Miles To Go

Chapter Seventy-Seven

By the third day of Regina and Rachel having contracted the chicken pox virus, Emma knew they were going insane over the rashes they were both trying so hard not to itch. Emma was going insane trying to keep them both from itching and she'd resorted to placing socks on Rachel's hands and oven-mitts on Regina's, a sight that was simply hilarious to see as they both tried to itch at the rashes on their bodies.

Emma knew that Regina was going insane for a few other reasons, one being the stack of paperwork Shane brought over each morning around ten that she couldn't do due to the oven-mitts Emma had resorted to duct taping around her wrists so she couldn't pull them off. Another reason was the fact that Emma hadn't been sleeping in their bed, not with Rachel in there with her for most of the day and all night.

On the fourth morning, Emma brought them breakfast in bed and paused at the doorway when she heard the sound of giggles coming just from beyond the partially closed door. Ever since the pair of them had gotten sick on the same day, they'd been spending a lot of time together, one on one, and Emma knew that it was good for their relationship and truly gave them time to bond. She smiled to herself, holding on to the stray steadily as she listened in on her wife and their daughter.

"I'm hungry," Rachel said after her giggles died off. "Breakfast time?"

"Yes, my little princess, it's breakfast time. Mama is bringing it up for us, remember?"

"We eat in bed?"

"Yes, that's why it's called breakfast in bed, silly."

"You silly."

"Me?" Regina asked, feigning shock. "I'm silly?"

"Yes, you silly, Mommy."

Emma nearly dropped the tray hearing Rachel's little voice call Regina "Mommy" for the first time. Emma swallowed thickly with emotion as she nudged open the door with a bright, wide smile on her face. She paused momentarily to witness the two of them on the bed, Rachel sitting in Regina's lap and they hugged each other tightly.

Regina was crying, Emma could see it clearly, but she was smiling, clearly overwhelmed with the moment she and their daughter had just shared together. She wiped away at her tears as Emma placed the tray on the edge of the bed and crawled in with them.

"I hope my two favourite girls are hungry," Emma smiled as Rachel pulled back from Regina's embrace. "Let's get those socks off your hands, sweetie. You just need to promise you won't scratch, okay?"

"Okay."

Emma removed the elastic bands from around each wrist before sliding the socks off and let Rachel crawl forward towards the tray of various breakfast foods she'd prepared for the three of them to share. She grabbed a piece of bacon off one of the plates and bit down just as Regina cleared her throat impatiently. Emma smirked as she looked over at her very annoyed looking wife and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to take these things off of me so that I can eat?"

"Nope."

"Emma," Regina said in a warning tone that normally would mean business, but with the state of her hair and tear stained cheeks and the smile she was fighting didn't deter Emma at all. "Remove them at once!"

"Nope."

"Emma."

"Look, I did that last night when we had dinner and you started scratching! At least Rachel can keep her promise not to scratch when her socks are off her hands."

"And how on earth do you expect me to eat?"

"I'll feed you," Emma said sweetly, moving in to give her wife a kiss, one that was swiftly denied. Regina glared at her, a look that quickly disappeared the moment Rachel turned to look back at them. "Fine, but the minute you start itching or even look like you're about to, they go back on and I feed you."