SQ Prompt - Blanket.
A/N - Thanks to the anon on Tumblr for the prompt back in 2013 when I reached 100 followers (It took me a while but I got it done). This has been sat in my documents nearly finished for over a year, and I very nearly deleted it. Thank you all and thanks to Calliope-Plantain for being my BETA. This is more a Swan-Mills family one shot but hope you like.
Regina was now 7 and a half months pregnant and the baby would be here soon. Emma was stressing out trying to keep her wife happy and comfortable, while keeping Henry in check. Ever since it was announced that Emma and Regina were expecting a baby, Henry had started to become distant and rebellious. He spent more time out of the house than in it, and even then he would be locked up in his room. Didn't want to get in the way of baby things apparently. The only family time they had was around the dinner table and even that could be difficult.
Regina was just making her way to the dining room when Henry stepped through the front door. "Hey Henry, just in time. Dinner is ready, come on. I want to hear all about your day"
"Hi mom. I'm not hungry. I'm gunna go to my room. Study." Henry grunted as he rushed past Regina up the stairs and into his room, not giving Regina a chance to reply before his bedroom door was slammed shut.
"Was that Henry?" Emma asked as her wife sat down at the table. A nod was all she got as an answer from the brunette. "Does he want dinner? I didn't know he'd be home. Thought he was gunna eat with my parents..." Emma drawled as she finally looked at the woman seated opposite, her eyes were red and glazed as she tried to hold back tears and she was nibbling furiously at her bottom lip. "Hey sweetie, what's up?... Whatever it is... I'm sure it's nothing. I'll fix it. Please just don't cry"
"Henry... He hates me I know it."
"No, he doesn't I'm sure. He's nearly 15 Regina. He's a teenager, he got teenage hormones to deal with and they just don't mix with your pregnancy hormones. I'm sure it's nothing."
"Emma, he never talks to me about anything! We're never in the same room for longer than 10 minutes nowadays. He's always in his room. He didn't even look at me when he came in. He's got more avoidant the closer to the birth we get... Emma, I feel like I'm losing him... And I just don't want to lose him again..." Regina cried.
Wow that escalated quickly, Emma thought. She knows that it's just the hormones talking, still better to nip this in the bud before it can get out of hard. She doesn't need an overly emotional pregnant wife to add to her worries today. So Emma goes for sweet talking her way out of it.
"You're not losing him. He's not goi-"
"You said you were going to talk to him Emma! Sort this out before the baby arrives!" The brunette snapped, interrupting the blonde. " I can't lose him, not again... He's my baby boy. My little Prince"
"Okay. Okay. I will. I'll speak to him. Later, after dinner. Just don't fret over it. I'll sort it out. I promise, your little prince is not going anywhere" Emma pleads, and it surprisingly does the trick. Not too much sweet talking needed. The blonde defiantly seems to be getting the hang of this, nearly 7 months too late. Now just to figure out Henry... But after dinner. Nothing is getting in the way of the savoir and her food.
Emma finally made her way upstairs to Henry's room, where he had been hiding since he arrived home earlier. She had been mulling over what to say to Henry for a while now, she hated the serious side of being a mother, this was usually Regina's job and Emma would just back her up. But ever since they announced the pregnancy, Henry had been different. At first nothing had seemed wrong, they continued life as normal, family nights and laughter. Then he became distant, started spending more time with friends, and disrespectful.
Emma knocked once before entering Henry's bedroom. He was curled up in bed with his headphones on and music so loud that Emma could literally identify the song and artist.
She sat down heavily next to Henry on the bed and pulled at his headphones, making him jump up and snap a 'get off me!'.
"Hey, kid. Your fault for having your music so loud. You know what your mom says, you'll be deaf before your 30" Emma teased. "Anyways, what you doing up here?"
"I was listening to music of course. What'd it look like?" Henry answered, voice laced with sarcasm.
"Haha, smarty pants." Emma replies "so, err, really... What's up?"
"Nothing's up, Emma."
"That's a lie kid. Superpower remember?" Emma grins but Henry just glares right back, as though she's an idiot (and that's oh so Regina, she thinks). "Also, you haven't called me Emma for ages. It tells me something's wrong and your angry or upset, like when your mom calls me 'Miss Swan'." She mimics an angry Regina and is rewarded with a small twitch of a smile from the kid. "So again, I ask, what's up? You know you can talk to me about anything right?"
"Yeah, I know... It's just... It's nothing, really." Henry sighs.
"Okay kid. If your sure." Emma sits there awkwardly fidgeting, not really sure what to do. She should leave. Henry's clearly upset about something but doesn't want to talk about it and she isn't going to force him. She's not Regina, not used to this whole mothering thing and prying information out of the kid. But neither can she go back to a hormonal Regina so soon, without having sorted this out, whatever this is. "Do you mind if I hang out here for a while, until your mom's asleep or something. make it look like we've had a nice long chat about what's been on your mind lately" She asks with a shy smile.
"Sure" Henry chuckles. "But you're going to have to face her sometime, ma"
"So do you kid. You can't hide in here forever. You've been avoiding her lately, and don't think she hasn't noticed. She's your mom. It's her job to notice these things."
"Humph! Doubt it." Henry mumbles in response and turns to face away from Emma, hiding his face in the pillow.
Emma scowls, eyebrows furrowed in confusion at Henry's outburst "Kid, come on. Why would you think that? You know your mom loves you, we both do." She says while placing a hand on his back in a caring gesture.
"Nothing, just... There's so much to get ready for the baby, I doubt I'm high on the priority list right now. I mean, it's fine, totally fine. I understand. Mom and the pregnancy is everyone's priority. Don't want to cause any stress or risk to the kids health. And I'm doing my bit by laying low and staying out the way. No one needs to worry about me. I can take care of myself ya know."
"Don't be silly, Henry. Yeah, the pregnancy is a big thing. You know your mom never thought she could carry, so this is like a big, big thing for her. Kind of like the cherry on top of her happy ending. But that doesn't mean she's not going to love or need you too. Or worry about you. Or want to take care of you anymore. You're still and always will be her special little boy, Henry."
"It's Prince" Henry mutters so quietly that Emma doesn't hear him.
"The pregnancy is just taking a lot out of her at the moment. She's very tired. And it'll probably get worse as we get closer. But I'm sure she'd love to be able to spend some time with you, even if it's just to lay on the couch. If you put the effort in too." Emma finishes her speech, amazed at herself and the words that just came sprouting from her mouth. But there true and Henry needs to understand them. "Do you think you can do that, Hen?"
"Sure, whatever, I'll try I guess. Can I sleep now ma?"
That night, once both Henry and Regina were settled in bed, Emma made a phone call. "Hey, it's me. You remember that favour I asked you months ago? ... Is it done? ... Cool. I'll be around tomorrow. Thanks" After ending the call, she quietly made her way into bed.
"Everything sorted with Henry?" A sleepy Regina asked.
"It will be soon, don't worry." Emma replied as wrapped her arms around Regina from behind, laying a hand on her stomach and kissing her lightly. Regina relaxed into Emma's arms and quickly fell back asleep, Emma following not long after.
A few days later...
"So, what do you think? Do you think he'll like it?" Emma asked her wife nervously.
"I think it's wonderful dear. He'll love it I'm sure. How ever did you think of such a thing?" Regina replied, while carefully placing the object back in its box, replacing the lid, tying it with a blue ribbon and placing a tag with 'Henry', written in Regina's' fancy writing, on the top.
"Um, well... I know how he feels, ya know. And uh... I've been in his place before. And let me tell you, it sucked." Emma sighed. "That feeling of rejection... feeling like you're not good enough anymore... you've fulfilled your purpose... and there's no place for you in the family. I had that my whole childhood and I got used to it but the worst... the worst feeling was, being replaced. My first foster family, when I was 3, they finally got pregnant. I wasn't needed. They finally had what they wanted." The blonde was fidgeting now, she'd never really talked about her past in great detail before. But Regina needed to know. She needed to know how she felt. So she swallowed down the tears and continued. "And my blanket... the blanket that I was found in. It reminded me that there was someone who cared.. cared enough to make me a baby blanket and even stitch my name into it. It gave me hope. Hope that there was a family out there, that wouldn't reject me or replace me. A family that I truly felt a part of. And I finally do" Emma grinned shyly. Green eyes finally meeting watery brown. "Here, with you, and Henry, and the baby. And I want Henry to know that he has that too. He is a part of a family that loves him. And when he's in doubt of that, like now, I hope this will remind him. He's not being replaced."
Just then the front door slammed shut, announcing Henry's return home. They hear him throw his coat and bag down and call out to them to indicate he's home and going upstairs. It's as he makes it to the top of the stairs that Regina calls out to him. "Henry! Come join us in the den for a minute please." Emma places a comforting hand on the small of Regina's back to show her support and starts to rub gentle circles in order to soothe the pain she knows Regina is trying to hide.
Henry makes his way to the den and stops just in front of the doorway, shoulders slumped and an annoyed look on his face. "What is it mom? I got a school project I need to finish" he whines. He then notices the box on the desk besides his mom and frowns. "What's that? Some new thing for the baby? I'm sure its fine. You don't need my approval for it. Can I go now?"
As he turns to leave, Regina just stands there in shock at the blatant anger, hurt and disrespect in Henry's words but Emma stops him by angrily calling out his name.
"Henry! I will not have you speak to me or your mother that way. What happened to the talk we had the other day?"
He chews his lip while avoiding eye contact with either of them before sheepishly looking up and apologizing for his behaviour.
Regina finally steps forward. "Look Henry I know times are getting a bit busy lately, and I may not be that much fun or helpful at the moment, but that doesn't mean I am going to tolerate such behaviour." Her voice hardens with anger but then just as quickly softens as she continues. "Nor does it mean that I do not care or have no time for you." She picks up the box and walks further towards Henry. "I'm sorry if over these past few months I have pushed you away or made you feel unwanted, but that's not true. This is for you Henry." Her voice breaks slightly as she tries to hold back her tears as she hold the box out to him.
Henry is silent as he takes in his mothers words and glances between her and the box she holds. He finally takes it from Regina's hands and opens it, albeit a little hesitantly, and slowly uncovers what is inside. With a slight gasp Henry pulls out a light grey blanket, with dark red ribbon entwined around edges and in one corner were the words HENRY SWAN-MILLS stitched in a deep blue.
"You are and will always be a part of this family Henry. We love you!"Regina whispers, her tears falling just a freely as her sons.
Regina pulls Henry into a big embrace and they both collapse onto the couch, where they just hold each other and let their tears fall until there is nothing left. Emma covers them up using Henry's new blanket while their little boy snuggles into his mother and falls asleep in her arms as she whisper's "You'll always be my little prince, Henry. No-one can replace you".