David's brow furrowed as he woke up, his neck was a little stiff from sleeping awkwardly, but that wasn't what had woken him. Regina was writhing in his arms. She was still asleep but it was obvious that another nightmare was disturbing her. This one didn't seem as bad as the first, but he wondered if he should wake her up anyways, just in case. The first one seemed to have had a pretty strong impact and the last thing he wanted was for her to suffer, but on the other hand she really did need sleep. He sat up straighter, carefully pulling her up with him so her head was resting on his shoulder. He rubbed her arm softly and she stopped moving, but continued to voice the saddest moans he had ever heard. With the arm that wasn't supporting her, David slowly reached around her, pulling the blankets higher onto the both of them.

"Mmmm." Regina murmured, her face rubbed against his shoulder as she stirred. David paused, waiting to see if she would remain asleep. She breathed in deeply as she woke up, her eyes opening groggily in the faint sunlight that was sneaking through the closed curtains. As her vision came into focus she looked up at him.

"Hey," he said quietly, pushing a few strands of hair away from her face.

"David," she breathed. "You're still here." Her hand came to rest against his chest.

"Of course I am. I said I would stay didn't I?" He said tenderly. "Did you think I would leave?" He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers.

"No," She said truthfully, closing her eyes.

"You had another nightmare didn't you?"

Regina didn't respond.

"Was it the same as the last one?"

Regina swallowed, and David noticed there was a tear threatening to fall from the corner of her eye.

"They're really that bad?" He asked with a saddened look in his eyes.

"I keep seeing..." She took in a shaky breath, and pulled away to look at him." in this one, Kaelyn was dead."

David felt a chill run down his spine. He nodded sadly, waiting for her to continue.

"And the worst part was that I didn't know. I had gone to see her and then... she just wasn't there. But then I remembered what had happened... She'd died in her crib, we found her in the middle of the night... and it was like losing her all over again." She shook her head bitterly as more tears filled her eyes. "It was one of the worst feelings I've ever had."

"I can't even bring myself to imagine how that must have felt." David said sympathetically. "Is that what your first dream was about too? Losing the baby?"

Regina gazed sadly into his eyes. She extracted herself from his arms and moved so she was sitting beside him, leaning against the headboard sideways, facing him. "No. That one was... really something. It kind of scares me that I created it all in my head."

"What happened in it?"

She opened her mouth to say something but then hesitated. "I want to see Kaelyn." She pushed the blankets off of her and practically ran out of the room.

David was taken by surprise and as a result, was a bit slow to follow her. By the time he caught up with Regina she was already in Kaelyn's room and leaning over the crib, checking to see if she was awake. Kaelyn's crystal blue eyes stared up at her as the baby played with her feet. Regina was speechless with joy, and she gently lifted Kaelyn into her arms as David entered the room. The smile Regina was wearing looked good on her. It closely resembled the one she'd had the first time she ever held their daughter. David's eyes were warm as he approached them.

He wasn't positive, but he thought he heard Regina whisper into Kaelyn's ear, "I'll never let anything happen to you my love." Her smile turned almost pained as she held Kaelyn close.

David came to Regina's side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, looking down at the baby. "See? Kaelyn's fine. Don't let your dreams get to you, none of them were real."

Regina leaned into his embrace as David rubbed Kaelyn's tummy. "I know, I've been telling myself that too... it's just that they were so vivid they can be hard to forget."

"I'm sorry. Hopefully once your fever subsides the nightmares will stop and you'll be able to get a proper sleep."

Regina nodded in agreement before shifting the baby higher into her arms. She placed a kiss on top of Kaelyn's head and closed her eyes, keeping her head bent towards her daughter. She wished she could shake the terrible feelings her dreams had caused. They were weighing down on her like a ton of bricks and simply refused to leave her alone.

"I think I'd like to go for a walk," she said. "A bit of fresh air might do me some good."

"Ok, if you think that will help. Do you want me to come with you?"

"If you want to. I'd like that." Regina smiled. "I'll just go and freshen up a bit."

David leaned in to place a tender kiss on her lips. "I'll meet you downstairs when you are ready. But there's no rush, take your time." He held out his arms and Regina gave Kaelyn to him.

"Be a good girl for Daddy," Regina cooed, tapping Kaelyn gently on the nose. She moved towards the door, but when she reached it she turned back to look at the pair of them. At first glance she seemed happy, but when David looked closer he felt a pang in his chest, for he could swear he saw traces of sadness in her chocolate brown eyes.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Twenty minutes later Regina entered the kitchen, fully dressed, hair and make-up done. Even when she was sick she would never be caught leaving the house until the final touches were complete.

David had just finished feeding Kaelyn and was putting the clean dishes from the morning back into the cupboards. He looked around as he heard her footsteps.

"You look nice!"

Regina looked amused. "I'm sure," she said sarcastically. "There is only so much make-up can do, I still look dreadful. I do loathe being ill."

David walked around the island in the center of the kitchen and stood in front of her. "I know you won't believe me," he said as he cupped her face with his hands, "but you look beautiful, as always." He kissed her forehead.

Regina self consciously looked towards the ground. She reached up to take his hands in hers and their clasped palms came to rest in the space between them.

"Ready to go?" She asked him.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like something to eat first? I can make you some soup if you want."

Regina considered it. "Maybe after we get back."

David had a feeling that Regina was humouring him, and had absolutely no intention of eating after their walk. He knew full well that when she was upset or stressed she was likely to stop eating, sometimes almost for days at a time. Now that she was ill David worried even more about the effects her lack of appetite would have on her. However, he decided to wait until after their walk to press the matter, if indeed she refused to eat again.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

The couple were walking along the harbour, the ocean stayed relatively tame and there was just enough wind that it felt nice against their skin, but wasn't too much as to become annoying. The air was cool and had that lovely salty smell that was so traditional of Maine. David was pushing the stroller and Regina had her arm linked through his. This was the perfect distraction from her illness, but more importantly from her thoughts.

"It's a beautiful day," David said, taking in the scenery. "I'm glad you thought of this."

"Me too." Regina patted his arm, gazing out over the water.

"Are you feeling any better? You are looking less pale than you were earlier."

"Much better. This is just what I needed."

They walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes, enjoying the fresh afternoon and each other's company.

"I hope I didn't interfere with your plans for today." Regina said, feeling a little guilty that he had been spending his entire day practically babysitting her.

"Not at all. There is no way I'd rather spend my day than to spend it with you."

As she stared at him, Regina's eyes were round and glittering; one could say they were comparative to puppy dog eyes. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" She beamed.

David laughed, he had always felt that way about her too. "Well for one, you brought this little princess into the world." They were both looking down at Kaelyn who was cozily nestled in the stroller. When she saw her parents watching her she gave them an adorable smile.

Regina happily rested the side of her head against David's shoulder. It was moments like this that made life worth living.

A warmth spread through David as he sensed Regina's contentment. She had been so down these past few weeks and it was nice to see her enjoy herself for a change.

"We should watch a movie later," he suggested, "us and Henry. "I think that would be a fun, relaxing way to spend our Saturday night."

Regina lifted her head, "that sounds nice. Maybe Henry can pick one out for us."

"Ya, but we'll have to watch what he chooses this time, I think maybe we'd better go with a comedy." David said teasingly.

Regina blushed and tried not to laugh in spite of herself. "Good idea."

They'd had a family movie night the previous weekend and Henry had chosen Happy Feet. Regina had thought it would be harmless enough, it was a cartoon after all, and "happy" was in the title. However Regina had soon found herself in a puddle of tears. She had pulled an unsuspecting Henry into a massive hug and couldn't bring herself to let go. Usually movies, especially children's ones, wouldn't affect her like that. However, it seemed that recently the smallest thing had the potential to set her off.

Regina reached into the stroller in order to rescue a purple toy elephant that Kaelyn was about to push over the side. David stopped walking so his wife could return the stuffed animal to its place amongst the blankets.

"Was Henry this fidgety when he was a baby?" David grinned.

Regina gently touched Kaelyn's head. "More I think. He never liked to keep still. He could be a handful at times I suppose, but he always kept me entertained. He was such a wonderful baby. Just like you Kaelyn."

David's heart swelled as he watched Regina's eyes light up in memory of her son's baby years, while smiling beautifully down at her baby girl.

When Kaelyn reached out towards her mother, Regina raised her own hand to meet the baby's fingers. For a few seconds Kaelyn just swiped absently against Regina's skin, but the baby's tiny fist soon found Regina's forefinger and curled lightly around it.

"I would have liked to see him at Kaelyn's age." David continued. "He's a great kid, you did a really good job raising him."

"Yes he is..." She said lovingly, caressing Kaelyn's hand with her thumb. But then she frowned. When Kaelyn let go of her finger, the brunette withdrew her hand from the stroller and realised that David had been watching her with a curious smile on his face. "What?" She ran a hand through her hair, wondering if something was out of place.

"I love you so much." He whispered.

The corners of Regina's mouth lifted softly. She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, slowly lessening the space between them. Her eyes closed as she rested her head in the crook of his neck. "I love you too sweetheart."

She felt his arms protectively surround her, and this caused her to cling to him even more. There were times in her life when she had believed she would never find happiness like this and would be burdened to live the rest of her life alone. Now that she had finally found true love in David, one of her biggest fears was of losing him.