Chapter Text
One year later
Regina woke up to the smell of breakfast wafting into the bedroom. She stretched, sighing softly. The room was bright, indicating that she had slept in quite a bit longer than she had meant to. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, focusing on the sounds coming from downstairs. She could hear Ava squealing in delight, Henry flying her in the air, no doubt.
Regina smiled to herself. Despite the fact that she was the one who carried, birthed, and fed her daughter from her own body, Henry was Ava’s favourite person. It had been clear from the moment they’d taken her home from the hospital.
It was of no surprise, really. Henry doted on his little sister; he had from the second he’d laid eyes on her. He was the first to jump if she even gave even the most minute whimper. He brought her any toy that she turned her little head to. He brought her to the park regularly (her favourite place), and it seemed that every time he left the house, he returned with something for his little sister.
He was also Ava’s favourite playmate. Most recently, they’d begun playing a game of “airplane”, Henry swinging his sister around above his head while she shrieked in happiness, which, by the sounds of it, was exactly what was happening now.
Regina quickly got up, smile growing wider on her face as she began thinking. It was Ava’s first birthday today and they were set to have a house full of guests. She and Emma had stayed up late last night decorating, Regina confessing that it was a bittersweet feeling to know that Ava was going to have half the town over for her birthday (Emma had given her a look at that, as it was probably going to be closer to the entire town and they both knew it), but when Henry had turned one, it had only been the two of them.
It was one of the things that Regina was working on in her weekly therapy sessions, the guilt that she felt at how different her children’s lives were. Henry, who had had no one but her for the first ten years of his life, who had been raised in a cursed town, who had had no support when he had discovered the truth about his adoptive mother. And then there was Ava, who was being raised by her two biological mothers, a loving brother, and who had the support of the entire town, all of whom absolutely adored her.
The difference in their childhoods was striking, and Regina felt immense guilt for what Henry had gone through. She'd had many talks with him, many tears had been shed, but her son had told her that he’d forgiven her long ago. Regina knew that it would take a very long time for her to forgive herself, but she was working on it. Emma had been a pillar of support through it all, and Regina knew she wouldn’t be able to do it without her.
Regina grabbed her housecoat and tied it around her waist, slowly making her way down the steps, towards the sound of her children. She paused before she reached the last step, her heart warming as she spotted them in the hallway, Henry rolling around on the floor as Ava crawled after him, giggling. She wasn’t walking yet, but she wasn’t far from it, and Regina was both excited and devastated to see how quickly her baby was growing.
The change in Ava’s physical appearance over the past year was staggering. Her dark hair had fallen out, replaced by blonde curls, her baby blue eyes having changed into the same green ones that her brother and other mother shared. She was looking more and more like Emma with each passing day, and it was part of the reason Regina loved her little girl so much. She was incredibly happy that Ava looked so much like Emma.
Regina often wondered what their next child would look like, but truly, she didn’t care. She would love that baby just as much as she did her first two. She wasn’t quite ready to be pregnant again (soon, but not yet), but she knew that Emma would be over the moon when she finally announced that she wanted to try for their third.
Emma was an incredible mother to Ava, just as Regina had known she would be. And she knew that she would be a wonderful mother to any subsequent children they had as well. Emma’s confidence had grown tenfold as Ava grew, and it was beautiful to see the way her lover blossomed in her role as Ava’s primary caregiver. Regina had returned to work a few months after giving birth, but Emma had stayed home with their daughter, a decision Regina supported wholeheartedly, especially when it became clear that the two were forming an inseparable bond. As an added bonus, Emma had also become even closer to Henry now that she was home so often, the boy often coming home immediately after school just to be near his ma and his sister.
Regina watched for a long moment, thinking, as her two children played, unaware that she was being observed. When she finally looked up, she spotted Emma staring at her, her face leaving nothing to the imagination. The way that Emma looked at her never failed to make her stomach clench, and this time was no different.
“You're staring, Miss Swan.”
“Enjoy that while it lasts,” Emma replied, holding up her left hand and wiggling her ring finger. “Soon it’s gonna be Mrs. Mills.”
Regina smirked, though her belly jumped in excitement. She'd proposed again to Emma four months ago, leading her on an afternoon long treasure hunt to different places in Storybrooke, finally ending with a “movie” (a collage of pictures and videos of them that Regina had put together for Emma) that they’d watched, curled up on their cuddler chair. Regina had then gotten down on one knee at the end of it, pulled out a ring, and had asked Emma to marry her.
Emma had been crying most of that day already, overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness and care with which Regina had planned the event. She hadn't expected it, and she was moved beyond words. After proposing, it was Regina who had had to move up to embrace Emma as the woman had begun sobbing so hard that she couldn’t move.
Regina bit her bottom lip, grinning at the memory. Emma had repeated ‘yes’ about a dozen times when she’d finally calmed down enough to talk.
“Regina?”
Regina pulled herself from her thoughts and simply smiled at her fiancée before taking the final step to the main floor. She walked over to Emma, wrapping her arms around her soon-to-be-wife and kissing her soundly on the lips. When she pulled back, she chuckled at the dopey smile on Emma’s face.
“What was that for?”
“What? I can’t kiss my fiancée?” Regina sassed.
Emma melted against her, the way she did every time Regina referred to her as her fiancée.
“No, you can.”
“Good,” Regina teased, leaning back in for another kiss before pulling back and smiling softly at Emma. “It smells delicious. Have you been awake long?”
“A couple of hours. I gave Ava a snack about an hour ago and the kids have been playing while I made waffles and bacon.”
“Moms?” Henry called out, not wanting to interrupt but both his and Ava’s stomachs were rumbling. “Can we eat now?”
Regina chuckled, giving Emma a look.
“Your children.”
Regina followed Emma into the kitchen, the two women working on their children’s plates while Henry got Ava set up in her high chair. They then each brought over a plate, both receiving a thank you (although Ava’s ‘thank you’ was simply babbles).
Emma guided Regina back towards the counter, away from where Henry could hear, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her temple. She smiled when Regina leaned into her, hands coming to rest on Emma’s forearm.
“How are you feeling about everyone coming over this afternoon?”
“Nervous. Apprehensive,” Regina admitted. And then after a moment, “Excited.”
Emma grinned. Regina was getting better at being social and letting her guard down. It had taken practice, as Regina was wholly unused to so many people showering her with support. Ever since Ava had been born, there had been a continuous stream of guests to the Mifflin home. Regina was slowly becoming accustomed to the constant visitors, but Ava, as it turned out, was a social butterfly. The little girl babbled at everyone, greeted every face who came to the door, and happily played with anyone who came to visit.
Regina’s therapist had told her that she needed to learn to trust again, and seeing just how easily her daughter trusted those around her, and, in turn, seeing how kind the townsfolk were to her, was incredibly eye-opening for Regina. It challenged everything she used to believe in. She'd kept Henry sheltered, away from the residents of Storybrooke, in an effort to protect him. It was also, admittedly, out of a need for control (something else that Regina was working on in therapy).
The change was slow, and Regina felt like she was moving at a snail’s pace, but Emma had told her she’d seen a world of difference. Truthfully, Regina had also noticed a difference in the way the residents of Storybrooke were treating her, something Emma had stated was a result of Regina actually opening up to them for once (all in an effort to learn to trust). It was difficult, and Regina failed often, but sometimes she succeeded, and it was in those moments that Regina felt like she could do anything.
Regina looked at her children, the two laughing and feeding each other, feeling the warmth of Emma at her side. She looked around the decorated room, balloons and streamers hanging from nearly every surface, the entire first floor of her house a mess of birthday decorations. She'd have it no other way.
Regina truly could not believe that this was her life. It was overwhelming to know that this was her reality, and part of her was waiting to wake up from what felt like a dream. There were going to be throngs of townsfolk invading her home in a mere few hours, and for once, that was a positive thing. They were coming to celebrate her daughter's birthday, and, what was stranger still, Regina was actually looking forward to having them in her home.
There had been so many bizarre turns of events in her life over the past two years, the biggest being the change in her relationship with Snow. It was almost unbelievable to think about the fact that Snow had become one of her closest friends, would soon be her Matron of Honour, and would be her children’s guardian should something happen to her and Emma. Never in a million years would she have predicted that that would happen.
“Hey. Where do you keep disappearing to today?”
Regina turned in Emma’s arms, smiling apologetically.
“I’m reflecting.”
“Oh?”
Emma felt no worry, only curiosity, because the look on Regina’s face was incredibly peaceful. Emma was grateful for it, that Regina looked so serene, because she deserved to finally be free of her past, just as Emma felt that she was finally free of her own.
She'd spent the better part of the past year and a half in therapy, and had only recently stopped going as both she and her therapist finally felt that Emma had grown to the point where it was no longer needed. Emma felt safe, felt at peace, and it had everything to do with her own hard work, as well as the love and support of the woman in her arms.
“It’s difficult to believe that this is where my life ended up, after everything I’ve done, and after everything we’ve gone through,” Regina started, pulling Emma from her thoughts. She paused for a moment, before a soft smile lit up her face, “I’m happy, Emma, and I never once believed I could be. I never truly thought I would ever feel real happiness. And yet, I do. And for once I look forward to the future. I cannot wait for the days and weeks and months ahead of us. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you, and with our children. For once, I see a future in which I am happy and surrounded by love. And that is all thanks to you, my love.”
Emma, heart clenched tight, simply leaned forward and pressed her lips to Regina’s. She kissed Regina with everything that she had, pouring into the kiss exactly how she felt. When she pulled back, Regina beamed at her.
“I feel the same way, Regina. I’ve spent my whole life wishing for a family, wishing for a place that I could call home. And I’ve found that, in you. I’ve never felt this loved or this comfortable with anyone else. You are my safe person, and you have no idea what that means to me. And what you’ve done for this family… what you continuously do for us each and every single day... I have no words. Everything I have that means anything to me is all thanks to you. I will spend each and every single day, for the rest of my life, showing you just how grateful I am to you, how much I love you, and how much you mean to me. My world starts and ends with you, Regina Mills. As long as I have you, no matter where we are, I am home.”
Regina tightened her arms around Emma, tears streaming down her cheeks as her heart swelled in her chest. She looked directly in Emma’s eyes, stomach clenched tight at the sheer adoration she could see in her lover’s eyes.
“I love you more than words can express, Regina. Thank you for being my home.”
“I love you beyond any and all unit of measure, Emma Swan. You are my happy ending.”
End.