Chapter Twenty-seven

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"Henry!" Regina called out as soon as the door to the house was open. It wasn't until she tried to get through the door that she remembered the stupid skirts on her dress. She waved her hand until she was wearing normal clothes.

"Mom!" Henry yelled. He came running in, looking frantic. She ran to him and hugged him so tight. Emma was right on top of her. "Ma!"

"Oh, I'm so glad you're back, Grandpa Henry disappeared!"

"I did?" Henry Sr. asked.

"You're back!" Henry exclaimed.

"I am?" Henry Sr. asked. Cora appeared, and Henry gasped. He blocked the entry into the living room.

"Mom, does she have your heart?" Henry asked, looking between his mothers and Cora.

"No, no, I have her heart," Regina showed him the heart she had managed to free before their arrival, but she hadn't given it back yet as her magic still surged around it. He relaxed.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Long story, let me get my dramatic hugs in first with babies and we'll tell you over tea." Henry nodded.

"Yes, David and Ruby are alive," Emma told him.

"Uh, hey what should I do now my Queen?" Graham asked nervously.

"Graham!" Henry cried and ran forward and hugged him. Graham looked awkwardly at him.

"Sorry, um...your high…or um…Lord…." He looked at them for help.

"Just Henry, you no longer have a Queen; you are free to do with your life as you will," Regina told him. "I will not take your heart." Graham looked happy. "But if you allow me, I will give you the memories of your counterpart so that you can integrate better here and make your own choices." He nodded. She took his hand in her own, smiled, and opened her eyes. She took away her hand, and a deputy badge appeared in his hand.

"Thank you," he said as tears welled in his eyes and he left. Regina gave her father back his garden.

"What about all those other people?" Henry asked.

"Oh well, perks of knowing how to tweak a curse, they're all still here. I basically cursed them to appear in our timeline at the same time they did before. This didn't apply to Clarence, Derek, or my parents because they came with us." Henry nodded. They went into the living room where the girls no longer were.

"Where are the girls?" Regina asked.

"Oh, right in my panic of looking for Grandpa I forgot they're out back with Kathryn and Belle." They groaned.

"Oh, Henry!" They cried and raced out back as soon as they appeared.

"Mami, Mama!" Darien took off towards them. Regina scooped her up and cried just as hard as when she'd hugged Henry. Lincoln and Xavieré weren't far behind.

"You guys just left," Kathryn said. "You're back already."

"Oh, I made it a point to return within minutes of our counterparts leaving," Regina told her. "I was gone five years before Emma found me."

"Five years!" They cried.

"Long story, I just needed to kiss my babies now I need a bath and good tea."

"I'll put the kettle on," Belle said. The girls followed their mothers up the stairs, and Cora sulked but followed her husband, who explained everything. Once they were all clean and comfortable, Regina made herself a hot chocolate with all the cayenne pepper, no longer wanting tea.

"Oh my God," Regina whispered, knowing she had been craving it for five years.

"Mom that was the entire jar of spice," Henry whined. He had also taken his chance for hot chocolate.

"Sorry baby," Regina said.

"You haven't done this since you were pregnant with Linc and Xav," he complained, then slammed the jar down and glared at Emma. "What did you do!" Emma's eyes went wide.

"Why would you assume I did anything?" Emma asked him.

"Because it's always you!" Henry cried. "Don't deny it." Emma blushed as Regina chuckled. "Tell me I'm wrong, lie to me if you must try." Emma just hung her head.

"Awww, Mom's never going to be Harley Quinn now," He huffed.

"That's your concern?" Emma asked him.

"Uh that and where they're going to sleep, you know mom won't wear the little shorts and the crop top if she still feels fat because of you." Emma huffed.

"I didn't think about that." Regina hit them both with a throw pillow.

"My parents are in the room, please stop talking about my body." They both blushed.

"Can someone please explain to me how it is Emma's fault my baby girl is pregnant and no husband?" Henry Sr. looked around to confirm before nodding.

"Emma and I have true love, and magic helped us get the babies," Regina explained. "That's the short version."

"Oh, so you have a wife, how wonderful," Henry Sr. beamed. "That must have been so wonderful to find out after the wedding."

"Well, no, we're engaged but haven't had time to plan it," Regina told them. "Probably should get on that though before I start looking very pregnant."

"Oh, but I want them there," Emma complained.

"No!" Cora yelled. "Regina, you should be with a man, what are you doing?"

"Discussing when we want to get married with my true love," Regina told her. "You're free to go Mother, but your curse won't end until you learn to love me as I am. The farmhouse is free still for your use, I'm sure you will love Rumple as your landlord."

"What about Daniel!" Cora yelled.

"What about him? I told you I didn't love him like that, and you killed him. I've always wanted a wife, but I settled anything was better than the King." Cora was angry but didn't have the energy and went to curl up in a corner.

"Mami?" Darien said cocking her head to the side as she watched Cora.

"It's okay, baby," Regina hugged her.

"Tell me who everyone is again," Henry Sr. said. "And I do hope you intend to go through with the wedding." He glared at Emma.

"Yes, Sir," Emma said. He nodded.

"Daddy stop, Emma's not going anywhere," Regina told her. "Now this one is Darien Emma Mills, she's two now."

"Oh, after your cousin," he said. She nodded. "But I will call her mi Cielo, she looks so much like you." Regina beamed.

"The baby with Emma is Xavieré Reina Mills, she's named after the son I lost in this timeline, and her twin sister is Lincoln Alice Mills. She's just named after a historical figure who got rid of slavery in this world. And the bigger girl who looks like Emma is Rowan Bailey…"

"Ah of course it was your turn to be pregnant," Henry Sr. said matter of fact.

"As much as that would make Regina happy, no, I only gave birth to Henry years ago; Rowan is my sister!" Rowan smiled widely at Emma from where she was drinking her hot chocolate. She had a chocolate mustache that made them all smile back.

"No, the short version is, is that Snow White is my mom, and she had a mental break down and yeah we ended up taking in Rowan." Henry Sr. merely nodded before he frowned.

"What do you mean years ago you had Henry?" He glared at Emma. "And you're just now thinking about marrying my daughter!" He stood up now.

"Daddy sit, your namesake Henry Daniel Mills is adopted. Emma had him way too young and trusted me to care for him. Well, she didn't know she was trusting me, it was the curse that brought us together." Henry Sr. sat and nodded.

"Oh good, I thought she was dishonorable." Regina shook her head and just served him some tea so he wouldn't be so inclined to jump up at Emma.

"So now what?" Kathryn asked. "I see that Cora is no longer a threat."

"No, she is not, she has her own curse to break." They nodded.

"I would prefer if you stayed at the farmhouse though, I don't want her having any unsupervised time around the girls." Regina nodded.

"Hmph, they are still my grandchildren, they came from my daughter's body," Cora snapped. She was more or less herself but unable to do anything harmful to Regina.

"And I'm still their mother," Emma told her, not backing down. Cora growled, and Darien thought it was funny and growled, too.

"Why doesn't my magic work here?" Cora huffed.

"Because that's the way I want it," Regina replied.

"You need to wean her before you birth the next one," Cora complained when she saw Darien go for Regina's shirt.

"She'll stop when she stops, not before," Regina replied. They turned their attention back to Henry, Kathryn, and Belle, who were awaiting the details.

"I can't believe it took you five years to get to mom," Henry said to Emma. "What if she had my brother there?"

"I'm pretty sure it's going to be a girl again," Emma told him as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'm allowed to hope," Henry retorted.

"And it wasn't my fault, it's Tiny's fault bringing a book like that," Emma huffed. "It's the stuff of time travel and portals."

"She does have a point," Belle commented. "But now we have a problem."

"Oh?" Emma asked. "What? Oh my God do you think a five year old is going to come out of Regina!" Regina's eyes went wide as she put a magical hand on her belly.

"Oh, thank God, it's not a five-year-old," Regina said, letting out a breath.

"How old is it, do we have three days?" Henry asked.

"That I don't know, I'll make an appointment with Whale for an ultrasound and call the midwife."

"I hope not three days; I need time to prepare," Henry murmured, pulling out his phone. "Darien's got me booked solid for arts and crafts, and Rowan's got me for pretend play, which all the girls are starting to get now, and the girls and I will have park day, but with homework, school and time with you two how am I supposed to hog the baby when your friends have claimed everyone else?" He looked at them seriously. "Well?"

"Oh, I guess we could give up some of our time with you," Regina said.

"Of course, you wouldn't let me drop one school day," Henry huffed. The adults in the room chuckled, except for Cora.

"Now that, that's solved, Kathryn and I were promised time with our goddaughters," Belle huffed. "But you came back when you left and therefore cut into our time."

"Can I give you them whenever I have a doctor's appointments?" Regina asked. "And need a nap like yesterday?"

"Acceptable, but still not enough."

"I will be less clingy by the weekend, they can stay over the weekend with you," Regina supplied.

"Agreed," Emma said, thinking she needed some time with her wife.

"Yes," they accepted.

"We'll go talk to Ruby about our ultimate sleepover." They hugged everyone goodbye and took their leave.

"Perhaps I should spend my nights at the farmhouse too," Henry Sr. sighed.

"You still have a room here, sir," Emma told him cheerily.

"Still, we need to make it livable for Mother if she is to stay there," Regina yawned. Sleep-wise, the last few days in the other realm had been hell. Unfortunately, they'd left after the girls woke up, or if she were being realistic, after they fought for Xavieré and Lincoln to nap.

"This would be a great time to redo the tour," Henry commented. The girls decided to walk before anyone else did.

"Girls!" Emma yelled. "You forgot the wagon!" They came running back to Regina's relief. Emma pulled out the wagon, and they all climbed in as she pulled them. Regina showed them the neighborhood, and they enjoyed the sunny walk into town. Ruby came running out of the diner to scoop up Darien and promise her they would have so much fun on the weekend. David was back from visiting Snow and seemed more at ease.

"Rowan could you come have hot chocolate with me please?" David asked. Rowan looked at Regina and David.

"You can go honey; we'll pick you back up when we're done settling Grandma and Grandpa." Rowan nodded and took David's hand after hopping out of the wagon.

"Row, Row," Darien called, clapping her hands before disappearing from the wagon. The girls followed suit.

"I'll stay with Dad; you got this?" Emma asked, indicating her parents. Regina nodded. She wasn't ready for a tantrum or her mother's input. They left, and Henry went with her to the farmhouse after they showed her parents the diner, the library, and the town hall where she worked. The sheriff's station where they could find Emma and Mulan. As well as the hospital if they sustained any injuries. Finally, they were back to the farmhouse, and with a little magic, it was a small version of her childhood home to appease Cora.

"If you like Daddy, you can build more green houses and actually have a bigger botanical garden. I can move your current greenhouse here. I assume you won't do anything with the land mother." Cora made a face as if she would dare go back to farming.

"Oh, that would be lovely sweetheart," Henry Sr. told her.

"Am I to remain in these peasant clothes?" Cora asked.

"No, mother, we'll take you properly shopping on Friday just like we did Daddy."

"Good, and I need a servant, I won't be expected to clean this place myself or cook."

"You're welcome at our house for every meal, but lunch during the week we're usually not home."

"What am I supposed to do for five days out of the week?" Cora asked.

"Restaurant, I'll give you money until you get a job." Cora huffed. "I doubt you'll be up for that before the curse is broken." Regina helped her father plan the layout of his greenhouses before commissioning the glass and frame. Marco was all too happy to build planter boxes and tables.

"You really should wean the others; they fight for enough of your attention."

"I hear what you are saying, but it's very important for me that Darien makes this choice. She nurses for comfort, and I do not want to do what you did to me, stop it because you insisted, I should be strong enough rather than when I was strong enough."

"Didn't want you too attached to someone else," Cora grumbled.

"Perhaps, but if you had been kinder, it would have been easier to let go of my wet nurse alone. I'm building her confidence the proper way." Cora didn't speak, and Regina grimaced at the memory of her nursemaid being ripped away the day after her first birthday and the struggle she went through to soothe herself. That meant Cora reliving every time she placed Regina in a room alone and when she had finally figured out that her thumb helped. Cora had burned it to stop her from sucking on either thumb. Teething had been an absolute nightmare.

"Mom?" Henry asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I am sorry, it's the curse. It affects me as much as Mother," Regina told him as Henry Sr. helped her sit. She hadn't even noticed when he'd arrived to support her. Henry brought her a glass of water, but her mother was suffering in her chair. Regina recovered and eventually left her parents to settle with her father, insisting he would stay to ensure Cora didn't attempt anything bad. Regina didn't think Cora was in a state to do it. All the same, she would be limiting her magic if she proved too dangerous.

"Mom, are you sure you're okay?" Henry asked. Regina nodded, although she was winded when they made it home.

"Hey, babe!" Emma said, popping up. Regina jumped as well as Henry.

"Ma!" Henry cried. "You can't do that Mom's got a condition."

"I thought you were at the diner?" Regina asked.

"I was, but Granny's there alongside Kathryn and Belle. I left them to have supervised visit. They'll bring them back after dinner. Snow is still locked up before you ask. Now come on, I ordered pizza, and I just sent a box to your parents with a note."

"It's their first dinner here, and you served them pizza?" Regina huffed. She wasn't surprised that Henry Sr. had shown Cora how to use the cell phone, and she was less than pleased by Emma's dinner standards. Regina looked exhausted until she went into the kitchen and produced something her mother was quite happy to eat.

"Memories?" Emma asked.

"No, just general exhaustion of dealing with my Mother," Regina murmured. She barely took two bites of pizza before she was throwing up and a pale mess. Emma took her up to bed.

"Why is there paper on the wall?" Regina asked as she came out of the bathroom rubbing her stomach. She couldn't feel her baby like she could before; they'd gone a little more dormant during the making of the dark curse. She encouraged them to release the magic protecting them because it was safe.

"Oh," Emma grinned. "So last time your stomach grew too fast to track changes, and Darien did not. So, I wanted to do a bump progression." Emma grinned and beckoned Regina over. Regina just smiled and allowed Emma to outline the bump before kissing her. Regina wrapped her arms around her and deepened the kiss until they fell back on the bed.

"Not tonight love," Emma whispered.

"Why not," Regina whined.

"Because you're exhausted, this weekend when all the kids are gone, I agreed that Rowan could spend the weekend with Dad." Regina pouted but nodded.

"Fine," she relented.

"Come on, look who's got your favorite oversized hoodie ready to wear." Regina couldn't help but smile as Emma put it over her head. She pulled it close in happiness.

"And I already broke out my second pillow so you can steal without issue." Regina grabbed her pillow and took it to her side of the bed. Emma chuckled.

"Don't worry, I got the second hoodie ready when you inevitably spill or get spit up. I'll wear it while I play games with Henry." Regina gave her an even bigger smile as Emma climbed into bed and chuckled at how Regina was a bit of a Koala when pregnant, and she otherwise begged her to let her snuggle the few times the children weren't between them. Regina dropped off quickly, and only when she broke the seal, as Emma described, did she slip out of bed and put on the second hoodie. She kissed Regina's forehead before kissing her belly.

"I can't wait to meet you little miracle," Emma whispered. "Be nice to your mom yeah." Emma turned down the lights and drew the shades before she left to play with Henry.

"Mom, okay?" Henry asked. Emma nodded as she sat at the table and finished her pizza, although she was super careful about any spills lest Regina get upset. Emma remembered crying when she had to be without the hoodie, so she promptly bought a second one.

"She's just really tired, she's been pregnant five years technically, because it wasn't safe for the baby. And it also wasn't nice for her to live back there again, Leopold was a monster, I'm just grateful your mom had her magic this time to make him forget that he wanted to hurt her." Henry frowned.

"That world is so messed up, I'm glad he's gone there, and that realm grandma and grandpa can be happy."

"Oh…" Emma paused, not knowing how much he knew about Leopold in their world.

"Here too," Henry added. Emma nodded. She couldn't agree more. They were well into their first-person shooter game when the girls were brought home after bedtime, but Emma did not comment as she got them dressed for bed and was just grateful once they stayed asleep.

"I won't tell Regina," Emma told them. "But you owe me."

"Fine," the three women had whined before they left. She returned to Henry with all smiles.

"Why are you smiling so big, Mom's gonna be upset," Henry chuckled.

"Whose going to tell?" Emma asked him. "And I'm just smiling because I am at home with my family, and your mom is pregnant again so that means more family, and you know what?"

"What?" Henry asked.

"I hope your mom is having a boy too." They smiled at each other and continued playing late into the night.

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