InsaneJournal

Everything smells amazing!
Who: Sam Nishimura, Regina Mills
What: Apple things and books for Sam!
When: A few weeks ago, when Regina overbaked.
Where: Regina's House!
Rating/Warnings: PG-13, mild triggers for mentions of pregnancy issues (past).
Status: Complete!



Regina’s house did, indeed, have the most flawlessly trimmed hedges and maintained lawn in her neighborhood. The house wasn’t big enough to be a mansion, but it was surely large enough for a family popping out kids left and right. It wasn’t just her home, but it was the home of her business and everything about it was a model of her work. The color scheme, the decor theme, the flooring and counter decisions - all examples of a professional with taste. If she was going to bring clientele over for business, she might as well give them a living example.

The house carried the smell of cinnamon and allspice, and the kitchen was still warm due to the oven. She had a few things packaged and ready to go when she heard a car drive up. And after wiping the excess sugar and flour from her hands, Regina went to the door to greet Sam early.

Cinnamon and delicious dessert smells had even wafted out of the house, and if Regina's description of the hedges hadn't been accurate enough she would still have been able to find it. Just by rolling down the windows a little and sniffing around. Sam prided herself on being able track down awesome food.

And good perfume at the mall counters, but that was totally another story.

She was in a great mood when she hopped out of the car, and bounced her way up to the door, "Everything smells amazing!"

She certainly had as much energy as she expressed online. Regina snorted a small laugh and smiled, closing the door after she entered. "Well, thank you. I believe I certainly baked enough for the house to smell this way for the next month."

She lead her into the kitchen, where it was still warm and the aroma of apples was the strongest. Even with the baking, she kept it fairly clean, and on the counter rested all the baked pastries. "How far along are you, if you don't mind my asking?"

All of the pastries looked delicious and it took every ounce of self control Sam possessed not to immediately reach out for one and start scarfing it down. That was so totally not polite at all, and Sam didn't want to get on the bad side of this nice woman.

She did stare at them for a few minutes though, before turning her attention back to Regina and patting her tummy. It was big enough to show, but not gloriously huge just yet, "A little over sixteen weeks. Everything's going really well! No kicks yet, but I'm hoping soon. She's going to have a right hook like her... other mom."

Regina was going ahead and doing the favor for her anyway; she prepared a plate with a sample of everything, fork placed at the rim for her. "You know she's a girl already? And please," she began, motioning over to the stools up against the island. "Take a seat. Would you care for any milk?"

Sam was absolutely adorable. Glowing, even. Despite her trail of bad luck, she wasn't bitter or envious towards women capable of conceiving. Instead she always found herself smiling around them, asking questions, discussing things. Regina lived vicariously through them.

An audible squee of excitement escaped Sam's lips as she took a seat at the island. So many delicious sweets! She hardly knew where to begin, "Our doctor seems pretty certain that it'll be a female. Lara was... Male when we did everything but the base genetics are still two girls. I guess there's some science out there that can take two eggs and make a baby out of it, did you know about that? But that process only makes girls, and she thinks this will be something like it."

Regina was easy to talk to and Sam didn't seem to mind sharing details like that with the woman. She picked up the fork and waved it over the pastry selection, trying to pick one to start with, "And some milk would be amazing. But I shouldn't just sit here and gobble this down while you watch!"

If Regina hadn't adjusted to the peculiar phenomenons that seemed to have plagued this county, her jaw would have hit the floor and demanded some sort of scientific explanation to the entire thing. Plus, the genderswap event was something she often heard about amongst a few others.

What a curious thing to have come from it, though.

"Don't worry, dear," Regina told her and retrieved the milk to pour her a glass. "And I heard something like that, yes. Must have been a surprise for the both of you, then? You look excited, so it's a good surprise."

"Well..." Sam squinted one eye shut and speared one of the desserts with her fork. Taking the time to devour it gave her a few seconds to put her words together, since the entire thing had been kind of a rollercoaster of emotions and still was.

When she was done chewing she reached for the glass of milk, "I'm super excited and I think that Lara secretly is, too, but in the beginning I was really kind of terrified and Lara was just absolutely horrified. I mean... try explaining to your parents that don't live here that your female fiance was turned into a man and that babies happened during that time period? My mom would have flipped. We ended up going with a lie about artificial insemination but I really hate having to lie to her."

After a pause, she added, "Plus also, I'm not sure I'm going to be a very good mom. I mean... You haven't met me, so you don't know, but I'm just kind of... not very responsible."

Regina leaned against the island across from her, elbow propped onto the surface with her chin resting in her hand as she listened. She understood the lie; even knowing all the weird things that occurred in this area, it was still admittedly a little hard to swallow. But at the same time, Regina also knew that it was actually probable.

“You’ll learn very quick, then,” she said, smiling softly. “Nothing will ever be the same. And I’m not saying this to scare you, but - it’s true. You’re probably so very used to just you and Lara. And then you’ll have a third tiny person to carry around with the both of you. Have you ready any books? Taken the pre-natals?”misc

Hell, Regina still even had her own books. She’d bought them while she was trying to conceive and bought even more when she was declared officially pregnant. But once the miscarriages kept happening and kept taking a toll on her body, they’d been stored in a box somewhere collecting dust.

She thought about getting rid of them, but every time she tried the sentence Just in case fluttered through her mind, and she’d let them be.

"I'm not really sure how many of the books to read, you know?" Sam asked, while waving the fork around in the air. Her eyes returned to search for another pastry to try, and in a lower tone she added, "This is so amazingly delicious by the way. But yeah, Lara got me this book called 'How to Grow a Life', which was funny, but not that informative since it was mostly joking! And I have that what to expect book because it seems like a classic, but you hear so many of these books end up just spoiling kids?"

Sam squinted and speared a sample of apple strudel, then reached for her milk glass, "My mom isn't very helpful with the guidance providing and Lara's is... gone. It's a sensitive topic. So we're kind of winging it. I hope I DO learn fast! But I think it'll be okay to have a little person around. We had roommates before and I miss them, we're actually not used to having oodles of time just to ourselves. Looking after Renji kind of felt like looking after a kid sometimes!"

Her smile grew at the compliment and Regina hummed in thought, tapping her nails against the granite top of the island. “Well, if you’re interested, I have some books still. In storage. You could always pick and choose. I suppose you don’t really learn how to become a parent until you actually do it. Books can always be different than the experience itself.”

Although it’s not like she knew much of parenting, period. The closest thing she was as a parent was those dreams in which she adopted Henry at some point during her time in Storybrooke. And even then, Henry had rebelled, despite her love towards him, and was practically inseparable from Emma. Just goes to show that perhaps she was never actually meant to be a parent to begin with.

It seemed like there was a story there. Sam didn't see Regina's house as being that kid friendly and she hadn't mentioned actually having any of her own. But that also seemed like it was none of her business, and she wasn't about to go prying. Instead, she devoured apple strudel and then slid off of her chair, grabbing the last piece of pastry with her fingers as she went.

"I'd love to take a look at them at least! I don't really know which ones are better than others but maybe if I look them over I can get a feel for them. And like... you know, in February, I can probably give them back to you. I take good care of people's things!" Sam replied, while waving the pastry in the air.

There were a few times where that wasn't actually true, but they had mostly been related to 'adventures' she'd had in college. She didn't think those beared mentioning.

“Give me a second,” Regina began, holding her finger up to signify to stay put. She knew exactly where the box was - a closet upstairs that held a lot of miscellaneous junk - because it was first thing she always noticed when she entered the room. All it took was a quick sprint up the stairs, a few minutes of moving things out of the way, and she returned shortly with a box. It was heavy thanks to all the books stored in it and she plopped it onto the island with a grunt.

She pulled the flaps open and started taking a few out. “Some are focused on specific ages and their development through those ones. Um, I have a few baby name ones - if you’re still searching for names, anyway - and some book about baby nutrition. Breastfeeding 101.” The list went on, but Regina had taken these out with an amused smile and small laugh.

It had been forever since she’d seen these. It was almost bitter sweet.

Sam wasn't really sure what she'd been expecting - a smaller box, at least, with maybe a less wide selection of books. She stared at the box with wide eyes as Regina brought it in, and nibbled on the last of the pastry samples for a bit as Regina started unpacking it and listing of the names.

The last one was definitely amusing, though, and she reached for that one while quirking a brow, "I didn't think that needed an instruction manual, you know? Like... you figure natural instincts are supposed to take over at some point, right? But I guess not."

She flipped it open and started rifling through it, though her attention quickly changed to some of the others that had been pulled out, "This is a SUPER thorough collection, though. Names, we go back and forth on. I think we want to name her after Lara's mom if she's a girl, but I wanted some kind of... I guess more Japanese sounding middle name. I thought my father would like that."

Regina let out another laugh, this time a nervous one, and tucked hair behind her ear. “I know. I think I went a little overboard when I bought these.” Then she realized how strange it was, for a woman to have all these books and not have a single little person running around reigning terror. Every decorative table had an equally decorative item on top, costing more than any trinket ever should, and were prime shatterable targets for a tiny little snot to knock over while wreaking havoc.

“I tried conceiving,” she began, flipping through a book’s pages for setting it down. “Well, let me clarify. I had no problem conceiving. My problem was carrying to term. My body just….couldn’t do it.” Hence the mess of books she had. Regina had been pregnant during all these purchases. A shame they were never actually put to the test.

"Oh no... oh..." Sam's eyes started to rim with tears around the edges, in spite of herself. She thought Regina was the type of woman that wouldn't want a big deal being made out of something like that - if only to spare her own emotions, but she couldn't help herself.

"I'm sorry, this must be hard for you and I'm not really making it any better by mood swinging into sob land over here..."

Oh dear. The last thing she wanted was to start a fountain of waterworks, and then Regina suddenly looked at a loss on what to do. “Oh, don’t--it’s perfectly fine. Really.” She made her peace with it already. It’d taken awhile; there was a lot of anger and guilt and another strange cocktail of emotions, but she was over it. She grabbed some tissues from the counter and handed them over, smiling softly. “The crying’s almost sweet, but unnecessary. Those hormones are really active, hm?”

"This stuff happens all the time, I'm so sorry." Sam sniffled a bit and took the tissues, trying to get herself to mood swing to a different mood entirely, "It unsettles Lara, too. She's terribly british sometimes, you know? But we'll be watching a funny movie and then it switches to that commercial for gum with the origami cranes and I always end up sobbing. I don't know how she puts up with it."

Of course thinking about that commercial was only going to make her sob more, so instead she tried to focus on Lara, "I don't mean to make a scene or anything!"

Regina felt kind of bad for chuckling, but Sam was definitely… something else. “You’re fine, Sam. Really. Unfortunately it comes with the baggage.” She motioned to her swollen stomach. “I think it’s supposed to only last a couple weeks--the random crying, I mean--but everyone’s different, I guess.” Hormonal changes, aching backs, swollen feet. It all sounded like a god awful experience, but she was of the opinion that it was worth it, if you really wanted it.

"It's all pretty weird. I was hardly nauseous at all, I know some women are sick all the time. I almost skipped that phase entirely and went straight to eating everything in site, too!"

Sam's eyes were drying up, now, and she was back to smiling again. Her hands grabbed for more books, and she flipped through a few of them as she spoke, "Now it's like... heartburn and annoying stuff that isn't very attractive. But Lara likes that there's a tummy to talk to, now, so I guess it's a good trade off! Our roommate keeps saying nice, encouraging things like that I'll lose the weight quickly and all of that. I have a wedding in March and I'm due in February and we're preparing to alter the dress at this point. It's a whole big mess."

“Cutting it a little close there,” Regina remarked, a single brow quirked. Giving birth and getting married the next month - two of the most important stones of life, tossed almost at once. “You’re braver than I. Heard breast feeding helps, though. Nursing and pumping - do it all you can if you’re going that route.”

Really, Regina felt a little silly giving advice on pregnancy and infant care when she barely had experience in it all. In practice, what did she know?

Nothing, except for what the books said.

“Let me know which books you’d like - I’ll walk this over to the car for you.”

"I need it to be during Cherry Blossom Season! We had everything planned months before we knew about the baby, and the dress is actually set up to go with it. But I think it'll be alright. Even if I'm still a little... svelte. Portia's an amazing designer. She'll make it work." Sam nodded, confidently. There wasn't any point in getting overly stressed about it anyway. Not with everything else they were doing.

She selected a small stack of books that were good for pregnancy and early childhood, and nodded, "These ones look good for now. If you don't mind? And like... I might be back for more. And hopefully you’re right about the feeding and pumping! I mean... I don't really know but it sounds look good advice. I think I read somewhere that the feeding burns calories. And either way that milk needs to get out of there."

“Oh, I don’t mind at all,” Regina insisted, waving a hand with a snort. “Really. I’m not using these damn things. They’re just piling up and taking space. Good thing I can give them to someone who can make use of them.” She stacked the pastries on top of her book pile of selections, making sure they were nice and steady before making an effort to pick them up - because there was no way in hell she was going to let Sam do it. It wasn't a terribly heavy load, but better safe than sorry.

“And baby weight or no baby weight, you’ll look stunning regardless.” She smiled crookedly. “Things will work out.”

She wasn’t always a shining ray of optimism (see: never), but it was hard to not try and encourage Sam. She was a little spastic, and maybe a bit odd, but...sweet. And not in an overly annoying way.

It was incredibly nice for Regina to say, and probably well timed. Sam was far less secure about everything than she let on to everyone else. But with someone as well put together as Regina behind her, she figured everything might work out alright after all.

She hopped off her stool and grinned, "Thanks! Here, let me get the car door for you. We'll buckle those pastries in so safely they'd survive a five car pile up! ... Of course I'm not going to get in one because I probably wouldn't, but it's the thought that counts."

Sam pulled out her car keys, and dangled them in the air, then headed for Regina's front door. It would take every ounce of her very low iron will not to eat at least three of the pastries on the way home.

“You better not end up in a five car pile up,” Regina flashed a small, scolding glare before securing the boxes and books in her car. Sam seemed like she’d swerve to keep herself from running over a family of ducks and then end up in the opposite lane and their incoming traffic. She’d keep an eye on the news, just in case. “Anyway, hope the books help. And I hope you and Lara enjoy the fruit of my excessive baking. Just don’t eat too much. All that sugar isn’t good for neither of you.”

She motioned over to Sam and then at her belly and its unseen occupant.

"Yes ma'am!" Sam saluted Regina, then got in the car herself, "But any time you excessively bake again, just let me know! We're always happy to take the extras off your hands. Not just for us! Alistair eats his weight in food every day, too."

She started the car, and gave Regina a wave, "Thanks again!"

Regina’s wave was a few wiggle of her fingers. “Be careful.”

Sweet girl, she thought. And looked too damn cute with a baby bump. A part of her welled with envy but it was something that bubbled furiously for a couple seconds before draining away. She’d made peace with her circumstances already; jealousy was a losing battle, and one she couldn’t win. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Not even her own.