A/N: Over 300 reviews! I am absolutely astounded. Thank you, all of you.
Regina knew that the right thing to do would be going back out into the room and curling up with Emma until the time came. But she couldn't. Instead she sat on the edge of the bathtub, needing this moment to herself.
She sat there alone, doing her best not to think. And when that didn't work, she concentrated on the houses they might visit today, the things she wanted to see around the town. What they might do if it turned out that nothing had changed. How they'd do their rounds and drive back to Storybrooke, hopefully finding Henry a little less combative this time.
Henry. How was she going to tell Henry the news if there was news to tell? How would he take it?
She felt queasy again, although this time it had more to do with anxiety than sickness. Just another minute, and then she could look. She had her phone in her hand, watching the time tick away.
And then it was time, and she suddenly wasn't sure if she wanted to find out. She stood slowly, slipping her phone back into her pocket, and approached the test where she'd set it on the counter. She stared at it a long time, then opened the bathroom door.
Emma was sitting in the middle of the bed, hugging a pillow and looking younger than Regina had ever seen her. The blonde set the pillow aside when Regina got onto the bed beside her, letting the other woman into her embrace instead. They sat there for a moment, arms around each other, Regina tilting her head to rest against Emma's.
"So," Emma said, her voice cracking, "yes?"
Regina nodded imperceptibly. "Yes."
Emma began to blurt out all of the things she'd been thinking about during the long wait, but Regina shushed her immediately.
"Later," she urged. "Right now I just need…" Regina trailed off, unsure what she was asking for. "Quiet, I suppose."
Emma just pulled her in, tighter than seemed possible. It took all of her strength not to cry again. After granting Regina a long period of quiet, she spoke up again. "We can go find somewhere to get this taken care of," she suggested.
Regina backed up enough to see the blonde, taking a while before she realized what Emma meant. "Oh." The thought hadn't crossed her mind. Regina was liberal in her politics, but abortion was the kind of issue that never came up in a town that was frozen in time. And it was certainly far from Regina's upbringing – in the Enchanted Forest, a pregnancy could often ruin a girl, but there was nothing to be done.
But this wasn't some girl she didn't know, some abstract political idea. This was her.
"Emma, I…" Her voice faltered, but Emma clearly read her expression.
"You want to keep it?" she asked, looking a cross between stunned and horrified. "After how it happened?"
"I don't want to make any rash, irreversible decisions," Regina replied.
Emma pulled back a bit further. "I thought it would be pretty straightforward."
"Well, it's not." Regina refused to let Emma move any farther away. "Please respect that."
Emma bit back her further arguments. "I will," she promised. "Are you okay?"
"No," Regina told her honestly.
Emma snuggled closer, closing her eyes. "Me neither."
They had to check out, but neither woman felt ready to get back into the car quite yet. Instead, they walked to the shore, not talking, not touching. Regina sat down on a bench facing the ocean and stared out towards the horizon, deep in thought.
Emma hovered nearby but didn't sit, hands shoved in her pockets as she kicked at the gravel.
She didn't understand how this was even a question. How Regina could even consider keeping the baby and spending the rest of her life with a constant reminder of the brutal attack.
She sat down beside Regina, forcing herself to remember that the older woman was from a different world. Trying to understand, although it seemed impossible.
"Emma." Regina's voice was almost a whisper. "Maybe this means that something beautiful resulted from all of this."
"It doesn't," Emma replied stubbornly. "There's nothing beautiful about this."
"I always wanted a second child," Regina continued, but Emma shook her head vigorously as if maybe that would keep the words from reaching her ears. "Not like this, nothing like this. But it's happened, and maybe it's a blessing."
"What is wrong with you, Regina?" Emma stood up, needing distance. "The father…"
"Doesn't matter," Regina finished, standing with Emma and taking her hands. "I don't care who he is. This baby is mine." There was something so hopeful in Regina's eyes, and it stung Emma. "It could be ours."
"And if it's David's?" Emma spat her father's name out.
"That's why I'm not going to find out," Regina said, stepping forward and bringing her hands up to cup Emma's face. "I don't care who the father is."
"What if I can't be part of this?"
Regina leaned forward, resting her forehead against Emma's and closing her eyes. "If I have to choose between you and having this child," she whispered, trying to imagine the two scenarios. "If I have to, I choose you, Emma."
Emma started at that, taking a few steps backwards and looking deep into Regina's eyes once they opened again. "What?"
Regina smiled sadly at her. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to keep the baby, but her current family came first. And Emma was irrevocably a part of that family now. "No matter what I do, this is a sacrifice. I'm either giving up the baby or giving up some of my ability to put this behind me." She blinked back tears, the wind off the ocean not helping the situation. "But I'm not about to give up a chance at true love. Not again."
Emma couldn't believe that she meant that much to Regina, that the brunette was allowing her so much power. She closed the space between them again, wrapping her arms around Regina's neck and feeling Regina's hands on her back. "I don't know," she whispered into Regina's neck.
Regina wanted to know for sure whether she should cut off the affection she was beginning to feel for the life growing inside her, but she knew this decision would take time. "Come on," she said, stroking Emma's back. "Let's go get our son."
But Emma didn't make a move to let go or head back towards the car, instead just kissing Regina deeply. Going back to Storybrooke was a solid, straightforward plan that the blonde could wrap her head around. But first, she just wanted to be close to Regina. "I love you so much," she murmured between kisses. "I just want us to be happy."
Henry found the truck parked down by the docks after a lot of searching. He knocked on the window and took a step back, crossing his arms as he waited for his grandfather to open the door.
"Hey, buddy," David said, looking relieved to see the only family member who didn't hate him. Although, judging from the look on Henry's face, that had changed.
"You hurt my mom," Henry said, staring at David hard. "You're supposed to be a hero but you hurt her."
He knew Mary Margaret hadn't told him the whole story, but he'd learned enough. By the time she dissolved into tears at the realization of what she'd let happen, Henry had a pretty good idea.
"Henry," David said gently. "Sometimes the hero has to hurt people to make things safe."
"No," Henry insisted, green eyes blazing in a way that reminded David of Emma. "You could have locked her up and tied her hands so she couldn't use magic. But people did all that and still you hurt her." He dropped his hands to his sides, balled into fists. "I know she hurt people too but it's not okay, what you did. You did the worst thing." He turned to leave, calling back over his shoulder. "You better watch out when my moms get back."
He returned to the diner to be thoroughly scolded by both Ruby and Granny for disappearing all morning. And then he took his hot chocolate to a table by the window to watch for his mother's car.