Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Chap 9

After about twenty minutes of playing Candy Land, Regina, Maleficent, and Lilith were joined at the apartment by Belle and Gold. Regina continued to help Lily clean up the board game as Mal, Gold, and Belle sat at the table in the kitchen making jokes about petty Christmas gifts they'd probably receive from Cora Mills. Though she had enough money to buy the whole street they lived on, she never gave expensive gifts unless it was to a potential client at Henry's firm. Soon, the apartment buzzer sounded and Regina rushed to answer.

"Zelena?" She asked with a large grin.

"Yes, it's me." The redhead's voice lowered a bit when she added, "...and Satan." Regina couldn't help but giggle as she faintly heard their mother's voice in the background complaining to Henry about living in this type of place.

"They better have heat in there. That's all I'm saying." Cora said loud enough for everyone in Mal and Regina's apartment to hear.

Pushing the button with a laugh, Regina replied to Zelena. "Come on up." She pushed the unlock button for the downstairs door before turning around to look at the other three adults in the kitchen and they all laughed with her. "Brace yourselves." She said with wide eyes and a smile as they heard the footsteps approaching. Maleficent stood from her chair and walked over to join her wife by the door, putting her arm around the younger woman's waist. They faintly heard more complaints coming from what they only knew to be Cora Mills' lips and they took a deep breath hearing all the footsteps stop right outside the door. Regina grabbed the doorknob and opened it, seeing the clearly irritated Zelena with a hand up as if she were about to knock.

Seeing her sister, the older Mills daughter let out a sigh of relief, putting her hand down and saying, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Both Mal and Regina said in unison, pulling the pregnant woman in for a hug together. The redhead pulled out of the hug and entered the apartment as if to get away from her mother as fast as possible, joining Gold and Belle at the table and stealing a chip or two.

At the door, Cora and Henry stood across from Regina and Maleficent. "Well?" Cora spoke. "Are you gonna invite us in or what?"

The younger couple both shook their heads. "Yes, of course. Come on in." Mal replied before hugging Henry/ "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas." Henry proudly hugged back as his wife hugged their youngest.

"I'm really glad that you two decided to come." Regina said, pulling out of the embrace with her mother and switching with Maleficent.

"And we're glad to be here, baby." Henry responded after they hugged.

"So, how is everything?" Cora asked, looking around the room they walked into as Regina closed the door behind them.

"Good. Good." Mal stood with her hands on her hips behind her mother-in-law.

"Well, I'm glad to see it's warm in here." Cora took off her coat and handed it to her youngest daughter.

"Yes, we have heat, Mother." Regina tried not to visually roll her eyes when she took her father's jacket as well.

"Now…" Cora began, turning to look at the toddler in the living room with a large grin. "How's my Lily?"

"Gwandma!" Lilith ran over, jumping into Cora's arms, who graciously picked her up and squeezed her.

Everytime Regina and her wife saw Cora with her (not by blood) granddaughter, they remembered back to their first meeting. At first, Cora was a bit awkward with Lily, but that same day, they grew close and it was as if Cora finally accepted the fact that she missed having a young child in the family. This only prompted her to grow more excited for Zelena's baby to join the family. Mrs. Mills was a confusing woman, everyone knew that to be true, but it had something to do with her constant desire to not be seen as an actual lovable person. Deep down, they all knew the truth.

After Cora set her back down, Lily ran over just as fast to Henry. "Gwandpa Henwy! I miss you!"

"Oh." Henry laughed, kneeling down to hug her. "I missed you too."

"I beat Mama and Mommy and Candy Land." The excited four year old bragged.

"You did?" Mr. Mills asked with fake shock.

Lily nodded. "Mhm. And I get extwa cookies for getting ready for bed on time last night!"

"Which, by the way...I'm still waiting for my extra cookies." Zelena put a finger up, causing the adults from the night before to laugh.

"Wow." Cora said to Mal who stood beside her. "Her speech is getting much better."

"Yeah, it is." The blonde smiled. "And it's all thanks to Regina." She said it as if trying to get Cora to see how mature Regina has gotten and how prominent having her in their lives really is.

"Really?" Regina's mother asked with an impressed look.

"Mhm." Mal nodded and Cora turned back to look at Henry and Lily.

"And, and, and-" Lily began with enthusiasm, "...I got a makeup kit and I put some on this morning, but Mama and Mommy made me take it off because they said my beautifulness would make Gwandma Cowa jealous."

Henry laughed harder than he should have, as did Mr. Gold. "Oh, really?" Her grandfather wondered.

"Mhm. And they said she'd pwobably never wanna come back for a visit if I was pwettier than her."

"Okay, Lily." Regina bent down and picked her up. "How about we open some presents, okay?" The brunette asked with red cheeks as all the other adults, excluding Mal and Cora, laughed.

"Hmph!" Cora tried to hold back her own amusement at the child, but seeing as she was not amused at Regina and Maleficent for that remark, she was able to stop the slight smirk that briefly came across her lips.

"Yay! Pwesents!" Lily clapped her hands together when her second mother brought her over to the tree and set her down in front of it.

"Come on over, everyone." Regina suggested and they all sat down in the living room to open their gifts from one another.