A/N: Sorry for the delay, I completely forgot to post this chapter last week when I finished it! Thanks for all the lovely comments! Love ya
Monday evening rolled around quicker than Emma had wanted and before she knew it, she found herself outside Regina's home with an overpriced bottle of wine in hand. Dinner at Regina's wasn't a foreign concept to the blonde, as the two women made a point to eat as a family at least twice a month switching off between the mansion, Emma's house, and Granny's. But something about tonight felt different, more official. Her mind raced back to the first night they met and how her heart pounded in her ears as she walked up the path with Henry. That was the night Emma became a mother to her son, and tonight she was about to embark on a similar adventure. ''What's one more kid?' This sentiment swam around her mind, constantly. She'd warmed to the idea of having another child and having Regina by her side was a bonus for the blonde...but still, something wasn't sitting right with the Sheriff. Emma turned on her heels and was about to sneak back to her bug and feed Regina some excuse about work, when she heard the telltale sound of the mansion's door clicking open, followed by the echoes of Regina's heels.
"Are you going to spend the night on the porch, dear?" Emma slowly turned to face the brunette, who stood smirking down at her with her hands placed firmly on her hips.
"Sorry, I was just…" Emma mumbled as she headed back towards the brunette, "This is for you," She extended a bottle of Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2016, the most expensive bottle the liquor store had in stock.
"My favorite, well-remembered Sheriff." Regina's smirk turned into a smile as she accepted Emma's gift and nodded for her to follow.
"I do have my uses." The blonde chuckled nervously, as she closed the door behind herself. Her mind flashed back to the last time she was in the house and how she couldn't wait to get away from Regina and how mad she'd been and how betrayed she'd felt. All that felt like a lifetime ago, sure there was a part of Emma that was still pissed, and she didn't approve of Regina's methods, but at the same time, her heart raced and butterflies danced in her stomach when she'd think about her...their child. What they'd look like, how they'd act, what life they'd have...Emma couldn't wait to find out.
The blonde silently followed Regina into the kitchen, where she could already smell the beef stew that the brunette knew was Emma's favorite. Regina motioned for the blonde to take her usual seat, a seat she'd jumped out of in anger a few nights before.
"Umm, I brought this as well," Emma added as she rummaged through the inside pocket of her jacket and produced a folded up bundle of papers.
"Glowing I assume?" Regina asked rhetorically as Emma slid them across the breakfast bar.
"Pretty much." She shrugged, her nervous energy filling the modest kitchen. "Why does this feel so weird? I have been here a thousand times, but suddenly it feels like I'm right back at the start." She admitted, letting out an awkward chuckle.
"I feel quite the same, dear." Regina's reassurance meant more to Emma than she knew. Smiling gently, she poured a glass of wine for herself and went to retrieve a beer from the stash she kept for the blonde. "What we are doing, adopting a child together, it's a big deal." She added as she placed the beverage in front of the fidgeting Sheriff.
"Don't I know it, I've been up all night reading this stupid baby book my mom gave me," Emma admitted before taking a large swig, letting the fruity notes soothe her.
"You told your mother?"
"God no." She was quick to snap as she noticed a small glimmer of hurt pass over Regina's face. "I mean, not yet...she gave me the book to pass onto you, but I've been curious." She shrugged.
Regina was quite relieved at this admission. She had been worrying a fair bit over the last few days, afraid that Emma would change her mind and she'd be blacklisted from adopting nationwide. She was also afraid of damaging their relationship anymore than she had already done. She could tell that Emma's absence over the last few days was because of the anger the blonde was feeling, and she understood that more than anyone. She had schemed behind her back and practically forced her into a marriage, the same way her mother had done to her. It was unforgivable behavior, and something Regina would feel guilty about for the unforeseen future, but she was glad that some good was about to come of it. Regina was about to have a family. A real family of her own. And she was ready to spend the rest of her life thanking the blonde for the life she was about to give her.
"Emma, you are going to be a great mother. You are already a great mother." Gently, she reached over and brushed their fingertips together, forcing the blonde to look away from her beer and meet Regina's gaze.
"But this is different, aren't you scared of messing them up? You say one wrong thing and then boom, you're being interviewed in the daytime special because they went on a killing spree and all the victims are blonde Sheriff's!" Emma ranted in a rather amusing way.
"Emma, if you aren't sure about this then we don't have to go-"
"No!" The blonde snapped before Regina had a chance to finish. "I want this...I just...I don't want to fuck em' up." She admitted as she let her head fall and rest on the counter.
"You won't...umm…" Regina tried to rephrase Emma rather corse words, but gave up and moved around the breakfast bar to force the blonde to look at her. "This child, our child. They are going to have two wonderful parents, who will love them no matter what, and a big brother with the kindest heart and a huge extended family to look out for them." She gently brushed a few stray locks away from Emma's face. "They'll have Emma Swan, the savior that saved everyone in this town, multiple times." She finished as she gently squeezed Emma's chin before pulling away from the blonde.
Emma blushed deeply as she muttered a small 'thank you,'. Regina nodded in response as she moved back to her seat across from the blonde. "We are more than capable, in fact, even more so now we're doing it together." She added with a small raise of her wine glass.
"Sorry for going all serial killer, I really need to start sleeping instead of watching all those daytime specials." Emma scratched the back of her neck - a nervous tic, Regina was starting to pick up on - before she downed her drink. She hadn't expected the evening to get so full on so quickly. But they needed to get the heavy stuff out of the way, that was the only way they would move forward.
Regina's soft chuckle filled the spacious kitchen, lightening the heavy mood immensely. "Sleep is something we both need to get our fill of. Goodness knows we won't be getting much when the little one comes." She remarked, with a swirl of her wine and a small sip.
"Speaking of little ones. Where's the kid?" Emma questioned as a relaxing silence fell over the pair, making the blonde notice the unusual quiet of the mansion.
"I let him have dinner at Josh's house." She threw over her shoulder as she bent down to check on the homemade bread in the oven, disappearing from Emma's sight. "I figured that it'd be best for us to sort things out in private before we tell everyone else about our recent developments." Emma craned her neck to try and see the brunette as she closed the oven and stood once again.
"Good call, Your Majesty." She smirked as she sat back in her seat.
"Let's see if that sentiment still applies on Wednesday evening, dear," Regina mumbled, bracing herself for whatever reaction was coming her way.
"What's happening on Wednesday?"
"Oh, nothing really. Just our wedding." Regina replied bluntly and watched as the color drained from Emma's naturally rosy cheeks.
"OUR WHAT?!" The blonde screamed as she felt her blood pressure plummeting. Slumping back into her chair, she combed a shaky hand through her hair, trying to calm herself down.
Feeling slightly bad for her horrible attempt at lightening the mood and testing the waters, Regina reached across the breakfast and gently touched Emma's arm, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "I'm kidding, Emma, well, not entirely. We do have to sort out some kind of official documents to keep the adoption agency happy, but I can handle that." She soothed, sparing the blonde a soft smile as she peaked through her fingers to see if the brunette was truly being serious.
"Oh thank God!" She placed her hand over her heart and breathed deeply finally allowing herself to calm down.
"Is the thought of marrying me that terrifying?" Regina pulled her hand away slightly annoyed at the blonde reaction.
"The thought of telling my Mother she had less than forty-eight hours to plan for my wedding terrifies me." Emma laughed nervously as a shiver ran through her body at the mere thought of telling her Mom. "What is happening on Wednesday?" She asked, remembering Regina's previous comment.
Regina made a point to busy herself in the kitchen as she spoke. "It has come to my attention...that we are going to need a few references that can comment on our loving relationship...so I've arranged a family dinner."
"And once again, I'm terrified!" Emma dramatically let her head fall onto the counter as she blindly pushed her glass towards the brunette. "You seriously want to sit my parents down and fill them in on what's going on?"
"Not the ins and outs, those details will stay with us. All we need to tell them is that we are adopting another child together and that we needed to be married, on paper in our case, to complete the process." Regina patted the blonde's head as she poured the Sheriff another drink.
"Yep, still scared shitless!" She shot up, her face oozing with worry. "They're going to tell everyone that we're married, you do realize that?" She questioned, matter-of-factly.
"I figured as much...but I'm not seeing the issue here, dear. By the end of the week, we will have a marriage certificate stating just that." The Mayor shot back, unaware of how uncomfortable Emma felt under the gaze of the brunette.
"But we aren't...ya know...together, like that," Emma mumbled, her cheeks burning slightly at the implication.
"We may not be engaged in a sexual relationship, but we have spent over five years raising a child together, as well as spending holidays together and joining our two family trees. I'd say at this point we might be overqualified for marriage." Regina snorted, unable to understand the problems Emma seemed to be having. "I spent years married to a man that I only shared a bed with once. That was still a marriage, was it not?" She added, somewhat softer than before as she noticed the look of fear flash across Emma's face.
The blonde shrugged, and mumbled, "I guess you have a point. But that's not how everyone else is going to see things."
Regina brushed the comments off. "Since when do you care what anyone thinks, Miss Swan?"
"I don't, normally."
"Is this because of my past? Because I will happily put anyone in their place and remind of the sac-" Emma abruptly cut the former Queen off, an action that in another life would have cost the blonde her life.
"It's because you're a woman, Regina." She snapped. "I'm not...gay," Emma whispered, her eyes glued to the counter, afraid to look anywhere near the brunette.
"Oh," Regina mumbled after a few minutes of silence. "I see." She nodded, her mind racing. Regina was taken aback slightly, she was far more progressive than most of her Enchanted forest counterparts, and had been under the illusion that Emma shared her views as well. "How is this relevant?" She finally asked as she turned back around to face the blonde.
"Come on, are you telling me you haven't seen the way people already look at us around here?" Emma uncomfortably shrunk under Regina's questioning gaze, like a child, sent to the principal's office, a situation Emma had found herself in often as a child.
"Ignorance is often found in small towns such as this, Miss Swan." The brunette scolded the town, as she busied herself, annoyed by the narrow mindedness of her former subjects. "However, I don't see why you should let it bother you."
"It's not me I'm worried about. I've been bullied my entire life because people always assumed that because I don't act or dress the way that a girl should, that I must be gay...and now...I just…I'm worried about Henry and Emma Jr."
"We are not calling our child that," Regina interjected with a small smirk tugging on her gorgeous lips.
"Kids can be cruel and parents can be worse. I just don't want them to get hurt." The blonde finally met the older woman's gaze, her lips tugging gently into a shy smile.
Regina let out a shaky breath as she made her way around the counter and took a seat on the stool next to Emma.
"I kissed a girl once." She whispered, as a look of pure shock crept onto Emma's face. She thought that relationships like that were forbidden in the Enchanted Forest, and now she was learning that the former Queen herself had engaged in such relationships. Emma didn't know what to think, as she leaned back into her chair and nodded for Regina to continue. "It was before Daniel. She was brash and always getting into trouble. We had been out horse riding one day and we stopped to water the horses, then out of nowhere she kissed me...it wasn't the best of kisses, we were both too young and inexperienced, but it's importance has never left me. It showed me that love can come in all forms, and while others of my statute would turn away in disgust, I would celebrate in the beauty of love." She happily recalled, as memories of that day flooded back. She hadn't thought about it in years, about how different her life might have been if she had run away with Lucy when she'd asked. A small frown soon crept onto her lips, as she gently pressed her hand against her heart, her memories turned dark and the reality of Lucy's life, or rather how her life ended, plagued her mind.
Coughing back the onset of sadness she felt, Regina reached out to gently brush her fingers against Emma's. "Our children will have a happy and loving home, something that most children, unfortunately, don't have. Does the love change if it comes from two women?"
Emma smiled shyly, her fingers tingling as she wiggled them closer to Regina's. "I'm overreacting again, aren't I?"
"Just a tad. But it's perfectly fine, Emma. This is new to both of us and there are going to be times when we're afraid of what's to come...but we aren't alone. That's the beauty of having a partner,"
"Are those your wedding vows?" Emma snorted the heaviness in the room starting to take its toll on the blonde.
"Something like that," Regina chuckled in response as she pulled her hand away and stood, straightening out the nonexistent wrinkles in her dress before she walked over to check on the sauce bubbling away on the stove.
A/N: Next time there will be more than just Regina and Emma present! Yay
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