Who: Emma Swan and Caroline Forbes When: End of May sometime What: Caroline delivers baked goods with a discussion about dream pregnancies Where: Emma and Neal's place Rating/Warning: Low/None Status: Complete
Caroline didn’t usually go out on deliveries. The whole vampire thing wasn’t exactly a problem considering she just handed off the food but given the doorway did become a barrier if she wasn’t invited in the customer often had to step outside to receive their order. However, since she did know Emma and liked her she didn’t mind stopping by with her food. It had been too long since she had seen her anyway. Of course the whole being invited in thing would still be an issue but she’d deal with it.
Arriving at Emma’s place Caroline knocked, her usual bright smile on her face. “Someone order some pastries?” Caroline asked raising the bag once the door was answered.
Being massive and officially under orders to rest, Emma was greatly limited in what to do. She’d been reading through a lot of books and managed to watch some of her Netflix preferences without her kid telling her she was an old lady, but it was still a lot boring. She knew it was needed, she didn’t want to do anything to cause early labour, as much as she was definitely nearing her patience threshold regarding pregnancy on the whole.
But Emma couldn’t give up her sweet tooth, and luckily, Audrey just laughed at her when she begged, and luckily it seemed Caroline was sent to give the starving (not really) pregnant lady her food. “Oh, you life saver.” Grinning at Caroline as she opened the door, Emma remembered her purse was inside. “Oh, sorry, money um… C’mon in, I’ve got it in here.” Since she knew Caroline, there was no problem with inviting her inside, Emma wasn’t stupid and normally wouldn’t let delivery people in, but then she had magic and her two ferocious dogs (which was a laugh). Although their usefulness was still to be judged. “I hope this wasn’t too much trouble.”
Those were the magic words. Once they were said Caroline stepped inside still carrying Emma’s food. She had nothing to worry about. Caroline was as good as vampires got. She would never hurt anyone. There had been a few kills in her dreams, (when she first turned, saving Bonnie’s life, and when her humanity was off). But each time Caroline had breakdown once she realized what she had done.
“No trouble,” Caroline assured with a smile. “I actually got to leave work early for this so really you’re doing me a favor.” It was then that her eyes fell on Emma’s very pregnant stomach and the smile vanished from her face. She was happy for Emma, really. And Audrey too. But it was difficult knowing she could never have kids. Normally it wouldn’t be something she thought about, or something that weighed on her. She was too young to think about that sort of thing. But her dreamself was currently in the middle of a magical pregnancy. In fact that previous night she even had more dreams about it, the pregnancy hormones messing with her vampire abilities. “How are you doing?” she finally asked with a nod at Emma’s stomach.
“Early is good.” Maybe it’d help beat rush traffic too. At least it was a perk and not a case of drawing straws to see who got landed with the hassle. “I’m doing okay,” Emma had noticed the sudden disappearance of the smile, and it was just a little unusual, since most people got a smile when they saw the belly, and Caroline had already known she was pregnant. “Can’t drive any more, and my walking distance is like to the end of the street,” getting the money from her bag, Emma gave Caroline a stiff smile as she handed it over. “We’re almost to the due date though, so hopefully not long now.”
Which was getting exciting, and almost everything was ready and she was really looking forward to finally getting to hold the little one. “Are you okay there?” But that wouldn’t stop her being curious about her friends either.
“When’s the due date?” Caroline asked trying her best to sound optimistic and forcing her smile back on her face. It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy for Emma, because she was. It was just with dreaming about being pregnant herself and knowing it could never really happen, well it was hard on the blonde vampire. Even if she knew she was too young for kids at the moment, she had still wanted them at some point in her life.
“I can’t imagine being stuck in the house,” she wrinkled her nose at the thought slowly getting back to her usual personality. It wasn’t like it was Emma’s fault. “I’m fine,” Caroline assured doing her best to sound convincing. Emma definitely didn’t need to hear about her problems that were really nothing in comparison.
“Late June, around the 25th we think.” She wouldn’t mention that she and Neal would be entirely fine with an early arrival. So long as it was safe for him to join them, the sooner the better for them really. “I have the dogs for company, and my friends are so sweet,” and Emma was including Caroline there, bringing food over for her, so sweetly. “I get out with people, for a little while, and then home.”
She and Neal still took Henry and the dogs to the park, but Emma was a passenger and sitting almost the whole time, or waddling as she tended to do now. But she wasn’t stuck inside by herself all the time, that was a good thing at least. And with Lina’s baby being born, she was fairly sure she could go and see her more often.
“Are you sure? I mean, if you don’t need to rush back to the bakery, or home, you wanna chat?”
“That’s still forever away.” Well it was after her finals and Caroline absolutely dreaded finals week so anything after finals felt like a lifetime from now. “It’s great you can still get out though!” she added cheerfully. She did like to look on the bright side of things but still. Caroline led an extremely busy life. She was taking on more responsibility at work, went to school, had a million friends to keep up with. Okay maybe not a million but she had a lot, and she always did what she could to help them out, like helping take care of Regina’s business while she was bringing Killian back from the dead. It just seemed impossible to stay in one place for too long.
However, she did have a bit of free time now. Since she got off work early and all. Yeah Peeta was expecting her home soonish, but whatever he could wait. It really had been awhile since she had seen Emma and even if Emma said she got out and had the dogs and Henry to keep her company she had a feel it still got lonely. “Sure,” Caroline agreed. “And sorry about being weird,” she added referring to when she first got there. “I’m currently pregnant in the dreams, just had some last night actually so it was just a reminder I guess,” she motioned to Emma’s stomach although she was pretty sure Emma got what she meant.
Since Emma had put in the food order because her cravings had hit and she needed some brownies, she set about unpacking what Caroline had delivered, and it gave her something to do so she wasn’t just staring at Caroline. “Ah, that sounds a bit like it could be weird,” Emma’d felt a little out of it the first time she dreamed her pregnancy with Henry. And she’d been pregnant before, she’d had a baby, but she at least knew that she could have another one if she wanted.
Caroline, being a vampire, likely didn’t have that option around now. Which really would suck if she needed to-- Wait…
“I thought you were a vampire in your dreams? And that’s how… you became one?” Shouldn’t that mean she couldn’t get pregnant their either?
And that’s where it got complicated. Because yes Emma was correct. She was a vampire in the dreams, that’s how she became one for real. And no, vampires couldn’t get pregnant or impregnate anyone. Unless you were Klaus and slept with a werewolf but that was a whole other confusing story.
“Well, they aren’t my babies?” like that would explain it. Caroline sighed realizing she was going to have to go into the whole thing. It wasn’t Emma’s fault. Caroline had brought it up (it was hard not to when around a very pregnant lady with fresh dreams on her mind). Of course Emma was curious how it was possible.
“So, this pregnant witch and her coven were murdered at her wedding. I was there, and her coven did some spell while they were dying that put her babies in my womb. Fucked up I know.”
That… was just strange. But then her dreams included realm travel and magical curses, and she did speed up Zelena’s pregnancy herself. So, it wasn’t that strange. “God, I’m so sorry.” But that didn’t help Caroline at all. Magic was cruel and unusual sometimes. “That can’t be easy.”
It was like waving what you could never have right in front of you. And how rude, just putting babies in someone. Especially since Emma had picked up on the plural of it all. “Dreaming the pregnancy the first time, was so weird, I can’t even imagine what this is like for you.” Probably some of the weirdest things she was going through at all.
“You’re not like, in any danger or anything, right?”
Caroline honestly wasn’t expecting Emma to understand. Or anyone to really. She knew she was young and had no reason to want kids right now. And really she didn’t want to have any at the moment. But knowing she was going to live for eternity and never be able to have kids? It was rough and dreaming about it brought up feelings she didn’t even know she had.
“With Henry, right?” Caroline knew that Henry was in Emma’s dreams. He had told her himself the first time she met him. But Caroline also knew from Regina and that she was his adoptive mother in the dreams. It was pretty great that now that they had Henry here Regina was still involved in his life. “That must have been so weird since you actually pregnant with him too. Like reliving it kind of?” That had to be just as hard as well. Especially if they hadn’t gotten Henry back yet when Emma dreamed of the pregnancy.
“I never really thought about talking to anyone else that had dream pregnancies. Well I don’t really know anyone, except you. But still it’s like when I’m sleeping I literally am experiencing the pregnancy. And just knowing that will be the only way I ever get to experience being pregnant?” Her voice cracked. Now was not the time to be sad about it. Emma didn’t need that. Time to change subjects and try and get back to her usual self. “There’s always some type of danger in Mystic Falls. But not from the guy that murdered the coven, he was killed by one of us.” Well by Damon, not particularly her favorite person but they were usually on the same side when other bad guys came to town.
“Yeah,” Emma had been eighteen both times she’d been pregnant with Henry (three if you counted Regina’s good memory gift before the second curse was cast) and both times she’d been alone and scared through the whole thing. “Um, in my dreams I was in jail while I was pregnant, I gave birth to Henry there, and then Regina adopted him. And here, I… well there was no jail but New York wasn’t overly kind.” But at least she’d had freedom when she was pregnant here, and this time around, with Nico, she got to savor it all, rather than distancing herself from everything because she knew she couldn’t keep Henry.
Dreaming the pregnancy while not being pregnant was a head trip, although Emma had at least experienced it herself. She didn’t think Caroline would be feeling the same nostalgic way Emma had.
It seemed like Mystic Falls wasn’t that different from Storybrooke, although this time it seemed to be about vampires than story book characters. “Well, you know I’m here, if you ever just wanna talk.” Although if Caroline would prefer not to be around an actual pregnant woman while being reminded that she’d never get to do that, Emma could understand that. “But at least the murdering asshole got his.” Even if the coven were seriously out of line in just using a vacant uterus for their own needs. “I’m totally here if you wanna vent about dream shit.”
It wasn’t that Caroline couldn’t be around pregnant people. Or even that she preferred not to. Today was just extra difficult given she had just dreamed. But she liked Emma and was definitely happy for her. “Thanks,” Caroline said giving Emma a genuine smile. It was rare that Caroline wasn’t smiling but this was different than the large, bright, smile that was always plastered on her face. It showed her appreciation for Emma’s offer. “Same goes for you. Storybooke sounds insane.” At least from the bits she had heard from Regina.
“Urgh. We’ve just been to Camelot to find Merlin to stop a curse I took to stop Regina from going evil again.” Emma rolled her eyes, but by now a lot of people knew just what had happened to Killian, and it wasn’t the best situation at all, but she was hopeful that it wasn’t too bleak. “It seems that… It’s one thing after another in the dreams.” And Emma had to focus on her life rather than the chaos going on with her family and friends in her dreams.
“I guess that’s a common trait for us all, right? All this bullshit going on. Probably just as well we have people who can listen to it all.” Emma just nudged Caroline a little, understanding that sometimes things hit a little harder than others, but they were all pretty good at getting through them all. Together.
Caroline knew a little bit how that turned out. She heard bits and pieces from Regina and then of course she knew what had happened to Killian here. She had yet to meet the pirate, but she had helped out Regina while the evil queen was in the underworld. “And of course that didn’t turn out so great,” Caroline commented not even trying to be optimistic. Yeah that was her general personality, but sometimes it was just exhausting.
“Yeah,” Caroline agreed cheering up a bit. “It definitely helps to have a great support system. I don’t know how I’d get through this without my friends.” Emma included.