"Any ideas for party themes, darling?"

Regina huffed and continued to move about the kitchen as Mal sat at the island sipping a scotch. "No. I've been scouring online, but nothing is good enough."

"They're one. They won't remember it anyways. We did Dr. Seuss pics for their invites. Why not a Seussian party?"

"Ugh, absolutely not. Sometimes I swear you're the 'Dad' in this relationship. Did you at least buy the correct presents? Everything has to be perfect."

Mal stood up and walked over to her wife. Regina was clearly annoyed and overwhelmed. She wrapped her arms around Regina's waist to stop her pacing. "I got everything on your list. It seems a bit much for their first birthday party, but whatever you want I'm fine with. I'd be happy just having a lazy day where we cuddle our babies and watch movies."

"That's for after their doctor's appointments. You know Lily is going to be pissed at us for taking her to get shots. I can only imagine what two will be like." Regina groaned and let her forehead fall forward onto her wife's shoulder. "Why isn't this easier?"

"Because we have two magical babies under a year old who have the intelligence of five year olds. Blame their shifting powers. We'll get through it. Just find something simple and elegant. The twins will be happy whatever we do."

Mal pulled Regina's phone out of the brunette's back pocket before pulling her wife over to the couch with her. Together they looked up party ideas on Pinterest until Mal came across a simple idea that was elegant enough for Regina without necessarily forcing a theme on the girls.

"Mama!"

Both women looked over to see Emma and Lily standing up in the playpen, their little faces pressed against the mesh. Mal brought them over to their laps with a flick of her wrist and a cloud of green smoke.

Emma stood up on Regina's thighs to rest her head on her mama's shoulder. Lily just plopped right down in Mal's lap and looked up at her mother expectantly. "What do?"

Regina reached over and stroked Lily's dark curls which earned a whine from Emma. "I didn't forget you, my baby." She brought her hand back over to rub Emma's back, the other one under her bottom to hold her up. "We're planning your birthday. Want to see what it's going to look like?"

Both girls turned towards Regina's phone, causing Mal to laugh. "They're going to get addicted to that thing just like you are."

"Shush." Regina shot her wife a glare as she pulled up the party theme she'd found. It was simple, yes, but it was very pleasing to look at. Pale pink, pastel blue, silver, and white and everything in the shape of stars.

"'Tar." Emma's wet little finger popped out of her mouth and pressed against the screen.

"No. Bwoo. See, bwoo" Lily slapped Ema's hand away and pointed to the blue stars.

Mal quickly reached forward and grabbed Lily's hands as their girls glared and pouted. Large crocodile tears were forming in Emma's eyes and she wanted to diffuse the situation as quickly as possible. "You're both right. Lily, that is blue. There's also pink too. There the colours on the stars. Emma was right about those being stars."

Emma stuck her tongue out at Lily before turning and burying her face in Regina's neck.

Regina sighed. "Well, a lifetime of this will be interesting. We're finally going to be those parents on television who just pray to get through the day while their kids bicker all day."

Lily giggled before reaching over and poking Emma's ribs. Emma jumped and twisted around to face Lily, sticking her tongue out again. Lily mimicked her right back until they were both doubled over in a fit of giggles and pokes.

"I think we'll be just fine, dear. They're perfect." Mal couldn't help but smile as she watched her girls go from huffy and annoyed to giggles in a few short seconds. She knew it wouldn't always be this easy, but she would gladly take whatever they gave her. She scooted over closer to Regina and wrapped an arm around her while they watched their little ones play.

DQDQDQ

Mal sighed. This day was one she'd hoped to avoid. Somehow the doctor's appointment had been forgotten when they'd agreed on the day to meet Snow for the girls' birthday, and now both shitty things were on the same day just a few hours apart.

"Get up! Do you not hear the girls screaming to get out of their cribs? Dr. Prescott cleared an hour and a half for their appointment, and we still have to get them up, bathed, dressed, and fed. Please get up!"

Regina was rushing around in her closet. The water droplets lingering and slowly falling from the curling tip of Regina's hair told Mal she'd missed having a shower with her wife. Regina still insisted on trying to do things without magic to teach the girls the value of hard work, and how to live if their magic ever failed, but Mal didn't see that necessity. She flicked her wrist and was freshly ready to go. She went off to gather her babies while Regina finished getting ready.

Emma pouted and flopped down on her butt when she saw it was Mal instead of Regina. She didn't feel good, and she just wanted her mama. Lily cheered and started bouncing on the mattress waiting for her mother to pick her up.

"Good morning, babies." Mal scooped up Lily and placed her on her hip. "Emmie, you having a bad day?"

Mal was utterly shocked when Emma threw her head back and screamed at the top of her lungs. The screeching caused Regina to come running in. Mal pulled her back a second before Emma threw up all over the crib.

"Someone is not having a good day."

Emma only wailed louder at Mal's comment. Regina magicked Emma's clothes to the hamper so her baby was just in a diaper before picking her up, mindful of the rest of the dirty crib. "Shh, baby. You're okay. Let's go have a warm bath and see if you feel better."

Lily's excitement quickly died down when she was put in the bath. Regina and Mal would have found it cute how the girls cuddled up and tried to lay down and sleep if there wasn't a risk of drowning the girls didn't seem to know or care about.

"What happened? They were completely fine yesterday." Regina quickly shampooed Emma's hair, dodging little swats as Emma pouted and grunted up at her.

"No do. Em no want."

"Sorry, Lily, but you girls need to get clean. We've a big day." Mal tried to wash Lily, but was wholly unprepared for the fight the tot gave her. More water ended up on Mal than anything else.

Regina used magic to clean the bathroom before scooping her girls up in a large fluffy purple towel. Emma fought hard to get away from Regina as she tried to diaper her baby. The second Regina had it on, Emma scrambled away and tugged harshly at it until it fell off.

"NO!" Emma let her diaper fall to the ground as she stared her mama down before running away. Lily laughed and tried to follow suit, but Mal was quicker than that.

"Don't even think about it, Little Miss." Mal secured Lily's diaper with magic before gently rubbing the towel over her wet hair to try and keep her from getting sick. She handed Lily to Regina. "I'll go get our renegade. You can get her started on cereal. Their bottles are in the fridge."

Mal used magic to trace Emma's little footprints to find her baby curled up under their bed sucking on a pacifier, her blanket tucked tightly into her arm and under her head. "Emma, sweetheart, I know you feel yucky. Can you come out so Mommy can give you snuggles?"

"Tay here." Emma mumbled before scooching further away from Mal's reaching arms.

"You can't stay there, baby. We've got a busy day ahead of us."

Emma pouted and turned away from Mal. "No do."

Mal used magic to poof her baby into her arms. It earned her a deep frown from Emma. "You can be mad at me all you want. We still have to do things today. Do you want to get dressed?"

"NO!" Emma grumbled and burrowed down in Mal's lap. Mal tried to take the pacifier and Emma swatted at her hands.

"Emma, we do not hit. That's not nice. Can you tell Mommy what feels yucky?"

"Mama."

Mal stared at Emma in confusion, the back of her hand trying to check for fever. Emma pushed her hand away again. "Okay, I get you're crabby. Let's go see what Mama and Lil are doing."

Regina looked up from feeding Lily to find Emma still naked, cuddled into her wife's chest and clutching her blanket and going to town on her pacifier. "Dear, does she want a bottle?"

"NO!"

"Oh, well then. Excuse me mini madame. Mommy needs to get you dressed. No nakey babies today."

Lily was barely eating her cereal this morning so Regina knew Emma would be even worse if she tried. Once the girls were dressed, Regina and Mal took them to the party store to get supplies for their party. Both girls were content to sit in their carriers as Mal wheeled them around following Regina as she threw everything colour appropriate or star shaped into her cart.

They let the girls take their morning nap in their bed while they cleaned the crib. Regina broke down and used magic. There were very few things she couldn't handle, but vomit was high on her list of things too gross to manually deal with.

Dr. Prescott didn't bother trying to make a nurse see them alone. She brought two in with her. Both Lily and Emma had started crying the second they realized where they were. While Lily fought tooth and nail at everything while Emma just tried to bury herself into Regina.

"Emma threw up this morning. Neither is feeling well." Regina popped Emma's pacifier in the second Dr. Prescott finished looking in Emma's mouth.

"They're both slightly feverish, but everything seems fine. Emma's about seven pounds and three inches smaller than Lilith. I tried getting Snow to buy Pediasure Grow and Gain but she refused. I urge you to invest in them. Size difference isn't uncommon in twins, but Emma is at the very bottom percentile for her age group." The redheaded woman moved to listen to Emma's lungs, pleased at how clear they sounded.

Emma tried to curl up into a ball when a nurse came in carrying a tray of shots. She didn't like them, but they always meant cuddle time. Lily had other ideas and grabbed onto Emma's hand. Mal and Regina were so wrapped up in how cute it was that it took them a few moments to notice Lily had used Emma's added magic to freeze the room.

"Lilith Coraline Rose-Mills." Lily's eyes widened at her blonde mother. They'd never used her full name before. She burst out sobbing and held tighter to Emma's hand, but the room unfroze.

"I figured it wasn't Emma. She never fights me on shots. It'll only hurt for a second, little one. Emma will show you how to do it. Olivia, would you prep all Emma's shots?" Dr. Prescott smiled at Emma, rubbing her naked thighs with an alcohol wipe. Emma just glared before turning her face to hide in Regina's shirt.

Regina was impressed that Emma barely even flinched at the three shots to her little legs. She felt the wet patches from Emma's silent tears against her stomach, but she was the exact opposite to Lily. Despite having watched how calm her sister just was, Lily fought hard. She screamed and sobbed. Mal had to use her magic to help Dr. Prescott not get a foot or fist while quickly delivering the shots.

"All done, Miss Lily. Would you and Emma like a toy?" Dr. Prescott took the basket of small prizes from her nurse to present to Lily.

Lily eyed her skeptically as she quickly snatched a purple ball from the basket. Mal tried to get her to say thank you, but all they got was a feral growl. Dr. Prescott knew the small blonde had to be coaxed out of her hiding spot. Emma rarely picked a prize. Emma peeked back out at the doctor only to be handed a grey small plush chick.

"I'll see them back in three months. Mild fevers under 102 are normal after vaccines. Give them some baby Tylenol and they should be alright. If their fever gets worse than 102, or they present with rashes, redness on the injection sites, or vomiting call me. Good job girls." Dr. Prescott left Regina and Maleficent to deal with the upset twins.

Mal leaned down and kissed Lily's bandages before kissing her face all over until she giggled. Regina normally joined in, but she had her own little one currently clinging to her and trying to hide inside her shirt. She smoothed back some of Emma's wild curls before noticing how flushed her face was.

"It's just from crying, darling. We'll give them some Tylenol and keep an eye on them. They'll be okay." Mal squeezed Regina's shoulder before bringing her wife's head closer to kiss her temple.

"We have a little over an hour before our visit. I'm too exhausted to make lunch. Do you want to go visit Granny's?"

Emma's whining cut in before Mal could respond to Regina. "Mama!"

Regina rubbed Emma's back and started lightly bouncing. "Mama's right here, baby. What's wrong?"

Emma burst into tears which prompted Lily to start crying too. Mal knew her babies would just proceed to scream if they tried to put them in their carseats, so she poofed them to the diner.

"Babies!" Ruby rushed over, stopping short when she realized the girls were crying. "Oh no. Why the tears? Do you two want to colour?"

Lily whined as she reached out and swatted at Ruby while Emma turned her face into Regina's neck to hide.

Mal quickly grabbed Lily's hand. "We're having some trouble today with not hitting. They just had their shots though, so a booth would be good. Maybe two extra small vanilla milkshakes for them?"

The gesture surprised Regina. They'd been so careful about the girls' eating habits since Emma's knots. Today was an incredibly stressful day, and it wasn't even half over yet. She just hoped the day ended soon so they could go home and just snuggle in her bed. She silently followed her wife to a booth in the back corner and slid into the seat still holding Emma.

Lily started crying until Mal moved into the same side of the booth as Regina and Emma. Regina smiled when Lily and Emma reached for each other again, their little hands holding together tightly. Ruby was only too eager to bring over two vanilla milkshakes in the smallest glasses the diner had.

The treat seemed to perk the girls up a bit, but they didn't eat much of their lunch. The girls were wholly confused when Mal poofed them to the visitation room. Before they could start crying again, Regina conjured their blankets and their pacifiers. They were all cuddled together on the couch when Snow burst through the doors followed by Kathryn holding two large gift bags.

"Nohs?" Emma pushed herself up in Regina's lap and shook Lily until she sat up too.

Snow beamed a smile and walked over to her baby. "Hi honey. Why are you sad?"

Emma pointed to her thigh. "P'cott."

"Oh, you saw Dr. Prescott today? Did she give you colorful ouchies?"

Emma nodded and tried to wriggle her pants down. When she couldn't, Emma magicked them away to show off her coloured plasters.

"You got three? Did she give you a prize for being a good girl?"

Emma proudly held up her tiny chick. "Mine. Lee ball."

"My ball." Lily pulled her ball out of her pocket to examine it before stashing it away again. She eyed her sister's toy. She snatched it out of Emma's hands. "Mine."

"NO! Be nice." Emma took her little chick back and smoothed the ruffled fur feathers, cooing at it like it was a real bird. She delivered a stern look at her sister and wagged a finger as one hand cupped her baby. "Nice."

"Mommy! Mine." Lily pouted up at her blonde mother, expecting to get Emma's toy too.

"No, Lily. That's Emma's toy. You picked the ball. If you want to see Emma's duck, ask, otherwise you let her toy be." Mal raised her eyebrow as Lily continued to pout and reach for Emma's toy.

Snow motioned Kathryn forward and took the present bags from the lawyer. She'd triple checked her list before sending the blonde out to get the gifts. She was being kept in the jail while the police worked on bringing down Rumple, so it wasn't like she could go present shopping for the girls herself. "I brought presents."

Emma carefully tucked her chick into the crook in the arm of the couch before taking the purple bag presented to her. Snow handed Lily a darker purple bag. Each had the correct initial on the front. Lily looked at Emma, smiling, before digging in. She threw the tissue paper all over until she could finally pull out her first present. Emma was much neater. She pulled out the paper and handed it to Mal.

"Ooh. ball!" Lily waved around her new bright green spiky sensory ball.

Emma pulled out a large bag of Megabloks first building blocks. She lost interest in the rest of the presents in the bag until Regina pulled out a bag of strawberry yogurt drops. Neither Emma nor Lily held much interest in the clothes. There was a DVD each. Lily got a shape sorter. She pulled out a plush raccoon and looked over to see her brunette mother helping Emma pull out a large plush robin.

"Mine!" Lily reached over and grabbed the bird while Emma grabbed the raccoon and snuggled it happily before holding it up to Regina. "Mee'o!"

Snow frowned. She'd wanted Emma to have the bird to show Regina and Maleficent that Emma was really her daughter, but she seemed so happy with the raccoon. "Mio?"

"Meeko, the raccoon from Pocahontas. Emma loves that movie." Regina smiled down at Emma and indulged her in petting the stuffed animal's head.

"Mee'o!" Emma pulled the raccoon to her little chest before suddenly popping up and bringing the little chick into her hand. The adults all smiled as Emma looked to be introducing her new little animals to each other.

Mal looked at the last gift in Lily's bag and shook her head. She was tempted to punch Snow. The woman was absolutely narcissistic. "I'm not giving her that doll. That's completely inappropriate."

"Why? They have other Disney princess dolls do they not?" Snow huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, her joy instantly vanishing.

Regina pulled out Emma's doll and frowned. "The same reason we don't give them dolls of us. They're too young to understand the difference between it just being society's version of a character they don't believe is real and actual people. Emma and Lily have never met the real versions of most their dolls, and if they have, we're very careful to not have them confused."

Emma and Lily stared at the Snow White animator's edition doll. It was as big as them. Lily scrunched up her face in confusion as she poked the box before looking up at Mal for an explanation. Emma looked between Snow and the doll before pushing the box to the floor and started crying.

Regina glared at Snow as she tried to soothe Emma. Snow just smiled at them, pleased that she caused such drama.

"Okay, maybe the animator doll and the my first princess doll could be donated to the kids here at the hospital instead? Snow, you were told that if you were to bring gifts to make them appropriate. Keep in mind that every action goes into consideration of a next visit and this was an incredibly poor decision." Anna eyed Snow warily before writing a bunch in her notebook.

"Emmie, I found A Pup Named Scooby-Doo for you." Snow motioned for Kat to give her the DVD set.

Mal's brows furrowed in confusion as Emma reached for the DVD. "What is that?"

"Emma's favourite cartoon."

Kat shifted nervously as the tension in the room grew. "Regina, the girls look exhausted. Why don't we try again a different day? Emma looks a bit flushed."

"What? No! They agreed to this visit. I want to see my Emma." Snow was immediately angry and stood up, frightening both girls.

Anna and Kat were already on edge, and after the dolls Regina and Mal were upset. None of them hesitated to call in the security team to remove Snow.

Emma sighed as some very large men made Snow leave the room. "Bad Nohs. No be good."

Mal scooped up Emma into her lap. "I'm sorry, baby. Snow wasn't very good today. We can try a different day if you want. You ready to go home?" Emma nodded and snuggled in next to Lily. Maleficent, however, handed them both to Regina.

"I'll take them home. You can have it out with Kat. Bring home their gifts, but leave the dolls. That's never happening." Regina gave her wife a kiss before poofing herself and the girls home.

Mal slowly got up from the couch. Kat noticed the predatory glare in the taller blonde's eyes and stepped backwards holding her hands up.

"Maleficent, whatever you're about to do, you don't need to do. Think of the girls!"

"That's funny considering you didn't think of my girls when you bought them those Snow White dolls. I don't care if she gave you a list of only Snow items. She's in jail while you're not. You could have said no. You should have said no. Better yet, you should have not even bought them and let her deal with it later on." Mal advanced on Kat until she was backed up into a wall.

Kat shot a pleading glance at the social worker. "I'm sorry. I messed up. She scares me more than a little. I won't make that mistake again."

Maleficent growled at the trapped woman. She'd love nothing more than to give into her instinct and make this wretched woman into a snack, but sadly the former princess was still Regina's friend. "I suggest you don't, or I won't let you go next time."

Anna stepped in as Mal finally stepped back, releasing the terrified lawyer. "Okay, let's not say things we might regret later. I'd like to have a behavioural psychologist run some tests on Snow to determine if these visits should continue. What happened today was deliberate and meant to provoke Regina and Maleficent. She seemed gleeful that it caused Emma to cry, and I won't allow these visitations to continue if it's going to put the children in harm's way."

"Finally someone with sense. I'd love to terminate these pointless visitations. Emma is always sad for days afterwards, and she's not happy during them. I've got a family to return to." Mal threw up her hands and disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.

Regina had the girls in fleece onesie pajamas cuddling on their bed and watching a movie. Maleficent loved when her wife dressed down into yoga pants and one of her tee shirts. Using magic to change quickly, she hopped into bed and snuggled in next to her little family.

DQDQDQDQ

Briar had come over early with Stefan and Aurora to help Regina set up. Maleficent and Stefan stood back and watched the girls run around and play until they were asked to do something.

"Did you bring her?" Mal was leaning against the wall watching her girls show Aurora their new toys. She turned her head to glance at Stefan, who nodded.

Stefan eyed her skeptically. "Beast is in the shed out back tied up with some hay and water like you instructed. You sure Regina will go for this?"

"Yes. We both discussed the pet thing numerous times. Emma tried to steal a piglet from the fall festival. She adores animals. She won't let Lily be mean to her stuffed animals. It'd be good for Lily to learn some patience and to be a bit kinder. Regina agreed to a pet, and I miss my unicorn."

"You bought two babies a mini unicorn. It has hooves and teeth, and a freaking horn, Maleficent. It can't be an indoor pet unless you find a miracle to train it to go to the bathroom in a litterbox. Are you going to have time to properly exercise a horse and two babies?"

Mal silently considered his points. The whole bathroom thing was going to be a problem, but she knew what little love bugs mini unicorns could be. She'd just have to use magic to deal with that, but she was confident the girls would love her.

Regina couldn't thank Briar enough for helping her set up. While the theme was simple enough, their living room space was quite large. The backyard needed to be decorated too to have an additional space to run around if it was warm enough later.

"I brought what you asked for. Are you sure you want to take on a puppy and two babies?" Briar sipped her mimosa slowly before rearranging the blacks stars on the silver bucket that was going to hold something.

"The breed is kid friendly, easily trainable, and hypoallergenic. It's also an Italian breed. My mother would have been pleased. Lagotto Romagnolo are hard to come by. I found the little chocolate and white curly fluff ball irresistible. The dark hair reminded me of Lily and the green eyes of Emma. They'll love her. Emma wants a pet so badly."

Briar frowned. "Did you ask Mallie? Animals tend to be skittish around her dragon. The puppy is adorable, but your wife and babies are dragons who could potentially view it as a food source."

Regina just shrugged. "Mal said a pet would be fine. We discussed it extensively after Emma tried to abduct a piglet. The girls have had a rough week. I think we can manage a puppy in the mix."

"Puppies bite, scratch, go to the bathroom everywhere, need a lot of exercise and attention. Emma may be mellow, but Lily could hurt her or she could hurt thee girls. Larkin would understand if you brought her back."

"No! Lily is a bit aggressive, but she can learn to be gentler and kinder with the puppy. Emma won't let her hurt the poor dear. The breed is extremely trainable, and I already have a biter. Emma does not like to be touched by strangers. she's even bitten Mal when she's upset. This puppy will be good for us."

Regina was sure the girls would love the puppy. She'd already fallen in love with the little thing. Briar's concerns were valid, but nonplus. They finally got all thee decorations set up and the little gift bags assembled. The party would start in an hour.

Mal watched as Lily and Aurora dragged out all the animator collection dolls. She couldn't ever remember playing dolls unless Briar had forced her. Emma didn't look too thrilled to have to play with them until Lily tried to force her to take the Rapunzel doll.

Emma frowned as Lily shoved the blonde doll into her hands. Lily just pointed to the doll and then to her saying 'you'. Emma didn't want the doll that looked like her though. She stood up and dropped the Rapunzel doll, latching onto the Pocahontas doll. "Mine!"

Lily frowned and tugged the doll closer to her. "NO! Mine!" She whined when Emma kept tugging on the doll. Her sister didn't even like dolls. She wasn't about to give up her doll when Emma didn't wanna play.

"What's going on in here?"

Both girls held fiercely onto the doll as they turned to their brunette mother. "Mine!"

Regina sighed and freed each little hand from the arms of the doll, holding it above them. "If you can't share your toys nicely, Mama is going to take them away. There are plenty of other dolls."

Lily huffed before glaring at Emma and going to find a different doll. Emma, however, flopped down and started crying. "Mine!"

"Sorry, Emma, but if you can't play nicely then the toy needs a timeout." Regina took the doll up with her to the girls' room to grab their outfits. She'd found these adorable lace rompers in pink and blue stripes that looked absolutely adorable and matched her colour scheme perfectly. Her babies were running around in just their diapers right now. They'd been on a naked kick lately, but hopefully they'd behave today.

The girls didn't initially take well to being dressed, but once people started coming over and more kids came, they forgot all about their unhappiness in being clothed. There were little games and activities for the kids. There were several platters of food and buckets of drinks for the adults.

A redheaded woman was stopped on the way into the house. Regina was livid when, in the midst of her mingling, she noticed a large man she recognized from the visitation security detail talking to her wife. She excused herself and made her way over to her wife.

"Is there a problem here?"

Mal silently cursed as she took in the pissed expression of her wife. "I had to. I didn't trust Snow or Gold to not show up some how. We're letting a lot of people and their kids in here. I just wanted to protect the girls."

"You could have talked to me before bringing security into our home. Do you realize how this looks? Our guests had to be frisked and checked for glamours. No one is going to trust us anymore. I don't need people thinking I'm a paranoid nut right before reelection."

Zelena smirked to herself, enjoying the little spat the two seemed to be having. She decided to add to the tension. Extending her free hand in front of Regina, she introduced herself. "Hello. I'm Zelena West. I just came here from Oz. I found your nanny request in the newspaper. I thought this might be a good time to observe the girls and see if we'd be a good fit."

Regina spun to face her wife. "You did what?!"

Mal held her hands up, already feeling the migraine coming on. "We both know that watching the girls at your office is too difficult since there's two and they're mobile. Neither of us wants daycare, so a nanny is the best option. I only placed an ad inquiring that potential interviewees call me." Mal shot a glare at Zelena before looking back at her wife.

Regina's gaze was narrowed as she stared at her wife. "We'll talk about this later."

"I was unaware you didn't know. I brought presents." Zelena plastered a fake smile on her face but she became unsettled as the feeling of being watched washed over her.

Emma watched the tall redheaded suspiciously. Something felt off about her. Lily had no problem running over to her and getting a hug, but Emma refused. She walked the other way. Zelena frowned as the mini blonde seemed to avoid her at all costs. She managed to corner Emma and went to pinch her cheeks.

"Aren't you just the cutest little thing?"

Emma glared at her, a low growl rumbling in her chest. "No."

Regina noticed Zelena was trying to get close to Emma. She quickly made her way over to Mal and nudged her to look in their direction. "She's going to bite your only applicant."

Mal couldn't help but smile. She prided herself on Emma biting people. It sounded horrible, but Emma was so laidback and mellow normally that her biting people reminded her mothers that she was indeed a dragon and had a bit of mischief in her. It was probably bad though that Emma was about to scare off the new nanny. She raced over just as Zelena went to touch Emma. Sharp little canines sank into Zelena's wrist before Mal could pull Emma away.

"That was quite rude. Biting is not nice, little lady. You wouldn't like it if I bit you now, would you?" Zelena rubbed her wrist over the bright red teeth marks that were already bruising.

Emma made a noise somewhere between a growl and a hiss. "No!"

"Sorry. We didn't get around to giving you the warning not to approach her. Emma doesn't like strangers coming into her personal space. You've got to give her some time to adjust and get to know you before she'll feel comfortable. She bites everyone." Mal scooped Emma up and gave a half hearted apologetic smile to the redhead.

"Mommy no." Emma glared at Zelena before hiding her face against Mal's collarbone.

Lily ran over and pulled on Mal's pant leg until she lowered Emma to the ground. Once Lily had Emma's little hand in hers, they took off.

"Sorry. It takes a while to get used to them. Perhaps if you just observed from a distance it might be better? I brought you an ice pack. It won't be the first time one of them bites you if we decide to hire you on." Regina appeared next to her wife and handed a small ice pack to Zelena.

A red brow raised. "Pardon?"

Mal's face broke out into a full fledged grin. "Oh, our babies are dragons. They haven't shifted yet, but they're very in tune with their inner animal."

Zelena did her best not to sneer. Great, just another obstacle for her to overcome before she could destroy her sister.

It came time for dessert. Instead of cake, Regina and Mal had opted for star shaped sugar cookies with either pink or blue frosting. It cut down on the sugar while still being delicious. The kids didn't seem to mind either. After dessert came present opening. Aurora wedged herself into the group and tried helping Lily and Emma open gifts. Lily loved the dresses and the dolls. Emma loved the stuffed animals and the games. When the party wrapped up and it was just Briar, Stefan, Kat, Zelena, Aurora, Emma, and Lily left in the house, both mothers went to retrieve their pets.

Mal and Regina walked into the room at the same time with their animals. Emma and Lily looked between them completely unsure who to run to first. Regina and Mal froze, staring at each other in shock. When Regina's animal squirmed, Emma got up and ran over as fast as her little legs would go. She reached up and made grabby hands until Regina snapped out of her shock at Mal in their house with a horse.

"Emma, this is your puppy for you and Lily. Her name is-"

"Doggy!" Emma interrupted her mother and clapped her hands before holding her arms out for the puppy.

"No, Emma. Her name is Cosima. If you sit down you can hold her."

"My doggy." Emma was too excited to listen to her mother and reached forward to pet the puppy.

The group watched in amazement as the squirming, whining puppy settled as Emma cooed at it. Regina helped Emma hold the puppy so she wasn't hurting her. Cosima leaned up and lapped at Emma's face repeatedly causing the tiny blonde to erupt in giggles.

Lily charged at the unicorn, causing the beast to shake her head and back up, trying to flee. Emma paused her attention on little Cosima and walked over to her sister. She tugged Lily's hand until she stopped. "No. Be nice."

Lily watched as Emma walked over to the all black unicorn, holding out her hand. Mal crouched down and calmed the mini beast, reassuring that her new tiny masters wouldn't hurt her. Emma smiled at the unicorn as she sniffed her hand before lowering her head. Once the beast trusted her enough, she pulled Lily forward. "Nice Lee."

"You got them a unicorn?" Regina hissed, in awe of the delicacy in which Emma approached animals.

Mal turned to stare incredulously at her wife. "You got them a puppy. You don't even like dogs."

"We can't keep them both. One of them will have to go back."

Emma's eyes narrowed as she spun to face her mothers. She scooped up the puppy in one arm and grabbed Lily's hand with her free one. "Dis mine. Bad Mama."

The girls and the animals disappeared in a cloud of white smoke, startling everyone, Zelena most especially. Poofing yourself was an advanced spell. These babies could poof themselves and two animals as well.

"They have magic? However are you going to find the little darlings?"

Regina turned to scoff at Zelena before disappearing in a cloud of purple smoke. Mal just sighed. "It's not a good idea to provoke her. My wife has an evil temper you don't want to be on the other side of. We'll be right back." Mal disappeared in her own cloud of green smoke.

Mal followed her wife to find the girls huddled by the docks with the animals. They seemed to be waiting for the ferry to come pick them up. She chuckled in amusement. "Baby dolls, just where do you think you're going?"

The puppy whined and Lily squeezed Emma's hand tighter. Both girls spun around and extended an arm out in front of them, ready to attack. Emma's little protection shield flew up.

"No Mommy! Mine! No tay."

Regina slowly approached and crouched in front of the shield to be level with Emma and Lily despite the obstructive pencil skirt. "My heart, do you want to keep both pets?"

Both girls nodded, their little bottom lips sticking out in an adorable pout. Lily grabbed onto the unicorn's leash and Emma held the puppy close.

Mal walked over and placed a hand on her wife's shoulder. "Babies, if you want both pets, your Mama and I will try it out and see how it goes. It'll be okay."

Emma's little eyebrows furrowed as she shook her head no. "Mine!"

Regina chuckled that her wife had failed. "Emmie, Mommy and I promise we will let you keep your pets. It's alright. We promise."

"Do you have a name for your unicorn?" Maleficent hadn't given the darling thing a name yet.

Lily smiled up at her. "Pe'ny."

Regina and Mal were confused until a wreath of flowers appeared around the unicorn's neck. Mal thought the name was an odd choice, but she'd have to wait for an explanation.

"Peony is a beautiful name, little flower. How about we go home now? It's cold out here." Regina certainly felt the chill from the sea air. She didn't want her girls or their new pets to get ill.

"No tay?" Emma double checked. She clearly didn't trust her mothers not to take her babies back.

Regina shook her head no. "We're not taking them away from you. It's cold out here though, and all your presents are at home. You don't want Cosima and Peony to get cold do you?"

Lily shook her head no as Emma held her puppy closer. Slowly the shield lowered and Regina scooped up Lily. Mal grabbed the reins for Peony in one hand and scooped up Emma and the puppy in the other. They returned home to find everyone still there.

Emma talked over to Aurora so she could pet the puppy too. "Cosi so good." She smiled at her cousin and encouraged her to not be afraid.

"Are you two sure that you can handle taking care of two young pets and two babies? That's going to be a lot of work." Briar was still unsure this whole pet thing was a good idea. Emma and Lily were a handful on their own, and then to add two pets on top of them. She feared it would get too chaotic, and someone was bound to suffer.

Lily frowned and wagged her finger at her aunt. "Mine and Em. No tay."

Regina soothed Lily while Mal assured her sister that they were going to try it. She was fairly confident that with determination and patience, she and Regina could manage just fine.

Zelena suffered through helping Briar, Kat, Regina, and Mal clean up while the kids played. She hugged Lily goodbye. She settled for nodding at Emma when the tiny blonde glared at her.

"We'll call you after we review your resumé. Thank you for your help cleaning up." Regina bid the woman off. Something about the redhead rubbed her the wrong way, but she seemed to get on with Lily. Emma took time to warm up to people. She just hoped more people applied for being the girls' nanny so they'd have some options maybe Emma liked better.

The girls crashed hard after dinner curled up in a pile. Cosima was nestled under Emma's arms against her chest as both girls used Peony as a pillow.

Mal came up behind Regina, wrapping her arms around her wife's waist and resting her head on the brunette's right shoulder as they observed their girls together. "We're blessed. You and the babies are my whole world. I love you my queen."

Regina turned her head and kissed Maleficent. "I love you too. You're still in the doghouse for the nanny and, the security team, and the unicorn."

Mal poofed the girls to their bed so she and Regina could snuggle them tonight before poofing the pets to their respective beds in the room she'd just cleared for them. "Let's go snuggle our babies and celebrate the last few hours of their birthday together."

Regina honestly couldn't remember a happier time in her life than right now, snuggled tight against her wife, holding their birthday girls as they slept peacefully. She wished this day didn't have to end. Mal smiled contently, knowing exactly what her wife was thinking. She leaned over and kissed her wife before taking a picture of them all together on the bed. It'd be one for thee scrapbooks for sure. Thee mothers fell asleep with smiles on their faces, perfectly content in their present little world.

Across town, another mother was plotting her revenge as she lit the candle on a single cupcake in honour of the birthday she wasn't allowed to celebrate with her baby.