OQPromptParty

by YouAreMyFuture23

This is prompt number one in a series of hopefully seven (if I can finish them all in time). I plan on having them tie together. Here goes #OQPromptParty2018

7. Normal Day Turned Exciting

Prompt number:

167. Movie night (changed to day) with the kids.

Entry Day: Sunday

The last day of #OQPromptParty2018 I'm sad guys. But I hope you enjoy!

There are a lot of point of view jumps in this, I tried to separate them all so it's less confusing.

Also, deciding on a name killed me!

Any mistakes are mine and I hope you can forgive me for them. And so begins my last chapter of #OQPromptParty2018

I hope you guess enjoy the conclusion, it's not an easy one.

---

Normal Day Turned Exciting

It's a day, not unlike any other in recent times. Robin wakes to the sunlight peeking in through the curtains and turns his head to bury his face into the pillow, the bright light hurts his still sleepy eyes. The feeling of the soft satin fabric against his skin momentarily startles him, as it does every morning, then he realizes that he's in Regina's bed rather than his own. It's been years of this, him falling asleep with her in his arms then waking momentarily confused as to his location. His mind slowly wakes and he starts to remember that this is his life now. He has the amazing privilege of falling asleep and waking up next to his soulmate every morning for the rest of his days.

He lifts his chest up off of the bed slightly so he can turn his head to his left, where she lays. She looks so beautiful and peaceful lying there on her left side facing him. She is deep in sleep, her chest moving with every slow drawn out breath. He loves that he is the only one allowed the privilege of seeing her this way. Her perfect face cleared of it's colorful mask, hair with its natural curl, not forcibly straightened, her body barely concealed in a silk nightgown instead of her structured suits.

Her nose suddenly scrunches up along with her eyebrows and she lets out a sigh. From a dream he supposes. She is so adorable when she dreams, her face contorting into cute little expressions. He wants to reach out and touch her cheek, but he doesn't dare for fear of waking her. She hasn't slept much in recent days, doesn't get many moments of peace. Especially since an unexpected surprise began making herself more known.

Regina suddenly groans and rolls onto her back, her hand rubbing the side of her ever expanding stomach. Robin now realizes that the cause of her scrunched face is not a dream, but their little princess making herself known in the early hours of the morning. Robin adjusts so he is laying on his side facing Regina, props up on his right elbow so he can still see her face, then reaches out to rub her stomach with his left hand.

Regina sighs and mumbles, "She won't stop kicking." Her voice is raspy and quiet as it's the first time that it's been used for the day. Though, it sounds more tired than under used. Robin slides in closer to her so she doesn't have to strain.

"Did you get any sleep, my love?" He whispers into her temple before kissing her there.

"A little I think, though it doesn't feel like it." She whispers as if she is on the brink of sleep again already, her voice barely audible. She has to force the words past her throat, he can tell.

"Is there anything I can do?" The baby then kicks hard enough for him to visibly see it and his mouth drops open a bit. He has seen that many times before, a foot or a hand protruding past the normal expanse of her rounded stomach, but every time it amazes him.

Regina jumps and squeezes the wrist of the arm Robin has on her stomach. "If you can't get this baby out, you have nothing I want." She huffs and moves a hand up to cover her eyes.

Her belly is extremely sore from the incredible amount of movement she has been feeling in the past couple of days. She said it felt like the baby was doing flips inside her, and according to Zelena that was exactly what was happening. Said something about the baby turning into the birthing position to prepare for labor.

At her appointment yesterday Zelena said the baby was already head down, so why was she feeling like the baby is still doing flips?

The kicks are normally just uncomfortable, but with how soar her stomach is he knows everyone of them feel like a knife jab. At least, that's how she described what she's feeling. She needs them to stop and he's going to make it happen.

"What if I try to stop her kicking, hmm? That would at least be something." Robin moves down so his head is just above her stomach and begins talking. "Hello my little one, this is daddy. I'm sure you can tell from my beautifully accented voice." He says that for Regina's benefit and it seems to have done its job because he can see her lips curve into a smile, which widens his own.

"I know you're just trying to have a little fun and stretch out in there but mummy would really appreciate it if you would stop kicking her." Another kick comes and almost lands squarely against his nose. Regina jumps again and moves a hand to the top of his head to gather a chunk of his hair into her grasp. He grimaces a bit when she tugs harshly after another strong kick.

It's almost as if the baby is letting him know that she's going to do exactly as she wants, directly ignoring his request. "Ignoring me already," he chuckles, "Every bit your mother's child." He smiles in Regina's direction and she looks at him just long enough for him to catch the eye roll then she covers them up again.

He drops the side of his head against her belly to get a bit closer and hopefully make more of an impact, then begins speaking again. "I know you're getting ready to come out, but your mum needs to get some rest before that happens. So, please, baby, could you calm down for a little while? For daddy?" He sits up and waits a moment with both hands rubbing against the sides of her belly.

After about a minute with no movement he triumphantly throws his hands in the air and says, "And the award for best dad in the world goes to-" before he can finish Regina whacks him on the chest. "Oi! What was that for?"

"You are being an idiot, and idiots get hit." Regina answers with a smug smile on her face. He may be a goofy idiot, but he's her goofy idiot and she'll never get rid of him.

"You wound me, milady." He moves a hand to rub where she just hit him. "But I do believe I have accomplished the impossible. You haven't felt anymore kicks now have you?" He says with a cheeky grin before he leans down for a quick kiss.

"That may be true, but that doesn't mean it has anything to do with your beautiful voice." Regina says with a giggle as she mimics his accent. She truly does love his smooth voice, has told him so many times, but she can't resist making fun of it either.

"Someone's cheeky," he observes with a wide smile. "So now your making fun of me, yeah?" Regina giggles some more and nods her head. "And to think I was just trying to help you." He moves to straddle her legs and drops his hands to her hips.

"Well, it's not my fault you couldn't live up to the task." She says with a raised eyebrow.

Challenge accepted.

"Oh. Now you've done it." He says with a growl. She is going to pay for that comment, and he knows exactly how he is go to get his revenge. "You will pay for that, and I think you can imagine how."

He runs a finger ever so lightly up and down her underwear clad sex. She takes in a sharp inhale and he does it again to the same result. She starts fidgeting around a bit after the third stroke and he knows he has her. This is going to be a long morning for her if she is already this worked up, he plans on dragging things out. Not to be mean, never, only to tease. Now it's also going to provide as a distraction to her discomfort. Which seems to be working beautifully.

"Is this what the lady wants?" He questions, eyebrow raised as he twirls his finger around her most sensitive spot.

Regina opens her mouth to scold him. Not really, she is just playing along. "You damn well know what I want." He is just about to slide his hand inside her knickers, but is interrupted by the bedroom door flying open and a five year old rushing towards them.

"Daddy, Gina, it's time to get up!" Roland yells as he runs and launches himself onto the bed.

Thank goodness they hadn't moved to the undressing faze yet. Robin's torturous need to take things at a snail's pace does pay off sometimes.

Robin quickly grabs him with one arm, flips him upside down then proceeds to tickle him. "Is that right, my boy."

It's to distract him while he moves from his position still straddling over Regina's legs. The tickle monster always does the job. He shifts off to one side and continues to tickle his upside down son on his stomach, his little hands pushing and pulling at his fingers all the while.

Roland is squealing, giggling and thrashing in his father's hold. "Stop it papa!"

Robin pauses, "And what are you doing busting in here like that?"

"I heard voices. It's okay if I hear voices." Roland reasons.

"Is it now?" Robin asks before he proceeded with his tickling.

"Gina help!" Roland yells, reaching his little arms out towards her when his attempts to make his papa stop fail.

"Come here, my little Knight. I'll protect you from big bad daddy." Regina says as she grabs Roland's arms, pulls him to her side, then snuggles him in close.

"So now I'm the bad guy. I see, the two of you are conspiring against me." Robin says with a fake look of hurt and a hand on his chest.

"That is absolutely right." Regina says with a nod and a pointed look at Roland.

Roland comes back with his own response of, "Yeah!" Then sticks his tongue out at his father and snuggles closer to Regina. "I don't know what con-con-spiring means, but I'm on Regina's team."

"Well, I guess since you are both teaming up against me then I get to eat all of the pancakes by myself." Robin says casually, baiting his son. He's playing dirty, and he knows it, but he can't resist.

"Pancakes!" Roland yells, sitting up and looking eagerly at his father.

"Yes, pancakes. I don't suppose you would want any?" Roland nods his head emphatically. "Then it's too bad you aren't on my side. Traitors don't get pancakes with chocolate chips." Robin says as he stands from the bed and pulls on his robe.

"Chocolate chips!" Roland yells, standing up on the mattress. "I can be on both teams!"

"Well..." Robin pauses to tap his index finger against his chin. "I suppose that will work," he concedes, stepping closer to the bed.

Roland jumps into his father's arms and squeezes his neck. "Yay!" He yells.

"Resorting to bribery, that's a sign of weakness." Regina mumbles before she pushes herself up in the bed so she can sit up against the headboard. It's a struggle but she manages.

"Can you blame me? That is the only way he would choose me over you." Robin says as he leans down to kiss her cheek. He doesn't miss the way her cheeks redden at his comment. It's so adorable.

Him saying things like that always make her blush. The fact that Roland loves her that much makes her heart flutter. She cherishes that little boy, with his big brown eyes, his adorable dimples and his endearing little giggle. The thought that he loves her even just a fraction as much as she loves him truly makes her feel blessed.

"Alright, my boy, give Gina and your sister a kiss and we will go get started on breakfast." Robin places Roland back down on the bed and he crawls towards Regina. He places his little nose on hers and wiggles it back and forth, then leans down to kiss her belly and rub it messilly with both of his tiny hands.

"Gina?" He asks, still looking down at her stomach.

"Yes, baby?" She says as she runs her fingers through his curly hair.

"When will the baby be out of your tummy?" He's looking up at her, big brown eyes gazing into her own.

"Very soon, sweetheart." She answers, tapping his nose with her finger. Then she looks at Robin and mouths hopefully, to which he emphatically nods his agreement.

"Alright." Robin says before grabbing Roland and tossing him in the air. "You go wake up Henry and I will meet you downstairs." He places him back on the ground and pats him on the bum. Roland takes off into a sprint down the hall as he yells, "Henry! Wake up! We're having pancakes!"

Both adults chuckle at their adorable boy.

"I'll keep them entertained for a while, why don't you try to get a little sleep now that our girl is holding still." He drops his hand to her stomach to see if that is still in fact true, and bless her it is. "I'll be sure to save you some pancakes." He promises as he leans down and kisses her. He can't seem to leave her, let alone the room, without kissing her. It has sort of become their thing. Whenever one of them leaves the other, even if it's just to go down the hall, they kiss. They have both learned through their lives that the next moment is never promised, so they are going to make the most of everyone they have together.

It still takes Regina by surprise every time he does it. Being kissed just because isn't something that happens to her. But it isn't just because, it's because he loves her. He does it so she knows he loves her before he leaves her. It always melts her into a puddle.

"I love you." She mumbles against his lips.

He kisses her once more through his smile before pulling back and responding with, "And I you."

He helps her lay back down, closes the curtains then leaves her to get some sleep. Thankfully for her the baby is still behaving so she has no trouble falling right to sleep.

---

Down stairs Robin and Roland are busy putting the batter together. Well, more Robin than Roland. Once he has the eggs, milk, and mix together he allows Roland to drop a generous amount of chocolate chips into it. He probably should have stopped him, but he just can't bring himself to. His eyes are lighting up. After Roland takes his turn stirring it's time to start the cooking process. The minute the first pancake is flipped through the air and onto the plate, all for Roland's enjoyment, Henry comes stumbling into the kitchen and plops down into a chair at the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"I heard we're having pancakes." He says, reaching out and giving Roland a high five.

"With chocolate chips!" Roland adds excitedly, with a little hop.

"You are just in time as a matter of fact." Robin says as he places a plate with two pancakes in front of Henry and one in front of the seat next to him. "Roland go grab the syrup and sit next to Henry." Robin suggests, nodding to the fridge.

Roland scoots over to the fridge and uses his small amount of body weight to open the door. He then grabs the syrup and climbs up on the stool next to his brother. Henry takes the syrup from him and pours a generous helping onto Roland's pancakes as well as his own. They both dig in immediately and mmm at the sweet taste.

"These are great, Robin, thanks." Henry says with a half chewed bite in his mouth. "You get better and better every time you make them."

"Thank you, lad. I'm glad you're enjoying them." Robin looks over his shoulder flashing Henry a smile. "Anything is better than burning them I suppose." Robin was quite horrible when he first started but he is really beginning to figure out the cooking process.

Henry nods his agreement before asking, "where's mom?" He mumbles just after shoving another bite into his mouth.

"She's still in bed, luckily for you." Robin turns and raises an eyebrow at Henry as he crosses his arms over his chest. "If she could hear you talking with your mouth full you'd be getting a scolding about now." Henry blushes slightly before he takes a thick swallow and apologizes. Robin nods his acceptance and continues. "Your sister kept her up last night so I told her to try to get some more sleep." Robin says as he finishes up the pancakes and sits down next to Henry to start on his own breakfast.

"Papa?" Roland asks as he sits on his feet so he can be a little taller in order to look around Henry.

"Yes, my boy?" Robin says before taking his first bite of food.

"How is the baby going to get out of Gina's tummy?"

Robin chose the wrong moment to swallow and chokes on his food. He was in no way expecting that question. Who would be? He coughs and coughs until he is able to catch his breath, then takes a small sip of his morning coffee.

Henry pats him on the back a few times while he chuckles. "Good luck with that one," he laughs before getting up, rinsing off his plate and going back up stairs. He is definitely leaving to let Robin handle that question.

Robin coughs a few more times and takes another sip of his coffee before he gets his breathing fully under control. When he finally does he moves into the chair Henry left. "What made you ask that, son?" Robin questions as he turns his chair towards his boy.

"Because I want to know. I asked Henry and he told me to ask you because you knew more." Roland said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Clever boy that Henry. "Well, my boy. How do you think the baby will get out of Gina's tummy?" Yes, he is stalling, but who would blame him. His five year old just asked him to explain child birth. He had sworn long ago never to lie to his son, no matter what the issue. This is going to be rough.

"One of my friends from school said that they come out of the Mommy's belly button, but I don't think that's right." Roland says with his face all scrunched up. Robin can see his little brain working hard to figure this out.

"Why is that, son?" Robin asks while running his hand through his son's hair. He really is adorable when he's trying to work things out.

"Gina's tummy is so big, so that means the baby is big. How will it fit through her belly button?"

"That is true. What do you think happens?"

"I think the mommy poops the baby out. Is that right, daddy?" He asks, sitting up a little in his chair. He wants to know if he's right in his thinking.

"That is very close, son." Robin stops and rubs his hand on the back of his neck. He needs a second to think about how to explain this to a five year old. "Girls have, sort of a..." What's the G rated way to say this... "Another place on their bodies like their bum, but it's just for babies." Not really but I'm going with it. "The Mommy's have to push the babies out of that part of their bodies almost like you do when you go to the toilet. Does that make sense, son?" He really hopes that does the trick and doesn't confuse his son further.

"I think so. Where is the other place?" Roland asks looking up at his father, his brown eyes big and round with interest.

"It's between the Mommy's legs." It shouldn't hurt to tell him that.

"Is that why I saw you talking in between Gina's legs? So you could talk to the baby?" Roland asks, tilting his head to the side.

Robin turns beat red. The darkest red imaginable. It did hurt to tell him that.

His son had seen him doing something very inappropriate for his little innocent eyes. Okay get it together, you have to play this off, be convincing Locksley. "Yes, my boy... I- I was trying to talk to the baby." He stumbles out as he runs his hand through his beard.

He said he would never lie to his son. Sex is the exception.

"Oh, okay. Thanks, papa!" Roland says as he hops off the stool and stands on his tiptoes to reach his plate on the island then takes it over to the sink.

"Son," he clears his throat, "When did you see me talking to the baby like that?" Robin asks as he stands to take the plate from his struggling son and place it in the sink for him.
Roland shrugs his shoulders. "I was being quite so I could sneak in and you wouldn't see me. When I peeked through the door you were talking to the baby and Gina was making weird noises." He scrunches his eyebrows together like he's thinking back to what he saw, trying to figure out what it was exactly.

Dear God. At least Roland doesn't seem any the wiser as to what they were actually doing. But he can tell he's picturing it at the moment and it makes him turn even redder. Thank goodness he doesn't dwell on it because he starts talking again shortly after.

"Henry came and shut the door, he told me you guys needed some adult time and took me in his room to play video games."

Bless that boy. Robin will have to remember to thank him, if he can muster up enough courage to approach the subject.

Roland finishes his story then immediately turns and runs out of the room, he almost bumps into Regina in the doorway in his hurry to get upstairs.

"Hi, Gina!" He greets, looking up at her.

"Hi, sweetheart." She greets as she reaches down to touch his cheek.

Roland suddenly walks right up to her, wraps his little arms her hips, buries his head below her stomach and begins speaking rather loudly. "Hi baby, this is your brother. I can't wait for you to come out of Gina's tummy so we can play." Then he sprints away and up the stairs.

Regina is left standing with her mouth open and her eyebrows knitted together. She looks over at him and places a hand on her hip. "This has to be your doing, Roland would not have gotten the idea to do that on his own," she accuses.

"I know." He raises his hands in defeat. "He caught me with my head between your legs." He gestures to her lower half then stuffs both his hands in his pockets.

Regina drops her hand from her hip and her eyes threaten to pop out of her head. "Yes." Robin says after taking in her reaction. "He assumed I was trying to talk to the baby and I took the out that fell in my lap."

Regina walks to the island and slowly lowers herself to a stool. "Robin. How much did he see?"

"Not much, Henry apparently caught him and took it upon himself to distract him after the fact."

"Oh no." Regina groans and covers her face with her hands. "Oh no."

After a minute of silence she mumbles, "Is this really my life? Is this really happening? I must be dreaming."

But then Robin rubs a hand between her shoulder blades and she jumps. "This is real," she groans.

Then he says the words that she hasn't even wanted to think, he doesn't either. "It appears both of our sons have... caught us in bed together." Robin sits down next to her and drops his forehead in his hand.

...

She can feel her cheeks heat with embarrassment. This is mortifying. They are normally so careful, they wait until the boys are in bed or when they are both away at school. Thinking back, she remembers one lazy Sunday evening that they thought the boys were busy watching some superhero movie. They were both laying in bed attempting to take a nap when Robin's hand started wandering. She urged him to stop at first but eventually gave in. He had brought her to peak once with his hand then decided he wanted a little taste. He camped out down there as long as he could until Regina urged him away. That must have been the day they were caught by both their boys.

Oh! Both!

It makes her cringe. Maybe she could live with one, Roland over Henry because Roland is young and will probably forget all of this, but Henry will more than likely be scarred for life.

"How could we be so careless." Regina whispers into her palms. She can't bring herself to look at him. She is so embarrassed. She can feel that her entire face is red and she just wants to keep it hidden in her hands a bit longer.

"We weren't careless." Robin says as he rubs her back soothingly.

"Both of our sons saw us having sex, I would say that's careless." Regina mumbles, still into her hands.

"Love, come on. It was bound to happen eventually. We do it enough that I'm surprised we made it this long." He says with a chuckle. When she doesn't react he continues. "Kids catch their parents having sex, it's a normal childhood experience." She turns her head and glares at him, making it clear she doesn't think so.

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you never caught your parents in the act." He says, smirking at her.

Regina pulls her head up and looks him dead in the eyes "No. I never did. My parents slept in different rooms as far back as I can remember. They had what mother liked to call an agreed marriage. They didn't love each other. She wasn't even capable of it, she didn't have her heart. So no, I was not subjected to that particular childhood experience." She says before dropping her head back into her hands.

Robin has learned it's best to change the subject whenever it involved her mother, and that he does, bless him. "Well, I caught my parents many a time. I've always been good at sneaking about, I don't think they ever knew. The image is burned into my brain, yes, but am I scared, no. You know full well that I lead a perfectly normal adult sex life. No permanent damage." He leans over and kisses her shoulder then runs his hand up and down her spine.

"I don't know if I would call your need to please until you are begged to stop normal," she pauses to look at him out of the corner of her eye, more smug than ever. "But I hear you. The boys will be fine." She says with a defeated sigh.

"Yes, they will." He reassures.

She is alright now, if not still a little thrown by their recent discovery, but dealing with it.

"Now, I think I promised you and our girl pancakes, yeah?" He says before getting up and bring over the plate with three pancakes sitting on it over in front of her.

She smiles up at him and takes the fork he offers. " Thank you, darling. The baby and I are starving." She says while eyeing the pancakes and rubbing her stomach. She pours a reasonable amount of syrup on them and digs in.

...

Robin comes back to his seat and just watches her eat for a moment. He has enjoyed watching her eating habits change during her pregnancy. Before she watched what she ate and how much a lot more closely. When she reached her second trimester she began to slack off slightly. She is still a very healthy eater, there's just a little more sweets, like pancakes, and slightly larger portions, three instead of two. She also has begun to eat significantly faster in recent times. At the moment she is shoveling in a large portion of pancake. He pulls his eyes from her face to look at her plate and notices she's already half way through within the small amount of time he's been watching her. He figures he should continue to eat from his own plate if he wants to finish around the same time she does, so he begins eating alongside her.

"Did you manage to get anymore sleep?" He questions between bites. If he spoke with his mouth full he would have been greatly chastised.

Regina swallows and wipes the corners of her mouth with a napkin, like the well mannered woman she is, before speaking. "Not a lot, my back was bothering me."

"Was she kicking you?" Robin questions as he brings a hand to her lower back and rubs it back and forth along her hip bones.

"No, no more kicking thanks to you." She pats him on the thigh gratefully. "It's just really tight."

"Could it be more braxton hicks?" He knows it's still a possibility this close to delivery, and he doesn't think it's labor because they are still a week away from her due date.

"Maybe, I don't know how to tell for sure." She says just before she feels that tightening sensation again. She scrunches her face up and moans lightly.

Robin turns towards her and just watches her face to see if he can read her to judge how much pain she's actually in. He has learned by now not to trust what she tells him when it comes to her being in pain.

Her eyes are squeezed tightly closed, he can see the tension in her shoulders and hear her inhale and exhale slowly through her nose. No matter what she is planning to say to him he can see she's in pain. She is not getting away with this one. "You alright, love?"

...

When she regains her composure she turns to face him and looks right into his eyes. Surprisingly he doesn't look worried, he just looks concerned. He also doesn't push her to answer, thankfully.

"I'm fine," she nods her head at him. Again he doesn't push, though she knows he can tell she's lying because he just keeps looking at her, waiting. She huffs out a breath. "I really am fine. The pains are very spread out and irregular. If I really am in labor it will be a while before anything happens." She pauses to places a hand on his cheek then looks into his eyes. "Don't worry."

"Alright." He mumbles reluctantly. "You're right. We don't really have to worry until the pains are coming closer together." He adds, "That's the only reason I'm not pushing."

"Thank you," she nods.

"Is it bad?" He questions as he gestures to her stomach then rests his hand on it.

"No. I've had menstrual cramps worse than this." She answered with a chuckle.

"Good, I'm glad it's manageable." He says with a quick brush of his hand across her stomach, then he drops a kiss to her forehead as he stands.

He gathers both of their plates then rinses them in the sink. "I've got an idea," he announces as he's loading the dishwasher. "Since we are going to be playing a waiting game today why don't we make it into family time. We could watch a movie, maybe play some games with the boys?"

"That sounds lovely. I'll call the boys down while you finish that." She pushes herself up from the stool and waddles, she hates that she is now waddling because of her size, to the bottom of the stairs and calls to the boys. "Henry, Roland, could you come down please." A moment later she hears little feet running down the hall with big ones following behind.

They both are rushing down the stairs with Roland yelling, "I'm going to beat you!" Henry coming back with, "oh, no you won't!"

He is clearly letting the younger boy win and it's so sweet. When they reach the bottom Roland is jumping around triumphantly. Henry fakes a sad, defeated face and congratulates Roland on his victory with a high-five before adding, "But you won't win next time."

Roland walks right up to his brother to "get in his face", or as much as he can with their significant height difference, and says, "Yes I will!"

Regina can't help but laugh at her boys. They got along so well, even when they're competing. "Boys, how would you like to have a family movie and game day?" Both boys nod emphatically at the idea. It makes Regina's smile widen. She is so thankful that they both love spending time together, as a family. "Alright, why don't you two go pick a movie, Robin and I will be there in a moment."

Henry and Roland look at each other and take off to the living room. She can't help but laugh again at how competitive they are. She walks back into the kitchen just as Robin's closing up the dishwasher and turning it on.

"You have good timing, milady," he says with a grin. It was a beautiful, big thing that makes his eyes scrunch up at the sides and the dimples on his cheeks very pronounced. She absolutely loves it.

"The boys are picking out a movie, so it will likely be something involving superheroes. Are you ready to join them?" She points over her shoulder with her thumb towards the den.

"I am, my love." He walks up to her, wraps his arms around her and kisses her sweetly on the lips, then pulls back he touches their noses together. A show of affection he knows she cherishes, and she does, wholeheartedly. He does do it often just so he can see her smile spread and reach up to her eyes, which happens every time. "Let's go join our boys." He gathers her hand in his own and leads her towards the den where they can already hear the music from the opening screen of the movie playing.

---

The boys are laying on their stomachs on the floor, up close to the action, while Regina and Robin wound up on the sofa with her settled snugly between his legs, leaning back on his chest.

He is slowly running his hands all over her belly and it's so soothing. She's close to falling asleep, and not very far into the movie either. She can feel her eyes drooping and struggling to stay open. That is, until her stomach tightens and her hands fly to Robin's wrists so she can squeeze something. It isn't a bad contraction, not to terribly painful, it just took her by surprise and she wants to squeeze something so she can concentrate on that and keep her face from showing her pain in case one of the boys looks back at them.

"You alright?" Robin whispers the question against her ear so quietly that she can barely hear it, which means there's no way the boys did. She nods her head and exhales slowly.

He starts running his hands over her belly and she sighs into him. The soothing touch of his warm hands calms her muscles a bit and helps her relax back into her near sleep state.

...

During the first movie, which Robin understands to be one of the Avenger films, Regina had twelve contractions. Which means they are around fifteen minutes apart.

He figured that out because all of these superhero films are around three hours long. He just kept track of how many contractions she had throughout the movie then divided the time.

If they get to ten he is going to do something about it, no matter her protest.

"How are you?" He leans in to whisper as the movies being changed.

"I'm fine." She tells him with a nod.

"You're sure?" He rubs her stomach to hint at what he means without having to say anything. Can't risk one of the boys hearing.

She takes hold of his hands and moves them to the side as she leans back to look at him. "Yes," she answers with a small smile before she's shifting back to get comfortable again.

She really does seem fine so he drops it and watches the movie.

...

Regina doesn't let on to the amount of contractions she's really feeling. She will have one contraction that's mild and she can get by without letting on that she's feeling anything. Then the next will be worse and she needs to grab hold of Robin's wrists to keep it from showing on her face. It's either let Robin know she's hurting every once and a while or risk the boys noticing, and Henry will notice eventually. So perceptive that boy. Robin is definitely the better option.

Every time she reaches out to grab his hand she feels the rise and fall of his chest change pattern and become slower. He starts taking slower, deeper breaths for her to follow and it helps. Helps keep her calm. She follows him, breathes in while his expanding chest pushes her forward, then let's it out slowly as she sinks back into him.

He doesn't seem worried, surprisingly, goes right back to watching the movie once she relaxes. Either he's intentionally trying to appear over the top calm, or he's really captivated by the film. It may be a bit of both.

...

During the next movie, which is the next part to the first, apparently, he only felt her stiffen eight times which means the contractions are slowing down a great deal. It seems they are only false pains.

He thinks she's stiffening up with another but she just sits up a bit and pushes down on his thighs to shift her hips. He's keeping an eye on her until she settles again. She still looks a bit tense, but it may just be that she's uncomfortable with the seating arrangement, they have been in this position for several hours.

"Do you need to move, babe?" He moves his hands to her hips and shifts to the side so he can look at her.

"Mmm," she hums. "No, I'm fine. Just needed to shift." She pats his hand and adjusts her head on his chest.

Her answer was short and she didn't look at him when she spoke, it makes him suspicious. She hums again and closes her eyes as if she's falling asleep, that explains it.

...

Her pain is getting much worse.

She estimates the contractions to be about ten minutes apart. She's doing her best not to let them show, to anyone. Every time a contraction starts she passes off her small jump as a shift of position. Even starts squeezing the blanket draped over her legs instead of his wrists. She focuses on keeping her breaths even and her body relaxed. Robin will notice if she tightens even one muscle.

She's cursing this seating arrangement. It was so comfortable at first, her favorite way to sit with him in fact, but it's too much contact now. They are completely touching from head to toe. Luckily he has dropped his hands from her stomach to rest one on her hip and the other behind his own head. If they were still rubbing her stomach like they were before he definitely would have been able to tell she's in labor.

Most of the contractions slow breathing and tightly clutching the blanket is enough, but every few it's not. A few times she needs to grasp Robin's wrist to make it through. That's fine. That's acceptable. Only a few times. He will probably think they're slowing down since she's limited herself to only eight wrist grabs during the second movie, even though she could have done it at least double that amount of times.

It's torture, but she's managing.

...

When they decide to take a break from the movies and play Uno he only sees her eyes squeeze shut for a brief second four times. They clearly are just false contractions, they seem to be slowly coming to a stop.

She looks alright if not a bit paler, but she's joking and laughing with the boys and it puts him at ease. The game is going well for him until she gets a string of pick two cards and uses every one of them on him. Everytime she places one down she smirks into the pile at the center of the table and doesn't look at him.

"Bloody hell! Another?" Roland giggles at his reaction and she just shrugs. Yet again he picks up two more cards with a grumble. She must be fine, there's a gloating smile on her lips as Roland changes the color to one she apparently likes because her smile grows.

Damn. He's in trouble now.

...

It's a very good thing for her that the game is distracting him more than the movies did. Every time she feels a contraction she squeezes the underside support rim of the table. No one can see her do that. Giving him a beating is helping to distract her as well until a particularly strong contraction starts. Makes her clear her throat to disguise the surprised moan she lets out.

Her contractions are now about six minutes apart. She knows that because when one would begin or end she would glance at Henry's watch.

She is slipping further and further into the territory of active labor. Keeping this up is becoming difficult and she won't last much longer, she knows that.

When her next contraction comes at four minutes she decides she needs to get up. She won't be able to hide them now that they're this close. Six minutes was a battle she was barely winning, four is going to kick her ass.

Suddenly in the middle of a hand she announces that she needs to use the ladies room. It's a good excuse to get out of the room and figure out what she wants to do. Not to mention she truly does need to use the toilet. She's started feeling some pressure like she's about to burst at any second.

It was a poor decision to play the game around the coffee table because that meant they had to sit on the floor. Robin had helped lower her down there, much to her protest, but he will not be helping her up. She groans and tries to roll over to her side but doesn't get very far.

Robin smirks at her, she can see it out of the corner of her eye, then he reaches out to her so she can use him to stand.

She slaps his hand away and quickly says, "I can stand on my own, thank you."

"As the lady wishes." Robin says with a raise of his hands.

She struggles for a moment longer then is finally able to turn onto her hands and knees. She pushes back so she's squatting. Uh oh, bad move. There's no way she's getting out of that position without some assistance. She glances around for something she can use to push off of. Nothing.

"How's it comin, love?" Robin questions without looking over at her. He can see the position she's in out of the corner of his eye and must know she's stuck.

"Just fine, darling." She says with a roll of her eyes. She knows he's messing with her and doesn't want to give him the satisfaction of being right.

She's trying to think of some kind of way to get to her feet on her own but comes up short. The pressure on her bladder finally forces her to reach out and grasp Robin's shoulder to use it to help herself rise to her feet.

"Your welcome, babe." Robin says sarcastically after she's standing.

"Doesn't count. I still technically got to my feet on my own, you didn't move." Regina counters, with a winners smile.

Robin glances over at Henry, silently expecting him to break the tie.

"Don't look at me!" Henry says with a raise of his hands. "I'm siding with mom, no matter the evidence. I like keeping my heart in my chest." He chuckles.

"That's my boy." Regina says proudly with a wink sent Henry's way, then begins her journey to the bathroom.

"Traitor." Robin mumbles under his breath.

Henry just shrugs his shoulders.

"I heard that." Regina throws over her shoulder just as she reaches the archway.

...

Robin just shakes his head and looks to where Regina's standing, still in the archway. He can only see her head and the top of her shoulders over the sofa but he can still tell something's wrong. Why is she still there?

"Boys, why don't you continue the game without us while I go make us a snack." Both boys nod, and Henry looks at him a little suspicious.

He glances at his watch. They just had lunch an hour ago, the snack excuse isn't going to cut it it seems. Henry looks at his face and must be able to tell he's worried.

…

Henry follows Robin's gaze and sees his mother still standing in the room despite getting up to go to the bathroom. He knows from experience that when she says she needed to go to the restroom she means it, the baby is constantly causing her to have to use the toilet. Yet, she's still there. He looks at Robin with an eyebrow raised.

Robin glances to Roland before nodding at him.

Henry nods his head once to let Robin know he got the message. He needs to distract Roland while Robin takes care of his mother.

...

With both boys busy playing their game, one not at all aware of what was going on, he rises to go and check on Regina.

He can see she's breathing heavily and has a white knuckle grip on the archway molding. "Love, what are you feeling?" He asks quietly as he comes up behind her and places a hand on her lower back.

"I think my water just broke." She whispers into the air between them.

She still hasn't looked at him. Her gaze seems to be fixed somewhere on the floor in front of her. "You're sure, babe?" He asks calmly. He feels bad for asking, but she had said she needed to go to the toilet, and she struggled for a while to get up, he could have just had an accident.

The entire time he's been next to her he hasn't looked down to the floor for confirmation. He's too concerned with looking to her face to read her expression. He glances down at the floor quickly and there's a small puddle between her feet. She speaking again and draws his eyes back up to her face.

"I'm fairly certain," she says with a small nod of her head.

She still appears to be in a state of disbelief. But calm, though, uncharacteristically calm, in fact. It's very unsettling. She usually isn't this calm and quiet. In these types of situations she's usually the one barking orders and telling people what to do. The fact that she's standing there, calmly breathing, is getting him worked up. But he isn't going to show it.

He isn't smelling the distinct smell of urine, it has to have been her waters breaking then. "Alright." It's her body, she would know the difference. "Let's get you upstairs and cleaned up." He takes her hand to guide her upstairs but she stops him. When he looks back to her face her eyes are squeezed shut and her mouth is open in a silent moan.

"Breathe, Regina," he encourages as he moves back towards her to stand in front of her. She's holding her breath and he knows that isn't good for her, or for the baby.

He can feel her inhale and exhale as much as see it when she finally starts to breathe again. It's harsh and pain filled, makes him cringe. She's clearly in pain, a great deal more than she was in the beginning of the day. Or a great deal more than she's been letting on to.

"What do you want to do?" He questions when he sees her body relax.

She takes a few breaths to steady herself before she says, "I want to continue the family day."

Robin's eyes go wide. "Regina, you're in labor. Real, actual labor. Your water just broke."

"I am well aware." She says with a roll of her eyes. "Labor lasts a while. I would rather labor here, with my family, than in the hospital."

"You just want to stay here until it's too late to go to the hospital so you can have the home birth you so desperately want." Robin says with a scoff and a disapproving shake of his head. He can not understand why, when there is a perfectly good hospital a few miles away, she wants to have a home delivery. The hospital is safer, cleaner, more people around if something goes wrong.

...

"I don't know why you are so against having the baby here in our home instead of a hospital. I would be much more comfortable here." That should be all that matters. She's the one that's actually having the baby, why should he get to decide where?

"Because a hospital is so much safer." He says that a little louder than he should. He also didn't seem to realize both of his hands are raised and clenched, after looking at them he drops them immediately. They have just had this argument so many times before, she can't really blame him, it's frustrating that they're doing it again. He takes a breath and lowers his voice. "What if something goes wrong?"

"Nothing will go wrong. The baby is healthy, I am healthy, stop worrying so much." She pulls her hand from the molding to pat his cheek with it.

"You don't know that, Regina." He places his hand on hers at his cheek then turns his head to kiss her palm. "Not for certain."

"Women have been having babies at home for centuries." She reasons. If they were still in the Enchanted Forest she would be having the baby in their home with a midwife like her sister.

"Yes," he shoots back. "And dying from it."

She crosses her arms over her chest and rests them on top of her belly. "Didn't Marian have Roland in your tent?" Come back from that.

"You really think you'll win the argument with that?" Now he's crossing his arms. "She nearly died."

"That was because she was sick," Regina rolls her eyes, "Not because of a labor complication."

"That's not the issue and you know it." Robin says in a low growl.

"I'm sure plenty of women in your camp had babies at home, why is this any different?" She waves her hands around in frustration. She's so tired of having this argument.

"Because none of them were you!" Robin finally yells.

...

It's the thought in the back of his mind every time they have this particular disagreement. Yes, Regina and the baby are both healthy and there will likely be no complications. Yes, women had babies at home all the time in the Enchanted Forest and were perfectly fine. But they aren't Regina.

When Marian died it tore him apart. He wasn't himself for months. He couldn't get past it for the longest time. He loved Marian, with his whole heart. But that's nothing compared to the way he loves Regina. He loves Regina with his whole soul, his entire being. If she died... if she died it would utterly destroy him. He would never be able to come back from it. He can't risk that.

"How's that snack coming?" They hear Henry yell, which pulls them out of their heated gaze at one another. That's the signal that they are becoming too loud and Roland is getting suspicious.

"Why don't we continue this upstairs while I help you change." Robin says in a rough whisper, then gestures towards the stairs.

"Fine." Regina says dryly, before pushing past him to ascend the staircase, without his help.

"Should be done in a few, you both continue with your game." Robin throws out before he bounds up the first few steps to catch Regina and help guide her up.

She swats his hand immediately and continues to climb. She makes it two more steps before she lets out a groan and drops to her hands and knees.

Robin glances at his watch and narrows his eyes at her. Those two contractions were mere minutes apart. Her labor isn't slowing down, it's increasing. She has been lying to him all day. He feels like he is about to implode with anger. Only she would suffer in silence just to get her way.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me," he mutters under his breath.

...

She can hear the disappointment in his voice. He knows. He knows she's been lying to him all day. She really screwed up this time.

"Henry," Robin suddenly yells, and no, she doesn't want him here.

"No,"she whispers.

"I don't want to leave you, Regina" Robin rubs a hand on her lower back. "Henry will be at the ready to help."

She shakes her head and sighs. "That doesn't mean he needs to."

...

Henry shoots up from his place on the floor and runs for the stairs where he assumes the shout of his name came from. He's right. He sees his mother on her hands and knees on the stairs with Robin rubbing her back. He climbs the stairs, all the while his eyes are glued to his mother.

He doesn't know exactly what is happening, if she's hurt, if she's in labor, if she's alright, if there's something wrong. He's scared to ask, so he stays silent.

When Robin sees him approach out of the corner of his eye he turns towards him to explain. "Apparently, your mother has been in labor all day and didn't tell any of us."

"What?" Henry says as he knits his brow together. How had he not noticed that she was in labor? He's normally able to read her better than that. He is a little disappointed in himself.

"I need you to go call Zelena while I get her up stairs. It looks like we are having the baby here." Robin drops a hand to his shoulder and nods.

Henry nods back and runs back down the steps to grab his phone that he left in the den.

...

Robin returns his attention to Regina after Henry is gone, neither of them sense Roland approach, nor could they hear him over Regina's groans.

"Mama." The couple both hear a little voice mumble behind them.

Regina's eyes shoot open and she turns her head to the right to connect with Robin's shock widened blue eyes. His mouth is open wide as he looks down at her. They are both a little surprised.

That was the first time Roland has ever called her Mama. It makes her eyes instantly started to water. She has been waiting, hoping, for that moment for what feels like forever. They have both talked about what Roland should call her. She had suggested Mom, because that's what Henry called her. She knows he called Marian Mama, so she doesn't want to get near that.

Robin was completely for Roland calling her Mom. Roland already looked at her as being his mother, she's the only one he's really known, as he was very young when Marian died. But they both agreed to let him do it on his own, not to push him into anything before he's ready.

She turns her head to look behind her and sees Roland's terrified little face. It took her scaring him for him to finally call her Mom. She would feel completely terrible if she weren't so happy about it.

After her contraction ends, which thank God is only seconds later, she shifts so she's sitting down on the steps and opens her arms to him. "Come here, baby."

Roland lets his lower lip quiver and a tear drop from his eye. He is scared. Something is wrong with his Mama and he doesn't know what. He shakes his head and doesn't budge.

Regina's heart breaks at the fact that he is nervous to approach her. He has never done anything like this before, he always runs to her the second she opens her arms.

"Roland, everything's alright. Come here." She says gently and motions for him to come to her. He sprints up to her and crashes into her chest. She suppresses her grunt at his weight suddenly being thrust at her, cups his head with one hand and strokes his back with the other. She is so relieved that he came to her.

"What's wrong, Mama?" He mumbles brokenly into her neck.

There's that word again, the one that melts her heart. She can't help but squeeze him a bit tighter after he uses it again.

"I'm alright, baby." She shifts him off to one side so she can catch a glimpse of his face. "I promise I'm okay." She wipes the new tear from under his eye before it can fall then taps him on the nose with her finger.

"Then why are you making those noises. It sounds like something is hurting you." He says in a whimper, lower lip still bouncing.

"I know, honey. I am in a little pain," understatement, "But you know what that means?" She asks, then waits for his response.

He wipes clumsily under his eyes with his fists before he looks up at her and asks, "What?"

"That just means that the baby is coming," she says with a wide smile to hopefully get him more excited.

"The baby's coming?" He asks, perking up a bit.

"Yes, sweetheart."

"But why does it have to hurt?" He asks curiously with his head tilted to one side. He glances down to her stomach and cautiously places a hand on it.

Why indeed.

"Because that's how babies are born, my love." She stops to think for a moment of a way she can explain it to him that won't be too graphic, and that he will understand. "My stomach gets really tight and it helps the baby move out of my tummy."

"It moves the baby out of the special place between your legs?"

Regina glances at Robin and raises an eyebrow at him. Something else that's his doing, obviously, he's blushing and averting her gaze. "Yes, baby."

"Are you going to be alright?" He goes from curious to concerned quickly.

"Oh, yes," She says quickly, "You don't have to worry, sweetheart."

Just as she finishes those words she feels the beginnings of a contraction starting to build and reaches to her side for Robin's hand. He kneels down beside her and takes it immediately. She squeezes it tightly and lets out a slow exhale. She has to stay calm and collected while Roland is still looking at her. She thought she was doing a good job until Roland looks at her face and immediately his eyes start to well up with tears.

"Your stomach is hurting again, isn't it?" He moves his hand back and forth over her stomach then shifts away from her to stand on the stairs.

Damn it. She didn't think he would be able to feel it, but he is a very smart and perceptive little boy, much like his older brother. She knows he can see the pain in her eyes when he looks into them for confirmation.

"I am, baby." She strains out then squeezes Robin's hand tighter. "But I'm alright."

"You're lying. We're not supposed to lie." He says simply. She has always told him never to lie, that lying is bad. He does seem to understand why she's lying to him now.

Now he thinks she's lying to him, great. She most certainly is not. She's in pain, yes, but it isn't the worst pain she's ever felt, she's managing it. Maybe not completely, has to concentrate and keep breathing to stop from moaning, but she's alright. She needs him to believe her. But how?

"I'm not lying, Ro," she stops and takes a shaky breath, "It hurts-" she stops again to take another breath because her voice is coming out high and tight. She can't have that. "But it's not really bad."

"It is bad, Roland." Robin says suddenly. "Mama is in a lot of pain." He looks over to Regina and her mouth is hanging open. She was going to yell at him but doesn't quite know what to say.

"Why would she lie? We're not supposed to lie." Roland is getting more and more worked up, they can't have that.

"She didn't lie, bud." Robin drops a hand to his head. "She's alright, she's going to be fine."

"She is?" He asks skeptically as he looks over at her.

"Of course, Roland." Robin moves to squat between Roland and Regina. "But you know what, my boy?"

"What?" Roland asks curiously.

"You know how when you get hurt, I take care of your boo boos and make them all better?" Roland nods. Maybe Robin is on to something.

"I am going to do that for Mama, but I need you to do something very important for me." They need something to distract Roland, and he must have something. "Can you be a big boy and help?" Roland turns his watery face towards his Papa and nods. He will always do anything that means he's a big boy.

"Do you remember how to use my phone?" Roland nods again. "I need you to go and call Auntie Snow and Uncle David and tell them that Mama is having the baby and that they need to come here to the house. You can do that, right?"

"Yes, papa." Roland runs back down the stairs and nearly collides with Henry at the bottom.

Henry dodges him at the last second and walks back up the stairs towards his mom. "Zelena should be here soon. What can I do?"

"Nothing," Regina says quickly. She doesn't want Henry to see her like this, in pain.

"You can help me get your Mum up stairs." Robin answers as he grabs Regina's upper arm and prepares to pull her to her feet.

She looks up at him and says, "No. I can get myself upstairs." Just as she on her feet, with Robin's help this time, she doubles forward in pain and nearly tumbles forward down the steps.

...

Henry quickly climbs the two steps until he's in front of her, then takes a hold of her shoulders to steady her. Robin is surprised by his speed. A boy protecting his mother is capable of anything it seems.

"Love, just let him help. We need to get you off these stairs." She shakes her head still.

He doesn't care anymore what she wishes. Staying on the stairs is dangerous. She's already nearly fallen once, he is not going to risk it happening a second time. He hooks one of her arms over his shoulders, "Henry, take her other arm."

...

Henry does as he's told and takes his mother's arm over his shoulders. He knows she doesn't want him here, but it doesn't hurt his feelings. It isn't that she doesn't want him to help, she just doesn't want him seeing her in pain. He still can't understand why she's so stubborn about that. He will never think of her as weak because she feels pain. Everyone feels some form of pain, it's how they handled it that make them weak or strong. She is definitely strong.

He heard her talking to Roland. He could hear the strain in her voice as she reassured him she was alright. He knows she was in pain but she covered it so Roland wouldn't be scared for her. If that isn't strength he doesn't know what is.

...

Regina groans, half out of protest and half out of pain. She absolutely does not want Henry seeing her like this, that's a large part of the reason she hid it for most of the day. She really can't help herself though, the contractions are becoming too intense to stifle the moans from escaping past her throat.

They are both, now, taller than her without her heels, it's uncomfortable having her arms draped over their shoulders. It makes her have to stand up straighter which is causing her more pain. The straighter she stands the more pressure is brought to her lower back and the bottom of her belly.

She just has to make it up the stairs. She glances up at the task in front of her. She's only maybe five, six steps in and has nearly the entire thing left to climb.

She groans when Robin shifts and starts to pull her up the next step. He stops immediately and drops a hand to her stomach.

"Breathe, love." He whispers into her ear. "When this one's over we'll go up." He grabs her hand and pulls her arm off of his shoulder then nods at Henry to do the same.

She grasps his hand tightly, digs her nails into his palm and squeezes. She is putting all of her strength into that one hand so she won't need to even slightly tighten her grip with her other because Henry's is in it. She can feel him lightly squeezing her hand, but she is not going to do the same to his.

She's thankful that Robin is holding onto her elbow as well as her hand, because of that she is able to lean into him so he can hold her up.

...

Henry gets nervous when she lets out a whimper and leans further forward. She's slightly off balance because she's trying so hard to keep all of her weight on Robin and none of it on him. He really can't understand why she's so stubborn when she's so obviously in pain and struggling.

"Mom, you can squeeze my hand. It's not going to break." He leans in to whisper, "I want to help, just let me."

Regina whimpers again and squeezes his hand lightly. It's not much, but it's a start.

…

Robin keeps his hold on her elbow, he can tell he still has a bit more of her weight than she allows Henry to have, but it's progress. He knows Henry is plenty strong enough to take whatever she can give him, she just needs to trust that. Henry just wants to feel useful, like he's helping in some way, the same as himself.

Regina lets out a shaky sigh when the contraction finally eases off. "Let's go, Henry." Robin takes her arm and moves it back over his shoulder when he sees her relax. "We don't have long before the next one." Henry nods at him and takes his Mom's other arm.

"Alright, love, your going to have to help us a bit." He doesn't want to just drag her up the steps, she will not appreciate that very much.

Regina gives him a slight nod and moves her right foot onto the next step. They continued to move slowly, going at the pace Regina sets. It takes an eternity but they finally make it to the top and turn to hear towards their bedroom. When they reach the doorframe they have to turn sideways so they can all get in, linked together the way they are.

"Hold her whilst I strip the bed down. I know your mother doesn't want her comforter and nice sheets ruined." Robin pulls Regina's arm back over his shoulder and she grabs onto his hand before he can walk away. He knows she doesn't want him to leave her, well, tough. "Henry, move behind her and take her hands, let her lean back into you."

Henry moves immediately. He already has one of her hands, just has to get the other. He grips the wrist of the hand that's still clinging to Robin's, but she doesn't let go. Stubborn woman.

Once Robin sees that Henry has a good hold on her he pulls his hand away and steps back. If she won't go willingly he's going to force her.

After Robin steps away she has no choice, she has to let Henry hold her. She's too unstable on her feet and has nowhere else to go. "Bastard." He hears her whisper but just walks away and doesn't even acknowledge her when she yells his name forcefully, followed be an, "Asshole."

...

"Tell me what you want me to do, Mom," Henry pulls her body back into his so she can feel a bit more stable and he can move his head beside hers, "Because I'm not going anywhere."

Tears are pricking in her eyes from the sincerity and determination in his voice, the way he pulls her in and holds tight to her hands. She can blame the tear rolling down her cheek on the pain, but she'd be lying. Her son is growing up before her very eyes, taking charge in a very adult situation without hesitation.

She can't help but reminisce about the little boy that used to be afraid of monsters under his bed and would rush into her room in the middle of the night so she could protect him. That was long before he looked at her as the Evil Queen, when he simply looked at her as Mom. She still looks back on those moments as some of the happiest of her life. Henry was the bright spot in the mundane, repetitive routines of everyone in the town. He made every day different and exciting. That little boy that would run and jump on her bed to wake her up in the morning, excited for school. The same little boy that loved to read her bedtime stories until his eyes started to droop and he could barely hold onto the book.

Long gone is the little boy that would look up at her while his arms were wrapped around her hips. The man before her, now taller than her sans heels, is strong and brave and fiercely protective of the people he loves. The thought has her chest welling up with pride, until a contraction pulls her back into reality. She scrunches her eyes shut just as a groan escapes her throat even though her lips are pressed together.

"You have to breathe, Mom," she hears her son whisper in her ear and mmm's at him then lets out a heavy exhale.

...

"In through your nose out your mouth, love." Robin throws over his shoulder as he folds the last sheet lest they wrinkle when he puts them away in the closet to get out an old one to throw over the bed. Folding the sheets is taking more time, but Henry has her well in hand. Even has her taking slow breaths, so he has the time. She'll be happier with him later when she knows her expensive sheets are nicely folded and neatly put away, even if she's frustrated with him now.

He glances back at them once he has the folded pile in his arms. Regina is pressing her weight into Henry's hands and hunching forward, Henry simply leans forward with her and keeps talking her through the pain. He's so good with her, Robin really can't understand why Regina is so against him helping. She's so much calmer with Henry, more so than she would be with him. She can tell him it's because she's holding back for Henry's sake, but she'd be lying. He's watching her now, head tilted slightly towards her son so she can hear whatever it is he's saying to her. She's nodding at him and breathing away better than she was only moments ago. Robin makes a mental note to ask Henry what he said to her, but later when there isn't a more pressing matter to attend to.

He's never more thankful for her organization than when he reaches for the old sheets after putting away the good ones. Always so easy to find things. He decides to grab an extra sheet, some pillows and towels as well. They'll likely come in handy.

When he walks back into the room they're in a slightly different position, facing each other. Regina seems to be leaning forward, pressing her forehead into Henry's chest and she's gripping onto his forearms. She's making a significant amount more noise than before, as well. She must've finally gotten comfortable with Henry being there. When Henry looks up and meets his eyes he nods at him to quietly question if he'll be alright a while longer.

...

Henry nods firmly, then grimaces when his Mom shifts and changes her grip on his arms then digs her nails in a bit.

It hurts, yes, but it's not going to make him back down. She is finally allowing him to truly help her, he's not going to let her see that she's hurting him with her surprisingly strong grip, she'll make him leave.

He can handle it.

...

She can feel his fingers gripping her arm and she's using it as a anchor, trying to focus on that rather than the pain. It's not entirely effective, but it's helping. She focuses on his thumbs sliding up and down on the outsides of her arms. Keeps focusing on that when a contraction starts and she wants to scream.

"I got here as fast as I could," Snow says softly as she enters the room. She's a bit out of breath, probably from running up the steps, but she walks right up to Regina and starts rubbing her back. "David's downstairs with Roland. He's going to take him to the park, get him out of the house."

Regina takes a deep breath so she can get out, "Tell him to wait for Henry," before she stands herself upright and reaches out for Snow. Snow offers up both of her hands and Regina takes them so she can shift away from Henry and lean into Snow. She needs to let him go so he can leave before things escalate any further.

"Mom, no." Henry says quickly. "I'm not leaving you."

Regina shakes her head and squeezes Henry's shoulder after he steps beside her. "You are." She says simply. "I appreciate everything you've done, but it's time for you to go, before things get worse." Which they will.

He hasn't seen anything yet.

He's just had his hands squeezed and heard her moan a bit. In a moment, when Zelena gets here, things are going to start happening quickly. She's going to be exposing herself completely. Henry does not need to see that. She's likely traumatized him enough already.

...

Henry squeezes his mother's shoulder and drop, his forehead to hers. "I don't want to leave you," he whispers, on the verge of tears. He does not want to leave and not know what's going on. "What if something happens and I'm not here?"

She smiles and cups his chin. "I'll be fine, Henry. You don't have to worry."

Robin drops a hand to his outside shoulder and squeezes as he pulls him away from his mother and walks him towards the door. "One of us will try to text you and keep you updated."

"No you won't," Henry shakes his head. "You'll all be too distracted," then looks back at his mom.

"You're right," Robin nods. "Realistically, none of us will look at our phones, we'll all be focusing on your mom. But as soon as the baby is born one of us'll shoot you a text." He turns to face him and places a hand over his heart, "That is a promise."

"Okay," Henry relents, "That I believe." He lets out a sigh as he watches his mother cling to his grandmother for support. He only pulls his eyes away when he feels Robin's hand on his shoulder.

Robin pulls him out of the room and closes the door. "Your mom definitely won't like this." He whispers until they are a bit further away from the door. "Why don't you wait downstairs, that way you'll be close by. That's the best I can offer," he shrugs.

"I'll take it," Henry says quickly. He knows Robin is going above and beyond offering that. His mom won't like it, she may even kill both of them for it, but he isn't passing it up.

"Conditions," Robin starts as he leads him towards the stairs, "You have to stay down stairs, you can not come up for any reason. Got it?" Robin pauses so he nods reluctantly. "Good. Second, you can never tell your mother about this. I would rather not be burnt to a crisp or choked by her magic."

"Promise," Henry says with a smile.

Robin has never done anything like this before, blatantly gone against his mother's wishes behind her back. Robin has always taken his mother's side on everything with no questions. He never blamed him for it. Life is easier for everyone when his mother is happy, and doesn't he know it. But now, now he feels like they are on the same side, like they are a team. Like Robin is acting as his parent. He likes that, the idea of Robin being his dad. "Thanks, Robin."

"Of course, son." He slaps him on the shoulder then squeezes the back of his neck playfully. "I better get back before she thinks we're planning something. Sometimes your mother is too intuitive for her own good," he says with a chuckle.

"I know," Henry nods, "That's why I can never get away with anything. She always knows."

"That's because your mum is the best at what she does." Henry is a bit confused, but Robin keeps talking, "Taking care of you." Henry nods after that.

"Now, downstairs with you." Robin grabs both of his shoulders and turns him towards the staircase, then he hears the front door open and slam shut. "Perfect timing too, that must be Zelena." Just then a red headed woman runs past them on the stairs then opens and slams the bedroom door shut.

Henry starts to slowly descend the stairs, then looks back when Robin closes the bedroom door. He's going to go downstairs, but only to tell his grandpa that he's staying and to go ahead and take Roland to the park, but then he's going right back up to sit by the door.

...

When Robin walks back into the room Snow has moved behind Regina so Zelena can kneel in front. It's a strange sight seeing the three women like that. Regina, the Evil Queen, with her sister, the Wicked Witch, between her legs and Snow White behind her holding her hands. It's a strange life indeed.

"Something doesn't feel right." Zelena says immediately upon examining her sisters cervix. "I can't feel the head." She reaches up a bit further and shakes her head.

"What does that mean?" Regina says quickly with wide eyes. She's trying not to panic, that much he can see. She's trying to wait until she has all the information, but that isn't really in her nature.

"Zelena?" Robin urges when she doesn't answer right away. He walks up to the lot of them and takes one of Regina's shaking hands.

"I'm not sure. I need to examine her further." Zelena stands up and runs a newly clove free hand back through her hair. "I need her on the bed." It's a stalling tactic, one he picks up on. She's seems certain of what's going on, but double checking won't hurt so he doesn't say anything.

Robin and Snow take a hand each and guide Regina over to the bed. It's a slow process getting her to lay back against the pillows but they get it accomplished.

Zelena crawls up the end of the bed and sits on her knees beside her sister then lifts her nightgown over her belly. "I'm going to see if I can feel what's going on." She nods to her sister before starting to press her palms in certain areas.

Regina arches her back when another contraction slowly starts to intensify then reaches out blindly to her sides for anything to grab hold of. Robin's hand is in hers instantly while the other squeezes the bed sheet. He feels terrible that that's all he can offer at the moment.

"What's going on?" Regina whispers. Zelena really is taking her sweet time explaining herself. "What's wrong?"

"She's breech." Zelena exhales as she drops her hands into her lap.

"What!" Regina and Robin both yell together.

"Two days ago you said she was head down." Regina accuses. That's true… but that was two days ago.

"Because she was then." Zelena defends herself. "I don't understand."

"All the movement you've been feeling." Robin mumbles. He continues when the eyes of all the women are on him as if they're waiting for him to explain himself. "She must've kept turning."

"These past few days, you've been feeling the same amount of movement?" Zelena asks.

"Yes!" Regina yells as she turns over to her right side towards Robin to curl into a ball with her pain. They need to stop. Getting angry with each other is only making things worse. Regina needs to focus.

"Why are we wasting time arguing?" Robin asks as he runs a hand over Regina's forehead then hooks the hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear. "The baby's breach. What do we do about it?"

"I try to turn her," Zelena answers as she stands from the bed and moves beside Regina.

"You can do that," Robin asks, "While she's still inside?" That doesn't seem possible to do without hurting one of them.

"I can try," Zelena slides her hands through her hair and ties it back in a bun. "She's likely too progressed for it to work, but it's worth a try."

Robin wants to know what the game plan is before they proceed. Really, he wants to be sure that Zelena has one so he asks, "And what do we do if it doesn't?"

Zelena waves her hand in the air and a bottle of oil appears. She pours some into her palm then rubs her hands together. "If it doesn't work the baby will just be born breech, there's nothing wrong with that."

"You're sure?" He asks.

"The only difference will be the time. It may take a little longer since she won't be able to push."

"You can't just use your magic?"

"It doesn't work like that." Zelena answers. "I can use my magic to connect with hers, but I can't touch her. Regina's body won't let me."

This is all so confusing and this isn't the time for him to understand. "Fine," he shakes his head. "Just do what you need to."

"Sis, can you roll to your back for me and bend your knees?" After she does Zelena is nodding to Robin. "Will you lift her gown." Once her stomach is exposed Zelena rubs a generous amount of oil towards the bottom and kneels in front of her. "I'm going to push upwards to try to get her out of your hips, then try to turn her. It's going to be uncomfortable," she warns.

Regina nods her head, "Anything you need to do." She looks at him and adjusts her grip on his hand. He smiles and runs a hand over her forehead. "You can do this," he assures.

"Alright." Zelena shakes her hands out then places them low on her belly. "Just take deep breaths and try to stay still. I'll be quick."

…

Regina closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, then her sisters hands are pressing unbelievable hard into her belly and sliding upward. One hand squeezes into Robins and the other comes up to fist the pillow behind her head as her sisters hands move back down and repeat the process. There is so much pressure.

Someone's taking her hand from the pillow and and holding it. She opens her eyes to see Snow pulling her hand towards her chest. "Breathe, Regina," she tells her. And she does, takes a deep breath with Snow just as her sister runs her hands up her stomach again, and it helps, a little. It really was a good decision to ask snow to help.

"Is it working?" Regina strains out after another run and nothing feels different. A contraction is starting to build and tighten her muscles so her sister freezes mid slide.

"I can't get the baby to move out of your pelvis." Zelena answers. And she's rubbing her belly more gently now, more soothing. "She'll have to be delivered breech."

"How do you do that safely?" Robin asks for her after she looks at him worriedly but keeps breathing, he knew exactly what she wanted.

"I'll have to take a hands off approach. No touching, no assisting."

Now contraction free she sits up on her elbows. "And what do I need to do?"

"You can't push." Zelena says simply.

Her eyes go wide. "At all?" That is not going to be easy. She's read about women saying when the baby's head is crowning the urge to push is unbearable. Great, something to look forward to.

Zelena shakes her head. "Not until the body's out."

Regina drops her head back and groans when another contractions builds. She only has about forty seconds between them now and it's difficult to handle. Breathing in through her nose and out her mouth has become ineffective, if she wants to get enough air in she has to breathe through her mouth. Robin and Snow breathing nice and slowly together in her ears is what's saving her.

"Are you feeling any pressure yet?" She hears her sister ask and she shakes her head. There's so much pressure in her belly, but none in her cervix yet.

"I'm going to need you standing or squatting until you do," Zelena requests, "The faster we can get her to drop the better."

…

Robin quickly moves in front of her and guides both her arms around his shoulders so she'll have something to hold onto.

Her hands are gripping hard into his shoulder blades and she's leaning down which forces him to hold up her weight. He places his hands on her waist and starts rocking them both back and forth.

It must not be a terrible contraction because she's humming instead of moaning. It isn't loud, but right before she takes a breath the pitch goes up, which means it's still strong. When it ends, what seems like ten minutes later, her grip loosens and she groans.

"That was a good one, yeah?" Robin questions, then immediately regrets it. Right after the phrase escapes his lips he realizes it can be taken two different ways. She would, of course, take it the wrong way. He needs to stop pushing his luck.

"Yeah, that one was strong." She mumbles. And she must not have truly registering what he said. She's still a little hazy in her post intense contraction state and she answered calmly, bless, she didn't take it the wrong way.

"It brought a lot of pressure in my pelvis. Zelena?" Regina glances over at her sister.

"That's good, means your really close." Zelena shakes out a towel and spreads it over the mattress. "You're going to start feeling like you need to push, but don't. Just hold tight, nearly there."

"You're doing beautifully, my love." Robin kisses Regina's arm and strokes it up and down, from shoulder blade to wrist.

"I love you." Regina whisperer before she stands up fully and places her hand on his cheek. "I wouldn't be able to survive this without you, without your strength."

"My strength? I'm scared out of my bloody mind. It's your strength that's keeping me calm." He kisses her lips then rests their foreheads together. "You're amazing, Regina."

And just like that, the moment is ruined. Regina suddenly leans forward with a groan and returns to her death grip on his shoulders.

Zelena comes and stands behind him to whispered into his ear, "Make sure she keeps breathing, if she's not breathing she's pushing." Robin nods and returns his attention to Regina. She's still breathing, but erratically. She's letting out long moans before taking deep breaths.

"Steady, love. Deep breaths." He says as he rubs her shoulder blades. She continues her moaning breaths until the contraction passes and she stands up with her forehead resting against his shoulder. "Were you pushing?" Robin questions. He feels bad for asking, but he's trying to do as Zelena said. It's only for her benefit.

"No, but I wanted to." She mumbles into his chest.

Robin drops his cheek to the top of her head and shrugs his sleeve up so he can catch a glimpse at his wrist watch. "You've got about 30 seconds before the next one, do you want to move before it starts?" He wants to make her as comfortable as he is able. If that means shifting positions until their baby is in her arms, so be it.

She shakes her head against his shoulder. "This is fine. I can feel her moving down like this."

"Then this is where we shall stay." He kisses the side of her head and rubs his hands up and down her back.

When the next contraction amps up she returns her vice grip on his shoulders and drops her body as low as her arms will allow. Robin grasps her wrists and holds onto her. He wants her to be able to hang and sway as she wishes and not have to worry about keeping her grip. Her head is bowed and her hips are slowly swaying from side to side.

She's making a different noise now from all of the previous ones. It isn't a hum and it isn't quite a moan. It's more of an uuuuuhhhh sound, a guttural uuuhhh.

She will uuuuuhhhh for as long as she has breath, take a sharp inhale then return to the noise. He's puzzled by the new sound for a spell, then he realizes, she's trying not to push.

...

She can feel him gripping into her wrists and pulling up on them slightly. Bless him. He's holding her up entirely with his arms so she won't have to. The thought of that nearly brings tears to her eyes. Or is it the contraction? Oh, never mind. He is willing to do anything for her, to make her even the slightest bit more comfortable.

He seems so calm, almost mellowed, and it's so wonderful. Thinking about that is also distracting her from the pain. That is, until she feels something shift. Suddenly she's letting out a shriek and all of her weight is in his hands. She wants to drop to her knees so he slowly lowers her to the ground then follows.

…

"Babe, what's wrong?" He knows something shifted, why else would she have reacted so strongly.

"Okay, hands and knees," he hears Zelena say from somewhere behind him.

"The baby must have shifted." Zelena walks up beside them and kneels down behind Regina to take a look then announces, "I can see her. No pushing Regina."

Regina nods her head even though she isn't quite sure what her sister said.

"Can we move her to the bed?" Robin asks when he sees Regina relax.

"That's a good idea," Zelena nods.

…

Kneeling on the edge of the bed is a lot more comfortable for her knees, but it doesn't do anything for the burning pressure. She starts shifting her weight from her hands to her knees and lets out a groan. It feels like the muscles in her stomach are going to tear apart from being pulled so tightly, not to mention the burning stretch of her cervix.

Robin lays on his stomach in front of her so she can look down at him then tilts her head up with a finger under her chin so they are looking into each others eyes and can breathe together. There must be a great deal of pain in them because it looks like it's killing him and he moves a hand to her cheek. But he's not looking away. His eyes shift from sympathetic to determined and his new focus is helping center her.

After a few more very closely timed, insanely strong contractions in that position there's a change. There's more pressure, a more intense burning and she can't take it.

Zelena kneels behind her on the floor and rubs her hands down her thighs. "Wait just a little longer, you're so close." She reassures.

"Gaaahhh! I can't!" Regina shakes her head as she cries out. There is no way she is going to be able to hold off pushing. Her body is telling her to push and she doesn't have a choice but to listen.

"You can. Just breathe, slow in slow out." Robin says as he rubs her shoulders.

"I can see her, Regina, she's coming." Snow tells her after she sits on the bed next to her and rubs her lower back.

"See, babe, she's coming. You're so close." She looks at him and breathes one time, then closes her eyes and shakes her head.

"Just one more time. Breathe in and out," Zelena reassures. "She's coming, I have her legs."

...

Regina is looking painfully into Robin's eyes as she breathes in and out harshly. He can barely stand to see the look of absolute pain etched on her face. He can see how badly she's fighting her body's need to push, but there's nothing he can do. "You're doing so well, my love, so well. Almost there."

He drops his hands on top of hers where they're gripping tightly to the sheet. Thankfully for him she drops her head down and squeezes her eyes shut so he no longer has to see the pain deep within them. She gives one more jarring breath before a loud sigh follows. The contraction must be over.

"I have her shoulders!" Zelena yells. "Push Regina."

He watches her body clench as she curls into a push.

…

"Come on, sis, push," Zelena yells and she grunts in response.

"Hold on." She yells followed by a gasp. She needs to breathe for a second, it's all becoming too much and she needs to stop.

"She needs you, Regina." Zelena tells her. "Your daughter needs you to push. We need to get her out."

With another deep breath she pulls her hands away from Robin's and switches them so she can hold onto him. He moves to sit on the bed and lets her drop her head on his shoulder. It's better this way, having him close. When the next contraction starts she squeezes his hands tighter and arches her back into a push.

"Push, push, push, push," she can hear her sister chant from behind her but everything else fades away and the pain takes over. She feels herself scream and then it's gone, all the pain and pressure is gone. Her mind's a bit fuzzy and she can feel her arms and legs shaking, but the sound of a baby crying slowly starts to come in to focus.

"Is she alright?" she asks shakily.

"She's perfect," her sister says then the baby is appearing between her legs on the bed all red and squirming. She's gorgeous, the most beautiful thing she's ever seen and so so tiny.

She sits back on her heels and scoops her up to bring her into her chest. Zelena stands up and lets her lean back into her, which she's thankful for because her legs are still shaking. Zelena shakes out one of the towels next to her on the bed and wraps it around the baby.

"You did so well, sis." Zelena tells her then drops her chin to her shoulder.

Regina rests their heads together and sighs. "Thank you, thank you for taking care of us."

The baby in her hold settles and she's finally able to catch a glimpse of her crystal blue eyes. "She has your eyes, Robin."

"She does?" He asks excitedly, then immediately moves next to her and cups their daughters head. "She's bloody gorgeous, looks just like you, Regina." He kisses her temple several times then she turns her head so he can kiss her lips.

He pulls away and cups her cheek. His eyes are watery and he looks so happy. "I love you," he whispers.

She didn't even realize she was crying too until he wipes away tears from her cheeks. "I love you so much." She leans up and kisses him again.

As she looks down at the miracle baby in her arms she can't help but tell him, "Thank you for giving me this." Her beautiful daughter wouldn't exist if he hadn't chosen to stay with her, to forgive her for all her flaws and past sins, and love her for who she's becoming.

"No," he shakes his head and drops the side of his forehead to hers to look down at their baby, "Thank you, for this perfect little gift."

---

Now that they are finally settled on the bed, Regina cradling their beautiful daughter and him holding them both, everything is finally calm. After such a stressful delivery they are both just thankful there were no other complications. Regina is perfectly fine aside from being a little sore, and their little girl is perfect despite coming into the world backwards.

"What should we name her?" Regina whispers as she runs a finger over their daughters cheek.

"How about Robin?" he answers as a joke and she chuckles softly then groans and drops a hand to her stomach. "Sorry," he apologizes with a kiss to her temple. He'll have to be careful with his humor until she's healed.

"That's very funny." Regina shakes her head. "But seriously, what should we name her?"

Robin thinks on it a minute. "What about Amelia?"

"It's perfect," she sighs. "Amelia Hope."

He runs a finger over his sleeping daughter's cheek. "I love it."

Snow comes back into the room and pulls their attention. "There's someone outside ready to break down the door."

Robin smiles. "You can let Henry in."

"I'll just step out if you're alright." Zelena walks over to them and rubs the baby's head.

"I'm alright," Regina nods, "Thank you." Then Zelena's leaning in to kiss her cheek then the baby's head. "Amelia really does suit her."

…

Henry comes into the room, walks right up to them and sits on the bed. "She's so small."

Regina smiles at the way he's looking at his new sister. He looks so amazed. "Would you like to hold her?"

He looks up at her with wide, excited eyes. "Can I?"

"Of course you can, she's your sister." Henry moves closer to her and reaches for the baby and cradles her in his arms like it's the most natural thing in the world, it has her eyes watering.

"What's her name?" Henry asks. But before they can answer the door is opening again and Snow is walking in with Roland in her arms. "Mama, Papa!" He yells and squirms in Snow's hold until she puts him down and he can run and climb up on the bed next to Henry.

"She's so tiny," Roland says as he reached out and rubs a hand over her head. She fusses a bit but Henry bounces her and shushes her and she calms down immediately. He's so good with her already.

"Roland, Henry, meet Amelia Hope."

"Hello, Amy. I'm your big brother." Henry says softly. "Me too." Roland pipes in.

Robin squeezes his arms around her and nuzzles his nose into her hair. She sighs into him loops her arms over his.

Life couldn't be more perfect. And she's finally able to think that without feeling like it will be taken away the second she does.

She has Robin to thank for that.

And because of him she has three beautiful children, the greatest love of her life, and a peace that helps her finally feel at home in the world.

Life really is perfect.