Chapter 8: Chapter 8

A/N: Okay, so I feel awful having left you all hanging for almost two months. I am terribly sorry. I've been super busy with stupid real life stuff (dumb, I know) on top of having a bad case of writer's block. Please forgive me and I thank you for not forgetting about this story. Please leave your comments after reading this chapter. They really keep me motivated to write more. Thank you again! MWAH!

Chap 8

Maleficent leisurely opened her eyes the next morning as the bright sun shown through their bedroom window. She quietly stretched her arms and blinked a few times to wake her blue orbs up some more. After a slight yawn, she turned over on her side to watch Regina's chest slowly go up and down in her peaceful sleep. Carefully reaching over to push a stray hair out of her wife's face, Maleficent smiled as she missed waking up beside her. Listening to her slow breaths, she closed her eyes for a moment and just waited.

She had no idea what it was she was waiting for exactly, but perhaps she expected to reopen her eyes and it had all been a dream. Everything, the wedding, the proposal, their first kiss, their meeting, even meeting Mr. Gold. It all seemed so fake, so surreal, so...imaginative. It seemed like a fairytale to her, like someone or something was writing their story and they were trapped inside. But she didn't want to escape, she didn't want the story to end. In her mind, the only thing that would make this story better, would be if their characters had magic and she could make all of Regina's dreams come true and all of her worries would be washed away with just a snap of her finger.

She opened her eyes, realizing it was real, when Lilith swung the door open, leaving Maleficent no time to tell her to shush. "Good morning, Mommy! Mornin, Mama Gina!" The toddler ran into the room, bouncing onto the bed and landing right on top of Regina. "It's Christmas! It's Christmas! And Grandpa Henry is coming! And so is Aunt Zelena and Aunt Belle and Uncle Gold!"

Maleficent couldn't help but giggle at the last one. "It's Uncle Adam, Sweetie. Gold is his last name."

Still sitting on the now awake Regina, Lilith stared at her mother. "Well, how come everyone calls him Gold?"

"I don't know. We just do. Now, could you please get off Mama?" Mal responded.

"Oh, sorry." Lily noticed the woman underneath her wincing a bit in pain and she jumped off her, landing on the bed in front of Mal. "Did I hurt you?" The look of guilt on her face made Mal's heart melt.

"No, no. I'm sore from all the, uh, getting ready for Christmas last night." The twenty year old, finally feeling the afterpain from the night before, felt her cheeks grow red when Mal smiled at her, blushing herself.

"Oooo, is it time for pwesents?" Lily wondered, clapping her hands together.

"No, not yet, honey. We're gonna wait till everyone gets here, okay?" Mal gave her a little poke on her side which tickled her a bit.

Giggling, Lily replied graciously with just a hint of a whine. "Okay." Suddenly, she perked up again. "But do I still get cookies?"

"Mmm…" Mal began with a grin. "I think we should have breakfast first. Then, we'll see about having sweets, alright?"

"Okay!" The little girl answered enthusiastically. "Come on, Mama Gina. Get up!" Lily pulled Regina's arm and forced her to sit up.

"Okay. Alright, Lily. Let Mama get up on her own." Mal held onto Lily's hand, making her let go of Regina's when she noticed the painful look on her wife's face. "What do you want for breakfast?" The blonde stood from the bed and lifted her daughter into her own arms, carrying her out and into the kitchen.

It wasn't too long after that they were joined by Regina, scuffing her powder blue slippers on the floor with every small step. She slowly sat in a chair at the table and Maleficent began to cook eggs and bacon. After they ate, the dark haired woman got dressed while Maleficent dressed the toddler in her best gown and changed herself.

A couple hours passed and they had finished the puzzle Lilith had started the night before. Soon, most of the pain had left Regina's body and she was walking regularly once again. She washed the dishes from breakfast while Maleficent set out the appetizers and snacks on their small table.

"Mommy?"

"What is it, Lily?" Mal looked into the living room by the tree where she last saw her daughter. "Where'd she go?"

Regina turned around from the kitchen sink and saw an open space on the carpet in front of the Christmas tree. "Lily?" She called out, waiting for an answer.

"Come look!" They heard the four year old exclaim with extreme excitement. They followed the sound of her voice, coming from her bathroom. "I'm pretty! Like you!"

"Oh, wow!" Regina said, trying not to laugh at the little girl with children's lipstick smeared across her mouth and cheek. An excessive amount of eyeshadow was applied to her lids making its way all the way up to her dark brows.

"Aren't I pretty?" The inexperienced child fished for compliments from both her mothers.

"Uh, well, yes!" Mal blinked as she also forced herself not to burst out in a roar of laughter, small chuckles quietly escaping her lips. "You look wonderful."

"Absolutely radiant!" Regina added when her wife knelt down beside the toddler.

"Um, why don't we wash this off and change your clothes before-"

Suddenly, Regina's cell phone rang and she rushed out into the living room, reaching into her purse and taking it out to answer it as fast as she could. "Hello?" Mal took Lily's hand and walked her into the little girl's bedroom to wipe off the play makeup with some baby wipes. All the while, she listened to Regina speaking on the phone. "Zelena, calm down. It's not Mother's fault the flight landed early." The blonde removed her daughter's now messy dress. "I know, she has no right to take it out on you, but I did say that you should go to the airport a bit early just in case." Lily, with the help of her mother, stepped into a clean pair of leggings. Suddenly, Mal heard Regina's voice get lower as if she didn't want anyone to hear. "Lena, I don't think showing up with a sign that says 'Colossal Bitch' would solve any of your problems with Cora right now." Maleficent giggled in the other room, now understanding why her wife lowered her voice. She didn't want Lily to hear her curse. "It's fine just get there when you get there, and I promise that whatever mental pain you go through with her nagging, I'll make up for it by taking her on the longest subway ride to the worst spa in New York, alright?" Again, Mal chuckled and she finally finished dressing Lil as she heard Regina finish her conversation. "Okay…..Alright….Good…..Bye, Zel."

The brunette rolled her eyes with a smile and set her phone down on the kitchen counter. Turning to see Mal leaning against the wall with her arms across her chest, she shook her head with a grin and continued to wash the rest of the breakfast dishes while the blonde grabbed a cup of coffee.

"Why couldn't I look pwetty for Aunt Lena and Grandma Cowa-" Lily corrected herself, "Cora?"

"Because, we don't want them to be jealous of how beautiful you are, now do we? They might not come around ever again if they feel intimidated by your good looks." Mal winked at Regina. "That wouldn't be good, would it? We'd probably never see them again."

Finally done with the dishes, the brunette sat down in a chair at the dining room table. The appetizers in front of her seemed so welcoming, but she decided to behave. "Yeah, I know that Grandma Cora is very sensitive about stuff like that." Regina winked back at her wife, who almost choked on her coffee, seeing as that was actually kind of true.

"Okay." Lily replied joyfully with pride in her makeup skills.

The older of the two adults shook her head, a bit in shame for laughing, and she set the empty coffee cup in the sink. The moment she turned around, she saw the death stare she received from her wife for leaving a dirty dish in there just after she'd cleaned them all. Clearing her throat with a guilty smile, she turned around and quickly washed it before setting it back up in its cupboard.

She grinned at the sight of Regina smiling up at her when she sat in the chair beside her. "Thank you." The younger of the two practically whispered and she leaned over to give her wife a small peck kiss before taking her hand in her own and playing with it.

"How are you feeling?" The actress asked quietly.

"I feel great." The twenty year old looked lovingly into icy blue eyes, falling in love with her protective wife once again. "How are you so precious?"

"Me? No, you're the one that's adorable." Mal scooched her chair a bit closer to the other woman's.

Shaking her head no, Regina responded, "Nuh uh."

"Mhmm." Maleficent nodded and they gave each other a large grin before kissing once more, only this time it was a real kiss. Passionate, and Mal soon found her hand on Regina's stomach beside her. She pulled out of the embrace and looked down at her hand. Butterflies arose in her own stomach as she pictured her spouse growing life inside of her. Her eyes slowly moved back to look up into admiring chocolate orbs and her smile grew even more. She felt her wife's hand on top of her own and they pressed their foreheads together for a split second before Lily shouted at them.

"Let's play a game!"

A/N: Let me know what you think please! :*