Prompt numbers:

19. Regina is pregnant and she and Robin watch a birthing video together.

Entry Day: Saturday

#OQPromptParty2018 day six! Almost to the end.

Any mistakes are mine and I hope you can forgive me for them.

Some of you may recognize this storyline, let's see how many people do.

Enjoy!

The One with the Birthing Video

Robin walks into the den and scans the room in search of Regina, she's supposed to be home soon and he wants to be sure he didn't miss her coming in while he was in the shower. This is the last room he has to search and he comes up empty again. She must be running late.

They are supposed to watch a film together tonight since the children are both away with Emma and Killian. It will be one of their last opportunities to have a night alone together for a while since the baby is due to come in a matter of weeks. Apparently it's something of an adult film that she wants them to watch together, isn't appropriate to view with young ones in the vicinity. And he's perfectly fine with that. If it's something she enjoys he likely will as well. Speaking of, that must be it sitting on the side table next to the sofa.

He decides he'll put it in and get everything ready for them, impress her with his new found knowledge of this modern technology. He remembers Henry's lesson. How to open the slot with the button on the top, how to put the disk in the correct way, then how to get to what's called the menu. It's not too difficult a process, nothing near as complicated as that game box and it's controller. Henry had tried to explain that as well, with all its buttons and levers, but it had all gone straight over his head. Roland had picked it up instantly but he still can't make sense of the blasted thing. Both boys quite enjoy it, so he's sure he'll get it eventually with some more practice.

The tape starts to play the moment he hits the button with the triangle on it. He's a bit proud of himself for remembering. It starts off with a side view of a woman, a very pregnant woman, lying on a bed completely naked. This isn't at all what he was expecting. Regina is pregnant herself so that may be playing a factor in her choice. She has been feeling a bit unsexy as of late, which she shouldn't. To him she's even more sexy while carrying their child, has told her that many a time only to have her scrunch her face up in that disapproving way she does. Maybe this sort of tape will make her feel more desirable if he plays up his interest a bit. It shouldn't be too hard, he's always found pregnant women beautiful. It may just be that he's bias to the two woman that have carried his children, but they are gorgeous nonetheless.

All of a sudden the woman starts screaming and the camera angle shifts. Suddenly it's pointing directly between her legs and he looks away immediately because it feels wrong to be looking at her like that. He didn't think the tape Regina had in mind would be so graphic.

The woman is still screaming and he has to look, has to know what's going on. When he looks up he sees something he was not at all expecting. There's… there's something coming out of her. He knows it's a baby, he knows that, it just doesn't look at all like a baby.

Looking away seems impossible. After looking up at the image he can't seem to break his wide eyed stare at it. There's dilating and pushing and stretch and fluids and blood and he can't look away.

The head slowly emerges and he cringes then finally looks away. That is enough, he doesn't need to see more.

He's fumbling with the damn thing called a remote that he still is not sure how to decipher, trying in vain to get rid of the graphic images. He's trying with all his might not to look up at it but, as horrifying as it is, he can't help himself from glancing up at the screen.

The woman is still pushing and screaming when finally the image freezes from one of the dozens of buttons he must have clicked. He lets out a sigh and puts a hand up to block the frozen image still on the screen.

Remote still in hand he looks down at it, after calming down he remembers that the button on the top right turns off the television so he presses it and the screen goes blank.

Finally, some peace.

"Robin," Regina yells upon entering the house. "Sorry I'm late," and she has to smile at the phrase that just left her lips. "I got held up at work, but I'm home and ready for our kid free night."

But first things first, kicking off her heels she lets out a relieved sigh. Much better. Not that they were comfortable before, but now with the added strain of her growing belly they are even more painful.

She assumes Robin will be in the kitchen starting on dinner so that's where she heads.

The kitchen's empty when she reaches it, but the oven's on with a dish inside. He's already prepared and begun cooking the lasagna she had planned for tonight.

Bless that man.

Normally she enjoys cooking, especially when it's lasagna, but tonight she really wants to get off her feet and not stand in the kitchen cooking. All those times he's watched her put it together, all the questions and failed attempts, he has finally mastered the art of assembling her lasagna.

An odd sound catches her ear so she walks out of the kitchen and follows the noise. It sounds to be coming from the den.

When she walks into the room she sees Robin sitting there with an odd expression on his face. "Babe, what's wrong." She walks up to him and drops a hand to his shoulder.

He blinks his eyes heavily before he looks up at her, a bit flustered. "I watched part of the tape you got."

"Without me?" She sits down next to him and drops a hand to his thigh. "Did you not like it?"

He doesn't move, just sits there staring somewhere in front of himself. The stunned expression on his face is telling her that a sex tape isn't really for him. And that's fine, it's not much her style either, just something to try. "Well, we don't have to finish it if you didn't enjoy it." The hand on his thigh starts creeping up, "We can just make our own." And he's jumping away from her and looking very confused.

Was it something she said?

"You want to film our child being born?"

"What?" How did he get that from what she said? It's not at all part of the…

The birthing video!

She looks down at the coffee table in front of them and sees the blank case sitting there open. "Is this the tape you put in?"

"Yes, it's the tape you wanted to watch."

"No, this is the birthing video Snow gave me." She uses his leg and the arm of the chair to push to her feet and walks over the her desk. She pulls another tape from her bottom drawer and holds it up for him to see. "This is the tape I meant for us to watch."

"Oh," Robin exhales and drops his head into his hands.

Regina chuckles at him and walks back over to sit then leans into his side. "Come on, it can't have been that bad. Childbirth is a natural thing, it's beautiful."

"Oh, really?" He pulls his head from his hands to look her in the eyes when he says, "You watch for yourself and tell me how beautiful it is."

Scoffing she reaches for the remote and turns on the television and prove him wrong. She presses the previous button a few times so the disk skips back to the beginning then presses play.

What she sees is nothing short of horrifying.

A gasp escapes her mouth and she's quick to cover it with her hand. She didn't know that part of a woman's body could stretch that much. There have been several occasions that she and Robin have pushed her boundaries, and her small amount of discomfort always paid off, but nothing like that.

When the head starts to emerge she jumps for the pause button and freezes the image.

Now she's the one frozen and stunned. Childbirth is something she's never really witnessed from that angle. She knows it will hurt, but she didn't know what it would look like.

How can her sister want to be the one to see that? It doesn't make sense to her.

"You alright?" She hears Robin ask.

It takes her a moment to find her voice, to clear her throat and actually form words.

"After that crushing a heart doesn't seem quite so violent," she leans back against the sofa and rubs her belly, "And is most certainly less torture."

"I've never witnessed you crushing a heart, but I'm sure that is an accurate statement." Robin drops a hand to her thigh and she jumps and he pulls it away. She doesn't really want to be touched after watching that video.

A little too late for that.

Looking down at her belly she starts to panic. "I have to do that."

"What?"

"I have to do what that woman just did," she gestures towards the television.

"Sweetheart," Robin moves a hand to rest on her belly but she slaps it away.

Her anger is a bit misdirected, but she doesn't really care. This is his fault, she didn't get pregnant alone. Wouldn't have been able to get pregnant at all if he wasn't her soulmate and cured her infertility with true love making. At least that's what they've decided to call it. There really is no other explanation.

"I can't do that, I won't be able to do that." The image of what that womans body did is still playing in her brain as she shifts uncomfortably at the thought of her body being put through that.

"Of course you will, your body's built for it." He kisses her cheek despite her cringe. "You are the strongest woman I know."

He's trying to fix this, but he can't. No matter what he says she will still have to do that.

"Just, don't," she sighs. "I just want to forget about this and the fact that I have to go through it in a few weeks. So, let's just think about something else."

"Alright," Robin nods.

After a minute of silence Robin speaks up. "Did you think about something else?"

"No!" she whines as she throws her head back against the cushion. "All I did was think about it."

"Me too!" Robin yells as he runs his hand back through his hair. "Everytime I close my eyes I can see it."

Regina sits up and looks at him. "We have to get over this." Then she's moving, not very gracefully with her round belly but managing, to straddle Robin's legs.

"What and you doing?" he asks as he leans back to give her room, a bit stunned by her bold move.

"I'm forgetting," she whispers as she leans in to kiss him. Just before their lips touch she pulls away and takes a deep breath, hears him do the same. At least this seems to feel just as awkward for him as it does for her. But she is pushing past this, she is going to kiss him. And so she does, with stiff lips and no emotion.

"We can't," he mumbles against her lips and she's pulling back.

"Oh, thank God," she breaths. He's helping her move from over him and back sitting beside him before she even asks for help.

They sit there a few minutes in more deafening silence, both still thinking about the images they saw on the tape.

It's a bold move, but she leans into his side and rests her head on his shoulder.

"We can still salvage this night, can't we?" he asks.

"Yes," Regina shakes her head then nods. "Yes. We'll go finish dinner and forget all about this." They need to go do something else, anything else to take their minds off it.

Robin drops his head to rest on hers, "I'm not very hungry."

"Me either." Regina admits. "Maybe we could try watching the actual tape I had meant for tonight," she suggests.

"Alright." Robin nods. Good because, yes, that will probably alter the mood. "I'll just get this one out." And he presses a button on the remote that causes the tape to play again.

The woman is pushing and grunting and the baby's shoulders are starting to emerge. She turns her head into his shoulder because she just can't look anymore.

"No," Robin nudges her, "look."

When she looks up one of the shoulders is now out and the other one slip slides free and there's a baby, a beautiful little baby.

"Oh," she sighs as the precious baby is placed on the mother's chest. The woman is no longer screaming but crying and smiling down at her baby, all the pain of a moment ago forgotten.

"Look how happy the mother is now." Robin smiles broadly as he leans forward, watching the screen intently.

Regina is no longer watching the tape, but watching him and the dimpled smile spreading across his face.

"I love you," she whispers as she wraps her arms around his waist.

He throws an arm over her to wrap around her back and pull her closer. "I love you," he says with a kiss to her lips. "And I want you to know that I'll be there, through all of it, helping you through."

"I'm counting on it," she says jokingly before kissing him again.

"Evening salvaged?" He mumbles against her lips.

"Definitely," she smiles into another kiss.