As Thomas said, the King did eventually call his favourite Seymour's to his side again by Christmas time, but he was not quite himself. He seemed to be missing something without Jane, and whatever he was missing had been an important component to his personality beforehand. Edward and Thomas attempted to look past this, but it was easier said then done.

By the time the New Year came around however, Anne and Edward had more important things to worry about than the King's mood changes. Little Edward, their one and only son, had fallen ill. He had not even quite reached his two-year mark when whichever influenza he had overcame him and he passed away at one of their family estates. Anne wept and wept but Edward pulled her away from the boy's room and reminded her of her pregnancy, and how she could not be so unstable when the baby was due to arrive in only four months.

Dear Richard,

I write to you to inform you that your nephew, little Edward, has passed away, God Rest His Soul. I hope that you give him a moment of silence, and pray for his soul. I will also let you know ahead of time that I am with child once again. I hope for another son of course.

Sincerely,

Anne, Countess of Hertford

The next four months were extremely painful for Anne. Though her mood swings were not quite as tremendous as during her first pregnancy she was still in a terrible mood most of the time. She had trouble sleeping too, which only made her mood worse. Nightmares filled her evenings, full of horrid images of her dead son and she'd often wake up in a sweat and have to be calmed down by Edward, who had grown increasingly worried about her.

Anne went into confinement at Chester Place early May and to her and Edward's delight, experienced another short and sweet pregnancy, and gave birth to another healthy son on May 22nd, 1539; they could only hope that this one was stronger than the last. Their second son was also named Edward, and was nicknamed Eddie for both convenience and respect, so he would not be confused with the first Edward, or with his father.

"I don't like him as much as little Edward. He is not as sociable." Anne stated plainly to her husband as they ate dinner one night.

"How can you tell if he is sociable or not? He's not even a year old, he can't speak!" Edward retorted. He found that his new son was healthier then his last and therefore, preferred him, though he had to admit he did miss his first son, even though they had very little time together.

"I can just tell." Anne said, putting her fork down and crossing her arms. "I want to go back to court. Do I look fit enough to go back? I'm bored here."

Edward looked at his wife and nodded. "If you wish to come back with me you can. Eddie can stay with his governess, it's not a problem, as long as you are sure you're well. You had a rough time this time around and I don't want you to take ill upon returning to the palace."

"I did not have a rough time!" Anne objected. "I was completely fine. It was a short pregnancy, and Eddie is healthy. What was rough about it?"

"Your nightmares and such, I just don't want you to feel overwhelmed coming back to court, that's all." Edward said quickly, trying to save his ass before Anne threw a fit.

His words seemed to subdue her anger for the moment. She sighed and looked down at her plate and then back up at him. "Right, well I'm not having those nightmares anymore and I feel perfectly healthy."

"Then, as long as you're sure, of course you can come back."

Unfortunately, Anne's stay at court did not last as long as she would have liked. She was pregnant again and her mood once more take a turn for the worse. It didn't help her to find out that the King was considering the sister of the Duke of Cleves as his next wife. Anne was only four months pregnant with her third child when she watched the King sign the marriage treaty on the 4th of October.

"What have you two been doing, sleeping?" She asked Thomas and Edward accusingly. "You're both so useless when I'm not constantly at your side to dictate your every move."

Edward scowled at his wife, but hoped that her wonky hormone levels were what caused her words and that they were not her true thoughts. Edward and Anne had always been, in both their eyes, a team, not a dictatorship where Anne was the leader. He knew she must have been over exaggerating the point. "We haven't been sleeping, Anne, there was very little we could do."

"And why is that?" She asked, looking at them both as if they were without brains.

"Well, mister Cromwell is the Earl of Essex now, you must know that. Essex is much more important that Hertford and because of his closeness with the King, Cromwell's word seems to rule at council." Thomas explained quite level headedly.

Thomas's increasing knowledge was starting to really annoy Edward. He had always loved being the smart one, who made the right decisions, while Thomas usually did not think before he did. In their youth, before Edward had been married to Catherine, Edward had always bedded the better looking women, well Thomas seemed to catch the easy ones, who were nothing to brag about. Even in marriage, Edward had outdone Thomas, who was still unmarried. What a useless prick. He shot Thomas a glance of semi-hatred and then looked back to Anne. "The King is convinced that marrying this Protestant sister of the Duke of Cleves is a good idea in terms of the reformation, or perhaps it is more Cromwell himself who thinks that, I'm not sure but either way, the King is siding with Essex."

Anne growled and began to pace back and forth in front of the two men. Thomas watched her with glossy eyes, admiring her beauty from afar, even when she had a growing baby bump protruding from her body. Edward watched her with worry. He was afraid she would get herself in a fit and hurt the child, or herself. He then looked at Thomas and hit him across the arm.

"What are you doing?" he whispered furiously, having caught his glossy eyed stare. He didn't know what to think of it.

"Uh, nothing." Thomas replied, scratching his head.

Edward narrowed his eyes at his brother, so much that they were merely slits of madness. I know that look… "I would hope so." He warned without threat. "You know Thomas, you're thirty two years old, don't you think you should be looking for a wife? Wasn't the Duke of Norfolk interested in having you marry his daughter?"

Anne stopped pacing and looked towards her husband and his brother, having heard bits and pieces of their conversation amidst her thought. He must know, it's taken him several years but he must see it now. She bit her lip and looked at Thomas's expression. He looked distraught, to say the least. He was probably thinking the same thing as Anne, he knows. Why else would Edward bring up Thomas's marital status so suddenly? He never seemed to care before, but something just now had set him off and suddenly he was bringing up the topic. "Why are you bothering Thomas about that?" Anne asked, though she didn't know why. Should I not be happy my husband is shooing his brother away from me at last? That he has recognized his attraction to me? Why did I have to speak?

"What?" Edward asked, turning his head to Anne. "I think it would be good for him, to have a wife of his own and perhaps some children. He's doing well now, I'm sure he could marry someone half decent. Mary FitzRoy is a good prospect."

Thomas dared not look at Anne, though he wished to look into her dark eyes and find comfort, he could not risk Edward catching him. He felt like a rabbit being hunted, one that had rushed back into his hole to take cover and found a bow and around pointing down at him, with no where to go to escape. Edward finally realized that he had eyes for his wife, and he was not happy, but he was also not going to choose to accuse him directly because he did not want to truly admit to the fact that the situation that had happened with his father, was happening again with his brother, except for the fact Anne was not a cheating whore and loved her husband very much. Why, I cannot understand. He is cold and heartless. I wish I could stop this, but I have nothing to draw me away! I see Anne every day and when Edward is not with her, I like to keep an eye on her, especially when she is with child and so off kilter. I find myself worrying for my sister-in-law's well being, and I wish I did not, not in the way I do anyways. I need to get out of this. "Yes, uh, Mary is a good prospect, I'm just not sure if I have time for a wife, and children, right now."

"There's always time for a family." Edward assured him, knowing well how to handle the two, work and play. "I'm sure you could handle it and you should take Norfolk's offer into consideration. He seems eager to have her married off again, and you should jump at the occasion, brother." Edward's tone was calm and caring but on the inside a fire was brewing.

"I'll take the idea into consideration." Thomas replied, nodding his head once.

"I hope you do." Edward replied, before turning his focus back over to Anne. He realized now that he would have to pay closer attention to both his wife and his brother, especially when they were together. He would not be leaving them in rooms alone anymore, not if he could avoid it.

Anne felt very confused in the situation she was in. Originally she had wanted to tell Edward about Thomas's comment, so long ago on that one Christmas Eve, before Jane had passed, before Prince Edward was born, but now she found herself pitying Thomas. She felt bad for him. He had never loved someone like Anne and Edward loved each other. He had never met a woman who he liked more than Anne, which is completely understandable, she thought, and she found it hard to take that away from him now. If he was married he'd be unhappy, and frankly, it wouldn't stop him from looking at Anne, and thinking of her. He would only hurt whatever wife he took if he was forced into marriage, and Anne for some odd reason, found it fair to let him be free until he found someone else, because he will certainly never have me. She decided it best to hold her comments until later, though she remembered that it would be more difficult to convince Edward when she could not soften him up first, she would give it a try anyways.

Thomas was beginning to feel uncomfortable around Edward and as soon as possible, excused himself and informed his brother and sister in law he would be returning to Hampton for the time being. Edward was content with his brother for recognizing his silent threats, but Anne was not. As much as she fought with Thomas and disliked him at times, his company was nice to have when Edward was not around, especially when she was pregnant.

Edward had taken to sleeping with Anne during her pregnancy this time around, especially after her terrible nightmares when she was pregnant with Eddie. So when the two retired to bed that night, Anne brought her mind-boggling problem.

"Why is it suddenly such an urgent matter to have your brother married?" Anne asked as she slipped into her nightgown. "You never seemed to care about it before and Norfolk suggested the betrothal between Tom and Mary over a year ago now."

Edward frowned as he lay on the bed, watching Anne change. His hands were behind his head. "I just want him to be happy, Anne."

She cackled in response and walked over to the bed, slowly getting on and lying beside her husband. "When have you ever wanted anyone to be happy but yourself?"

"And you." He corrected her, and then laughed. "I guess you're right. I just want him out of my hair, then. Is that a more accurate response?"

"Better than your first reason, at least, that was just completely unbelievable. So, why do you want him out of your hair?"

Edward took Anne's hand into his and kissed it. "Because he's been staring at you like a lovesick fool, that's why."

At least he was honest. "He has?" Anne asked in sarcastic bewilderment. "He's been doing that since the day he met me, Edward." I have that affect on men.

He furrowed his brow. "I only noticed today, how could he have been doing it that long without me noticing?"

"He's good at hiding his feelings I guess." Anne said, shrugging. "Don't you feel bad marrying him off to a woman he does not want?"

He sat up a bit and looked her in the eyes. "Would you rather I let him marry the one he does want?" he demanded furiously. He threw her hand down and crossed his arms, looking out the window.

Anne sat up on her knees and stroked Edward's cheek. "I did not mean that, Edward. I just mean, can't you leave him be? Let him find someone on his own, like you did?"

"But what if he does not find anyone?" he asked, still looking away. Her touch was softening him though. His stubbornness wouldn't last much longer. "Then I'll just have to deal with him being lovesick over you?"

"No. Just give him sometime. He knows you know now; let him move on, on his own. If he doesn't over some time, then you can have him married. I mean he's thirty-two, but that's not that old for a man. He's high in the King's favour too, I'm sure in a few years he'll only aspire to more." Why am I being so kind to that baboon? I should have him sent of with that Fitzroy girl for the rest of eternity.

Edward raised an eyebrow at his wife. "I think you are going through a soft spot in your mood swings."

Anne laid back on the bed and put a hand to her head. "Oh God, me too. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore but I do have one request, that you just let him be, or else he'll never get over me and he'll be more of a pest than he already is."

Edward laughed and turned on his side to face Anne, removing her hand from her forehead. "Alright, I won't force him into anything, I just don't like the idea of my own brother going after my wife! You must understand where I am standing here."

"I do." Anne said, smiling softly at him. "I know what you've been through and I would never let you go through anything like that again. You give me no reason to ever treat you thus. You are a perfect husband to me, always by my side, and we are a good partnership. I wouldn't throw that away for nothing."

He believed her words, they were sincere and sweet, and it was a side of her he only got to see. He kissed her hand again and grinned. "You are the sweetest woman in England."

"On earth." Anne corrected him quietly.

"Yes, on earth." He agreed. "But you're sure, you have nothing for Thomas?"

Anne laughed, her laugh sounding like wind chimes on a slightly breezy day. "Nothing!" she said firmly. Nothing. She repeated to herself in her head. How could I ever feel for a man like that? I would have to first go insane.