Chapter 25

As Granny entered Belle's hospital room, she shook her head lovingly. She observed Ruby snoring in the armchair while holding Belle's hand within her own. That is true love. Granny smirked at herself, because she had a surprise for Ruby and she knew Belle would love it too, when she eventually wakes up anyway, because the present was to the both of them.

"Ruby?" Granny spoke carefully as she knocked on the door, making the redhead almost fall off the chair in surprise.

"Huh?" Ruby asked as she blinked her eyes open. "Oh Granny, Hi."

"Why don't you sleep in that bed, I had to bribe the doctor with free lunches for a week to get, huh? It can't be good for your back to sleep in that old armchair."

"Yeah, I know, but I wanna be close to her if.. I mean, when she wakes up." Ruby shrugged.

"Ruby, it has been weeks now, you need a good night's sleep. In a bed. Either in this one or I'll carry you home to your own, and you know I will." Granny stated then studied her granddaughter.

She had big bags under her eyes and she just looked so exhausted. Her usually red hair was even looking pale, due to her not having the time to get her usual box of color.

"Ugh, I don't want to." Ruby groaned and Granny rolled her eyes.

"If I told you I'll give you a surprise, that's for both you and Belle, would you go home for just a couple of hours then?" Granny smirked, knowing Ruby couldn't say no to that.

"I'm not gonna take a bribe." Ruby replied and crossed her arms like a child.

"Oh well, I guess you don't want this surprise then..." Granny shrugged and sat down on Belle's other side. "I think Belle would be really disappointed at you if you said no to it though."

"Alright, alright. I'll go home and sleep a couple of hours. So..." Ruby trailed off, hoping the older woman would reveal the surprise.

"And take a long shower." Granny added with an encouraging smile

"Sure, go home to shower and sleep. No problem..." Ruby groaned. "Now, what's the surprise?"

"Here." Granny smiled and gave her a sealed envelope. Ruby looked at granny with confused eyes before she opened it. She gasped as she realized what it said.

"Is this… is this….the deed to Belle's old house?" Ruby frowned confused.

"Yes." Granny chuckled. "I talked with Mr Nolan last week and he contacted the kids that owned it. It has been empty since their dad died, and they couldn't have been happier to get rid of it. So I got it at a good price."

"How much did it cost? Belle gets her.." once again Granny cut Ruby off.

"Don't worry about that. I bought it for you. See it as a early wedding gift or something, my dear!"

"You can't be serious! You've bought us a freaking house?" Ruby squealed and jumped up from the chair. Granny enjoyed seeing her granddaughter so happy. She hadn't smiled very often since Belle's accident.

Ruby turned her eyes towards Belle then placed a careful kiss on her temple.

"Granny bought us your old house baby, and I promise you, when you wake up at least your library is gonna look like it did before. I promise! Just promise you'll wake up for me, okay?"

Granny dried the tears from her eyes as she looked at them. Belle and Ruby's love was unique. They had fought many times over the years, but never broken up. They had never been one of those on again off again couples. No, they had been inseparable throughout the years, and Granny was so happy for them. They were soulmates, and she just knew the love Emma and Regina shared was just the same.

"Well, I guess I'll go home then.." Ruby stated as she grabbed her jacket.

"I'll keep her safe Ruby. So go." Granny promised, then smiled as her granddaughter left the room. When the old woman knew she was gone, she spoke to Belle's comatose form.

She spoke about the house, the diner, and how Emma has taken all of this with Regina so well. Eventually the one sided conversation escalated to Granny being happy about the baby, but being surprised that Belle or Ruby hadn't given her the first grandchild/great grandchild. All the while she had been knitting some clothes and a blanket for the newest member of the family.

Regina was sitting on the porch with a big glass of water and her favorite book in her lap. Emma had more or less ordered both her girlfriend and the maid to sit down and relax in the sun. So they had.

"She's so sweet, your Miss Swan." Regina smiled then met the maid's eyes. Her eyes were so kind and caring. Nothing like Cora's dark stoic ones.

"Yeah, she really is." Regina replied with a smile forming on her lips. She never got the chance to talk to Rosita when Daniel had been living with them. He sent her away most days.

"I like her much, much more than that… Man" Rosita stated and gestured with her hands. She had trouble with the language once and awhile.

"I need to tell you something Rosita, and this has to stay between us two. Mother can not, under any circumstances, know this. Do you understand? " Regina said and sat up in her chair, tugging nervously on her lower lip.

"Si si."

"I'm pregnant.. It's Daniel's baby, but he's out of the picture. For good! I hope..." The brunette stuttered as the maid reached for her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"I hope Miss Swan is….. helping you?"

"Oh yes, Rosita! Emma is going to help me with the baby!" Regina spoke with so much love that she overwhelmed her self, and the older woman smiled brilliantly

"Let me make your favorite dinner! We celebrate! " Rosita chuckled as she placed a gentle kiss on Regina's temple, before she happily headed inside.

Regina laid her hands on her small baby bump and leaned back in the chair. She suddenly felt the nagging anxiety she had in the back of her head, reminding her about its existence.

She worried about what Cora would say or rather do about this whole thing. She would probably rather see her daughter have an abortion then to see her raise it with her girlfriend. Her mother hadn't even called Regina once, only sent her a short text saying she would be gone at least a couple of months more.

That made Regina relax, at least a little bit. I just want you to love me as I am, mother. Regina thought to herself. Why was that so hard for her to do?

"See you tomorrow, Teresa" Emma said and as she turned to leave the kitchen Teresa stopped her.

"Ehm Emma, what's up with you and Elsa? You seemed to be such good friends before, but now you won't even talk to her..." Emma sighed, but wasn't surprised by the question. She was rather surprised it hadn't come earlier.

"Look Teresa, I may have gone on a date with Elsa, and yeah, we kinda shared a goodnight kiss, but that was when this whole thing with Daniel and Regina was ongoing... and I didn't hear anything from Regina. I kinda thought we were through, you know? And I liked Elsa so.. It's just complicated." Emma never rambled like this.

"Oh." Teresa replied as she continued to fill the dishwasher.

"Yeah..." Emma said with a shrug. "and besides that, Regina is the first person I've been with, so I'm not a expert on this whole relationship thing. But god.. Elsa and I went on one date and shared one kiss. It's not like we were together or had sex." Emma shrugged. Teresa gave her a understanding nod as she laid a hand on Emma's shoulder.

The blonde didn't even flinch. She had gotten better with the whole touching thing, even though she had a long way to go before she would be totally comfortable with it.

"Let me talk to her for you, okay? She usually listens to me." Teresa chuckled. "Just go home to your girl now, okay?"

"Yeah... I'll see you tomorrow." Emma smiled brightly "Thank you Teresa."

Ruby almost moaned as the hot water ran down her body. She didn't even remember the last time she had taken a proper shower. Suddenly the thought of Belle entered her mind, and Ruby realized how much she actually missed her.

"Belle you're gonna… Damnit, you squirted shampoo in my eyes." Ruby groaned but the brunette just laughed at her girlfriend.

"Serves you right. See it as payback for always leaving your dirty underwear on the floor." Belle shrugged and turned off the shower. She gave her not so pleased girlfriend a towel and once Ruby had gotten the shampoo out of her eyes, she shook her head at Belle.

"You're such a baby sometimes." Ruby chuckled and Belle just smirked at her in reply. Ruby rolled her eyes and slapped the brunette's ass.

Ruby turned off the shower with a big sigh and wrapped her body in a towel. She didn't want to be in this apartment. It felt wrong and weird without Belle, so being here only made her anxious.

The redhead reached for her phone to fidget with it for a while, debating in her head if she should or shouldn't text Regina. Ruby was unsure, because she knew she had probably behaved like an ass to both Regina and Emma over the past few weeks. So she wouldn't blame neither of them if they didn't want her around, but she knew she had to at least ask first.

R - Hi Reg. I'm probably disturbing, but I thought maybe I could come over for just a little while? Granny kicked me out from the hospital and well I promised her to sleep but I can't relax here. It feels so wrong without Belle.

Re - You know you're always welcome here, right? You don't have to ask..

R - You sure? I don't wanna intrude if you and Emma have planned anything.

Re - Ruby, you're her sister. And one of my best friends. Just come over.

R - Awesome. Be over in a bit.

Emma smiled when she saw Regina on the porch and waved, then revealed an apple. Regina nodded with a smile then Emma walked over and gave it to Rocinante. Emma and Rocinante had become good friends over these last couple of weeks, and it made Regina so proud.

She wasn't very far along in her pregnancy, but she knew she wouldn't be able to ride soon, and because of her condition she guessed it was better to be on the safe side. Watching Emma bond with Rocinante was wonderful. He was a special horse and Emma was a special person, so it wasn't that odd that they had gotten so close.

Emma whistled and Rocinante raised his head then neighed when he saw her. Emma climbed under the fence and opened her arms. She had taught him to hug her, and the blonde was so pleased that she wasn't afraid of the horse anymore. That's not to say she wouldn't be afraid of others, but she was proud of herself for bonding with this one.

He galloped towards her but stopped a couple of meters in front of her, and walked the last bit into her open arms. He laid his head on her shoulder and nibbled on her hair as Emma laid her arm around his gigantic neck.

"Hi Rico. You wanna treat, huh?" the horse neighed and Emma rubbed his neck then let go of him. She offered up her apple and he bowed for her like Regina had thought him.

"Good boy!" Emma chuckled as she gave him his apple. "Don't tell Granny I gave you this. It's one of those organic thingies and probably expensive as hell…."

Once Emma came onto the porch, she kissed Regina gently on the lips, and bent down to place a kiss on her girlfriend's stomach. Regina just giggled. Emma was so sweet. So understanding. It was almost unreal. How could I have kept this a Secret from her?

"Are you okay?" Emma asked and met Regina's eyes. "I mean, like, are you and the kid having a good day?"

"Yes Miss Swan, and you? Did you have a good day at work?"

"Yeah." Emma nodded, and well, it was kinda true.

Work itself had been easy. It had been one particular colleague that had been troubling her, but she didn't want to tell Regina about Elsa. She didn't know if she even wanted to. The blonde didn't want to risk anything. At some point she had to tell Regina. Just not yet. Their relationship was still too vulnerable

"Glad to hear that. I hope you don't mind, but I invited Ruby over for dinner. Granny kicked her out if the hospital for a couple of hours." Regina explained and Emma smiled. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen her sister outside the walls of the hospital.

"No, not at all, but ehm, do you wanna tell her about the ehm baby?" Emma asked carefully. Regina still wanted to keep this whole pregnancy a secret because she didn't want people to talk, and especially not the ones who were friends with her mother, and there were quite a few of those lingering in town.

"Hmm, I guess we can tell her." Regina replied after a while of silence. "I think it would cheer her up a bit. I mean she technically is gonna be an aunt."

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Emma smiled even wider and leaned in to kiss Regina's lips again. Auntie Ruby Emma thought to herself. She's gonna be the best aunt, and Belle too….. If she ever wakes up.