaks out on you for having a baby out of wedlock, I can immediately follow that up with 'oh, hey, I'm banging my new step-sister every night.' Then you'll be Cora's favorite daughter once again."
Emma twists her face. "Please don't get in the habit of calling me your step-sister. That's disturbing."
"Sorry," Regina chuckles.
"It is technically true though," Zelena points out, as though she is only now realizing it. "That is wicked creepy."
"Well, to be fair, Emma and I hooked up long before Mother ever met Leopold," Regina points out.
"Still want to be part of this family, Walsh?" Emma asks as she sends the man a wink.
"You're all crazy, but Zelena's worth it," he replies.
"Wow…definitely don't let this one get away," Regina says to her sister with a smile.
A/N: So, there's part one! (I couldn't decide between the road trip back to D.C. the day after Christmas, NYE/their first date, and Christmas one year later as the epilogue, so I figured I'd cover them all in one). There's still a lot to happen on Christmas, so be on the look out for part two of the epilogue coming this weekend! Thanks for reading!