The day was cold and the sky looked ominous as the screams of pain were heard throuought the whole castle.

"Do you think everything is ok? Have I killed her?" Prince Adam anxiously asked his long time butler, Cogsworth.

"Don't worry Master. Mrs. Potts and Plumette have everything under control."

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Master, it is almost over!" consoled Lumiere. Prince Adam looked at Lumiere and realized that he had to be right. After all, it had only been six months prior that Plumette had given birth to their twins, Claude and Annette. Suddenly, there was the sound of a baby's cry echoing through the palace. A moment later, Plumette appeared in the doorway.

"Master, you are a father!"

"Belle?"

"Come with me." Plumette led the way to the west wing where Mrs. Potts was just finishing tucking Belle into the bed. Adam rushed over to sit on the edge of the bed, reaching for Belle's hand as he did so.

"I am so sorry, Belle. I will never make you go through that again."
"I am fine!" Belle comforted her husband. "So is our daughter. She is perfect!"

With that, Mrs. Potts brought a bundle of blankets over and handed them to the master.

"Here, Sire. You have a beautiful daughter!"

Adam reached out tentatively to take hold of the bundle that was being handed to him. He was very unsure of himself as he pulled the precious child in closer to him. The moment he looked down at her pink face, he knew that he was hopelessly in love. She had a head full of chestnut brown hair and her eyes were blue like her father's. It was almost as if she knew she was being held by her father. She nestled into his chest and fell fast asleep.

"I love you!" Belle whispered to her husband and new daughter.

"I love you too! What should we name her?"

"I was thinking Rose would be a great name."

"Rose it is!" With that, Adam placed a gentle kiss on Rose's forehead and sat there contentedly as he watched his girls get some much needed sleep.

The castle quickly fell into a new routine of feeding baby Rose, holding her, playing with her, everything seemed to revolve around her as well as the twins. Belle and Plumette spent a lot of time together in the library reading to the babies. Sometimes, Chip would come in as well to listen to the stories that Madame Belle would tell. Belle would also take time while Rose was sleeping to teach Chip how to read and write. Mrs. Potts could not have been more grateful for the opportunity for Chip to have a real education. He was a bright young lad and always did what was expected of him.

On warm summer evenings, Belle and Adam would take leisurely strolls through the garden with Rose. It was very important to them that she be exposed to as many new things as possible. Rose loved to be outside, no matter the weather. She was always very alert to what was going on around her, whether it was birds singing or the twins chasing each other around the gardens.

On her first birthday, there was a grand celebration. Maurice presented her with a gift that had Belle skeptical at first, a puppy! Belle named it Shakespeare after Rose's favorite author. Whenever something had Rose out of sorts, Belle would read Shakespeare and Rose would calm right down, much to Adam's dismay. She was a happy child and she and the twins were all the best of friends.

On her fifth birthday, there was a great big tea party. It included Belle, the twins, and Chip as well as Shakespeare and all the adults, except for one. Belle was so upset that she had to miss the party but she was expecting their second child and had been put on bed rest. She wanted nothing more than to be at the grand tea party and she enjoyed the replay of it when Rose went to see her that night.

"We played tag in the ball room and Mrs. Potts served us scones. And, mommy, guess what! Chip said this was the best birthday party he had ever been to."

"I am so glad that you had such a great time, Darling." Belle gave her daughter a big hug. "It is your bed time now. Go with Plumette and she will get you ready for bed. I love you!"

Rose almost ran into her father as she ran out of the door.

"Slow down there, Squirt!"

"Sorry daddy. Thank you for the birthday party. I loved it!"

"You are quite welcome, Sweetie. Now you have a good night and I will see you in the morning." He gave her a big hug and kiss before sending her on her way.

Belle smiled when Adam walked into their room. She hated having to spend so much time away from him because she was on bed rest.

"How was your day?" she asked.

Adam leaned down and kissed her long and hard on the lips. "I missed you!"

Belle smiled at her husband as she absentmindedly rubbed her protruding belly. "We missed you too! It almost killed me not being able to be at the party."

"How are you feeling?"

Belle turned away from her husband's face. Truth was, she was not great. She had been sick almost to the point of dying and she was having a very hard time recovering from it which is why she was on bed rest.

"I feel as weak as ever. I am really worried about the baby, Adam. What if my sickness has hurt him?"

"Belle, don't do that to yourself. It is not your fault that you became so sick. Our child will be just fine."
"But what if they are not?" Belle asked through the sobs that were getting caught in her throat.

Adam laid down next to Belle on the bed and pulled her into his arms.

"If there is a problem with our little one, we will do whatever is necessary for them to have a good life. I love you and I love our child, no matter what. After all, you fell in love with me when I was a beast. How bad could it really be?"

It was only a couple of months later when Adam found out how bad it really could be. Belle went into labor in the middle of the night and had a long and terrible delivery. She still had not gained her strength from the sickness and the child was breech making it almost impossible to deliver him. When he finally was born, it was clear that he would have a hard life. His legs were not fully formed, he would never be able to walk. Belle sank into a major depression for several months after Reece's birth. She fed him and did everything she could to take care of him but she was not much more than just an empty shell of the woman she used to be.

Rose was rarely allowed to see her mother. Maurice moved into the palace indefinitely to take over the children's education. They would study in the library in the mornings and spend time outside studying in the afternoons. Belle loved that Chip, Annette, and Claude were all her classmates. Chip was patient with the younger children and helped them out when he was not working on his own studies.

When it came to her brother, Rose did not even notice that anything was wrong with him. She did notice that his legs were different and that he needed extra help that the others did not need, but she did not care. She loved him just as much as if he were perfect. She loved helping to take care of him in the evenings. She would even sit in his nursery and practice reading her books to him. She excelled in reading above all else.

One day, Adam went to see Rose in the garden.

"Rose, Sweetie. Your mother is not well. I have decided to take her on a short trip to the mountains to see if the fresh air will do her some good. You will be staying here with Mrs. Potts and your grandfather. Do you think you will be alright while we are gone?"

Rose looked at her father and saw the sadness in his eyes. She loved her parents so much and hated to see either one of them as sad as they were.

"I will be fine, Daddy. I just hope that mommy gets better soon."

"I think this will be the perfect things to life her spirits. You just be sure to mind your grandfather and the others. I want only good news when we return."

"Don't worry, Daddy. I will be a very good girl." She reached up and squeezed her father's neck as tightly as she could. He hugged her back long and hard before finally returning her to the ground.

It was a long three months that her parents were gone. They missed her sixth birthday, but she tried her best not to be too upset about it. She really wanted her mother to get well. They had sent for her to receive her very own horse on her birthday. The horse was black all over, except for the tip of its nose which was white. She named her Agatha after her good friend back in the village.

One day, as she was out riding Agatha in the woods with Chip and her grandfather, she heard a carriage approach. As the trio made their way to the side of the road, the watched as her parent's carriage drove by.

"Mommy and Daddy are home!" she screeched in excitement. She coaxed Agatha to a fast run, leaving Maurice and Chip in the dust. By the time they arrived back at the castle, Adam was just climbing out of the carriage.

"Daddy!" she yelled. She jumped off Agatha so fast that she almost fell. Thankfully, Adam was right there to catch her.

"O, my sweet Rose. I missed you so much!" he said as he squeezed her in a hug, turning them around in circles.

"Is that my Rose?"

Rose snapped her head to ward where her mother was standing, looking better than she had in over a year.

"Mommy!" She pushed out of Adam's grip and ran to her mother. Belle reached down and pulled Rose into an embrace. "I missed you so much! Are you all better now?"

"Yes, Darling. I am all better now." She buried her nose in her daughter's hair, taking in the scent of her sweet daughter.

Adam had been right. She needed the fresh mountain air and his undivided attention to help bring her out of the funk she had been in for over a year. As she stood up, the nurse that had gone with them stepped out of the carriage with Reese.

"Mommy, is that Reese?"

"Yes it is. He grew a lot while we were gone."

Rose ran over to her brother and gently kissed his head. "I missed you too!"

The happy family slowly made their way back into the castle. Everything was right again!