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Waking up to her daily alarm, Regina got up, feeling an ache in her back. She and David had been sharing Emma’s work since she had begun her maternity leave. They could have hired someone else, but part of the sheriff’s job was to protect Storybrooke from new magical creatures every week, a task for which only a few persons in town were qualified.
Starting to get ready, Regina found Emma’s bedroom door opened as she was crossing the corridor. She decided to take a look inside, surprised that her new roommate was up so soon whereas the last months had proved that she wasn’t such a morning person.
She was nowhere to be seen, only her unmade bed remained. A strange noise rose, coming from Henry’s former bathroom.
Suddenly very much awake, Regina rushed to the door and found the blonde in her pajamas, kneeling above the bowl, her wild hair in front of her face.
“Oh, Emma!” she gasped.
Regina knelt on the floor immediately and started to grab her curls, tying them back with a rubber band that she had been keeping around her wrist for these kinds of situations.
Emma was too focused on aiming for the hole to thank her. Regina started to draw circles on her back, and she felt her muscles relax more and more. Saying that the woman’s hands were magical was an understatement, Emma had never thought that someone would be able to provide her such comfort.
“It’s okay,” she murmured softly. “It’s okay, I’m here.”
Closing her eyes, Emma took a deep breath and moved away from the bowl, resting her head against the wall.
Regina gave her a tissue to clean her mouth, and Emma finally opened her eyes to look at her. There were so much support and tenderness in those eyes. “Thank you,” she said. Last month, she would have tried to hide her sick face to her but not anymore. They had overcome that; she knew that she didn’t have to hide anything. It was Regina.
The brunette kept caressing her back while she cleaned herself. “Better?” she asked with a little smile.
Emma nodded, still in the blur. “Yes, thank you, Regina.”
“No problem.” She tucked up a strand of hair behind her ear. “How long have you been here? Why didn't you call me?”
“I don’t know, about an hour maybe. I didn’t want to wake you up.”
“Emma, I told you, that’s why I’m here for. To take care of you and to help you through this. I want you to wake me up.”
“I know but Regina, you’ve already done so much. I don’t want to prevent you from sleeping, I know you’re tired. Especially after everything that happened last week.”
“That’s very knightly of you, but I don’t care,” she replied seriously. “I want you to call me whenever you feel the need to. And I want you to keep me informed when something happens with the baby.” Regina put her hand on Emma’s baby bump, looking deeply into her green eyes. “Because this, is the most precious gift that someone could ever give to me, Emma. And I want to be there for both of you at every step. That’s why I want you to wake me up anytime, whether it’s because you’re sick or because you woke up with an urgent craving for ice cream. I don’t care, okay?”
Emma had never been looked at with such gratitude before.
Regina took her hand to emphasize what she was about to say. “You’re not alone this time, Emma. We’re doing this together.”
The blonde beheld their intertwined fingers for a moment, enjoying the way it looked. “You’re right, I'm sorry.”
Then, Regina helped her to get up from the floor, both heading towards the exit in silence, thinking about what had just been told.
“I think it’ll be easier for both of us if you move into my bedroom,” Regina said calmly.
“What?”
“It’ll be temporary, you’ll go back to yours when the baby will be born, if you want to.”
If she wanted to? Emma repeated in her head. Why? Would she want her to stay?
“This way you won’t have to come to me in the middle of the night, I'll be able to help you right away.”
“O-okay, I guess...” she mumbled.
Regina didn’t dare to glance at her, fearing to be rejected. “Please, don’t be so enthusiastic.” she said sarcastically.
Emma started to try to make up for her reaction. “Oh no, that’s not what I meant--”
“That’s okay, never mind. We’ll talk about it later.”
It was 12:36 AM when her phone rang. She was just starting to eat her salad as Emma’s profile picture came up. It was a picture of her and Henry that Regina had taken the day of his departure for college. A smile spread on her lips without her being aware of it.
Emma was likely to call her during her lunch breaks, nothing was alarming for the moment. Sometimes she would discuss about the town’s security, sometimes she would just complain about the number of steps in their “stupidly big” mansion.
Yet, she wasn’t expecting her to call after their embarrassing moment earlier.
Regina set down her fork and answered, “Emma?”
The blonde’s voice was urgent. “Regina, hi! Something’s happening here! I can’t wait--”
She didn’t even pay attention to the end of her sentence, she needed to get to her. “Emma, wait,” she stopped her, worried. “Where are you?”
“At my parents’ but you...”
As soon as she had the answer, Regina waved her hand and teleported herself into the loft.
“Emma?” she called, looking for her in her former bedroom.
“Downstairs!” It was Mary Margaret’s voice.
Regina ran down the stairs and arrived in the living-room, spotting Emma and her mother on the couch.
“What’s going on?” she asked, short of breath. “Are you okay?”
A smirk appeared on Snow’s lips as she saw her whereas Emma tried to ease her stress. “We’re fine. Everything’s okay, don’t worry.”
Regina, who was now just in front of them, stopped and looked at them. She frowned in confusion. “You called and you said--”
“I know,” Emma began. “But you didn’t have to come right away, you could have finished what you were doing.”
“We’re sorry you thought it was an emergency, Regina.” Mary Margaret added.
The brunette released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding back.
“Now, you want to know what happened?” Emma asked, her voice full of excitement.
Regina looked at her, the fear gone. “Go ahead.”
Snow moved away to spare a place next to her daughter whereas Emma reached out and grabbed her hand to invite her to sit by her side.
Regina looked at her with confusion. However, when Emma placed her hand on her stomach, she felt a little kick against her palm and time froze suddenly.
“Emma?” she asked, not knowing what she was asking.
The blonde nodded, a bright smile on her face. “Yes, they’re kicking.”
She was running out of words, feeling her baby like this was magical. “Does it hurt?”
Emma beheld Regina as her face was lighting up. She was happy to be able to give Regina the chance to experience maternity. And she was happy not do this alone this time. “Not really, they’re too small,” she answered.
Regina added her second hand on Emma’s stomach. Their eyes met, and they both could see one another’s pure joy.
Snow was moved by their interaction and smiled at the fact that Emma had still not let go of Regina’s hand yet.
Unfortunately, their moment was broken by the brunette’s ringtone. Regina eventually grabbed her phone and left the room to take the call when she found out that it was David.
Meanwhile, Emma’s smile remained, and Mary Margaret wasn’t going to allow her to ignore that.
“Seeing you two like this, it reminds me of your father and I when we were expecting you,” she began. “I’m glad you found each other, you make a beautiful couple.”
“Mom,” Emma warned her, knowing where this was going. “We’ve already talked about it, Regina and I are not... We’re friends, okay?”
“Okay, if you say so...”
“Thank you.”
“Emma, Ruby‘s my friend, but I wouldn’t ask her to bear my child.”
“Here we go again,” she hissed, annoyed. “Why can’t you just let it go?”
“You’re my daughter, Emma, all I want is your happiness. Time is so precious, I just don’t want you to realize that you could have had it all once it’ll be too late.”
“Thanks Mom, but I’ve been quite happy recently in case you hadn’t noticed.” the blonde retorted. “Thanks to Regina by the way.”
“See!”
“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that!” Emma defended herself. “I love her, okay? I admit it. She makes me happy but it’s not like that. We’re not a couple.”
“But you could be.”
“But we’re not. Regina and I are just friends, okay? Not a couple. End of the discussion.”
Something inside Regina broke. She had put an end to her call and was coming back to the living room when she heard Emma insisting on the fact that they were not in a relationship with so much determination.
She knew that she was telling the truth; they were, in fact, not a couple but why did she have to be so passionate about it? Was the idea of being with her so repulsive?
Regina cleared her throat and put on her mayor mask. “Giants have been spotted at the border of Oz, I must go to prevent them from entering.”
Emma looked at her, wondering why she was acting so coldly suddenly. “Giants?” she repeated. “Is Zelena coming with you?”
“No, it seems that Oz’s inhabitants aren’t as forgiving with her as you are all with me. I don’t think it’ll be such a good idea to let them see her.”
“So, you’ll be on your own? Against giants?”
“Is there some kind of joke that I’m missing?” Regina asked.
Why was she acting like that with her? Emma wondered. They had overcome that for a long time now, hadn’t they?
“Regina, usually when it comes to giants, we do this together.” she explained. “I’d feel better if you’d ask for someone to come with you.”
“Too bad you’re not in your right to tell me what to do.” And just like that, she was gone.
“Regina!” Emma called, knowing she would not come back. She turned to Mary Margaret, “What the hell is wrong with her?”
“It’s Regina, you know her better than I do now. She tends to close herself when she’s hurt. You must be patient with her.”
The group of angry giants hadn’t been easy to fend off. The night had already fallen, and Regina had had barely the time to pass by her office to make her report.
She was blaming herself for leaving Emma the way she had done earlier. She didn’t like to fight with her, but it was always easier than to talk about her feelings.
She understood her request, if the roles were reversed, she wouldn’t have been very eager to let her go on her own. It was already hard enough for her to leave her job to someone else.
On her way home, Regina hoped that Emma was still up, that she had waited for her return. She didn’t want her to fall asleep upset.
However, when she entered the mansion, she was not surprised to find the living room empty. Therefore, tired and still disappointed, the brunette went upstairs and hesitated to knock on Emma’s door. She did not. She preferred not to bother her and went straight to her bedroom.
Regina opened the door and tried to mask her surprise. Emma was here, laying under the sheets, a book in her hands.
“Hi,” she said, relived. She wasn’t angry at her.
Emma took her glasses off. “Hi.”
“You’re not asleep?” She decided not to comment on the fact that she had accepted her proposition of sharing her bedroom.
“I was waiting for you,” she said calmly. “I was worried because of the way you left.”
“Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to stress you out.”
“It’s okay. You’re back now, it’s all that matters.”
With a little smile, Regina went to the bathroom to put on her pajama. When she came back, Emma had put away her book and switched the light off.
As the brunette laid down on her side, she could feel that, despite her apology, a tension remained. She thought about talking about it, however, now that Emma was here with her, she didn’t feel as confident as when she had arrived.
“So,” the blonde cleared her throat. “Did those giants cause you trouble?”
“No, not really. It took a long time to send them all back to their realm, but it was fine, I guess. You had nothing to worry about.”
“Good...”
“Also, I asked Zelena to help me with the next creatures that will threaten the borders. I thought you’d like to know that.”
“Thank you, it’s important for me.”
Regina nodded in silence, looking for something else to say.
“Well, goodnight, Regina.”
“Goodnight,” she replied, hiding her frustration.
Regina woke up later in the night and was surprised to see that her roommate was still awake as she kept turning over.
“Emma?” she called in a whisper in case she was wrong.
The blonde froze. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m not used to share a bed anymore.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. You can’t sleep?”
She exhaled loudly. “My stomach hurts.”
“Does it happen often?”
“Sometimes.” Emma curled up under the sheets, trying to find a position that would ease her ache.
Then, unexpectedly, she felt an arm hugging her while Regina’s chest was pressing against her back. She was doing her best not to move, both confused about what was happening and afraid that it could end.
Slowly and lovingly, Regina started drawing circles on her stomach, and Emma knew that she was in heaven.
“Is it better?” she asked in a shaky voice.
Emma nodded, not trusting herself to speak right now.
“Good.” As she felt her relaxing, Regina buried her head in her wild curls. She was surrounding by Emma’s smell; she liked that.
The Savior could feel her breath against her neck; it was pleasantly warm against her skin. Why hadn’t she moved into Regina’s bedroom sooner?
Overwhelmed by her emotions, Regina pressed her lips against Emma’s naked skin in an intimate gesture. It was all she had ever wanted. Emma was all she had ever wanted.
Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be mutual which was painful. Every time she had tried to check if that was something that Emma would want too, she had sent her mixed signals. Of course, she was already more than grateful for what Emma was already giving her, but she had realized that she wanted more. She wanted everything .
A single tear rolled down her cheek while she was holding the blonde tightly.
Emma could feel Regina shaking behind her. She knew that something was upsetting her and that they needed to talk about it.
“Regina, about earlier...” she started shyly. “What did happen in the loft? I don’t understand. I thought we were fine, but then, you started acting so cold. Did I do something wrong?”
She remained silent.
“Does it have something with what Mary Margaret said?” Emma tried, not seeing what else it could be. “About us being a couple?”
She felt Regina nodding slowly, her head buried in her hair. “Maybe,” she whispered.
Emma frowned. “Why would you be upset by that?” she asked. “I don’t understand, you’ve always been telling me to ignore those jokes that everyone seems to find so funny.”
The brunette withdrew her arm from her.
“Regina?” Emma turned over to be able to look at her, making sure to keep their closeness.
“I’ve been thinking a lot recently,” the queen began, avoiding to make eye-contact for the moment. “About us, about our family, about this baby... And I’ve been starting to wonder what it could be like if we were, well you know, more...”
Emma was trying to process what Regina was telling her. She was struggling to believe that it was really happening.
“Like, if we were, in fact, a couple. And I don’t think that it would be so unnatural for me. But when I heard you arguing with Snow earlier, being so passionate about us not being a couple, I have to admit that it kind of hurt me.”
“Is that something that you’d want?” Emma asked in a murmur. “Us being a couple?”
“I don’t know... Maybe?”
“Regina,” she gasped, short of words.
“Forget about it,” the brunette moved away, feeling bad about the situation. “I like the way that things are between us right now, I wouldn't want to ruin that. Sorry.”
Emma grabbed Regina’s hand and prevented her from rolling over. “Please,” she begged, looking for her eyes. “Don’t take it back.”
Regina finally dared to gaze into her eyes, waiting for her to continue.
“Regina, you have no idea how long I’ve been hoping for a moment like this. So please, don’t take it back.”
“Really?”
She nodded, tears at the corner of her eyes. “I thought that you didn’t feel that way about me, that, to you, I’d never been more than a friend. That’s why those comments about us were always so hard for me to hear. And I mean I would have been okay with that as long as it meant that you would stay in my life, but I couldn’t stop hoping for more.”
A smile lighted up Regina’s face as she leant towards her and grabbed her head to kiss her. Emma’s hands went to the queen’s back, holding her tightly into her arms. It was sweet and emotional, both women pouring their unconditional love for each other in this kiss.
Once their lips parted, Emma put her head on Regina’s chest and tightened her grip on her waist. Regina’s fingers found her curls right away, as she began to stroke her hair in a protective way.
And just like that, they eventually managed to fall asleep in one another’s arms because they knew that they would still be together in the morning.
The end