Thank you all for the continued support of this story! I've managed to get quite a bit of writing done recently, but I'm in the process of moving so it might take a week or so. I hope to have another chapter for you guys before the end of next week! :)

Holiday Spirit

Chapter 18

"The twins and the baby are still asleep," Granny said, filling the couple in. "But Henry's been awake for an hour or so wearing a hole in the carpet upstairs with his pacing. I'm sure he'll be down any—"

"Mom! David! You guys are back! Hey, Izzy!" Henry, leaped down the stairs two at a time, making Regina wince and open her mouth to scold him, but he cut her off. "I know mom, sorry. How're you, Izzy? You look much better."

He couldn't see anything but her face from the bundle of blankets she was wrapped in, but she had normal coloring, unlike the night before when she'd been flushed with fever. She wasn't sweating or shaking, and she wasn't crying out in pain. It was an image which had haunted him all night and kept him from truly sleeping.

"I'm sleepy," she responded lazily, and Henry smiled.

"Me, too," Henry told her. "Think maybe we can convince mom and David to let us sleep 'til noon today?"

"I've already got permission," Isabella told him, grinning. "Dr. Whale told me I had to sleep. But daddy…?" She lifted her head and shifted so she could look at him.

"Yes, princess?"

"Can we all have a pajama day when I wake up?"

"Not only do I think we can, I think it's the best idea you've had all morning!" he told her, bopping her nose.

"Alright, now that's settled, what do you say we tuck you back in?" Regina asked. Isabella nodded and Regina turned her attention to Granny. "Thank you for staying with them. We'll let you get back to the diner."

"Nonsense," Granny said, taking them by surprise. "Ruby knows how to open – granted it never goes quite as smoothly. I'm sticking around for a few more hours." When Regina opened her mouth to argue, Granny held her hand up. "No. The two of you look exhausted. I don't imagine sleeping in those hospital chairs did you any favors. You go up and get some sleep and I'll take care of the little ones. You, too, Henry," she said sternly and pointed up the stairs. "I'm ordering the three of you to bed."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "You're ordering me? In my own home?"

"Just looking out for the children," Granny told her matter-of-factly. "What good would their parents be to them half asleep?"

Regina continued to glare at her, but after a minute of the older woman glaring right back without even blinking, she sighed. "Fine. But don't think I'll forget about this."

Granny let out a sharp laugh. "Wouldn't doubt it for a second."

David headed up the stairs, still carrying Isabella, and Regina and Henry followed close behind. Henry split off to his room at the top of the stairs with a confused mumble of goodnight, or good morning…whatever it was…and Regina followed David into Isabella's room. She stepped forward to straighten the sheets a bit from the pile that had been left in the previous night's hasty departure. Then she pulled back a corner and David set Isabella down and pulled the hospital blanket from her as she scooched back and settled down into her bed, nuzzling her head into the pillow as Regina pulled the comforter back up to cover her.

"Goodnight, my darling," Regina cooed, leaning forward to plant a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Sleep well. Wake us up if you need anything."

Isabella nodded slowly, her eyelids already drooping as David took his turn kissing her forehead. "Feel better, kiddo. We'll see you in a few hours."

"Love you," she mumbled.

"Love you, too."

Regina pulled the door shut quietly behind them, Isabella already fast asleep, and frowned when she spotted David walking in the direction of the stairs.

"David...you don't...why don't you stay up here?"

"There's no room," he told her. "The kid's all have singles. I'm just gonna take the couch."

"No. That wouldn't be fair." When he raised his eyebrow, she cocked her head at him and raised one in return. "Don't pretend like your back isn't killing you from sleeping in that chair last night. I saw how you were walking when you were carrying Isabella. If you sleep on the couch, it'll only make it worse."

"Well, I don't really have much of a choice."

She let out a large breath. "We can share the bed. It's a queen size. There's plenty of room for both of us. It'll just be the one time."

He watched her for a second, waiting to see any sign that she wasn't being one hundred percent serious, but she was. Weighing his options, he had to admit that the bed was sounding much more appealing, and even the thought of the couch was making his back ache painfully. "Alright," he relented. "Lead the way."

When they'd settled carefully on the edges of the bed facing away from each other, Regina craned her neck back to look at him. "Just make sure you stay on your side of the bed."

He didn't turn back around, but raised a hand to wave her off in annoyance as acknowledgement that he'd heard.

Shaking her head, she reached over and switched off the lamp on the nightstand. With the curtains closed, the room was blanketed in darkness and Regina sighed as her head sunk down into the pillow. She closed her eyes, ready to drift off before the sound of David's voice interrupted.

"And it's the second time."

She turned again even though she couldn't see in the dark. "What?"

"Sharing a bed. It isn't the one time, because we already have – when we first woke up here. And that proves that I keep my hands to myself when I'm sleeping."

She hummed, and mumbled, "Years of being married to Snow White will do that to a man."

"What?" She felt the bed shift a bit as he turned to look at her, but she stayed facing away this time. She could tell by the tone of his voice, however, that he genuinely hadn't heard her, and she chuckled.

"Nothing."