Silver Lining

Scare

The bathroom was dimly lit, with only a few scented candles and the hot bath water was covered in bubbles. Regina was sitting between Robin's legs, leaning upon his chest, while his hands were placed on her baby bump and his chin was resting on her shoulder. She was 7 months pregnant, but her bump was not showing too much, causing her to stay up late at night, feeling every movement of her baby.

"Oh, did you feel that? Your baby boy never sleeps," she turned towards Robin with a huge smile on her face. Even though the baby's kicks were starting to become increasingly uncomfortable, Regina would not have traded them for the world.
He nodded and kissed her shoulder, nibbling his way to her neck.
"I can make you feel much more than that, though," he said playfully.

Later that night

Robin came back to their bedroom with the blueberries Regina begged for. Robin also had a few pancakes cooking in the kitchen, but he figured he would just give her the fruit and come back before they burned. She did not get any unusual cravings and did not send him to the grocery store in the middle of the night, so he considered himself to be pretty lucky. As he entered the room, he saw her sitting on the edge of the bed, hunched over her knees, painfully grasping her small bump.

"R-Robin, something is wrong. I think I am having contractions," she cried in discomfort.
"How long ago did they start? How long do they last?" he quickly asked her, somehow trying to remind himself that this is what he did for a living.
"Right before you came, about half a minute," she said before clinging to him.
"Regina, calm down. You are only 30 weeks, they are most likely Braxton Hicks," he said, holding her and rubbing small circles on her back.

"I don't know what those are," she looked at him with shame in her eyes.
"Hey, listen to me. First of all, calm down, you need to breathe through them so they pass faster." She nodded and followed the breathing pattern he instructed. "Now, Braxton Hicks are false contractions, the ones your body uses to prepare for labor. You will most likely get them pretty often from now on," he explained.

"I feel so stupid for not knowing this would happen... I did not know you could have these and I got scared. It is way too early for him to come," she said, pursing her lips and looking straight at the floor.
"Regina, you need to tell me everything you feel. There is no such a thing as a stupid question, and pregnancy is for sure a topic I know a lot about," he said.

"Do you want to hear his heartbeat?" he asked, looking for the Doppler fetal monitor.
"Can we do that now?" she asked, and he could see her entire face light up.

Robin placed the device on her bump and turned it on. In a matter of seconds, the room was filled with the powerful sound of their son's heartbeat. He looked at her and saw the tears running from her eyes as she calmed down, convinced that everything was alright with her baby. Robin turned off the monitor and placed it close to her, as he was sure she was going to try to listen to his heartbeat while he was at work.

"So, what is his name?" he asked. Even though Regina knew he was trying to distract her attention, she could not pass the opportunity to talk about the child.
"I was thinking that, since it is a boy, you get to choose," she smiled.
Robin leaned over and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her.
"How about Oliver?" he suggested before kissing her again. "Or maybe James? Or Roland?" he suddenly felt her pull back from the kiss and smile against his lips.

"Roland Locksley. This is his name," she grinned before kissing him.

"We also need to talk about the birth plan, Regina," he said cautiously. "we can go in tomorrow and fill in the paperwork," he suggested.
"Do you want to help with his delivery? I trust you more than any other doctor," she said.
"If this is what you want, of course," he smiled. "However, we need to decide on a couple more things. In case you will not need a C-Section, do you want to go to the hospital or stay at home? If you want to be in the hospital, I would suggest you opted for at least an epidural anesthetic."

Regina let out a sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. She took Robin's hands in her own and rubbed them with her thumbs.
"I really hope I will not need surgery, but I would like to be in the hospital, just in case something goes wrong with either one of us. I do not want the epidural, but I am counting on you to guide me through the whole process. I think the three of us will make a good team." Regina said before kissing him.

She suddenly pulled away and scrunched her nose.
"Can you feel that smell?" she asked as she almost held her breath.
"Love, I did wash my teeth, you know?" he joked before actually feeling the smell she pointed out.
"Oh my God, the pancakes!" he yelled before jolting to the kitchen.

When Robin entered the kitchen, with Regina hot on his heels, black smoke had already clouded the entire room, and the heat radiating from the fire on the stove made it hard to approach the extinguisher. Robin could barely see Regina behind him, coughing her lungs out while trying to call 911.