More Than She Wanted
-Little baby dragons:
Emerald and Amelia are generally easy children. They don't cry very much, of course they can get a bit fussy if they don't get their milk as soon as they wake up, but no real hysterical fits yet.
It's two weeks since Regina and the twins returned home from hospital, and Regina soon feels the exhaustion of being a mother of two infants. Emerald and Amelia wakes up at midnight, then at 2 in the morning, at 4, and finally at six in the morning where they refuse to go back to sleep. So it's safe to say that Regina doesn't get very much sleep. Not that she's complaining or anything, but it is an adjustment. It's been seventeen years since she last had a baby in the house, and this time there's two of them.
Maleficent is very sweet to take them at six in the morning so Regina can get an hour more of sleep, and for that Regina is her eternal grateful.
It's two in the afternoon and Regina rolls her shoulders slightly as she serves a cup of tea for Snow. Mary Margaret is completely drawn towards the twins, and makes up a million excuses to go and see Regina and Maleficent.
,,Here you go dear."
,,Thank you," Snow smiles and takes a sip of the tea.
Regina slumps down on a chair next to her former stepdaughter. The brunette is completely exhausted already, and it's only been two weeks.
,,Where's Maleficent hiding?" Snow questions.
,,Upstairs. She's currently taking a-a," Regina interrupts herself midsentence and yawns. ,,A nap," she continues and shakes her head. ,,Excuse me."
,,That's alright," Snow chuckles. ,,I remember how it is to have young children."
,,I completely forgot how it could be," Regina admits and yawns again. ,,I can't remember Henry being this.. Active at night."
,,Neal was exactly the same," Snow recalls. ,,Constantly waking up and fussing. At least Emerald and Amelia goes back to sleep after they've been fed."
,,For exactly two hours," Regina says a bit darkly and rubs her face tiredly. The brunette pours herself a cup of tea and quickly realizes that she forgot the sugar. She stands up and heads back to the kitchen to find some sugar.
In the kitchen, she nearly collides with a very sleepy looking Maleficent. The blonde sorceresses' hair is slightly tousled from sleep, and her blue eyes are a bit unfocused.
Regina takes a step to the left to allow Mal to walk past her. Maleficent takes a step to the left as well.
,,Excuse me," Regina says and takes a step to the right instead.
Unfortunately, Mal does exactly the same, and Regina is certain it looks like they are in the middle of some silly dance.
She makes another attempt, and takes a step to the left.
Maleficent does exactly the same. Maybe the dragon isn't fully awake yet.
,,Seriously, left or right?" Regina says resignedly.
Mal doesn't answer, instead she simply grabs the brunette around the waist, and Regina yelps in surprise when she's swept of her feet and spun around.
And oh. Maleficent is certainly taking advance of the situation, Regina thinks to herself when she feels one of her wife's hands slip a bit lower.
,,Left," Maleficent teases as she sits Regina down on the ground.
,,I don't think that was necessary, dear," Regina says sharply, and fully aware that Snow can see them through the open door.
Maleficent smirks at her.
Regina is about to throw another sharp remark at her wife, when the unmistakably wail of an infant reaches her ear.
,,I think one of our little dragons are awake," Maleficent observes and pours herself a cup of tea.
,,Sounds like it," Regina says and scurries upstairs in top speed.
Not one, but both of their little dragons are awake, and most likely hungry, so Regina gathers both babies in her arms, and unbuttons her shirt for something that feels like the millionth time that day.
Once the feeding is done, Regina carries her daughters downstairs with her and promptly lays Amelia in Maleficent's waiting arms. The sorceresses carry the girls into the living room and places them in the newly bought bouncers. Amelia and Emerald likes to sleep in their bouncers, close to where their mothers are.
And Regina can finally sit down and drink her tea.
,,Everything okay?" Snow questions and takes a sip of her own tea.
,,Yes. They were just hungry. Again," Regina says and shakes her head.
Snow steals yet another glance at the twins in their bouncers. ,,You know, I think Emerald's eyes will go darker very soon."
,,I suspect the same," Regina nods. ,,She takes after me."
,,And Amelia takes after me," Mal says proudly.
,,Yes, that temper has to come from somewhere," Regina teases, and Maleficent narrows her blue eyes at her.
,,Watch it," the dragon scowls. ,,I do not have a temper."
,,Right. And the sky isn't blue," Regina says flatly.
Snow sniggers but nevertheless admonishes: ,,Now, now, don't start fighting, ladies."
,,Oh, we wouldn't dream of it," Regina assures. ,,I think we're just tired."
,,Indeed." Maleficent agrees.
,,I could really do with a drink right now," Regina quips.
,,Whiskey?" Maleficent offers sweetly, and Regina sends her one of her famous "Evil Queen" looks.
,,Ha ha," the brunette says unamused. ,,Someday you will stop finding that funny."
,,Never," Maleficent assures and that sly little smirk returns. ,,Your drunken self will always be a source of amusement to me."
,,Well it shouldn't be," Regina snips. ,,You should be grateful I choose to get drunk that night instead of teasing me."
,,Believe me, I have been more grateful for Whiskey in my entire life," Maleficent says firmly and gives Regina's hand a little, soft squeeze.
Snow has finished her cup of tea and has retreated to the living room, where she's currently staring herself silly at Amelia and Emerald.
Regina and Maleficent brings their teacups with them into the living room to join the younger princess.
,,They are so beautiful," Snow whispers. Clearly in awe again, and Regina and Mal is more than willing to agree with her.
,,They are," Maleficent says softly and looks fondly at her daughters.
,,I still have trouble comprehending that they are actually ours," Regina says and shakes her head. It's true. Some mornings she wakes up and has to check in the nursery to see if the babies really are there.
,,They are ours, my darling," Maleficent says and gives Regina's wrist a gentle squeeze.
The following night Regina is awakened by the sound of her daughters crying. The brunette stumbles out of bed and clumsily puts on a dressing gown. In a sleeplike state, she tiptoes into the nursery where she finds her daughters awake, displeased and hungry.
Regina murmurs soothing words as she lifts first Emerald out of the cradle. As soon as Regina unbuttons her pajama top, the infant immediately latches on. Regina leans back and tips the rocking chair back and forward. She could definitely fall asleep like this. With a baby in her arms and tipping the rocking chair back and forward.
Amelia stirs and fusses, and Regina becomes aware that she has two daughters. Emerald has already eaten and is now fast asleep against her chest, so Regina stands up and puts her daughter back in her cradle. Then she lifts Amelia. The infant coos in her arms and gives her a Maleficent kind of stare. Regina chuckles. Somebody is taking after her mother.
,,Are you hungry, baby girl? Hmm? Well, mommy better fix that, huh?"
Regina sits down in the rocking chair with Amelia in her arms. The little girl immediately drinks eagerly. The twins might be very similar when it comes to milk, but they are so different when it comes to anything else. Whatever Mal says, Amelia has definitely inherited her temper after her. And her looks. Amelia is almost an exact copy of Maleficent with her delicate nose and the shape of her eyes. Emerald is the calmer twin. Her eyes, if still blue, will obviously darken very soon, and her hair isn't as light as Amelia's is.
Amelia gurgles softly, and Regina realizes that the girl is already half asleep again. the brunette stands from the chair and carefully puts Amelia down in the cradle again.
Emerald on the other hand, is awake again, and the infant doesn't look completely contend with the situation. In fact, the little girls face twists like she's about to cry.
,,Now, now, sweetheart. There's no reason to cry," Regina soothes and strokes her daughter's cheek. Emerald stirs and twists in her blanket. Regina lets the infant wrap her tiny fingers around her thumb.
,,Shh, don't cry, sweetheart," Regina soothes. But Emerald looks like she's about to cry, so Regina improvises and sings the first thing that comes to mind:
"Looking from a window above
It's like a story of love
Can you hear me?
Came back only yesterday
I'm moving further away
Want you near me
All I needed was the love you gave
All I needed for another day
And all I ever knew
Only you.."
It works. Emerald stops stirring and looks up at her mother instead.
That encourages Regina. ,,Is that nice, sweetheart? Do you want to hear more?"
Emerald gurgles. Regina takes that as a yes.
"Sometimes when I think of her name
When it's only a game
And I need you
Listen to the words that you say
It's getting harder to stay
When I see you
All I needed was the love you gave
All I needed for another day
And all I ever knew
Only you, only you
Uh uh uh only you, only you
Only you, only you, only you"
It has the wished effect. Emerald yawns a couple of times, her grip on Regina's thumb loosens, and then the infant falls asleep again. Amelia is already fast asleep, so Regina straightens herself up and smiles softly at the sight of her daughters sleeping peacefully.
The brunette turns around and it's her intention to tiptoe back into the bedroom, but before she can do that, she's confronted with her wife leaning against the door with a very soft expression on her face.
,,Oh hey there," Regina whispers sleepily. ,,Did we wake you?"
,,I woke up when you left the bed," Maleficent shrugs.
,,Why didn't you go back to sleep?" Regina yawns and ties the robe around her again.
,,I had to find out where that lovely singing came from," Maleficent smiles.
Regina blushes. ,,I doubt that was lovely. I probably scared Emerald into falling asleep."
,,Nonsense, my darling. You have a lovely voice," Maleficent says firmly and wraps an arm around Regina.
Regina simply shrugs. She's too tired to argue right now.
,,How would you like to come back to bed, my dear?"
,,Two hours of uninterrupted sleep?" Regina quips. ,,I can hardly wait."
Mal chuckles, and then the two sorceresses leave the nursery and returns to the warm bed.
,,I don't like this," Regina states the following week.
,,Why not?" Maleficent sighs resignedly.
,,Because they are not old enough, that's why!"
,,Regina, my darling. Our girls are three weeks old now, you can't keep them inside the mansion forever."
,,They are too young to be taken out in public!" Regina tries.
,,No they're not," Mal says firmly but gently. ,,You heard doctor Whale. They have to get familiar with the outside world."
,,The outside world can damn well wait a week or two!"
Mal sighs again and spins Regina around so they are face to face. ,,Sweetie. It's only breakfast at Granny's. I'm not asking you to bring them to a dragon fight."
Regina grits her teeth. She would very much have preferred to wait a few weeks with bringing the babies anywhere. Amelia and Emerald are still so tiny. So delicate. So perfect. Bringing them anywhere and thereby expose to them to unknown dangers seems impossible. Regina wrings her hands.
,,Now I'm gonna go upstairs and get our daughters dressed while you put your coat on, alright?"
Maleficent's voice interrupts her train of disastrous thoughts, and Regina scowls at her wife.
,,Make sure to dress them warmly," Regina mutters reluctantly as Mal heads up the stairs and into the nursery.
Maleficent turns around on the top of the stairs and shakes her head at Regina.
A few minutes later (and several disastrous thoughts later), Mal returns with the twins cradled in her arms.
,,Is this clothes appropriate, O, overprotective mommy?" Maleficent quips, and Regina glares at her. The brunette measures the twin's clothes with her eyes. The babies are dressed in matching white, fluffy sleepers with little sleeping dragons printed all over the fabric and little, knitted hats.
Regina has to admit that Mal did a pretty good job at dressing them. The sleepers are nice and warm, and there's no chance the babies are gonna get cold.
,,It's.. fine," she admits reluctantly and buttons her coat slowly to procrastinate just a little.
,,Excellent," Mal says briskly and puts on her own coat and hat. ,,Shall we get going then?"
,,If we must," Regina says bitterly and puts on her gloves.
Maleficent chuckles as she places Amelia and Emerald in the double stroller.
Regina knows she can't drag this out further. The girls are warm, snuck and not to mention fast asleep in the stroller.
,,Coming?" Mal asks over her shoulder as she opens the door.
,,Mhmm." Regina says somewhat reluctantly.
The two sorceresses leave the mansion, and it doesn't take long before they reach Main Street. Regina lets Mal push the stroller and walks a little behind her wife. But Mal won't have any of it, and she promptly wraps an arm around Regina and encourages her to walk beside her instead.
Regina doesn't comment on the silent command, she simply obeys and gives her wife a hand with pushing the stroller.
The babies are fast asleep, and doesn't even wake up when they run into Belle and Rumplestiltskin who are pushing a stroller of their own. Both Rumplestiltskin and Belle peaks into the stroller and looks at the sleeping baby dragons. Belle congratulates them again, and Rumple flashes both women a smile.
Regina and Maleficent continue their little stroll. There's a slight chill in the air, and Regina fears that Emerald and Amelia will get cold, but Maleficent silence her before she gets the chance to get worked up about it.
It doesn't take long before they reach Granny's Diner, and Mal gallantly opens the door with a wave her hand while Regina pushes the stroller inside. Regina gets a distinct feeling that the dragon enjoys showing them off. Regina should probably scold her for that at some point.
Both women sit down at a table. Regina keeps looking into the stroller to make sure everything is okay until Maleficent promptly takes her hand.
,,Do you think I could have your attention for five seconds, my dear?"
,,Yes. Of course. I'm sorry," Regina says and tears her gaze away from her baby dragons.
,,Thank you. I appreciate that," Maleficent drawls and traces a lazy pattern on Regina's palm.
That feels nice. The past three weeks has been kind of hectic, and there hasn't been any time for tender touches. Both of them have been too exhausted to even kiss each other goodnight.
,,Is that nice?"
,,Mmm. Very nice," Regina replies and closes her eyes for a second.
Unfortunately, their little moment is rudely interrupted by someone coughing not so discreetly.
Regina opens her eyes to see Emma and Killian along with David and Snow standing at their table.
,,Hey," Emma says and flashes both women a smile. ,,Is that seat taken?"
,,I suppose not," Mal says and only reluctantly let's go of Regina's hand.
Emma, Killian, David and Snow sits down, and Regina takes the opportunity to steal another glance at her sleeping daughters.
,,I see you brought your little dragons," David says and chuckles when Amelia coos in her sleep.
,,Regina would have preferred to stay at home with them, isn't that right my darling?"
Regina narrows her eyes. ,,I just think that they are too young to be brought places, that's all."
Killian sniggers. ,,I'll have you know that I boarded my first ship when I six months."
,,My daughters are not going sailing, pirate!"
,,Our daughters," Maleficent corrects her and sighs. ,,And will you please relax? You are as jittery as you were the first time you and I went out in public!"
Snow chuckles and sends Regina an amused glance.
,,I am not jittery," Regina denies. ,,Not now, and I certainly weren't that day either!"
Maleficent coughs something that sounds like "liar".
,,Well they look pretty contend to me," Emma says and glances at the sleeping babies in the stroller.
Regina silently admits that the Savior is, for once, right.
,,And how are you two doing?" Snow inquires and glances from Regina to Maleficent.
,,Suffering from permanent exhaustion, but otherwise great, thank you," Maleficent says and shrugs.
Regina scoffs. ,,Right. Because obviously you are the one who has to feed them every two hours."
,,I wasn't trying to downplay your exhaustion, my dear."
Regina deflates when she's biting at Maleficent for no damn reason. ,,I know. I'm sorry."
,,Consider it forgiven and forgotten, little one."
,,"Little one?"," Emma questions and raises an eyebrow at the pet name.
,,Old pet name, kind of stuck," Mal says and shrugs.
Emerald opens her eyes and begins to fuss. Maleficent picks her up and tries to soothe her as Regina takes a few bites of her newly arrived bagel.
But it doesn't help. Emerald stirs and fusses in her mother's arms, and Maleficent shrugs.
,,I think she's hungry," she tells Regina.
Regina swallows the piece of bagel and extends her arms out. Mal places Emerald in her arms.
,,But of course you are, my little dragon," Regina says lightly and rocks Emerald a little. ,,Don't worry, mommy will fix that in a heartbeat."
Regina excuses herself to the bathroom and shudders as she leaves the booth behind. To think that she's forced to nurse her daughter in a filthy bathroom. Yes, they should most definitely have stayed at home instead.
,,Shouldn't we, my darling?" Regina questions as Emerald squirms and searches. The baby quickly finds what she's looking for, and latches on and drinks eagerly.
Regina ceases the moment to lean her head back and close her eyes for five minutes while Emerald drinks.
The baby soon finishes, and her little face twists into a yawn. Regina chuckles as she waves her hand to button her shirt.
,,That didn't take long," Emma observes when Regina comes back to the booth.
,,No," Regina says as she places the half sleeping Emerald in the stroller. ,,The babies are very good at getting the job done."
Then she notices that the stroller is short of one baby, and she pops her head up to see Mal rocking Amelia back and forward. Maleficent looks deeply sorry.
,,I think we have another one who's hungry," the dragon confesses, and Regina groans.
,,Why didn't you think of that five minutes ago?" the brunette lightly scolds her daughter.
,,Sorry I didn't spot it," Maleficent says as she places the baby in Regina's arms.
,,It's fine. Let's make another trip to the bathroom, huh sweetheart?"
To Be Continued..