We Can Love Again

To the Rescue

Regina couldn't believe she was actually here. Her little Caroline was just about the tiniest thing she had see seen, and she had stolen her heart from the second she saw her. It made all the pain worth it, though her abdomen still ached and her body begged her to close her eyes and rest. She couldn't bring herself to do it though- that would mean giving up time that could be spent with her daughter.

There still was an issue to address between the three- now four- of them. The cold. The entire diner felt like it was thrown into Antarctica, everything was frigid and there seemed to be no escape from it.

"Will she be okay?" Regina asked, figuring that newspaper wouldn't be the best to keep a newborn warm.

Granny glanced down at the infant, smiling a bit when she saw her little brown eyes curiously stare up at her.

"Skin to skin contact is pretty important, with or without the weather. She should be okay if she gets lots of your warmth. We should take you and her to the hospital as soon as possible though, just to make sure everything's running okay inside of her. But she's breathing fine, has a good heartbeat, I'd say she's perfectly healthy."

Emma gently brushed the tip of her finger along one the baby's chubby cheeks. "She's getting tired," the blonde remarked, standing up and brushing her jeans. "I'm going to see how bad it looks outside."

It felt like she hadn't been in the foye of the diner in about ten years; certainly longer than two hours. Of course, it was still completely empty, with only a fallen broom, shattered glass, a puddle of orange juice accenting the room.

Emma was rather hesitant to open the doors up, but when she did, she saw a couple stray snowflakes still falling from the sky, along with about four feet of snow covering over every inch of the outside world. Nobody was out shoveling, or doing anything. The power was still shot, that was obvious. Emma wondered how in the world they were going to get a car driving through those streets in order to get to the hospital. Granny's wasn't the best place for a baby that was less than half an hour old.

Placing a hand on Regina's shoulder, Granny interrupted the woman's thoughts. "I know you've been through a lot, but there's one last thing you have to do. That baby has to get essential nutrients, and the only way for that to happen is to..." She gestured towards her breasts, which caused Regina to give her a look of understanding. "Okay... To be honest I don't know how to even start with all this."

Robin inhaled sharply, awkwardly glancing between his fiancé and the woman that had delivered his child. "I can go help Emma if you'd rather be alone-"

"Robin, don't be ridiculous. I want you to stay." Regina reassured him, putting a hand on his arm. That seemed to be enough for him.

She gently unzipped the zipper of her dress down a few inches in order to comfortably let out one of her breasts from her bra.

"Don't worry, she'll know what to do." Granny said encouragingly.

She was right. It was like a switch went off in Caroline's little head- her mouth instantly found her mother's breast and began to suck. Regina was surprised such a tiny baby could have so much force.

"She'll be hungry pretty often within the first two weeks or so. She'll want to be fed during all hours of the day, which is why I gave you that handy pump not too long ago. Don't think this is all her job, Robin."

The man shook his head vigorously. "Of course not. I'll be looking forward to waking up at three in the morning for the next few months." He smiled, having absolutely no sarcasm in his voice whatsoever. Regina wondered how she was lucky enough to have him as a future husband.