The briefest of references to sexual abuse in this chapter, it's kind of a blink and you miss it sort of thing. But forewarning it's there.
This one doesn't so much go into Neal's arrival to the family, but the aftermath. Four kids can be a lot to handle, after all!
After two middle of the night adoptions and a traumatic birth, Snow was definitely apprehensive when she fell pregnant just 9 months after Emma was born. They certainly weren't trying. In fact, given the trauma she had endured, her body wasn't physically ready for sexual relations for 6 months after she gave birth. They had a lot to make up for and that lead to the conception of their fourth (and final) child.
To Snow's surprise, the pregnancy was smooth sailing. She had some gnarly morning sickness early on, but that went away in time. Unlike Emma, she had fewer food aversions. She was exhausted, but also chalked that up to having a baby and two very active children running all over the place on top of her usual royal duties. Stace turns out to be the winning nanny after a long line of many not being able to handle their crazy brood. But this one knows how to get Emma to go to sleep and redirect Henry from sneaking books to the dinner table. Alice has begun her lessons and with the help of Stace, she's thriving. The polyamorous quad appreciates her. She's kind but firm and reminds Snow a great deal of her own nanny as a child. Luckily for Stace, none of the children are near as bratty as Snow was towards Johanna.
Her youngest son's birth goes as smoothly as the pregnancy. Snow's only complaint is that he is a few weeks late, but if that's all she has to worry about in comparison to how the rest of her children came to be, she is lucky. He's by far the biggest of the lot were at birth, nearly 8 pounds. David is the one to suggest Neal, which means champion. It goes well with Emma ("whole"), Alice ("noble") and Henry ("ruler"). Regina decides that his middle name will be "David" after one of his fathers. Snow worries that Killian will be jealous that none of the kids are named for him, but her husband merely shakes his head.
"Alice is named after my mother," he explains, cradling the chubby baby in his arms. "That's all I need."
None of them walked into having four kids thinking it'd be easy, but it's definitely more challenging than they thought. They're not outnumbered, but with two kids in diapers, one teetering between toddlerhood and childhood, along with their eldest being 6 going on 16, they're in over their heads. Snow is breastfeeding both of their little ones. David tries his best to keep up with Alice and Henry as he doesn't have as many duties. Stace does what she can, but even she is becoming slowly overwhelmed.
It's no surprise when she requests a meeting with the monarchs. Regina is already trying to calculate what a fair raise would be in her head, scared of losing her. Ruth has come by the castle to help with the children, but they know she needs to return to the farm eventually. Between her and a maid, they feel confident stepping into the room with Stace.
"I want to start off by saying I love what I do," she says, smoothing down her smocked skirt. "The children are amazingly behaved. I've worked for other royal families who let their kids speak to me like dirt. I appreciate you make sure they respect me."
"Of course," Killian tells her. "We wouldn't have it any other way. You spend practically as much time with them as we do."
Stace gives them a small smile. "And I appreciated the raise you gave me after Prince Neal's birth."
"If it's not enough, we can give you more," Regina says. "We appreciate you and want you to know that."
Stace shakes her head, her honey blonde hair going with her. "I understand that and am grateful, but I don't think the money will help. I know you try to make sure I'm never alone with all four but the times I am, it's near impossible. I feel like I cannot genuinely give my all to them."
David nods understandingly. "We can adjust our schedules, try to be there more…"
"I don't mean to be rude, your majesty and forgive me for speaking out of turn…" Stace gnaws on her bottom lip. Killian gives her a reassuring smile.
"Whatever you need to tell us, you can. We consider you family, Stace."
"I think it'd help if you hired a second nanny," she says. "Not full time or maybe not even to help me with the kids. Perhaps I could handle the older three while someone else tended to the baby."
Snow, Regina, David and Killian all look amongst each other. On Stace's days off, it helps when there's more than one of them to wrangle the kids. It takes off a lot of the pressure. Why had they not considered a second nanny before? Even if they got one just for Neal, it could ease some of the stress on Stace. They could more than afford it, and it might be what's best for their children.
"We don't want to lose you," Regina speaks up. "So, we'll look into it."
A smile spreads across Stace's face, showing off her dimples. "I appreciate that, thank you." She stands and curtseys. "I'll relieve Meg now."
Stace exits the room, leaving the four alone. Snow sighs, running her fingers through her hair.
"This is the right solution. I know it is. But it took us so long to find Stace," she mutters. "She's amazing with the kids. Our previous nannies were either too strict or didn't want to work with us."
"Maybe I could ask my mother to stay longer?" David suggests. "She loves the kids."
"Do you think she'd agree to that? Living in the palace?"
David frowns, shaking his head. "Probably not." While Ruth loves to visit, she much more prefers when they go to her. The castle makes her uncomfortable, as do the luxurious riches. There's no way she'd agree to live there full time.
Killian drums his fingers on the table. "I know Liam and Belle just hired a new nanny for the boys. Perhaps they know someone."
"We could look into that," Regina says. "I guess it's our only shot."
"What if we can't find someone?" David asks. "Like Snow said, it took us forever to find Stace. And even she only came to us because Meg knew her."
"Maybe we are a little picky," Killian muses.
"I don't think so," Regina says. "These are our babies. We need to make sure that they are well taken care of and raised properly. Ignoring that they are royal, it's hard that we can't be with them all the time. When we're gone, we need someone we trust will carry on our values." She frowns. "I was practically raised by nannies until I was 10 and none of them were much better than my mom. I don't want that for my kids."
Snow leans back in her chair, rubbing her hand over her stomach. After her second birth in not even 2 years, she's struggled to go back to her original figure. Belle has helpfully pointed out it'll probably never be exactly the same.
She allows her mind to drift back to Johanna. Snow at times had been a terrible little brat, ordering her around and demeaning her. It took several firm talks with Eva for her to turn herself around. And yet, Johanna was forgiving and kind. She learned to be firmer after Eva's death, being the guidepost that Snow desperately needed.
Once Snow was 12, Johanna had been fired. Her duties were no longer needed, despite Snow finding every excuse to keep her. Leopold got firm, saying she was going to be 13 soon. She had already begun to have her monthly blood. She wasn't a baby anymore. It was time to grow up and face her "adult responsibilities". Snow doesn't allow herself to think about what he did to make her prove it. Her father is gone and he's never coming back. Snow made sure of that.
She tried to keep in touch with Johanna, but it became hard when she had a new little girl to take care of. Her old nanny was far too busy to exchange letters and they had only reconnected not long after Snow married Regina and Killian. She was retired, but mostly only because her last family had left her a significant amount in their will. Johanna no longer needed to work, but said she would for the right family.
Would caring for a 2-month-old baby boy qualify?
"What about Johanna?" she suggests.
Regina tilts her head. "Your old nanny?"
"I thought she retired years ago," Killian says.
"She did, but she always said she'd return for the right family. I never suggested her early on because I thought three kids would be too much. But if she just had to care for Neal from time to time, I think she'd say yes."
"I suppose there's no harm in asking."
David nods, rubbing his wife's arm. "She took care of you for all those years and you turned out amazingly. I'd trust her with our kids."
Snow gives him a kiss for the compliment as Regina smiles. "It's worth a letter. We'll tell her there's no pressure. Either way, we haven't seen her since Neal's naming ceremony," she says. "Snow, can you arrange all of that?"
Johanna agrees to a meeting right away. Henry and Alice are so excited the moment she enters their playroom. Emma attempts to climb up her leg like a little monkey and Johanna patiently takes her into her arms. Snow grins, cradling Neal in her arms.
"I know it seems like a lot," she says, after sending Henry to clean up his toys and for Alice to wash up from painting. "But we do have another nanny. You'd mostly just be responsible for the baby. I know you retired and I won't be offended if you say no…"
Johanna places a hand on her arm, steadying Emma on her hip. "I loved getting to help raise you. I was always surprised you didn't ask me after Alice."
"I didn't think you'd want to."
"How could I not? You were one of my favorite children to look for."
Snow shakes her head. "I was such a brat."
"Maybe so, but you were also a creative and expressive child. We learned a lot together." She looks from Emma to Neal. "I can't imagine anything better than looking after these little ones."
Johanna moved into the palace in the next fortnight. She worked with Stace so they were able to properly look after the little ones while Snow, Regina, Killian and David were busy. It was still hectic and busy. Things would always be that way with four children under the age of 7. But it was more manageable by a long shot. The kids loved their nannies, Neal bonded with Johanna right away. The parents could attend to their duties knowing they'd be properly cared for.