It had been a long day. Emma had woken up before dawn that morning with what she assumed were gas pains and no matter how hard she had tried she had been unable to get back to sleep. Eventually, she had given up, gotten dressed, left a note for Henry on the kitchen counter and driven to Granny's for a bear claw and her one small coffee a day, in the hopes they would perk her up a little.

Already tired and yawning before she'd even stepped foot into the station, Emma could tell that it was going to be one of those never-ending days. In fairness it had started out easily enough. The pastry and hot coffee had woken her up enough to sort out some of the paperwork piled on her desk until her deputies had arrived for their shifts.

And then she had gone out on patrol. The rest of her day had turned into what felt like a circus, dealing with everything from organising the removal of a tree strewn across the road from the previous night's gale force winds, to dealing with some truant teenagers, to finding Pongo who had run off again, then to Mrs Banner's call about a bird that had flown into her house and she couldn't get out – she had surprisingly been correct about that and to Emma's relief when she arrived, the woman was sporting a pair of thick glasses – then a trip to the Rabbit Hole where she had to sort out a day drinking skirmish between Will Scarlett and one of the few Merry Men who had decided to remain in Storybrooke.

To top of the entire day, there was a fire at the pharmacy, expertly extinguished by the fire department, though they suspected arson, which resulted in Emma canvassing the area and taking statements from anyone nearby.

By the time she had finally gotten home, exhaustedly pushing her way through the front door and collapsing on the couch next to Henry, it was late. She had managed to call him earlier, telling him to order pizza, and pay with the cash she left in the kitchen, and he had already eaten and was sitting next to her playing the Xbox.

"You do your homework first?" Emma asked tiredly.

"Course I did," Henry said, "you gonna check it?"

Something Regina would definitely do, but Emma replied, "nah, I trust you."

Henry grinned, eyes still focused on his game, but a few moments later, he turned to face his mother, and looked at her with concern.

"Ma, you okay?" he asked her.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine kid, just tired. It's been a long day," Emma replied with a slight grimace.

"Are you sure? You don't look great," Henry said.

"Geez, thanks, that's exactly what every woman wants to hear," Emma replied.

"You want me to grab you some pizza?" He asked.

Despite not feeling hungry at all, Emma knew she needed to eat after only having time to scoff down a banana in between chasing Pongo around the neighbourhood and then a bird through an old woman's house.

"Sure kid, thanks," she agreed as she leaned back further into the couch, resting her head and closing her eyes for a moment.

As she rested, Emma lay one hand over her stomach as it tightened uncomfortably. The pains she had woken up to that morning had not disappeared over the course of the day, instead growing more and more uncomfortable. It took until almost the afternoon, when the discomfort had not disappeared, but continued sporadically over the day, before the blonde had recognised what it was. She'd felt it while pregnant with Henry, an uncomfortable, bordering on painful sensation of Braxton Hicks contractions.

Henry returned to the room just as the feeling was receding, the scrunch on Emma's face smoothing as he placed the plate on her lap.

"Are you sure you're okay Ma?" he asked again.

"I'm fine Henry, really," Emma assured him. "I think I just need to eat and get some rest."

Henry accepted her answer without comment, though was clearly not completely convinced and kept shooting glances at her right up until she decided to head up to bed. Emma loaded her plate into the dishwasher and made her way upstairs, not before ruffling the teenager's hair as she walked past and reminding him not to stay up too late.

She made her way into her bathroom to shower, enjoying the warmth of the spray as it loosened her body after an exhaustingly long day. Her relaxing shower interrupted by yet another squeeze of pain in her abdomen. She rested her hands on the wall of the shower until it passed before turning off the water, drying off and pulling on a set of pyjamas, peeing and then brushing her teeth before stumbling wearily to her bed. She had been lying down for barely five minutes, her eyes having closed the second her head hit the pillow and she had nearly been asleep, when her bladder decided to make itself known. Again. The blonde forced her eyes open with a frustrated growl before standing up to go back to the toilet. Emma had grumbled many times over the last few months that her bladder was behaving more like a leaky faucet these days.

As she pulled down her underwear, though, she was startled to notice some red spots. Immediately, she felt her heart drop into her stomach as she felt panic begin to take hold of her as she tried to figure out what she was seeing. And what she was seeing was blood. She was bleeding and had been feeling pain all day. Pain that she had ignored and dismissed as nothing serious. Her rational mind seemed to disappear as a crushing sense of guilt and panic tore through her. Her heart began to race, thumping loudly in her chest, she felt clammy all over and felt as though her lungs were squeezing shut, each breath more difficult to suck in than the last. She felt pain tear through her abdomen again, stronger than the previous ones, causing her to yelp. She stood on unsteady legs, whole body trembling as she made her way back to her bedroom, intent on finding her phone to call for help. She'd made it to the edge of her bed when a knock sounded at her door.

"Ma?" Henry's voice called out. "Is everything okay? I heard a noise."

"Henry," Emma gasped out.

"Ma, I'm coming in," Henry said as the door swung open.

"Ma? What's wrong?" He asked, sounding worried.

"I don't know, I thought it was just Braxton hicks but–," she tried to explain, but at that moment, pain rippled through her again, sharper than the last ones and she fell to her knees, crying out.

"Ma?" Henry rushed forward; the panic evident in his voice. "I'm calling Mom," he said decisively as he put his arm around Emma and pulled his phone out of his pocket with the other hand.

Emma, who's eyes were still squeezed shut and teeth gritted only nodded in response, hands on the floor in front of her, head bowed in pain.

"Mom?" she heard Henry's voice from beside her. "Mom, you have to come quick, something's wrong with Ma."

There was barely a second between Henry speaking and a cloud of purple vapour appearing in the corner of the room.

"Emma?"

Emma looked up at the new voice and whatever composure she'd manage to hang onto completely vanished as soon as she laid eyes on the other woman. The blonde wailed as pain gripped her entire body and she felt her arms reaching out for the woman as desperately as if the brunette were a lifeboat and she was drowning in the middle of the ocean. Regina sunk to the floor in front of the kneeling blonde.

"Emma, what's wrong?" She leaned forward for the distraught woman to collapse against her body, arms locking around her in a death grip.

"I don't know," the blonde sobbed between her shallow, erratic breaths. "But something doesn't feel right."

"Okay, can you tell me what happened?" Emma could hear Regina's gentle voice, feel her rubbing her back in a soothing manner, but she had lost all semblance of control over her emotions at this point. Her chest felt tight as her heart continued to pound ferociously in her chest as she tried to speak.

"I don't know, I've been having cramps on and off all day. I thought it was just Braxton Hicks but then it got worse and now I'm bleeding," she cried out, tears spilling down her cheeks onto the brunette's shoulder. "I'm scared," she sobbed.

"I'm here Emma, try and focus on your breathing for me," Regina coached her, hand never wavering from the gentle rubbing on her back. "In and out, nice and slow."

The blonde listened to the soothing voice counting in her ear. "Copy me. In… two… three… four. Hold… two… three… four.

Emma tried to mimic the brunette's steady breaths as another wave of pain tore through her abdomen.

"Oh God, it hurts Gina," she cried, fingers gripping Regina's silky pyjama top in her fists.

"Okay, Emma," Regina pulled away to look at her and Emma could barely make her out through the tears in her eyes. "I can see that you're panicking and in a lot of pain so I'm going to take you to the hospital," Regina said in a firm tone as though she was expecting an argument, but Emma just nodded her head in agreement.

"Alright, I'm not going to waste time driving or calling an ambulance, I'm going to poof us there right now, okay?" Regina said, her voice still a soothing balm to Emma's racing heart. "That means I need you to stand up for me. Can you do that?"

Emma grunted in response, unable to form any more words through the pain and panic.

"Mom?" Henry's voice was full of worry.

"Henry, can you help me lift your mother?" Regina asked. He nodded, and Emma felt her body slowly rising, the two brunettes at her sides, supporting her weight.

"Is Ma gonna be alright? And the baby?" Henry asked, his voice as quiet and unsure as if he were five years old again, asking about monsters in his closet. Emma squeezed her eyes shut as Regina answered.

"I hope so, Henry. I need you to call your grandparent's and tell them what's happened. Get one of them to come here and pick you up," She instructed, before purple smoke encompassed the two women and whisked them away.

The next time she opened her eyes, she found that Regina had transported them directly into the middle of the emergency room.

"I need help here!"

Emma felt hands touching her, moving her body into a prone position, felt herself be wheeled down a corridor, heard a flurry of voices around her.

"I need a monitor in here, stat!"

"Someone page Dr Quinn and Dr Harman and get them down here now!"

"I need an IV line inserted."

"Someone get that mask on her, she's hyperventilating!"

"Madam Mayor, I need you to leave now," another voice added.

"No." A firm reply.

"Ma'am, we can't do our jobs if you're here in the way. If you want us to make sure the Sherriff is okay, I need you to go out to the waiting room."

"I want all the best nurses and doctors working on Miss Swan, if they're not on shift, I expect them to be paged immediately and brought in right now."

"Gina?" Emma managed to make her lips move.

Amidst the noise and chaos, Regina's voice floated above it all and Emma turned to face the brunette who had been pushed back against the wall but was now elbowing her way past the nurses.

"Gina?" Emma's voice was slurred now, whatever had been put into the IV working quickly, her entire body feeling heavy, eyelids closing before wrenching open again so she could focus on the brunette by her side.

She could see Regina's lips moving but could not make out any words as her eyes slid shut again and all she could see was black.

When Emma woke again it was to an incessant beeping noise by her head. She licked her lips, and opened her eyes slowly. She was greeted by a dimly lit, unfamiliar room. She turned her head to the side to see a row of chairs pulled up to the side of the hospital bed she now recognised she was in, filled by her mother, Regina and behind them, sprawled on a couch under the window, was Henry. All three were asleep in various positions, Henry lying flat on his stomach, leg dangling off the side, Snow curled up sideways on her chair, and Regina, head resting in her hand, her arm propped up by the chair. Emma reached out to the brunette, fingers just brushing the woman's wrist, causing her to stir.

"Emma?" Regina sat up at once, stretching her body out before leaning forward and grasping the blonde's hand between her own.

"Hey," Emma's voice was rough and she coughed gently to clear it, which woke the other sleeping woman.

"Emma?" Snow swivelled in her seat and Emma could see the mix of concern and relief in her mother's eyes. "I'm so glad you're awake, we were all a bit worried there."

"Me too," Emma admitted. "Is the baby okay?" The monitor beside her began to beep loudly in response to Emma's heart rate as she looked down at her stomach.

"Slow deep breaths, Emma." And like she had before, Regina coached her through, counting slowly until Emma's breaths had returned to normal.

"The doctors haven't told us anything yet, I'll go and let them know you're awake," Snow said.

She quietly stood and left the room, but not before flicking her gaze to Emma's hand, which was still encased in Regina's. Emma relaxed her grip, which had been squeezing tightly as if holding for dear life before she pulled their hands to her lips and planting a soft peck to the back of a hand.

"Thank you," she whispered, eyes beginning to water. "For coming when you did."

"Emma," Regina breathed out as she disentangled their fingers and reached out to cup the blonde's cheek, swiping a fat tear away with her thumb. "How many times do I have to tell you that I will always be there for you."

The blonde chuckled wetly, turning her head slightly to kiss the hand still resting on her cheek.

"I know, but I was so scared and then you were there and even though I was still scared, I felt safe. Like, as soon as you arrived, I knew that I'd be okay," Emma tried to explain. "So, thank you, for being there."

"Always," Regina murmured as she leaned forward and rested their foreheads together.

"Regina," Emma said in a small voice, after a few moments of silence as they just revelled in each other's embrace.

"Yes dear?"

"What if something is wrong with the baby? I was feeling pain all day and I just ignored it and if something happens, it's my fault. I should've –"

"Emma, stop," Regina interrupted. "Look."

The brunette gestured to the monitors beside Emma's bed. "That one is tracking your heart," she pointed to the monitor that had started beeping earlier, numbers slowly creeping up as Emma's breathing and heart quickened.

"But look, this one," Regina pointed to another monitor, "is the baby."

Emma stared at the screen, the numbers, while not meaning anything to her, remained steady and there were no alarms going. She breathed out a sigh of relief and leaned back on the pillows.

The blonde turned her head to face the woman beside her, shooting her a soft smile, and watched through slightly blurred eyes, as she leaned towards her, laying a gentle kiss on her lips. Emma opened her lips slightly, allowing her tongue to flick out and swipe at the brunette before they heard a grunt and a groggy, "Ma?" come from the couch.

Regina wrenched herself away from the blonde, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth as subtly as she could before turning around to face the teenager.

Emma looked past the brunette to see Henry rubbing his own bleary eyes as he swung his legs to the side of the couch and stood up before stumbling over to her side and sinking into the chair beside his mother. His face gave no indication that he had seen, or realised what his mother's had just been doing.

"Hey bud."

"Are you okay, Ma?" Henry asked. "Is the baby alright? What happened?"

"We don't know yet, Henry, we're waiting for the doctor." Regina said. "Snow just left to find someone."

Emma looked at the mother and son beside her and took in just how dishevelled they both looked. Henry, hair and clothes in complete disarray, and Regina, who's usually perfectly pressed clothes had a few creases.

"Wait, what time is it? How long have I been here?" Emma asked.

Regina looked to the watch on her wrist and answered.

"It's just past 9:30 in the morning. I brought you here at about 10pm last night so it's been around 12 hours," Regina explained.

"And you've been here the whole time?" Emma asked.

"Well, they made us wait in the waiting room for a few hours while they were doing tests and then once they settled you in the room, they let us come in and wait here. Your father was here until a few hours ago but he had to go and pick Neal up from Granny's and take him to day care and then he headed to the station to work. He's covering for you as Sherriff."

Emma nodded at the brunette's words as Henry chimed in.

"Grandma already called the school and said she's not going to be in today and Mom called for me." He said it firmly, as though expecting the blonde to argue and insist that he go to school for the day but Emma just smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Thank you for being there and helping me last night kid," Emma said. "I know it must have been scary for you and I'm so proud that you were able to stay calm."

"I was – am," Henry corrected himself, "I am scared for you Ma, I just want everything to be okay," he said.

Before Emma could say anything to comfort him, though, Snow entered the room again, followed by a line of medical staff.

A swarm of nurses began checking over Emma, one looking at the monitors attached to Emma, another checking the screens attached to the monitors for the baby, another two taking it in turns to poke, prod and examine her. The doctor, at least Emma assumed that's who she was, stood at the end of the bed reading the medical chart she'd picked up from the end of her bed, looking through the notes the nurses had made through the night.

Once she had perused the documents, she lifted her head to greet the room.

"Good morning, Sherriff," the doctor said with a warm smile and a nod to the other three occupants, sitting up expectantly in the chairs beside the bed. "My name is Dr. Quinn, I was here when you were admitted last night and am the doctor on your case."

"Is the baby okay?" Emma asked immediately.

"Your baby is fine," Dr. Quinn assured her and Emma breathed out a sigh of relief. "I do have some concerns about you though," the doctor continued in a firm voice.

"Is Ma going to be alright?" Henry said, voice wobbling a little in alarm, and Emma watched as Regina automatically reached out to comfort him.

"Well, Miss Swan, you were admitted last night in the midst of what seemed to be a mild panic attack. We administered a sedative to calm you down and we rushed you through for some tests and found that you were extremely dehydrated, your blood pressure is abnormally high and you presented with some vaginal bleeding," Dr. Quinn explained. "My biggest concern is lowering your blood pressure because if left untreated it can lead to low birth weight for the baby, kidney problems, placental abruption and pre-eclampsia which are all complications I'd much rather avoid."

"How do we do that?" Regina asked immediately, in a tone of voice she might use at a council meeting.

"There are a few things we can do. We've given you some blood pressure medication but I'd rather avoid relying on that if we can. Managing diet and lowering salt intake are a good place to start, keep taking your prenatal vitamins, as well as reducing stress," Dr Quinn informed them before hesitating. The tall doctor took a few steps forward before speaking again in a slightly softer voice.

"Sherriff, I understand it from your father that you had a busier than normal day yesterday?"

"Well, a little, but I've handled way worse," Emma defended.

"I'm sure you have, but you need to remember that you are 28 weeks pregnant. Your body is under additional stress at the moment, which means you need to take it easier than you have been."

Emma opened her mouth to argue but before she could, Dr. Quinn spoke again. "I can already tell you're going to fight me on this, which is why I'm not going to suggest restricting you to bed rest until delivery, but I am going to say that you need two weeks of bed rest to give your body a break, and then light duties if you decide to return to work."

Emma looked at the other two women in the room and could see they were both going to adamantly side with the doctor. She slumped back in the bed in resignation.

"Another thing I'd like to discuss with you is your follow up appointments. I understand that your regular OBGYN is Dr Hughes, who practices a few towns over?"
"Yes," Emma said.

"Well considering you're now more of a high-risk pregnancy, in my professional opinion, you might consider transferring your primary care to Storybrooke."

Before Emma could reply, Dr. Quinn continued, "I know it's a big decision, so take some time to think about it and if you choose to transfer your care here, with your consent, Dr. Hughes can send over all your files so that we are all on the same page. Regardless of where you choose to continue your care, I am going to schedule you for some additional prenatal appointments just so we can keep a close eye on everything."

"What about the bleeding? I'd had pain all day on and off and I thought it was just Braxton Hicks but then I was bleeding and that's what made me panic the most," Emma asked the question that had been bothering her the most.

"Some spotting is perfectly normal during pregnancy. Keep in mind that the Braxton Hicks contractions you were experiencing can be exacerbated by stress and dehydration," Emma shrunk into herself a little more, "which I think we can all agree on were contributing factors yesterday."

Regina smirked at the sass from the doctor.

"I'm going to keep you here for the rest of the day so we can run a few more tests and make sure we haven't missed anything, but you should be discharged by this evening," Dr. Quinn added before leaving the room.

"Oh Emma," Snow said as she hugged her daughter.

"Mom, I'm fine, you heard the doctor," Emma assured her.

"You are not fine," Snow fretted, standing from her chair and pacing at the foot of the bed anxiously. "I was listening Emma, and what the doctor said is that you need to slow down and take it easy. You're working too hard and you need to give yourself a break, look what nearly happened."

Emma felt a flood of emotions wash over her at her mother's words. Guilt, anger, exhaustion, worry and she couldn't quite tell if she wanted to burst into tears or start yelling. Before she could do either, she felt a gentle pressure on her shoulder. She turned to face Regina and the boiling within her seemed to simmer as she looked her in the eyes and felt the comforting weight of her touch.

"Henry, can you go to the café downstairs and get us some food please? Take my purse with you," Regina asked, her tone leaving no room for argument. Emma was grateful, whatever conversation they were about to have she didn't want Henry to be there to witness it.

The teenager slunk out of the room after hugging the blonde with a whispered, "I'll be back soon."

"Snow, I think Emma understands what the doctor was saying and I don't think blaming her is going to do anyone any favours," Regina said firmly.

The short brunette took a deep breath and walked around to Emma's free side, standing by Emma's head opposite Regina. She reached out to cup Emma's chin, bringing her daughters eyes to her.

"Emma, it's not your fault," Snow said gently, gaze earnest. "I didn't mean that at all sweetheart, I was just worried. I worry about you and the baby and all I want is for you to be okay. I know you've never had anyone to worry about you before and you're used to looking after yourself, but Emma, you have so many people know who care about you. Me, your father, Henry, Regina. We just want to know you're okay and make sure you and the baby are healthy," Snow said as she placed a gentle kiss on a golden crown.

"Your mother's right, Emma," Regina added. "I know that you blame yourself. You think you should have paid more attention to your body yesterday, but this kind of thing can happen all the time. You and the baby are okay, and we're all going to make sure it stays that way, okay?" Regina said.

"I know, I just wish I'd been more careful," Emma muttered.

"And you will be," Regina said.

"Alright sweetheart, I'm going to swing by your place and pack you a bag okay?" Snow said and Emma turned to look at her, confused.

"Why?"

"The doctor's ordered bed rest, remember?" Snow said.

"I know."

"So I'll pack you a bag of clothes so you can stay with your father and I," Snow said.

"What? No, I can look after myself," Emma argued, only to be received by twin looks of disbelief. "I can stay at my own house, I promise I'll rest the whole time," Emma tried to reason.

"Miss Swan," Regina pulled out her slightly exasperated voice now, as though she were dealing with a stubborn council member. "Bed rest means you stay in bed. That means no getting up to cook, no walking around the house, no doing laundry. It means you need to be somewhere someone can help you."
"Fine," Emma conceded.

"Great it's settled. I'll go grab a bag for you," Snow said, clapping her hands together. Emma refrained from grimacing, but that didn't stop Regina from regarding her with a firm stare. Emma watched as the mayor watched her carefully before seemingly making her mind up about something.

"Snow, perhaps the loft isn't the best place for Emma to rest and recuperate. There's not a huge amount of space there and I know Neal is teething which means he'll be crying and you'll have your hands full already," Regina said.

"So where do you suggest?" Snow asked, her eyebrows raised.

"She can stay at my house. It's big, which means she'll have her own space, it's quiet so she can rest and she'll be able to be with Henry," Regina reasoned.

"Emma?" Snow asked, regarding her daughter. "It's up to you."

Emma flushed under the two women's gazes.

"Regina's right, mom. The loft will be crowded and noisy and if I stay at the mansion, it means I'll get to be with Henry," Emma said softly, looking down at her lap.

Whatever reaction she was expecting from her mother, it wasn't a simple "okay" in agreement. The blonde looked up to see her mother looking at her with a small glint of amusement in her eye.

"What?" Emma asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," her mother replied lightly. "I love you sweetheart and if you want to stay with Regina and Henry I'm not going to argue. I want you to be happy and comfortable."

"Thanks mom."

"Now, how about I go and pack a bag for you and bring it back here?" the shorter brunette offered.

Once Snow had left, Emma and Regina only had a few moments alone before Henry returned with a handful of sandwiches, muffins and bottles of water.

"Where's grandma?" he asked.

Emma was mid chew, so Regina took the liberty of answering.

"Your mother is going to spend a few weeks at our house so Snow has gone to pack her a bag."

"Awesome, you can help me with the level I'm stuck on," Henry nodded as he took a large bite out of the sandwich in his hands.

"No, she will not be," Regina denied. "Your mother will be resting."

"Playing the Xbox is resting," Henry began to argue, but wilted quickly under the firm glare directed at him.

"He's not wrong," Emma tried, but she too was fixed with a withering stare. The blonde, however, was not so easily intimidated. "I can play the Xbox lying down on the couch."

"Bed rest means you will be lying in a bed, Emma," Regina said in exasperation.

"Bed rest means nothing strenuous and nothing that will increase your heart rate or stress levels. Much like I know that ridiculous game will."

Emma rolled her eyes, but chose not to argue further.

"Will I at least be allowed a laptop to watch something?" she needled.

"We'll see," Regina said curtly. Emma just smiled. For all the brunette's hard exterior and snapping retorts, the blonde knew it was a façade hiding genuine concern.

"I'll be on my best behaviour," Emma said earnestly. "You'll see."

And on her best behaviour she had been. Well, she had definitely tried to be, for a while. Once she had been discharged from the hospital and released into The Mills' care, she had followed every instruction laid out by the doctors and by Regina. She drank every glass of water she was given, she ate every bite of food – and neglected to complain about lack of bear claws, coffee and chocolate she had been used to enjoying, she remained in bed, and tried her best not to whine in embarrassment when she was escorted to the bathroom.

Regina hadn't allowed her to shower because it was 'too much standing', instead drawing the blonde a bath every evening – making sure it wasn't too hot, which meant it was about 10 degrees too cool for Emma's liking – and to be honest, Emma couldn't find it within her to complain about it.

In fact, more than once she caught a smirk from the brunette as she ran the water, which told her they were both enjoying this arrangement more than they each let on. Regina would find excuses to enter the bathroom while Emma was soaking in the tub; "Do you need an extra towel?", "is there enough water?", "Is the water still warm?" And Emma found herself coming up with excuses to draw Regina near; "Can you please come and wash my back, I can't reach?", "Can you grab me the shampoo please?", "Can you please help me stand up?"

Every time they'd been in close proximity, often dripping wet with soap suds clinging to her skin, Emma made sure to lean in enough to press her body against the older woman, place a gentle kiss on her, run her fingers up the other woman's back or arm. And each time, Regina would falter, leaning into the touch for a moment before inevitably pulling away with a gentle admonishment.

Beyond her attempts to seduce and rattle the brunette, Emma had been the perfect patient and her model behaviour had lasted just over a week. After nine days of doing nothing more than picking up a book and rereading the same paragraph over and over, or playing the same episode of some sitcom before tuning out and have to restart it or staring out the window, she was bored. And she no longer felt unsteady or exhausted. There had been no more Braxton Hicks, she hadn't felt nauseous, dizzy or lightheaded in days and her energy seemed to be returning.

With the return of her strength came her stubbornness and, according to Regina, defiance. While Regina had managed to wrangle a few days of working from home so she could be nearby to help and watch over the blonde, she had to go back into the office on the following Monday – six days into Emma's imposed bed rest.

Emma's newfound vigour was what had her balancing, rather securely she felt, on the second rung of a five-rung step ladder, changing the last of the blown lightbulbs that had needed fixing. She tightened the bulb and as soon as she had carefully grabbed the handles of the ladder, she was startled by a voice behind her.

"What do you think you are doing?"

Emma froze at the cold fury that punched through each word.

"Oh, hey Gina, you're home early, I didn't hear you come in," Emma greeted in an overly bubbly tone, in an attempt to waylay the brunette.

"You are supposed to be on bed rest!" Regina snapped furiously. "What on earth do you think you are doing on a ladder Miss Swan?" she asked.

It had clearly been a rhetorical question, because she continued on in the same breath.

"You should be in bed, not wandering around the house climbing things!"
Emma flinched, but was not one of the Evil Queen's meek subjects and immediately fired back.

"I wasn't jumping and skipping around the house and climbing the walls, Regina, I was helping. All I did was change a few light bulbs and I made sure the ladder was secure and I was being careful to keep my balance," Emma snapped right back.

"You were helping? What would have happened if you had fallen off that ladder Miss Swan? Do you think it would help Henry or me to come home and find you injured on the floor?" Regina retorted angrily.

The mental image of herself sprawled on the ground, a terrified Henry hovering over her filled her vision and she immediately deflated at the words. In her boredom and eagerness to do something other than lie in a bed, she hadn't thought much about the possibilities of what could go wrong.

"You're right," she muttered, shrugging her shoulders.

Regina, clearly not expecting the blonde to concede so quickly, faltered, before she moved forward to wrap the blonde tightly in her arms, pulling their bodies flush against each other. Emma could feel the tension in Regina's body and she felt her own body wilt in remorse.

"I'm sorry," Emma sniffled, "I just wanted to get out of bed and do something useful. I'm sick of lying around in bed doing nothing all day, especially now I feel fine."

"I know dear, you just gave me such a shock and I worry about you," Regina said as she moved one hand to cup the back of a blonde head. "I just want you to be safe because I l–" the brunette cut herself off, instead choose to squeeze the blonde in her arms tighter.

Emma waited a few moments before pulling back to search the brunette's face carefully before placing a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose.

"I'm really sorry, Gina, I was bored and I wasn't thinking," Emma admitted. "I'll be more careful."

"No more ladders?" Regina asked.

"No, I promise."

"And you'll stay on bed rest?"

Emma grimaced before suggesting a compromise. "I'll stay on couch rest?"

Regina huffed and rolled her eyes but agreed. "Fine, but it starts right now, let's go," and she dragged the blonde into the living room, making sure she was settled, a blanket tucked around her snuggly before she made her way to the kitchen.

Emma thought about that incident a few days later, 15 days after she had been discharged from the hospital, as she slowly folded her clothes and placed them in a bag. A small smile graced her lips as she remembered the feel of the mayor's body against her own, the concern in the brunette's eyes, her words…

"I just want you to be safe because I l–"

Emma was pretty sure Regina had been about to say love. That she loved her. As much as Emma was desperate to hear the words, some of the brunette's actions told a different story. Despite the fact that Regina had remained attentive to her needs, making sure she had water, food, a blanket, a book, whatever she needed; the smile faded from her face as she recalled all the times Regina had pulled away from her, stopped Emma when she tried to snake her hands down her body, denied every single one of the blonde's advances. It was confusing, the contradictions she was seeing in the brunette. Obvious arousal when she teased her during her baths, she clearly cared for Emma, what with all the doting on her every need but then refusing any of Emma's advances, pushing her away when she tried to do more than give her a hug or a gentle kiss.

In spite of that, Emma was reluctant to leave. She had loved being in the same house as Henry and Regina, even though she had been trapped in a guest bedroom for the majority of her time here. Even so, Henry had made an effort to sit beside her as he read, or he brought his laptop and school books into the room to do his homework beside her.

When Henry wasn't keeping her company, Regina often came up to sit beside her, either on the bed or a chair pulled up to her side, sometimes with her laptop to do work and sometimes they just sat together and talked.

As luscious as her guest room was, it hadn't stopped Emma from sneaking into the master bedroom after Henry had gone to sleep every night for well over a week. As soon as the dizziness, nausea and fatigue had disappeared, her sex drive had returned dramatically. She'd snuck across the hallway and pushed the bedroom door open, her best seductive smile on her face as she tried to convince the brunette to let her slide into the bed beside her. And not once had she been successful. Instead, Regina had rebuffed her every single time.

"What are you doing up? You should be in bed."
"You're supposed to be on bed rest, Emma. That means you should be resting."
"Not tonight, Emma, I've had a long day tomorrow."
"The doctor said no strenuous activities."

Each night the brunette had refused and sent her slinking back to the guest room with a huff of frustration. And yet, for some reason unbeknownst to her, she kept going back. She felt like a masochist, every rejection from the brunette, and not just the ones at night, stinging just that little bit more.

"Ma?"

Henry's voice startled her from her musings and she turned to see her son hovering in the doorway.

"Hey bud, what's up?" she asked as she paused her folding to sit on the end of the bed, gesturing for Henry to come and sit next to her.

He stepped into the room tentatively, his hands wringing together in front of him as he sat down and Emma could immediately tell that he was nervous about something.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"What? Nothing," he denied.

"Really?" Emma asked sceptically as she nudged him with her shoulder, "because you look exactly the same way you did when you told me that you flooded the laundry because you put nearly half a bag of washing powder in the machine."

"I didn't do anything; I just need to tell you something."

"What's wrong?"

Henry hesitated before he managed to say what was on his mind.

"I don't want you to pack."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I don't want you leave and go back to your house. I want you to stay here," he admitted. "I don't want you to be alone. What if something happens like it did before except it's my turn to be with mom and you're all alone and no one is there to help you?"

"Oh Henry, I know it must've been scary for you but everything's going to be okay," Emma assured him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders and pulling him close. "We know what we need to keep an eye on and I'll go to the doctors a bit more often to check everything and I'll be more careful about how much I do."

"But what about when the baby comes? You'll be all alone every other week and what are you going to do if you need a shower, or to go to the toilet, or the baby's crying and she won't stop and you need a break?"

"Henry, that's something that I can deal with when the time comes. Your mom was a single parent when you were a baby, remember? And she handled it just fine."

"But don't you like it here?" Henry tried.

"I do Henry, but me staying isn't something that you or I can just decide. It's something that would need a discussion, between all three of us. This is your moms house and she might not want me to stay any longer," Emma reasoned.

"Mom loves having you here," Henry argued. "Honest, Ma. She comes down for breakfast with a smile on her face every morning. She's laughing more and the other day she was whistling while she was cooking. I've never seen her do that before. I swear mom's happier than I've ever seen her since you came to stay. She's never really had any friends before but she really cares about you, Ma, I know she'd want you to stay," Henry implored passionately.

Emma breathed an internal sigh of relief at Henry's mention of 'friends' glad they had been subtle enough that he hadn't caught on that they had been much more than just friends as of late, though the brunette's interest in her hand seemingly disappeared in the last few weeks. Emma's heart twinged with hurt at the thought.

"I don't know Henry, just because she seems happier, it doesn't mean she wants me here in her space all the time," Emma negated. And that certainly seemed to be the case.

"But Ma, can't you just ask her? I know you want to and I want you to and I know she'd be happy if you stayed," He implored.

Emma sighed deeply, knowing the teenager was not going to be easily dissuaded.

"He's right," a gentle voice spoke from the doorway.

Mother and son turned to face the brunette smiling at them softly.

"What?" Emma asked.

"I would be happy if you stayed."

"Told you," Henry said, beaming at his blonde mother with a satisfied grin on his face.

"Are you sure, Regina, I really don't want to over stay. You've done so much for me, but I'm happy going back home," Emma said.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'd be there for you every step of the way. Everything Henry said is true. I've enjoyed having you here and it will be much easier once the baby arrives. I did it alone with Henry so I can tell you that it was hard. Worth it, but hard. I didn't have a choice but you do. You don't need to do it alone."

"Really?"

"Yes really, you stubborn woman. I wouldn't say it if it weren't true. Henry and I both want you to be here so if you do to, please, stay."

Emma looked between the two people she cared for most in the world for a few moments, taking in the hopeful expressions looking back at her.

"Okay," she agreed.

Regina beamed at her and Henry whooped with joy.

"Awesome!" He shouted as he wrapped his arms around Emma and they both laughed. "We're finally going to be a real family."

Emma pulled back to look at him curiously, which had him elaborating.

"I know that there are all different kinds of families and what we had before is a family but this just feels better. I'm mom's son and your son and the baby is my sister and we'll all get to be together all the time and everyone's going to be happy, right?"

Emma smiled as she nodded in agreement, pulling the teenager into another hug and gesturing over his shoulder for Regina to join them. As Regina sat down, Emma felt a strong flutter from inside her abdomen.

"I think the baby's happy too. She's kicking," she told the two beside her. Henry looked up at Emma, seeking permission. She nodded and he placed his hand gently on her stomach. Emma moved his fingers to the spot where the baby was moving and Henry gasped.

"I can feel it!"

Emma reached over to grab Regina's hand and placed it beside their son's. A few moments later, her face too broke out into a wide grin.

"I think it's been decided. Your son and daughter want you to stay. And so do I."