Regina's headache was much less wicked than it had been when she had woken up. The medicine David had given her had reduced her fever, but she was still resting in bed. Henry finished his breakfast and climbed the stairs curiously. When he reached the door to David and Regina's room he paused as if he were waiting for her to invite him in, even though they both knew that it wasn't necessary.
His mother was lying on her side, facing away from the door so Henry couldn't tell right away if she was awake or not. He tentatively stepped into the room.
"Mom?" He whispered.
Regina turned her head to face him. When she saw her son standing there, it felt as if a terrible burden had been lifted from her chest. Although she knew the dream had been just that, everything had seemed so real; she felt as if she really had nearly lost him today. "Henry," she breathed, smiling in relief.
Henry moved further into the room, expectant for whatever it was she wanted to tell or ask him. When she didn't say anything he said, "so... you're sick?" Simply to make conversation.
Regina nodded, "it's just a fever, nothing serious. I'll be better in no time."
Henry was watching her, she was acting very odd. She was staring at him as if she hadn't seen him in weeks and there were tears glistening in her eyes. "Why did you want to see me?"
Regina didn't respond right away but when she did she said, "just... to see you. Do I need a reason to want to see my son?" Her voice was softer than usual.
Henry shrugged, not in an uncaring way.
"Would you want to sit with me for a while?"
Henry frowned when he saw his mother's eyes turn rounder, like she was afraid he was going to turn her down. So he nodded, "ok." He walked around to the other side of the bed as a smile graced Regina's lips, she bowed her head as if out of self consciousness.
Henry climbed up across from her, sitting cross legged on top of the blankets.
Regina's smile widened and her eyes shone as she gazed fondly at him. "That's my boy."
Henry grinned at the familiar line from when he was much younger. "Are you alright? You're acting strange."
"I'm fine, I just had a bit of a bad dream."
He tilted his head, "what was it about?"
She debated on whether or not to tell him. Part of her didn't want to talk about the dream at all, but she felt like she needed to share at least some of it with someone. Besides, she certainly wasn't going to tell him the whole thing so what harm could come from it? Looking up at the ceiling she said, "our house was on fire."
"Were we in it?"
"Yes." She raised her eyebrow and then looked back at him.
"Did we make it out at least?"
She nodded, "David rescued us."
Henry matched her smile, "that doesn't sound so bad then! Did once of us accidentally start the fire?"
Regina's brow furrowed in thought, "no... actually the house just sort of... exploded."
"Cool!"
Regina laughed, "I don't think I'll agree with you on that."
Henry smirked. "Did you dream about anything else?"
Her eyes automatically snapped downwards and her smile faltered briefly. She looked back up at him and shook her head, but it was too late, she had given herself away.
"What else happened?" He asked curiously.
"Nothing honey, that was it."
Henry's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, knowing she was holding something back. However he knew he shouldn't press the matter so he didn't say anything.
Regina, worried she had offended him, decided to change the subject. "Do you have any plans for today?"
"I have to do some math homework, but first I was wondering if I could go hang out with Emma for a while?"
Regina hesitated, but then feeling obligated to she agreed. Even now that she and Henry were on much better terms, it always pained her at how readily he chose to spend time with Emma, and how she herself seemed to need to work extra hard for less. David often said it was because he was growing up, and it was usual for kids to want to distance themselves from their parents. Emma's case was unique. Even though Emma was no longer her enemy, and she had in fact been the key towards Regina's gaining back some of Henry's attention, the mayor still couldn't help but feel envious of the blonde at times.
"Thanks!" Henry beamed. Regina gave a small smile in return.
"Hey you two!" Came David's voice as he entered the room, "having a nice chat?"
They both turned to look at him. Regina smiled in greeting.
"Hey David," Henry replied before turning back to Regina. "Mom, is it ok if I go call Emma now?"
"Of course it is, have fun. Oh, and make sure to be back before dinner." She said as he got up.
"I will. See you later." On his way out David ruffled the eleven year old's hair.
David noticed the trace of sadness in his wife's eyes as she watched Henry leaving. Her hand absent mindedly went to her abdomen, as it so often did when she was thinking about her children. He sat down in front of her and she shook her head slightly before focusing on him. Her hand reached for his; her soft, smaller fingers fitting perfectly into his.
"How are you feeling?" He asked.
"Much better."
"Do you want me to bring you up some breakfast? It's almost eleven."
"...No, that's alright. Thank you though." Some of the colour that had returned to her cheeks during Henry's visit began to fade away.
"Are you sure you're feeling better? You still don't look very well." David lightly cupped her chin and she closed her eyes at his always gentle touch.
"I'm fine." She insisted as David drew his hand back. "I actually think I'll go get some paperwork done," She said, pulling the covers back.
"Regina," David said in concern. "I think you should rest some more. You haven't slept properly in weeks. It's Saturday and you are sick, I think the town will survive if you take a day off. It is the weekend after all. You shouldn't be doing any work anyways."
"I like to keep busy, I don't mind doing a little bit of work on the weekends every once in a while."
"I know you do, but I really think you need to take a break today. No one will think less of you for sleeping during the day if that's what you're worried about." He joked. "I won't tell anyone."
"David," she smiled. "I'm not even tired."
"Tell that to the purple bags under your eyes. Come on," he said affectionately. "you'll feel much better afterwards I promise."
Regina sighed and cast her eyes towards the floor. She had to admit she was still quite exhausted, but she feared if she went back to sleep the nightmares would return. It was bad enough trying to forget the first ones.
David saw right through her. "You are worried you will have the dream again won't you?"
She only frowned in response.
"What was it?" He ran a hand through her hair.
"I don't really want to talk about it right now." She said. She knew if she started to tell him she wouldn't stop, and she didn't feel ready for that yet.
"That's ok. I'm here to listen if you ever do need to tell someone about it. How about if I stay with you?" David offered. "I won't let anything happen to you. If the dream does come back, I'll be here to protect you."
Regina gave a small laugh. "Oh David, you don't have to do that."
"I want to," he said sincerely.
She smiled and leaned towards him. "Thank you," she whispered against his lips, continuing into a deep kiss which he returned gladly.
Breaking away from him, the brunette pulled the covers back over herself as David got in beside her and reclined against the soft headboard. Regina slid closer to him and found a comfortable position against his chest. He wrapped his arms tenderly around her petite form and she closed her eyes, feeling relaxed and secure. Her breathing evened out as she listened to his heart beating softly, and she tried to wipe her mind of all thoughts; focusing only on the gentle rise and fall of David's chest underneath her. After a few minutes David felt her breathing become deeper as she fell asleep. He smiled lovingly down at the beautiful woman in his arms; he had never in his life felt so devoted to any other person as he did to her.
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Regina's eyes fluttered open, judging by the light in the room it was mid-afternoon, and the house was quiet and peaceful. Feeling slightly more refreshed than when she had woken earlier that day, she rolled over to see if David was still with her. His space was empty and as she quickly scanned the room she noticed that he wasn't in the room at all. She didn't take it personally, he had probably just gone to feed Kaelyn and then got caught up in other tasks.
That was something she really wanted to do: hold her daughter. Her beautiful, perfect, darling baby girl. Sliding elegantly out of bed, she headed down the hallway. Once she reached the baby's room she found the crib empty. Knowing that David must have taken her downstairs with him to keep an eye on her, Regina wasn't worried. She turned to exit the room and was surprised to see her husband standing there, leaning against the doorframe.
"Oh! David you startled me."
"Good afternoon," he said. "Did you sleep alright?"
"I did." She smiled. "No more nightmares; you're my good luck charm."
David returned her smile too, but there was a concerned look shadowing his eyes. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up."
"Don't worry about it, I wouldn't want you to have given up your whole day. And besides I had a wonderful sleep."
"I'm glad." He came closer and placed his hands on her upper arms, watching worriedly as her eyes sparkled up at him. "What are you doing in here Regina?" He whispered.
"What do you mean?" She asked, taken aback. "I was looking for Kaelyn, I haven't seen her yet today. I trust you have been taking good care of her... " she had been about to say 'for me' but trailed off instead. Her eyes grew fearful as she noticed the way he was looking at her. "David? David where is Kaelyn?" Even though she was beginning to remember.
David took her into his arms but she didn't return his embrace. It felt as if a train had just rammed through her heart, shattering it into a million tiny little pieces. She tried to back away from him, not wanting to be held, but he grasped her shoulders gently. His face showed genuine care as he tried to comfort her. She was shaking her head slowly now, her face filling with horror.
"No... David..." She said again."How could I have forgotten?" She was looking down now, hiding her face from his, hoping he wasn't thinking she was going crazy. She herself felt that way.
David could see the panic building up inside her and wanted her to know that he was there for her. "Regina, it's alright. It's going to be ok. You were probably just dreaming about her that's all. Maybe you just hadn't fully woken up yet." He tried to reason.
"It's never going to be ok. How can it be?" Regina sobbed. "Our baby is dead." This time she stepped into his arms and he held her soothingly. Tears were welling up in his eyes now too as he thought of their daughter. Regina leaned her face against his shoulder and she felt his hand come delicately to the back of her head. Kaelyn had died over a month ago of sudden infant death syndrome. Both parents had been devastated of course, but Regina had been inconsolable. She could still remember sitting in the hospital in the middle of the night, holding Kaelyn's tiny lifeless body for hours until David placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and told her it was time to say goodbye.
"I can't." She had whispered.
David kneeled down in front of her. "I'm sorry. I know it's hard, but we have to let her go."
She continued to stare heartbrokenly down at the child in her arms. Her head shook slowly back and forth. David carefully tried to take Kaelyn from her, but Regina only held her closer.
"Just a few more minutes." Looking tearfully up at him. "Please."
David had nodded sadly in response. He took a seat in the chair next to her and placed an arm around her shoulders, wishing there was something he could have done to save their baby.