A/N: I'm sorry I haven't updated. I was supposed to do a Christmas or NYE chapter, but I wrote a different Christmas fic instead and then a new Valentine's Day fic. I had been kind of stuck on where I wanted this one to go, but today is Mother's Day and I finally had an idea for it, so I wrote this instead of revising my Chapter 2 of my dissertation, which is what I really should be doing. Enjoy!

Mother's Day: Round Two

Sunday, May 12, 11:30am

"Well, this is certainly better than last year," Regina comments as she reaches her hands above her on the white linen bed sheets, groaning as she feels her now-full stomach stretch and expand as she arches her back. She thinks back to the holiday the previous year, where she hadn't spoken to her mother in months and was worrying over whether she should acknowledge the annual holiday or not.

"Indeed it is," Emma smiles. "Who knew it would just take a grandchild to change her ways?"

"She is smitten with him," Regina chuckles as she shifts closer to her wife, placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"What was that for?"

"I love you," she says unnecessarily. "You're amazing. I'm so happy you came into my life again. And I'm so grateful that you didn't let me leave and run back to DC that first night."

Emma takes Regina's hand in hers, resting between them on the bed. "I think that was more the airline's doing and general lack of flights on Christmas Eve, but for what it's worth, I'm very happy you stayed."

As Emma pulls on their joined hands to bring Regina closer to her, a wail from down the hall interrupts them. She sighs as she pulls back. "I should go check on him."

"Nonsense," they're interrupted once again, Leopold walking in through the cracked door to their bedroom. "Cora and Zelena have got this. This is your day off," he says, gathering the now-empty plates and glasses resting on the tray at the end of the bed.

"Dad," Emma says, looking at him skeptically. "He may need to be fed…"

"Well if he does, Cora will bring him to you. Besides, right now I don't think any of us could pry little Henry out of her hands if we tried. Now, you girls relax and enjoy your morning together…catch up on sleep or whatever you need to do. We'll be downstairs watching a movie. No hurry," he says as he departs.

"I miss him," Emma sighs as she leans back against the headboard. "Is that weird?"

"Not at all," Regina smiles. "We can go downstairs, Emma. We don't have to stay here all day," she points out. "It's only been an hour since you fed him, but I already miss his little chubby cheeks, too."

"Is it rude though to turn down their offer to give us the morning?"

"No," Regina shakes her head. "We already got breakfast in bed and got to sleep in a bit since they took care of him this morning. I think that's more than enough relaxation for me."

"I know, but I feel like it's looking a gift horse in the mouth," Emma sighs as she swings her legs over the side of the bed, wincing slightly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah…just still a little sore at certain angles…speaking of, why couldn't they have offered to come in a few weeks once I'm cleared for sex again? That's when it would be really great to have someone to watch him for a few hours in the morning."

Regina laughs. "A few hours? You're ambitious."

"I think 'horny' is the word you're looking for," the blonde answers as she stands up and makes her way to the dresser.

Regina can't help but stare at Emma's backside as she removes her silk pajama bottoms and changes into a pair of black leggings. "Well, we can always ask them to come down again…"

"I'm sure Cora would love that," Emma says. " 'Hey, Cora, mind coming to visit so you can babysit our newborn so your daughter can fuck me senseless?' I know she's been better recently, but I don't think we should test her limits."

Regina laughs as she, too, changes into her clothes for the day. "Well, no, that's not how I would recommend extending the invitation for another visit." She crosses over to where her wife is brushing out her hair, placing a feather-light kiss where her hair parts at the back of her neck. "We can always ask Jefferson and Will," Regina suggets. "I'm sure they would love some time with their godson."

"That is true," Emma comments. "And it's not like we won't be willing to do the same for them when their new little one comes along later this year."

"Exactly," Regina smiles. "It will be good practice for them. Grace is in kindergarten now, so it's been awhile since they've had a baby in their house."

"Good," Emma says, turning around to face Regina, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Then it's settled…and I'm literally counting down the days."

Regina presses a kiss to her lips before stepping back and offering Emma her hand. "Let's head down and see our little man."

*.*.*

"Please tell the story again," Zelena says later that afternoon as she's helping prepare dinner. Walsh and Robyn have gone to the park with Leopold, leaving Cora and Zelena behind with the family of three.

Emma grins as she steals a piece of cheese from the serving dish, looking over toward Regina. "Shall I?"

"Let's not," Regina rolls her eyes as she gently rocks Henry, approaching the kitchen island where the other women are gathered.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Regina," Zelena says with a wicked grin. "Just because you're a doctor doesn't mean you're immune."

"Be nice to your sister," Cora warns, but there's a hint of teasing undertones in her voice.

"What? I can't get at least a little enjoyment from the fact that my sister, the OBGYN, passed out during the birth of her own child?"

"I did not pass out," Regina clarifies. Henry stirs in her arms, and she apologetically shushes him, making a mental note not to let herself get too loud. He's sleeping peacefully after his feeding earlier in the afternoon, and she doesn't want to disturb him. "I hadn't eaten in nearly 24 hours. I had low blood sugar," she explains.

Regina had been seeing one of her patients through a long and challenging labor two weeks earlier, which had resulted in an emergency cesarean, immediately followed by two of her other patients going into labor and requiring her assistance. When she came out of the final procedure room, a nurse had rushed over to her to let her know Emma was on her way in. She was three and a half weeks early — it wasn't too uncommon, but it was still earlier than Regina would have liked. In her worry over her wife's early labor and subsequent exhaustion from her 18-hour work day, she hadn't had a chance to eat lunch or dinner and forgot about her own hunger as the night went on. Her focus had been on ensuring that Emma was progressing safely, and backseat doctoring the OB and every nurse who entered Emma's room. After Regina's beloved colleague Dr. Montgomery had threatened to throw Regina out of the room if she didn't let her do her job, the brunette had taken a step back. It wasn't until 12 hours later when she stood up to peek around the end of the bed to watch the birth of her first child that she realized how the lack of sustenance had affected her. She managed to sit herself on the edge of Emma's bed as she felt her legs start to give out, never letting go of Emma's hand as the blonde screamed through one of her final contractions. "Would one of you please get Dr. Mills here a protein bar so she doesn't faint?" Dr. Montgomery had deadpanned when she saw Regina's pale expression, before returning her focus to the task in front of her. One of the nurses had quickly jumped into action, handing Regina a Luna bar from their own pocket, which she gratefully accepted.

"Sure, low blood sugar," Zelena teases. "Are you sure it wasn't the site of your wife's beloved vagina being split in half?"

"Zelena! We are preparing food here," Cora protests.

"Yeah, can we please not talk about my vagina?" Emma winces at the memory. She loves her son, but she would like to forget about the actual birth and the associated discomfort.

"Sorry."

"We're back!" Walsh calls as he returned with Robyn and Leopold.

"Thank God," Regina sighs, hoping for a change in topic. "How was the park?"

"It was delightful," Leopold says as he hands Robyn back to the girl's mother.

The 10-month old grins at the redhead, reaching for her long curls. Regina smiles as she watches her sister. Despite all their differences and animosity from the time they were in high school up to the past year or so, she can't help but admire how great of a mother Zelena has proven herself to be. Regina never thought her sister would have kids, but she's turned into quite a mother. "Thank you for being here today, Zelena," she says as she watches them. "I know it's your first Mother's Day, too, so I appreciate you letting us hijack it."

Zelena smiles at her sister and reaches out her free hand to squeeze her shoulder. "There's no place I'd rather be," she says, looking down at her sleeping nephew in Regina's arms.

"Me, either," Regina agrees, looking over at Emma, who has shifted on her stool to be closer to the pair. The blonde's pinky finger is grasped tightly in Henry's palm as he continues to sleep peacefully. "I love you," she whispers softly, so only her wife can hear her.

Emma looks at her and smiles, kissing her on the side of her head before looking back down at their son. "I love you, too."

The End

A/N: I'm marking this one complete for now, as I'm not sure where else to take this and admittedly I find it really hard to write about kids, especially babies, so this feels like a natural ending point. That said, if inspiration strikes I may come back for a random flash forward.

Thank you so much to everyone who has read this verse. It's been really fun to write and I hope you've enjoyed it! I have a few more fic ideas in the works, and still have a lot of dissertation writing to procrastinate, so there will be more from me since this is more fun to write than my actual line of research. I've noticed that it seems like there are fewer SQ stories these days and that some of the writers (and readers) are leaving the fandom, but I'm hoping to stay as long as there is a fandom. Let's keep this pairing going!