Notes

Unplanned DQ baby and a little bit of Maleficent trying to understand the modern world of Storybrooke.

The candle flame split immediately, pulsing as two flames from one wick. The white of the chicken egg began to burn the moment her blood touched the surface. The scrap of iron spun three times while the wood was still.

The last test, the one from this realm, a shard of plastic with its little window, is less dignified than any of the magical tests she knows (urine is a crude form of magic), and that one too sits there with its little blue cross. They tried to prevent this, succeeded, they thought, in binding their energies to keep them from combining as they did when Lily was conceived. They designed the spell together, her centuries of experience and Regina's wealth of magical knowledge, should have been enough.

The little wall clock that she used to time the shard promises there are a handful of minutes before Regina's alarm goes off. Maleficent banishes all of the pregnancy tests but the modern one. That she tucks into the pocket of her pyjamas to show Regina, or perhaps look at again a few hundred times because everything she knows about magic insists this should not have happened.

She balances her hands on the sink, and shuts her eyes. Her head throbs, as is has on and off for days, but refreshingly, it is not the magic that brought her back to life fading, as she feared, but life that's causing this pain.

That she can live with.

She crawls back into bed with Regina, wrapping her arm around her chest. Regina's breathing continues, slow and even. She sleeps deeply, unless the baby cries, because raising Henry made it so that she cannot sleep through that sound, no matter how tired she is. The little bird's still asleep today, and the house lies silent. When she focuses her senses, lets the human part go, she hears all of them: Henry's breathing down the hall, Zelena's murmuring in her sleep and the soft sounds of the little bird. She has to let go, reaching out with magic to find Lily, already at work because Granny's has coffee to serve.

Lily's magic stretches back, warm for a moment because she must be able to feel her presence, sense her thoughts resting on her like a hand on her shoulder. Mal's phone lights up on the beside table past Regina's head. Lily doesn't know how to reply with magic yet, but she's quick with that.

"Hi moms," the little rectangle reads on the screen.

Mal smiles at that, then buries her face in Regina's hair. Three minutes float by like a century, and she slips her legs behind Regina's, pressing their bodies together. She will make this one fit too, Maleficent trusts that instinct of Regina's more than anything. This child too will have a home and be loved.

The alarm's cruel chimes shatter the moment of quiet, but Regina must have been awake because she turns, rolling in her arms.

"Hey."

Mal strokes her cheek, brushing Regina's dark hair out of her eyes. "You were awake?"

"I could hear you thinking," Regina says, then kisses her. "All that creaking's hard to sleep through."

Chuckling, Mal reaches over from her and picks up the phone to reply to Lily. She'll be at work all morning, but they could get coffee from her on the way to work. Lily should know after Regina. Lily, Henry, and then the formerly green witch. Then of course she'll have to tell the Charmings, because Henry's grandparents are an strange extension of their family, and Emma is also so willing to help, with the little bird, and with Lily. Regina's family extends so far beyond the walls of her house, and this baby, this insistent little plus sign, will send ripples through all of it.

"Can we visit Lily on the way to the office?"

"Of course," Regina answers, sitting up in bed beside her. "Do you want to tell me now, or on the way?"

"Tell you what?"

Regina runs her hand over her cheek, then strokes her forehead. "Why you're looking at me like I'm going to poof away if you blink."

It's still early enough. Henry won't be awake for another half hour and Zelena will sleep until the little bird decides she needs to be fed. Half an hour is barely enough time, but their lives are shared with many.

"I love you."

"I love you too, but that's not-"

Maleficent sits up, reaching for Regina's hands. She holds her cooler fingers, staring down at them. "I know we, I mean, we agreed, there's so much going on, we designed the spell together, but we, I must have made some kind of mistake, and I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?"

"I'm pregnant."

Regina's smile falters. "That's not-" she starts to protest. "You wouldn't joke about that"

Fishing the shard from her pocket, Maleficent passes it to Regina. "There's another under the bathroom sink if you want me to try again, I bought two in case I followed the directions incorrectly."

"You bought this?"

"From the shop that has diapers, Zelena asked me to pick them up and I saw it on the shelf and every other test I know was insistent, and I thought perhaps this one would not be. I don't know how it got through our spell, what we did wrong, but it doesn't seem to matter."

Regina's mouth crashes into hers, warm and full of forgiveness. "How long have you known?" she asks, her forehead pressed against hers.

Mal glances at the clock and smiles. "Seventeen minutes."

This time Regina laughs, low and gentle. "All right." She rubs her eyes and sighs. "We can do this."

"We don't, I mean, we-"

Regina meets her eyes, and everything about her is firm and strong. She's wonderful that way. "You want this."

Maleficent doesn't even have to nod, and she can't speak; her throat won't allow her to make more than a soft little gasp.

Regina hugs her again, holding her against her chest. "We'll need to make an appointment, get everything confirmed, the office opens at eight, so we can call after we talk to Lily."

Pulling herself up from Regina's chest, Mal kisses her this time. "Are you all right with this?"

"It's your choice."

"Regina!"

Sighing, Regina stares at her, watching her tears. "I can't tell you what to do."

"You can tell me what you want."

Her little smile aches as much as Mal's head. "I want you," Regina says. "I didn't, couldn't help you with Lily, and I- we- didn't work before, not in that world, and I've buried the person who was my happy ending twice now, and I know we've talked about that. Tried not to worry about more than the moment, because it's good, we've been so happy, even with everything, everyone that needs us." She pauses, staring down at the bed and at that little shard of plastic. "We can have one more. If you want to, I- well- I'd like to be there, this time, with you."

Regina's lips are wet, and tears seem unstoppable this morning.

"That's all I want."

They dress in a hurry, Regina running her hands through her hair with magic instead of taking the time to shower. She insists on Maleficent drinking another two glasses of water so they can try the second test, but the two minutes it takes to come up positive again are pleasant, because Regina's there with her, putting on lipstick and resting a hand on her belly.

"How long do you think it's been?"

"Ninety seconds."

Regina kisses her cheek, leaving lipstick there to punish her insolence. "When did it happen? How long have you felt-" she stops. "How do you feel?"

"Lightheaded."

"That's not-"

"I've been tired."

"I knew that, but the town's been busy, I've been giving you more of my work, and Robin's teething so no one's been sleeping here."

Mal catches her, wrapping her arms around Regina and holding her, head on her shoulder while they wait for the little shard to against announce that they are adding an unknown person to their family.

"Blaming yourself for not realizing that something neither of us thought could happen had occurred will not help."

"I should have-"

"No," Mal stops her there. "You love me, well, and wholeheartedly, you are perfect."

"I-" Regina halts again, mid-protest. The blue cross wait for them both to act, content that its message is clear.

"Am going to be a mother, again," Mal says, then kisses her cheek. "Congratulations."

Turning in her arms, Regina kisses her, taking away the fear of the moment, and the moments to come.

Breakfast is quick, and they both kiss Henry on his way to school. He's a sweet boy, half-way to adulthood and wise beyond his years. He doesn't question Regina's affection, and Mal's makes him smile, but he accepts it. Zelena and the little bird aren't down yet, but they can tell her that afternoon, after they'be told Lily, and talked to whatever doctor Regina's going to drag her to.

Granny's is busy, all the tables are full and the wait for drinks is longer than usual. Lily has a way with the fancy metal machine that makes coffee in tiny metal cups. She pours that into larger cups, combining and stirring. She'd be wonderful with potions when she' decides to explore that part of her abilities.

Lily pours Regina's coffee into a white heart on top of brown, and she takes a moment longer with Mal's. (Regina nearly stepped on her foot when she ordered, apparently she should drink decaf now.). When Lily passes the drink over, there's a dragon head there, poured and etched in the surface of the foam.

"It's wonderful."

Lily beams. "Thanks mom."

They head back to the car and Regina passes her the keys. "I want to call the hospital, make you an appointment."

After Maleficent passed the driver's examination, she only drives when Regina needs her to, to pick up Henry, or take Zelena somewhere. Regina always drives when they're together, but now, Regina looks at her over the car, her smile tentative.

"Okay." The office isn't far, and she's made her peace with the mechanical beast. Regina's bullied her way in for just before lunch, which means they only have to spend the morning staring at each other over the conference room table.

Regina takes her coffee from her hands.

"Lily made that."

"You shouldn't have caffeine."

Mal waves and whisks the coffee back to her hand. "One latte, will not hurt me. I had three yesterday because I was tired."

Regina winces. "We didn't know yesterday, and you didn't say it was that bad."

"You were working."

Resting her face in her hands, Regina folds her lips into a line. "I work almost every day."

"It's one of my favorite things about you," Mal says over her paperwork. "You're so dedicated."

The latest apartment project requires a rezoning of an empty field near the edge of town into residential and that means she'll need to file four forms with the county zoning authority. That office isn't online yet, which is good, she's still developing her understanding of computers. She's half buried in the work, writing numbers on the correct lines, filling the boxes, when Regina's over her shoulder, looming.

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you tell me before you bought a pregnancy test?"

Mal turns in her chair, staring up at her. "Because between this morning and last night when I bought it I had you to myself for a limited amount of time and there were other things I wanted to do with you than discuss the complete failure of the contraceptive spell we worked so hard on."

Regina doesn't even smile at that. "You prioritized sex?"

Drawing Regina's hands to hers, Mal smirks. "I did."

Regina looks away, and this is not about the handful of hours where Maleficent lay awake, staring at the ceiling and wondering what component they might have gotten wrong. This is about Lily.

Lifting Regina's hands to her chest, Mal clears her throat. "I tried to wait, but I couldn't."

"You didn't wake me up. You can always wake me up. You know that."

"I know." Mal squeezes her hands. "I needed to know before I spoke to you."

"Why?"

Getting to her feet, Mal puts her hands on Regina's shoulders, then leans down to kiss her forehead. "Because I didn't want you to see me disappointed."

Regina stares at her, holds her closer. "You never said anything about wanting a baby."

"I didn't know, I wasn't- I love your sister's little bird, and Henry, and Lily. They're wonderful, they're enough, but I felt this, you, and I wondered if part of you was in me, and then I wanted it." Maleficent sinks down to the table, resting on it because her knees are weak. "When I woke up this morning, I wanted to be pregnant. I thought about that test and all the other tests I knew, and I wanted them to be positive. I love you, and I wanted more of you, of us, and I didn't want to have to explain that to you because it's so selfish. We have children, we have a family, and being pregnant is not easy, or pleasant, and a baby is another several years of diapers and not sleeping and worrying and yet-"

Regina hugs her so tightly that neither of them can breathe. "I wanted Henry so much that I was willing to risk breaking the curse for him, I know what that feels like. I understand."

Mal holds her, wrapping herself in the sensation of Regina's breathing, in her heartbeat, in the warmth of her magic, waiting beneath the surface. "I haven't done this, you know, ever, I've lived for centuries and I have never shared my life with any creature, until you."

"And I come with an entourage," Regina adds, still holding her. "You get me and everyone else, my sister and her baby, Emma and the two idiots, and that's a lot for someone who used to live all alone in the Forbidden Fortress." Regina's hand rests on her stomach, slipping inside of Maleficent's blazer.

"What's one more?" Mal asks, smiling at her, finding her hope.

Regina takes a moment, then returns her smile, at first tentatively, but it grows until she's beaming at her. "Everything."

"You'll feel a little pinch," the nurse says, lowering the needle to Maleficent's arm. "Then it'll be all done."

It's not a pinch, but the sharp sensation of a needle penetrating her arm, and everyone knows this, but for some reason they're perpetuating the lie.

Regina squeezes her other hand, and they watch the nurse fill four little vials with blood, one after the other.

"A pregnancy test will take a few hours, I know it can be nervewracking, so I'll ask the lab to call you before the end of the day. I'll just drop these off if you want to get undressed so we can do the internal exam."

The nurse slaps a sticky thing over the little wound and takes off the piece of rubber that she wrapped around Maleficent's arm. None of it makes any sense, but Regina's listening, she's here.

"You can keep your shirt on," the nurse says, reading into Mal's confusion, but I'll need your pants off, and you up here. Mayor Mills can stay, of course, we just need to check your cervix and make sure everything looks okay."

The nurse leaves them to it, and Regina squeezes her wrist. "It'll be quick."

"What is a cervix and why does she want to check it?"

Regina sighs and points to a rather graphic cross-section of what a child in the womb looks like on the wall. "This is a cervix, it closes tight when you're pregnant, holding the baby in place. It's up, inside, so when she says internal exam she means-"

"It'll be a lot less fun than having your hand up there."

Regina swallows an amused little sound. "I imagine so."

"You'll stay?"

"I'll be right here."

That's enough. Maleficent sighs, stands and starts removing her trousers. The drawing on the wall shows all the organs of this poor woman squashed together, making room for a sleeping infant. Pregnancy is this body appears much more difficult than laying an egg, and the stack of papers the nurse wants her to read suggest that this is only the beginning.

Without her pants or underwear, even with the sheet, and Regina, it's a strange, wary feeling, sitting there waiting for the nurse. She can't take her eyes off of the drawing, or the others like it. Instead of forming inside an egg, humans carry their young directly, held in blood and water, instead of a shell. It might not be too late to try and find the magic to change it, to carry this child as a dragon, not a human, but it could be dangerous. They got the birth control spell wrong, so something like that wouldn't be worth the risk.

Regina stands next to her, resting her hands on the examination table. "She's going to use something called a speculum to open you up and look inside. It's uncomfortable, but it won't hurt. I nearly threw the first person who suggested it to me across a room, so I want you to be prepared."

"It's magic?"

"No, it's just a little device. What they lack in magic here they make up for with science, poking and prodding. They're a dedicated realm, if one lacking in dignity."

When the nurse returns, with gloves that cling to her hands, she takes a metal implement of torture from drawer and coats it in something equally unpleasant, gooey and cold, and for a moment, it hurts, stings, because it's an intrusion she couldn't have been prepared for.

Regina holds her hand. "It's all right."

"First gynecological exam?" the nurse asks. "We've had a lot of those this year. Luckily, most of the second group were in pretty good health, considering medical care back in that world was herbs and fairy dust."

"First exam in this realm," Regina answers for her. "But we're doing okay."

"Seems like you are," the nurse says from between Maleficent's legs. "That's Chadwick's sign all right, nice and blue. Your cervix is healthy, and it's definitely sealed, which is what we expect to see. We'll need the bloodwork to come back, of course, but I'd say you're at least eight weeks pregnant."

Mal looks at Regina as she counts backwards in her head, perhaps she's counting forward. She mouths 'October' to her, and smiles, her eyes so soft.

The nurse slips the device out and sets it aside. "I've left you some towels to clean yourself up, and you can get dressed. If you'd like to continue your pregnancy, we'll need to schedule another appointment in a few weeks, depending on how far along you are. If you don't there are several options, again, depending on how long you've been pregnant. I can give you some time to think, or answer any questions you have now, if you know."

Mal squeezes Regina's hand, clinging to her because her voice isn't working.

"We're going to have the baby," Regina says for her. "Thank you."

The nurse nods. "Is there also a father we should contract? Did you have a known donor?"

"That would be me," Regina answers, rubbing Mal's shoulder. "I can send your office an explanation of how the magic might have worked, if that's necessary, but it seems-"

The nurse blinks, but maintains her smile. If she's surprised by the mayor 'fathering' a child, she doesn't show it. "Without seeing the bloodwork, I'd say yes, this looks like an ordinary human pregnancy. We can do some more tests once you're farther along, but it might be better to just let things be for awhile. Magic can be unpredictable here. Several of the fairies and other magical creatures have had a little trouble adjusting. You're the first dragon we've treated, but from what we know, your vital signs are healthy, your fatigue is perfectly normal for the first trimester, so are the headaches. You can take acetaminophen, Tylenol-"

Regina nods, because she knows. She researched extensively when Zelena was pregnant. She must know almost as much as the nurse.

"Nausea, especially in the morning, feeling lightheaded or dizzy, that's all normal. Any cramping or bleeding, and you should call us. If you're anxious or worried, it came seem much worse when you're pregnant. Hormones can be intense for humans, being what you are might mitigate that, or make it worse, and without much of a baseline, it's difficult for us to advise you." The nurse pats her knee. "Which doesn't mean we won't try."

"Thank you," Maleficent says, finding her voice at last.

"I'll let you get dressed. We'll call with the results of your bloodwork by the end of the day, and you can make your next appointment before you leave, or call and make one later. That stack of brochures is for you. The purple one is the most useful, there's also more websites out there than you would believe, try not to let any of them scare you, and don't feel like you need to know everything right away. You have time."

The nurse leaves them then, shutting the door so they can pull themselves together before they face the world.

Regina leans forward, resting her hand on her belly. "Are you okay?"

"It's real."

Regina tilts her head at the poster Mal can't stop staring at. "Don't think about your organs getting displaced. That can wait."

"I've seen organs," Mal says, trying to distract herself from the slime that thing left on her thighs. "I've torn creatures apart. I just...hadn't thought of my own liver that way."

"Suppose you don't want lunch then?" Regina jokes, handing Mal her trousers. "Is your stomach all right? You haven't been nauseated?"

"It's fine." She fastens her trousers and watches Regina tuck the papers into her purse. "I haven't-"

"You hated pesto last week."

"It's too green."

Regina smirks. "So that was dragon, not morning sickness?"

Now that she thinks about it, everything seems to mean something. She's been skipping breakfast, just getting coffee from Lily, and blaming her stomach on that. "I don't know." How is she supposed to know what's being tired, or trying to adjust to human food, and what's simply the price of Zelena learning to cook.

Her hesitation makes Regina hug her again, holding her tight. "I'll order lunch while you make the appointment, okay? We should probably think of how we want to tell the family. We could make an announcement tonight at dinner, or maybe we wait a little, whatever you want to do."

She nods, because Regina will plan extensively, and she'll be calm until the blood stops rushing through Maleficent's ears like flame on a mountain.

The nurse at the desk writes an appointment on a little card and hands it to Maleficent to put in her wallet. She still doesn't have one, so she hands it Regina, who tucks it away.

"What do you want for lunch?"

That's much too difficult of a question, and she shrugs helplessly.

"I'll order," Regina offers, taking that confusion away.

She finishes her discussion with the wolf in the diner while Mal opens the purple brochure, the one the nurse actually liked. It has more diagrams, including conception, which must have looked a little different for them. Perhaps enough magic can service as a sperm. Potential symptoms sit there in a neat little box, none of them too terrifying. She has struggled to remember things, little things that should have been easy. She hasn't had her nose bleed, or wanted to throw up. Are those things coming? Will she wake up tomorrow and hate her stomach?

Regina touches her back beside the car, opening the door. "We'll pick lunch up on the way."

She makes it all sound so easy, attend a series of appointments, consent to an increasing number of strange and intimate procedures of magical science, and deliver a child. All of it follows in a neat line from lunch, spiralling outward into the future.

Regina continues touching her, brushing her shoulder, resting her hand on her knee after the car stops in front of Granny's.

"I'll be right back," she says, and Mal catches her arm.

"I know."

"And you know I love you," Regina pauses, glancing down with wide eyes. "Both of you."

Kissing her is always easier than talking, always seems to make more sense.

Regina's back before Mal can finish reading the purple brochure and her hands are empty.

She rests her hands in her lap, holding the car keys. "Zelena already picked up lunch."

"Zelena?"

"She must have wanted to surprise us."

Mal nods. They've been trying to function more as a unit, make sure Zelena spends part of her day talking to adults, not just hidden away with her little bird. It's a nice thing of her to do, meet them at the office with lunch. They're usually there, and she'll expect to find them.

They share a look. They could teleport, send the car to its parking spot and meet Zelena inside, pretend they were nowhere.

Regina's phone chirps, as does Mal's and it's too late.

"We could go home, we can tell her you're not feeling well and-"

"We could just tell her the truth," Mal finishes. "Secrets and your sister never turn out well."

"I don't want you to feel that we have to tell her."

Mal strokes her cheek. "I don't feel like we have to. We live with her, she'll know."

She's made herself at home in the office when they arrive, lunch spread out over the table while the little bird stands on her lap, reaching for her mother's fries. Zelena still won't eat onion rings.

"Hope you don't mind," Zelena begins, beaming at them both. "Robin and I were getting a little lonely at home."

"We appreciate the company," Regina says. She takes two of the containers and offers them to Mal. "Salmon and spinach," she explains, handing her a fork.

"You hate fish," Zelena says, watching Mal stare at her lunch.

"I don't hate it," Mal corrects. "It's just strange when it's only part of it, not the whole thing. It feels like there's something missing without the head."

"I'm sure Granny could have gotten you a head," Zelena says, handing the little bird another fry. "She's had stranger requests."

Poking at her salad with her fork, Mal swallows. It's good for her, because Regina chooses well, carefully. She was hungry, but now it just looks strange: green leaves and shreds of nuts, fish, vinaigrette. She can't eat it.

"If you're not going to eat, here, hold her so I can." Zelena passes Robin over, and Mal pushes her salad aside. Regina watches, thoughtful, concerned, and there's a comment on the tip of her tongue but she'll be gentle.

The little bird waves her potato covered hand at Mal, beaming with her little teeth.

"I'm sure she'd eat some of your salad. She eats everything, lately."

"Try the bread," Regina says, patting her mouth with her napkin. "It'll help with her teeth."

Mal settles Robin on her lap, tearing part of the bread off for her while Zelena and Regina eat and talking about Robin's nap that morning, what they're going to do when Henry's out of school for spring break, and what they should make for dinner tonight. Little Robin eats the bread well enough, but smears much of it over the table, enjoying herself.

Her hair's a darker red than her mother's, and her eyes are dark, apparently like the father Maleficent never met. He was a kind man, and he would be proud of the little bird, for she's a child of wonder, with dimples that appear whenever she smiles. She babbles happily, content as long as Mal bounces her occasionally and keeps handing her more bread to destroy.

"Here," Regina offers, extending her hands for the bird. "You need to eat."

"Salmon and spinach salad," Zelena says again, staring at Mal and her lunch. "I remember that one, tart, but pleasant. I liked the almonds, gave it a little crunch."

Does Zelena get a lot of takeout from Granny's? Has this salad been on the menu long? Mal takes a bite while Regina and Zelena share a look and it clicks in her head, like the beast finding a gear.

"Has she made you give up coffee yet?"

"Someone did mention decaf this morning."

"That's cruel," Zelena jokes, staring at her sister.

Regina's eyes grow wide. "You know?"

"It was only a matter of time, really," Zelena explains, beaming at them and making faces at her daughter across the table. "The way you two are I'm surprised it wasn't months ago."

"Months ago?"

"You used carnelian, didn't you, to bind your spell, carnelian for the dragon and onyx or amethyst for my dear sister and her dark magic," she pauses, beaming at little Robin. "They should have asked Mommy and added rose quartz because Regina has light magic too, and nothing gets you up the duff like light magic. Terrible stuff, just hellbent on creation."

Mal drops her fork, laughing, because neither of them thought of that. Mal's magic is fire, and carnelian was perfect, but Regina- she's so much more than darkness, and when she built the spell, that's all she thought of.

"And you knew it wouldn't work?" Regina says, stroking the baby's head.

"Of course! But I've been trying not to intrude in the lives of others. It was your spell, and it might have worked, if you were channeling more of your dark side, but you really haven't been. You're too happy." Zelena pushes a glass bottle of soda towards Mal, and her smile is actually sympathetic. "Ginger beer, if you're stomach's gone wicked, it'll help."

"Thank you."

"Are you all right?" she asks, and that too is sincere, full of concern that's almost as intense as Regina's. "It must have been a shock, and those doctors are not very gentle with their needles and speculums."

That was the thing, the thing from the drawer and Mal grimaces.

"Right!?" Zelena agrees. "So it was a shock then?"

"I suspected for a day, perhaps two before I bought a test."

Regina sets little Robin down on the floor, so she can toddle to her mother. She enjoys this game, and starts grinning at her mother before she tests her feet. She stares at her for another moment, then runs to Mal instead, giggling and demanding to be picked up.

Setting her salad aside again, Mal lifts the little bird and kisses her round cheek.

"Was it really that subtle? Didn't you feel strange? Tired?"

Robin stares into her eyes, full of easy happiness. She's had a good life in Regina's house and she'll be like a sister to this spark of life. This baby will grow up surrounded by love, just like Robin will.

Mal looks at her, then Regina, half-helpless. "We've been busy, and she hasn't been sleeping, we're all tired."

"Maybe it's all still coming," Zelena says, leaning back in her chair. "I can't help you with much past week ten, because that's when my own pregnancy went into overdrive. Not something I recommend, by the way,"

"Thank you."

Regina meets her eyes and there's a promise there that no such thing will happen to her. No one will touch her, or their baby.

"Still I can't believe you thought you'd stopped yourselves with a little amethyst and onyx," Zelena repeats, shaking her head so her hair bounces enough to make Robin giggle. "Two the most powerful sorceresses ever to walk the realms and you've gotten yourselves pregnant like a pair of irresponsible peasants using the moonlight as contraception."

Mal tilts her head and raises her eyebrows towards Regina, who rolls her eyes in reply.

"Next time we'll ask you," Mal says, nibbling Robin's neck so she squeals.

"You should."

Regina has to look down quickly rather than stare daggers at her sister.

"You'll like having a little cousin, won't you sweetheart?" Zelena says to the baby. "Someone to look up to you and help you cast your spells so they work properly and you don't get pregnant when you're trying not to."

"I'm sure she'll be very protective," Regina says, coughing a little.

"You're happy then, the two of you?"

"Yes," Mal says before the question's even finished.

"We are," Regina adds, and her response is more measured. "It's not what we've planned, but a hatchling is a rare gift."

A shiver runs up Mal's back because Regina remembers how her kind speak of their children, and how beloved their little ones are. Regina leaves her chair and circles the table. She stops over Mal, and bends down to kiss first Robin, then her.

"We're very happy."

"Good," Zelena agrees. "You'd be terrible to live with if you were miserable."