"We're home!" Emma called as she let herself into her parents' apartment. Regina followed behind and closed the door. She felt like she was intruding on a special family moment but Emma had insisted she be there when she told Henry and her parents. Regina had worried slightly that Emma wouldn't accept her help and shut her out of the pregnancy completely. However Emma had been the complete opposite. So far she had involved Regina in every little thing related to her pregnancy without hesitation.
"Mum!" Henry grinned as he bounded down the stairs. He flung his arms around Emma and hugged her tightly before giving Regina a tight hug too.
"Where's your grandparents?" the blonde asked as she glanced around the small apartment.
"Emma." Snow smiled as she appeared at the top of the stairs. "You're back early." She descended the stairs and embraced her daughter in a hug.
"Hey mum. Hey dad," Emma greeted as David followed his wife's lead and hugged her.
"Can you tell us now?" Henry asked hopefully. He had been racking his brain all night to try and figure out what his mothers were doing out of town.
"Okay." Emma took a deep breath and glanced at Regina quickly. "I went to a hospital. I'm fine." She held up both hands to stop any questions that were ready to fly from her mother and her son's mouth. "I'm pregnant." She clasped her hands together in front of her and held her breath as she waited for a reaction.
"Oh, Emma." Snow was the first one to react and she smiled widely as she embraced her daughter in another hug. "Congratulations. That's wonderful news. Another grandchild. This is amazing."
"So, I'm going to be like a big brother?" Henry asked as a smiled crossed his face. "Cool." He was already picturing a little brother he could teach things to. Emma grinned back at them before she turned her attention to David who glanced at his family before he smiled.
"That's wonderful news, Emma." He took gave her a hug. "Really."
"I'm so glad you're all happy." Emma felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had been worried about their reactions. She knew David wasn't Killian's biggest fan so she was worried that he wouldn't be happy about the pregnancy.
"I know obviously Killian isn't here to help me raise the baby but Regina has offered to help me. We already have Henry so it wouldn't be disrupting her life much."
Snow smiled and looked between the two women. She was still amazed at how far Regina had come. There was a time when Regina wouldn't have helped anyone, only herself. The fact that Regina had let Emma into her life and had become friends with the blonde was amazing and now she had offered to help Emma raise her baby. Snow knew that her daughter had a special spot in Regina's heart. She could see it in the mayor's eyes. Regina shifted her weight from foot to foot and looked around the room awkwardly. She could feel Snow's eyes on her and she felt vulnerable, like Snow could see inside her head.
"What's one more child between us?" Regina asked and flicked some hair to the side. "Anyway, I should get back." She gave a small nod and turned towards the door. Snow caught up with her just outside.
"Thank you for going with Emma, Regina. I'm glad she has you." Snow smiled at her former step-mother who gave a small nod. "You know, you really have changed and Henry and this baby are lucky to have you." The younger woman stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the mayor. Regina was shocked at the sudden hug at first but then returned the hug and couldn't help the small smile that graced her lips. Snow pulled back and bounded back into her apartment.
Henry had retreated back up the stairs to retrieve his things while Emma was rummaging in the fridge. Snow watched her daughter for a few minutes before she spoke.
"Are you excited?"
Emma shut the fridge and turned to face her mother. "I am now. I wasn't sure what to do at first," she admitted. "I thought I was going to be alone in this and that scared me. Then I talked to Regina and she told me that she'd help me."
"That's amazing. She's a good friend." Snow began to tread carefully. Regina offering to help raise Emma's baby was more than an act of friendship. There was something more there, Snow was sure.
"I was shocked when she offered. I thought maybe she was just saying it to make me feel better but she found the hospital and took me there." The blonde gave a small shrug. Grateful was an understatement for how she felt about Regina. She was making it all easier just by being by her side.
"Have you thought about how you will raise this baby together?" Snow watched her daughter's face. She was slowly learning Emma's body language and any tells she had. One of the first things Snow had noticed was how Emma's eyes seemed to change colour with her mood. The colour they were now was a colour Snow hadn't seen before and she couldn't help but wonder.
Emma paused as she looked back at her mother. "Uh, no," she admitted. "We haven't actually discussed that."
"You should. You both need to know how you're going to do this. How involved does Regina want to be? Will she just be there for when you need help or does she want to it to be like with Henry?"
Emma was quiet as she thought about it. Regina had no obligation to the baby so maybe she only wanted to offer support when Emma needed it. With Henry they had shared him since Emma had come into his life so even though she missed him when he was with Regina, it was normal. This baby would be different. How would she feel when the baby went to spend a few days with Regina? And when would that start?
"Talk to her, Emma." Snow gently squeezed the tops of her daughter's arms who nodded back lost in her own thoughts. "This is so exciting. A baby!" Snow beamed. She still couldn't believe it. She was going to be a grandmother again and this time they would all be a part of the baby's life. This baby would have the whole family around them from the day they are born, they would all make sure of that.
xXx
"Zelena, I'm home," Regina called as she let herself into her home. Zelena and Robyn had been staying with her since they had all come back from the underworld. It had been a bit of an adjustment at first for all of them. There had been a few arguments about the rearrangements but the two sisters had finally found a comfortable routine for all of them.
"Regina, did you have a good trip?" Zelena appeared from the kitchen with a bottle in her hands.
"I did, thank you." Regina gave a nod and followed the redhead into the lounge. Robyn was laid on a play mat in the middle of the room and was gurgling away to herself. The mayor couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. Her little niece had certainly made an impact on her. It was nice having the baby around. It was nice having Zelena close as well. The two sisters were starting to bond and form a close relationship.
Zelena carefully picked her daughter up from the floor and settled them into a chair before she began to feed her. "So, do I get to know what this super-secret trip was all about?" She raised her eyes to watch her younger sister sigh and flop down onto the sofa.
"You have to promise not to say anything to anyone," Regina warned. She was still learning to trust Zelena and so far Zelena hadn't done anything to break the building trust.
"Not a word."
"Okay." Regina sat forward to shrug her coat off before she leaned back again. "Emma is pregnant. We went to a hospital out of town because she doesn't want anyone to know just yet. She told Henry and her parents when we got back."
"Oh." Zelena's eyes widened in shock. "The saviour is reproducing. Maybe I should speed her pregnancy up like she did mine," she mumbled to herself. Of course Zelena wouldn't. She was learning that they were a big, dysfunctional family and even though they may fight they would never actually intentionally hurt anyone. She was also learning that they could bitch and moan about each other as much as they wanted because they were family but if anyone else tried then they all rallied together to protect that person. She was starting to learn a lot about family life and she was enjoying it. Zelena was still surprised that she was being classed as family with the Charmings. They were still a little wary but they did not hesitate to include her.
"Zelena," Regina warned.
"I know, I won't, I promise. Wow, she's pregnant. That's huge. Being a single parent isn't easy." The redhead looked down at her own bundle of joy and she couldn't help but smile at her. As hard as it was to be a single mother, she wouldn't change Robyn for the world. She was what made life worth living.
"I told her I'd help raise the baby." Regina looked to her sister and waited for her response. She knew that Zelena wouldn't hold back with how she felt.
"You did what?" The redhead's mouth gaped open in shock. "Are you crazy?"
"Probably," the mayor admitted. The more she said it out loud, the crazier it sounded. She was going to raise a baby with her friend. It wasn't like they were a couple, they were just friends.
"Am I missing something here?" Zelena frowned. She was trying to figure out how on earth her sister came to that solution. Regina sighed as she tried to find the right words to explain to her sister. She wasn't even sure she could explain to herself.
"Emma gave me Henry. She is the reason I am a mother. We already share Henry so we know how to co-parent. Emma's scared to do this alone and she doesn't want to put on her parents." She gave a small shrug. "I kind of miss the baby stage, having Robyn here has made me realise that."
Zelena continued to frown as she sat her daughter up to burp her. "This won't be the same as Henry. You adopted Henry so he is yours as well. This baby, are you going to adopt it? What would they even call you?"
Regina let out another sigh and briefly closed her eyes as she realised they would need to come up with some sort of system for it to work. Zelena was right, it wasn't going to be the same as with Henry. What if Emma later on changed her mind? Regina wouldn't have a say with the child. They were not hers. Zelena put Robyn back on her play mat and sat next to her sister on the sofa and studied her face.
"Regina, do you love Emma?" she asked bluntly. She couldn't think of any other reason why her sister was doing this.
"What? No!" Regina tried to brush her sister's comment off. It was a crazy idea. She was not in love with Emma Swan. She was a friend and Henry's mother. That's all she was to Regina.
"Oh my god!" Zelena gasped and raised her hands to her mouth. "You love her!"
"No, I don't not." The brunette glared at the older woman. "I do not love her. She's a friend."
"Regina, look at you. You're offering to raise a child with her. You've just taken her out of town to go to a hospital. Regina, you love her." The redhead leaned closer to her sister who shifted uncomfortably in her seat and avoided her gaze. "Who would have thought it would be the saviour who captured your heart."
"Zelena," Regina warned.
"Hey, there's no judgment coming from me." She held her hands up. "You can't help who you love. Have you told her how you feel?"
"No, because I don't love her." Regina folded her arms across her chest like a petulant child, a habit she had picked up from Emma.
"Fine, you don't love her. That dreamy look in your eyes is just a figment of my imagination." Zelena stood up from the sofa and made her way into the kitchen to wash up Robyn's bottle.
"I don't love her." Regina stood up and followed her older sister into the kitchen. "I don't."
"Okay, tell me this. What do you picture when you think about Emma's baby? Do you picture Emma and the baby? Or you and the baby? Or both of you together with the baby?"
Regina paused as she let her sister's words sink in. She had been picturing the two of them together with the baby. She had pictured the two of them pushing the pram down the street together and cooing over the little bundle. She had pictured them bathing the baby together before putting them down to sleep.
"Oh," Regina whispered as she suddenly realised that her sister was right. When had that happened? When had her feelings for Emma changed?
"Exactly." Zelena grinned happy with the answer before she turned back to face the sink. Regina sat down in a chair at the table as she let the realisation wash over her.
A/N: So, one of them has finally come to realise their feelings with a little help ;) I hope you enjoyed!