once again, I suck with how long it takes me to update now. I hope this longer chapter makes up for it xoxo
"Good morning Sleeping Beauty," Emma grinned a little when Regina half-waddled into the kitchen in early morning, pressing her hands to her lower back and frowning tiredly. "I remember that part well. Henry used to be so active at night I could barely sleep."
A tired smile appeared on Regina's face at the mention of Henry. Before, a statement like that would've bothered her, thinking of Emma carrying her son, but now she was able to experience it herself and she was secure with her position in Henry's life. Reaching for a mug for her decaffeinated coffee, she glanced up at the blonde, "Was it a hard pregnancy?"
"Not really, other than how hyper he was," She nodded, hopping up onto the edge of the counter, earning a disapproving glance from Regina as she did so. "Course I was 18, everything's easier when you're young."
"You calling me old?" Regina perked an eyebrow from behind her coffee mug, taking a sip, "Where's everyone else? Did I really sleep that late?" She glanced around at how quiet it was in the house.
"Neal's in his playpen, Killian, Dad and Henry went to make rounds in town and make sure everyone was okay," Emma nodded once, watching the pregnant woman shift her weight onto the kitchen stool, settling to sit on it and lean on the counter. "Still no idea where your sister might be?"
Regina rolled her eyes, scoffing once, "Probably just waiting until we're all comfortable to strike. You actually let Henry go with them?"
"Regina, he's 14 going on 40. Do you really think he was going to let Dad and Killian go without him?" Emma laughed in amusement, "Besides, you know how headstrong he is. Don't know where he got that from," She implied with a smirk at the brunette.
"Ha!" Regina laughed, arching her eyebrow, "You're the one to talk, Swan."
"Hey you're the one who raised him," Emma prodded playfully, "Ready to do it all over again?"
"Hm, I hope so," Regina let out a deep breath, looking down at her coffee as she ran a finger around the edge anxiously.
"I thought you were excited?" She studied the Mayor for a moment, sensing that there was some underlying worries she hadn't admitted yet. Of course, getting Regina to open up was no easy feat. One that would only happen if she was in the sharing mood, "Regina?"
"Of course I am, I never thought this would happen for me and with someone like David.." She forced a weak smile, "I just can't help but have my mother's voice in the back of my head. What if I end up just like her? What if this child...what if it has powers? What if my influence leads it down the wrong path like my mother's did me?"
Emma frowned deeply at her friend, "You're nothing like your mother, Regina. Remember how you changed for Henry? If this baby has magic it'll have you to teach you how to use it for good. You never had anyone like that Regina, your mother tried to control you to secure her own status and Rumple's guidance was just as selfish. Your kid is going to have you looking out for it's best interest. Plus it's half Charming, so it's probably going to have a hero complex," She added with a grin to lighten the conversation.
Regina gave her a small smile, "I just don't want to fail this baby, or David or Henry. With Zelena out there I feel like I already have, without me in everyone's lives, no one would be in danger. Everyone I'm close to becomes targets because of things I've done in my past. I can't help but feel like it's because I don't deserve what I have now after the evil I committed."
"This may sound stupid coming from me, but I kinda understand where you're coming from," Emma admitted, setting her coffee cup in the sink beside her, "I think about what I went through in all of those foster homes, and the things I did when I was a teenager. Then I look at the life I have now with this great kid and a fiance, and I wonder why I have it all? I mean I gave Henry up and now I get to be in his life...it doesn't seem right."
"I drank a potion to make myself barren," Regina raised an eyebrow in understanding, "I destroyed entire villages and broke up families during my reign. Now anytime something good happens to me I wait for it to be taken away, and I know I deserve that...I get it...but now what worries me more is the safety of my child. Not only from myself but...do you know how many enemies I have? I mean, what do you think Zelena's revenge on me entails? This baby isn't even born yet and it's already in harms way."
"Yeah well this kid has plenty of people looking out for it," Emma looked at Regina seriously, "You're not alone anymore Regina, you don't have to bear the burden all by yourself anymore. Remember that."
"Hey Granny," David smiled, making his way into the diner after he had split up from Killian and Henry to check on her, seeing her wiping down the counter. "Everything okay here? No Zelena sighting?"
"All clear," She half smiled, looking at him over her glasses, "It's good to have you back Charming. How's that girl of yours?"
"Good...tired," He smiled warmly at the mention of Regina, taking a seat on one of the red stools at the bar, "But they're both healthy."
"I'm glad you finally quit foolin' around and got your memories back," Granny teased with a wink, handing him the menu as if he hadn't already memorized it, "I'll put in an order of cheese fries for you to take home for the Mayor. Once this Zelena mess is over you tell Regina she better come see me. I've missed having someone to quarrel with."
"Will do," He grinned at the older lady, appreciating the way she had become maternal towards Regina in their own unique way. He knew Granny and Regina mutually loved each other, Granny having given her advice and comforted her through some rough times, though neither one of them would openly admit it. Regardless, he was aware of the bond between them and he was grateful that Regina had a motherly figure in her life. Even if she was an adult, he knew she still needed it.
"When are you going to marry that girl?" Granny prodded him, leaning on the counter and smirking at him being taken aback by her question.
"I guess I hadn't thought that far with everything going on..." David admitted sheepishly, looking at the older lady, "Plus I never thought Regina would be interested in marriage... She hasn't had the best experience with it."
"All the more reason to change that, you fool," The wolf chided with a roll of her eyes, "If you really think that that girl, the future mother of your child, doesn't want you to make her your wife, then you're slower than I thought Charming."
"Hey take it easy," David's eyes widened, "I haven't exactly been myself lately and everything happened so fast between us...You really think she'd want to get married?"
Granny let out an exasperated breath like she couldn't believe she had to explain it to him, "Think about it, boy. The only true love Regina had before you was with the stable boy," The wolf's tone softened at the sensitive matter, "She's never gotten to experience a wedding or a true marriage, at least not one she wanted to be in. She was forced into a sham and had all of those firsts taken from her. Regina may put up a brave face now and scoff at romantic notions, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want them. She's just never been treated the way she should, the way you need to treat her now. Don't make her ask for it, you idiot."
"I guess I never thought of it that way," David bit his lip, realizing that Regina was experiencing a lot of firsts when it came to him. Sure, she'd experienced love with Daniel, but that had been ripped away. She had a relationship with Robin, but he betrayed her and played with her feelings. Regina had actually never experienced a healthy relationship with a man in her adult life. She acted disinterested in romance and tradition because she'd never received it herself.
He swallowed hard when he recalled the time Regina had brought him back to life with half of Snow's heart. In the midst of his embrace with Snow, he'd glanced up to see Regina watching them with a longing expression. At the time he hadn't known what it meant, he'd thought her too heartless then to give it any thought. He knew now how much she'd craved that kind of connection with someone. In fact, it was the root of her destruction. Daniel being taken from her and her grief and loneliness over it had spurred her revenge into motion. She'd never experienced marrying someone she loved, the special feeling of a true wedding night, the ritual of waking up every morning in someone's arms, of having someone to tell everything to, someone to come home to, or sharing a child with someone she loved. Regina had never known these feelings before, so David had to do this right.
"Well, cheese fries are a good start," Granny broke his thoughts, coming back to the counter with a to-go bag, "On the house."
David looked up at her determinedly, giving her a serious nod, "Thank you Granny, for your advice...and the fries," He smiled genuinely as he stood up, grabbing the brown paper bag.
"Don't make me bring it up again, Charming."
"Does it feel like an alien in there?" Henry's eyes widened, holding his hand on Regina's bump when she showed him where the baby was moving. He brought his hand back quickly when he felt a kick, "That's so weird. Cool, but weird!"
Regina laughed at her son, "Are you excited for this baby, Henry?" She asked more seriously, wanting to know exactly how she felt about it.
"Yeah, of course I am," He smiled at her before biting his lip, glancing from her stomach up at her but staying silent.
"Henry, what is it?" She raised an eyebrow, running a hand over his hair as they sat on the couch. A classic movie was on the television, per their old ritual on a Sunday night. Almost a week had gone by since the incident in the vault and things were starting to seem normal again.
"I know things are going to change once the baby is here and...I mean, I'm happy for you and Grandpa, I really am," His eyes shifted down to his lap, fidgeting awkwardly with the hem of his shirt.
"But?" Regina prodded gently, watching her teenage son struggling with his emotions. It was a byproduct of the awkward phase he was in, wanting to act like an adult but still being a kid in so many ways.
"I guess I just...Mom and Killian are getting married and will probably start their own family and...you and Grandpa and the baby will be so happy," He mumbled, acting like it pained him to say it aloud, "I just wonder where I'm going to fit into the picture soon..."
"Henry..." Regina said in surprise, pulling him into her arms as much as her bump would allow, pressing her lips to his hair and hearing him groan a little at her affection, "You always fit into the picture. It wouldn't be the same with out you. You're my first baby," She smiled warmly, "I remember when I brought you home I was so intimidated by you. You were this perfect little creature but I couldn't seem to make you happy."
"You couldn't?" He looked up at her, his doubt replaced with curiosity.
"No, you were crying constantly," She smiled at him, resting her forehead against the side of his, "I thought as long as I had fed you and changed you that you should be happy. It took me a while to realize that what you really needed was affection and love. You taught me how to love again, Henry. How to open myself up and bond with someone again. You taught me how to be a mother. So I really need you in the picture, okay? Because you make me a better person."
"I don't know about all of that," He smiled sheepishly before laying his head on her shoulder, "I'm glad you're getting your happy ending, Mom."
"I couldn't of done it without you, Henry."
"You know if we just asked the doctor during the ultrasound we wouldn't have to be doing a gender neutral nursery," David grinned through the bars of the crib at Regina as they sat in the floor of the old guest room, putting the baby's furniture together.
"You said you didn't want to know!" Regina's mouth dropped with a laugh, keeping the side of the nursery straight as he finished screwing the last bolts into it.
"Did I? I don't remember," He joked playfully, giving her a grin before looking back to his task at hand, tightening the bolt into the crib, "You'd think they'd make these things a little easier to put together."
"I could just use my magic and finish it?" She offered again, raising an eyebrow.
"No, we agreed we were going to do this the old fashioned way," He chided softly, looking at her with a firm but slightly amused expression at her continuous offers to use her magic to make the job easier, "You're not getting out of this."
"But can't I use my magic to do the hard things like this? Then we'll have more time to do the fun things like shopping for baby clothes," She grinned widely at him on the other side through the slats of the crib.
"Do we really have to go shopping? Why can't you just magic the baby a wardrobe?" He asked just to goad her, laughing when her lips turned into a pout.
"My back hurts, I'm tired," She sighed, though David could see through her tactics. She was avoiding eye contact with him and he knew she was using her pregnancy as an excuse to get out of putting the crib together. He couldn't help but grin at her, pushing the crib to the side before laughing as he cupped her face, bringing her in for a kiss as he came up on his knees closer to her.
"Does it really?" He smirked playfully against her lips, feeling her smile against his as he kissed her again slowly.
"Hmm, not so much anymore," She quipped as she ran a hand up into his hair, leaning back slowly pulling him with her, "I think it was just from putting that thing together," She continued the act, making him chuckle.
"I love you," He grinned, laying her down on the floor as he came over her, their kisses slow and lazy, enjoying the feeling of each other. Her hands ran up his back under his shirt, pushing it up as they continued at the languid pace, his lips moving down her jaw to her neck, making her sigh softly. He held one hand on the floor near her head to hold his weight, the other running up her thigh pushing her sweater dress up, his fingers brushing gentle circles on her sensitive skin.
"Show me," She challenged with a seductive smile up at him, making him grin devilishly in response. His blood ran hot at her words, amazed at how the woman could take him from adoration to lust in sheer seconds. He didn't care if she'd always win the battle of wills between them if this was how it ended.
"Mmm," She moaned softly in encouragement when his lips brushed over her breasts as he pushed her dress the rest of the way up her thighs, fingers hooking on each side of her panties to bring them down. Regina lifted her hips up to allow him to pull them down, her breath quickening when he made no attempt to undo his own pants, realizing his intent. She bit her lip as he spread her legs, her sex aching already in anticipation as he ran his hands down her upper thighs, bending down between them. A choked moan escaped from her throat when she felt his hot, wet tongue slide over her, her hips jerking a little at the contact.
"You taste so good," He groaned, his mouth covering her more fully as he gripped her thighs with his arms, holding her still. She began to move her hips involuntarily against his mouth, moaning aloud when his tongue probed her.
"David," She whimpered, her hands coming down to his hair as she pushed herself up to him eagerly. He alternated between thrusting his tongue and sucking on her clit, making her already aching sex throb violently. Her breath quickened, senses heightened as she ground her hips with the movements of his mouth, her eyes closing and brows creasing in pleasure. She'd never felt secure enough with someone to allow something so intimate, but with David it felt natural.
"Mmm," David groaned at her responses, moving his tongue faster over her feeling her hips beginning to jerk and tense at her approaching orgasm. She cried out loudly when she reached her peak after a short while, thighs tense and hips arching from the floor towards his face. David kissed her intimately, making her whimper at the intensity before he trailed his lips up her thigh, "You're so beautiful."
Regina gazed up at him as he crawled back over her, leaning up to kiss him hungrily, having no words of response. Her hands found his belt, fingers undoing it nimbly along with the button on his jeans. He kissed her back with fervor, allowing her to taste herself on his tongue, feeling her push his pants and boxers down enough to free him, already thick and hard with arousal. Their was no time for foreplay, both of them anxious to be one as he positioned himself and sank into her heat, emitting moans from both of them.
Their movements became heated and frantic as he thrust deeply, bringing his length nearly out of her before pushing back in with deliberate force. Regina's head fell back, leaving her neck exposed for him as he quickly began peppering it with wet kisses. Her nails found the skin of his back under his shirt, crying out when he began hitting her harder, their hips grinding in urgency. She convulsed underneath him when her second orgasm washed over her, deeper and longer in nature. He groaned against the crook of her neck as he followed her, releasing inside of her with choked calling of her name.
"See?" Regina whispered breathlessly, her hands playing in the back of his hair as he leaned over her, catching his breath, "You should've let me use my magic and we could've got to this sooner."