The warm sun is shining down upon her wife, creating the illusion that she's glowing a beautiful golden haze. The light breeze is slowly sweeping her hair to one side, along with the green grass that's lightly dancing beneath her fingertips. One hand is behind her back, holding up her added weight as her other hand slowly glides across her very round baby bump.
Regina's barefoot, her toes wiggling against the vibrant grass that's playfully tickling her feet. Her head slowly dips to one side as she sighs, content with her life, happy. Brown eyes intently observe Henry carefully as he takes his little sister's hand and escorts her closer toward the lake. Emma examines the way her wife's back stiffens as their children stand at the edge of the pier and she knows Regina is worried that one of them might fall into the icy waters below.
Henry evenly splits his bouquet of flowers in half and hands one half to his little sister, Ivy, the spitting image of Regina when she was around five-years-old. Her babies bend down and place the flowers at the edge of the pier, like they always do every time they visit this spot. Regina's father's favorite place to take them when they were younger.
Henry leads Ivy back toward their parents and Regina visibly relaxes. Emma slips next to her wife, kicking off her flip flops before she presses a sweet kiss to her cheek, creating a breathtaking smile to grace Regina's face. She leans back on her hands as well, mimicking her wife, but she's not gazing out into the peaceful waters, instead her eyes are studying her wife's hand as it subconsciously runs across her ever-growing stomach.
A soft hum begins to stir sweetly in Regina's chest, whether she realizes it or not. Emma lightly bumps into her wife's shoulder and laughs, instantly recognizing the familiar melody.
"I got you and I won't let go." Emma softly sings as her head sways from side to side in sync with the rhythm in her feet.
"I got you to love me so."
"I got you babe!" Ivy screams out of tune as she jumps recklessly into Emma's lap.
She attempts to brace herself for the forceful collide, but fails miserably. She yelps, but she is able to catch her daughter before she hazardously topples to the ground.
Henry and Regina laugh at how ridiculous they both must look while green eyes roll playfully in return. Henry rests his head in Regina's lap, prompting her wife to run her fingers lovingly through his hair.
"Remember when you used to allow me to gel your hair?" Regina absentmindedly inquires and Emma really doesn't believe that her wife knows that she muttered those words out loud until Henry replies.
"I remember mom, but I'm not a baby anymore."
"But you looked so handsome. My little prince. Can we at least cut this shaggy mess?" She laughs, roughly tossing his long hair all around into a discombobulated mess.
"Mom," Henry groans as he spins around in her lap to come face to face with his future baby sister. Henry places his hand cautiously against Regina's stomach and smiles. "I can feel her. Do you think that's a foot?" He quirks up an eyebrow, his expression resembling his brunette mother a little too much which inspires both his mothers to laugh.
"It could be," Regina sweetly replies, her fingers still brushing his hair to one side.
"Hey kid, how about you take your sister for a short walk before we head to the new place?" Emma suggests while her own fingers play with the ends of Ivy's long raven locks.
"Okay, mom."
Their son jumps to his feet and holds out his hands for his baby sister's. She happily leaps up by her brother's help and follows him down by the lake once more.
Emma and Regina have been coming down to the lake more frequently since they adopted Henry, six years ago. She knows being there is the closest Regina feels to her father and it always seems to lighten Regina's spirits when she can fill her father in on their life together. Emma has her wife's small speech memorized by now, but she adores the way Regina's voice turns from raspy and deep to a soft whisper that leaves her absolutely speechless for a few minutes after.
"You would adore these beautiful babies if you were here right now, daddy. I cannot thank you enough for bringing our wonderful little boy into our lives. His heart, his soul is so kind and gentle, just like you. We have another little miracle on the way." Regina beams at her beautiful baby bump as she traces random patterns across the top. "Nobody knows this yet, but her name is Grace."
Emma smiles until her cheeks actually grow sore while she studies her beautiful wife. The woman is absolutely breathtaking and Emma wonders everyday how the girl next door ever fell for her. Just by the way those enchanting brown eyes shine when she stares at her, Emma knows how much she really does love her.
Emma quickly stumbles to her feet and wipes away any stray pieces of grass on her shorts. She holds out her hands to offer assistance because she knows Regina has a hard time wobbling up onto her swollen feet. She slips her feet into her flip flops before she bends down and snatches her wife's sandals, knowing she won't wear them on the drive home.
"Henry, Ivy, time to go!" She hollers to grasp their attention as her and Regina wait patiently for them to come back, running full force against the wind, hand in hand.
"We will see you soon, daddy."
"Especially now that we are back home," Emma cheekily adds on and leans forward to capture her wife's juicy lips for a slow and passionate kiss.
The kids climb into the backseat as Regina slides into the driver's seat and Emma slumps down into the passenger seat and glares bitterly at her wife.
"Are you ever gonna let me drive this car?" She pouts inspiring an earnest laugh to tumble from Regina.
"Maybe someday, you know how I feel about daddy's car."
Emma rolls her eyes playfully, but she's quick to reach across the car and squeeze Regina's thigh, just like she has always done. And of course, despite how pregnant she maybe, Regina flails about, shrieking from the sudden attack.
"Stop! Stop! Stop! Pay attention to the road, we have precious cargo," Emma commands, attempting to sound strict, but fails miserably from her laughter.
XXXXXXXXX
It isn't much of a drive, and all too quickly they are pulling up to their new home. An adorable, cozy, two story home, complete with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Not to mention, they are a block away from their childhood homes, which is great for their babysitting needs.
All four of them rush out of the car and peer up at the stunning cream colored brick. Emma wraps her arms around Henry from behind and leans down to whisper in his ear. "You sure you know what room you want? You're the oldest, first pick is yours."
"I know, I still want the same room. I love the bench by my window so I can read," Henry excitedly confesses as she squeezes the nine-year-old tight and pouts at how big he is now.
"Alright, go on you two. The boxes are already in your rooms, so start unpacking," Regina sternly instructs, waddling closer into Emma's side.
"Hello, sorry to bother you," a timid voice comes from behind them, startling her entire family. "I know moving day is always crazy, but I wanted to pop over and welcome you to the neighborhood," a redheaded woman says, holding out a plate of brownies and smiling from ear to ear.
Regina happily accepts the plate and Emma knows she's ready to dart inside and inhale every last one of those chocolatey treats because of the baby.
"I'm Regina and this is my wife Emma..."
"Hi," she offers her hand and their new neighbor eagerly accepts the gesture, followed by the woman's husband.
"I'm Ariel and this is my husband, Eric."
"Hello," the dark-haired man smiles shyly and snakes his arm around his wife's waist.
"This is our son, Henry and our daughter, Ivy," she politely introduces their children, who both smile and offer small waves to greet the other couple.
"How old are you, sweetie?" Ariel questions as she bends down so she can be eye level with Ivy.
"I'm four, I'm going to start kindergarten soon!" Her daughter happily announces with pure joy lighting up her little face.
"Oh, my goodness, she is so precious," Ariel gushes just as a loud clashing from a front door snaps behind them. A little girl with auburn hair comes bouncing out of their home and dashes toward their new house full of energy. "Melody, come here sweetie, come meet our new neighbors." Ariel turns her attention back to Ivy and smiles kindly. "My daughter, Melody just turned five. Maybe you two will be in the same kindergarten class."
Ivy doesn't respond to the older woman, instead she's intently studying the other little girl with fascination. Melody skips over to their driveway and smiles brightly, her piercing blue eyes sparkling like diamonds against a beautiful ray of beaming light.
"I'm Melody!" The little girl's voice cracks despite her obvious enthusiasm and it's so damn adorable, Emma melts inside.
Her daughter...who is clearly Regina's spawn, wraps her arms around Melody's upper arm and smiles with her entire face, tugging the young girl flush against her body.
"You're my new best friend. You come sleep by my house tonight!" Ivy demands as she presses her nose into Melody's freckled nose and grins from ear to ear.
"Oh boy!" Emma and Regina exclaim in unison, both moving quickly to cover the blushes consuming both their faces.