Making Exceptions (swanqueen)

Chapter 19: The List

"MOMMMA! I'M HOME!" the shout echoed through the house. "Where you be?"

Emma jolted from Regina's lap and hit the floor with a loud thud. Her eyes slammed shut at the pain she accidentally put her body through once again.

"Fuuuuuuccc-" Emma started to groan out before the clearing of a throat stopped her in the middle. She decided, though it was unfair to expect so much out of her in a clear moment of pain, that she would switch the word, "ddgge. Fudge. Fudge. Fudgity-Fudge with fudge on top. Fudge."

The blonde heard a laugh and opened her eyes to see a round face and a pair of huge, beautiful brown eyes staring down at her. She felt the boy's brown locks tickle her face and blew air at them, attempting- and failing- to move them from where they hung in her face.

"Emmuh! What you doin on the fluh?" the boy asked with another giggle.

"Oh, y'know.... I'm just, uh, making sure it's still there," the blonde replied lamely, slapping the floor for effect. "Yup, still there."

"Let me hep you, Em," the little boy laid down next to her and knocked his knuckles on the hardwood. "Yup, still there," he repeated the blonde before moving to a new spot on the floor and knocking. "Still here, too!"

Before she knew it, Emma was slithering along the floor in an army crawl, helping Henry check every inch of the living room. Unbeknownst to the two, Regina slipped out of the room to chat with her mother, but not before taking the opportunity to snap a few dozen pictures of the duo.

When Regina entered the kitchen she started to laugh quietly, "Mother, you have to see this. Those two are 'checking the floor to make sure it's still there'."

The brunette held her phone out to her mother. The two flipped through pictures with matching grins and gentle laughter.

"Emma is so great with Henry," Cora commented. "I'm very glad you took a chance on her dear."

"Me too," Regina agreed with a matching smile. "Mother, I was meaning to ask you for a favor."

"Yes, dear?"

"Well, you know Emma, Henry and I spent the day at the hospital yesterday, and that's no big deal, but when the doctors discharged her, they said she needed to be on a sort of bedrest for the next couple of weeks. They also said they want someone around to take care of her if the need should arise," the younger brunette trailed off, rubbing her hands together in her nervousness.

"...And you would like to be that woman?" Cora asked. She knew exactly what Regina wanted to ask, but she was not going to be easy on her daughter.

Where would be the fun in that? Cora asked herself, a giggle resounding through her mind.

"Yes, of course, mother," Regina replied, "but I have a scheduling problem if I choose to be that person."

"So switch a few meetings," Cora suggested, "or if it's Henry, I'm sure he wouldn't mind being home from preschool for a few days." Cora watched as Regina fidgeted even more, trying not to show her smile.

"No, Henry's not the problem, and I can always reschedule my meetings, mother. It's just that..."

"Just what, dear?" the elder brunette asked, still faking confusion.

"Mother, will you please come back to the school for the next couple of weeks and resume your old position?" the brunette rushed out. "If you say yes, you'll also have to cover my classes, which won't be too difficult because it's only the two creative writing classes. Also, the students are in the middle of a big paper that isn't due until after I return."