(I Know) About Us

Chapter 4: The Pregnancy

This chapter is set in the past – Emma's year in New York – and features her meeting Lily again. Once more I'd like to remind you that no matter how it looks, it's not a Lily/Emma romance-thing – Emma is really not looking for that at any point. Thank you! This being the year in New York means no Regina, although it safe to say that Emma's surely missing something – she just can't figure out what.

Emma stared down at the test in her hand, eyes focused on the two blue lines so clearly visible on the small, white field. Pregnant. She was pregnant. Elation filled her immediately at the thought of that; another child. She'd be able to finally give Henry that baby brother or sister that he'd always wanted, that she'd always wanted to give him.

They were finally in such a good place in their life; a wonderful apartment, a steady job, Henry did well in school and had good friends. This was the perfect time to have a kid, which was why her body wasn't filled with a sense of dread like it had been the last time she'd stared down at a positive pregnancy test.

She should probably call the clinic... probably? And tell them that the insemination had gone over perfectly. She just wasn't sure where she'd put their card, and she never did get around to saving their number in her phone. She couldn't really remember the address of the clinic either, New York was such a huge city and there were many clinics around. What was the name of it again? Perhaps she should just call her own doctor.

Emma clutched the stick in her hand and decided to worry about that later. She swore she could already feel the presence of a little baby in her belly, and she placed her palm on her flat stomach and breathed in. A kid. Sure, she'd dreamt for a long time that the second time around – the second time with pregnancy tests, cravings, preparations – she'd have someone by her side so she wouldn't have to go through it alone. And she did feel a sense of loss, that perhaps someone should be right next to her as she discovered these news, but it could only be because that was the way the stories always told these tales.

Nope. She was Emma Swan, and she had her son – a wonderful, generous, intelligent son – who was going to be the best big brother any kid could ever dream of.

She knocked on Henry's bedroom door and slipped inside before he had time to answer. He had his head buried in a math book, and she felt the urge to grasp his still chubby cheeks and kiss them all over.

"Ma?" Henry glanced up from his book, "What's up?"

Emma dropped the stick in front of him, straight in the middle of his book, and took a seat on the edge of the bed, not able to hide her excitement. "You're gonna be a big brother," she announced, and she could feel herself glow with happiness, her cheeks round, straining at the seems from grinning so much.

Henry's eyes dropped to the stick in front of him, and he immediately picked it up, eyes settled on the two lines. "Are you for real!?" He looked back up at her, eyes round with excitement, and she nodded her head eagerly, "Ma!" He pushed his chair back and leaped to her, enveloping her in a hug that sent them flying backwards onto the mattress, a tangle of blonde hair, legs and arms.

Emma pressed kisses to his face, peppering his skin in chapstick and chuckled against his excited squeals. "You're gonna be the best big brother in the world, aren't you, Kid?" She mused aloud and stroked his hair back, a fondness soaring through her as she stared at her kid. Her first kid. He'd always be 'kid' no matter how many more kids she had.

Jutting out his chin, Henry pulled back and sat up, puffing out his chest. "Duh Ma," he stared down at the stick again, his cheeks red with happiness, "I'm gonna help you with everything. This is gonna be so awesome."

That was the way it had always been with the two of them, Emma mused, as she lovingly stared at her soon-to-be teenage son. A team – more of a team than anything – but it worked, and she was pretty sure it was going to continue to work with the new child as well. Perhaps it was because Emma had been so young when she had had Henry, perhaps it was because the first years had been tough with them living in homes as she tried to get a life going for them – but just look how far they'd come. As a team. She'd, more than once, thanked the heavens for the fact that her child was such an easy kid, eager to please, obedient and almost never any trouble.