They all felt it. That post-holiday slump when life gets back to normal and the feelings of excitement and relaxation which simultaneously come with time away from home dissipates into the mundane, everyday routine which came before. Henry spent most of his time in his room, waiting somewhat patiently for Ava to return from Australia. Emma finally got around to finishing the few pieces of DIY for the nursery which she had been putting off ever since the holidays started. And Regina, well, Regina was sitting on the sofa reading every book on childbirth and early infancy she could get her hands on.
Emma walked into the living room one afternoon to find a furtive frown on her girlfriend's face.
"What's up?" Emma asked.
"What if I have placenta previa?" Regina said, looking up at Emma and chewing her lip.
"Erm, what is that?" Emma asked, sitting down cross legged on the end of the sofa.
"It's when my placenta is covering my cervix. If that happens I might not be able to give birth naturally and they'll have to do a C-section," Regina said, turning the book around and showing Emma a rather graphic illustration.
"Jeez!" the blonde said, leaning back away from the pages.
"Helpful," Regina said, snapping the book shut and tossing it onto the coffee table before covering her face in her hands.
"Sorry," Emma said, leaning forwards and pulling the slender fingers away. "I didn't mean to react like that. And I'm sure your birth will go completely smoothly. And if you do have placenta … whatever you said, then they'll do a C-section. It's no big deal. Lots of women have them."
"But I want to give birth naturally," Regina said.
"And I'm sure you will," Emma assured. "Things will be fine, you'll see."
"And what if she's breach? What if she is in the wrong position to come out?"
"Henry was breach a few days before I was due," Emma replied. "They can manually move the baby, you know. It feels really weird and looks even stranger but it doesn't hurt the baby. If she's not lined up the way she's supposed to be, the midwife can correct that, don't worry."
Regina sighed and leaned back against the soft cushions, her hands coming to cover her large belly.
"Were you scared? When you were due with Henry?"
"Petrified," Emma nodded. "Although I wasn't nearly as well read as you are. If I had been I'm sure I'd have been even more scared. The thought of something so big pushing its way out of such a small -." She stopped when she realised her words were not helping. "You're going to be absolutely fine, Regina. I promise you. And I'll be there, every step of the way, holding you hand."
"One more month," the brunette said.
"One more month," Emma nodded, placing her hand on top of Regina's.
~
Ava returned in the last week of August and Henry disappeared out of the house for the remainder of the summer. Emma understood. It wasn't like she and Regina were doing anything interesting. In fact, the imminent arrival of the baby seemed to have taken over much of their lives.
"They just don't talk about anything else," Henry said one afternoon when he was sat on Ava's bed. The door was open, of course.
"They're excited," Ava said, who was sat at her computer messaging a friend she met in Australia. "Aren't you?"
"Well, yeah," Henry replied. "But I can still talk about other things. Plus a few months ago those two were arguing about the fact that Regina was even keeping the baby. I mean, the father's an abusive rapist."
YOU ARE READING
troubled teachers
Fanfiction[COMPLETE] Regina Mills works as a teacher and is abused by her husband, Robin. She doesn't speak up until a certain blonde comes to town. Emma Swan is a teacher with a 14 year old son and a history. She runs into a brunnete on the first day of work...
