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Regina laid still for a good 10 minutes, ensuring Emma was asleep.
The blonde had fallen asleep almost instantly, Regina just hoping that the little one would give her a reasonable rest before deciding she needed some more food.
As Emma had snuggled under the covers her top had rucked up to the side slightly, troubling Regina's mind as purple bruises came into site.
Red marks licked at the top of Emma's arms, and made Regina feel positively sickened by what she had been through.
Emma had risked her life over and over to save Hook from the Underworld.
Regina was just thankful they had defeated Hades and Emma hadn't been forced to give up half her heart.
And this was how he repaid her.
With violence and abuse.
It made Regina inexplicably angry as she thought of how Emma only ever thought of everyone else, she had stayed with Hook and save him from the Underworld for her Daughter.
Regina knew when she had told Emma in the Underworld that she was too good for Hook, it wasn't a lie, and Emma had known it.
Regina shuffled off the bed as the little girl started to grizzle.
Regina wrapped the discarded blanket around the baby cosily and wandered from the room, hoping Emma wouldn't panic if she awoke and both her and the baby had disappeared. Regina wandered downstairs, seeing it was now gone midnight.
She hummed quietly whist rocking the baby gently in her arms, aimlessly wandering into the lounge.
She chuckled to see Henry fast asleep on the sofa, a game controller in his hands and his head lolled back onto the cushions.
The brunette looked over at her son, remembering when he had been but a tiny little one in her arms.
For the first few weeks he had cried, and screamed, and grizzled constantly.
It had broken Regina's heart to the point where she decided she couldn't do it anymore, but when she had gone to give him back she had found she couldn't.
He was too precious to her, and her fondness for him was too great.
Even though at times he wasn't the perfect child, and ultimately adopting the Saviour's child wasn't Regina's best plan, but she loved him regardless.
Regina slipped onto the sofa next to her snoozing son, resting her hand on his upper arm, Regina shocked to find muscles rather than his pudgy youthful arms she had once loved.
"Henry, dear…" Regina wished she could just let him sleep, but the position he was in was really not ideal.
Henry simply groaned, pushing his Mother's arms away.
"You need to go up to bed, my Little Prince…" Regina brushed some wayward hair from in front of the teenager's eyes.
"I'm not little anymore…" Henry grumbled.
Regina shuffled slightly backwards to let the younger brunette stretch his arms.
The woman turned her attention briefly to the baby who was now chewing on her fingers.
The Mayor laughed throatily as she, for the first time, noted what the little girl was wearing.
It was a snuggly onesie, which when you flipped the hood up had a cat nose and ears attached.
"What are you laughing at?" Henry finally sat up, rubbing the back of his neck, which had already started to go stiff.
"Look what your Ma has put this little one in…" Regina carefully balanced the little girl in one arm, so she could pull the hood up with the other.
That was obviously the wrong thing to do, the little girls starting to screech and squeal, Regina trying to shush her.
Regina eventually offered the little girl her finger, the girl still sniffling, but sucking on the finger gently.
"Is she hurt?" Henry asked, Regina almost cooing at the worried look on her son's face.
"No, dear. Babies can't tell us if they don't want us to do something, so they just cry…" Regina tried to explain as best she could. "She obviously didn't want her hood up."
Regina smiled, pushing the little cat hood back off her thin hair.
But Henry didn't look convinced, but he nodded anyway.
They sat quietly for a few minutes, Henry obviously had something on his mind, and Regina didn't want to move too far in case she disturbed Emma's Daughter once again.
"Mom..?" Henry bit his lip, Regina studying his tired features and determining something was definitely troubling the teenager.
"What is it, Henry?" Regina looked up at the boy, whose eyes were trained on his younger Sister.
"Why was Ma crying earlier?" Regina sighed. As Regina had been trying to usher Emma quickly out of the room, he must have spotted the tears in his birth Mother's eyes. "Is she ill?" Henry asked quickly, Regina shaking her head.
"No, dear… She's just finding it hard, with a new baby and…"
"Hook is a jerk." Henry stated, his jaw fixing itself into a hard line.
Although Regina agreed fully with what Henry had said, she had no idea what his reasoning behind it was.
Henry had always been quite taken with Killian.
The Pirate would allow Henry to play with the Swords, go sailing with him and do all the adventurous things his Mother's would rather he didn't.
Firstly Emma, and then eventually Regina had both finally conceded that Killian was in fact a natural with Henry and they both got on very well.
Regina wondered what had changed.
"Why do you say that, dear?" Regina shifted the baby on her lap, so she could swing her legs sideways and sit more comfortably.
"Whenever I go over, he always shouts at Ma. For stupid things and he doesn't need to, Ma always just goes and does what he says. But sometimes at night, when he's there and sometimes when he's not, I can hear her crying through my wall…"
Henry looked downcast at the fact his Mother was hurting and there was nothing he could do about it.
"She's going to stay here from now on, dear…" Regina rubbed Henry's shoulder, truly touched by his concern for his Mother.
Henry still looked troubled, but eventually an exhausted yawn tumbled from his lips.
"Bedtime, my Little Prince…" Regina nudged Henry's shoulder with her head. Henry went to protest, but Regina continued to speak. "I'll look after you Ma, Henry, I won't let that bastard within 10 feet of her, ok?"
Henry nodded, finally satisfied that Regina was going to be taking guard duty of Emma.
He smiled, at both his Mother and his little Sister, before kissing his Mother's cheeks and clomping loudly up the stairs.
Regina settled more comfortably on the sofa, crossing her legs and settling the little girl on the criss cross of her legs.
"I wonder if you'll have beautiful blonde hair like you Mama, or hair like Henry's…" Regina smiled and made some childish noises as the little girl seemed to babble back at her. "You have your Mama's gorgeous green eyes, yes you do, and you have the same nose…"
Regina ran her finger gently over the outside of the little girl's chubby cheeks, so unlike her Mama's very defined and sharp cheek bones.
"What are we going to do with your Mama?" The baby seemed to light up at the sound of Mama, her legs kicking wildly with excitement. "She's a keeper your Mama, I bet you grow up to be brave and pretty like her."
Regina chuckled as she bopped the little girl's nose with her index finger, the baby scrunching up her nose, before giving Regina a gummy grin.
Regina continued this, enjoying the serenity of a happy baby in her arms, when she heard a scuffling coming from the doorway.
"Henry Daniel Mills…" The words died on her tongue as Emma peered her head from around the doorway. "Emma, dear…"
Regina bit her lip, not sure how long Emma had been stood their, listening to her talking to the little girl.
"Come and sit…" Regina patted the sofa space next to her, where Henry had been sat 15 minutes before hand.
"I don't know what to do…" Emma whispered, drawing her hands protectively around her slightly swelled stomach.
She looked down at the see through materiel, eternally glad she had a nursing bra on. Not that it mattered, Regina had practically co-nursed with her earlier.
"What do you want, Emma?" Regina knew right now, Emma's safety and happiness was her main concern.
Emma finally landed next to Regina on the sofa, curling her feet underneath her and used her index finger to trace the outline of her little girl's face.
"I want my baby to be safe… I don't want her to grow up with a Dad who… a Dad who… Who hits me…" Emma sobbed, letting her body curl tighter in on itself.
Regina brought up her spare arm, brushing fallen hair from in front of Emma's tired eyes.
"You're safe here Emma, you and the little one, and Henry, you're all safe." Regina rubbed Emma's back, drawing the younger woman closer to her body.
Emma just melted into Regina's touch, wrapping her arms around the brunette and holding her like a life line.
Regina shifted the little girl on her lap, so she could hug both her and her upset Mama.
"It's alright, dear… Come on, you must still be so exhausted…" Regina kissed the side of Emma's head.
As if on cue, the little girl started to sob and scream in Regina's arms.
Punching her arms and legs in the air from the frustration of not being tended to immediately.
"I'm sorry my little baby…" Emma lifted her baby from Regina's arms, cradling her gently against her chest. "I don't know what to do…" Emma repeated, her voice almost silenced by the baby's screams.
"Ok, well, you can stay here with me. Henry is here, and I can help out…" Regina saw Emma's conflicted emotions, but there was no way she was going to sit back as Emma went crawling back to Hook.
"I can't just leave him, he's her Father…" Emma bit her lip, trying to soothe the little baby.
"You can, I am not letting you go back to him." Regina said sternly.
"I have to at least explain what I'm doing. I loved him Regina." Emma's voice broke again and Regina's anger broke, sighing as she brought a hand up to cup Emma's cheek.
"I know, dear…" Regina felt Emma lean into her touch, the two almost forgetting about the screaming girl.
"I think she's hungry…" Emma blushed, finally snapping back to reality.
"She's definitely something…" Regina chuckled, pretending to plug her ears as the screams went up an octave.
Emma shuffled her bra, pushing it off her shoulder, then pulling up her top. Her cheeks going red as she realised Regina was watching.
"Sorry, dear, I'll leave you to it, do you fancy a cup of tea?" Regina asked, making sure Emma was nursing ok, before leaving the room and making her way to the Kitchen.
When Regina returned Emma was all but asleep.
Her head had rocked backwards onto the sofas cushions, the baby was no longer nursing, only pinching at Emma's breast, leaving little red nail marks.
"Emma…" Regina placed the hot cups of tea on the side, jostling Emma's arm gently.
Emma jumped in shock as she awoke, not even realising she had fallen asleep.
"Shit…" Emma looked down at the little girl who was still messing with her nipple.
Emma pushed her top down, pulling up her bra swiftly and setting about burping the little girl.
"She's got quite appetite." Regina smiled, sipping at her own tea and Emma gently patted the baby's back.
"You're telling me, I haven't slept for more than 3 hours since she's been born." Emma sighed, but smiled, she loved her Daughter and would do anything for her.
Suddenly, the little girl burped a little too violently, projectile vomiting all over Regina's sofa and Emma's lap.
Emma let out a worried cry, tears slipping down her cheeks as she started to panic.
"I'm sorry Regina, I'm so sorry, our sofa is…" Regina shook her head, simply flicking her hand, her sofa was clean and so were Emma's clothes, but the little girl's face and Emma's hand was something else.
"I think you both need a bath." Regina joked, offering to take the little girl as Emma wiped her hands with some tissues Regina had gifted to her. "You know…" Regina stood with the little girl in her arms, waiting for Emma to follow suit. "When Henry was younger I used to bath with him, her way happy enough to lie on my chest, or I'd hold him in the water in front of me. He was quite the water baby."
Regina smiled, Emma following slightly nervously.
"My bath is bigger than the one in the family bathroom, use that one and have some time, just you and her…" Regina lead them up the stairs, Emma having to use the stair rail as she was so tired.
"Thank you Regina…" Emma smiled, before tugging Regina into a hug.
"It's quite alright, dear…" Regina deposited a chaste kiss on Emma's cheek. "Now go and have a bath, before you fall asleep on me…" Regina chuckled, chasing the blonde into the bathroom.
Emma emerged from the bathroom, almost an hour later, Regina having called through the door a fair number of times to make sure she was ok.
She first went to the cot, putting the little girl down, then dragged her feet warily over to the bed. Regina was sat in her silk pyjamas, reading a book, Emma making note of the glasses which were pushed up on the brunette's nose.
"Get in dear, it's almost 2am, you must be shattered…" Regina pulled the covers back and Emma snuggled immediately down, unconsciously snuggling close to Regina's side.
"Mhmm…" Emma just rubbed her face into the big pillows, sighing lightly as Regina turned off the light.
"I hope you're not a snorer." Regina joked, chuckling as she heard Emma's already slumbering body start to snore lightly.
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