Please note every medical anything written before and after this point are for dramatic effect only. I need to progress the story and so the medicine is literally for that reason. Wholly inaccurate. Unresearched (mostly). Apologies if you don't like that but I reiterate… this was a dream. Trigger.

"I did it."

"Maggie, I love you, but it's 3am, I'm gonna need a little more information." Mary Margaret giggled despite herself, clapping a hand over her mouth so she didn't wake David.

"David knows."

"Oh sweetheart, are you okay?" Regina sounded concerned on the other end of the line, and Mary Margaret frowned, already angry at herself for the way her issue was affecting her friends as well as her family.

"Well… Emma told him officially… but I did tell him everything else. We talked, we fought, we talked some more. He's so tired though, I hate what this is doing to him in less than 12 hours." She paused when she heard Regina yawn on the other end of the phone. "I hate what this is doing to you all. I'm sorry for waking you up Gina."

"Maggie, you are my friend, I want to be here for you. You know you can call me at any time no matter what. Are you okay?"

"It didn't go great, but that was expected… I just wanted to call and let you know I wont be in tomorrow. David wants us to make an appointment with my doctor so we can discuss options so…" Mary Margaret heard Regina sigh and she began to apologise once again. "I'm sorry, I'll make sure to email over some lesson plans in the morning, and I'll be in early the next day to sort everything out. I have to do this for him though, I promised."

"Maggie, I'm not annoyed. I just worry about you sweetheart. Call me tomorrow after the appointment, I can take Emma home for dinner so you and David can have some time to talk." There was a pause but it was tense. "I have to get some more sleep dear, but I'll speak to you soon."

The call ended and she switched the bathroom light off as she left the room, crawling back into bed with her husband.

"'Ow's R'gina?" Mary Margaret shook her head as she climbed back into bed, nestling into the arms he'd opened for her.

"She's fine. I just told her I'm not gonna be in tomorrow. I'm going to call Doctor Hopper first thing. He's probably expecting a call so." She felt him nod into her neck, and after a minute he was sleeping again. Mary Margaret's mind was racing, thoughts of her family and friends preventing her from being able to close her eyes and sleep. David, deep in sleep already pulled away from her and rolled over.

She began to feel warm and lifted the corner of the duvet, a similar wave of nausea like the previous day rolling through her. It would have knocked her to her knees had she not been laying down. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, willing the nausea away. It worked for a few minutes but came back, twice as bad as the first time. She waved her hand behind her, trying to reach David and wake him, unwilling to open her mouth to call out to him. She tried to turn, the movement causing an almost blinding dizziness as she punched him gently on the shoulder. No movement or noise from his side of the bed caused her to reach out again, swinging blindly as she tried to get his attention. Her closed fist hit his abdomen and he lurched awake, sitting up straight to see the moment his wife lunged forward on the bed, vomiting noisily on the floor. She began to cry at the experience, having always hated the feeling of being sick, and she pulled herself to an almost sitting position as she heaved. She felt David's hand rubbing her back before he reached forward and turned on her bedside lamp, jumping up from the bed as he saw the pool of vomit with concerning amounts of blood inside that appeared to be covering their bedroom floor.

"Shit. Mags. Shit." He froze for a moment, trying to work out what to do before he grabbed Mary Margaret's phone from the table, dialling the number he knew would help.

"Mary Margaret, could this not wait until tomorrow? I already told you…" David had quickly pulled his wife's hair into a ponytail as she tried to pull herself together, before picking up the phone and interrupting whatever was being said.

"Regina. I need you to come over and look after Emma."

"David… what… what are you talking about?"

"Maggie is sick, Regina, she just got so sick and I can't drag Emma to the hospital at this time." His wife's friend began to speak again, but he interrupted her, not having time to argue. "Listen please, can you get here? I'd call Ruby but she's further away and I can't… just please."

On the other end of the line, the older woman was already up and pulling on a jacket. "I'm on my way David, I'll be there soon. Just hang tight. Get Maggie ready and I'll let myself in. Pack a bag. She'll need it." The call ended and David pulled the phone from his ear, staring at it until he saw his wife start to climb out of the bed. He moved around the mess on the floor and supported her as she stood, helping her into the bathroom at her point. She was burning up, and so he turned the shower on and sat her on the seat, letting the water run over her as he went to go and pack a bag for her, running downstairs quickly first to unlock the front door.

David had thrown some random items in the bag before his wife had called out for him, and he quickly made his way to her with a change of clothes for her. He had to help her dress; she was weak, tired, nauseous and every movement seemed to drain all of her energy. The front door opened as David was carrying Mary Margaret down stairs, not trusting her instability on the descent. He deposited her into Regina's arms as he ran back upstairs for the bag, their phones and chargers, his jacket and wallet and anything else he could think they needed that he shoved into the bag. He hopped over the mess on the floor and closed his door behind him, already planning to call a professional service in the proper hours of the morning. He spared a glance at Emma's room but was pulled away when Regina called up to him cautiously.

He was downstairs in moments and saw his wife sprawled on the sofa, leaning heavily on Regina as she tried to keep her semi-upright. Regina looked more than worried, she looked scared and that was enough to cause deep concern with David, knowing it took a lot to freak the stoic woman.

"Something is wrong David. She needs to be seen. Now. Immediately. I will take Emma to school. Call me when you know more. Just… get her seen okay?" He couldn't bring himself to be frustrated at the way she was telling him what to do with his own wife, as he could see that she was only trying to help. He simply nodded and kissed her cheek as he carried his wife out of the house.

The journey to the hospital was worse than the time six months ago, David knowing that vomiting blood was not good normally, let alone when someone was sick and pregnant. The roads were quieter and he was making better time, but the way she was acting was concerning.

Arriving at the hospital at 4am was a different experience than the previous time. The ER was full of drunk people with some superficial injuries, and a few homeless people who wanted a place to stay for the night, and there was one member of staff sat behind the desk. This time Mary Margaret was awake enough to walk herself but it was obvious she was not well as she stumbled to the counter, supported mostly by David. The receptionist looked bored, and was focusing on whatever was keeping her attention on the screen, ignoring the pair as they stood in front of her.

"Excuse me?" The woman held up her finger, snapping the gum that she was chewing, and carried on ignoring the couple until the program she was watching, ended a few minutes later.

"How can I help you?" David was glaring at the woman while Mary Margaret was trying her best to stay awake.

"My pregnant wife has been vomiting blood." The woman rolled her eyes and stood, looking Mary Margaret up and down as she held out the relevant form.

"A little blood in the vomit is not uncommon during pregnancy, and we are busy tonight, so fill this out and have a seat, we'll get to you when someone becomes available." She sat back down and clicked on her screen again, not noticing the glare coming from David. He slammed the form and clipboard down on the counter, seeing the woman jump at the noise.

"Excuse me, again." His tone was sarcastic and angry and he reiterated the information to the woman who was looking bored. "My pregnant wife has vomited blood and would like to see her oncologist please." The woman's eyes widened and she stood again, glancing around the room to check the rest of the patients in the room were quiet and there was no danger of her stepping away from her desk.

"I'll just see if anyone is available. Take a seat for one second and I'll get someone to come and see you." The woman was flustered, it was clear, but David couldn't bring himself to care. She was not demonstrating the necessary skills it took to work in healthcare and he knew if he were a different person he would have raised a grievance. He instead wanted to focus on his wife, who was looking sicker as time passed. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap, wanting to hold her close so she didn't fall down. She leaned against his shoulder and closed her eyes, trying to block out the sounds and the light that were causing her head to pound and her stomach to roll.

David rubbed her arm, having noted the goose bumps that littered her skin. She shivered as the doors opened and another pair of drunk people stumbled in. David looked around for the member of staff who had disappeared from the desk, seeing her walk in with someone who was wearing the scrubs he had previously seen doctors wearing. He approached the pair and David watched as his eyes widened in recognition.

"Mrs Nolan?" David frowned as Mary Margaret startled. She opened her eyes and looked up at the man in front of them.

"Doctor Hopper? What are you doing here?" She glanced around blearily, looking confused about her surroundings. "What are we doing here?" David was instantly troubled that she didn't appear to remember their drive to the hospital, and the reason behind it.

"Doctor Hopper? You're Maggie's oncologist?"

If the doctor was surprised that his patients husband knew who he was, he didn't show it, even though she had told him at her most appointment only the week before that she still hadn't told him. "I am. What brings you to the ER in the early hours?"

"Maggie was vomiting blood. And with everything… I thought it best to get her seen."

Doctor Hopper nodded, and placed his two fingers and thumb on Mary Margaret's wrist, checking his watch as he measured her pulse. When he was done counting he checked her eyes with a light before frowning in concern.

"Her pulse is weak and thready, so I'd like to get her admitted and hooked onto some monitors as soon as possible if that is okay. We'll get her stable and then we can maybe discuss treatment options in the morning?" David simply nodded tiredly. He hated that his wife was so sick and he hoped that this was as bad as it would get. He hoped she would finally agree to some treatment to stop it from getting any worse. "I'll call for a porter to bring her up to the ward, just let me just get Tamara to pull up her notes and I'll add a referral." He walked off before David or Mary Margaret could speak, and David stood, holding his wife up as she sagged against him. Realising she was too weak to hold her head up, let alone stand up for more than thirty seconds, he sat back down and pulled her back onto his lap, cringing at the feel of her clammy skin when she pressed her forehead into his neck.

When the porter arrived, David helped deposit his wife into the wheelchair, walking beside the chair as he doctor led the way upstairs. David hesitated in the doorway when they arrived at their destination, watching his wife as the nurses did what was necessary, attaching her to monitors and doing some tests. When the nurses were done taking bloods and cleaning up after Mary Margaret vomited once more, they left, only to return some minutes later with a cot and a blanket for David to try and sleep. They informed him that they would be taking his wife for more tests as and when the necessary machines were free and that he should try and get some sleep.

He didn't.

He lay awake as his wife whimpered in pain in the bed next to him. He paced the room after the porter had collected her for some scans, waiting until she returned. He tossed and turned after a text from Regina informed him Emma was okay, that she had eaten breakfast and hadn't fussed when she got ready for school. He had just dropped off to sleep as the on call oncologist came in to check the file that had been steadily increasing in size over the previous four hours.

"Good morning, Mrs Nolan. Mr Nolan." He nodded at each of them in turn as he flicked through the notes. "Doctor Hopper asked me to advise you he will return late afternoon to discuss treatment options, and that our focus today should be finding the cause of the hematemesis and treating it as a matter of urgency." He stopped addressing the pair and turned to the patient, David doing the same as he focused on his wife who looked only marginally better than she had in the early hours, now she was attached to the IV solution.

"Mrs Nolan, we're going to need to take you for some more tests today and then when Doctor Hopper returns, he would like to speak to you, but as far as he made me aware, he's going to want to keep you in for the foreseeable, until we can get some things cleared up." Mary Margaret opened her mouth to respond and argue but David was up and by her side in that moment, taking her hand.

"It's fine my love, everything will be fine, Emma and I will manage, we just have to focus on getting you better. That is the priority, okay?"

They shared a look, and the room was silent for a moment as the doctor looked on before the woman finally acquiesced with a frown. "I want to see Emma. I want to be the one to explain this to her. " David sighed at the argumentative tone of her voice and shrugged, knowing it would be pointless to try and argue. He looked at his watch as the doctor ducked out of the room and reached out to cup her cheek, stroking his thumb over her cheekbone until she calmed down.

"I have to get to work sweetheart. I'll return when Doctor Hopper is due back and if Emma has finished school by then, I'll bring her in. Please just… don't go anywhere Mags. Let them do what they need to do, don't fight it." He ignored the glare she shot him, and kissed her forehead before stepping back from the bed. "I'll call you. Please be good, okay?"

Her glare quickly turned into a pout and she watched David as he made sure he had everything he needed before opening the door. He waved at her and was out of the door before he could convince himself to stay. Mary Margaret watched him leave, the aching feeling that was growing in her gut getting worse.

Also, we're almost at the point at where my first dream started. The plan for this story has changed a little after reading the feedback I've been receiving but the premise remains the same.