"Ruby, I need apple pancakes. Now." Emma said, dragging herself onto one of the stools at the counter.
"To go?" Ruby clarified. "And it's three in the afternoon…"
"I need them. To eat. Now." Emma said, pointing to her chest for emphasis. "I mean I think I need them…it might be a Regina craving…hard to tell these days…"
Ruby just studied her friend, not sure what to make of the blonde at the moment. She laughed as Emma laid her head down on the counter and mumbled something about just needing a little rest. She scribbled Emma's order down on her scratch pad, slid it in the diner's window, and went to check on her other customers giving her the time she needed to sleep a little. A quick 15 minutes later she was sliding the pancakes down in front of the blonde, the clatter of the plate waking her up suddenly.
"Shit, that scared me." Emma rubbed at her eyes, trying to get herself fully functional again.
Ruby just smiled at her and shrugged her shoulder a little, not sorry one bit she'd scared her a little. "Not sleeping much? The babies aren't even here yet."
"Eh," Emma shoved a big bite of pancake in her mouth and had to pause her answer to chew. "Regina has to get up a lot at night…you know to pee…so when she wakes up, I wake up because I assume the babies are coming and then I panic and then she says she's just going to the bathroom and then I can't go back to sleep and then when I finally do it happens all over again."
"Wow…I really didn't need to hear about Regina peeing..."
"Shut up. These are delicious by the way. Regina, the babies, and my stomach all thank you. Sharing these damn craving lately is getting old. And I love to eat."
"Only like a month left though, right?" Ruby asked, as she wiped down the counter.
"Maybe…it's twins so really they could come any time. I mean she's kinda huge right now so…" Emma looked up at Ruby when she noticed her staring over her shoulder and judging from the look on her face, she was about to get in trouble.
"So I'm huge? That's how you're describing the mother of your unborn children to your friends?" Regina said testily. Without letting Emma respond she turned her glare towards Ruby. "I need apple pancakes. Now." She pivoted away from the counter and made her way to one of the tables, the booths no longer offering enough room for her to slide in.
"Rubes…we have got to get like a signal or something when she walks in. Why do you always let me say stupid stuff in front of her?" She sighed loudly and hung her head for a moment, before moving from the counter to join her wife. She wasn't really expecting an answer and when she heard Ruby just laugh she shook her head and vowed revenge silently in her head.
"Look…" Emma started as she took a seat across from the fuming brunette.
"I don't want to hear it. I just want my pancakes in peace." Regina cut her off.
"I know your not huge, it's just the babies...I love you?" Emma tried to plea her case.
"Is that a question or are you telling me?" Regina narrowed her eyes at the blonde. She was trying to stay mad, but at the moment she just wanted to snuggle up into the woman's arms. Damn the hormones for not even letting her hold a grudge properly.
"I'm telling you. And I know for a fact that you tell Katherine on a regular basis that I'm an idiot so I'm not sure you can really be mad at me…" Emma smiled, knowing she'd won Regina over.
"That's different. That's a hereditary condition." Regina gave a small nod of thanks when Ruby slid a plate full of pancakes down in front of her. "Ruby?" She called out as the brunette retreated.
"Yes?" The waitress responded timidly.
"There will not be any signaling. If the Sheriff is going to continue to stick her foot in her mouth in my presence then she will have to deal with the consequences."
"Got it." Ruby cut off any further discussion by turning and making her way to the back room.
Emma was spared any more lecturing as Regina made quick work of the plate of food in front of her. When Regina's phone rang and she answered it as pleasantly as possible, Emma only rolled her eyes at the ploy. Her playful demeanor flew out the window when she noticed Regina's frantic look.
"We'll be right there. No, Emma's with me so it won't take long. Just hold on." Regina quickly hit the end button on her phone and started to get up from the table. "We have to get to Katherine's. Her water broke and she can't get ahold of Frederick." She took Emma's outstretched hand and pulled herself up from the chair, not wasting any time.
Emma dug a few bills out of her pocket and threw them on the table, hoping Ruby wouldn't get too concerned about their disappearing act.
SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ
Luckily, Emma had driven the cruiser to the diner and she hit the lights and sirens on the way to Katherine's. She screeched into the driveway and told Regina to stay put, she'd be back with Katherine in just a minute. She found the front door unlocked and when she burst into the living room a startled Katherine screamed.
"What the hell? I have a doorbell!" Katherine motioned for Emma to come closer, the couch fighting against her attempt at standing. She gladly pulled on Emma's arm and was thankful that at least one spouse in town knew how to read a pregnant woman's mind.
"Sorry…I kinda thought this was..like an emergency situation…" Emma responded.
"My water broke, I've still got like 10 hours or more before this little person gets here. I just needed a ride." Katherine went to grab her bag waiting by the front door, but Emma whisked it up before she could.
"Well, somebody didn't mention that to me. Let's get you in the cruiser." Emma helped get the woman tucked into the back seat and then hopped back in the drivers seat. "Hospital? Or would you two like to do some shopping first?" The sarcasm dripped from her tone.
Regina's eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, looking at Katherine questionably. The pregnant woman chuckled a little and said the hospital was just fine.
Emma received a pat on the leg for her efforts as she pulled out of the driveway towards the hospital.
SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ
Frederick was pacing frantically in the ER when they arrived. Katherine breathed a sigh of relief and told him if they ever did this again she would prefer he picked her up first before heading to the hospital. Once she was settled in her room Regina offered to stay with her until the baby was born, but she declined-telling Regina that she needed to be at home, preferably with her feet up, resting and told her to come by in the morning and hold the baby.
Regina reluctantly let Emma take her home after a few more attempts at sticking around. She finally relented when Emma told her she probably didn't want to see any of the labor anyway, making it clear it would only scare her about her own impending labor. Once home she was ordered to go and put her feet up, her ankles-or cankles as Henry called them-were getting bigger by the day, and Emma made them dinner.
The next morning a text from Frederick informed them that Katherine was still in labor and if she didn't deliver by noon they would be getting a C-section done. Emma decided to go ahead and go into the station to get some paperwork done and left a pouting wife behind with the promise she'd be home early.
SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ
Around lunch time Emma still hadn't heard anything from Regina about Katherine so she pushed her stack of paper work away and decided to walk to the diner to stretch her legs.
She took her usual spot at the counter and didn't bother picking up a menu. She was going to have a burger and fries since she was unsupervised and wasn't suffering from any cravings at the moment. When Ruby finally poked her head out of the back, she rolled her eyes at the dramatic scan of the diner Ruby did before coming over.
"Really?" Emma asked, her facing showing no humor in the woman's antics.
"Hey, just checking to see if your wife's lurking around somewhere. For an 8-month pregnant lady she sure is stealthy." Ruby pulled out her scratch pad and looked at Emma in expectation.
"Yeah, she still sneaks up on me at home too and I can't figure out how. She hasn't been doing magic at all because it seems to teach the babies new tricks whenever she does…I just want a burger and fries." Emma trailed off, realizing the diner was busy with the lunch time rush and Ruby probably didn't have too much chitchat time.
Ruby smiled gratefully and with a quick "I'll be back." She was off to check on her other diners.
Emma picked up her phone when it buzzed immediately after Ruby walked away and she wondered to herself if Regina somehow knew she was talking about her when her name flashed on the caller ID.
"Hello, your problem is my job security." Emma answered, knowing she'd get a rise out of Regina.
"My water just broke."
"HA, HA. Very funny. I'm not falling for that two days in a row. Do you want something from the diner?" Emma asked, unimpressed with her wife's sense of humor.
"MY WATER BROKE! Get home now or I'll…I don't know but it will be bad for you!"
Emma glanced at her phone to see if the call had been disconnected and when she realized it had been she frowned and set it down, her mind not comprehending the call.
"What was that about?" Ruby asked, when she noticed Emma's glazed look.
"Regina just said her water broke." Emma remained in her seat, repeating the words Regina had used, but still not fully comprehending them.
"EMMA! You have to go! Like now-she needs to get to the hospital. Your babies are coming!" Ruby leaned over the counter and slapped her hand against the side of Emma's head, hoping to knock some sense into her.
Wide eyes looked back at her, the situation finally soaking in. "Shit…shit, shit, shit! I have to go…" Emma ran for the door, cursing herself for walking from the station and started to sprint up the street. She jumped in the police cruiser, only to realize the keys were still inside and she hopped back out again, racing to get them. She grabbed the keys to the bug instead, thinking she may not be able to bring the cruiser back any time soon. It took three tries for the bug to start up and she was cursing the gods the entire time.
She sped off, hoping that there wouldn't be any traffic and then she realized it was Storybrook so that probably wasn't going to be an issue. When she finally pulled into the driveway, she left the car running-not trusting it to start again. She ran up the sidewalk and into the house, finding Regina calmly pacing in the hallway, rubbing her belly.
"Are you having contractions?" Emma asked, full panic setting in.
Regina only hummed a noncommittal response and Emma guided her out the front door, one hand on her back.
"I'm not going in that thing!" Regina huffed, once they were outside and she realized Emma had left the car running.
"I'm not sure that you're in any place to argue with me woman…get in the car." Emma opened the passenger's door and covering Regina's head with her hand, protecting it from hitting the top.
"And I'm not a common criminal, you don't have to manhandle me." Regina added once Emma was back in the drivers seat.
Emma just rolled her eyes and focused on getting them to the hospital safely, her hand never leaving Regina's. She breathed a sigh of relief when they finally pulled up in front of the hospital, parking in one of the ambulance bays by the door.
Emma turned to tell Regina to stay in the car while she grabbed a wheel chair and she noticed Regina was holding something in her hand. "What's that?"
Regina looked over at her wife and rolled her eyes. "It's a stop watch. And you just failed miserably. It took you over 38 minutes to get me here AND you forgot to grab my hospital bag we have sitting by the door."
Emma just stared at her wife. "You aren't in labor?"
"No."
Thunk.
Thunk. Thunk.
Emma was banging her head on the steering wheel until a hand reached out and stopped her. "Regina...Seriously?"
"What? I wanted to come see Katherine. They had a little baby boy." Regina shrugged her shoulder a little and Emma knew she couldn't stay mad at the woman. "I thought it would be good practice for you…"
"You're ridiculous. You know that right?" Emma said, smiling at her wife. Her heart had slowed to an acceptable rate and she was no longer in panic mode.
"No, I'm just a planner. You'll be thanking me for this later." Regina said smugly.
"Yeah, yeah. You might as well get out here. I'll go park and we'll go see the baby." Emma was still shaking her head as she pulled away from the ER doors.