Chapter 25:
"I want a baby with you"
Regina's hand paused for a moment, then resumed its slow path through Emma's hair. Emma snuggled closer to Regina's chest as her wife massaged her scalp.
"Really?" Regina murmured
"mmhmm"
They were half-sitting on a blanket spread out on the balcony floor. Tired from the day's work, Emma loved spending afternoons with Regina. They did little things- give each other massages, read, or listen to music. Sometimes Regina would pull her into her arms, stroke her fingers through Emma's hair and play with her curls.
"I don't know…"
Emma caught the hesitation her voice. Her back stiffened.
She doesn't want another kid.
"It's just that I never imagined having another one after Henry. I'm not sure if I want to or if I'm ready to make that commitment again. There's so much to think about."
Oh.
"Well…" Emma smiled shyly, she has been thinking for a while, for almost a year now, since they married, "what if I do it?"
Regina's eyebrows shot up.
"Emma! Wait…are you serious?!" she was almost excited.
Emma shrugged, "I don't see why not."
"But you've never done it before…I mean…carried…"
"Er…isn't that how it is for all first-time mothers?"
"Right. Ofcourse," Regina shook her head and smiled, "really, hon? A baby?"
"Our baby." Emma smiled as she felt Regina's arms circle her waist from behind. She felt soft lips touch her neck.
"Our baby." Regina whispered, her hand trailed over Emma's stomach thoughtfully.
"We are NEVER going to find a good match!" Emma nearly screamed. Regina only glared at her.
Emma is just so impossible sometimes.
"Well I for one do not want my child to share DNA with an ex-convict" she spoke sternly.
"Well I don't want my kid to lose all his or her hair before they're even in college!"
"That man is an artist and a scholar. It's only a small genetic condition he may or may not pass on to our chi-
"No Regina."
"Fine then!" Regina huffed, "we keep looking."
This was what their weekends had turned into - arguments over possible donors.
Emma's cell phone buzzed, breaking the conversation.
"Graham, this is really not a good time" Emma snapped at her phone. Regina listened while her eyes followed the clinic's numerous lists of names and profiles of Boston's finest sperm donors.
Finest my ass. Half of them either have some sort of violent record or worse…
"…I told you it's not that simple…" Emma muttered, still on the phone with Graham.
"…yes…yes I know…there's training involved, not to mention the risk…I'm trying to have a baby for god's sake!"
Now Regina was curious.
Interesting…
"…no…no…ok yeah I know…I did consider it once but…yeah ok fine I really did want to do it but I have a family now…I know…just let me think about it ok. I've to talk to Regina about this. Yeah. Alright, buddy thanks." Emma finished and set her phone down on the coffee table.
"Regina?" she mumbled, dropping on the couch beside her.
"Yes, dear?" Regina looked up from her laptop screen.
"I may or may not have applied to…the…er…academy…"
Regina waited.
"…er…they…er…may or may not have accepted…and…I may or may not be interested…"
"Which is it, dear? Did you or did you not apply?"
"I did."
"When?" Regina spoke steadily, not letting her emotions cloud her head.
"A few months ago…" Emma muttered, avoiding her eyes at all cost.
"I see."
"I don't know what to do…Graham's encouraging me to go through with it, he even wrote this phenomenal recommendation letter for me…I wanted my life to mean something…and I am just so tired of tutoring and working part-time at college…I just wanted more…the recruitment officers made a convincing case too, they were just so inspiring…and now I got accepted…"
So I married a future cop. Of all the careers she could've picked, this is what she goes after. Then again, not really surprising, since that's who she is. She fell for me after all, out of all the women in the world. My Emma, she's always after a challenge.
"I need to know only one thing from you, dear" Regina moved the laptop from between them and crawled closer towards Emma. She took her wife's hand and caressed the top as she held it within hers.
"If this is what you want, what you really want, then I don't have any objections. However, I want you to promise me something."
Green eyes looked into hers at this point.
"I want you to promise me that I'll never get a call, in the middle of the night, saying some thug on the street left you bleeding somewhere or took you out for good. Promise me you are going to take care of this" she put her palm over Emma's heart, it gently thumped under her touch, "this right here. Take care of it because I can't live without you Emma Swan. I had you bleeding in my arms once, dying, because of me…"
"It wasn't because of you Regina, don't you dare bla-
"Don't you dare die on me, Emma, cause I swear to god, if anything happens to the love of my life I'll kill you," she meant to sound threatening but instead felt a tear roll down her cheek.
Emma wrapped her arms around her and held her tightly against her chest.
"Baby, I promise, I'll stay alive for you. For Henry. For that little human being who'll be part of our family soon. Don't worry about me, sweetheart."
"Oh I always worry. It can't be helped." Regina sniffed through her tears, brushing her cheek on Emma's shirt.
Emma kissed her forehead and kept her arms around Regina.
Minutes later Regina heard her wife speak again.
"Regina?"
"Yes dear?"
"Do you think Graham will make a good donor?"
A year later…
"REGINA!"
"I'm right here, hon, right here," Regina squeezed Emma's sweaty palms.
The doctor's masked face emerged from between Emma's legs, "One more push, Ms. Swan! It's almost over. C'mon girl, you can do it."
"Push, dear, breathe, then push!"
Emma's face twisted in a painful grimace. Her curls were drenched in her own sweat and some matted to her face. For the past four hours she's been in excruciating pain. Regina swallowed hard remembering how her insides had clenched torturously as she had tried to push Henry out years ago.
Oh hon, why did I ever agree to this…I can't see her in pain like this…god just let it be over soon…
Emma shot up and gasped at another contraction, her nails dug into Regina's hand as she pushed.
"That's it!" the doctor cheered, disappearing under the blanket once again.
Then suddenly it was all over.
A sharp cry pierced the room as Emma collapsed back on the bed. The chord was snipped. Regina's eyes froze on the little creature now squirming within the nurse's towel-wrapped hands.
"A beautiful baby girl for two beautiful mommies" the nurse smiled as she passed the tiny wiggling bundle over to Regina.
Regina, stunned, reached for her baby. Tears blurred her vision but she caught a glimpse of little eyelids opening up and taking in their very first sight.
"Hi, baby," Regina whispered, smiling brightly at the pink face.
"Regina…" Emma called out from her pillows, "I…wanna see…"
Regina carefully stepped closer towards Emma who was trying to sit up. The nurse helped her sit up.
"Our babygirl" Regina smiled as she passed their baby to Emma. Tears rolled down Emma's tired cheeks as she held her little girl.
"Regina, she's…she's beautiful…" Emma managed to choke out the words. Regina climbed up on the hospital bed beside Emma and wrapped her arm over Emma's shoulder. Little blue eyes stared brightly at the two women.
"She's perfect!" Regina laughed.
"Luce." Emma spoke, Regina nodded. They had decided on the name months earlier.
"Luce Mills-Swan."
"I wanna see! I wanna see!" Henry rushed in through the doors wearing pink scrubs much too large for his body.
"Say hi to your brother, Luce" Emma nodded at Henry.
"Wow" his eyes widened as he stepped closer towards Emma, "she so chubby! Haha she's drooling…Oh! Mom look she's waving at me!"
A tiny fist shook excitedly as Henry observed the baby. He kissed Luce on her forehead, which earned him a big bubble of baby drool that popped against his cheek.
"Ew! Gross! Bad Luce, bad baby" he wiped at his face. Luce reached out for a strand of Henry's hair and tugged.
Emma and Regina laughed as they watched the antics of their children.
"We have a daughter..." Emma whispered, leaning her head against Regina's neck as she watched the nurse take Luce away towards the newborns' unit- Henry followed closely, keeping his eyes locked on the little baby.
"We have one long and happy life ahead of us. I love you so very much, dear." Regina cupped Emma's face and looked into those green eyes.
"And I love you. Forever and always." Emma sighed and reached for Regina's lips.
"Forever and always." Regina whispered and kissed Emma softly.
*note: I know I said this is the last chapter but I couldn't help but add a little epilogue. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!