So if you're anything like me your fangirling has gotten even worse as September 28th drags closer. Doesn't it feel like it's taking forever? Pinterest and fanfiction are feeding my addiction, but I long for the real thing. So, if these 'published' works are also sustaining you, please continue reading! I hope this chapter only heightens my previous work.

Chapter Four

Perhaps there was need. Her morning sickness was increasing in intensity, so much so that as soon as she ate breakfast she ran to the bathroom and stayed there until noon. It didn't help that she was craving breakfast food- hot sauce (but only with eggs), sugary donuts, and sausage (the only cooking meat, besides chicken, she could smell) were the top three. Lunch slowly calmed her stomach, as long as it was simple: grilled cheese with tomato soup, peanut butter and jelly, a grilled chicken sandwich, fruit salad, etc. Generally she was fine after that, though surges of random nausea hit her throughout the day and night. Dairy products became her enemy and the only drinks she could tolerate completely were tea, water and lemonade. The morning sickness was worse than any she'd experienced before, which she should've taken as a hopeful sign, but her depressed state of mind refused it.

Henry dropped by to ask her to go to Granny's and she denied him, claiming illness, at which point he immediately summoned Snow. The young woman took one look at her and commanded Henry to leave the room.

Once the door was secured and they made sure there were no little pitchers with big ears nearby her step-daughter turned on her. "You're pregnant! Why haven't you told any of us? You've been shut up in this house with no one to help you, probably getting sick all morning, and you haven't said a thing. Regina . . ."

"You know I'm going to miscarry." She didn't even meet those vigorous eyes. "Don't you remember?"

She quieted and sat down beside her gently. "I remember the last one."

"Don't. Please Snow, I can't, not now."

It was too late the memories flashed before her like lightning.

"One more push your highness, just one more and you'll meet your child." The midwife stood at the foot of the bed, her hands between the queen's legs so that when the babe finally came forth he or she would immediately find safety.

Regina screamed with effort. It had been an eternity since she'd felt first the pulling sensation in the garden, then the contractions shortly after. The windows proved that a great amount of time had passed- the moon was high, signifying it was midnight. Ten hours since that first feeling around two in the afternoon.

"Please your highness, once more." The midwife begged.

Leopold stood back from the bed, cautioned there should something go wrong. They didn't want him getting in the way. Regina's eyes rolled to meet his as she grabbed the bedpost to steady herself for the 'once more' her child required. Maybe he would finally love her after this. A mother to two of his children, now one biologically. And should this be a son, well, weren't even second-born sons given the right to the crown over first-born daughters?

She was fairly sure that she tore both her vocal chords and her organs as she screamed and pushed her child into the world. The midwife quickly collected the babe, reported excitedly that it was a boy, and took a step towards the nearest washroom while her assistances cleaned the queen. Leopold came over to kiss her sweaty brow in one of the tenderest gestures he'd ever bestowed upon her.

The happy feelings were smashed to bits when the midwife turned back around. "Your highness, your son draws no breath." The frightened woman scurried over and pressed the naked babe to his mother's breast. Regina attempted to suckle him, but it was in vain. No heartbeat could be found beneath anyone's fingers and his chest never inflated with air.

At that terrible moment Snow decided to come into the room, having finally succeeded in slipping around the guards. "Regina, Father!" She ran forward triumphantly, gasping with excitement when she saw the child in her step-mother's arms. "A brother or a sister?" Her eyes danced.

Leopold rigidly took her by the arm and pulled her to a corner of the room, where through whispered explanations she learned that she technically did have a brother. But she would never play with, care for or get to know said brother because he was not alive. He might never have been. Perhaps the 'kick' she'd felt was just a natural gurgle of the stomach. Perhaps he'd passed after that. Perhaps the stress of birth had been too much. Only God knew.

"I'm sorry. But just because you have a bad past doesn't mean you can't be hopeful now. We have new medicine, advanced technology, and magic all combined."

She hated that word: hope. "Three babies Snow. Two before they were even fully formed. Something is wrong with me."

"No there isn't, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten pregnant more than once or gotten pregnant at all. Something in there is working. You need to go to the doctor though, you're looking quite pale."

"I throw up all morning."

"We should go now, to be on the safe side. Maybe they can give you something to prevent a miscarriage. Or suggest some healthy foods that won't make you sick."

Somehow her step-daughter managed to force her from the white mansion and to the equally white and larger hospital, where an 'emergency' appointment with Dr. Whale (who was apparently ever type of doctor under the sun) was made. Promptly the man came into the room, looking as rushed as always.

"Regina, Mary Margaret, what can I do for you?"

"She's pregnant-"

"I can speak for myself Snow." She glared, a lightning flash of anger sparking through her before she settled on the examination table and turned to the man she hated yet needed. "Yes, I'm pregnant. And if a word of it gets around town I will ruin you beyond belief. Now, I'm going to miscarry. I've lost three babies in the past, two early miscarriages and one stillborn at eight months. I," she glanced at the young woman seated in the uncomfortable chair beside her, "Snow, was hoping you could help. Or at least lessen my morning sickness."

He took the paragraph in with the suave demeanor that could only belong to a doctor. "I see. Well, there are certainly some dietary suggestions I can make for the morning sickness, along with a few medications, but I'm always hesitant to prescribe anything to expecting or nursing mothers. As to your first request, that's much more difficult."

"Can't you do anything?" Snow had bolstered her up, made her believe in this world's medicine and its miraculous qualities. Reality was moving in like a frightful storm. She longed to retreat back to her house and pretend this never happened. Surely he'd tell her it was hopeless, she would miscarry and secure her fate of a lonesome life peppered with a child that wasn't even hers.

"There are few things that can prevent the inevitability of nature. Considering your track record your odds of a fully developed child delivered on time are slim. The most I can suggest with clear conscience is bed rest."

"With clear conscience?" Snow piped up. "I'm confused. You're a doctor. This world has thousands of medicines. Surely there must be something-"

"I've heard of nothing concrete that can protect a woman's womb. Every once and a while there's claim of a miracle drug that can supposedly do something similar, but those are generally untested and dangerous, especially for pregnant women. I'm sorry." He sighed, a mixture of pity and anxiety. "Is that all? I have a pressing surgery beginning soon."

"That's all. Can you tell me your suggestions about the morning sickness again?"

Snow ordered her on bed rest as they walked out of the hospital. "If it's his only recommendation then I consider it mandatory."

"How can I possibly be on bed rest at my house? Everything's downstairs-"

"You'll move in with us. Henry just found an apartment for him and Emma. It's the perfect time. And being around little Neal will make plenty of positive baby energy. Maybe he'll help convince yours to live and see the world."

"I cannot impose on that. You and Charming-"

"Would be delighted to have you. At the least we can consider you a live-in babysitter."

"I am not a babysitter."

"You can at least help me then."

And so everything was decided and arranged as if Snow had waved a magic wand. Regina moved into Mary Margaret's old bed so she wouldn't have to use the stairs and her step-daughter and step-son-in-law moved seamlessly upstairs, as did little Neal, who took a great liking to his attic nursery.

Because of the move Henry and Emma were informed and Regina prayed they'd hold their tongues. Henry was ecstatic, seeming to misunderstand that her and Robin's relationship had frozen in time. Emma murmured an unenthusiastic 'congratulations,' her eyes heavy with guilt. If she'd never brought Marian back things would be much happier for the expectant mother.

Neither she nor Snow mentioned the miscarriage odds.

I'm indebted to you, my fabulous reader! Again, comments are appreciated. Writers need constructive criticism! Please enjoy your day. God bless.