After breakfast Regina called Rosita and informed her that she was going away for a couple of days, but would keep in contact with her. Also, that she could take a vacation as well, if she wished. The old maid was happy for Regina and Emma. The woman smiled at the brunette's happy tone and stated how she should take the time off to visit her son who lived almost three hours away, and had recently gotten engaged.
Regina knew the horses would do just fine on their own since they were in the summer pasture with a lot of grass and a pond to drink from. When Regina told Rosita that she was gonna take Rocinante with her the maid had just laughed and said she thought it was a great idea.
Emma was nervous about the whole trip. She was not good with going to new places, not knowing her surroundings, or more like not knowing where to run. Regina was home for the moment to pack her clothes and arrange the transport, ride and horse. They had decided to leave later that afternoon.
Now Emma was sitting in her room, looking at her packed duffle bag. The old bag had been in her possession just about her whole life, and even though she loved it, it carried the worst of memories. How many homes have I run away from with that bag over my shoulder? Emma sighed and turned her head around. She smiled when she saw Ruby and Belle move to stand in her doorway.
"Hi Swan, you packed and ready?" Ruby asked carefully and Emma just shrugged. "Is something wrong?"
"Nah I just… I always packed this bag when I left my foster homes, so I guess it just brings back memories."
"Oh." Ruby frowned before she stood up and left the room, appearing just moments later with a bag. "Here. Take this then, and throw that one away!"
"What?" Emma asked and looked at her sister in confusion.
"Emma, just throw it away, burn it, or toss in in your closet. You're done running away and being forced to leave, okay? Besides that, you're about to be a mom!" Ruby said with a tentative smile and Emma bit her lip but nodded in agreement. A warm smile covered her face.
"So have you guys been to this cottage before?" Emma asked as she moved her clothes to the new bag.
"Ehm, yeah. It's been a while, but we went there with Regina and her dad a few times. I remember the first time pretty well. It was a beautiful trip. We were like 8 or 9." Belle explained with a fond smile.
Henry had just parked the car outside their cottage. He was smiling at his daughter and her two best friends. Cora was away working, as usual, and sometimes Henry wondered if Cora just used work as an excuse to not come along with them. He shook his head and decided not to think about that, at least not for now. He was gonna enjoy this holiday with Regina, Belle, and Ruby.
"Wow, this is beautiful Mr. Mills!" Belle squealed in excitement and the old man just laughed.
"Call me Henry, dear." he said with a gentle tone as they left the car, without bothering to lock the doors.
"Is that a whole nother house back there?" Ruby asked intrigued and the old man nodded
"It's a guesthouse, but we also use it as a pool house." he explained and Ruby grinned
"So….No one lives there?" She asked, causing Belle to roll her eyes and Regina to chuckle. Henry raised an eyebrow.
"No one lives there, Ruby. We don't have to worry about someone being so close. They neighbors live through those trees about 2 miles out." the man's intention was to assure Ruby that they wouldn't have to worry about intruders.
While in actuality, Ruby intended to sneak away and explore with her friends while the old man slept later. Ruby smirked to herself and nodded. Henry moved to unload luggage from the back of the jeep, and Ruby moved quickly to help, then took the bags toward the house as she concocted her plan for later. They would make that guest house their very own.
Regina smiled as she ran right up to the transport carrier and opened the door, as her father and Ruby made their way towards the house. Regina's fathers horse, Titan, met her with a neigh.
"Hi, beautiful boy!" Regina greeted and took his reins, then backed him out. The horse loved to be here, and he loved to have the opportunity to have his pasture right next to the house. Regina loved, Titan but hoped to have one of her own to bring here one day.
"Wait! You guys have a pool?" Ruby asked excited with huge grin as she helped Henry with the bags. The old man ruffled her, then, short hair and winked at her in reply.
"Can we go for a swim, huh Mr.. Henry?" she quickly corrected and the man smiled wide
"Of course," he replied. "but you have to take Titan to his pasture and make sure he's comfortable first." he stated as they sat the bags inside the house by the door. The two made their way back outside. "Alright, Regina, you know where the food and supplies is for Titan, right?"
"Yes, daddy." Regina said. "Come on now, Ruby and Belle!"
Belle was amazed at how different this place was, compared to the white mansion the Mills occupied in town. This place seemed so much happier, with roses and apple trees scattered about. The house was red with a green door that held a sign right above that read "Henry and Regina's paradise".
"This place is unbelievable, Reg!" Ruby grinned and laid her arm around her friend. The big horse huffed air in the redhead's face, making her almost fall backwards. Regina just laughed and closed the fence behind him.
"He's just friendly, Rubes." Regina stated as she gestured to her father's personal horse. Ruby just nodded, looking almost terrified.
Regina loved to be at the cottage. This was her and her daddy's place. Cora hardly never went there, saying the place was a farmer's joint, and nothing suitable for a classy family like theirs. Henry had just rolled his eyes and told her that this place was his favorite place on the whole earth, and Regina thought so as well. This was their little paradise.
"Go take a swim now. I'll start preparing dinner soon." Henry got out before the the girls ran up to him, everyone of them attacking the old man with a gigantic hug.
"Love you, daddy!" Regina said.
"You're the best, Henry!" Ruby stated and Belle nodded in agreement before they ran to change and get in the pool.
While the three were upstairs changing, Ruby explained her plan to hang out in the guesthouse and tell ghost stories while the man slept. The other two were on board, but Belle insisted they shouldn't do anything crazy like get in the pool after dark.
Regina agreed and Ruby rolled her eyes, but agreed as well. Honestly, Ruby knew she would always agree with Belle. No matter what!
"I really wish I had met Regina's dad." Emma said with a slightly sad tone. "The way you guys and Regina talk about him, he seemed so wonderful."
"Oh yeah, he was. Words can't describe how incredible he was. And how he adored Regina. He was the dream father."
"I wish I had grown up with a father like him." Emma sighed and felt the jealousy sting in her chest. Then the anxiety rose. What if Regina expected her to be as good a parent as Henry had been? Emma could never fill his shoes! The anxiety rose with every breath she took before she finally stood up. "I think I need a run before we go."
"Yeah sure, Swan, go ahead." Ruby said encouraging and Emma nodded then left the room.
"I feel so sorry for her." Belle sighed and Ruby laid her head against her shoulder. "I think this whole pregnancy, and being a mom to Regina's baby, is something Emma looks forward to...as much as it scares the living shit out of her." Ruby let out a breath and replied with a nod.
Regina grinned when she opened the garage and saw her dad's old Jeep in there. Cora hated it, saying it was not classy enough, but neither Regina nor Henry cared what she thought. They needed a big vehicle to hook up the horse trailer to anyway.
Regina hadn't laid eyes on the car for years, but Daniel had looked after it, changing its oil and so on. Now, Regina saw it for the first time since her daddy's passing, and it was a whirlwind of emotions that hit her at once.
She sighed as she opened the driver's door and the smell of her daddy reached her nose. In that moment Regina decided that Jeep should have the care it deserved.
"I miss you, daddy" Regina whispered and let her hands touch the steering wheel, with tears stinging in her eyes... "I wish you still were alive. You would have loved Emma…..and you would have been such a wonderful grandfather..."
Emma took a short but intense run, and when she came home Regina was waiting outside the apartment with a jeep and a horse carrier attached to it. She was standing inside the horse transport and petting Rocinante. She smiled when she felt Emma's arms embracing her from the behind.
"Hi, dear." Regina greeted, then turned around and placed a kiss on her girlfriend's lips. She noticed the running clothes and wondered what had happened. Emma usually ran when she was upset. "Is everything alright?" she asked and Emma patted Rocinante.
"Yeah, I just needed to burn off some steam." Emma shrugged. She didn't like to lie to Regina, but she didn't have the energy to talk right now.
"Promise?"
"Promise." Emma replied and kissed her cheek. "I'll just go in and have a quick shower, and check on the others, okay?" when the blonde was out of reach Regina turned her attention back to her horse.
"She's a tricky one that blonde, Rico," Regina said and buried her face in his fur. "but I do love her, and I know you do as well."
Finally, after 20 minutes they appeared outside of the house. Ruby and Belle grinned, looking almost mesmerised when they saw the old Jeep again.
"Wow, you still have this?" Ruby asked and met Regina's eyes.
"Of course, dear." Regina replied and climbed into the driver's seat. Emma jumped in besides her and Ruby, Belle and Granny sat in the backseat. "So are we ready?"
"Yeah!" Ruby answered loudly. She flushed, suddenly realizing she sounded like a kid in a toy store. The lot of them burst out in laughter.
Emma was quiet for most of the ride, and Regina wondered what was going on in her head. She knew something was wrong because Emma's attention had been focused, or rather unfocused, outside the window the whole way, not even really paying attention to any conversation.
Regina gritted her teeth and wondered if their relationship would always be this hard. For every step they took forward, they took at least five back. Is this really gonna work?
Ruby and Granny carried the suitcases into the little guest house where they had previously stayed, and Belle followed them, leaving Emma and Regina alone. The blonde opened the horse transport and Regina studied how easily she got Rocinante out of it.
"You're amazing with him." Regina smiled and met Emma's eyes.
"Yeah, I guess." Emma shrugged and was about to lead the horse to the pasture when Regina grabbed her arm.
"Emma, what's wrong?" Regina asked with concern written all over her face.
"Like I said before, nothing." Emma growled, hearing how the tone in her voice probably told another story.
"Emma, please talk to me?" Regina begged and the blonde knew how emotional this was for both her and Regina. Her girlfriend missed her wonderful dad, and being here just stirred everyone up, and the blonde missed out on having a dad like that. On top of that, she was afraid of her future as a mother. Would she really make it? Or would she fail miserably?
"I guess all with this dad stuff is screwing with my head." Emma sighed and got an anxious look from her girlfriend, then watched how Regina almost curled up into a ball. "I'm also scared of becoming a mom, not being able to live up to your standards…" Regina frowned at the last thing. Was this what Emma was panicking about? Not being a good mother because she thought Regina wanted her to be like her dad?
"Emma, I understand this is rough on you. It is for me as well, but don't ever think you wouldn't be a wonderful mother. You are amazing. Trust me." Regina said and Emma just shrugged. "Regarding my daddy, if it bothers you this much, I'll stop talking about him." Regina mumbled under her breath.
Emma remembered her girlfriend hadn't been able to talk about Henry for years, because Cora had forbidden her. Emma couldn't ask her to stop talking about her dad, because he had been Regina's everything. It was Emma who just had to deal with her own feelings about all this. In some other way, than just running away. Especially now when with a baby on the way.
"Regina, look at me." Emma said carefully and met her girlfriend's tearful eyes. "I don't want you to forget him, and I want to hear about him.. I just need to start coping with my problems in another way, I guess."
"What do you mean?" Regina replied, feeling like she was all over the place.
"I think I'm gonna start therapy." Emma said and bit her lip. "I have so much shit I have to deal with, and I don't want to run away when the baby is born because my demons in my head tell me I'm the worst mom in the whole world." Emma shrugged. "And I don't want to get sad when I hear stories about the man who would have been my father in law, but I do."
Regina smiled at the last thing and swung her arm around Emma, then followed her to the pasture. They both sat down on the bench next to it and just sat there in silence for a while.
"I'm sorry for being such a roller-coaster of a girlfriend." Emma shrugged and laid her head against her girlfriend's shoulder.
"Don't be, Emma. I know you have lived a hard life and I'm proud of this decision. I'll do anything I can to support you! You know that, right?" Regina asked with a gentle tone and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I can't thank you enough for your support with this baby."
"I know. I love you, Regina Mills."
"And I love you too, Emma Swan." she replied and smashed their lips together.
"So future father-in-law, huh?" Regina asked and Emma flushed immediately as Regina smiled deeply. Emma looked up embarrassed and the two shared a laugh.
"She's good for her." Granny stated with tears in her eyes as she and the two girls examined Emma and Regina from the porch of the guesthouse.
"Yeah," Ruby grinned. "and it has all happened so fast. I mean they are actually expecting a baby! I can't believe Swan is growing up. I just remember that lost girl that showed up at the diner… and now. Look at her. She's so happy!"
"They look like us when we fell in love." Belle stated and met her girlfriend's suddenly concerned eyes.
"I'm worried about what's gonna happen next though." Ruby shrugged and bit her lip. Cora could come home any day now, or in a month, or a couple of months. Nobody really knew, and she was so worried about it. "Cora is away, but she's still breathing after all. I'm worried about how Emma will react to her…"
"Me too," Granny sighed and laid a arm around Ruby's shoulder. "but we're gonna fight for them. Emma is my daughter and she deserves her happy ending. Just as Regina does. I'm gonna keep my promise to Henry, and look after his daughter."
"Yeah, we'll fix this. Somehow I guess." Ruby said and Granny nodded.
"So, what do you girls say about a little snack?"
"Oh yeah!" Ruby grinned and ran into the house. Belle and Granny rolled their eyes at Ruby's juvenile behavior.
Emma studied Belle and Ruby as they were relaxing on lawn chairs seemingly deep in conversation, and Regina who was helping Granny at the grill. Emma had never believed she would be a part of something like this. A real family. Sure, their family was…. perhaps a little weird, or odd in other's eyes, but in Emma's eyes they were just perfect.
She still couldn't relax though. She knew when Cora came home all this would be ripped to shreds, and that she would do anything in her power to keep Regina and her apart.
Emma groaned and dragged her fingers through her hair. When is life gonna be easy?
There was also this baby that Regina was carrying in her stomach. What if Cora wouldn't let them be together anymore. Emma would never see the baby she had already come to treasure and love as her own. No! She will die before she separates us!