More Than She Wanted
-A Complication:
High blood pressure. It sounds like a triviality. Like something that can be easily fixed, but it isn't. It's complicated. And particularly tricky when you're pregnant.
And high blood pressure is exactly what Regina has.
They find out one day where she's at the hospital for one of the final scans. Doctor Whale takes her blood pressure, and it's quickly revealed that it's sky high.
Mal is immediately concerned, and so is doctor Whale. So concerned that he puts Regina on bedrest, and informs her to abstain from anything that could cause her blood pressure to get any higher. In other words, anything that excites her.
Regina is less than pleased when she's send home with strict orders to go straight to bed. Not exactly how she planned on spending maternity leave. Is she expected to stay in her bed for an entire month? Is that what that stupid doctor thinks? Regina really don't take orders from anyone, but it sure seems like she's forced to accept this "new situation".
Neither Regina or Mal say much on the way back from the hospital. Mal because she's worried, and Regina because she is annoyed. What the hell is she supposed to do in bed all day? Watch television? Count how many times the twins move every day? Read?. She can't read nor watch television all day long, she'll go mad. She has to do something. The thought of being confined in her bed all day is absolutely terrifying. It feels like she's losing her freedom.
The drive home from the hospital goes too fast, and Regina is just about to ask her wife to slow down, but what good would it do? Maleficent is concerned, and wants to get Regina home as fast as possible.
Yes, completely terrifying that is.
Much too soon they arrive at the mansion, and Mal ushers Regina inside.
,,You heard doctor Whale. Straight to bed."
,,Can't I at least take my coat off?" Regina half-jokes.
Maleficent folds her arms across her chest and waits impatiently as Regina very slowly removes her coat and puts it on the hanger.
,,There. Your coat is off. Goodbye," Maleficent says sternly and points towards the bedroom.
,,But…"
,,Not buts, Regina. Bed. Now."
,,I think that's the least seductive thing you've ever said to me," Regina says flatly and swaggers (well, as much as you can swagger when you're eight months pregnant) upstairs towards the bedroom.
She reluctantly takes off her shoes and shimmies out of her pants. She might as well dress for the occasion, she thinks bitterly and pulls out a fresh pair of pajamas.
Regina takes her sweet time in undressing and then redressing in a pajama. Hell, she even brushes her hair even though it's completely unnecessary.
But when her hair is brushed and her pajamas is on, she can't prolong the moment any longer, and she reluctantly climbs into bed. In the middle of the day.
Alright. She's in bed. Now what, she wonders. What's she supposed to do? Sit with her hands in her lap? Sleeping is out of the question. She's not feeling one bit tired. Just aggravated.
She doesn't get the chance to be aggravated for more than five seconds before Mal appears in the bedroom.
The dragon sits down at the edge of the bed and gives Regina a worried look. ,,How are you feeling?"
Regina groans silently. ,,I'm fine. Just irritated."
,,I'm sorry my darling."
,,It's not your fault."
,,Well, technically.." Mal says and glances towards Regina's bulging stomach. ,,Then I am the one responsible for that."
,,Yes. But you're not responsible for my high blood pressure. At least I don't think so."
,,Just out of pure curiosity," Maleficent says and puts a warm hand on Regina's knee. ,,When dr. Frankenstein said that you couldn't do anything that could make your blood pressure worse, did he also mean…?"
She doesn't need to finish the sentence, Regina is perfectly aware of what she's talking about. And the dragon is not gonna like the answer.
,,Yes," the brunette says and stares at the wall. ,,I think he did."
,,So I can't touch you? Like at all?"
,,You are touching me," Regina points out and puts her hand over Mal's hand that's still resting on Regina's knee.
,,That wasn't what I meant, little one."
,,I know. And I think what you mean is out of the question at the moment."
,,Fuck." Maleficent says plainly, and Regina wrinkles her nose at the word.
,,Apparently not," the brunette quips. ,,But I feel too heavy to do anything like that anyway so.."
Maleficent sneers. ,,You are not heavy."
,,Uh.." Regina eyes wanders towards her giant baby bump. ,,Yes I am."
,,Nonsense, you are just a little bigger than usual," Mal quips, and Regina chuckles.
Then Mal's phone buzzes and the dragon takes a quick glance at the screen and curses under her breath.
,,Damn it. I'm supposed to meet Lily for lunch in five minutes. I completely forgot all about that."
,,Well, you better get going then."
Mal looks doubtful at Regina. ,,I can cancel it and stay here instead."
,,No way," Regina says firmly. ,,You are not cancelling anything because of me. You are going."
,,Are you sure?" Mal asks and tilts her head. ,,Because I'm sure Lily wouldn't mind and.."
,,Get out of here." Regina interrupts. ,,Go on. I'm still here when you come back."
,,You better be," Maleficent says mock sternly. ,,And don't go into early labors."
,,I'll try my best. Not to," Regina teases.
Maleficent only reluctantly puts on her coat and hat. She gives Regina another uncertain look when she puts on her black gloves.
,,I really don't like to leave you like this."
,,Like what?" Regina chuckles. ,,Warm and snuck in my bed?"
,,No, alone and very pregnant."
,,I'm not due until next month," Regina reminds her wife. ,,And there's no way the babies are coming that early."
Maleficent nods. ,,But if you feel anything, you will text me immediately, got it?"
,,Yes ma'am." Regina says mockingly. ,,Now get out of here before I transport you away."
,,Alright," Maleficent bends down and gives Regina a kiss. ,,I love you."
,,I love you too," Regina assures.
Maleficent gives Regina's bulging stomach a light pet and a tender kiss, and then she leaves the bedroom.
Regina looks around in the empty bedroom. Alone. Now what? She rubs her stomach in circles as she considers her options. Emerald and Amelia wakes up at the touch, and Regina quickly realizes that she's hungry.
It's quite lucky that her magic works a bit better now. That means that she doesn't have to actually get out of bed to get something to eat. Instead she can just settle for waving her hand and summon whatever she needs. And today what she needs is ice cream. More specifically, Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey.
Regina silence the tiny little part of herself that feels guilty for eating ice cream in the middle of the day. She's pregnant. She's allowed to eat ice cream if that's what she wants to.
And clearly, it's what the babies wants as well, because they kick in appreciation.
,,I think you two are going to love ice cream in a few years," Regina quips and rubs her stomach once more.
Regina buries the spoon in the ice cream and takes another bite of the cold, sweet stuff. Mmm. She should allow herself to have ice cream more often. And oh, now she owes Henry a new carton of ice cream, she realizes. This is actually his. Oh well, he's not gonna be here in a few days. Plenty of time to buy more ice cream. For both of them.
The brunette digs into the ice cream. It's quite possible that she's gonna eat a carton of ice cream alone, and then she realizes that the bedroom is much, much too quiet for her taste. She rummages through the drawer and finds her phone. If she's gonna be stuck up here alone, she needs music to cope, that's for sure.
Regina scrolls through her phone, and finds out that her playlist has been updated a bit. There's several new songs that Mal has added to her playlist. Oh well. Regina trusts her taste. She chooses the first song on her updated playlist:
"Living for you is easy living
It's easy to live when you're in love
And I'm so in love
There is nothing in life but you.."
Billie Holiday, Regina muses. Great choice. And very fitting. Regina has always imagined that Maleficent would fit quite nicely into the 1940's or 1950's era.
"I'll never regret the years I'm giving.
They're easy to give when you're in love.
I'm happy to do whatever I do, for you.
For you...maybe I'm a fool, but it's fun.
People say you rule me with one wave of your hand.
Darling, it's grand.
They just don't understand.."
Regina sniggers quietly. Rule me with one wave of your hand. Who is ruling who?
The brunette doesn't get the chance to ponder further about that little mystery when the bedroom door is pushed open.
Is Maleficent's attachment issues really that bad? But no, it's not Maleficent. In fact, it's a very tiny person wearing snow boots, a duffel coat and a cute, little red knitted hat.
,,Why hello there," Regina softly greets Neal as he shuffles closer to the bed. ,,Have you come to see me?"
Neal nods.
,,Well, that was very nice of you, sweetheart. Do you mind taking of those nice boots in here? We don't want snow inside, do we?"
Neal quickly obeys and takes of his shoes. The toddler flashes Regina a beaming smile, and Regina nods appreciatively.
,,Such a good boy you are," she coos and removes his knitted hat to ruffle his hair.
Neal giggles and tries his best to climb into the bed with her.
,,Tell me, sweetheart," Regina says as she helps Neal up. ,,Are you here all alone, hmm? Where's your mummy?"
,,Goo," Neal blabbers, and Regina chuckles.
,,Does that mean "gone", hmm? Well, in that case you just have to stay here until she finds you, right?"
,,Gina!" Neal says and wiggles under the covers with her.
Regina chuckles and ruffles Neal's hair once more. She switches off the music and helps Neal with removing his snow flaked covered coat.
,,Might as well get cozy, right little man?"
Neal doesn't answer; he has his blue eyes fixed on the ice cream, and Regina chuckles again. She waves her hand and makes a spoon and a little plate appear. She then scrapes a little ice cream up on the spoon and onto the plate.
,,Here you go, young man."
Neal squeals in delight and Regina dips the spoon into the ice cream. The toddler clearly knows what's next, for he willingly opens his mouth and lets Regina feed him the ice cream.
,,Such a good boy," Regina says and flashes Neal a smile. ,,Can you show me how good you are at waiting while I have a bit of ice cream myself?"
Neal nods and waits patiently as Regina takes a bite of the ice cream.
,,Yes! You are so smart," Regina praises. ,,We can easily make this work, can't we?"
And they can indeed. They take turns at eating ice cream, and Neal waits patiently every time it's Regina's turn.
The former queen finds that he is a lovely child, and she is not at all displeased that he interrupted her boring afternoon.
But very soon they both are interrupted by the sound of voices coming from downstairs.
Both Regina and Neal looks towards the door. And Regina listens. It sure sounds like Snow White and Emma is downstairs.
,,Who do you think that is?" she asks the toddler. ,,Is that your mother and big sister, hmm?"
,,Emmy," Neal squeals loud enough to be heard downstairs.
,,Yes, you're absolutely right. I do believe that Emma is here," Regina chuckles and gives Neal's chubby cheek an affectionate pinch.
Neal squeals enough.
And then, five seconds later or so, Regina hears the sound of footsteps approach and the bedroom door is opened, and Emma pops her head inside.
,,Hello," Regina says calmly and flashes Emma a smile
The Savior looks from Regina to Neal in the bed with her, and then she chuckles.
,,Mom!" she calls over her shoulder. ,,I found him!"
,,Thank god!" Snow yells back, sounding ever so relieved, and then the bedroom is pushed open once more, revealing the pixie haired woman with snow flakes in her hair.
,,Hello there," Regina says blithely. ,,I think I have something that belongs to you."
Snow mirrors her daughter and looks from Regina to Neal to the ice cream between them, and then she chuckles as well. ,,Yes, I think you do."
,,You shouldn't run away like that," Emma scolds her little brother. ,,We were worried about you."
,,I intended to call you in a second," Regina says quickly. ,,I didn't realize he had run away."
,,It's alright," Snow says. ,,He looks well taken care of."
,,Oh, we have had a lovely time, haven't we, Neal?"
,,Oooh," Neal confirms.
Emma chuckles but then her eyebrows knits together in confusion. ,,Why are you in bed, Regina? Are you not feeling well? Where's Maleficent?"
,,So many questions all at once," Regina drawls, and earns an eyeroll from the Savior. ,,I am in bed because I was forced to by dr. Whale. No, I am not unwell, I just happen to have high blood pressure. And Maleficent is currently having lunch with Lily."
Snow's green eyes widens, and she opens her mouth like she's going to speak, but Regina beats her to it and says:
,,And no, Neal hasn't been any trouble at all. In fact, he's company has been quite pleasant."
,,Sure looks like it," Emma says and shifts her weight slightly. ,,I'm sorry about your high blood pressure."
,,Mmm, pregnancy is funny like that," Regina says sarcastically and then adds: ,,And you should probably sit down, Emma. Standing up too long is not good."
Emma nods and sits down in the chair next to the bed, and Snow looks proudly at her newly pregnant daughter.
,,So, how are you feeling, Regina?" Snow asks and sits down in the other chair.
,,Quite well, thank you. Just tired of being pregnant I think."
,,Baby," Neal observes and puts a little hand on Regina's stomach.
,,Yes, that's right, honey," Snow confirms. ,,But actually there's two babies in Regina's tummy."
Neal's eyes widens in surprise. ,,Two, Gina?" he asks, and the former queen laughs.
,,Yes, dear. Two," she nods and holds up two fingers to confirm Snow's words.
,,Emmy, baby," the toddler babbles and points towards Emma.
Regina laughs once again. ,,Yes, that's right. Emma's pregnant too."
,,So observant, Neal," Emma comments with a grin.
,,I'm sorry he just blundered in here," Snow says apologetically.
,,It's alright," Regina assures. ,,I weren't doing anything. At least nothing sensible," she adds a bit darkly and glances towards the ice cream.
,,How long are you supposed to stay in bed?" Emma inquires and shakes off a couple of snow flakes.
,,I'm not sure. Dr. Whale said something about a week, but let's hope it won't come to that."
,,Shit. I'm sorry about that," the Savior says and shakes her head.
,,Yeah me too," Regina agrees. ,,I'll probably drive Maleficent crazy if I'm to stay up here for a week."
Snow chuckles. ,,I'm sure she'll manage."
,,Where's dragon?" Neal pipes up.
,,Excuse me?" Regina sniggers warmly. ,,Where's who?"
,,Neal, you know it's not nice to call her that!" Snow scolds half-sternly and shakes her head. ,,You have to learn to say her name properly."
The toddler cocks his head to the side and looks like he's concentrating very hard. ,,Mal." He says after a while. ,,Where's Mal?"
,,Oh," Regina says with false surprise. ,,Mal's not here right now. You'll have to settle for me, sweetie."
,,Ice cream," Neal says firmly, and causes Emma and Snow to snigger.
,,Yeah, I think he's happy as long as there's ice cream," Emma observes.
,,I think you're right about that, ahh," Regina winces slightly when she receives a rather hard kick.
,,What's wrong?" Snow asks, immediately alarmed.
,,Just the babies kicking rather hard at the moment," Regina says and then adds to Emma: ,,You have so much to look forward to."
,,Pregnancy can be difficult," Emma agrees. ,,Probably one of the reasons why I decided to wait, and not get pregnant on my honeymoon."
Snow giggles.
,,Wedding night," Regina corrects absentmindedly without realizing what she's saying.
,,Wait, what?" Emma asks and her eyebrows raises towards her hairline.
,,What?" Regina questions and furrows her brows.
,,Did you say wedding night?" Snow says and a mischievous smile is lurking at the corners of her mouth.
Damn it! There's no way she just let that slip..
,,Forget you ever heard me say that," Regina says sternly, and excuses the slip up with a case of pregnancy brain.
,,Did you get pregnant on your wedding night?" Emma chuckles.
Regina ignores her and scarfs down another bite of ice cream.
,,Did you?" Snow asks and sends Regina an amused glance.
,,Maybe," Regina says reluctantly. ,,But I don't think that's an appropriate subject when there's young children present."
She glances at Neal, but the toddler really isn't helping much. He's fast asleep, nestled comfortably under the covers.
,,Nice try," Emma says and sniggers.
,,Shut up," Regina mutters.
,,Did you really get pregnant on your wedding night?" Snow inquires very interested.
,,Mm." Regina says reluctantly. ,,Maleficent chose one hell of a day to have a slip."
,,A slip?" Emma chuckles. ,,That's what you're calling it?"
,,I'm not saying that it wasn't a very welcome slip," Regina says and rubs her belly. ,,But a slip nevertheless."
,,Be careful you don't have any more slips, Regina," Snow says and somehow manages to keep a straight face.
,,For the last time, we're not having any more children," Regina says sternly.
,,And what if Maleficent suddenly wants to be pregnant?" Emma sasses.
,,Then she'll have to find somebody else to help her with that, because I'm not going to," Regina says flatly.
Snow chuckles, and then Regina's phone buzzes. The brunette quickly picks it up and gapes when she reads the text Maleficent just send her:
"Maybe I do want to get pregnant sometimes."
To Be Continued..