hello, hello! I am so, so sorry for the belated update, and for the fact that this is a wee bit short. ): but, I should definitely inform you that there are only two chapters left (a final and an epilogue)! thanks to all of you who have stuck with me through it!

as always, many thanks to my very amazing beta, sassymajesty.

"I really don't think it looks bad."

A sharp glare pointed to Emma's direction, causing her to shrug.

"Okay, it doesn't look that bad."

"You're very lucky you're pregnant with our child, I hope you're aware," Regina hissed, fingers running through her hair as though it would change it.

Emma knew that much was true. She was lucky that she was pregnant, and also lucky that Regina had stopped using magic.

The pair had known that magic was bound to be an issue when Emma became pregnant, but they didn't really have any idea how bad it could get. They had tried to ask Rumplestiltskin, but even he really had no idea what to expect. There were no written records of what happened when a child of true love, who also had magic, was pregnant. Honestly, Emma and Regina had assumed by this time that there was nothing to worry about. Emma was six months pregnant, and not a single bit of magic had slipped from Emma's fingertips.

That was until about a week ago.

It started with small things, the light bulbs flickering and changing colors, Henry's taste buds mixing up flavors, a random storm. They weren't big, and they hardly ever lasted more than a day. Then things escalated, to things that seemed to be, more than likely, permanent.

Like, changing her wife's natural hair color to red.

It had been an accident, not something Emma really tried to do to Regina. It was just a fleeting thought while Regina was getting ready that morning, and then it just happened.

Which was why Regina stood in front of the mirror in their bathroom, messing with her hair as though it would be changed back to its natural color based on sheer hope. While Regina could simply use magic to change it back that would be going against her promise of not using magic anymore. Not only to Henry, but to herself.

If Emma were entirely honest, she found this more amusing than anything on her part. Sure, a small part of her felt a pang of guilt for having transformed her wife's hair and the angry expression she held every moment her brown eyes wandered over to her, but still. This was probably the most amusing thing Emma had experienced in quite some time. With her raging hormones and seemingly shrinking bladder, Emma hardly had time for fun anymore. Hell, if she was completely honest, she even felt as though her sex life was lacking. Not because of Regina, mind you, but more because Emma could never get comfortable and mostly ended up just being in a position that made her back ache when it was all said and done.

So, in all honesty, this was the most entertaining thing she's seen and the most fun she's had in weeks.

It appeared as though Regina could hear her thoughts almost and the soft chuckles coming from where Emma stood, seeing as she shot another glare over to her before storming out of the bathroom.

"Regina, come on, don't be mad."

"I have a huge meeting today, Emma. Huge! And you turned my hair red because you had a fleeting thought and your magic is uncontrollable."

"Hey, it isn't that bad."

"Tell that to your mother's garden, you set the damn thing on fire."

Opening her mouth to protest, Emma shut it immediately, instead just sighing in defeat. "Okay, it's bad. But it's not like I can do anything about it."

Sitting on the end of the bed and pressing her fingers to her temples, Regina nodded, closing her eyes. "I know, dear, I do. I just wish we had learned to control your magic before this. Then maybe we would be able to better control this whole situation."

Nodding, Emma relaxed into the door frame on the bathroom, chewing her bottom lip. "I know, but… Hey, this should all be done and gone by the time I give birth, right? So… Only three more months of my crazy magic."

Humming in response, Regina let out a soft sigh, sitting up straighter on the bed. "You promise my hair doesn't look that bad? I have to look presentable for this meeting."

Smiling softly, Emma walked over to Regina, leaning down what little she could and pressing a soft kiss to Regina's forehead. "Pinky promise. Plus, you could always just buy some hair dye on your way home. I did hair for a little bit so… It shouldn't be too hard to dye back to your natural color."

"While I appreciate the offer, you aren't allowed to be around those chemicals at the moment." Chuckling, Regina shook her head, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to her wife's cheek. "It seems I still have so much more to learn about you."

Shrugging, Emma stood up a bit straighter, pressing her hand into her lower back. "Yes, well… I am just full of surprises."

Furrowing her brows, Regina noted Emma's obvious discomfort, causing her to stand and reach out, gently gripping the blonde's arm. "Are you alright?"

Nodding, Emma sighed. "Yeah, just… Feeling heavy. I don't even think Kathryn was this big when she was this pregnant."

Rolling her eyes, Regina moved past her wife and into the closet, looking through the possible attire for the day ahead. "You forget that Dr. Whale also thought that Kathryn was having twins, dear. I wouldn't worry about it, it's probably just your body reacting to the fact that you've been eating real food for the past six months."

Scoffing, Emma waved her off, moving to sit on the bed, sighing in relief as the pressure from her feet was relieved. "Ha ha, you're hilarious. But now that you mention it… How do you think Whale mistook Kathryn's one baby for two?"

"Simple, he got his PhD from a curse."

"I'd like to remind you that it was your curse that gave him said PhD."

Humming in reply, Regina just shook her head. "Details, dear."

Laughing, Emma leaned back onto the bed, letting the softness of the sheets envelope her. "But think about it, what if Whale really was that bad at reading ultrasounds? Then who would replace him as a doctor?"

"I fear your wolf friend is more qualified to be the doctor of Storybrooke than Dr. Whale."

"Is that a hit at her being a werewolf and having good smell or do you actually believe that?"

Poking her head out of the closet, Regina rose an eyebrow, immediately answering Emma's question.

"Yep, the first thing, should've guessed."

Finally emerging from the closet, Regina looked herself over, nodding to her reflection in approval before turning to face her wife. "Alright, how do I look?"

Silence.

"Emma?"

Rolling her eyes, Regina moved over to Emma, immediately sighing. Her wife was out cold, sleeping soundlessly even though she had been speaking just moments before. If she didn't know better, she'd think Emma was faking it, but with the mostly sleepless nights, Regina wasn't entirely surprised by Emma falling asleep so easily.

Smiling, Regina quickly grabbed her heels, tiptoeing out of the room before she could disturb her wife further. Granted, the likelihood of Emma waking for a nuclear explosion was minimal, but all the same. Regina could now only hope her hair wasn't too noticeable.

It was noticed.

Regina couldn't go through most of the day without getting some sort of side comment about her hair as she walked to and from her office, and it drove her mad. While most people just complimented the sudden reach out of her comfort zone, she could feel the vein in her forehead pulsing in attempts to contain her irritation over the whole situation.

It wasn't so much that her hair was red; it was more the fact the Emma made her hair red. To Regina, everything had a simple way of being avoided, and this was one of them. If Emma had just let Regina, or even Rumplestiltskin, or really any of the magical beings in Storybrooke, teach her how to control her magic, this wouldn't have ever happened. Pretty much all of the things that the family had suffered over the last week from Emma's magic was simply because she had no idea how to control it.

It may have been the fact that her lack of sleep was mixing into the stress of work and the soon to be arriving baby that was causing her to overreact as much as she was. In all honesty though, Regina just wanted to sit in her study with a glass of cider to try and get a moment of peace and not get so overwhelmed with everything involving the baby.

Her eyes shifted from where she sat in a back booth at Granny's, trying to make sure no one's eyes were still trained on her as they had been when she walked in. She just needed a moment of peace, a moment of solitude, and she had no clue where to find that now. She thought of Granny's only because it was the closest place she was near when she neared her mental break and was certain that the vein in her head would explode. But now it was nearing the dinner rush, and she knew that the silence barrier would be broken. She thought of going to Kathryn's, but quickly cut that from the list. The thought of having a moment's bliss before an infant began to scream and cry was something she did not want to try and put her sanity against. She thought of just going home and locking the office, but she couldn't do that either.

It wasn't that she didn't want to be around Emma and Henry, not at all. She was just so stressed and tired that she just wanted a small break. She was so used to being the strong one since Emma had become pregnant, being the shoulder and holding Emma's hair back when she lost the contents of her stomach. Being unable to break, even when she was away from the two, soon to be three, people that she loved most, it tore at her heart. She wanted to be strong for them, but no one can be strong all the time. Regina had taught Emma that, and now Regina had to relearn it herself.

Perhaps the hair was just her tipping point and she didn't really know what to do with herself. She hadn't been this stressed and tired in years, so her old escape routes weren't really options anymore.

"Regina?"

Snapping from her thoughts, Regina turned and looked to Ruby, smiling politely. "Miss Lucas, terribly sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you." Her eyes caught the glint from the ring on Ruby's left ring finger, raising an eyebrow. "Hook proposed I see."

Looking down to her hand, Ruby smiled, nodding before meeting Regina's eyes again. "Yeah, not too long ago. I'm shocked Emma didn't tell you."

"Yes well, I'm sure she has other pressing matters on her mind."

"Right. Anyway, the usual to go order? I kind of assumed you were grabbing dinner for Emma, Henry, and yourself."

Regina paused, trying to think quickly. She could just get the usual, grab it, and go home to her wife and son. But the stress was eating at her so much, she felt as though it would take one simpler act to make her snap. She couldn't do that, not to Emma, nor Henry.

Making a quick decision, Regina shook her head, eyes returning to Ruby. "No, actually. Just my usual salad to go."

Raising an eyebrow, Ruby shrugged, jotting down on her pad of paper before turning her back to Regina and walking toward the back. "Whatever you say, Your Majesty."

"Careful, pup."

Rolling her eyes, but letting a soft smile cross her lips, Ruby went into the back, shaking her head.

Emma had been sitting at the dining room table alone for the past two hours, continuously checking the clock. Regina was late getting home- No, she was more than late at this point, in Emma's mind. It was past midnight, and while Emma should be asleep, she couldn't help but stay awake while her wife was away.

Emma had called about a dozen times, from her own cellphone and Henry's, before she actually began to worry. She thought that maybe Regina was still pissed after the whole hair incident, which Emma understood. But regardless, she feared for Regina's safety; at first.

When she had called Ruby to see if Regina had stopped by the diner, Ruby had said how Regina ordered for herself and took off. From then, Emma was more angry than concerned for Regina's wellbeing.

Which is why she currently sat in what she was sure could be considered a cliché. The lights mostly turned off, as so when Regina walked in, she would be forced to turn on a light and see her angry wife sitting, waiting. Aside from the general creepiness of the darkness, Emma thought Regina deserved this for making Emma worry so much.

Finally, a soft click from the door sounds, the turning of the lock as the door was pushed open.

Sitting up a bit more straight, Emma heard soft curse words being spilled from a voice that she immediately recognized as Regina's.

When the lights in the dining room flipped on, Regina had to cover her mouth not to scream in shock when she saw her wife sitting at the head of the table. "Gods! Emma, you terrified me!" Glancing over to the clock, she rose an eyebrow in confusion. "Why are you even awake?

"Better question," Emma began, face void of emotion except for her eyes, which spoke of anger and pain, "why are you just now walking in?"

Sighing, Regina ran a hand through her slightly unkempt hair. "I dozed off when I went back to the office, okay? It just… Happened. I know I should have called before and said I'd be late but-"

"Do you have any idea how worried Henry and I were?" Emma snapped, her full anger being shown. "And you honestly expect me to believe you slept in your office? Those couches are made so you don't sleep on them, you said so yourself."

Closing her eyes, Regina sat opposite of Emma, pressing her fingers to her temples. "I was exhausted, dear. I just drifted off while finishing some things up."

Tears stung at Emma's eyes, causing her to shift uncomfortably. Later, she would blame her hormones for even saying this aloud. "Who is she? Or he? Or… Whatever."

Eyes going wide, Regina shook her head. "Excuse me? Emma, I told you, I was-"

"I know what you said!" Biting her bottom lip hard, Emma ran shaking fingers through her hair. "But you're lying. You've been so… Distant, it seems, and today you were late and I mean, look at you! The regal and pristine Regina Swan-Mills, with clothes wrinkled and hair messy… What am I supposed to think?"

Frowning, Regina felt her heart break, standing to move closer to the blonde. She should've been wiser about this, just talked to Emma, because her wife always understood. But now, seeing the woman she loved break before her over unneeded and unheard of jealousy, it hurt. "Emma, I would never, never, be with another. You of all people know that."

A few tears began to slip from Emma's eyes and Regina reached out, brushing them away quickly with a swipe of her thumb as she cupped the blonde's cheek. "I've just been… I'm tired. I know I shouldn't be, I'm not the one who's carrying the baby, but I feel a bit of stress too. Today I just wanted a moment alone, to myself. And I should have just told you and…" Sighing, Regina leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to Emma's forehead. "You idiot, how could you ever think I'd want anyone other than you?"

Smiling through her unwanted tears, Emma reached up, gripping Regina's wrists as she shut her eyes. "I… I know that, I just… God, I am so hormonal. I yelled at some grocery store clerk because I thought she was looking at me weird."

Chuckling softly against her skin, Regina sighed, lips ghosting the skin of Emma's cheek. "You can talk about it to me, you know."

"Same goes for you."

Nodding, Regina threaded her fingers through Emma's hair before pulling back to look at her. "It appears we are both very much in the wrong on this one, dear."

Rolling her eyes, Emma leaned back into the chair. "I'm so ready to be not pregnant again and to see our baby."

"Me too dear," Regina whispered, brushing stray strands of hair out of her wife's face.

Looking up, Emma's eyes went comically wide for a moment before she just smiled, tangling her fingers into Regina's hair. "Your hair went back to normal."

Pulling a hand away, Regina tugged on a strand of hair to look, a smile gracing her lips immediately. "It seems as though everything is beginning to."

"Do you have any threes?"

The room was silent, eyes trained on the pair that sat near one another at the table. The tension was thick, the air in the room heated from the silence before the answer was given.

"Go fish."

"Oh, fuck you Hook! We all know you cheat!"

Scoffing, Killian situated himself in his seat, shaking his head. "Sorry mate, but not this time. Now go fish."

"Can someone please tell me why we're playing this instead of the usual poker?" Regina interrupted, brows furrowed in annoyance.

"I have to side with Regina," Snow agreed. "I really think poker is taken less seriously here."

"Because we play by your rules of no money and the chips representing unicorn stickers."

"Hush, Ruby."

It was Friday night poker at the Swan-Mills' residence, and Henry was out with Grace on a date this particular night. He was usually Emma's helper, as she was actually a terrible poker player. Not only did she lack a good poker face during the game, but she also had no idea what certain card sets meant.

That's why tonight, the game had shifted from the typical poker to a game of Emma's choice: go fish. It started out as simple fun, three bowls of popcorn with sodas and alcohol flowing. It was fun, until Emma and Killian got a little more involved in the game. Since the time they had even started playing cards together, Emma always suspected that he was cheating, somehow. She was unsure of how he did it, but there was no way that he played cards this well without cheating. Usually, she was quiet. But tonight, with food cravings through the root and her craving shifting to popcorn dipped in chocolate, she was nearly unpredictable.

Which is why most of the group wanted to call it quits after the first five games. However, not one to back down, Emma kept pushing to try and expose Killian and his card cheating ways. Killian, a sucker for driving Emma insane, went right along with it.

Shaking her head, Emma glared at Killian as he took a sip of his beer. "Come on man, you've been collecting the threes this whole game. Fork them over."

Shaking his head once more, Killian shrugged. "Don't have them. It's Charming's turn, I believe."

"Oh, okay. Uhm… Ruby, do you have any-"

"Bullshit!" Emma exclaimed, putting her cards face down on the table as she slammed her hand down. "Hook, give me my goddamn threes."

"Emma, dear, I really think you're taking this too close to heart," Regina whispered, placing a gentle hand on Emma's shoulder to ease her emotions.

"He's keeping my threes!"

Looking to her husband, Snow sighed, shaking her head. "We really should have taught her how to take losing better."

"It isn't losing if he's cheating! I swear to God Hook, I will get my gun and-" Her sentence was cut short, a pang shooting through her gut. Clenching her stomach, she leaned over the table a bit, causing everyone to go quiet.

Pushing Emma's hair from her face, Regina's brows furrowed, taking in the blonde's pain expression. "Emma? Are you alright?"

Emma's teeth gritted, the pain soon stopping, causing her to look at Regina with fear in her eyes. "It… It felt like a contraction." Emma could not forget that pain, she remembered it well when she was giving birth to Henry.

Eyes going wide, Regina stood quickly. "We've got to get you to Dr. Whale. Now."

The rush to the hospital was mostly a blur, if Emma was honest. It wasn't that she was fading in and out of consciousness, it was more the fact that most of it was spent with people screaming at one another in the car.

"You should have just given her the threes!"

"I didn't have any!"

"Goddamn it, Killian!"

Regardless, she was happy, for once, to be in a hospital bed. She was away from the noise, the only person in the room with her currently being Regina. It was quiet, except for what little bit of bickering she could hear from behind the door.

Sighing as she watched Regina paced, she reached her hand out, "Regina, calm down. It'll all be fine."

"Fine? Emma, you might be going into premature labor. I hardly think this is fine."

Frowning, Emma retracted her hand, resting it on her stomach. "Yes, well, if Hook have given me my fucking threes, we wouldn't be in this situation."

Pressing her fingers to her temples, Regina sat down in the chair beside her wife, sighing. "I'm sorry. I'm just-"

"Worried, I know. You always are." Smiling softly, Emma reached back out, taking Regina's hand into her own. "We're going to be okay, Regina. I promise."

"I know, this just- It's like when I was-"

"Hey," Emma said sternly, getting Regina's eyes to meet her own. "It'll all be okay."

Feeling the corners of her mouth tug into a small smile, Regina squeezed Emma's hand.

A soft knock sounded on the door, causing the couple to turn their attention from one another to Dr. Whale as he walked into the room.

"Well?" Regina asked immediately, not even letting the doctor fully enter the room before she began to demand answers.

Turning to face them, Whale smiled, shrugging simply. "It was just a premature contraction, nothing big. Emma is fine, so are the babies. The heartbeats are strong and the ultrasound didn't reveal anything troubling so-"

"Wait." Emma stopped him, brows furrowed in confusion as she looked from her wife back to the doctor. "You said… Babies? As in the term for more than one baby? And heartbeats, as in more than one?"

Clearing his throat, Dr. Whale nodded. "It appears as though our previous machine was severely malfunctioning. You aren't just pregnant with one child but uhm…" Looking from one mother to the other, he sighed. "You're carrying twins."

Emma was obviously taken aback, Dr. Whale only nodding and letting himself out as Regina turned to Emma.

"Dear? Are you alright?"

Emma was silent for a moment, as though the wheels in her head were turning to accept this newly discovered information. After a few moments however, a smile began to spread across her lips, nodding her head in confirmation. "Yeah I'm… I'm great." Turning to face her wife, Emma gripped Regina's hand. "Twins, Regina. We're going to have twins!"

Biting her lip as her own smile came, Regina nodded, squeezing her wife's hand. "I know," she said softly, as though saying it louder would change the fates.

Squealing in delight, Emma sat up straight in her bed, trying to stop herself from bouncing in her seat. "Oh my god, that stupid fucking pirate," she said softly, shaking her head. "If he hadn't of cheated, you do realized that we probably wouldn't have figured this out, right?"

Laughing softly, Regina nodded. "Yes, so it seems. Perhaps that means Hook will receive your forgiveness and we won't even have to play that terrible game again?"

"Oh, hell no." Shrugging, Emma leaned back into the pillow behind her. "Just means that he really owes me those threes now."

Though the moment was only shared between the pair of them at that time, it was apparent just how much that a small bit of news could make what was coming that much better.

Twins.