I had been mulling the idea around for a while and after 2x03, finally decided to get my butt in gear. Hope you like it. Many thanks to msynergy for beta-ing and always being there to calm (or increase, more like) my Emma feels.

Set in Storybrooke, 3 years after the curse was broken. Established Gremma (didn't include how Graham is back, in the plot). Three-shot.

In Emma Swan's mind, her day could not get any worse. Or at least that was what she'd thought.

She'd overslept, worn mismatching socks, stepped in a puddle outside the Sheriff's station, forgotten her lunch, and discovered that one of the tires on the cruiser was flat. Therefore, when she stomped into the station and slumped into her desk chair which a dramatic sigh, it was completely justified.

Graham would be in the woods for most of the day, as he was every Wednesday, while she took care of the town on her own for the day. She understood that he needed to spend time out there to keep his sanity, but she still felt a piece of her missing on those days.

The heat of the office suddenly swarmed her so she unzipped and shrugged off her puffy coat, and brought it to the coat hanger in the corner of the room. Turning to walk back to her desk, her shoe bumped a small object and she heard it fire across the floor with a light clattering sound. The noise made her jump slightly, but she only laughed when she walked to it and saw that it was one of Henry's old metal figurines. He used to bring them in and set up battles between princes, back before the curse was broken. Back when such battles seemed unfathomable.

But that was years ago. The small toy must have been drifting around on the floor for three years now, at least. A twinge of sentimentally tugged at her heart as she remembered him being so young. Now he was a fourteen year old man-in-the-making. And she couldn't be more proud of how he'd turned out.

Bending down to pick up the trinket, she held it with her fingers, her elbows tucked to her sides. She studied it for a moment before something far more day-altering caught her eye. She moved her hands so that they no longer blocked her view of her lower body, and as her eyes finished focusing, she froze.

What the hell is THAT….? Glaring blatantly in her line of sight was a bump. A rather obvious, but still very small bump set gracefully in the center of her lower torso. Shit.

Emma's mind shot backward, hurriedly pulling forth memories. I'd had at least another month the last time. She calculated the time in her head and the math stood up. Then why did it appear so early? And so sudden? She was her typical flat self just last night….

Just as she was about to call Graham, which wouldn't have done much good considering he was out of reach of cell service, she remembered something her high school Home-Ec teacher had briefly mentioned once. "You always show sooner with the second, and the ones following."

Why hadn't she remembered that? This little, literal, bump was causing a whole mess of problems in her original timeline. She'd thought she had at least another four weeks to prepare. To rehearse what she was going to say. It was big news to break, and she wasn't looking forward to it. And she feared how they were going to take it. Not well, she assumed.

Now she really didn't have much of a choice; unless she wanted to wear her puffy jacket to dinner tomorrow night. And even if she did, Snow would definitely know that something was up.

And of course, Emma wasn't exactly the type to own loose shirts. Maybe this was just fate's way of giving her a push.

She sure wished it would stop doing that.

Emma inhaled deeply. Tomorrow night was going to be very interesting. Telling your parents you were pregnant was difficult enough as it is. But when they were incredibly protective, and also aware that you were not married to the father of the child, and also knew how to use swords, it made it all the more complicated.

Staring down at the subtle protuberance that was her stomach, she felt incredibly conflicted. Her internal monologues had been becoming more overwhelming as of late. She was constantly worried about everyone else's feelings, or thoughts, and never knew if she was a disappointment, or if she wasn't trying hard enough. Even after four years of knowing her family, and three of actually being one.

Four years.

She hadn't even realized how long it had been. She hadn't ever known one person for longer than two years; at least that she could remember.

The sound of someone clearing their throat startled the blonde from her thoughts. Absent-mindedly placing a hand over the rounded spot she looked in the direction of the noise. Standing in the doorway was none other than Red. The woman with the long dark hair had her eyebrows raised, and judging by the tightness with which she held her lips together and the wrinkling at the corners of her eyes, she was stifling a laugh.

Yet something in her expression still looked empathetic. Emma traced the woman's gaze, which lead to her hand-covered stomach. And suddenly she realized what her friend found so humorous.

"It's not funny!" she cried with exasperation. In response, the dam broke and Red snorted, breaking into soft laughter.

"Emma…it's really not a big deal. You knew this would happen," Red reasoned, making her way into the office with the breakfast Emma had called down for not an hour ago.

"What am I gonna do? I thought I had more time. I mean, I could stretch it another few weeks if you let me borrow some clothes, but after a while…I'm screwed." She was scrambling for ideas. Did she really fear their reaction this much? Or was it that after her parents and son knew she'd have to begin telling everyone else? And that would only make this all the more real.

Having Graham know hadn't been too bad, though it'd taken her a week to get up the nerve to tell him, and Red had figured it out on her own when Emma had accidentally let down her defenses one day.

Granny's diner on a Monday morning was just what Emma had needed. Sitting across from Snow at their usual table, she took a moment to relax a bit before diving into the week. The past three weeks had been particularly stressful, between finding out life altering news and then fretting over it for days before dropping the bomb on her unsuspecting partner in crime.

They sat peacefully, allowing the roar of the bustling room to fill their ears. Sometimes noise was more comforting than silence. And Emma could use some comfort.

Snow left to use the restroom and Red brought their drinks over cheerfully and greeted Emma. "Hi Emma, how's the sheriffing going?"

"Not bad. Although we have been having some trouble with missing cats…You wouldn't know anything about that would you?" Emma toyed.

Red immediately turned a snowy gray color, to which the blonde responded, "Whoa, I was just kidding. Relax."

The brunette's face relaxed, "Right. Sorry. I was worried I might be having a problem again. It's not like I would really know." She gave a half-hearted shrug.

Emma happily reached forward and brought her warm cocoa toward her. "Thanks Red," she said with a slight wave of the mug, and bringing it to her mouth. Just as she was about to sip, the smell of cinnamon hit her nose and she immediately turned a ghastly shade of green. Moving quickly, she set it down and shoved it away, breathing deep to calm her urge to release her innards.

This did not go unnoticed.

Red held her gaze on her paling friend. Her eyes focused and squinted slightly as she studied Emma's actions. Suddenly she gasped. "Oh my god! I can't believe I didn't notice it before!" she whispered loudly.

Emma's eyes shot up and widened drastically. "What do you mean?" She was scrambling to cover her tracks.

"Oh you know exactly what I mean…" Red replied with an accusatory tone, leaning close to the blonde, her voice low. "You're pre—"

Emma immediately lurched toward her and covered Red's mouth with her hand. The waitress' eyes flashed with confusion and surprise, and she tried to pull back.

"Not here," Emma commanded.

The blonde dramatically dragged Red through the back door and into the small laundry room. Relieved at finding it empty, she checked that both doors were shut, locked one from the inside and stood near enough to the other that she could close it at a moment's notice, and turned the brunette.

Red's mouth was agape and her eyes were alight with a smile. "You're PREGNANT. Oh my god Emma!"

Emma winced. She still disliked hearing that word—pregnant—it made her heart stop and her head swim with fears. In response all she could manage was a grimaced nod.

"Okay first…what was all THAT?" Red asked with a chuckle. Who would've known…Emma was one for the dramatics.

"Look. From past experience, I've learned that the people in this town are not the BEST at being discrete, so I'd rather be somewhere ENTIRELY private when you shout out my very, up until this point at least, well-hidden secret." Emma's eyes were fierce, but she wasn't putting out any sort of anger.

Red opened her mouth to argue but the blonde stopped her. "And don't give me the 'we were cursed' line. That doesn't work for me…. And as much as I was HOPING," she added, looking upwards and letting out a puff of air, "to hold off this conversation with ANYONE for at least another month or two, I have a feeling I don't have much of a choice at this point."

"And how did you even figure it out?" Emma asked. If she was doing a poor job of hiding it, she had to find out what needed to be fixed.

"You forget that I knew Snow when she was pregnant," Red answered simply. "I had thought that there was something off, yet so familiar, about you these last couple weeks but for the life of me I couldn't figure it out. At least not until you made that face when you went to drink your cocoa. Whether you would like to think so or not, you look JUST like your mother when you have morning sickness. I'd know that look anywhere."

Emma's head tilted slightly, still wondering how Red would have drawn the connection.

Red sighed. "You've got that weird princess glow thing going on, you ordered bread with olive oil the other day, and you do that 'lost in thought about my child' thing. Snow INVENTED all those things. Especially the bread and olive oil; which I will never understand, by the way."

Emma sighed. "Okay, fine, whatever. But now that you know, you CANNOT tell ANYONE about this. ESPECIALLY Snow. I haven't quite figured out how to break the news to people yet. Much less myself."

Red nodded fervently. "Of course. If you need anything at all though just let me know. It's good to have at least one person watching out for you."

"Red!" she whined, "What am I gonna DO?"

The waitress just looked at her with an empathetic smile. "I think the first step would be telling someone else, besides me or Graham. And I think you know who I'm referring to. Get the most difficult one out of the way."

Emma sighed. She really had no other choice.

No Snow in this chapter but I promise she's up next! Reviews are appreciated :)