Reset

“Is that.. you?” Emma whispered.

“No,” Mary Margaret shook her head quickly.

They both looked at Grace who was in her stroller by the side of their table at Granny’s. She was smiling.

“Please that be air,” Emma said as she stood up and pulled back on the elastic of Grace’s tiny trousers and then peaked into her diaper before taking a quick step back and covering her mouth, “not air!”

“God in heaven,” Mary Margaret cried and stepped around the stroller to get some fresher air.

“It’s like something’s died!” Emma hissed at her mother, both of them were a few steps away from the stroller in either direction.

“Milk,” Mary Margaret made a face, “I may never look at it the same way again.”

“Well, off you go,” Emma said and pointed at Grace and flicked her hand towards the bathrooms at the back of the diner.

“Why me?” Mary Margaret argued.

“Because you’re pregnant so you need to get used to this,” Emma announced obviously.

“I’m pregnant, I should be resting!” Mary Margaret told her daughter firmly.

“You’re, like, two months in!” Emma cried, “if you start resting now you’ll have no muscle structure to lift your baby when it comes! Besides my leg, I can’t go..”

“Oh it’s been a week and a half, you hardly need your crutch anymore!”

Granny came over with a tea towel over her nose and mouth, “someone take that baby out of my diner in the next minute or you’re both banned for life.”

Mary Margaret and Emma looked at each other and shared a look as they both said “together,” and then both nodded. Mary Margaret removed the baby bag from the back of the stroller and made her way towards the bathroom and Emma followed with the stroller.

Once they got in the bathroom they both removed their coats and then rolled up their sleeves as if preparing to perform an operation.

“Right,” Emma said with a serious expression, “we need to move fast. In and then out. No messing around, okay?”

“Okay,” Mary Margaret nodded her understanding and began to line up a fresh diaper, cream, wet wipes and talcum powder on the changing station.

“I’m going to get her clothes off and remove the diaper,” Emma said matter-of-factly, “then you need to be ready with the bag, okay? We need to bin it and get rid of it fast. Then wipe up the mess and we hope it’s not up her back this time..”

Mary Margaret nodded, “I’m ready,” she rolled her shoulders, “let’s go.”

Emma unbuckled Grace from the stroller and quickly placed her on the changing station and removed her socks and threw them into the stroller seat before gently pulling the trousers off and throwing them as well, “okay, here we go,” she said as she unstrapped the Velcro fastenings and then slid the diaper off, “bag! Bag!”

Mary Margaret pulled a bag off the roll and smiled, “hey, these smell of flowers,” she commented as she opened one up.

“BAG!” Emma cried as she held the diaper at arm’s length in-between her thumb and forefinger.

“Sorry,” Mary Margaret apologised and held the bag out at arm’s length. Both held their faces away from the smell and attempted to put the diaper in the bag without looking. Once complete Mary Margaret quickly tied a knot in the bag, “not enough flowers, not enough flowers,” she chanted as she put it in the hygiene bin while holding her breath.

Meanwhile Emma wiped at the rest of the mess with a million wet wipes and Mary Margaret held out another bag and they completed a similar operation.

Ruby walked into the bathroom, “dear GOD! What are you feeding that thing?”

“Just be glad it’s not all up her back and in her hair like it was the first time we did this,” Emma commented, “I’m literally never going to be the same again after that.”

Ruby quickly crossed the room and opened a couple of high windows to let some air in, “your mobile phone has been ringing,” she told Emma and held out the device to her and at that moment it started to ring again.

“Bit busy at the moment,” Emma said with as she applied cream to Grace’s bottom while trying to stop herself from gagging.

“It says it’s the hospital,” Ruby said and Mary Margaret grabbed the phone from Ruby’s hand and quickly answered it.

“Hello?” Mary Margaret listened intently to what was being said and started nodded and smiling and looked up at Emma who was looking at her with cream all over one hand and holding Grace’s legs by the ankles with the other while staring at her in a silent plea for information.

“She’s awake,” she said before continuing to listen to what she was being told.

Emma felt her legs nearly give out in relief and let out a sigh and shared a smile with Ruby. Mary Margaret got off the phone and handed Emma a wet wipe, “clean your hands and go, I’ll finish up here and I’ll be along as soon as I can,” she instructed the blonde.

“Are you sure?” Emma asked but she was already cleaning her hands and heading for the door.

“Go!” Mary Margaret told her with a grin.

Chapter 40