Saturday, March 30, 9:30am
"You made pancakes?" Emma asked as she walked into the kitchen after her morning shower. She had put on a pair of distressed jeans and a soft black sweater, which was her idea of day-off apparel. The dance studio was closed for the week since the local schools were on spring break and most kids flew somewhere warm for vacation, so she was going to enjoy the opportunity to wear real clothes while she didn't have to teach. She practically lived in Lululemon for her job, so while the rest of the world used the weekend to embrace their yoga pants, she was excited to wear something with a little less stretch.
"I did," Regina smiled, her hair loosely falling out of the clip she had used to pull it back. She was still in her flannel pajama pants and matching button down shirt, but the bottom few buttons were open to reveal her baby bump, and the pants sat low on her hips. A few nights earlier Emma had suggested Regina buy some maternity pajamas that would fit properly, but the brunette had scowled and said she was fine. "Besides," she had argued, "I'll only need flannel pajamas for another few weeks, because as soon as the weather gets above freezing I'm sure I'll be roasting anyway."
Emma walked over to her and pecked her lips before dropping down to kiss the exposed belly, causing Regina to chuckle as she held the spatula she had been using out of the way so it wouldn't drop pancake batter on the blonde's hair. "What's the occasion?" Emma asked as she stood back up, but still resting a hand on her future child.
"I was hungry," Regina laughed. "I'm craving carbs and sweets."
Emma raised an eyebrow. "Clearly our child has my sweet tooth then."
"Mhmm," Regina smiled, placing her hand on top of Emma's on her stomach. "She does."
"She?" Emma asked. "Last week you were convinced it was a boy."
"I know, but now I feel like it's going to be a girl."
Emma chuckled. "You know, there's a very easy way to resolve that question once and for all…"
"I know," Regina replied. "I keep thinking about calling Dr. Whale and asking, but then I back out. I still think I want to be surprised."
"Well, if you change your mind, I'm fine with knowing. Or not knowing. It's up to you," Emma commented as she took the spatula from Regina and transferred the last few pancakes from the griddle onto the serving dish. "The kid is going to be in baby ballet class as soon as it's old enough to stand regardless, so it'll just be a matter of whether we need to buy a teeny tutu or a tiny dance belt."
"You're ridiculous," Regina laughed as she sat down at the island, letting Emma take over the rest of the breakfast preparation.
*.*.*
"That was so good," Emma sighed as she sat down on the couch next to Regina after putting their dishes in the dishwasher. "Excellent call on pancakes."
"I'm glad you liked them," Regina smiled, leaning into Emma's side as she started scrolling through her emails and social media feed. Even though she wasn't actively posting on Twitter or Instagram, she still checked it regularly. Just like a lot of the world, it was how she got most of her news. When she didn't see anything of note, she set her phone down on the coffee table and picked up the remote. "Want to watch a movie?"
"Sure," Emma said. She didn't have any concrete plans for the day and kind of liked the idea of having a lazy day at home.
And that's how they stayed most of the afternoon, falling into a rabbit hole of Netflix Originals, mostly romantic comedies that neither woman would confess to liking, even though they both knew they did. Regina ignored her phone when it vibrated on the coffee table, but when it continued to ring after going to voicemail, Emma nudged her and told her to check it. "It might be important," she pointed out. "They're not giving up."
Regina whined but pushed herself up, giving Emma the chance to stretch her legs and back after serving as Regina's body pillow for the past four hours. The brunette looked at the caller ID and frowned before answering the phone. "Hey, Robin. What's up?" she asked, looking back at Emma as she also took the opportunity to crack her back. "What? Shit. No, I haven't. Oh my God," she said, looking over at Emma, whose own eyes widened in concern. "Fuck, okay. Let me look into it and I'll call you back….and I'll take care of it….yeah, bye," she sighed, hanging up her phone. Instead of putting it down, she started furiously typing on her screen.
"Regina, what is it?" Emma asked, pushing herself up to seated.
The brunette all but ignored her, holding up her index finger to signal her to give her a moment. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit."
"Regina?"
"Goddamnit."
"Regina…" Emma tried again, finally getting her attention when she placed her hand on her girlfriend's thigh. "What's wrong?"
"See for yourself," she said, handing the blonde her phone.
Emma took the device and scrolled through page Regina had been viewing. "Oh my God."
"Yeah." Regina took her phone back and looked down at it once again, re-reading the headline: An On-Set Affair? Regina Mills Seen Cuddling Up with her Ex-Husband and the associated subheading: And she's pregnant! Immediately under the headline was a series of four medium-resolution images, clearly taken from a great distance. After looking closer, Regina realized they were taken from the opposite side of the gate on the studio lot, as she could make out a sliver of the black bars of the fence surrounding the parking lot. In the first Regina was seen hugging Robin, in the second he kissed her cheek, in the third had one arm around her lower back as he guided her into the backseat of a black town car, and in the final image he was following her into the car himself. Regina could feel a tear threatening to fall, so she quickly wiped it away. "Emma, you know none of this is true, right?"
"Of course, Regina," Emma said, surprised that Regina thought she might believe the tabloid site. "I trust you. Not to mention the entire story is complete B.S. The idea of you and Robin having some secret affair is completely ridiculous."
"Well, the media doesn't seem to think so," Regina sighed as she looked at the rest of the images once again.
The header photographs by the car were less concerning. She wasn't a stranger to having paparazzi hanging around sets, although it had been pretty tame while filming Kitchen Masters. But, she had still been careful to keep her long parka on while outside so that any awaiting photographer wouldn't get a glimpse of her baby bump. The hug and kiss on the cheek, and the subsequent moment where Robin got into her car didn't look great, but it wasn't anything that couldn't be easily explained. Regina knew the photographs had been taken two days earlier after they had finished filming the first part of the finale episode. Robin had gotten a phone call saying that they had been confirmed for an interview slot on a top-rated morning show that they had been hoping to land for their press tour. It was still months away, but they were excited by the news and the camera caught them during their genuine reaction. Then, they had both gotten into the awaiting car together because they were heading to Henry's school to see his 8th grade band concert, where they met up with Gwen and Emma, who were meeting them there.
No, those photographs didn't concern her. They were annoying, sure, but they had been standing out in the open and therefore fair game. But, the other pictures in the article made her blood boil. Someone on set had taken photographs of her very obvious baby bump and leaked them. And, they had managed to take a few pictures of Robin and Regina talking to one another on set, making it look like there could be something going on between them. In actuality, it was completely harmless. The photographs were from the day before, when Regina had been directing the finale episode. She had been guiding Robin through some notes for one of his close-ups at the judging table during the portion where she would interview the judges about what the competitors are preparing. It was all very mundane, but because she didn't want to disrupt the flow of the show or what was happening in the competition at the time, she had been standing close to him. Of course, whoever leaked the pictures didn't bother to take photographs of Regina standing the exact same way with the other two judges, because that wouldn't help sell the narrative.
"They don't know the truth," Emma pointed out, interrupting Regina's thoughts. "They're just trying to sell a story and make a profit."
"Well, they're definitely succeeding, then," she said as she finally started to read through the article text. It wasn't a long article, but it speculated that they were having an affair and that Regina must have gotten him the job as a judge on the show to help them cover up their rekindled relationship. And, of course, they assumed that Robin had gotten her pregnant. She continued reading: This all must be quite a blow to Robin's wife, Gwen Arthur Locksley, who he married in a small ceremony on New Year's Eve and with whom he has a one-year-old daughter. And, what of Emma Swan, Regina's girlfriend of the past year and a half? Sources from Frozen Mirror, the show that made Regina Mills a star, say that Regina was forced to leave the show because of her relationship with Emma Swan. Perhaps that was just too much pressure for a budding relationship? We have to wonder if Regina is regretting her decision to give up her starring role for a fizzled-out romance.
"God, these people are assholes. They have no shame," Regina said. "They can't actually believe what they're writing. They know it's not true."
"At least this is good publicity for the new show," Emma offered, but she received a glare from Regina. "Wait, you don't think this could have been set up by the studio to help drum up interest, do you?" Emma thought out loud.
Regina looked up at her. "Shit. I hadn't thought of that," she sighed. She paused to think it over. "But no, I don't think so. Robin's executive producing credit means that everything has to go through him. If any of the other executives did something like this, he could sue them. And he wouldn't do this to us, and certainly not to Gwen. He's extra pissed because they brought her and Jessie into it."
"Uh oh," Emma said, looking down at her own phone. "Social media is blowing up."
Regina rolled her eyes. "Of course it is. I'm surprised it took this long, given that the article has been posted for a almost an hour…Dare I ask what people are saying? How bad is it?"
"Mostly a war between those who like you and Robin together and those who like you and me together. The 'Robina' camp is super excited and the 'Swanqueen' camp is devastated."
"Jesus. This is our life. This isn't like shipping fictional TV characters."
"I know. This is a bit strange, I'm not gonna lie."
"I need to put an end to it before it gets out of control."
"Just ignore it," Emma suggested.
"Really? This doesn't bother you?"
She shrugged. "I mean, I don't love that they're saying you're cheating on me. But, I know it's not true. And Gwen knows it's not true. If we go on living our lives as normal, eventually the rumors will die out and people will move on to some other scandal, so who cares?"
"I do… I just don't want this to spiral out of control and invite the fans or media into our lives again. This seems easy enough to clear up, and I don't see a downside to addressing it."
"Maybe…but they could be posting all this to bait you, too. The media and some of your more enthusiastic fans may just want to lure you out of your social media blackout."
"Well, they're getting their wish, then," she replied. "I'll write something up, but before I post it you can look at it to make sure I'm not going overboard. Is that fair?'
"Sure."
Regina quickly pulled up the notes app on her iPhone and started typing: I'm interrupting my social media detox to quickly address the ridiculous gossip blog article from this morning. First, for the love of God, please stop spreading gossip. Emma, Gwen, and Robin are all real people with real feelings, so please stop looking for drama and stop with the bullying and rumors involving them. If you care for me as much as you say you do, you wouldn't spread gossip about my friends and family, nor would you celebrate what you think is the end of someone's relationship. To that end, Robin and Gwen are very happy newlyweds. Emma and I are very happy together. Robin and I are just friends, co-parents to our two kids, and now colleagues on a new show. We will never get back together. There is no affair. Not that I owe anyone an explanation, but because I know the rumors will continue if I don't specifically address them, here you go: The photos from outside the studio were taken after we got a bit of good news and were momentarily celebrating, and yes, we're friends who occasionally hug one another. Then we were carpooling to our kid's school for a band concert. Nothing scandalous, unless you consider a bunch of 13 year olds playing "Wooly Bully" particularly controversial. And secondly, yes, I'm pregnant. I wasn't ready to reveal that publicly yet because I'm stressed enough as it is and didn't want to add that announcement to the mix, but whoever leaked the photos on set didn't give me much of a choice. The baby is not Robin's. The baby is Emma's and mine. It's something we decided to do together and we're very excited about it, but we ask that you please respect our privacy. If and when we are ready to share more about our growing family with the world, we will, but it will be on our terms and our decision to do so. That said, I will now be resuming my social media hiatus until later this spring when we're ready to share our new TV project with you. Xo, Regina.
She slid her phone over to Emma. "What do you think?"
The blonde quickly read through it, nodding her head as she went. "Good. Straight to the point, but with an appropriate amount of 'You should be ashamed of yourselves' lecturing thrown in. It's kind of a good mom-lecture, actually. You're a natural."
Regina couldn't help but smirk as she posted the screenshot of the note. "Now, to find out who the hell took photos from set and released them. If I have anything to say about it, they will never work in this industry again when I'm through with them."
"Do you have any idea who it was?"
"Not at all," she said as she looked over at her phone that buzzed with a notification. She chuckled. "But, it looks like Robin is threatening to find out and sue them. He just retweeted my post and said he will find out who violated the non-disclosure agreement and will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law, along with saying that anyone who says anything about Gwen or his daughter will be sued, too."
"Go Robin," Emma replied. "Can you tell from the picture when it was taken and from where? That might help you figure out who took it."
Regina studied it, but it was hard to tell. "Not really. There were at least a dozen PAs on set, a few interns, not to mention all the crew members. It's a frantic filming setup so people aren't in one place for too long. It could be anyone," she frowned. "We'll probably never know for sure."
"Well, you could always call the gossip site. Since it violated an NDA, maybe your lawyers can force them to reveal their sources."
"I don't know how that works, but it's worth a try….later, though. All of this adrenaline has made me hungry. Do you want to go to lunch?"
"Sure. But you want to go out? Not order in?"
Regina shrugged. "Clearly there's no need to hide my pregnancy anymore, so there's no need to rely on takeout."
"Alrighty, then. No arguments from me."
*.*.*
The one silver lining to the leaked photos was the fact that Regina could be comfortable when she and Emma went for a late lunch that afternoon. It was unseasonably warm for the end of March, so she was relieved that she didn't have to hide behind an oversized down coat. Instead, she threw on a pair of maternity jeans she had recently purchased at Emma's behest, a long sleeved jersey knit top, and her leather jacket, which still mercifully fit as long as she didn't try to zip it. The cling of the jersey knit showed her baby bump at certain angles, and she was relieved to be able to unabashedly show it off.
They were able to eat lunch in relative peace at a small Parisian-themed café in the middle of the French Quarter, and they walked around a bit afterward, enjoying the nice day and window shopping at the boutiques. As they made their way back to the car, Regina's phone rang. "It's Robin," she stated as she looked down at the screen and slid into the passenger seat of Emma's red BMW i3. After her beloved yellow VW Bug had stalled in early December during the first snow fall, and then wouldn't start one night when the blonde was coming home from the dance studio, Regina put her foot down and begged Emma to let her buy her a new car. Emma had refused and said she would get the Bug fixed, but Regina played the baby card, asking her what she would do if the car got stuck in a snowstorm with a baby in the car. Emma still didn't want to let Regina buy her a car, but they both knew a new car wasn't realistically in Emma's budget at the time. The brunette had said that she would buy herself a car, then, but that Emma could be the primary driver. Emma didn't love it, but at least it wasn't technically her car then, so she agreed.
"Answer it," Emma said as she signaled to turn out into traffic.
"Hang on, Robin, I'm going to put you on speakerphone," she said as she answered the phone. "Okay, there we go. What's up?"
"Aria confessed," Robin's voice echoed in the car.
"What?" Regina asked, confused.
"Aria, our production intern. She confessed to being the person who took the photos that were leaked."
Regina frowned. "Why did she confess? And why did she give them the photos?"
"She felt guilty, and I think she got scared when she saw my tweet threatening to sue whoever did it. I think she thought we'd go easier on her if she fessed up instead of us uncovering the truth," he explained.
"Okay…" Regina started, still baffled. "But then why did she do it? Why give the gossip blog the pictures?"
"She didn't give them the photos, Regina. She just took them."
"You're not making sense, Robin. What are you talking about?"
"Are you driving right now?" he asked, changing the subject.
"No, Emma is. Why?"
"Because I don't want to cause an accident with what I'm about to tell you…"
"I'm listening…"
"She gave the photos to Cora."
"WHAT?!" Emma and Regina both shouted at the same time. Emma immediately pulled off the road and into a random restaurant's parking lot, because she realized that she probably should not have been driving during that conversation, either.
"What do you mean she gave the photos to Cora?" Regina asked bitterly.
They could hear Robin sigh. "Remember how Aria stayed behind after our meeting last week at the Ritz Carlton to use the restroom?"
"Vaguely."
"Well, I guess your mother saw an opening. She stopped Aria on her way out and invited her for a drink at the bar, telling her that any intern on her 'precious daughter's' new show must be talented, and that she would love to hear more. Aria told her how she's graduating from McGill this semester and hoping to get a job as a production assistant, and then work her way up into marketing and PR for a film company."
"Oh God," Regina cringed, knowing where the conversation was going.
"Exactly. Cora saw a weakness in a naïve 21-year-old girl and took it. She promised her that she would get her interviews with all the major studios, and a guaranteed PA position at a smaller studio if she helped her out. Aria said that your mother kept saying she just wanted to help guarantee Kitchen Masters is a success, so she wanted a few behind the scenes photos that she could use for promos with some media outlets later this spring. Aria told her they were restricted from doing so and a marketing plan was in place, but Cora somehow convinced her otherwise. She also asked for photos of the two of us specifically, because she knew the fans would love to see it. She reminded the girl how it would help her own resume to have been an intern on a show that was a roaring success, and these photos would guarantee that would be the case."
"Sweet Jesus," Emma muttered.
'Fuck," Regina sighed. "I liked Aria."
"I know. We all do," Robin agreed. "At least the show's done, though, so we don't have to officially fire her…but, she did break a contract. Technically we shouldn't serve as a reference for any future jobs, which will screw her over. She won't get a job without it."
"Well, if my mother holds up her end of the deal she may not need them. But then again, my mother doesn't really have the ties she likes to think she does. I doubt she could get Aria as much as a phone number for a studio."
"Legally, we should also enforce the NDA."
Regina sighed. "I can't do that to the girl, Robin," she said. "She doesn't have the money anyway, but even if she did, I wouldn't take it from her. She fell victim to my mother's manipulations. She's not the first, and she won't be the last. She's a young college kid and doesn't know any better. Hell, I should have known better and I fell for it well into my 30s. Even Gold managed to let Cora manipulate him, and he's one of the best puppet masters out there."
"So you just want to let this go?"
"Not really, but it's only fair. I can't punish Aria for falling for my mother's lies, not unless I also want to punish myself for the last decade of my life. Now if we can find a way to bring down my mother once and for all, I'm 100% in for that."
"I don't think we can do anything to her. She didn't break any laws or violate any contracts. She just made other people do it."
"That's why she's the best at what she does," Regina said, dejected. "I'll think about it, but I don't think it's worth pursuing anything with regards to Aria. The show's over for now, and if there's another season we simply won't hire her as a PA."
"Okay. If that's what you want."
"It is. I don't want to ruin her life. I'm sure she feels bad enough as it is, if she was that quick to confess," she said. "Thanks for calling and letting me know."
"Of course. Have a good rest of your day, Regina. And bye, Emma," Robin said.
"Bye," both women said as Regina clicked off the call.
"Wow," Emma said.
"Yeah."
"Are you okay?"
"I guess. Part of me is glad no one purposefully betrayed us. I know how convincing my mother is. She's a legitimate sociopath, so I can't blame Aria for falling for it. I'm sure Cora made her feel like she was helping the show and doing Robin and me a favor. But, now all I want to do is think of ways to permanently destroy Cora. It seems like I can't rid myself of her no matter what I do. I'm not sure how much more of her interfering in my life I can take."
Emma reached out across the center console and clasped her hand over Regina's. "I know it sucks, and it's hard, but you have to stop letting her get to you. Maybe when she sees you don't you're not bothered by her, then she'll get bored and stop."
"I doubt it. And with the baby coming, it makes me even more nervous about what she might do."
"Maybe we can get her banned from Canada," Emma joked, but not entirely kidding. "She's not a citizen. Maybe if you get a restraining order against her it would keep her from being able to cross the border."
Regina chuckled. "That might be worth looking into."
"I'll talk to some people," Emma winked. "Ready to go home?"
"God yes. This day has been exhausting."
A/N: I couldn't let Cora pop in and not meddle at least a bit :P The next chapter will jump forward a bit, farther into the pregnancy. I will do my best to have the next chapter up this week, but it's the last chapter I have written (but not the last chapter of the fic...there will be at least a few more), but I'm hesitant to post it before I at least have a bit of the one after it written. I'm entering the 3 busiest weeks of the year in my phd program, my job, and starting to teach 2 new summer college courses in that time frame, so I don't know when I'll have time to get it done. It may be two weeks before the next one is posted, just to minimize the gap between that and the one after.
Thanks for reading!